Chapter Text
There's no real way for Harry to hear Gideon's copper dog tag clank against his collar while they walk. He can see it though. The dog tag itself is similar in shape and size to a second quarter as it dangles from the brown leather looped around his neck. Gideon's yellow fur still manages to poke out around the collar, and Harry notices small clumps on the back of the dog's ears as he sniffs at a patch of grass.
Harry shrugs the backpack off of his right shoulder and lets it fall to the ground between his feet as he sits down on the park bench. The three wooden planks dip with the sudden weight. He bends over and unclips the black plastic buckles that hold on a vest around Gideon's torso. The vest is mainly a bright red with black sewn around the seams, and there's a clear pocket on each side to help hold paperwork that proves he's a certified service dog.
As Harry leans away and folds the dog vest in half, before he sets it off to the side, he looks around at his surroundings. The park itself is too large for him to see everything, but from where he's sitting he can see a handful. There's a playground for younger children off to his right and beyond that is a long building that's supposed to be a cafe. Then, maybe a hundred feet in front of him, is a gravel path that loops around a lake. The lake itself is at the center of the park and everything else branches out from there.
Harry's noticed that Sunday morning tends to be the least busy during the weekends. He assumes it's due to early church services, or people jumping at the opportunity to sleep in before they go back to work. Either way, with the exception of a few people, he's left with the entire park.
He likes it that way.
It's not that Harry doesn't like being around other people, because he does, it's more or less the issues that arise when they're around (especially when you're with a service dog). No one ever seems to acknowledge the words sewn into the vest that reads: HEARING DOG. DO NOT PET. Even when someone does read it, they tend to ignore it as they'll immediately try to talk to Harry or start petting Gideon.
Like Harry's mother used to say, "I never understood just how stupid the human race could be, until I gave birth to a deaf child."
So he makes it a routine to come to the park when it's the least busy.
Harry unzips his backpack and pulls it open before he takes out a red rubber ball. The corners of his lips twitch upwards into a slight smirk as Gideon's tail wags side to side, his brown eyes look up to Harry's green ones in a pleading manner. He looks at the ball that fits easily into his palm then draws his arm back and throws it. A grin overtakes his face as the yellow lab bounds after it.
Gideon comes bouncing back with the rubber ball and drops it into Harry's large hand. He wraps the ball in his fist as he draws his arm back again, and does a quick glance around to see if anyone is nearby. Nope. He throws it twice as far as the first time.
As ridiculous as it is, Harry can already feel sweat start to collect along his widow's peak. April is about to grow into May in another week but the weather already feels like the middle of summer. Which is weird considering that England doesn't deal with anything extreme, whether it's seasons of the year or politics. If anything, Harry is supposed to be using the old umbrella that's shoved into his backpack.
Then again, sweat and rain are both equally bad for Harry's hearing aid. His hearing aid is one that connects to the side of his head behind his right ear as it's a cochlear implant. He had the surgery when he was only three-years-old and was forced to wear it every day as he grew up, but now that's he's twenty-two and lives on his own he can wear it whenever he likes. Which is almost never.
Harry only wears his hearing aid for certain occasions such as meeting with a client or visiting his friends. Otherwise, he doesn't like to wear them since they're uncomfortable, which he doesn't think that hearing people understand. To them, a hearing aid or cochlear implant is a cure for people with hearing loss and they should be jumping at the opportunity. In reality, they're uncomfortable to wear after a period of time and it's loud. Hearing aids don't have the luxury of zooming in on sounds in particular. Instead, they amplify everything from the person talking in front of you to the fan that's rotating in the back of the room.
Gideon nudges his nose against Harry's leg, bringing him away from his thoughts. He picks up the ball that's been left at his feet and looks over towards the round lake. The water is by no means a clear blue color like the ones at the Bahamas and probably has rubbish along the floor of it, but Harry still wishes for a brief moment that he could jump in. It's April, he shouldn't have to ask himself if he brought along any deodorant.
After Harry sets the ball down by Gideon's vest, he starts to search through his backpack. From the corner of his eyes, he can see the dog panting with his tongue hanging out. Harry connects the tips of his thumb and index finger as the other three fingers stand up, and moves his hand in a circular motion by his mouth. Water?
Gideon jumps up from his sitting position on the grass and barks.
Harry smiles to himself as he shakes his head. He pulls out an unopened water bottle and a stainless steel dog bowl before he places the latter down by his feet. Harry unscrews the cap and pours two-thirds of the water into the bowl for him, Gideon already starting to lap at the water as it flows out from the bottle.
From what Harry can see, as he searches through his backpack again, he didn't bring any deodorant with him. He knew he didn't, but he could hope. There aren't too many items in his bag as he only brought what he considered to be the essentials: water, dog bowl, dog treats, washcloth, hoodie, an umbrella, and a twenty-pound note in case of emergencies. All he's done since he got here is sit on a bench and throw a ball, how is the heat getting to him so quickly?
Harry brings the water bottle to his lips and drinks what's left. He crumples the empty bottle in his fist then swings his leg over Gideon as he continues to drink from his bowl, and walks the small distance to the litter bin. The bottle bounces off the rim and lands on the grass. Harry's shoulders drop as he lets out an exasperated sigh, then he bends over and snatches it off the ground before he drops it into the bin properly.
There's still half an inch of water left in the bowl when Harry sits back down on the bench. He grabs the rubber ball he had placed off to the side and wipes the dog slobber off onto the grass. Lucky for him, it's not dripping with the gross substance like it usually is. Gideon has the horrible habit of leaving a trail of it and that's why he always carries around a washcloth now.
Once the ball is successfully freed from dog slobber, Harry rolls it around in his palm. He screws his lips to the side in thought as he stares at it. Then, he throws the ball up into the air and attempts to catch it with one hand, only for the ball to miss his hand completely and bounce off of his forehead.
Gideon takes off after it.
Harry furrows his eyebrows and tries to look up at the forming read mark on his forehead. Unfortunately, he can't blame his clumsiness on his deafness.
When Harry stops pouting at the mark he can't even see, he looks in the direction the ball bounced off to. It managed to roll right to the edge of the playground, where the grass meets pavement, and get picked up by a little girl who doesn't look like she could be any older than five. She has the ball cupped in both of her small hands as she inspects it for a minute. Then, her doe-eyed gaze moves away only to lock on his own stare.
The little girl looks down at the ball in her hands, then to Gideon who's tail wags back and forth as he sits in front of her, and back to him. Harry can practically see the puzzle pieces sliding into place inside of her head as she puts it together: the ball belongs to him. Her lips are in a straight line as she nods her head once, determined, and pulls her arm back far enough that her whole body weight balances onto her back foot, then throws it towards him.
It lands three feet away from her.
Three feet or not, Gideon plucks it up from the ground and walks it back over to the little girl. Her eyes widen enough that Harry can see the blue color that surrounds her pupil from where he's sitting. It's a huge contrast to her fiery curls. A smile grows across her face as she hugs the ball to her chest and looks back over to him. It's like she's sharing her amazement at the fact his dog knows how to play fetch.
The little girl holds the ball out to him as she leaves the pavement and runs over to Harry's side. It gives him a minute to focus on her entire appearance. She's dressed how anyone should be during the spring months as she's wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Her shirt isn't one Harry has ever seen before as it's light grey with different colored pom poms attached to it. He can't help but wonder if she's suffering from the heat too.
She drops the ball into Harry's palm and he can't help but grin. He outstretches his free hand so it's flat and presses the fingertips of his middle three fingers to his chin, then pulls his hand away downwards. Thank you.
Harry curls his fingers around the ball and flings it far enough for Gideon to run after. The dog retrieves it before he trots back over to him, his tail swaying in sync with his steps. It's once the ball is dropped into his palm again that Harry notices that the little girl hasn't left his side and it doesn't look like she's about to. Instead, she has her hands folded in front of her as she watches him.
Harry hunches forward and rests his elbows on his knees as he holds the ball out to her. As if she was waiting for her turn, the little girl grabs the ball and throws it in the same direction he had. It goes further than it did the last time she threw it. Gideon walks the few steps it takes him to grab the ball before he drops it at the feet of the little girl's pink boots.
The little girl crouches down to pick up the ball, her bum almost touching the grass, and stands back up with a smirk on her face. She waves the red ball around and Gideon's head follows it. Then, she swings her arm forward but keeps the ball in her grasp. Gideon stops after taking two steps in the direction the ball would've gone and tilts his head to the side when he looks up at the little girl.
From the way she's covering her mouth with both of her hands and her shoulders are shaking, it's obvious she's laughing.
He can't help but join in as his head drops and air escapes his nose in his own laughter.
Harry has always had a soft spot for children, even though he used to be tormented by them when he was younger, as there's such an innocence tied to them. When you take away what a parent teaches them, you learn how accepting they are of other people. Children never care about the color of your skin or why you can't hear. Instead, they want to know if you can still play with them. Sometimes he still finds himself wishing that adults were the same way.
Just when Harry doesn't think he can smile any wider, the little girl drops to her knees and throws her arms around Gideon's neck. It's clear how in love she is. Gideon starts to lick at her face as his tail thumps against the ground, and Harry's glad that he's responding so well to her. It's not that he wouldn't, but the dog doesn't spend a lot of time around children so there's always that small fragment of concern in the back of his mind.
Both Gideon and the little girl's head snap up in the direction of the playground, and Harry furrows his eyebrows before he looks over at whatever called their attention. There's a young man wearing a black hoodie and skinny jeans walking towards them, and he has a little boy holding onto his hand as he tries to keep up with the longer strides. The little boy looks to be around the same age as the girl but instead, he has blonde hair that curls inwards at the bottom. He's wearing the same boots as the little girl but in a grey color and it causes him to wonder if they're twins. They look like they could be.
The man's thin lips are moving and Harry can tell that he has a thick accent even if he can't hear it. His lips are almost pursed while he speaks. Along the man's sharp jaw is brown scruff that trails over his upper lip as well but it looks like it's growing out to become a proper beard. If it's by intention or laziness, Harry doesn't know. He likes it though. Then again, he's always been a bit too intrigued by facial hair since he can't grow any himself.
The little boy, who Harry notices is only about an inch taller than the girl now that they're standing side by side, is hesitant as he lets the girl guide his hand to the dog's nose. Gideon's nostrils contract as his sniffs at the pale hand. The little girl wraps her arms back around the dog's neck and rests her head on top of his, a grin plastered on her face as she shows off her new friend. The boy doesn't appear to be entirely convinced but he smiles when Gideon licks his hand.
Harry pulls his gaze away from the two children and looks up at the man who motions to the empty spot beside him. He grabs the items he had placed off to his side and slides closer to the arm of the bench, nodding. The man gives him a smile and sits down on the bench. Underneath them, the wooden planks shift and bend more with the added weight.
Now sitting to Harry's left, the man is looking at him as he speaks. His eyes are a similar shade of blue to the two children, but they come across softer as he smiles while talking. It makes his heart stutter for a beat. Then it dawns on him that the man is talking to him and he needs to say something back.
He picks up the service dog vest from his lap and unfolds it before pointing to the words sewn into the fabric.
The man's eyes scan left to right over the words and then he pauses. His lips are parted just enough for Harry to see from up close, and he can't predict what his next move will be. One time, a young lady had covered her children's ears and shouted that his deafness was the work of the devil. He probably would have cried, given how sensitive he can be if he hadn't been so dumbfounded. Most of the time he gets sympathetic smiles before they walk away.
Harry watches as the man gives a slow nod before he glares up at the sky in thought. Then, the man uses his index finger to point to the palm of his other hand. L. He points to the fingertip of his ring finger. O. Then to his pinky. U. To the tip of his middle finger. I. Then lastly, he lies his left palm out and hooks his pinkies together. S.
Louis.
Harry can't fight the huge grin that grows over his face.
He slides his right hand outwards over his left palm. H. Then points to his left thumb. A. He curls his right index finger against his left palm twice. R. R. Lastly, he points to the stretched skin between his thumb and index finger on his left hand. Y.
Harry ends up repeating himself two more times before Louis is able to sign it back and mouth his name correctly (he thinks). Fingerspelling isn't used often in sign language as it's only really used for names of people and places. Otherwise, there are actual signs for everything else. From the slow pace of Louis' signing, it's obvious to him that fingerspelling is the extent of his sign language knowledge.
There's a small hand that tugs on Harry's shorts and he looks over to see the little girl. The little boy is standing behind her as he looks over her shoulder at him, wide-eyed. She's pointing at the ball in his lap that he managed to grab when Louis had walked over to them. Harry nods his head and offers it to her, the ball cupped in his palm, and she takes it before holding it out for the boy to see. Then, she attempts to throw it in the direction of the playground but instead, it bounces off her head.
It's nice to know that he has the same coordination as a possible five-year-old.
Harry can see Louis' head tossed back as he laughs, his nose is all scrunched up and the corners of his eyes are crinkled. He brings his hand up to cover his mouth as he bites back a smile. He can't help it, Louis is as bright as the sun when he laughs.
Harry turns his attention away from the man sitting next to him and looks back over at Gideon. He's in the midst of jumping from side to side as he awaits the little boy to throw the ball. It manages to actually travel forward instead of falling by the boy's own feet or bounce off of his head like the girl.
Both Louis and Harry jump when strong vibration courses through the wooden planks supporting them. Harry is quick to fish his phone out of his back pocket and shut it off. It reads 12:00 p.m. and is labeled as grocery shopping beneath it. He turns the screen towards Louis and points to the alarm in an attempt to explain the cause for the vibration they both felt.
Every week, Sunday is a busy day for Harry as that's when he plans out his important tasks. He'll wake up at sunrise and walk Gideon around the block before he returns to his apartment for breakfast. After that, he'll get ready for the day by brushing his teeth and showering like everyone else. Then he takes Gideon for a ten-minute walk to the park and let him run around freely to burn off most of his energy. Harry then takes Gideon to the grocery store to buy what he needs for meals that week and then they go home so his dog can sleep while he does a deep clean of the apartment.
Harry tugs his backpack onto his lap and unzips it before he bends down and grabs the dog bowl that's by his foot, and spills out the remaining water onto the grass. Aside from the ball, there's nothing else that needs to be packed up. He pats his thigh and Gideon rolls off of his back and onto his paws, then trots over to him. The little boy and girl form pouts so Harry tries his best to look apologetic. He picks the service vest up off of his lap and fastens it around the dog before ruffling his fur.
Louis appears to shout something and the little girl and boy come running over to them. It's the little boy who leans forward onto his toes and hands the ball back to Harry. He signs thank you and tucks the ball away into his bag before he zips it shut. He leans forward and clips the leash onto Gideon before he stands up and swings the backpack over his shoulders.
Before Harry can start walking away, the little girl throws herself onto Gideon as she wraps her arms around him in a hug. He can't help but tighten his lips into a thin line as he scrunches his nose by instinct.
There's a rule that you're never allowed to distract a service dog while they're working, and that includes the simple act of petting them. Harry has had people try to call Gideon over to them or try to feed him something they have on them. It's not exactly allowed and he wishes it were common knowledge, but it's not.
He doesn't blame the kids though. It's instinct for him to cringe, but he can accept the confusion since they were able to cuddle up to the dog not even five minutes ago.
Harry points a thumb over his shoulder as he looks over at Louis, who's already looking at him. A small blush seems to creep onto Louis' cheeks as they turn pink. He doesn't try to comment on it though and waves goodbye to all three of them, then starts to walk off in the direction of the entrance into the park.