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Magnus would say he had a relatively good memory. Better than Julia’s, anyhow, because she rarely remembered what she had walked into a room for. That was one of the things Magnus liked about her. That where she had faults, Magnus would fill in. And where he had faults, Julia would fill in for him. They fit together perfectly, and Magnus loved that. That’s why they spent these lates night staying up together, just talking and sharing.
It was near ten PM this time. Magnus grinned at Julia laughed at something he said. He loved making her laugh.
“Okay, okay,” Julia said, wiping the laugh-tears from her eyes. “My turn to ask a question!”
They would just go back and forth like this for hours at a time, learning everything they could about each other. Magnus had just asked about her favorite type of dog, and she had answered with Rottweiler (which was a good pick, in Magnus’s opinion). She recalled a story on how their old Rottweiler had been so soft and helpful, to the point where the pup had tried to open doors for them, pushing Julia or her father Steven out of the way to try first.
“Hm…” Julia thought for a second before suddenly looking kind of nervous. “Can I ask you something that we’ve never really discussed before?”
“Go for it,” Magnus said. “It can’t be that bad.”
“Okay,” Julia said, taking a deep breath. She paused for a moment, as if trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to say, and then asked, “where do you come from?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like…” Julia frowned. “Like, I grew up here in Raven’s Roost, but you just wandered in one day. My dad said he found you wandering around the outskirts of town. Where’d you come from? What was your life like… before here?”
“Oh,” Magnus said. He was silent for a moment, scanning his memory. He could remember bits from his childhood, but… what was that town’s name again? He closed his eyes, thinking, thinking, just hoping he might remember something. But all that came up was… static. Empty thoughts and static. And the more he tried to focus on the static, to sort through it and displace it, the more anxious he grew. Where was he from? What had he done before Raven’s Roost? In fact, where the hell was he born?
“Magnus?” He opened his eyes, and suddenly realized he was shaking, tears forming. “You don’t have to answer it, sweetheart, I’m sorry-”
“I don’t know,” Magnus said, and he hated that his voice cracked. He didn’t like seeming weak, but he’d rather be weak in front of Julia than anyone else. “I don’t know where I came from, Jules, I can’t remember .”
“Mags-” Julia looked tearful as well and Magnus shrunk back a bit. “I- can I touch you? Is it okay to hug you?”
“Yeah,” Magnus, voice trembling. “Please.”
He looked down at his hands as she stood up and came over to hug him. It was tight but safe, and Magnus suddenly felt like a lost child being comforted by his mother.
“Sweetpea,” Julia started, “you don’t have to remember. I don’t care what happened before, I only care what happens now.”
“But,” Magnus croaked. “But I’m broken, Jules…”
“You are not broken, Magnus Burnsides,” Julia said firmly. “Don’t even suggest you are. I love you and I care about you and I want you to be okay, yeah, but I can accept the times that you’re not.”
“Sorry,” Magnus whispered. “I…”
“Don’t be sorry, love,” Julia murmured, pressing a kiss to his head. “I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you and it’s hard to believe we’ve been through so much together already. I wanna share the rest of my life with you, Mags. I wanna change the world with you.”
“I think you’ve already changed my world,” Magnus said, finally looking into her eyes. “I think… God, Julia, I think I want to marry you. Is this a bad time? Should we discuss this later?”
“Tell you what,” Julia said, grinning. “One day, we’re gonna live in a cottage together with some dogs, and it’s gonna be great. Until then, you better get crafting on some rings, because I know you’ll wanna make some instead of buying any.”
“So it’s a yes?” Magnus asked, voice teary again, but this time for a different reason. “Seriously?”
“Seriously, yes,” Julia said, and then captured his lips in a kiss. When she pulled back, she rested their foreheads together and whispered, “Would you be okay with making new memories with me?”
“Of course,” Magnus choked out, surging forward to kiss her again. “Nothing would make me happier.”