They had ended up agreeing on a nearby park. Come to find out Hyacinthus was not a tourist in town, but had wanted to start going to a new coffee shop before work. Normally Apollo wouldn’t go out this late, but his love life was more important than his sleep schedule.
Apollo found Hyacinthus on a park bench waiting for him. They were wrapped up in nice, warm clothes, Apollo was not. Having just jumped off his couch and quickly getting ready, he was in his usual jeans and t-shirt, which did not fit the nearly freezing weather. Hyacinthus gave him a weird look with the clothes he was wearing, but they didn’t say anything.
“So…what did you want to do?” Apollo’s skill at conversation was beaming.
Hyacinthus got up from the bench and walked up to him.
“Let’s walk and talk?”
“Sure.”
So, they walked around the park. It was nearly 11 pm at this point so they were some of the only people there at this point. They realized they were quite similar. They both played instruments, Apollo the guitar and Hyacinthus the drums. They both enjoyed sports, Apollo running and Hyacinthus soccer.
“So how come I’ve never seen you at the shop before?”
Hyacinthus took a moment before responding.
“It seemed…busy. And it is.”
Apollo felt like they were hiding something, but he didn’t push further.
“Are you new in town?”
“I moved here a few months ago to a tattoo shop. I finished apprenticing at my previous one and wanted to go somewhere new, with new people.”
“Can you show me your work?”
Apollo didn’t expect what happened next. Hyacinthus took off their jacket, revealing their arms filled with tattoos. They were filled with numerous creatures and plants. Sunflowers, orchids, a large swan, and even a snake that started on one arm, disappearing under their shirt, and reappearing on their other arm. Apollo was so invested he nearly didn’t hear the whish of something approaching them.
“Watch out!” someone called from the grass.
Apollo quickly ducked, touching Hyacinthus’ hands for the first time and dragging them down with him.
A bright red frisbee at high speeds nearly hit them both in the head, but they had managed to dodge it just in time. The only other people in the park were these two guys throwing it around. It seems they weren’t great at aiming. One of the guys ran over and got the frisbee, he didn’t even apologize, just looked at Hyacinthus, gave a disgusted look, and left.
“Can we leave the park?” Hyacinthus asked. They looked on the verge of tears.
“Yeah, sure.”
Apollo couldn’t tell why, maybe it was them holding hands, maybe it was nearly being hit in the head by a frisbee. They walked out of the park and started walking around town, neither having a destination in mind.
“So…are you okay? You seem, shaken up,” Apollo inquired. He tried his best not to upset them.
“I’m fine. It wasn’t you I promise.”
That’s…good? Apollo still wasn’t sure what upset Hyacinthus and it showed on his face.
“Oh. You don’t know what upset me do you?”
“Nope.”
“It was the guy, the look he gave me. It happens.”
Apollo was thoroughly confused now.
“Why?”
“You’ve never been with someone who is trans before have you?”
Apollo blushed.
“Not like that,” Hyacinthus playfully slapped his shoulder.
“People give me weird looks all the time, I’m usually used to it. I just wasn’t expecting it tonight.”
Ooooh. Apollo understood now.
“That…sucks. I’m sorry you have to deal with that.”
“It’s alright. That’s partly why I moved here, hoped it would be better in a city rather than the middle of nowhere.”
“Oh, what about your family?”
Hyacinthus visibly cringed at the mention of family. Apollo mentally slapped his own face.
“That’s the other reason I moved.”
Apollo couldn’t really come up with anything else. He felt bad for their situation, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.
“It’s alright, I know it doesn’t sound fun. It certainly-”
Someone was shaking Apollo, he was dazed. What just happened to him? He had been talking to Hyacinthus while crossing the street and…there were a bunch of sounds. Tires squealing, sirens, people yelling.
Fluorescent lights peaked in and out of his memory. Where was he? Where was Hyacinthus?