About time you knew

The letter had arrived, and instead of opening it like he normally would have, Ellery had simply left it for his brother. It had been confirmed, just by the fact that Nathaniel received a letter from her, that there had been something between them back in Grenoble. Ellery would just have to have that chat with his brother another time. He had read the letter, sitting by the water and listening to the gentle waves rolling up on the beach. He felt so at peace until he finally understood the contents of the letter. Had this been the reason for Ellery to send her away back then? Had he known about her being with child?... Anger flooded him, as he started to imagine the pain she had gone through. Of course, she didn’t ask for money - why should she? He would give her everything she wished for, regardless of a child. Then it hit him… He had a son that he had a chance to actually meet! Somehow, his heart burst with joy. It didn’t matter if the boy liked him or not - he had a chance to finally meet Zyanya again, and see his son for the first time.
He got up from the sand and moved quickly. He brushed off the sand from his jeans before he went back to the house. He pulled out his leather jacket and slithered his arms through the sleeves. He was so goofy from excitement, that he was dancing around with the letter in hand. He smiled as he placed the letter in the inside pocket of the jacket and then moved towards the front door to leave. He checked everything; the black leather boots had been tied properly, the blue slight distressed jeans was clean and hugged him all the right places, the t-shirt underneath the leather jack had no stains and the hair was sitting in its usual mess. He looked like he always did; ready to make trouble.

When he arrived at the café, he was moving rather cautiously. Not because he was scared of her in any way, but because they had not seen each other in over two centuries. He approached her with a gentle smile, as he stopped a few feet from her. ‘’May I join you?’’ he asked, but his eyes asked a different question; may I embrace you and feel you close again? - He wasn’t going to ask her that. He had other commitments now; he was seeing someone else, and he wasn’t the type to just ignore the boundaries of relationships whenever he wanted. His heart was beating fast - way to fast for him to be able to slow it down. All he wanted to do was to embrace her and apologize for whatever quarrel his brother had put her through. That, and meet his son. Definitely.

It had been way too long since he had last seen the woman in front of him. He had begged his brother to reveal what had become of her, but Ellery had remained silent on the matter. It wasn’t like Nathaniel had been heartbroken - but his heart ached for the woman that seemed to look right through him and his façade. Now, he stood mere feet from her - and her beautiful face had not changed one single bit. He could almost feel the lips against his once more until he heard her melodic voice entrance him once again. ‘’Of course, I have read your letter. How could I not? I’ve waited centuries for it to arrive,’’ he said, somewhat calm even though his heart was about to beat out of his chest.
‘’Understood,’’ he said, as she stated that she only allowed Nathaniel close to his son because the kid had asked for that himself. He wanted to ask a million questions, yet none of them seemed appropriate at the moment. He could always seek the story of what happened, but she wouldn’t be the one with the answers; that would be his brother, the man that seemed to deem that Nathaniel deserved nothing but purgatory. Zyanya seemed to light up, as she spoke of their son. He could only imagine how wonderful a person he could be; he would have to witness that sensitive being himself to be able to understand. ‘’He is a descendant of yours - of course he would be beautiful,’’ Nathaniel simply answered. They shared that opinion, it seemed, that the other parent seemed to have some attractiveness over them. It was somewhat a relief to the siren, to know that Zyanya wasn’t about to tear out his tongue or imply that he had something to do with her being sent away back then. ‘’Regardless of his sensitive being, I am confident on the matter that he must be an absolutely wonderful young man,’’ he said before he got up with her. Normally, he wouldn’t be in a rush - but this was a chance he had shot a white arrow after a long time ago. He had the most deep and burning desire to witness his son, even if it was just once and just to be scolded for not being there for any of them. Nathaniel just needed to see that it was true, then he could live in peace with it.
‘’Times have changed greatly,’’ he said, as she smiled by the wind on her cheek. ‘’But mankind, on the other hand… That varies,’’ he said, with a crooked smile. Nathaniel had changed, but only slightly. His brother, on the other hand, had changed greatly when he met Kenna. If it was for better or for worse, was yet to be revealed.

He followed Zyanya to the park, almost tingling with excitement. He tried to contain it, he tried to be nonchalant, but it was harder than he had thought it to be. As soon as Zyanya had placed a hand on the siren’s arm, he had stopped dead in his tracks, allowing for whatever to happen. He looked at the young man, noticing similarities that he had hoped would appear. The beautiful eyes that only could be from the boy’s mother made him smile a small and simple smile. It all seemed rather surreal, yet he stood there with the woman he had once harbored feelings for; looking at their son. How things had taken a turn.
He didn’t understand the headphones - mainly because he never had silence in his head anyway. Perhaps that was what the boy sought with tuning out the life around him? Nathaniel couldn’t even begin to understand that yet, and still, he felt like he might have an idea of it. As Olivier got on his feet and approached them, Nathaniel decided that it was best to allow the boy to greet him whatever way he thought best. The small peck on Zyanya’s cheek made Nathaniel smile warmly at them until the boy then looked at him. It was like looking at the alternative version of oneself, yet it felt right. He couldn’t help but want to reach out, though he refrained from doing so. Any physical contact should be on his son’s accord. The earphones then got removed and stuffed in a pocket, before the boy held out his hand and presented his name with a sweet and soulful voice that could send pleasured shivers down his father’s spine. With a gentle movement, he reached out his hand to greet his son, before he finally spoke while their hands touched; ''Nathaniel D'Combe,''. Even though his voice tried to hide the excitement, but it barely made a difference. ''It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Olivier,'' he then said, with a crooked and gentle smile. As long as he didn't wask for the boy to fetch his musket, as he had done to Zyanya back when he met her the first time, things should be going just fine..

’’That all depends on the matter of judgement in itself,’’ he answered; his mind clearly more focused on the event that approached with each passing step. To him, it was almost as horrifying as exciting to meet his son. What if the boy didn’t like Nathaniel at all? Or maybe blamed him for not being there at all? How could he defend such blame, when it was true? Luckily, the boy seemed almost as nervous as Nathaniel regarding the encounter. Zyanya wasn’t much of a help since she decided to let the guys get to know each other unsupervised. He wanted to say something witty to her as she took her leave, but his tongue seemed to tie itself in knots, rendering him speechless, until his son with a sweet voice told his father to take a deep breath. ‘’Is it that obvious?’’ he chuckled, slightly more relaxed. Oh, how the boy looked like his mother. It was almost uncanny, as if they were siblings and not mother and son.

‘’Of course you have questions,’’ Nathaniel answered, as he smiled once more. How could this boy in front of him be his son? He was a grown man, not a child… It all seemed surreal. The chuckle sounded so familiar as if he had heard it for years. When Olivier started to walk, Nathaniel followed suit while he allowed for his son to set the pace. ‘’Well, she didn’t really have a lot of information herself, so it comes as no surprise that she couldn’t tell you much,’’ Nathaniel said, as he placed his hands in his pockets - almost in the same manner as Olivier did. ‘’I am French, yes. I was born in a French village called Combe, back in 1150,’’ he answered with a crooked smile. He wanted to tell the boy everything, but some things weren’t really things to discuss the first time they met. It was better to allow the boy to get a sense of his father before he explained how everything was connected.
‘’So, Olivier… You can ask me whatever you want. The last thing I would want is for you to have unanswered questions about me,’’ he said with a crooked smile, as they walked along an often trotted path.

The question itself seemed rather odd, but he understood why. How could a bubble of question burst if every question seemed unreachable? “You’re gonna laugh at me for this... I love the opera.” He said, chuckling as he looked up at the sky. “Music has changed in such a way that identifying one art form of it would be impossible. But if I should choose something to listen to, it would be opera. I love the stories in the music.” He said, with a small crooked smile.
“There isn’t any wrong way to get to know someone, Olivier. You can ask what you want. Nothing is off limits.” He said, as he looked back at his son. The next question made him bite his lip slightly. How could he explain?
“I have a brother, Ellery. Our mother is alive and well, and so is three nieces; your cousins.” He said, slightly avoiding the topic of him settling down. He then sighed slightly, with an apologetic smile. “I never managed to settle down. Despite of your mother’s orders, some little part of me fell in love with her. I stayed true to her for many years, after she disappeared. About a decade ago, however, I met a wonderful woman. We had a son, by accident, and... well, he lives in the States with his mother and stepfather now.” He said, slightly saddened by the story. It was true, what Ellery had said; Nathaniel might have been able to produce offspring, but he would never be a father...
“Sorry to disappoint,” he then said with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “I do have a partner, however... even though, we don’t use a label, I think,” he then said with a crooked smile on his lips. Would Olivier understand if Nathaniel explained that Tidus - his ‘partner’ - was a man?
“What about you? Music? Family?” He asked, with a gentle smile. He wanted to know everything about his son. Every little detail.

Even though he had only just met him, he seemed to get a sense of the boy being somewhat reluctant to talk about himself. Nathaniel had been the one missing, so of course he was the one being most in need to explain. His choice of words seemed to might have offended Olivier, as he stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his father in disbelief. The words hit Nathaniel like a ton of bricks, and for a moment he just stood there, feeling so ashamed for inducing such a feeling in his own son. “Hey... if only I had known, I would have searched far and wide for you,” he said, stepping closer to Olivier. The kid was already on his way again, making Nathaniel follow suit once more.

“Nantli... is that a word for mother, or a nickname?” He asked with a little smile. He knew very few words of Zyanya’s native tongue. “You have me now. You have no idea how blessed I feel to finally meet you,” he said. It wasn’t even an exaggeration - Nathaniel had never dreamt about meeting his son, let alone a son he never knew of. “You’re no shapeshifter like your mother. I take it that you are like me?” He guessed. Shapeshifters always had some animalistic feature. Olivier had none. He had to be a siren, or at least connected to the waters in some way. Nathaniel would have to tell Olivier about the circle, if he was a siren. He would be an heir to the ‘throne’, which meant that Ellery would lose his claim and pass it over to Nathaniel. Ellery would hate that.

“Oh... relationships can be many things. Friends, families, lovers... love isn’t restricted to only being romantic. For an example, I love your mother. Maybe not in the romantic way, as she once ordered me to not fall in love with her. But I do care deeply for her. The same goes for you. If you need anything - really, no matter how big or small - don’t hesitate to ask.” He said with a gentle tone in his voice. “I am sorry,” he then said with a slight chuckle. “I’m coming on too strong, aren’t I?” He asked with a crooked smile.

‘’Oh, so you’re bilingual? That’s a rare trait, I’ve found,’’ he said with a gentle smile. Of course, Zyanya would have taught her son - their son - to speak her language. Understandable.
As the boy confirmed that he was a siren, Nathaniel stopped in his tracks. Like a record that had skipped to the next line, his head started a line of thoughts that shouldn’t play any part in his meeting with his son. If Olivier was a siren, he was a legitimate heir. Ellery would lose claim to everything regarding the circle. It seemed too good to be true, if Nathaniel finally could take over what he had been denied for centuries. He pushed away the thought, for now.
Olivier admitted the problem had been with all terms of relationships. His father nodded slightly, as he tried to understand. Hopefully, Olivier didn’t suffer the same fate as his father, and lived in a shared body? If he did, that was a cruel twist of fate. After apologizing for the part where he came on too strong, Olivier seemed to do a complete analysis of his father’s way of grasping feelings. ‘’To be honest,’’ he said, quite hesitant, ‘’I grasp for feelings, because it has been so long since I’ve dared to feel anything at all… Being locked away every time I even grew slightly fond of anything… It’s hard to be someone at all, when all you’re reduced to is a being with no real purpose or meaning,’’ he said. If someone should know the truth of why Nathaniel was like he was, it would be his son.
‘’Did you fear I wanted nothing to do with you?’’ he then asked, as he looked out at the green field, like Olivier did.

‘’I am sort of relieved that you don’t relate to that, even though it seems like you’ve landed on the other end of the spectrum in regard to feelings,’’ he said, smiling calmly to the young man. He slowly started to understand that Olivier might have more than the siren-abilities. It sounded like he needed silence in his head, which he wasn’t able to achieve, which seemed somehow far more cruel than sharing a mind and body with a brother.

The thought of his own son fearing that Nathaniel wouldn’t want to meet him made the siren look down at the grass in front of him. He felt like a major failure for not being there for his family - especially since he seemed to have desired to know his father for more than a brief moment. ‘’I… All I can say is that I’m not the type to turn my back on those I care about. I would never disregard you, Olivier,’’ he said, with the pronunciation of his name rolling of his tongue as it had been the most natural thing to say.

‘’Well, now that I’ve met you, I can surely say that I would like it very much if I could get to know you better with time,’’ he said, smiling as he looked out over the meadow once more. ‘’Did your mother ever tell you of my brother, Ellery?’’ he asked, with a slightly crooked smile. Olivier deserved to know the truth about why she had been sent away while carrying him. Then he could make up his own mind about his uncle, if he wanted to.