AN: Thanks rianna34 for the editing!
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Come to Your Senses
Magic is really only the utilization of the entire spectrum of the senses. Humans have cut themselves off from their senses. ~Michael Scot
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Hearing
The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said. ~Peter Drucker
~~o0o~~
Sense of hearing is a mechanical sense. It turns physical movement into the electrical signals that make up the language of the brain, translating these vibrations into what we experience as the world of sound.
~~o0o~~
Nights in the city weren't silent, because that would be creepy, but usually they were quiet enough that Hardison didn't have trouble sleeping. At least that's how it was before he became a werewolf. They'd been back at the pub for a week and he was beginning to think he might never sleep again.
The sounds of traffic was a continuous roar. So continuous that he could just about block that one out. The rain, once it got going, was almost as good as white noise since it could drown out some of the lesser sounds. However the start always caught him by surprise and the start of the rain was akin to having someone fling gravel at the windows. Parker and Eliot both assured him that it wasn't raining harder than usual but that did little to prevent the initial jolt of surprise. Before he'd been a wolf their living room had been a fairly quiet sanctuary but now he could hear all the conversations in the pub and the kitchen. And in the middle of the night he could hear what was happening in the apartment building across the street.
He'd tried noise canceling headphones and while they didn't block out all the sounds they certainly damped them down. Eliot had taken one look at the headphones and made it an order that Hardison could only use them for ten minutes in a twenty-four hour period. Hardison had complained but Eliot hadn't budged. He'd insisted that Hardison needed to learn to deal with the world and not hide from it.
Now Hardison was laying with a pillow over his head trying desperately to block out the sound of….
Ssssskkkkrrriiiiiiiink tink click, Ssssskkkkrrriiiiiiiink tink click, Ssssskkkkrrriiiiiiiink tink click.
He was sure the sound was coming from the building across the street and at two thirty in the morning he was sure there was nothing to be done about it. He wasn't sure what it was that was making the repetitive metallic scraping sound but it had been going for over an hour. He rolled to his other side and willed himself to get comfortable and go to sleep. But how could he when his entire existence was tied up in…. Ssssskkkkrrriiiiiiiink tink click, Ssssskkkkrrriiiiiiiink tink click, Ssssskkkkrrriiiiiiiink tink click.
He felt Parker's hand slide warm and soft over his shoulder. "What's going on?" her voice was sleepy and he realized he must have woken her with his tossing and turning.
"I'm sorry I woke you." He turned to face her.
"Nightmares?"
"No it's that noise."
"The scrapy ticky sound?"
"I can't believe you don't hear it." He'd asked her about the sound two nights ago and she'd shaken her head and given him a half smile, but it was clear she couldn't hear it.
"Come here." She pulled his head to her chest. "Take a deep breath and close your eyes."
He did as directed pulling her slim form close. Her hands guided his head to her chest and her fingers scratched lightly across his scalp in a soothing pattern.
"Listen to my heart."
He focused on the sound so close under his ear. Bumpbump, bumpbump, bumpbump. With a sigh he relaxed a little bit and continued to listen to Parker.
"You can listen to my heart anytime things get to be too much." With a sigh of her own she settled in his arms.
He could still hear the annoying sound but focusing on Parker's heartbeat did more to settle his nerves and help him to settle toward sleep than anything else even more than his noise canceling headphones.
~~o0o~~
Hardison came down the stairs to the bright light and heady smells of a new morning. Parker was sitting at the counter sipping orange juice and talking with Eliot while he fixed breakfast. Eliot glanced up at him as he came down the stairs and truthfully it annoyed him that they both looked so well rested.
"The fan keeping you awake again?" Eliot asked as he flipped a pancake.
"The ticky scrapy sound he's hearing is a fan? How do you know?" Parker pulled the seat next to her out a little for Hardison as he got closer.
"It's part of the h-vac system across the street it only runs like that at night." Eliot shrugged.
"How long has it been making that sound?" Hardison leaned his arms on the counter and rubbed his eyes.
"'bout three years."
"What?!" Hardison stared at Eliot in horror.
Eliot shrugged. "You'll learn to block it out."
"Nope. Ain't happenin'." Hardison pulled out his phone.
"What are you doing?" Eliot asked as he started carrying food to the table.
"Scheduling an appointment with a repair company."
"We don't own that building." Eliot raised an eyebrow. "Do we?"
"Don't care." He tapped his screen a couple more times before he set his phone to the side.
Eliot shook his head. "There's always going to be some sound that you don't want to hear. You're gonna have to find a better coping method than calling the repair guy every time."
Hardison focused in on the steady rhythm of Parker's heart. Bumpbump, bumpbump, bumpbump. "I'm sure I'll get the hang of it over time but for now I want a good night's sleep and fixing that fan is going to be the first step."
