hizashi swallowed, a slight wince at the pain that spiked from it. the nurses let him put in his hearing aids, so luckily he could hear shouta’s voice - thank goodness, he would have lost it if he couldn’t hear his husband’s voice in this moment.
he had been trying not to think of his injuries, of the fact that doctors think he’ll never talk again. he squeezed shouta’s hands, wanting to say something - wanting to talk to his husband like they had five days ago. hands shook as he released them from shouta’s, hesitate in his motions to do so. he never wanted to part from shouta’s touched, but he had to in order to explain the best he could and sign.
❛ vocal cords are crushed. ❜
he brought a hand up to touch the thick bandages on his throat. there would be a scar; the villain had gotten too close to hizashi; while he was a pro hero, he wasn’t close combat by any means. he was a long range fighter and only used skills in self defense. but that hadn’t been enough - his speaker had been destroyed with some-sort of pressure quirk and closed completely on his throat as the villain also used a knife for safe measure.
it worked. the speaker as well as the knife did damage the doctors didn’t think could be healed. recovery girl had done what she could, but had walked away with a sad look on her face.
he leaned towards shouta the best he could as he signed again.
❛ doctors think it cannot be repaired. ❜
he would not cry. he cried the first day he woke up, he cried most of this morning - he wasn’t sure he had tears left. but he felt the wetness in eyes and blinked them away, giving his husband the smile he could. hizashi knew he would be retiring first out of the both them but he had thought it would be due to his hearing - not losing his voice and his quirk.
❛ announcement for retirement is in three days. ❜
he glances from hands that signed to around the room; eyes lazily tracing the ceilings, the walls, the windows that were lit by the sun’s WARMING rays --------- how UNSETTLING it was for hizashi to be the one lying in the hospital bed wrapped with bandages. not so long ago, he was lying in a hospital bed --- his vision blurred by wraps and arms USELESS by his sides, yet he had walked away with his quirk intact. a storm swells deep in chest, ripping and tearing beneath his rib - cage; clutching viciously at heart. if only he had been there then maybe he could have prevented this.
BUT IT WAS ALREADY TOO LATE. scarred fingers twitch; clasping tighter atop his lap. somehow, he could only think of this as his own fault. he should have went with hizashi when he received the emergency call but he hadn’t. he had remained behind with a strong belief that his husband could handle the situation. he’s never had to worry before. he could hold his weight. he’s seen hizashi in battle --- he’s trained beside him; FOUGHT alongside him. it was made apparently clear on the phone that the target wasn’t a dangerous one ( just an average criminal ). WRONG. ---------
‘ WE’LL FIGURE IT OUT. you said that the doctors ‘ think ’ your vocal cords cannot be repaired but that just means there is a CHANCE they could. quirks have advanced enough that i’m sure SOMEONE out there can help us restore your voice. ’ shouta’s gaze returns back to his spouse; to his hands --- to the bittersweet smile on hizashi’s face. without a voice to speak directly, the communication between them would be limited to japanese sign language, texting, notes, etc. he would have to sharpen his knowledge on sign language more than ever now that his husband was mute. BUT IT WAS A SMALL PRICE to pay to be able to speak with his husband until he could look further into searching for the right individual with the quirk he needed. he prayed it wouldn’t be long.
‘ do you know who will be giving the announcement ? ’
