Damon thumbs through the pages of "Interview with the Vampire" in a flash. He has read this book too many times to count. He would love to be a vampire. The eternal stud always gets the girl.
Vicki, his hearing dog, gently nudges his leg. He looks up and sees a woman gesturing to the press conference platform.
Damon transforms the platform into his own personal catwalk. He is a vision in leather. His raven hair is moist from the fight and curls a little at the ends. Some loose tendrils fall onto his forehead, and he rakes them back with his fingers. Sex hair has nothing on fight hair. He tosses the press his signature lopsided smirk. The press, though mostly male, swoons.
Elena waves at him from the other side of the room. She mouths and signs congratulations. His heart warms at her cheeriness (and ridiculously short shorts). The memory of her light smile saw him through his darkest days. She even learned American Sign Language right along with him. To this day, she still speaks and signs at the same time, so he can continue to improve his lip-reading. She takes her place beside him.
Damon's head trainer, Alaric "Ric" Saltzman, sits on Damon's other side. "Hell, Kol's a dick," Ric laughs while answering a reporter's question. "Kol kept saying 'To the death!' on Primetime. Screw you, crap ass! Five rounds of getting beat the fuck up ... then getting TKOed ... from his own punch? That's fucking poetic. Damon could've ended that fight a million different ways, whenever he wanted. Elena gives Damon a harder time in training!"
Elena shoots eye daggers at Ric for the sexist comment but does not speak up. He should know better. The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) has just added a women's bantamweight division and could add lower weight classes in the future. She dreams of fighting in the world's premiere mixed martial arts organization but the hate it brings ...
Damon senses Elena's distress and threads his fingers through hers. She looks up at him with a small smile and rests her head on his shoulder.
Author's Note: Thank you for making it to the first author's note! You already know this fan fiction is one-of-a-kind ...
Random Points
Matt Hamill is a real-life deaf UFC fighter, for those thinking the "deaf UFC fighter" premise is far-fetched. Support him if you can!
The UFC has just added a women's bantamweight division in real life, for those thinking the "female UFC fighter" premise is far-fetched. Support the ladies if you can!
Others communicate with Damon using a combination of American Sign Language and normal speech (which he interprets through lip-reading). To help with the story's flow, I will not go into extreme detail about whether someone is signing to Damon, speaking to Damon, or both.
I myself am not deaf, and I do not know anyone who is. I have tried my best to represent a deaf Damon through careful research. If I screw something up, please let me know and I will fix it right away. I want to honor the deaf community, not make a mockery of it.