#ts lomile

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They didn’t know for sure if they were soulmates. People who were or whose soulmates were (or would become) hard of hearing or mute often were born with no words on their wrists. But Logan and Emile were. Logan, born deaf, had the words Can You Hear Me? written on his forearm, indicating that someday, his soulmate would ask those words. Emile’s arm said I Can Hear You.

The pair met in college as roommates and became fast friends; Emile knew sign language since his mother had become deaf after an accident, and so he often tagged along with Logan to places to act as a translator. They discussed their soulmate’s words often, and slowly fell in love, though it was quiet and drawn out, and something neither of them intended to happen.

Emile hoped that their words were connected and that, someday, he’d get to hear Logan’s voice, and that Logan would hear his. It seemed unlikely as they grew older, graduating university and moving into an apartment together. He would lay on Logan’s chest, listening to the calm breathing of his partner, unsure of how their future could pan out if they weren’t each other’s soulmates.

They began their careers; Logan as an astronomer and Emile as a children’s therapist. Things were going so well with them, so they decided over tea one morning that they should get married. A year later, they signed their vows at the altar, tears streaming down their faces in the silence.

Years passed, they adopted dogs and had plants and things were good. If they weren’t soulmates, they were tied together inextricably anyways, through their own choices. And that was okay.

But technology was advancing, and when Logan was nearing the age of 50, his doctor told him about this revolutionary implant that helps those who were born fully deaf to hear, albeit faintly. He almost turned it down, but he noticed the words on his wrist, and agreed.

Emile held his hand as the implants were inserted, and then they waited. When the doctor gave a thumbs up, their eyes met, and Emile smiled, the skin around his eyes crinkling behind his tortoiseshell glasses. “Can you hear me?”

Logan almost burst into tears. He could hear his husband’s voice, and it was beautiful and wonderful. He composed himself and then fought to get the words out: “I can hear you.”