Chapter Text
Bingo caught wind of an open world multi-player adventure game overseas. At first she ignores it until the game gains traction in Australia and when its popularity soared to mainstream, her interest piqued. She decides to partake- nothing serious just for fun- once her profile and avatar are up and running she messages the captain of the team in her local area, she wanted to join.
What she didn't anticipate was having so much in common with him.
She learned early on he was deaf. In addition to the same taste of games he also enjoyed the same comics, similar music- he couldn't understand it but his hearing-aids help him feel the beats- and they were both avid admirers of a televised dystopian series. loosely based off a book they both owned.
They started off as kindred mutuals talking irregularly at the start before shifting to chatting regularly outside the game forums, he was always eager to hear about her day and she his. For the first month and a half they only went by their gamer tags.
Overtime it started to feel like more than just having a conversation with a guy. When they finally exchanged personal information like their phone numbers, she learned his name was Douglas.
They never spoke on the phone but fortunately, they lived in an age of technology and text communication. He can type faster than anyone she knew and veiled by the invisible shield that was the world wide web. No one learned about his disability unless he chose to tell them, it was easier that way. Though, sometimes, he did want to 'talk' in person and that's why she was here now.
At a Café closest to her neighborhood. Sipping strawberry Frappuccino while scrolling through deaf etiquette tabs on her phone; waiting.
When he first suggested meeting up, Bingo was a tad hesitant.
They didn't live that far from each other, they enjoyed conversing and each others company despite never being in a room together. Why not meet up? Sure, there was the small self preservation fear of what if he's not who he says he is? Among the usual when meeting someone online. It took a little back and forth but in the end Bingo chose to step out her comfort zone. Deciding to take the chance or continue wondering.
She wanted to meet him.
As she ponders the many scenarios of how this meeting would go, a young fluffy male Cavapoo wanders in the Café, scanning the large seating area for any red heelers before his eyes land on a remarkably cute one. Not a moment later Bingo notices him. Their identifiers were the type of breeds they were and she rarely saw other Cavapoo's so it had to be him when he approached her with purpose.
Instantly she perked up, moving to a stand, and waving him over with an inviting smile, chest fluttering. She notice he wore a spearmint sweatshirt with a coral dress shirt beneath. If he was dressed to impress he certainly succeeded. Wait. Were they suppose to dress up for this meet-up? Suddenly she felt a tad underdressed in her casual burgundy hoodie, now painfully aware of a faint pizza grease stain on her left sleeve. Nonetheless Bingo offers her hand once Douglas stands before her, briefly she takes a moment to admire the poof of wavy bangs falling over his eyes.
Douglas ignored her hand and pulled her in for a friendly hug, the racing beat of her heart accelerated as her face burned. She never felt this when her female friends hugged her or the occasional guy friend but with Douglas-she felt a sense of peace and comfort, his coiled fur was incredibly soft, and she tried not to make it obvious how much she enjoyed his scent. She wish she could bottle it.
He pulled back, his smile radiant and lighting up his entire face with warmth and joy. She ignored the urge to push back his bangs to get a better look at those eyes. They stood at about the same height, him a little taller. When they finally step apart, Bingo finds her voice.
"Thank god, he's cute." She jokes as an ice breaker. His looks were just a bonus, it was his personality and who he was as a dog that pulled her in.
Douglas was in the process of taking his seat when he froze at her words. His eyes never left her face. Bingo feels her cheeks heat up slightly in embarrassment, he didn't hear that did he? No of course not but why did it feel like he understood what she said..?
Douglas slowly smiles at her before proceeding to twirl his hands in a series of finger gestures as he seats himself.
Bingo blinked dumbly, sliding down her seat. "Sorry I didn't quite catch that.."
Smiling in understanding he takes his phone out, points at it, then quickly shoots her a text. Her phone vibrates in her pocket. /Ping!/
[[ I'm glad you think so ]]
Bingos eyes widen, "Oh. So you did understand what I said?" Smiles nervously.
/ping!/ [[ I'm quite good at reading lips. If it's not too burdensome, could you pronunciate your words? That would be a big help to me. ]]
She nods in acknowledgement.
/ping!/ [[ Now that, that's established. OMG! It's so great to finally meet you! Your even cuter than I'd thought you'd be! ]]
"Well I'm glad you think so Douglas, a few of my guy friends tend to forget I'm a girl unless I remind them."
/Ping!/ [[ Dougie ]]
"Oh?"
/Ping!/ [[ Douglas feels a little formal. You can call me Dougie now if you want, and whys that? ]]
She shrugs her shoulders. "Well, Dougie, I guess its because I'm a tomboy. An effeminate one at that, but still, just one of the boys when I'm not with my girl friends."
/Ping!/ [[ What if I told you I had a thing for tomboy's? ]] The Cavapoo cracks a smile.
Bingo titters, "Your joshing!"
/Ping!/ [[ No really I do. I mean, not to say I have a specific type, I like variety and can appreciate different types of girls ]]
"So, you must talk to a lot of girls then." Bingo smiles, teasing while subtly scoping his availability.
Dougie gives her a lopsided grin, head tilting to the side as his gaze flickers from her to his screen.
/Ping!/ [[ Nah, my romance life is about as dry as the Munga-Thirri Desert. My non-deaf dates didn't get my humor and having a mechanical translator spit back what I written is a REAL mood killer ]]
Bingo laughs harder then she probably should, turning a head or two from the other booths. She didn't care. Dougie visibly perks up at the visual of her laughing. He smiled so bright it reminded her of dawn breaking over the ocean. His eyes- what she could see- a deep luminous brown, radiating friendliness. Reaching across the table he took her slightly smaller hand into his, smiling encouragingly as his free hand shoots another text.
[[ I never find myself lacking in friends though. ]]
The way his thumb brushed over her knuckles would suggest what he felt for her was deeper than friendship.
"Sooo," Bingo tries to stay cool and not hyper-focus too much on his warm hand while fighting back a blush, "We haven't talked about family much, got any siblings?" She did want to get to know him better personally.
/Ping!/ [[ Nope. Just me. Sometimes I wish I did whenever I get lonesome but for the most part I'm glad I don't. I wouldn’t want them to resent me ]]
“Why would you say that?” Her palm turns to hold his.
/Ping!/ [[ Well. If I had a sibling, I feel they would envy the extra attention I would undoubtedly get from my parents because of my disability. Like, they would feel less important or worse neglected. And I wouldn’t want that emotional burden placed on my imaginative sibling or anyone for that matter. My parents say I'm enough for them so I suppose it all works out.]]
/Ping!/ [[ How bout you? I believe you have a sister right? ]]
"Older sister," She clarifies. "Her names Bluey, we get along for the most part and I love her to death but lately she's been working my nerves."
/Ping!/ [[ Can't imagine what that's like ]]
"Oh you have no idea what I have to put up with, just last night, I walked in on her making-out and dry humping one of her guy friends. In. My. Room."
Dougie takes his hand back to slap over his mouth, stunned.
/Ping!/ [[ Noooooo! ]]
Bingo crosses her arms. "I'm giving her the silent treatment right now, which is kinda why I was so eager to meet you early in the morning."
/Ping!/ [[ Glad I could provide an escape ]] He smiles, reaching for her hand again.
She meets him half way. "Anyway, Enough about her."
She leans closer to him, her smile juvenile. "Know any bad words in sign?~" She mouths slowly, enunciating every word.
His gaze flicked from her lips to her eyes, he gives a cheeky grin. Knowing where her mind was going but happy she wanted to learn some sign.
《Of Course!》 Dougie signs excitedly before remembering himself and shooting her a quick text in affirmation, inquiring if she'd like to learn them now.
Bingos face lights up at the text, "Would you?"
He nods his head animatedly. /Ping!/ [[ But I should teach you a few things first, just to make the learning process easier for the both of us. For example: Whenever I'm out of reach and you need my attention just do this ]]
Without warning he slams his fists on the flat table surface, spooking those closest to them. A few dogs even jumped in surprise at the jarring bang, including the red heeler who straightened.
/Ping!/ [[ I may not be able to hear but I can feel. Vibrations are the way to go about it.]]
Bingo nods her head in understanding, beaming.
They spend the next hour attempting to sign to each other back and forth, going over a few basic's before getting to the signs she really wanted to learn. Expert and novice. Dougie would chuckle silently, sympathetic when she fumbled. He didn't mind reaching over to correct her hands every so often and when her gaze met his, he would stare at her brown eyes melting into golden rays when the sun hit them- then avert his gaze as his cheeks burn.
When the red heelers stomach began to grumble, signaling lunch time was near, dread filled her. Their time together was ending. The Café mainly brewed drinks, what food they do have she wouldn't find filling and she really didn't want to go home just yet. She knew her sister and parents have been texting her cell but she had them on mute.
Doogie's thoughts seem to have mirrored her own, while he didn't share her troubles, he wasn't ready to leave her either.
/ping!/ [[Did you know you can't spell Menu. Without
Me.
N.
U.
So you hungry?]]
Bingo stifles a laugh, nodding as she texts her reply as fast as her thumbs allowed. "And you can't spell Nuclear Mass Genocide without
U
and I.
If you fancy committing some war crimes after lunch." She smiles, taking out her handheld game console from her bag and waving it for emphasis. "I got Rebels of Warlock,"
The Cavapoo brightened at her suggestion, nodding excitedly as they both stand.
"Hey, I don't always want to rely on text. Sure it makes it easy to communicate with you, but I'm up to the challenge to learn your language." Her tail swayed behind her.
Dougie looked surprised by this but very happy as his shorter tail wagged uncontrollably, he took her hand in his, their fingers interlaced in an awkward but decidedly nice way. He signs to her《I'll teach you, we'll learn to speak together》
Bingo got the gist of it and smiled, "I look forward to it, with you." Her face warmed, matching his.
They leave together, hand-in-hand.