A/N: Instead of thoughts being in written in italics, it will be what the characters say in sign language, unless stated otherwise.
And this should follow what happened in the WWE.
Matt, this is crazy.
Of course, "crazy" was one of the terms that Jeff always remembered in sign language. It was one of his favorite words.
Matt still didn't have a firm grasp on sign language, so he opted to write down what he wanted to say. He quickly scribbled it down and handed the paper to Jeff.
Jeff looked at the paper and read: Jeff, it's not crazy. You're talented, and I know you can do this. Albeit your past, Vince still loves you as a person, and I'm sure he'd be glad to have you back. You'd be a legend if you could pull this off.
Jeff finished Matt's statement and balled his hand into a fist, crumpling the paper inside of it.
No.
"Matt, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do that," Vince said, leaning back in his chair and shaking his head. "We released him for a reason. This is too much of a risk right now. With ratings going down, I don't think I can afford to sign a crash and burn."
"That's a little uncalled for, don't you think?" Matt asked.
"I realize that your brother is a good person, but old habits come back fast. With the way your brother used to be…And isn't he upset that he's deaf? Might that prompt him to become depressed again?"
"Vince, no offense, sir, but it sounds as if you are making up any excuse for my brother to resort back to drugs. You haven't been with him these past six months. I have. He appreciates his life for what it is now. Sure, he gets down sometimes, but he hasn't touched a damn drug. Take a chance on him, Vince. You said that the ratings are going down. My brother could just be the person to bring them back up. And he's too much of a risk? He's one of the greatest risk takers in the game, so it only fits. Come on, Vince. You know you want to."
It was a rare time that Vince would allow one of his employees to talk to him like that. The only time it was allowed was when they were making a good point.
Matt Hardy must have been making a damn good point, because Vince said nothing against it.
"You have some nerve…" Vince started, and Matt flinched with the anticipation of an oncoming Vince blowout. "But I like it. If you bring your brother in on Friday, April 4th, we might be able to work something out."
Matt stood up along with the chairman and shook his hand. "Thank you so much, Vince. I know Jeff will appreciate this."
"You only have yourself to thank. But I do have a question. What is the best way to go about communicating with your brother?"
"You don't know sign language, do you?" Matt chuckled.
"No, I'm afraid that I do not."
"He prefers it when we just write down what we want to say and let him read it. He's not doing to well with reading lips."
No.
Don't lie, Jeff, Matt wrote.
No. I don't want to.
You don't want to what? Wrestle? Yes, you do. Now, you're coming with me whether you like it or not.
No.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
No.
Jeffrey Nero Hardy.
Fine.