Chapter Text
“Haru, where’s my bag?” Makoto fretted, bouncing on his toes as he racked his brain trying to remember where he’d left it.
“How should I know?” Haru frowned. “I never saw it.”
“I have to be in the car by 7:15 if I want to make it to work on time, and if I’m late today, that leaves a bad first impression forever!” Makoto babbled, glancing around their apartment hoping he’d suddenly see it.
“Did you leave it in the car?” Haru frowned, patting Makoto on the shoulder sympathetically.
“No, I-” Wait. Oh my god, I left it in there when I went to get my spare swimsuit last night… He sighed with relief, “Yeah, I did.”
“Okay.” Haru nodded. “Eat breakfast.”
“Okay.” Makoto sat down at the table, feeling stupid. How was it that he was the one to always lose things? He could see.
When they had first moved in together after college, not much really felt like it had changed. Makoto had spent most of his days, and Friday and Saturday nights at Haru’s apartment anyway. The main difference was, oddly, eating. Before, they had tended to sit across the table from each other, eating quickly before getting back to their lives. After Makoto moved in, meals had become the time that they really talked. They were both so busy during the day that being together during breakfast and dinner was not only a welcome break, but necessary. Since Makoto couldn’t really talk well with the lights off, conversation around bedtime was limited.
Makoto was excited. Today marked his first day working at Meisei Gakuen, The Japanese School for the Deaf. He had officially declared his major in college in his second year, and graduated in his fourth with a bachelors degree in Child Development. Finally, it was time to start working on paying back those college loans. His job involved assisting the kids who had never learned any language before, and also being the hearing person that dealt with the parents of said children. Makoto wasn’t too worried about that. Most bad parents were just ignorant rather than vindictive, and it was probably all very strange and uncertain for them, given that for most, the first deaf person they had ever met was their own child. Besides, Makoto had dealt with Haru’s mom before, and how much worse could it really get?
Haru was still working at the aquarium. By now, he had been promoted to working with not only the dolphins, but also the other marine mammals and the sharks. He was head trainer too, which meant that an interpreter was frequently at the aquarium to help everyone understand what was happening at the meetings. Several times, the interpreter had been Rin.
Rin had gotten his licence as an interpreter shortly after graduating college, as a way to make money while he started his swimming career. Since there was a shortage of interpreters in general, and especially interpreters skilled at Deafblind communication, Rin never had any trouble finding work.
But today was just a normal day for Haru. What was special was Makoto finally getting to start his own career. He felt like a real adult as he collected his car keys, cell phone, and laptop before quickly kissing Haru goodbye and walking out the door.
Yes. Totally mature.
“MAKOTAN, I NEED A RIDE!” A very loud voice wailed from down the hallway, colliding with Makoto and causing one of their neighbors to open her door in annoyance. Nagisa gazed up at him with doleful eyes. “I have to go to work today, but Rei-chan’s left for his work already, and I left my car at the bar that I went to last night because I’m responsible, Makotan! Don’t punish me for being responsible!” He blinked innocently.
Ah. The wonderful feeling of maturity disappeared in an instant. “I can’t! I’m just barely going to be on time as it is!” Makoto glanced at the time on his phone nervously.
“PLEASE MAKOTAN?” Nagisa begged, widening his eyes as far as they could go, until Makoto worried they might pop out of his skull.
“You should have prepared ahead of time for your car.” Makoto scolded, “That was not at all responsible.”
Nagisa looked desolate, “You’re going to Meisei? Just… drop me off at the bus station outside? Just let me ride with you?”
Makoto sighed, “I guess that’s fine, then. Hurry up.”
Instantly more chipper, Nagisa bounced alongside Makoto all the way down the all to the elevator, and out the door on the first floor.
“Hey, Makotan? Wanna know what me and Rei-chan did last night?” Nagisa grinned.
“No, not particularly.” Makoto tried to look like a condescending mother, hoping that would restore his sense of adult-ness.
Nagisa waved his hands, “No, no, no- before we got back to our place. Although-”
“No.” Makoto insisted.
Nagisa huffed, “Prude. Fine, I’ll leave out all the good parts. Some girl at the bar walked up to me, all with her giant eyelashes and boobs and stuff- I know, me. Poor girl- So Rei-chan literally picks me up and carries me to the other side of the bar with his eyes all narrow like he’s jealous. Of a girl. Pft. And so the girl gets some of her friends together, and suddenly this giant flock of girls is-”
“Sorry, flock of girls?” Makoto looked down at him bemusedly.
Nagisa shrugged, “Well, I don’t know the scientific word. Ask Rei-chan that. Herd? Murder?”
“Murder?”
“You know, like crows. Whatever. Point is, this flock of girls comes over telling off Rei-chan for picking me up like that, and saying how ‘He should be allowed to make his own choices’ and blah blah blah.” Nagisa grinned, eyes sparkling, “So you know what he does?” He didn’t wait for Makoto to answer. “He leans over and kisses me. Full on, in front of the entire bar.” Nagisa squealed, “It was so cute! He never does stuff like that, he’s always so careful! Anyway, the flock all flew away and we went on with our night after that, but Makotan, can you believe it?”
They reached Makoto’s car. He unlocked it and climbed inside, “Sounds fun, Nagisa.”
“I know!” Nagisa strapped himself in, kicking his feet in joy, “I’m gonna work on getting him drunk more often.”
Makoto shook his head, “That’s horrible…”
“Oh, grow up.” Nagisa scoffed, “Bet you do stuff like that to Haru-chan all the time.”
Makoto thought about it, but drew a blank. “You know… I don’t think we really go places enough for things like that to happen.”
Nagisa gasped loudly and falsely, “That’s terrible, Makotan! You shouldn’t keep Haru-chan inside all the time, that’s not very equal access of you.”
Makoto shrugged, turning out of the parking lot, “It’s not like I’m keeping him inside. I don’t like bars or clubs, and people and music don’t really do much for Haru, so-”
“That’s not even remotely the point.” Nagisa scolded, “If you don’t take a break from your normal life now and then, you’ll go crazy! You have to do something to relax. Just to stop thinking so much for a little while.”
“Not that you think much at all.” Makoto teased him.
Nagisa’s jaw dropped, “That’s so mean! I think Rin-chan’s starting to rub off on you. Besides, it’s not like Haru-chan hates music. I know this one place with bass that might make a hearing person go deaf. Also, alcohol affects the system regardless of hearing status. Come on. Just one night. For Haru-chan’s sake.”
Makoto shook his head, “You’d have to talk to Haru about that.”
“Ugh!” Nagisa groaned, “He’s so difficult! Just… fine. Do it for my sake. I know you can convince Haru-chan for just one night.” He pouted, “Pleeeease?”
Makoto sighed, “I’ll mention it to him tonight.”
Nagisa seemed content, and they drove the rest of the way in relative silence.
Nagisa hopped out at the bus stop just in front of Meisei. “See you this Saturday at nine thirty, Makotan! I’ll text you the address!”
“Wait, I never said I’d-” But Nagisa was already turned away, chatting with a stranger at the bus stop who was holding a grocery bag full of tennis balls. Makoto sighed, and drove off to find a parking space. He’d have to break the news about their weekend to Haru gently somehow… Maybe he’d take him to the pool to tell him.
His first day at Meisei went well, Makoto thought. As soon as he walked in, he was introduced to the kids in the Developing Language class he was assisting with. It felt a little strange to speak in sign without having anyone touch him. He couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that nobody understood what he was saying.
Throughout the day, he played countless games with the young kids. Everyone was between the ages of five and ten, which was a pretty big range, but they were all satisfied with the group bonding activities that Makoto was in charge of facilitating. The idea was to play games that involved lots of visual information, not just words. For instance, if Makoto showed a picture of an elephant, the kids would all try to act like an elephant. It was pretty simple, but they all loved it and that’s what really mattered. Then, they played I spy, which in this case was also sort of charades. They also played a game where everyone had a sign for their name (since none of them had their own name signs yet), and you had to remember who was who or you had to sit down. For hours, they played games like this, with small snack breaks in the middle.
During these games, the lead teacher would take individual kids to the side to practice vocabulary skills. It was pretty frustrating work, so the kids were thrilled to join back up with Makoto for more game time.
By the end of the day, Makoto was exhausted. All he wanted to do was go home and relax on the couch with Haru. However, before he could leave, the lead teacher pulled Makoto over to the side. She was intimidatingly tall, even for Makoto; and her three-inch heels did not help the issue. The thing Makoto really noticed, though, was her signing skills. She had come from a four-generation-long line of Deaf. Everything about her movements spelled grace and confidence. She looked at Makoto eye-to-eye, which was a pretty impressive feat.
“I have to warn you about something.” She began, foregoing all introductory formalities.
“Oh. Okay.” Makoto was surprised. He made sure his expression showed he was paying attention. It wasn’t something he ever had to do with Haru, so it was a skill he was still developing. He had discovered that Deaf people really care about what your expression says.
“All the new students will be coming in tomorrow. It’s your job to meet with their parents and make sure their children’s transition into our program goes as smoothly as possible. For most of these children, it will be the first time they’ve ever lived away from their parents- even the ones who are older. I expect you to show both respect and confidence during these meetings, and do not look at the interpreters. That’s very annoying and rude. You will speak only Japanese as this is a matter of great importance. There will be one Hearing interpreter, and one Deaf interpreter. Each meeting will consist of around ten families, and there will be three meetings total. Expect a large audience, and don’t make a mistake. After that, if any prospective students and their families want to meet with you individually, please do so promptly, and do not yell at the parents. We’ve had trouble in the past, that’s why the woman you’re replacing was fired. Any questions?” She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.
Makoto felt a little overwhelmed, but- “No. None.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow, then, Tachibana-san. Please read over the presentation that was emailed to you, and be prepared for tomorrow morning.” She glanced down at her watch, holding a finger up to Makoto to wait. “Alright, make sure the kids all go to their own dormitories. After that, you can go home.”
“Got it. See you tomorrow, um…” Crap. He didn’t know her name.
“Yamada.” She signed it “Mountain-field.” Sign language was so cool.
“See you tomorrow, Yamada-san.” Makoto smiled.
She walked away, heels clicking down the spacious hall. Now to get all the kids to bed, and Makoto could go home. Haru was cooking something that wasn’t mackerel tonight, so Makoto was looking forward to it. He was happy. A new job, and a home with the person he loved. Maybe adulthood wasn’t going to be so rough as people in high school had lead him to believe.