troubled waters (FierroChase AU)

five

Magnus had just left his new apartment in Jamaica Plains, happy to finally discover its surroundings. He had his long blonde hair tied together in an aesthetic version of a pigtail. He had had time that morning. It was Sunday, college had not started yet, so why not put a little effort in self-care and beauty. Not that there was someone who he was interested in, he had literally not met anyone like that in his life before.

Honestly, he had never really thought about that fact neither. It just happened to be the way it was, and he did not question what his heart was telling him. Never. That was something he learned from his mother and retained whatever situation he was in, having engraved his mother's love, her face, her voice, her smile, and some of her advices deep in his heart. That was his inner compass, the direction-giver, that was where all his orientation came from, always.

Others believed in god, whichever it might be, or in some complex construct of moral principles, based on reason, or duty, or whatever human civilization had thought of in the past ten thousand years. Magnus was not like this. He had his mother and her memory. That was all he needed to live and make the right decisions.

As he went out, he thought of taking a walk in the nearby There were small ponds from time to time, ducks and sometimes even swans serenely swimming around, as if nothing else mattered in this world. Then again, at times, children would come and chase them, clapping their hands and shouting loudly, to scare them and make them fly around. It was impressive, how these birds were able to move on earth, in water and in the air all the same. True wonders of evolution, Magnus thought, and yet, here they were, chased around by children, who had been taken out for Sunday, with parents, sitting on the nearby banks, chatting, taking a look betimes, smiling at their children's vividness and energy.

Magnus remembered, how he would take a walk in a park like this with his mother too, although they lived just on the other side of town. How they would walk down the roads, sometimes empty, sometimes crowded on Sundays like this, how they would talk and laugh, passing time, like it did not matter anything at all. Watching the birds, and the trees, and the flowers that were occasionally blooming on the meadow, just being happy, being free. Magnus still could not imagine better days in his life, than the ones he used to spend with his mother. And somehow, he was also grateful for these memories, for they got him through the darkest of times, they gave him light and solace, when everything else was black and sad. He had loved these parks since he was a young boy, and he kept loving them.

So, he made his way, passing through a meadow, taking a short break on a bank, just watching and thinking and remembering. After some time, he decided to get breakfast in a nearby café and made his way, leaving the park and taking a seat just outside a nice-looking, though quite casual café. From his seat, he could still observe the park he came from, just a road separating him from it. There was not much circulation on that Sunday, he could enjoy the calm, almost serene atmosphere, sitting on the table, watching, waiting for the cappuccino and the bagel he had ordered.

Suddenly, someone on the other side of the road kept his attention. He was not sure, what it was, that he noticed first, since there were several remarkable things about the person passing by. Was it the green hair, that was quite nicely arranged, as Magnus thought? Was it the clothes the person was wearing, a wide green shirt, leaving one shoulder uncovered, and the pink leggings? Was it the brightly pink suitcase they were pulling behind them vividly? Or was it the fact, that Magnus just could not identify the person's gender, leaving him quite confused about whether that was a girl or a boy walking over there, just past the road?

Not that it mattered though. Magnus had never really cared much about people's genders, or sexual orientations, religions, whatever labels there were for people to be defined and judged upon. He believed in persons, in personalities, in talking and judging someone by the thoughts he issued, by the actions he committed, not by labels they were stuck to, without being able to choose. Nevertheless, Boston was a huge city.

He thought about that person for some time, but soon it was replaced by more urgent matters, like the book he found inside the café which he started to read, and had soon completely sunk into, forgetting his surroundings. It was called "which of us two", written by a certain Colin Spencer, and it told the touching story of a gay couple living in the UK during illegality. He did not know what to think of it at first, but soon he was moved by the unique personalities of the protagonists, by the simple beauty of their relationship, by the challenges they were facing both together and with society; that was a book he would remember, reading and reading until the early afternoon. As he got back home, there was a surprise waiting for him...