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A lot of good lives were lost during the revolution, both android and human alike. Markus could never forget that. No one ever should. But what stuck with him the most, even a year after the main fight for freedom has been moved from the ashy streets of Detroit to the Congres hall, was that strange encounter with Kara, the android mother of a little girl, just mere moments before Jericho was raided.
He never learned whether or not they have survived and reached their promised land. He sure hoped they did, but it was all he could do.
Who would have thought that a huge surprise was awaiting them soon enough?
There was a sudden knock on the door of Carl’s house a mere week before Christmas.
“Strange. I wasn’t expecting any visitors today,” Carl muttered under his breath, setting aside the can of paint he was still petulantly trying to pry open. The last incident taught him to be wary of unwanted guests, but Markus quickly soothed his worries.
“Leo probably decided to visit earlier than he announced. I shall let him in,” he wiped his hands with a cloth and went to answer the door. However, Simon was faster this time (in Markus’ defense, his boyfriend was already in the hallway, taking care of the canaries – there was no way he could get to the main entrance sooner than him).
He opened the heavily decorated door… and froze right where he stood, a shock written all over his face.
Something is wrong, Markus put two and two together and sped up his pace. But to his utter bewilderment, Simon’s surprised expression melted into one of his most pleasant smiles as he waved at whoever was standing outside, talking with them. He couldn’t make sense of the entire conversation, but he heard the last sentence just before he made it to the door: “No, no, he’s home, he should be here any minute now. I’m Simon, by the way.”
Markus’ heart skipped a beat.
Kara, the alleged victim of the Detroit curfew, was standing right there at their doorstep. Most of her strikingly blond hair was hidden underneath a colorful beanie, but it was beyond a shadow of a doubt her. She was clutching a hand of a little girl, who was trying to hide from them behind the safety of her mom’s trousers. There was also a huge man accompanying them, most likely Kara’s partner, currently making the effort to lure the child out of her hiding, saying: “C’mon, Alice. Say hello.”
The girl – Alice – shyly raised her other hand and waved, whispering: “Hi.”
“Hi,” Markus answered rather dumbly, but in this strange situation, he supposed he had every right to be a little bit perplexed. “Kara, what are you doing here? I thought you were on your way to Canada.”
“We were,” she nodded, squeezing her daughter’s hand a little bit tighter. “We managed to make ourselves a decent living out there. But Alice wanted to visit Detroit for the Christmas vacation, and since the laws got so much better for us here thanks to you, we decided to give it a try.”
“That’s… good to hear. Really, it’s nice knowing you guys have made it. But what brings you here? I’m sure it’s not just a courtesy call.”
Both Kara and her partner got visibly nervous. “No. You are right about that. It’s embarrassing, considering what you’ve already done for us, and not only for us, for the entire android kind, but we found ourselves in a… very difficult situation, and there is no one else who can help us at the moment. The receptionist at the New Jericho gave us your address, said we could give it a shot. So we did. Hope that’s all right.”
There could be no question the receptionist was Candace, that impish ST300 they hired not so long ago. Markus should have a word with her about sending strangers on their doorstep. One can never be careful enough when dabbling in politics, after all.
In general, Simon was much more cautious than he was, trying to shield him and Carl from any harm (that’s what Markus both loved and hated about him at the same time, because he never hesitated to put himself in danger just to save him), but for once, he clearly didn’t share his worry. Probably because he made clear he knew these people and they had a child with them. Seeing the little girl shiver made his old domestic subroutines kick in, judging from the way he took the floor, saying: “We shouldn’t discuss such matters out in the cold. How about we move to the dining hall? We could get you some thirium and then you would tell us what’s up. Do you agree, Markus?”
It was rare for soft-spoken Simon to act so assertively, and to be honest, it made Markus feel so incredibly proud that he finally felt comfortable enough around him to voice his opinion. Also, he had a point. Kara and her family were in need and could hardly have ill intentions – after all, he helped them escape the states in the first place. So he did the only reasonable thing and stepped aside to let them in with a sigh. “Yeah, sure. Go ahead, make yourselves comfortable.”
“Ah, that’s so kind of you. Thanks. We appreciate it,” Kara gave them both a broad smile before ushering her girl and – husband, judging from their matching rings – inside, Simon pointing them toward the dining hall.
Markus went to follow them but was stopped by his boyfriend grabbing him by the elbow, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I will keep an eye out on them, just in case something goes amiss.”
That little traitor! He knew well enough that words like these flustered him to no end, making his cheeks and the tips of his ears flare up with embarrassment (yeah – totally not excitement). But he couldn’t make a fool of himself in front of guests, so he half-heartedly shoved Simon in the shoulder, somehow dulling the gesture by immediately stealing one last proper kiss from him. “Behave. Or I will be forced to lock you up somewhere to deal with you later.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?”
Markus groaned. So much for not making fool of myself, he thought bitterly as he headed to the dining hall, not even having to look at himself into the mirror to know his ears were stark blue now and his obnoxious boyfriend followed him grinning like a shot fox.
Kara was very tense through the entire conversation, her eyes every so often wandering off to the windowsill where Alice and Simon seated themselves, drawing pictures together with crayons borrowed from the bottom of Carl’s art supplies shelf. Well, Markus could hardly blame her. After everything she and her small family has gone through during the revolution, he understood why she wouldn’t want to let the little girl out of sight for long. Which was actually why her request baffled him so much.
“Let me get this straight.” Off to a good start already, but why not, he leaned back in his chair, trying to make sense in all of this. “You want us to look after Alice.”
For a short period of time, Simon seemed to straighten up on the windowsill only to force himself back into a relaxed state once again, but other than that, he didn’t do or say anything, calmly proceeding with drawing his own picture.
Kara nodded. “Just for the afternoon.” Seeing his unsure expression, she hurried to add: “I know you must be terribly busy –” that much wasn’t true, even president Warren doesn’t want to work when Christmas is nearly knocking on the door, “– and we barely know each other, but we don’t have much of a choice. Our babysitter had to decline last-minute and Alice would hate being stuck at the embassy with us all day long when it’s Christmas time outside.”
Markus sighed, glancing over to where Simon and Alice were playing together. Just in time to see the little girl showing him her work of art, the PL600 practically beaming at her, showering her with praise for how pretty the lion looks. It would be good for them, the leader of the deviants nodded solemnly, turning back to the anxious parents in front of him, but what about you? “Kara, I don’t know… We would be happy to help you out, but are you one hundred percent sure about it?”
That gave her a pause, hesitating. Her husband (Luther, if he recalled it correctly) quickly picked up on it and gently took her hand, holding it, their skin melting away to expose the white plastic underneath. Such moments were greatly vulnerable for the couple, Markus should know that better than anyone else, and the last thing they wanted was someone gawking at them. So he decently turned his gaze away, allowing them at least a semblance of privacy.
“Yes,” Luther said when they parted. “We trust you. Our princess will be in good hands.”
“Then we will do our best not to let you down,” Markus nodded, already worrying.
It turned out to be… much easier than he expected.
Of course, Alice got upset at first, and rightfully so, afraid to let her mommy and daddy go without her. However, Markus was amazed at how quickly she calmed down when Kara reassured her with a promise that they are going to be right back. She was… quite peculiar child, even for a YK500. But they will surely get along.
She allowed Simon to take her on a house tour while Markus accompanied her troubled parents to the door, giving them his word that they will somehow manage. Once they were finally gone, he went to look for his boyfriend and the little missy.
He found them messing around the piano and they were eager to fill him in immediately. Apparently, Alice loved Carl’s library (even though there were no books suitable for such a young child and Simon was swift to steer her away from it) and the giraffe (naturally).
“And wait until you see the atelier!” he mentioned, making the girl stare at him with a big, overly excited eyes. Woah, he had no idea she would like art this much!
“You have an atelier?”
“Yeah, though it will be most likely occupied by my dad right now. He’s… not big on social gatherings and such.” To put it lightly, he grinned to himself as he lead them to the studio.
He was right, of course. Carl Manfred, once an infamous party animal, was hiding there, working on his latest canvas rather than going out and mingling with the guests (although Markus couldn’t blame him – in his shoes, he would have done the same).
“Well, well, well,” the old man greeted them, putting away the brush, “what do we have here? Markus, you said nothing about adopting a kid.”
That seemed to startle Alice. Poor thing probably thought her parents sold her to the Manfreds, but Simon quickly calmed her down while giving the painter a stern look to stop making such jokes in front of the child: “Carl, this is Alice. Her parents trusted us with babysitting her today.”
“Shame. I was hoping you were finally giving me grandchildren.” Both Simon and Markus knew how to be a tease every now and then – but compared to Carl, they were nothing. It took him almost no time to reduce them into blushing, stuttering messes, while he casually offered the confused girl a hand to shake, which she did. “Nice to meet you, Alice. I’m Carl, as Simon has already made clear.”
Alice politely nodded before glancing at the picture Carl was working on with a gasp. “You painted this?”
It was a nice piece, one of the old man’s finest, there was no arguing with that – two blue figures, one slightly lighter than the other, intertwined in a warm embrace (despite the cold colors) like lovers.
“I… yes, I did, actually. What do you think about it? Do you like it?”
She gave him a nod, her long ponytail set flying with the vehement movement. It was so sweet, so genuine it put a smile on their faces. At least until something flew over Alice’s nose and she left the room without uttering a word of explanation, giving them all a fright of their lives.
Simon was this close to a heart attack, chest wildly rising and falling with the sudden urge to go after her and make sure she won’t trip over and hurt herself, but Markus grasped him by the waist, stopping him. She’ll be fine, don’t worry about it, he tried to communicate it through the gentle yet firm grip. And Simon seemed to understand, even though he was struggling, head desperately turned in the direction she went running. If he still had his LED, it would be beet red.
Alice returned soon after, carrying the picture she drew earlier, proudly presenting it to Carl. “See?" Markus softly nudged Simon’s cheek with his nose, grinning as he spoke through their inner connection. “She wasn’t running away. She just wanted to show the famous painter her drawing.”
Simon scoffed at him, clearly feeling ridiculous now. “She shouldn’t do that. It scared the hell out of me.”
Their silent moment was interrupted by Carl finally coming back to himself and asking the little girl, a tad out of his element (crayons weren’t exactly his tool of choice anymore): “Oh my. Is that a cat?”
“A lion,” she corrected him.
“Ah, I see, a lion. Well, young lady,” he ruffled her hair with a smile, “it seems that one day, you are going to be a much better artist than I am now. Maybe even better than Markus.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, trust me – I know a talent when I see one.” Alice gave him a grin, a small, unsure one, and it occurred to Markus that he didn’t see her smile before. Not even once. It felt somehow… special. Simon apparently sensed that too, for his head lolled onto his boyfriend’s shoulder, just like the first time they were watching fireworks together. It was a beautiful, gentle moment, and Markus relished in the warmth of it, pressing a soft kiss on top of Simon’s head.
They were so caught up in their small world that they almost completely overlooked Carl giving them a sidelong glance. “Kids, don’t get me wrong, it’s nice having you here, but I bet missy is hardly curious about some old man and his brushes. Go play outside, show her the Detroit’s Christmas tree! Have you already seen it, Alice?”
The girl eagerly shook her head.
“See? Let her properly enjoy the Christmas spirit like every other child.”
With that, the magical moment was gone and Simon pulled away, much to Markus’ regret (but he couldn’t deny it was damn satisfying to see him flushed blue in return for his earlier teasing). “I… you are right, Carl. That’s a wonderful idea. Come on, Alice. Let’s put on our jackets and visit the Campus Martius Park! I promise it will be amazing.”
And it was. In more sense than one.
Markus has never seen Simon so… carefree and full of joy ever before. He still changed into a worrying bundle of nerves whenever Alice slipped on the icy pavement, but other than that, the cheery festive atmosphere and the girl’s enthusiasm completely won him over.
It was sometime at this point when Markus has come to a realization, or perhaps just confirmed his previous assumption – Simon would have make a fantastic father. He immediately dismissed the thought (both frightened by it and excited at the same time), knowing it was still way too early to ponder things like that. But maybe, just maybe, someday when they aren’t busy fighting for their basic human rights…
“Markus! Markus, look! The tree, it’s so huge!” Alice’s surprised yelp thankfully brought him back to reality. They have just arrived at their destination – the famous Campus Martius Park.
The plaza was already buzzing with life, a huge crowd of people gathering around the colorfully decorated tree or surrounding various stands illuminated by Christmas lights, drinking punch and enjoying carols. But some took advantage of the skating rink in the middle of the square, most of them children or lovey-dovey couples. Alice was following a bunch of skating kids with her eyes, her gaze full of longing. Simon was the first to notice and he leaned down to her, smiling: “Wanna join them?”
The little girl gasped: “May I?”
“Of course you may,” Markus nodded, pointing at a nearby stall renting all sorts of ice skates. “Go ahead, pick some.”
She hesitated for a moment, as if she was waiting for them to change their mind, but once they didn’t, cheering her on with encouraging words and smiles, she ran to the stall and with Simon’s help chose a pair of nicely fitting pink skates (Markus paid for them in the meantime). After changing her boots, she made her way to the rink to join the other kids. She was shy to approach them, but luckily the group didn’t mind her joining at all and soon, they were playing tag together on the ice like long-time friends.
Simon and Markus were watching her from behind the low transparent barrier. It was all so beautiful, and yet, Simon looked almost… sad, bundling up into the high collar of his blue and white sweater like he didn’t want his lover to notice. But he did. Of course he did. And for a second, he froze up in panic, delving straight into the searching mode to try and determine what could be bothering his beloved. Then they were passed by one of the overly affectionate teenage skater couples, and it all clicked together. But better not make hasty conclusions.
“What’s wrong, honey?” he lightly poked him in the ribs with his elbow. “Wanna give it a try too?”
Simon snapped out of his dreamy state. “What? No, no. We are adults, we shouldn’t –” He was quick to deny it, which only affirmed Markus’ suspicion.
“Come on, Si, there is no harm in having a little bit of fun for ourselves! See, there are plenty of grown-ups too. No one will think about it twice.”
Simon still looked a little bit skeptical, but after a while, he sighed: “…All right. Let’s go.”
“I knew you would give in,” Markus smiled, giving him a wink as he took his hand and led him back to the stall.
However, there was one crucial thing he hasn’t thought through – he had no idea how to skate. Simon did neither, of course, and yet he seemed to have no trouble getting on the ice. Markus did, though. He still could barely stand on his own feet while his boyfriend (after some initial stumbling) was finishing his second round. It was truly humiliating.
He tried to preconstruct his way like he usually would, but the surface was simply too slippery for him. Too unpredictable and his limbs too uncoordinated. Each time he thought he computed it right, he ended up on the ground, to his boyfriend’s neverending amusement.
“You are thinking too hard about it,” he told him between bouts of barely held back chuckles. Markus’ pride suffered, but at least he was trying to help. “Stop preconstructing, just… let yourself feel it.”
“Easier said than done!” he yelled back at him, growing more and more frustrated with each fall. He tried, he really did, but it was still stronger than him. After two or three more pathetic attempts which resulted in yet another fall, Simon offered him his hand to help him get back up. But this time, he didn’t let go off of him, somehow steadying him in the process. And to Markus’ surprise, it helped a lot.
He forced himself to think of nothing more than his palm in Simon’s, the warmth it was radiating through that ridiculous cutesy mitten of his. It was actually kinda nice like that. When he forgot the entire world around them existed, just him and his lover. Which was why it caught him off guard when they suddenly stopped, the PL600 grinning back at him: “See? We’ve made it around the entire rink! Good job, love!”
Markus hardly cared about skating or the dozens of onlookers anymore. Let them see that he loves this ludicrous, wonderful man! Without thinking, he leaned in, giving Simon a fleeting kiss on the lips, trying to put every emotion he couldn’t name with words into that one single feather-light touch. They usually weren’t big on public displays of affection (and he could see why, hearing the applause and catcalls, but it was fine – he wrapped his arms protectively around Simon, as if to shield him from their prying eyes and send them a clear signal that this man is mine, and they quickly stopped), but tonight, it felt somehow fitting.
“Markus,” Simon whispered, his cheeks dusted slightly blue, and his lover knew it wasn’t entirely the fault of the wacky Christmas lights illuminating them.
Sadly, Alice had the worst timing ever. She emerged from the crowd of skaters out of nowhere, trapping them together in a bone-crushing hug. “You are here too! Thank you so much for this! I really, really love skating!”
“Ah, it was nothing,” Markus muttered awkwardly. “I… love skating too, I guess.”
Simon flashed him a small, knowing smirk, but if he wanted to say something, it was unfortunately interrupted by the group of kids Alice was playing with (two human girls about the same age as her, one slightly older boy, and one YK500) who found them, probably to ask her for another game. The presence of Simon and Markus took the wind out of their sails, though.
“Yo, Alice! Those are your dads?” the boy finally found the courage to ask, turning both of the men into stammering wrecks as they struggled to correct him, but because misfortunes never come singly, one of the girls suddenly pointed her finger at Markus.
“Wait, I know him! He’s the man from TV!”
Great. Just great. Could it get any worse? The girl had to hush, now, or they would get into some serious trouble. But surprisingly, it was Alice who came to the rescue, saying: “No, they are my uncles. Never been on TV. They just have very common faces.”
An adult more immersed in news would have known Markus was a unique model, kids, however, took it as a good enough answer and Alice joined them in yet another game of tag. Simon and Markus let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding.
“Whoo… looks like the disaster has been averted,” Simon grinned, wiping imaginary sweat off of his forehead. “You know, it was awkward being called a dad by some child. But also… kinda nice, I suppose? Would love that in the future.” Oh? Was he saying what he thought was saying? His boyfriend ached up one eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate, but he quickly brushed it off with: “Nevermind. Come, let’s enjoy the rink while we still can.”
Markus couldn’t help but feel incredibly giddy as he took Simon’s arm and let himself be led once again, his systems informing him that a path has been unlocked. Of course, he had no idea what the future holds for them. No one does. But right now, it seemed bright and definitively worth fighting for.