u p h e r e ↬ m.f. & s.m. [completed]

FAMILY

Mark thought about his lost home somewhere in south Italy near the beach.
   The small village was poor but beautiful, of course dirty, driven by small crimes and tragedies, yet still beautiful in its own way.

He thought about the small house his grandma and mother had to live in, the most exclusive thing that they had was a bathtub.
He thought about their garden and how much he actually missed the lavender his brother used to sleep next to.

Since he and Jack came together he often thought about what family actually was.
Certainly not his father. His brother was family, his friends. Even his grandma, who probably wouldn't recognize him anymore.
Of course his mother who he dearly and truly loved, and missed.

And then there was Jack. A new friend.
Even more.
And Mark thought about what family really meant and if Jack was family.

Family cares, they listen, they try their best to understand, yet they don't have to understand.
They love you like you love them.

Mark knew that he loved Jack. He only needed a short time to understand. It was truly magically.
Just everything was perfect.

And if Jack loved Mark such as much as Mark loved Jack then that'd mean that they were family.

As they say:
   You do not know what you missed until you have it.

And then you do not want to lose it.

And so Mark did not want to lose Jack.
An then again other people say:
You do not know what you have until you lose it.

And Mark hoped that they were wrong. He knew what he had and he was happy with what he had, or at least with Jack.

He was just afraid to ruin everything. To hurt Jack.

***

Jack looked at his phone and zoomed in and out on one photo.
It was the one he took right before he ran after Mark the night they kissed.
The only recognizable thing was an address scribbled on it.

Somewhere in Italy.

He sighed and started writing a letter.
Somewhere along the lines:

I'm a good friend of your son's and it kills me to see him this sad.

and

I want him to see you again. Just a small visit of three people. And I want to know if you're okay with that.

and

I would buy every single plane-, train- and bus-ticket. I just want him happy.

On the same day he sent the letter away and hoped for the best.
   He wanted Mark to see his mother again, even if he'd have to pay thousands of dollars.

He felt like he could finally do something with his money.

   You really can't buy happiness. Not with money.
But maybe, Jack thought, you can afford to buy others all those things that make them happy.

Or maybe you can make all those things possible.

It was worth a shot.
   What could go wrong?

Italy is a nice country, Jack thought.

***

This chapter really was boring but important I guess.

I have planned a few things for the next chapters.
Lmao