Adrian mechanically munched on his cereal in the kitchen. It was closing in on lunch and he’d only just woken up. The previous night’s events had left him utterly drained. Only Rann and Tassie were in the house, but he knew better than to interrupt their time together. He might not have heard what they’d been talking about before surfacing from his room, but he could tell that whatever it was affected both of them deeply.

  Him coming down the stairs had put a halt to whatever it was they’d been discussing. From the kitchen, he heard the occasional sniffle as they vaguely referred to the new mission Tassie had apparently been assigned.

  He put his thoughts on the matter aside, knowing he’d learn about it eventually.

  Worry gnawed at him with each bite he took. He hadn’t seen Reya yet and didn’t’ know where she was. What he’d told her the night before was shocking and he desperately wanted to hear her thoughts on what he’d revealed now that they’d both had the time to sleep on it.

  In need of an outlet, he soon found himself in the music room, staring at the cello the military had reproduced for him. For once, he found himself at a loss for as to what to play. He picked up the bow and took his position. With no particular melody in mind, he strung notes together in a scale chosen at random, slowly refining it until it took on a life of its own and became something distinct. The low, somber notes he teased out filled the room, reverberating deep within his chest.

  Before he knew it, he lost himself in his music, continuing to turn his little melody into something more. The sound of the door opening tore him from his trance. He turned his head and saw Reya standing in the room. She looked haggard. She softly shut the door behind her and took up a seat next to him. Her lips tugged upwards into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “You look awful,” Adrian said, his concern palpable. The longer he studied her the more his worry grew. He put the cello down. “Is it because of last night?” He’d fallen asleep so quickly, as exhausted as he was. He hadn’t had the energy to get caught up in how Reya might have felt after hearing his story. He was beginning to regret that now that he’d gotten a good look at her.

  Reya nodded. “I never knew,” she said with teary eyes, repeating the words she’d told him the night before. “I don’t know how to make it better.” Her tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. “I can’t erase what was done to you. I can’t take away your pain.” She began to sob. “I feel useless, not knowing what to do.”

  Adrian’s look softened. “You’ve already done so much for me,” he said, taking her hand. “You soothe me in ways I didn’t know were possible. Your very existence, every shred of who you are, is something I will forever be grateful for. You’re right, you can’t undo what was done to me — or yourself, for that matter. Being by your side heals me every day. There’s nothing that could ever replace you.”

  Reya’s tears slowed to a stop, and she wiped them away. Holding back the urge to keep crying, she forced herself to stay strong. “How could I possibly accomplish that when I’m not actually doing anything?” she asked.

  “By being you.” Adrian’s voice was full of love as he spoke. “I could never ask for anything else. You’re special.”

  A warm feeling stirred in Reya’s chest. “What about me makes me so special?” she asked. Looking him in the eyes, she awaited his judgement, still not comprehending how she could possibly be enough to make him better after what had happened to him.

  Without hesitation, Adrian replied, “Your love and support are the most beautiful things anybody has ever given me.” He took both her hands in his as teardrops formed in his eyes. “The gru’ul tore me apart into tiny pieces,” he continued, his pain evident in his voice. Reya’s heart ached knowing just how much pain there truly was. “They never put me back together properly because I was always missing one thing. You.”

  Reya collected him in a hug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most,” she said, her head buried in his shoulder. “I wish I could have been.”

  Adrian shook his head slowly. His arms wrapped around her, and he cradled her head gently. “You didn’t even know I existed. There’s nothing to be sorry for. I’m glad you weren’t there as long as I was.”

  The pair remained silent for a moment, relishing the peace their other half brought them. Once they both calmed down, they came apart. “I’ll be here for you now,” Reya said. “In all the ways I wasn’t able to before.”

  “There’s no need to change anything,” Adrian replied. “What you do for me is all I could ever dream of.”

  Reya’s attention shifted towards the instrument Adrian had set aside when she’d entered. “I haven’t seen you play this one very much. What was that song you were practicing before I entered?” she asked. It had been faint, but she’d heard it all the same when she was standing outside of the room worrying about what to say. It made her wonder why he didn’t play such a beautiful sounding instrument more often.

  “Something I made up,” Adrian admitted. “I don’t think it was very good since I haven’t been working on it long.” The thought of writing down any sheet music hadn’t even crossed his mind. The tune was far from being developed into a full song.

  Reya paused as she stared at him in wonder. “You did all that in so little time?” Ever since she’d heard some of Adrian’s music, she’d been inspired to write something of her own. The sounds Adrian showed her and taught her to play amazed her and she wanted something that was wholly hers.

  Her language lessons might have come a long way since she first began, but she was by no means an expert and not confident enough to write something in his language. The result was a song composed with the a’vaarian language in mind. That Adrian could come up with something so quickly left her astounded.

  “How’s your song coming along?” he asked, deciding to set aside his impromptu session for the time being. “I’ve heard you practicing, and it sounds like it’s almost done.”

  Reya smiled shyly. “You heard that? I practically banished you each time I worked on it!”

  “I have excellent hearing,” Adrian said with a toothy grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard something quite like what you’re composing. So far, I mostly know the bass line, but I’ve heard you trying out other instruments.”

  “I really want to incorporate them into my song. I know what they sound like and what I want them to do in my song, but I can’t reproduce the sounds properly since I don’t really know how to play them. It’s frustrating!” Reya said. Trying her hand at the myriad of instruments Adrian could seemingly flawlessly play once again made her marvel at his musical ability. She found it such a shame that he didn’t think it was anything special.

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  Adrian hummed in thought. “Would you like me to play the instruments in your place for your song? You could show me what you want, and I could play it for you.”

  “Really?” Reya lit up at the thought. She’d been so determined to do everything on her own that she’d forgotten she didn’t have to. She and Adrian were a team. It didn’t have to be her alone against the problem. The thought of finally being able to listen to what she had in her mind filled her with joy. “I’d love that!” she exclaimed.

  “Of course.” Adrian smiled. It made him happy knowing that he could help Reya complete the project she’d poured so much time into. Thinking about the end result made him giddy. It had been a long time since he’d heard a new style of music, and he was intensely curious as to what she had in mind.

  Reya rushed to take out the other instruments she had in mind for her song. Her bassline already finished, she was able to guide Adrian in the timing she wanted the other sounds to have. Upon hearing about her vision, he was quick to ask her whether she’d written down her part as sheet music so that he could reference it.

  She proudly flourished pages worth of scoring, impressing Adrian immensely. He could tell she’d paid close attention to his lessons with a single glance. A warm feeling rose in his chest as he regarded her.

  After listening to Reya play out her part, the pair quickly got to work on bringing her vision to life. Adrian took it upon himself to score the other instruments as they breathed life into her music. Hours passed and all too soon the song was complete. It helped that Reya knew exactly what she wanted. Still, the speed at which the remainder of the song was composed took them both by surprise, as they’d expected there to by multiple sessions until everything was ready.

  “It’s time we record it,” Adrian announced, looking over the sheet music once more. “Would you like to get started now?”

  “You want to record it now?” Reya balked. “It’s almost dinner time! We’ve been here all afternoon. Shouldn’t we take a break?”

  Adrian grinned. “I think dinner can wait a little bit. We can stop if we get hungry, but I’d much rather put this all together and hear the end result.”

  His enthusiasm for her project thrilled her, and she gave his proposal to continue their work more consideration. “Maybe we could eat part of a ration bar?” she proposed. “That won’t take up too much time and we can get right back to work.” Adrian agreed with the idea, and she quickly informed Rann that they would be holed up in the music room most likely for the rest of the evening, requesting not to be disturbed by anyone.

  Rann was skeptical, worried that they should take a break, but Reya’s excitement quickly quashed any alternatives she offered. Ultimately, she took it upon herself to deliver a few ration bars to the music room. After taking one look at how excited both Adrian and Reya seemed at the prospect of recording their music made her reassess her earlier complaints. It was rare that the both of them were in such good moods.

  Especially after what she’d learned about Reya’s discussion last night and her reaction earlier that morning.

  Deciding to give them the space they needed, Rann quietly left and informed the others not to disturb them until they emerged at some point later. The faint sound of music filled the house, the walls not enough to fully muffle Adrian and Reya’s enthusiasm.

  Hours later, a very tired couple left the music room. They looked exhausted, but it was clear that they were happy about something. They sat on the couch, joining Tassie and Rann in the living room. The two women paused their show and turned their attention to the newcomers.

  “It’s about time you come out of there,” Rann said. “What on Verilia were you doing that took so long and that you couldn’t take a break from?” she asked. The thought of spending so much time continuously holed up in the music room seemed nonsensical to her. Adrian and Reya could have easily put the instruments down and joined them for dinner. Their obsession with their music had her concerned.

  While Kell had told the team to leave them be when they were in the music room having fun, their behaviour was a tad excessive. It was just music. Granted, the instruments that Adrian played were novel and his music was unlike anything Rann had ever heard, but it still didn’t justify spending so much time dedicated to it.

  “We recorded a song!” Reya chittered excitedly. Even though she was tired, she was bursting at the seams, ready to show the others what she and Adrian had accomplished. Especially since she was the one that composed it.

  “And that was the reason you couldn’t leave the music room?” Rann asked. “That’s a bit much, no?”

  Undeterred by her friend’s concern, Reya continued. “It’s a song I composed!” she said proudly. “Adrian helped by playing the other instruments that I still don’t know how to play yet. It took us a while make it perfect, but I’m so happy with the result.”

  Tassie couldn’t help but smile. Reya was beaming, and it was a rare sight. “You mean you wrote the whole thing?” she asked, intrigued. She found Adrian’s system for musical notation fascinating. Such an elegant solution to a problem that baffled their society only made her hungry for more knowledge. Especially since she had a rudimentary idea of how it worked. While by no means an expert like Reya and Adrian, she could still read sheet music enough to understand how complex each instrument’s part might be. “Can we listen to it?” she asked.

  “Yes!” Reya squealed. She rushed back into the music room and brought back a speaker and the data slate they’d used to record the song. She quickly connected the two and started her song. A melody reminiscent of what Adrian had played for them in the past yet entirely distinct rang clear throughout the living room.

  The alien instruments from Adrian’s home world blended together to make a beautiful, haunting song that was sure to remain stuck in their head. Reya’s bassline shone through the other instruments. Hypnotic and entrancing, it thrummed in everybody’s chests, sinking them deeper into the music.

  All too soon it was over.

  Rann and Tassie stared at Reya completely speechless in the silence left behind as their friend awaited their judgement. “You made all of that up?” Rann asked, completely stunned. “Even the parts to the instruments you don’t know how to play?” The thought astounded her. She’d never expected that Reya had such an enthralling song within her.

  “I did!” Reya exclaimed. “What did you think of it?” Although she thought it was pretty good, she had yet to hear what her friends actually thought of the song she’d composed. The seconds stretched on as her friends collected their thoughts and the more time passed, the more nervous she grew. Perhaps it hadn’t been as good as she initially thought.

  “That was incredible,” Tassie said, coming back to herself. “You wrote down all of it? Could we see the sheet music for it?” She desperately wanted to see what the song looked like written down. That others would be able to replicate it made her incredibly excited.

  Adrian made the quick trip to the music room and returned with a sheaf of papers. “These are the originals. We already made backups with the data slate and digitized them,” he said.

  He set them down on the coffee table, separating them by instrument and Tassie picked up the set nearest her. She thumbed through the pages, taking in what was written down. Once done, she set them back down and went through each set, growing more amazed with each part she read, keenly aware that she was reading the entirety of what she’d just heard — something unimaginable to her until Adrian had come along.

  Rann followed suit and went through the parts. She didn’t have anywhere near the same understanding of what she was looking at but was suitably impressed based on what little she did know. “Do we have your permission to show this to the Tribunal?” she asked. “I’m sure they’d be interested in hearing the first piece of a’vaarian music composed written down and composed with Adrian’s instruments.”

  Reya exchanged glances with Adrian. She shrugged, not seeing the harm. “Sure,” she consented. “I don’t have an issue with it as long as they remember I own the song.”

  “I’ll let them know,” Rann said quickly, still in a stupor from the dizzying complexity of what she was reading. By the gods, she could already envision the Tribunal’s reaction to such a piece of music. It would mark a significant cultural shift for their society if heard by others.

  “Can we listen to it again?” Tassie asked excitedly.