Who: Magnus Chase and John Murphy What: Random meetup that leads to a new friendship When: Recently Where: out and about Rating/Warnings: None Status: Complete when posted
Blitz and Hearth were definitely high on the list of things Magnus missed about when his parents had been based out of Boston. Yeah his cousin and his partner were older than Magnus but the three of them had always gotten along really well. He and Blitz had always been close, probably because who else would understand what growing up with their just this side of being hippies parents was like?
He didn’t normally answer facetime when he wasn’t at home but when he’d seen it was from them he’d found a bench and sat down so that he could talk to them, grin widening when he saw it was Hearth on the other end and he signed his normal greeting of ‘hey brother. Where’s the other one?’ Hearth could read lips but ASL was a lot easier to understand over video calls. Plus it just felt good to practice what they’d taught him.
A half hour passed easily as they caught up before Blitz came into view and joined the conversation, making plans for the two of them to try to come out to California for a few weeks at least before the fall semester started. It felt good to just talk with them. And have someone other than Nathalie to laugh with about how Frey was still skirting around the issue of asking his ex-boyfriend out on a date when all of them knew Apollo would say yes. He didn’t tell them about the Dreams though. What would be the point?
He hung up the phone, sitting there for another moment before getting to his feet, a text coming in asking him to pick up something to eat while he was out since his mom hadn’t gotten to the store and the kitchen was empty of anything he’d eat. The one drawback of being a vegetarian when his parents weren’t - three people eating his food. He looked around the park for a street sign, hoping google could direct him to a place.
***
John had been out enjoying the day, the sunshine, the beautiful weather. He didn’t mind running errands, he enjoyed being out among people, even if he couldn’t hear anything going on around him. When he passed shops that played music, he could sometimes catch the ghost of a melody, or feel the vibrations through the ground, but otherwise he was in a world of silence, but since it was all he had known it didn’t phase him.
Occasionally when he was out and about he’d see people speaking with sign, and most of the time it was American Sign Language. He rarely saw someone using sign on face time, but that’s exactly what it appeared the man on the bench was doing. John wasn’t one to stare, or eavesdrop as it were, but he was intrigued enough to find a way to look busy until the man ended his call.
Just as John worked up the nerve to approach him, he seemed to answer a text. Some part of him wondered if that was a sign he should just let it go, but he really didn’t want to. His parents knew sign of course, and he had friends in the deaf community, and of course Nathaniel was learning and learning at an impressive rate really. But John felt excitable at the possibility of a random conversation with someone when he didn’t have to focus on the other person’s lips to understand them.
Hello. How are you? I noticed you speak sign. John signed quickly, once he was close enough and the man looked up at him. God, he hoped he didn’t seem too eager.
***
Magnus was out of practice when it came to signing with people other than Blitz and Hearth so he was happy to run into someone else who was fluent in sign. Especially when they came up to him. Hey. I’m good. Yeah. My cousin’s partner taught me so that we could talk easier. Drawback of long hair - it gets in your face. He signed back quickly, grinning. How are you? I’m Magnus Chase. He’d already heard that there was another Magnus in the area so he might as well make it clear that he wasn’t the one who owned a club and was a warlock.
****
John Murphy. I am well. Pleased to meet you. That was a slight understatement. He was ridiculously excited to meet someone who could sign. Especially since he seemed to be a hearing person.
I can read lips, too, John added. Just so that was out there. Lip reading wasn’t an exact science, words and phrases could be misinterpreted much the way sometimes words were mishead in everyday speech.
I’m not keeping you from anything, am I?
***
Is it okay if we stick to sign? I know how I talk. Magnus responded, a grin on his face as he gave a slight almost embarrassed shrug. He could start talking fast and as Hearth frequently reminded him that wasn’t the easiest to read. Also while he did use shorthand and slang in his signing - it was a lot worse when he was talking out loud. Plus I only know two other people I can sign with so I can use the practice at it.
And he hoped John wouldn’t enable his laziness at it like his family did sometimes. You aren’t. I was just getting ready to go get some dinner. If you want to keep me company? Maybe a little weird since they’d literally just met but he was used to making friends and acquaintances quickly.
***
Definitely. We will stick with signing, John answered. He was thrilled. He’d much rather watch someone’s hands than stare at their mouth. Reading lips was definitely a beneficial skill for someone with hearing loss, but sign was so much more practical for him.
He nodded at the suggestion of joining Magnus for a meal. Thankfully he hadn’t made plans to meet Nathaniel for dinner yet, so he was free. I would like that very much. His grin was probably proof enough, but he was also bouncing a little. He wasn’t even thinking about his dream self at the moment, and it felt good to just relax and meet a new friend.
Where were you planning to go? John was a fan of just about any type of food. He especially liked restaurants because someone else cooked, and someone else cleaned up afterwards.
***
I hadn’t decided yet. I’m not sure what there is around here with good vegetarian options. Magnus knew that it was tricky for some people when they found out he was a vegetarian. It wasn’t for any ideological reason - he just didn’t have much appetite for meat, never had so he’d gone to a vegetarian diet. His parents still ate steaks, chicken - whatever they wanted but they never pushed him too. They would just fix extra veggies and pasta - meatballs on the side on spaghetti nights.
Any suggestions?
***
Mexican? Mexican places usually had decent options. John was pretty sure the one closest to where they were had a full page vegetarian menu. He had no issue with Magnus being vegetarian. It wasn’t a choice he had made, but he didn’t care if someone else did.
Or Italian, because there were definitely meatless options there. American food was less accommodating, with burgers and steak and chicken tenders being the predominating factors John wasn’t really fussed about food, he’d eat just about anything. He was just super happy to have a dinner mate who knew sign.
***
Italian sounds good. I could go for some breadsticks Magnus responded with a grin. I just need to let my parents know I’m grabbing dinner with a new friend No sense in making them worry when he didn’t come in with takeout. Or if they decided to hang out for a while. A quick text sent off to Natalie and Frey and then his phone was back in his pocket.
***
John definitely didn’t have a problem with that. He didn’t feel the need to text his parents, even though he lived with them. He came and went as he pleased, and since his basement apartment had a private entry door to the back yard, they often didn’t even know if he was home or not. He spent more time out than he did at home anyway.
He simply stood to the side waiting for Magnus to finish. All good? he asked once Magnus had slipped his phone back into his pocket. John was definitely ready. Food and friendship were two of his favorite things
***
All good. Natalie and Frey didn’t care too much as long as he let them know what was going on. So which way to this restaurant? he asked with a grin.