13://Crunch_Time
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It was hard to keep the colors and lines from becoming a blur during the darkest hours of the morning, but at least it was finally done, Vale told himself. He flicked through the layers again, shielding his tired eyes from the computer monitor's harsh glare in the dimmed room. Moonlight and stove light were the only allies against the darkness, and that's how Vale preferred it on nights he worked.
Starting from the base sketch he had drawn by hand and scanned in lovingly, he flicked on each layer of hue, adding shadow and light to the digital page, checking every pixel for any perceivable transgression. The sketched lines came to life with depth of color, and then the final image was done, and the sketch was hidden underneath. Vale inspected his final submission, and then saved it in his art program, exporting the .png file to where the rest of them went. Forty-eight high-res images were zipped into a folder, attached to an email to his boss, and then whisked off into the web.
It took a minute of looking at the sent email sitting on his screen before it dawned on him that work on his biggest project to date was done, and he could finally take a breath. He leaned back against the couch, lacing his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, letting the images of his recently finished work fade, and Kip's beautiful face came back to tease him in a daydream that was too far away to reach.
It had been weeks since they'd had dinner with Vale's parents, and Kip was busy with his own project too. The expo was the day after tomorrow, and although they were more than prepared, it had been almost non-stop work. Consulting with the marketing and street team took up most of his time now, but Vale looked forward to Kip's upcoming lapse in work so they could spend some much needed time together.
Before thoughts of exactly what they needed to catch up on let Vale's hand move south, he sat up and closed his email, then opened another window in his browser, scrolling through his bookmarks. He clicked on the ASL as a Second Language website, quickly finding where he had left off a few nights previously. He smiled to himself when his mouse hovered over the drop down menu, a list of all the lessons, and a quick visual in just how far he'd come in the time since the bathroom incident at the club.
He was far from fluent and aware of that fact, but his slow and steady progress would hopefully make Kip feel more at ease. If he ever needed to fall back on it, or had a bad day of struggling in the Hearing world, Vale wanted him to be able to communicate with him, even if he went non-verbal. He wasn't ready to unveil his surprise yet, but he hoped Kip would be pleased. They already shared a few basic signs, but he knew he owed Kip more. Especially if they were going to be together for as long as Vale wanted.
He paused the video at that realization with the on-screen instructor in the middle of a vocab breakdown of family member terminology and sat back. He thought about Kip and what he had realized. Most of his past relationships had never been this serious. He had never felt a tangible future with any of his former lovers. Everything in his past had an ephemeral quality to it, and thinking about a future with Kip had felt so natural he hadn't questioned it until now.
He had always imagined this inevitable moment would terrify him; the very heteronormativity of it all repulse him. Except it didn't. He could see his future with Kip unfold in so many different, but loving ways. He didn't feel scared. He felt elated. He felt peaceful. He felt complete.
Smiling like an idiot to himself, he pressed play on the video and resumed his lesson, practicing forming the words with his own hands. He signed the compound word that the instructor showed, forming the word "man" and clasping it down into the word "marriage". After all, his future husband might very well depend on it.
* * *
Kip fiddled with his slightly over-sized blazer, tucking his tie back in along the seam of his button-down shirt, and mentally cursed out the retail outlet he'd bought it from. A size small, my ass, he thought. As much as he loved his figure (on manageable dysphoric days), it was frustrating to find men's clothes in this hemisphere that fit him. He almost wished he'd taken the internship in Japan, but then he wouldn't have met Vale.
There's a chance he wouldn't have traded for the world, he realized with a smile. Nowhere in the world he'd rather be.
His thoughts were broken by Leo peering behind the curtain of their allotted cubicle and beckoning him. He followed out into the main hall of the expo, where many different booths were set up under various video game publishers, and teams thereof. It was difficult to keep up with Leo's long-legged and coltish gait, but Kip jogged alongside as they rejoined the rest of their team.
"Everything okay?" Kip asked.
"As it'll ever be," Leo muttered, but there was something better about his resolve, Kip thought. He stood taller. Looked sharper. Eyes brighter.
Their boss weaved to the front of the group, and led them out on stage when it was their turn. Guests of the expo milled about in loose groups in the back, but rows of seating before the podium allowed those closer to pay attention to the presenters. As their boss introduced their game, Kip and Leo stood behind her and off to the side, waiting for their parts.
The lights toward the front dimmed as a projector screen unreeled behind them. The cinematic and then gameplay trailer played to a mix of awe and scattered appreciative remarks among the crowd, and Kip couldn't help but beam as their hard work was displayed. Especially when his eyes caught Vale's from the crowd.
The mop of black hair shadowed his smile in the low light, but he gave a small thumbs up. Kip's face hurt from smiling, and it felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest. Just knowing that someone was there for him, watching the culmination of months of isolated work, was enough to make it all worth it in a way he had never experienced.
The Q&A portion of the presentation came up, and Kip had to refocus. Specific questions regarding their departments were fielded their way, with each team member contributing where needed. Leo's voice was strong and sure on his answers, and Kip stepped in where gestured to answer more specifically. An interpreter that had stood off to the side made herself available, stepping into his line of view to Sim-Com the questions coming from the crowd. He answered verbally in English, but he was forever grateful that he had the extra assistance.
Sim-comming was a special mix of verbal and sign language, not quite with the ASL grammar, but something more akin to PSE as her words flowed with her signing. The microphone that the guests stepped up to wasn't in a great place, and even in the best of circumstances, his hearing aids didn't like to play well with other bits of technology. Not including the fact that some guests had accents, or spoke too low.
Before he knew it, it was over, and he realized he had gotten through it, one question at a time. His boss stepped forward again and gave the closing remarks about the launch date and expectations, and the whole team receded back to their booth. Kip turned to give a goodbye wave to Vale, who stood up and flashed a sign at him, with his two middle fingers folded down, and all others extended.
Kip smiled and signed back. "I love you too."
* * *
"Excellent job, everyone," Kip's boss said, a vibrant smile on her face. As she gathered up equipment and paper handouts from their booth, she was nearly bouncing on her feet, a palpable energy exuding from her of which Kip wasn't accustomed. "So, we're all going out to The Pizza Saloon to celebrate." She turned with a ferocity, brandishing a stack of flyers at Kip and Leo as other teammates trailed past, holding up their hands in mock surrender. "You in?"
Kip looked at Leo, who looked suddenly stricken and defeated, all his earlier strength gone. He glanced at Kip and nodded, who shrugged. Pizza sounded great, at least to him, and all he had to do was find Vale first and they could head over there. As they were one of the last presentations, the expo was wrapping up, and the crowd was visibly thinning.
He was vaguely aware of The Pizza Saloon, a high-class pizza joint in their town that tried too hard with the western theme. Oddly enough, they were known for their famously unbeatable pizza, or so Vale assured him on the way over there. Kip wasn't sold, especially when he saw that the joint had a functional mechanical bull, front and center, but he reasoned it was pretty hard to mess up pizza, no matter what you do.
As the team sat down and ordered, Kip introduced Vale to a few of the close by members, who gave him a polite nod. The conversation was quickly overrun with the excitement and congratulatory nature of the expo, with everybody thanking each other for their hard work on their parts. Their boss made a toast as the pizzas arrived, and everyone started reaching for and handing out slices. As the praise for the game rained down, and early reviews from the expo attendees' comments on their gameplay trailer bolstered their spirits, the contagion of enthusiasm and relief spread throughout their group.
Kip and Vale were snug tight in the center of a long booth, sheltered on either side and across from more of their team members, but they still lightly clasped hands underneath the table. A small, simple gesture that didn't need to be hidden, but it was just for them. A small acknowledgment of the support Kip felt from him, and something just for them.
They both were well into their second and third slices when Kip glanced around the table. Most everyone was still reading comments on the expo amongst delighted chatter, but one man was seated at the end of the table, the odd piece jutting out, staring forlornly at a plate of pizza that someone had plopped in front of him.
Kip leaned close to Vale and kissed him on the cheek, then he moved to get up. "Excuse me for a minute, babe? I want to talk to Leo about the game real quick." Vale mumbled back, "Mmhm", as he sopped up the remnants of his ranch dressing with an edge of stuffed crust, clearly not too bothered by his boyfriend's temporary absence. Suppressing a chuckle, Kip shimmied out of the booth and headed down the few table lengths to sit across from Leo.
"Hey, that pizza's not gonna eat itself," he said, as Leo startled. He sat there blinking for a minute, an odd shudder coursed through him. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay," Leo said, looking around at the rest of the team, seeing that they were being utterly ignored. He seemed to relax and leaned back. "And I know. I think it would solve most of my problems if it would." Kip reached across the table tentatively, and gave Leo's thin arm a gentle squeeze before withdrawing. His eyebrows knit together, his casual greeting replaced with real concern.
"I'm not sure what you're going through right now, but I hope you're not going through it alone. You know tonight is a celebration, right? We've earned this. This little piece of greasy happiness. And tomorrow can go back to whatever boring routine we're used to. What happens tonight can't touch us tomorrow, so it's okay to indulge and enjoy without any guilt."
"Famous last words," Leo muttered, almost imperceptibly, but then he straightened up and faced Kip, enunciating better. "Thank you. I know you don't have a reason to be nice to me, but I really appreciate your words. I know it might not seem like it right now, but your words matter. They will matter later," he added, looking down at his full, tantalizing plate, "even if I can't feel like it right now."
"You're human," Kip answered, "a human who's suffering." His gaze followed Leo's own down to his plate. "Suffering in a way that I can't understand, but I'll give you space to do so. If you need to talk about anything, I'll try my best to help, but I'm not licensed for anything." He tried to give him a small smile, but Leo remained looking at his food, now picking at the burnt pieces on the crust.
After a few moments of solid silence, he tried again, "Is this about finding someone to date? Have you had any luck?"
"No," Leo said, "Well, yeah. I think. Maybe." While he struggled for the words, Kip saw the first real, genuine smile spread across his face. It really did help light up his features. "I've been talking to someone. He says he grew up here, and he's recently back in town after having spent some years away. We'll be meeting soon."
