Based off a couple I saw on the plane on the way to Hungary when I visited.
(If you guys ever see this, hi! I don't know your name or anything, but if you flew with Up to Budapest on April 2014, and you're a nice chick and a deaf guy, ya'll are cute. Also next time just ask someone to switch seats with you. Also thanks for the awesome inspiration!)
Deaf!Blaine, hooray!
When someone uses sign language, it'll be written in all-caps, since that's kinda how ASL works. And when they mouth things, it'll be italics.
Up Up, Yeah Yeah
They should've insisted on being seated together.
Blaine knows they should've, but he didn't want to fight with anyone; he doesn't like fighting with people, especially not before his honeymoon in Paris!
He'll survive, Kurt is just an arm's length away, one row behind him on the opposite side of the aisle. It's just a nearly-twelve-hour flight… oh god, he's going to faint.
A tap on his shoulder. He turns, and there's Kurt, smiling at him soothingly. ARE YOU OKAY? he signs. WE'RE TAKING OFF SOON.
He gathered that much; everyone is turning their phones off, and the air attendants are closing the overhead compartments. He bites his lip and rubs his hands on his thighs, not replying.
I'M RIGHT HERE, Kurt signs. IF I'M ASLEEP AND YOU NEED ANYTHING, JUST WAKE ME UP.
Blaine nods, and after Kurt reaches to stroke his arm, turns back, taking a few deep breathes and closing his eyes.
It's just a flight. It's going to be okay. Just a flight. Just a plane in the middle of the sky, attached to nothing-
He breathes again, in and out, in and out. A flight attendant walks by, and he can feel the vibrations created by her heels slamming on the floor. He swallows; this plane seems more fragile with every second that goes by.
He looks up as the plane starts moving, breathing quicker. The belt is pressing on his belly and he wants to loosen it further, stopped only by knowing it'd be unsafe. And shit, he needs to pee, but he can't until takeoff ends and-
Oh no, the plane is picking up speed, going faster and faster and he clenches his eyes shut and it's tilted upwards now, only the back pair of wheels still intact to the ground oh no, oh no-
And then they're soaring up, he feels it crack in his ears as they go higher and higher, pinned to his seat, and he doesn't know how long it's going to take and oh lord, are they turning, don't look out the window! his ears crack again and it's uncomfortable and then it stops. He breathes heavily, feeling the plane balancing.
He survived takeoff. Just- he glances at his watch- eleven and a half more hours. He sighs and turns to look at Kurt, who's already asleep. Amazing. What is he even going to do for the next twelve hours?
He looks out the window on his right- it's pitch black outside, distant lights from the city disappearing quickly. He looks up just as the bright lights are turned off and instead soft, blue lights are turned on. He looks at his sneakers; they're worn, he needs new ones. He looks to his left, and catches quick movement, which he ignores. He turns back again and looks at his sleeping husband, smiling a little sadly. He wants to sit next to him, to hold his hand and lay his head on his shoulder. God, they're married now, is that really too much to ask for?
When he looks back to the seats in his row, he catches an old woman looking at him. She smiles kindly, and says something too quick for him to catch.
He looks at her, terrified that he'd have to vocalize again and he sucks at it, he knows, but she just smiles again and repeats her words, slower. Is that your husband?
Blaine feels proud as he touches his ring. Yeah, he is, he mouths back.
How long? she asks.
Just got married. On our way to our honeymoon. Blaine is warmer, calmer at the thought.
Congratulations! She beams at him.
The plane suddenly gives a rough jerk and all of Blaine's muscles clench; he shoots a look towards Kurt, who is sleeping with his mouth open, ready to wake him up if the turbulence continues, but the plane is calmly soaring through the sky now. He breathes and looks back at the woman, who is looking right at him, concerned.
Are you scared of flights? She asks, brows furrowed.
He nods, ashamed. He's a grown man, for god's sake, why can't he sit calmly in a plane?
When I was younger, I was, too. You get used to it after a few times.
He swallows, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. Thanks, he mouths at looks back at Kurt, who is unaffected.
A soft hand touches his palm. It's okay to be scared. She tells him, and pats his hand. Is there any way I can help?
Blaine doesn't know how to reply; he doesn't want her pity, although it doesn't seems like she pities him at all, which confuses him. She's just giving him a motherly, worried look and half a smile, wanting to help. He glances at Kurt again, and when he looks at her again she smiles.
He makes you feel safe. It's not a question.
Yeah.
Tell me about him. How did you two meet?
Once she's asked this, Blaine doesn't stop talking. In the back of his mind, there's a part that is worried he'll make a sudden noise, but he ignores it often, and if he does make a noise, the woman- Penny- doesn't seem to mind. He talks about how he met Kurt, how he fell in love, how they broke up and got back together and moved to New York and got married, and he's in the middle of a thrilling story about almost tripping on down the aisle in his own wedding when he glances at Kurt and finds him awake and watching him with a bright smile. He smiles back and continues his story. When he's done and Penny is finished giggling, she turns around and shakes Kurt's hand, telling him something- Blaine can't see her lips, but he can see Kurt's, who replies with Thanks and a wink at Blaine.
Maybe the next… eight hours won't be so bad after all.
Title. Well. Type into your YouTube search section the words "El Al Up safety video" and click the first thing that comes up. You will not regret this.