#so for instance he is 100% fluent in ASL

[orionsangel86]

Hi! How are you? I hope everything's going well for you 😊 I do have a burning question though - do you think Castiel can ride a bike? Like, yeah, he can drive a car, but - can he bicycle tour as well?

Hiii! I’m not bad thanks! Had a stressful week but just happy its the weekend! Hope everything is going well for you too!

LMAO I love the image of Castiel, Angel of the Lord, brow furrowed, determined scowl on his face, trenchcoat flapping in the wind, sex hair all over the place, peddling frantically on a bike for some unfathomable reason.

Or heck, maybe he was trying to do dad things with Jack and Jack wanted to learn to ride a bike, so Cas being a hands on parent decided he had to learn as well!

Cas taught himself to drive, so I think Cas could teach himself to ride a bike just as well. He is a very talented and wonderful angel/person.

<3

[betweenpaperpages]

Hear Me Still - Chapter Four

A new store-front is set to open on main street in Storybrooke and with it brings new resident Mr. Gold to the center of attention. While he looks forward to this new step in business, it is yet unknown if his deafness will set him back once again.

Beta: @ishtarelisheba

Read on AO3!

[Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Three]

Chapter Four: Home To Us

A week had passed since the antique shop opened, and while online sales were the same as always, Marcus had been pleasantly surprised at the attention it received. Since the town was so small he originally thought that first day or two would be busy but it seemed to hold their interest longer than a passing fancy. Though that could change at any time.

Jefferson and Grace had come back the next day to also help out, although, come Monday Grace had school and Jefferson had a deadline to meet with his next design project.

Marcus was on his own.

There were one or two instances that stood out to him. The first was with a older man named Marco. He was very pleasant company, clearly a staple member of the community as he owned one of the few restaurants around town. Marcus had to keep his eyes on the man’s lips the entire conversation. His speaking speed was good, but his faded Italian accent tripped him up from time to time, having to piece together what words he missed to gain the context of what was being said.

The second instance had been when Doctor Archie Hopper visited later in the week. Doctor Hopper was very polite as he browsed the shop, spending most of his focus on the selection of books. He chose three of them, however, when it had come time to pay, Marcus found the Doctor exceedingly soft spoken. Even with his hearing aids set at their highest sensitivity, it was still a whisper to him.

With the week now over, Marcus was glad to enjoy a Sunday off with his family to simply relax and enjoy themselves. The two of them had been intent in taking him around Storybrooke to better introduce him to the town he now called home.

xxxxx

Grace giggled, squirming on her dad’s back as she tried to escape her uncle’s tickling fingers on the back of her knees. “No!” she protested, releasing another giggle as Jeff hoisted her higher and more securely on his back.

“Not fair unless I can enact my revenge!”

“Is that so?” Marcus questioned, his eyebrow raised in doubt.

Jefferson nodded in agreement. “I’m afraid she is right.”

“No, no, I’m afraid she’s not,” he pointed out. “I recall in section a, paragraph twelve that there is a clear clause that states an exceptions for uncles. As seeing that I am your only uncle, I claim and reserve my right to that exception.”

“No fair!” “Yes fair,” Marcus replied, grinning at his adoptive niece.

Jefferson released his daughter, letting her slide off his back to land on her feet. “Now children,” he scolded in amusement, his smirk expression fondness.

“She started it.” “Did not!” Grace crossed her arms over her chest in a mock-pout, but there was clearly no animosity behind it.  

Marcus smiled brightly, wondering for a moment if this is the life he would have had, had he not chosen the path he did. A wife, a child of their own, living in some quiet town to make sure their little one had the best chance in life…

It was a pretty dream and one he could have had achieved if his life wasn’t such a mess, but he had chosen what was right for him at the time. If he hadn’t, there was no telling where he would have ended up, however; he was pretty sure he was where he was meant to be.

The three of them took a sharp turn as they headed into the town’s bed and breakfast known as “Granny’s” for lunch, Marcus surprised that not only was Granny a real person, yet that she insisted that everyone call such.

They sat at a table at the front of the diner, Marcus’ eyes focused out the bay window it faced to take in the pedestrians walking past. The idea of living in a town where everyone knew everyone was a new concept to him compared to where he had lived previously in Boston. There you were lucky if you knew your next door neighbor or the local barista at the coffee shop, where he lived before that was quite the same, such was big city life.

Soon enough a plump older woman greeted them with a notepad in hand, her glasses sitting low on the bridge of her nose as she studied them.

“What can I get for you today?”

“Ooh! Granny, can I have cola and a grilled cheese please?” Grace asked, leaning her head backwards over the chair to look at her.

“Of course,” she answered, poking Grace’s nose before the girl sat up properly. “Jeff?” she asked, taking on his order as well. “And yourself?”

Marcus’ eyes were focused on the menu in front of him, scanning over each item with consideration, startling when a hand grabbed his elbow. He jerked back in surprise only to catch that it was Jefferson touching him.

“Did you decide?” Jeff questioned gently, releasing his hold.

“Um…just... the same as yours.”

Granny nodded decisively. “Two ice teas, one cola, two burgers and one grilled cheese.” She wrote a strike on the pad before heading off to the kitchens.

“You alright?” Jefferson questioned.

Marcus nodded, more so to reassure Jefferson than himself. It was just yet another slip up of his condition; it wasn’t the first time it had happened and certainly not the last.

The food was actually quite good. Grace only stole two of his pickle spears when she thought he was distracted, claiming innocent when he attempted to find them. The mock-investigation had sent both her and Jefferson into a fit of laughter.

As their meal came to an end he found himself losing more and more words. He thought he simply didn’t catch what Granny had said when she came for the dishes and left the bill, as she was turned away from him. However, when Jefferson started to speak it was harder to understand him. Marcus caught the general idea of what he was saying, though his eyes focused more and more on reading his lips. Static built up in both of his ears before nearly everything around him silent.

“Uncle Gold?” Grace questioned, pulling on his sleeve when he didn’t offer her eye contact.

His attention snapped to her. Grace gestured to her Father, spotting a confused looking Jefferson.

He pointed to Marcus before his own ear, placing his hands in front of himself, his right hand palm up while the left was palm down, rotating them so they flipped their positions before pointing back to Marcus.

Marcus nodded, slumping back in the booth with a heavy sigh. He didn’t have any spare batteries with him or at the shop, so he would have to wait until they got home to address it.

“Papa, can we go get ice cream?” Grace asked, hopeful eyes turning on Jefferson.

He chuckled, reaching over to ruffle his daughter’s hair. “Only if I can have a double scoop pistachio, and a bite of yours.”

Jefferson looked back to a subdued looking Marcus, quickly signing to ask about ice cream before heading to the park. While he knew he wasn’t fluent, he could still hold his own in a conversation, even when he had to finger spell longer words he didn't have a sign for. Even so the idea of ice cream didn’t seem to grab his friend’s interest, merely getting a nod in response.  

“Looks like its a go!” he announced.

Grace smiled as the three of them headed out of the diner, off to Any Given Sundae, stopping to walk backwards in front of her two guardians. She was still learning sign language from Marcus, having short lessons each week, but she was getting along quite well.

With a small girl walking backwards and attempting to sign at the same time it was easy for the three of them to gain others attention. Marcus felt his cheeks flush as a group of three young women walked past with their eyes on them. Catching a glance across the street only gave way to more audience.

Typically he was more than happy to help Grace or correct her when she struggled, but with what felt like too many eyes on them, he wasn’t interested in becoming a show. He only stopped for a moment to kneel down to allow his niece to climb onto his back to make the rest of the trip as quickly and as unnoticed as possible.

Chapter Notes:

Jefferson’s first sign asks if Marcus’ hearing aid batteries are dead.

The gesturing to the ear denotes the subject matter (the hearing aids), the hands rolling for the sign “dead” (think of ‘rolling over in one’s grave’), and pointing back to Marcus establishes the noun.

In ASL, nouns are often stated twice, especially when asking a question. If you do not interpret this into English, the ASL breaks down to: “Your hearing aid dead you?”

Author Note:

I personally find that ASL grammar is similar to Yoda’s speech pattern. Straightforward, easy to identify nouns and subjects, and without a great deal of filler words. (100% my opinion, not meant to be demeaning to those who use ASL or the deaf community.))