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“Heracles, what did you do to him?”

“… I didn’t do anything.”

“Obviously. If you hadn’t he wouldn’t be blind.”

“He’s… he’s deaf, mother.”

“Whatever.”

There was still something wrong with his son.

If she wasn’t griping about his work, or about where he lived, she was griping about his family. He hated it, but respected his mother enough to never argue. He’d simply nod at her in disbelief, and shoot her a glare over his shoulder as she left her to sit on her self-perpetuated throne. Her being someone who pushed him to pursue his goals as a child, Heracles couldn’t help but wonder what crawled up her ass and made her suddenly so bitter towards him. To call it an irritation was an understatement. No, it was an insult.

He growled and scratched at his hair as he made his way back into the room, and spied the young child sitting in the middle of the floor, pawing away at a fat, tan cat lying in the sun. Lucian was oblivious to the conversation that took place, and even of the fact that his father was merely a few feet away from him. Heracles… Well, he almost pitied the boy. He wouldn’t imagine being able to make his life anywhere close to normal. There was so much he needed to hear and enjoy and he’d never get that. He’d have to learn how to communicate – they’d all had to, and the process was arduous. The second Heracles learned Lucian would never hear he began taking classes to learn sign language.

The anger in Heracles’ face soften as he watched. What noises Lucian did make, he had no control over. They were random and inconsistent in their volume and pitch. He had no idea what he sounded like and could barely gauge any sort of pattern from the way he felt his cords move. Heracles himself chuckled lightly. It was great to see how happy he could be, despite his disability. It was all he knew; all he knew was that this was normal. He didn’t feel sad or disabled or anything… the world around him was just as deaf as he was.

Heracles reached out a hand to ruffle Lucian’s hair, but stopped halfway there. Heracles’ grin disappeared as he pulled back.

He learned the hard way that surprising Lucian was far from a good idea.

Most children would at least be able to hear when someone was sneaking up on them. A footstep, the ruffle of clothing, perhaps breathing. No… not Lucian. His world was utterly silent. He lived in a world where everything was instinctively a danger and if surprised he would cry for his mother, even if the one surprising him was just papa.

Instead, Heracles made himself very much known, by walking his way over and sitting down next to his son to also pet the cat. The fat pile of fur was more than happy to receive two separate pets, and purred loudly. Lucian had no idea what it sounded like, but he must have felt it. He laughed a little.

<”The cat is lazy.”> Heracles quickly signed. Lucian stared, he didn’t quite comprehend. His father smiled weakly, and made the same signs a second time, eliciting a grin from the boy. He received a nod in response, but with no more hands to pet and spoil him, the cat decided it was time to move to a new naptime place.

Lucian squeaked and attempted to follow, but was immediately pulled back into Heracles’ arms and held tightly and securely. It didn’t matter what his grandmother said or thought. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t hear. There was nothing wrong with his son. Lucian blinked in confusion, surprised by the sudden affection but not entirely unhappy with it. He smiled and hugged back, and a slight tickle aimed at his tummy brought the boy to laughter. Untrained, unfamiliar laughter, with no restraint at all. Just like any other boy.

“I don’t you can’t really hear me Lucian, but bear with me. Alright?” Heracles began as he pressed his cheek into the dark brown mass of hair that belonged to the calming child. “You’re lucky. You don’t have to listen to what people say about you. And I don’t care what she says about you either. I don’t need “normal” children to feel like I have good kids.”

Yes, Lucian didn’t understand. It was probably a good thing he didn’t have to listen to his father be so melancholy. “We love you, alright? I really hope you never think otherwise.”

Lucian just hugged him back. He wasn’t different at all.