Jane felt someone moving next to her, something that made her wake up. She was asleep for a couple of minutes now, but in the first stage, a light sleep. It made her squeeze her eyebrows together, and she turned her head to Marcus. "You awake?" Her voice was soft, sleepy.
"Yes," Marcus whispered and stopped turning around in bed. "I'm cold," he whispered.
"Oh," she softly said and sat up. Jane switched on a small light. "You should've said it earlier, silly." Her eyes fell on Marcus, who pressed his face in the pillow because of the light; he had wrapped the duvet tightly around him. "I will get an extra blanket."
"I know," he yawned. "I didn't want to wake you."
Jane got out of bed and walked to the window to close it. There was just a tiny gap, enough for fresh air, but indeed, it made the room cold.
"Was the window open?" Marcus blurted, disbelieving.
"Yeah..." She grabbed a blanket from the closet. "I like cold and fresh air when sleeping."
"You ice woman," he shared, something that made Jane smirk. "What about mosquitoes?"
"They don't exist here." Jane put the blanket over the duvet and took off the joggers she was wearing; otherwise, she would get it too warm. She switched off the light. "Come here," she said and opened her arms.
Marcus moved closed to Jane, laying in her arms. "I'm jealous of that. But how are you not cold?" Her warm skin touched his slightly cold skin. "You're warm," he mumbled against her skin.
"I don't know. I guess I'm used to it," she whispered and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"I knew you said it was colder, and the weather app told it too, but I didn't expect it to be this cold. I'm never cold," he breathed and closed his eyes. "Thank you, babe." He deeply breathed in and let his chin rest against her forehead.
"It's just something you have to get used to..." Jane yawned. "No problem."
»
Marcus walked back from the bathroom and looked at the photos that were hanging on the wall. Most of them were family photos, but also quite a lot of landscape photos. He put his hands in the pocket of his sweater and yawned. It was morning, probably around nine o'clock.
He entered Jane's bedroom again and closed the door quickly behind her. The room was completely dark. Marcus carefully walked over to the curtains and slightly opened them, just for a little bit of light.
"Hey." The voice was soft, sleepy. "You can open it more."
Marcus opened the curtain more and walked back to the bed. Jane still had her eyes closed. "Good morning," he said and crawled back under the duvet.
"Morning," she muttered and opened her right eye. "Slept well?"
"Hmm-hmm," he hummed and wrapped his arm around Jane when she placed her head on his chest. "I did. You?"
"Good." Jane opened both her eyes and looked up. "It wasn't cold?"
"You kept me warm," he cheekily said and stroked her hair. He slept good, probably for the first time in a week since it happened. Just the fact he had her safely in his arms... It was a good thought. "Honestly, the duvet feels like it came from a hotel."
"I know, right. I love it."
"But your pillows are much more comfortable."
They both giggled.
"For how long have you been awake?" Jane placed her chin on his chest and locked her eyes with his. She placed his hand on his chest.
"An hour or so." Marcus smiled. "Are you having plans for today?" He looked outside; the view was breathtaking.
"I have to pick up a package, and I thought it would be nice if I would show you and Lun around, show you a little bit of Reykjavík. How long do you stay?"
"Sounds like a good plan. I've googled photos before I left, so I'm expecting the best of the best of Iceland."
Jane smirked. "We will see..."
"Anyway, I'm staying a couple of days. Friday is the first flight back to Italy, so Friday."
It was silence; Jane was counting the days in her head. Four more days. "I still cannot believe you're actually here." She gave him a kiss.
"I'm just so happy to see you." He placed his lips on hers and rolled over, so he was on top of her. Jane giggled against his lips and kissed him back. Marcus felt tingles in his stomach. "You are the best," he whispered against her lips and pulled back. He looked at her.
Jane stroked his cheek and bit her lip. She spotted a twinkle in his eyes. "You're so beautiful," she whispered and gave him a small kiss.
A shy giggle rolled over his lips, and he rested his head on the pillow next to Jane's head. He pressed a few kisses on her bruised cheek and let out a satisfied breath. "Jane?"
"Yes?"
"May I ask where your mother is? I didn't see her last night." Marcus rolled on his back, making Jane roll over on her stomach. "Or was she asleep already?"
"She was home, just in her office," she replied. "She had an inspiration moment, so she had to write. And once she writes, you can absolutely not disturb her," she breathed.
"Writes?" Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Is she an author?"
"Yup."
"Is she famous?"
"María Viktorãsdóttir." She read the confusion on Marcus' face. "Oh, wait, that is her real name. María Victoria."
His jaw dropped, and his eyes rounded. "María Victoria? The María Victoria?" Jane nodded. "No way. You are the daughter of María Victoria? Jane, what the hell."
"Do you know her?" Jane smirked.
"Everybody knows her," Marcus blurted. "I'm sorry, I'm confused. I had no idea she was your mum." He softly chuckled. "María Victoria's daughter."
"Well, yeah, I mean, she's a good writer, but she's my mum, so yeah."
He nodded. "Yeah, true." He didn't blame her for not telling it. It was technically the same as 'yeah, I know Sebastian Vettel because we happened to race'. "My mum read all of her books; she's a fan. I listened to an audiobook, I liked it. But wait, does this mean she's working on a new book?"
Jane parted her lips; she swore she wouldn't tell anyone about it. "Yes, but don't tell anyone. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, so you don't know it," she quickly said, making it dramatic. "It sounds so arrogant, though. 'Don't disturb mum or...', but it's been six years and mum wants to write so badly. So we leave her all to it."
"You won't hear it from me," Marcus mentioned and tried to hide his smile. "But that's amazing."
She sat up and nodded. "Yeah, I know. But I have to go to the bathroom badly. Uhm, breakfast?"
"Sure."
Jane went to the bathroom before she decided to have a check on Luna. She walked to the guest bedroom and knocked at the door before she opened it.
"Yo, bro," Luna said and put her phone away. She was wrapped in the duvet like a burrito roll. "Wassup?"
"Buddy," Jane said and sat down on the bed next to Luna. "Just checking. We're going to make breakfast."
Luna yawned and ran her hand through her hair. "It's cold," she breathed. "But sure, will be right there." She sighed. "Anyway, plans today?"
"I have to pick up a package. And I'm to give a tour of Reykjavík. Are you in? Marcus will join too."
"I'd love to," Luna smiled. "But how are you? How are you feeling and about the situation?"
Jane took a deep breath. "I'm doing fine; being at home feels good. Just having a break from everything." She looked down. "But I miss Italy; I can't wait to get back, though. And now you're both here... It makes me happy. And about the case, it's still in process. How are you feeling?"
"Bloody cold." Luna shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I'm glad college is over for this year and that we have vacation. And I'm just glad to see you're doing fine. I was worried, Jane. I knew you were here, at home, but still."
"No more college for a couple of months," Jane breathed.
"Uhm, Jane?" Luna looked serious at Jane. "I don't know if I can tell you this, but I really have to get this off my chest because it...I just have to tell someone about it." She took a deep breath. "Matteo came out as non-binary last week."
Jane's eyebrows raised and she parted her lips. Matteo, Luna's older sibling, always struggled with who they were. It wasn't a mega surprise, but Jane never expected this. "Wow... How is Matteo feeling now?"
"Open, free, happy. Apparently Matteo struggled with this a lot and they didn't want to tell it to our parents. They were scared for our reaction. But you know, they are happy now and we all still love them the same, nothing's changed." Luna nodded. "I can't imagine what they have been going through. I mean, I struggle with it and I'm just their sister. Chiara isn't struggling with it and I... I know Matteo as my big brother, a man and... I respect and love Matteo, but I called Matt him last week and I felt so bad..."
"Have you told them about it?"
"Yes and they were like: it doesn't matter, it's new, even I have to get used to it." There was silence. "Gosh, I feel so bad."
A supportive smile came on Jane's face. "Hey, I'm proud of you, I'm proud of Matteo - that's still their name, right?"
"Yes."
"And it's new for everyone. You're not the only one who is struggling with this. You are both doing great." Jane locked her eyes with Luna's. "You can always talk to me about it, yeh? I don't know much about it, but you speak and I listen. I can learn from it too..." This was also new to Jane.
"Thank you so much." Luna opened her arms and Jane hugged her back. "I'm just so happy Matteo is happy now, that smile on their face..." she breathed. "And thank you for being there for me, Jane."
Jane rubbed Luna's back. "No need to thank me, Lun. You're my best friend. And Matteo is the big sibling of my bestie., just like Chiara. I'm proud of all of you."
"You're the best." Luna's stomach made a sound. "Right..."
They let go and began to laugh when they looked at each other. "I will make some breakfast," Jane said and smiled.
"Give me ten minutes." Luna looked grateful at Jane and gave her a nod.
Everyone got dressed in everyday clothes. Marcus was making coffee in the kitchen, Jane was making up the bed, and Luna was doing her makeup. Jane didn't feel like doing her makeup today, but she had to. She quickly popped on some concealer, foundation and mascara on her face after making up the bed. Jane walked towards the living area, but her face straightened, just creating more drama.
"What?" Marcus questionably asked when he saw the unamused look on Jane's face.
Luna raised her eyebrows and stopped drinking her coffee.
"I think, I buy a hoodie of an unknown brand, just to be different from everyone else," Jane began. "I literally ordered that hoodie in light blue, which I'm gonna pick up this afternoon," she snorted.
"No way?!" Marcus began to laugh. "You did not?"
"You did not," she teased. "No, I'm kidding." Jane walked over to Marcus, observing the black hoodie. "It looks good, also on you."
"Did you buy it from that Instagram page with like...300 followers?"
Jane began to laugh, which made Marcus laugh as well. "Yes!"
"I swear to fucking god, you two are made for each other," Luna said and pressed her lips into a thin line. "Go marry or something." She sat down on the sofa and shook her head desperately.
Jane couldn't help it, but she just couldn't stop smiling. It was funny they bought the same hoodie without knowing it. It showed they were on the same page, the same paragraph, perhaps even the same sentence. Jane walked to the kitchen and opened some cabinets.
"Oh, your mum is out with a friend," Luna mentioned. "And your dad got a call he had to cover up a shift. I bumped into them this morning."
"Ah, I see," Jane mumbled. "Anyway, I can make avo toast, there is cereal, eggs, bread, yoghurt and fruit..."