Can you hear it?

Slender fingers trace the skeleton of the ebony creature. Soft notes hang in the air, until deeper tones replace them – a melody of dark and light, chasing dreams, love between angels. The skinny brunette runs his fingertips softly over the other boy’s, their worlds clashing at a single touch. He can feel the heat of the other, his side pressed up against him on the leather stool. His eyes watch the other’s long fingers glide of the ebony and ivory – he merely ghosts over the notes, yet doesn’t press any. Baekhyun gazes up at the boy’s round hazel eyes from underneath his eyelashes. He gently presses a lonely note it hovers in the air and swallows the nervousness between them. The curly haired boy beside him smiles softly. He follows the other, one finger running up the piano until ti rests on the same key, and he presses it. Baekhyun hums to himself.

Can you hear it?

∞

The house is dark. The floorboard creak under the pairs’ weight as the smaller guides the other towards a small room. It is an empty room, no bigger than an apartment’s kitchenette, draped with grey matted sheets which filter the obnoxious sunlight which would flood its hollow corners. He motions the other to sit on the lone chair – a simple red seat placed in the middle of the floor. There is a moment of silence before the brunette opens his mouth. It is a sweet tune, filled with the warmth of two lovers, the tears of secret goodbyes, and the hope of eternities. When the brunette sings, the soft lines on his face outline his heart. His gentle eyes stare straight into Chanyeol’s and the flutter of hearts simply match in time with the melody. Sometimes Baekhyun sings softly, afraid to disrupt the light pitter-patter of rain on the roof. His notes are quiet, filled with childhood memories and secret lovers. Sometimes he will let his voice echo into every hidden crack of the room – seep through the window and flutter the curtains. He closes his eyes as his voice fills his senses – nothing else matters. Nothing else exists. He opens his eyes and gazes across as the tall boy propped up in the chair. Usually there’s a smile on that beautiful face of his, but even the slightest trace of what used to be ceased to exist. Baekhyun whispered a hesitant sorry as he realised his song was not one of his happier tunes – it was filled with lost wishes – the sound of a heart breaking, winter slowly suffocating autumn and the winds breathing away the warmth that used to be held in their intertwined fingers. He had promised to sing happy tunes – it would show in his face – the way he smiled as he maybe clapped as he sang. He had promised.

Chanyeol-ah, Can you hear it?

Chanyeol smiles like he usually does, the warmth of Baekhyun’s voice reaching his heart. He continues to beam as he watched his boyfriend’s expressions change. Sometimes they are softer and sometimes the contours of his face deepen.

He loves watching his boyfriend sing. Even without being able to hear it, he knows that it is beautiful – Because Baekhyun is beautiful. He remembers his soft, gentle voice – it never changes. Even as the months pass, and the winters choke the poor boy’s vocal chords – it never changes. It is how Chanyeol always remembers it to be. The sweet angelic whispers that passes his lips, the quiet but not silent I love you’s. He trails his eyes to the boy’s face infront of him. His posture and emptiness in his eyes signals the song had come to an end. He reads the soft lips once more – the phrase repeated every day, since the accident, tears still welling in Baekhyun’s eyes as the words pass through his lips, yet never quite reaching the other’s ears.

Can you hear it?

Chanyeol smiles.

He nods.

He can always hear Baekhyun’s love for him.