Zeven had immediately headed to Brennan's house.
Gunter had just checked in on him but Zeven wanted to personally see that he was okay. Brennan had been his closest friend for years. Since around eight, when his father had taken the boy in as a servant for Zeven. Somewhere along the lines Zeven had forgotten that Brennan was meant as a mere tool and had been grateful to finally have someone his own age around.
Brennan hit many milestones before Zeven had, but he never left Zeven's side. So now Zeven would never leave his.
Using the hidden key, Zeven slipped into the house. The real reason for this outing was to make sure that Brennan was healing okay, but he couldn't say that to Chris. So he came up with the most believable lie. And it's not like having sex wasn't something he'd usually do, just not today.
Trying not to stir up too much trouble in the house, Zeven slipped in and quietly made his way to the living room. Propped up and waiting for him was a slightly annoyed Brennan. The bruises looked worse but the swelling was better.
"I heard you come in. You're not as sneaky as you think you are." Zeven laughed as he walked over. He took a seat on the floor and began to fill Brennan in on everything that had happened.
Chris had managed to not only search every nook and cranny of the place, but to miraculously find a whole lot of nothing. She had wasted hours scouring the house, but it had given her brain a break. Sitting down on the piano bench, Chris felt the weight of her tired body. Yesterday's sparing hadn't helped the issue either.
She looked over the keys on the piano, lightly dusting her fingers over them. A faint memory played in the back of her mind, as a melody swelled and echoed. Hands, gentle hands placing hers on the piano. Holding her warmly, as she played the piano.
Chris wanted to play the song her mother played for her as a child. Placing both hands on the keys, she closed her eyes and tried to remember. Her fingers pressed down clumsily. The melody she remembered was simple. It sounded so easy, but trying to play it was hard. Chris fixated on the piano and lost all track of time.
The front door opened and closed without a sound. The sound of music immediately told Zeven where he would find Chris. And as he looked over, he saw her hunched over the keys. The melody was stumbling and clumsy, but he knew the song by heart. He walked quietly over to the bench before leaning down around her.
His arms came up on either side of her, and his head sat just above her shoulder. "Did you know that this song was written to be played by four hands?" Without skipping a beat he picked up the melody and began playing it with her. Chris froze. She hadn't heard him enter, much less walk over. Her fingers fumbled, "Keep going." Zeven whispered directly into her ear.
He was careful not to touch her, maintaining space. He propped his knee on the bench to ease the weight of his body. This was the slowest he had played the song since he was a child. "Originally it was written to be played by two people, one from my country and one from yours. It was created during a time of peace of course, but there are still people who play it. A solo version, but it is still very beautiful. It was the first song I learned. I, of course, learned the duet first, but without someone to complete the melody it is hard to be satisfied with the sound. So I ended up learning the solo as well just so that I could hear this song when I wanted." His voice was pleasant. She could hear the smile he wore.
Zeven breathed in the warmth and nostalgia that flowed from this song. "You know, I am quite positive that this song hasn't been played in its intended form for many years." Her fingers fumbled again, but Zeven kept a steady melody, as he cadenced and prematurely ended the song. He hummed quietly to himself as his hands lifted with a flourish from the keys.
He was transported to a different time, back when he was a child and had learned this song in the lap of his mother, and then to the time he had played it with the woman. The melody was what had called him into her small cottage, and he could still see her sitting on the piano bench in a pale blue dress. Her hair reaching her waist, half pulled into a braid half free flowing. She turned to face him, alabaster skin covered in freckles, and soft blue eyes. The beautiful blue eyes that haunted his dreams. Zeven found himself walking towards the woman in his dreams only to be pulled back to reality before reaching her.
Grey eyes, not blue, looked at him. Chris had pivoted her torso to face him. Her shoulder pushed into his, as she looked up at him with her big grey eyes. Zeven blinked several times, finding himself entranced by her grey eyes in a different way than the woman's blue. He looked at her face clearly, as if for the first time. Her loose blonde hair surrounded her face, and suited her like the frame of a photograph. Her nose was small and pointed, and she only had the slightest trace of freckles under her eyes. But her eyes were the most captivating. They were grey, but not lacking in color, flecks of green and blue shone through like the stained glass windows of a church. Casting a beautiful light on where she looked.
Chris may have looked like the woman, but she was not her. It had taken Zeven entirely too long to see through the resemblance of the two. But now that he had, he was unlikely to mix the two up. The woman was kind and soft and everything that a woman should be, while Chris was headstrong and bold and held nothing in regards to femininity.
"I guess I should welcome you back." It was an awkward moment, Zeven had spaced out for a moment, only to pop back in at the most inopportune time when Chris went to look at him. Sensing the tension, Zeven snapped back into his usual jackass persona. "Try not to be so intimate, I may just have to marry you." dead silence. "Alright… still not funny. I'll make a note."
"I remember my mother playing this song, how do you know it?"
"My mother also played it for me. It was my favorite. That's about the only thing I recall before she died." Another silence filled the room. Not as vicious as the first, but more melancholy.
"There's a bit more to the song, if you would be interested in learning?" Chris paused for a moment before answering, "only if you move out from behind me." Zeven laughed as he stood moving to her left side. He nudged her with his elbow as he sat down beside her. Deliberately keeping space between the two of them he put his hands on the keys and watched as she did the same.
They passed the time with an elaborate game of follow the leader. Zeven played as Chris tried to keep pace, eventually working their way into a rhythm. It was imperfect, but it was together.