Work Text:
Every school break, Li Ming travelled from his mom’s house in the city all the way to the coast where his uncle lived. At first, his mother would come with him and they made a whole family outing of it. But as Li Ming grew older, and his mom got busier, Li Ming started making the journey alone. One day, he told his uncle not to worry about taking days off to hang out with him. Instead, he asked for a job at his uncle’s restaurant.
“I gotta be able to support myself and Mae when I get older,” he said, and his uncle caved.
So he came by to visit whenever school was out, and he bussed tables and took orders and washed dishes until he was sure his fingers would feel dry forever.
Then one summer, he stepped into the restaurant and he saw.... him. A guy who made his heart skip a beat. The cutest fucking guy he’d ever seen. Dressed in the restaurant uniform and cleaning dishes?!
“Oi! Saleng!” he said, snatching the older waiter’s arm and jerking him to a stop on his way to add more dishes to the sink. “Who’s that?”
“Hm?” Saleng glanced at the dish washer and then hummed. “Oh, that’s Heart. He convinced his parents to let him get a job here. Apparently, he’s been asking them for like a year. He’s a good worker, but it’s challenging, you know? It’s hard to get his attention.”
Li Ming’s brow knit. “What? Why?”
Saleng’s brow also knit, like he was confused about why Li Ming was confused. Then his eyes widened and he said, “Oh! Your uncle didn’t tell you? Heart’s deaf.”
For a little while, Li Ming had no reason to go to the sink, although he glanced over at it regularly. Heart did not seem to notice the noise around him, the bustle of customers coming and going. He only looked up when Saleng or Uncle Jim stopped by and tapped his shoulder. Then they’d hold up paper or do one hand gesture, and Heart would give a polite smile and nod his head.
Finally, Heart was pulled from dish duty to come help clear tables. He made eye contact with Li Ming across the restaurant, and they both hesitated to break it. Then Heart ducked his head and went to work. Saleng was right. Heart couldn’t hear, but he was diligent and attentive.
After over an hour of Li Ming’s shift, he had a reason to step up beside Heart. He awkwardly held up his hand in a wave. His heart fluttered stupidly in his chest.
“H-Hi. I’m,” he pointed at himself, unsure how to communicate now. “Li Ming.” Shit, he wasn’t wearing a name tag or anything. “Uh, hold on.”
He scrambled to pull out his phone while Heart smiled encouragingly. By the time Li Ming was ready to type, Heart had his phone out too. But instead of a note app to write messages on, he had his contacts open for a new entry. Smart. Feeling foolish, Li Ming laughed awkwardly and took the phone, putting his name and number in. A moment later, Heart texted him.
‘Hi. I’m Heart.’
Li Ming smiled nervously up at Heart before typing his response. ‘I’m Li Ming. Sorry. I don’t know any sign language.’
‘It’s okay. Most people don’t.’
‘Why did you pick my uncle’s restaurant to work at of all places?’
Heart pressed his lips together, considering. He glanced up at Li Ming, then around the restaurant, then back to Li Ming. Eventually, he typed, ‘I’ve always liked it here. Even before I went deaf. And my parents know it really well, so it was easier to convince them to let me work here.’
For the rest of the day, they texted while they worked. They could joke about customers, or Li Ming could call for backup or deliver news from his uncle. It felt like having a secret, even though everyone knew they were doing it. And by the end of the first shift, Heart had taught Li Ming two pieces of sign language – “clean” and “come here”.
“Oh man. You gotta teach me more,” Li Ming said, excited. “I don’t just wanna talk about work. Will you teach me more?”
And Heart, beaming with a smile, agreed.
The day before Li Ming had to return home for school, Heart caught him by the wrist on the way out of work. He looked concerned, like he was having thoughts too big for his young brain.
“What’s wrong?” Li Ming asked and signed simultaneously. He’d gotten pretty decent over the last month, but nowhere near as good as Heart. He’d have to keep practicing so he could show off when he came back.
‘I need to tell you something,’ Heart signed.
“What?”
‘I asked to work here,’ Heart said, then his hands hesitated in the air. After a breath, he continued, ‘to meet you.’
Now Li Ming was more confused. “What? But we only met after you started.”
Heart shook his head. ‘I saw you.’ He pressed his lips together. ‘Every school break. I wanted to meet you. This was my chance.’
Li Ming’s chest felt pleasantly swollen, and he smiled wide. “Oh man.” He didn’t know how to sign what he wanted to say, so he brought up their texts. “I hope I lived up to the hype.”
Heart caught his eye, smiled shyly, and nodded.
“Then,” Li Ming texted as he spoke. “Can I text you after I leave? And see you when I get back?”
He really, really, really hoped Heart felt even half as fluttery and yet intense about this relationship as Li Ming did. Because Li Ming wanted to get closer to Heart – so much closer. He wanted to help Heart do more than just clean tables and wash dishes. He wanted to do so many things with him. To him. If only Heart felt the same way.
In front of him, Heart smiled at his phone and tapped away. Then Li Ming’s phone chimed.
‘I’d love that.’