summary: roman has an argument with someone earlier in the day but what she said sticks with him. he goes to virgil for help
word count: 455
this is another part to the send me a sign story :) remember italics mean either thoughts or sign. thoughts are in '...' while sign is in "...".
tw// ableist remark ig :(, almost panic attack, that's it :))
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Virgil and Roman were always full of energy and life together. Every time they'd hang out it'd be playful insults, debates about the BEST ice cream flavor (Roman knew it was fudge brownie, no matter what Virgil said), and sometimes Patton would even join in.
Today, however, Roman had something else on his mind. He'd had a discussion with a rather ignorant girl earlier that day; she'd asked him the regular stupid stuff that ignorant people ask but one question stuck with him. "How are you so obsessed with musicals if you can't hear?"
Admittedly the question shouldn't bother him much, because really what did it matter why he enjoyed the things he did? But he's always wondered how he can say he's a fan of musicals (and really anything with music) if he can't hear them. He usually just watched the shows just for the storylines and the lyrics, since he couldn't exactly hear the music. He never payed any mind to it before but now he felt bothered by this remark.
Virgil sat down next to his friend who sat criss cross on Virgil's bed. He noticed Roman's distracted face and tapped his knee, "What's wrong?" Roman sighed and looked around the room. He stood up and made his way over to Virgil's phone. He grabbed it and opened up YouTube as he sat back down on the bed. He searched up Heathers and handed the phone to Virgil, "I want to hear the music."
Virgil looked at Roman in confusion. "What? What do you mean?" Roman read his lips and became frustrated. "I want to hear it." Virgil sighed. "Roman, it's okay." Roman pulled Virgil's hands down, cutting him off. "Why can't I be normal? I just want to be normal." His eyes brimmed with tears as he curled into himself, hands gripping onto his ears. Virgil's eyes widened before quickly moving next to his best friend.
He wrapped him into a hug and removed Roman's hands from his ears. "Roman, look at me." Pulling back from the hug, Virgil hooked a finger under his chin, forcing Roman to look at him. "You don't need to be normal. You're perfect just how you are." Roman scowled at his own hands. 'Perfect people don't need to use their hands to talk.' He thought bitterly.
Virgil sighed and got an idea. He gently laid down, bringing Roman with him and resting his head onto Virgil's chest. Virgil gently began singing Seventeen from Heathers. Roman's sobs quieted as he felt the vibrations coming from his chest. After he finished the last note, he looked down at his best friend and smiled as he traced shapes into Virgil's shirt.
"Better?" Roman nodded with a small smile.
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i really wanted to make this as accurate as possible, meaning i spent like 4 hours researching asl stuff :)) i hope you all enjoyed this, love you all, stay safe, buh bye!!
6/30/20