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A small smile surfaced on Jesper’s lips as soon as he registered the scene in front of his eyes.
Wylan and Marya were sitting at the piano, their fingers moving delicately while they were humming a quiet melody. Jesper had never seen his boyfriend so relaxed and happy; his blue eyes looked even brighter and his entire body was radiating joy. It was very clear that his mother’s presence had benefitted him greatly and Jesper couldn’t be happier. Wylan deserved happiness more than anyone else and Marya did too. God knows how much both had suffered due to Van Eck’s selfishness and cruelty and even now that that jerk was penniless and rotting in prison, Jesper couldn’t help but wish he’d finally do something useful and die.
He closed his eyes, letting himself be carried away by Wylan’s sweet voice; sometimes the young boy had played some melody for Jesper with his flute or sang a serenade to him, but in this moment there was something different, almost magic… Maybe it was Wylan’s and Marya’s voices harmonizing together, the wonderful chemistry of their hands or the clear happiness and love witten upon both their faces; whatever it was, Jesper was mesmerized. He almost felt like an intruder, standing there on the doorway looking at them while they were lost in their world.
Jesper was still lost in the sound when suddenly the music stopped and he quickly opened his eyes. Wylan had noticed his presence and now his attention was completely focused on the older boy, a sparkle in his eyes and a smile on his lips. Marya was smiling too, waving her hand at Jesper.
“Hi, Jesper” she said sweetly. “Sorry, we didn’t hear you coming. We were busy practicing a new melody I wrote yesterday”
“Please, keep going. You two were amazing!”
“I think we’re good for today” Wylan said. He got up from the piano and greeted Jesper with a kiss. “How was your day? Are you hungry? Mom and I made lunch but we still haven’t eaten, we were waiting for you.”
“You shouldn’t have!”
“No problem, darling” was Marya’s reply. She got up from the piano and came closer to Jesper, caressing his face. “It’s not that late, anyway. Besides, we’re a family now, aren’t we? And that means we eat all together.”
Those words hit Jesper hard. Marya had always been extremely nice to him, since the moment she’d come back at the Van Eck mansion… The three of them had spent much time together, getting to know each other; sometimes Jesper felt a bit guilty ‘cause he wanted to give Wylan the chance to spend every possible moment with his mom and make up for all the time they’d lost, but neither his boyfriend or Marya had ever made him feel like he was intruding. On the contrary, Wylan’s mom seemed more than happy to have both boys around.
Wylan took Jesper’s hand and asked him if he was okay. “Everything alright, Jes?”
Jesper woke up from his thought and smiled. “Yeah, of course. Why?”
“You didn’t move and talk for like, ten entire seconds, I was starting to get worried” the young boy joked.
“You know what? I think I’m gonna call Sienna back, she asked me on a date yesterday and I said I had a boyfriend but I may have changed my mind.” Wylan laughed and even Marya smiled.
“The truth is” Jesper started “in the last years I’ve never felt part of a family. There’s my dad, of course, and I love him endlessly but I spent so much time lying to him and hiding things from him… Our relationship was not completely honest on my part and I still feel guilty about it-“
“Jes, don’t be too hard on yourself” his boyfriend told him. “You apologized to your dad and now he trusts you ‘cause he knows you’re trying your best to be honest to him. He knows, and he’s proud of you.”
“Yeah I know and I’m happy that we’re back on track now. But he’s away most of the time, and I miss him” –Marya put a hand on his shoulder- “And I miss my mom, too.”
“Jes…”
“I don’t often talk about it, but seeing you two here together it just- it brings back memories… I remember when I was little and we used to play together. She would read me stories or made my favourite meal whenever I was feeling down” Jesper looked at his boyfriend and then at Marya, taking her hands into his before starting to talk again.
“When she died, I was distraught. And then, with everything that happened in my life, I thought I’d lost my dad too… I found him again, after a lot of time; but I never thought I’d find someone as close as to consider her like a second mom.”
Marya was so moved she couldn't find the words.
“I know it’s probably too soon to say that, and it’s also a bit creepy” -Wylan disagreed to these words moving his head- “but Marya, you’ve been nothing but kind to me even though we’ve known each other for so little…You, and your wonderful son, made me feel loved and appreciated, and that’s something I’ve not had for a very long time… I usually don’t get this sentimental, but I just wanted to thank you –both of you, ‘cause everyday you’re giving me the family I’ve missed for so long.”
Wylan threw himself on Jesper, holding him tight. “Love you so much, Jes.” “Love you too, sunshine.”
Both boys smiled and opened their arms, welcoming Marya in their hug; her eyes were full of tears.
Jesper had never felt so lucky, surrounded by so much love he’d always thought he didn’t deserve.
When Matthias had died and the crows had gone their separate ways, he’d felt like he’d been abandoned… In their weird and dysfunctional way, the six of them had built a family and Jesper had had a hard time letting go what was left of it. He was sure he’d never feel part of a family anymore, but Wylan and Marya had proven him wrong… And, for once, he didn’t mind being wrong.