[ Rook is in that awkward middling phase of being new in a small town. He knows most everyone, now, but he's still 'the new guy'. And despite being the only person that's moved in to Fall's End in the last six months, the cheerful greeting remains, "Heyyy, it's the new guy!" One would expect it to not be that difficult to learn his name (neither David nor Rook are complicated, he thinks), but there's also a sort of charm that the junior deputy has come to associate with the greeting. Folks in Hope County are friendly, for the most part. More than a few locals are a little cracked (some are a lot cracked), but for a brown gay man in a rural, largely conservative area, Rook is doing pretty well.
The Spread Eagle is busy tonight, like most nights, Johnny Cash filtering through the background of chatter about the day's work, or next month's harvest, or that weird little cult that's set up smack in the middle of the county. (They were odd folk, most thought, but the Seeds that were in charge were politely sociable and otherwise politely kept to themselves, even if the mac'n'cheese they brought to the Rye's potluck left something to be desired.)
The young man that settles into an empty spot at the bar gets David's attention for two reasons: one, Rook has never seen him before. He doesn't know everyone in the county, of course, but he's met quite a lot, and certainly all of the Eagle's regular patrons. The second, is that this stranger is decidedly handsome. He watches the gesture that he makes towards Mary May. It takes him just a moment to recall why it's familiar - thank you, in sign language. Mary May certainly isn't deaf, so that leaves him with the assumption that this newcomer is.
— A newcomer that has just caught him staring.
Rook grins in response, a little sheepish but not terribly apologetic, and he raises his beer in response. A moment later, he gets the attention of his coworker - another officer with shaggy hair and a bit of stubble by patting him on the arm, and points towards the bar. The man gives him a glance and an absent 'uh-huh', before returning to his conversation.
David seats himself next to the stranger, and waits for the other to turn to him. He greets him not with words, but with a gesture - hand upright to his temple, fingers together and thumb folded into his palm, and a short wave outward. It's almost like a strange salute, to someone that doesn't recognize sign, but it's how Rook learned to say 'hello' in ASL. It's a little stilted, similar to the way that someone hearing would speak a language they'd only learned in school and not through the culture itself. ]
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The Spread Eagle is busy tonight, like most nights, Johnny Cash filtering through the background of chatter about the day's work, or next month's harvest, or that weird little cult that's set up smack in the middle of the county. (They were odd folk, most thought, but the Seeds that were in charge were politely sociable and otherwise politely kept to themselves, even if the mac'n'cheese they brought to the Rye's potluck left something to be desired.)
The young man that settles into an empty spot at the bar gets David's attention for two reasons: one, Rook has never seen him before. He doesn't know everyone in the county, of course, but he's met quite a lot, and certainly all of the Eagle's regular patrons. The second, is that this stranger is decidedly handsome. He watches the gesture that he makes towards Mary May. It takes him just a moment to recall why it's familiar - thank you, in sign language. Mary May certainly isn't deaf, so that leaves him with the assumption that this newcomer is.
— A newcomer that has just caught him staring.
Rook grins in response, a little sheepish but not terribly apologetic, and he raises his beer in response. A moment later, he gets the attention of his coworker - another officer with shaggy hair and a bit of stubble by patting him on the arm, and points towards the bar. The man gives him a glance and an absent 'uh-huh', before returning to his conversation.
David seats himself next to the stranger, and waits for the other to turn to him. He greets him not with words, but with a gesture - hand upright to his temple, fingers together and thumb folded into his palm, and a short wave outward. It's almost like a strange salute, to someone that doesn't recognize sign, but it's how Rook learned to say 'hello' in ASL. It's a little stilted, similar to the way that someone hearing would speak a language they'd only learned in school and not through the culture itself. ]