behind the scenes

ᶠⁱʳˢᵗ ʰᵉᵃʳⁱⁿᵍ ᵃⁱᵈˢ

"Hu are you sure this is okay? I mean aren't they expensive?" The thirteen-year-old asked nervously as he tried to match his friend's long strides.

"Of course!! Besides this chick owes us anyway!" He encouraged as he made a waving motion.

Zihao merely nodded and followed behind his pink haired friend. Halting in front of a giant skyscraper they looked in awe. 

The duo traveled outside of their normal area and into a bigger neighboring city. Their location was a support factory where engineers would invent and fix support items for heroes. The building shined in the sunlight as the sound of loud machinery could be heard.

Hu smiled widely and grabbed the younger's hand, "Come on!!" He exclaimed as he dragged the other inside the building and through the halls.

The two walked quickly through the long corridor until they finally made it a large set of doors. Before L/n could knock, Hu barged into the room. A large grin was plastered on his face as he opened the doors, Zihao quietly trailed behind him.

"Ma'am! Are you here?!" He yelled as he rushed around the room.

"Oi brat! What did I say about barging in?!" A feminine voice yelled. A woman roughly the height of 5'9 walked up to the two and slammed her fist on Hu's head.

After a second of torturing the poor boy, she noticed the presence of the other male. "Oh! Zihao! What a lovely surprise how can I help you?" She asked sweetly as she kicked Hu away.

"Remember! His hearing aids!" Hu spoke up, rubbing the spot where he got kicked seconds before.

"Oh, that's right! It should be..." Patting down her lab coat, she felt around for a small container. "Ah! Here they are!" She placed a circular container in Zihao's hands. "They'll turn on and off automatically. They run off of batteries so just visit me every few weeks or months to buy new ones."

"Thank you..." He whispered as he held the box in his hands. His eyes were shining brightly as he cradled the item closely.

"Thank you!!" Hu yelled as well. He gently grabbed Zihao's arm and pulled him out of the room while waving to the doctor.

The older lady just waved back, a small smile on her face as she watched the two leave. "He actually spoke this time."

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"Put them in! Put them in!" The pinkette cheered as he stood by his friend.

L/n shook his head and smiled. "Okay okay! I will!" He raised his hands in defense and opened the container.

Carefully he picked up the earpiece and placed the back behind his ear. Feeling for the cord, he pushed the bud piece inside of his ear gently. Placing his pinky on the back, he pushed downward into his ear canal until the cord laid flat. Lastly, he pushed the kick stand inside his ear to keep the device in place.

Repeating the same actions with the other side he waited a second and allowed the sound to adjust.

Hu jumped up and down and whispered so he wouldn't hurt Zihao's ears. "How does it feel?"

Zihao's eyes were wide as he looked around. Tears began to grow as he listened to every tiny sound. The sound of wind was gentle and low, the sound of the cars was completely different. The distance voices of people sounded so clear and quiet. The rustling of his hair, the sound of his clothes rubbing together, every step he took, he could hear it all. Everything, it sounded so clear and beautiful. Before he knew it, tears began to pour down his face.

Hu smiled and embraced his friend in a hug. Falling into a full breakdown, Zihao sobbed into Hu's shoulder. "I can hear! Hu, I can hear..." He cried for what seemed like hours. The comforting warmth of the hug seemed to drown him in security as he let all the tears go. 

Years of frustration and anger of not hearing clearly. Years of self-hate for not being able to hear 'right' was finally being healing.

Hu whispered sweet words of encouragement as he rubbed Zihao's back. He just stood there and held the crying boy; never once did he try to move. Instead, he whispered, "I know matcha, I know..."

Zihao wondered if the world he was hearing now would continue to be this clear.

I'm not even going to lie, I sobbed while writing this. Not one or two tears, like full out cried until my eyes dried out.

Wearing hearing aids for the first time can be extremely overwhelming, which is why I took note of some sounds he could have heard that might have been a lot to process. When I first wore mine, I completely freaked out at the new sounds.

It's like a whole new world with them on, without them you kind of feel trapped in a soundproof bubble, but with them on it's like a needle just popped it.

So yeah :) I thought this would be a good short scene to add <3