Deaf!PrussiaxReader: Love is Unheard

With a heavy sigh, you smiled sadly at the young man sitting in front of you. His crimson orbs showed defeat in the worst way.
Your heart constricted painfully as you reached out to touch his cold hand. He returned the gentle squeeze, and you felt tears well up in the corners of your eyes. It just wasn't fair.
Why did he have to become deaf?
He was both your best friend and the one you loved.
Your mind returned to that time in the hospital...

Your side burned as you raced through the long winding hallways, hair flying out from behind you.
Ignoring the searing pain, your long legs only pumped faster and faster against the hard white linoleum tiles.
You had to see him. After what seemed like ages of sprinting, the door to his room came into view. You threw it aside easily.

Gilbert sat in the ghastly white sheets of the bed, his skin matching in color.
Blood-soaked bandages were wrapped around nearly every inch of him that you could see, save for his facial features.  

"Gilbert!" a strangled shriek left you, as you raced over to him.

He raised his empty red spheres to meet yours, and opened his mouth. "I'm s-sorry... I can... no longer... hear... you."

The words were just barely recognizable; they were slow, unsteady, and very slurred.

A sob escaped your lips as you hugged him tightly, but trying very hard not to hurt him.
Feeling the warm tears sliding freely down your face, you silently vowed to become Gilbert's ears.

Shaking your head roughly to clear the memories, you grabbed a sharpened pencil and notepad. "Do you want to learn sign language?" you scribbled down, showing the writing to him.

He nodded his head without a word, and you bit your lip nervously. Truth be told, you had never even seen anyone use the specific hand gestures before.  
Luckily, it really didn't take long to sign up for a class online. You and Gilbert sat down in front of the computer, determined to start as soon as possible.

When the video started, a cheery brown-haired woman walked in front of the camera and began writing down instructions for different hand signs on a large black chalkboard. You were grateful that both you and Gilbert were fast learners, because sign language was turning out to be much more difficult than you'd originally presumed. With an impatient sigh, you knew that it would take a very long time to master the correct gestures, despite your learning speed.

Gilbert picked up the notebook and pencil, jotting something down. "Don't worry; there's no need to rush," he wrote.
With a simple nod in response, you decided that the two of you had learned enough for one day and closed the computer.

Moving your lips slowly and clearly, you mouthed, 'Can you understand this?'

He nodded with a wry smile.

Relieved, you moved your mouth carefully. "Want to go get ice cream? My apartment is very close to the parlor."

He nodded again, and quietly followed you out of the building, onto the side of a busy street.
You began to cross the road, sparing only a second to glance both ways. When you were about halfway there, a sudden impact slammed into you, sending you tumbling to the other side.

A shiny red sports car whizzed past, only mere inches from the spot you'd been in a few seconds ago.

There was something extremely heavy weighing down on top of you. When you looked up, the concerned crimson spheres of Gilbert gazed into your shocked ones.
With a start, you noticed that your fingers were tightly curled around his shirt.
Realizing that the two of you were in a very suggestive position, a warm blush made its way across your cheeks.

Soundlessly, you made the hand gesture for "Thank you", something you'd learned earlier.

He smiled weakly, and sighed with relief. "I was so scared that I was going to lose you..." he mouthed, pulling you into a tight embrace.

Your reddened cheeks only grew darker at the sudden gesture of affection.

Taking out a tiny notepad and pencil, Gilbert furiously scribbled something down at an incredible speed.
When he finally showed it to you, it read, "I don't know what I would have done if you had gotten run over. That dumbass of a driver deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his goddamn life!"

You cracked a tiny grin at his anger.
"It's alright; I'm safe, thanks to you," you replied soundlessly.

He only held you closer, and you breathed in his fresh, clean scent. The one you'd grown to love in all the years you'd known him.

Without any warning, he pressed his soft, warm lips to yours; making you go rigid with surprise, heart beating a mile-a-minute.

Your mind raced, thoughts of Gilbert whirling around in your head.
Unsure of how to react, you only gawked at him, red-faced, as he pulled away with embarrassment. "I...I've liked you for a really long time now...." he wrote slowly, staring down at the ground. He was gripping the notepad tensely; his knuckles were turning a ghostly white color.

The only thing that you happened to be capable of at that very moment was gaping, open-mouthed. It was like a dream come true – your crush returned your feelings.

Finally gathering the courage to look at you once more, Gilbert's face appeared crestfallen at the sight of your reaction.
"I can understand if you don't feel the same way..."

"No! That's not it! I... I just wasn't expecting it because, well, I've liked you for a very long time as well," you scrawled down, fighting the inevitable blush.

The next day, you remembered that Gilbert had a doctor's appointment. Much to your chagrin, the waiting room was jam-packed full of sickly people. You tried to take shallow breaths and tentatively walked to the corner of the room, where there were less people.  

Luckily, he was one of the first ones called. Since he, himself did not realize it was his turn, you had to nudge him forward.
As he was about to leave, you put a steady hand on his broad shoulder. When Gilbert turned around, you mouthed, "I love you" with a small smile.

"I love you too," he responded, trailing after the nurse, and into the doctor's office.