A gentle breeze gently caresses the autumn-kissed leaves one morning. Cherry blossom petals danced through the old oak trees. From a distance, the scent of Earl Grey tea wafted from a small porcelain teacup.

Nimble and lean fingers grasped the cup’s handle and it was brought to a pair of soft, pink lips. The balcony door opens, and the figure saunters outside, standing near the railings. The wind playfully tossed her long brown hair, the tresses swaying gently with the wind.

Brown eyes looked up to the sky, hints of playfulness and delight visible. A small smile tugged on the corners of her lips as she breathed in the fresh air of spring.

The hands of the old grandfather clock ticked its seconds away, the pendulum swinging from left to right, intent on remaining like that for a cycle.

Zhang Yixing stretched his arms and yawned, staring at the neatly-arranged stacks of paperwork and books piled on his desk. It’s been a stressful hour for him, meeting deadlines with his bosses and finishing end of the year reports.

He sighed as the first signs of a migraine started. He massaged his temples and decided to push back the swivel chair to where he was sitting on. His gaze unconsciously drifted to a covered piano at the side of the room.

Le Madre Ninnananna? That’s a duet…

Yixing shook his head as that particular memory of her resurfaced and he had to shake his head. Thinking about her always brought back that stinging pain in his chest and his mind would conjure up images from his past; a past best forgotten.

A series of faint knocks resounded through the room and he muttered, “Come in.”

A middle-aged man enters the room and bows. It was Andou, the butler who manages the house whenever Yixing wasn’t around. He calmly places a tea set and a plate of scones on the centre table in front of Yixing.

Without a word, the butler pours warm tea into a cup, and as soon as Yixing caught a whiff of it, he immediately recognized the aroma.

“This scent…it’s vanilla, isn’t it?” Yixing inquires quickly.

“Yes, sir. We had it specially flown in from Venice, per request of your father.” Andou curtly replied.

Yixing glanced at the steaming teacup in front of him.

Another memory yet resurfaces and he starts to shake his head. Andou looks at him quizzically. “Yixing-ssi, are you—“

“Please take it away. I don’t want it.”

Before his butler could finish his question, he had cut him off smoothly. Andou blinked a couple of times. “Yixing-ssi?”

Yixing glared at the butler in front of him. “I said, take it away.” Andou gulped inwardly and squirmed under his piercing glare. “As you wish, sir. My apologies, I’ll take it away now.” He bowed and quickly exited the room with the tea set in hand, closing the door softly as he went out.

Once the oak door closed, Yixing gave a groan of exasperation. He went back to his desk, and he quickly took a seat into his swivel chair, placing a hand on his face.

A brown-haired girl, with brown doe eyes and a smiling face quickly invades his thoughts.

He hisses and slams a fist on his table. He buries his head within his arms as he closed his eyes.

You have no idea how much I missed you…Rin.

The pink petals of cherry blossoms slowly descended from the trees, signalling the prelude of spring and the end of the bitter winter.

Zhang Yixing sighed contentedly as he lay down underneath the shade of the cherry blossom trees, preparing for a nap. He had just finished practicing for his upcoming recital that year and he had to take a break from playing the piano keys. He had to sneak out of the classroom, away from his instructor who surely had no idea where he had run off to.

He started to slowly close his eyes when he heard humming coming from behind the tree trunk. He quickly blinked his eyes open and strained his ears so that he could hear well.

“hanasanaide
gyutto te wo nigitteite
anata to futari tsudzuku to itte
tsunaida sono te ha atatakakute
yasashikatta…”

[Don’t let go…
hold my hand tight…
say we’ll continue being together…
our held hands used to be so warm
and so tender.]

The voice had a soft tone to it, he likened it to soft, ringing bells. Intrigued, he shuffled closer to the source and in the process, he tripped over a root, making him fall face down on the dirt.

“Oww…” He moaned.

A soft gasp made him regain his senses. He looked up from where he had fallen and his eyes widened slightly in awe.

A girl, whose physical features made her look like an eighteen-year old, looked at him. She was carrying a small white kitten in her arms and her long, brown hair cascaded freely across her back and her brown eyes were rounded in surprise.

Yixing was caught distracted for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat. “Who are you?” He asked to the female in front of him. She quickly shrank bank in fear and started to back away from him slightly.

“No wait. I won’t hurt you.” He called out and gave her a small smile. The female relaxed a bit and shuffled closer, maintaining a good distance between the two of them. She returned the smile with a bashful one of her own before murmuring. “Rin…Rin Inoue.” Her fingers the fur of the kitten she was holding, the cat giving out soft purrs of content.

“What? Can you say that again?” Yixing asked once again, obviously distracted by her presence. The girl bit her lower lip and replied louder for him to hear. “My name is Rin Inoue…”

He laughed awkwardly and ruffled his hair with his hand before holding it out to her who just looked at him with her eyes laced with confusion. “My name’s Zhang Yixing. Everybody calls me Lay, though.” Yixing took note of her confused expression and he extended his hand further. “Nice to meet you, Rin.”

The female looked up to him and reached her own hand out slightly to shake hands with him. “N-Nice to meet you too…” She murmured. Yixing quickly took note of her smooth skin and unconsciously squeezed her hand tighter.

Rin pinked a bit at his grip and she shyly muttered, “Y-you can let go of my hand right now…” Yixing quickly retracted his hand hand rubbed the nape of his neck. “Ah. Sorry about that.”

An awkward silence ensued between the two of them. Rin was avoiding his stares and she unconsciously tucked in a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Yah, Yixing! Get your in here!”

The sound of a deep male voice echoed across the meadow and Yixing slowly cursed under his breath. He turned to the female and flashed an apologetic smile, making his dimples show. “Sorry. I’ve got to go now. Meet you here tomorrow then. Same time?”

Before the female could utter a reply the voice called again. “Yixing! Yah, you stubborn child! Once I get you, I’ll seriously grill you!”

“That’s my cue. I’ll be waiting tomorrow, okay?” He mutters before sprinting away, leaving a confused Rin behind.

“Yah, Yixing. Are you even listening to me?” The middle-aged man asked, exasperated as he saw his student eventually getting bored. Yixing snapped his head towards him and blinked. “Were you saying something?”

The man let out a groan. “Were you even listening in the first place?” Yixing flashed a cheeky smirk, and eventually the man gave up.

“You really shouldn’t slack off you know? Your recital is coming up soon and you still haven’t selected a piece.” The man remarked sternly. Yixing simply shrugged and stared outside the window. “I’ll choose a piece by tomorrow.”

His instructor looked at him and sighed resignedly. “Well, that’s all for today. Let’s see each other next meeting and I hope you have chosen a piece by that time.”

Yixing gave a slight nod and stood up from the wooden chair he was sitting on and he made his way out of the door. However, as walked towards the wooden door, the door opened of its own accord and a familiar face came into view.

“Father? I’m here…” The soft voice that he had heard that morning quickly filled his ears and the familiar figure of Rin Inoue went inside the room. Her arms clutched a portfolio of music sheets and her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her cat was at her feet, constantly rubbing its head on her legs, begging for attention.

As soon as her doe brown eyes looked up, slightly parted in surprise. “Y-Yixing? What are you doing here?”

Yixing looked at her before flashing a smile. “I could ask the same thing.” She blushed bashfully and another awkward silence was set between the two of them before his instructor cleared his throat.

“You know each other?” The man asked, successfully breaking the two of them out of their reverie. Yixing glanced at his instructor before saying, “Is this your daughter, sir?”

The man nodded and Rin quickly turned to her father. “Otou-sama…is Yixing your student?” Her father nodded and gave her a small smile. “I see that you already met each other. I was planning to introduce him to you tomorrow.”

Rin blushed bashfully and shook her head. “I see…”

Yixing glanced at her before stepping outside the room. “I better be going. See you tomorrow then, sir.” He gave a quick bow before proceeding down the hallway towards the main entrance to go home. Once he was out of sight and ear shot, Rin’s father turned to her and smiled again.

“I see you have made a friend.” Rin nodded and clutched the music sheets in front of her tightly. “I think he’s nice.”

Her father gave a laugh. “He’s quite a handful, daughter. He sure is tame whenever he’s around you, don’t you think?” His words had a hidden meaning to it and Rin raised an eyebrow before sighing. “It’s time for my lessons otou-sama. We better get started.”

The next day, he had shown up at his instructor’s house thirty minutes before his usual class. The man eventually had yet to finish breakfast when he arrived, so he had no choice but to sit on the couch in the receiving room. He was about to reach for a magazine on top of the centre table when he heard a few notes resounding from the music room.

Instinctively, he stood up and peeked at the glass windows of the room. His heartbeat sped up when he saw Rin, her eyes focused on the piece she was playing on the piano. Her hair was let loose again, and she was wearing a serious expression on her face as she played. Yixing smiled and decided to knock on the door.

In the midst of her playing, Rin was startled by the sudden intrusion that she accidentally hit a wrong note. She shot an annoyed look at the door and marched to it, yanking it open rather harshly in the process.

“I was playing! What do you want-oh!” Her outburst was cut off when Yixing’s frame was in front of the door. She blushed yet again and bowed a few times. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that it was you…” She muttered.

Yixing bit back his urge to laugh at her cute reactions. Instead he ruffled her hair playfully. “Nah. It’s nothing.” He made his way into the room and closed the door. Rin sighed and decided to break the silence reigning over the two of them. “You’re quite early…”

“Was I?” Yixing blinked innocently as he took a seat at the piano couch, his hands arranging the music sheets in front of him before positioning his fingers over the ivory keys. Rin unconsciously stared at him from the corner of her eyes and smiled a bit.

Yixing carefully studied the piece written on the music sheet before him before pressing a key. He was immediately engrossed in the piece that he didn’t notice Rin taking a seat beside him in the piano couch.

He only noticed it when another pair of hands were playing beside him. He turned to her in wonder. “Why…?”

“Le madre ninnananna…” The girl replied instead and smiled a bit before arranging the music sheets in front of them. “A Mother’s Lullaby…This is a piece for a duet, you know?” She tentatively pressed one key to start the melody. “Shall we start?”

Yixing only nodded mutely at her before continuing to press the keys as she did.

They had been playing smoothly for quite a while before she had to stop, turning her head to the side and covering with a handkerchief as she coughed into it. Yixing stopped playing and turned to her, his eyes laced with worry and concern. “Are you okay…?”

Rin took a look at the small fabric and she inwardly gasped as she saw that she had coughed up blood. Her hands instinctively went inside her pocket to feel a piece of paper. She gulped anxiously and turned to face him with a half-hearted smile.

“I’m alright… I’m fine really. Let’s just continue playing…” She muttered. Yixing raised an eyebrow at this but decided not to comment as he continued to press the ivory keys on the piano.

Today was not different from the other days. It was time for their break and the two decided to spend it outside in the backyard, under the shade of the large oak tree. Rin was leaning against the tree trunk, reading a small book, and Yixing’s head was lying on her lap. Her cat, Yuuki was on the male’s chest, his fingers its fur every now and then.

He looked up to her the same time she gazed down at him and she blushed a bit. “Wh-why are you staring?” She muttered and he chuckled before reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her blushed only deepened at his small gesture. “Yi-yixing…”

“Hmm?” He mumbled gazing up at her with his eyes, a small smile on the corner of his mouth. “Co-could you please stop staring at me like that…?”

“He chuckled before sitting up, placing Yuuki down on the grass who gave out a disappointed purr. He leaned on the tree trunk before muttering, “I just think you’re pretty up this close…”

The female’s eyes widened at the compliment and her cheeks were still flushed pink. “Y-yah…don’t say random things like that—“

“But I do mean it.” Yixing cut her off and instead turned to look at her. Before she could blink, she had noticed he had effectively caged her in, and his face were a mere inches away from her face. Up this close, he could smell her addicting vanilla scent. “Y-Yixing…” She stuttered, her cheeks getting redder and redder with each passing moment.

His eyes were serious as he stared at her, and when he spoke his warm breath fanned over her face. “I just don’t know why my heart is acting up whenever I’m around you…”

Rin turned to the side, avoiding his serious stare before mumbling, “Wh-what…?” She felt two fingers tilt her chin towards the other side, and she saw that he was making her look at him. She swallowed a lump that formed in . Before she knew it, he was inching his face towards hers, and she instinctively closed her eyes in anticipation of what’s going to happen next.

However, all she heard was a laugh emanating from Yixing. She snapped her eyes open and saw that he was now standing up, holding a hand to his belly as he cracked up. She childishly glared and pouted at him.

“Meanie!” She muttered before crossing her arms in front of her chest before she stood up and glared at him. Yixing shrugged. “I couldn’t help it. You were so cute!”

Rin’s eyes widened and she exclaimed, “Yah!” She reached out in an attempt to punch him when the male sprinted away from her.

“Try to catch me if you can!” He yelled while he sprinted out to the meadow, and the girl behind him laughed as she shook her head. “Wait until I get my hands on you!”

Yixing laughed as he sped ahead, easily overpowering the petite girl behind him. “ Hey not so fast!”  She yelled, and before she could speed up, her chest suddenly hurt. “Come on! Is that the fastest you can run?”  Yixing taunted her from afar and she glared at him. “You asked for it.”  She mumbled and she ran again, ignoring the tight feeling in her chest.

However, as soon as she was close to catching him, her knees wobbled and she fell forward, her hand clutched over her chest and she exhaled deep, laborious breaths. Yiixing stopped and looked back at her, his eyes rounded with worry.

“ For how long…was she suffering?”  Yixing asked her father while the two were outside the emergency room. Her father shook his head. “It’s been three months. It was in the terminal stage and she refused to accept the therapy even though I forced her to.”  He muttered sadly.

Yixing’s eyes rounded in surprise. “Why didn’t she tell me..?”

“She hid it from me at first. She told me she didn’t want anyone to pity her because of her state. She wanted to live a normal life, with her remaining time. She only had limited time left, Yixing..” His instructor replied, burying his head into his palms.

The two shared an emotional silence before the doctor came out. Yixing stood up and approached him. “ How…How is she?”

The doctor shook his head, his mouth set in a thin line. “It seems she has only a few hours left to live. The complications rendered her other organs useless. I’m really sorry…”  He shook his head. “You may go see her now…”

Yixing pushed back the doctor and he went inside the room. He gasped at Rin’s body, various tubes and machines plugged to her body, giving her what little they had to offer. Her chest heaved with each laborious breath she took. He quickly went to her side and clutched her hand.

She must have sensed the contact and slowly she fluttered her eyes open to meet his gaze. She gave him a pained smile and pulled the oxygen mask away from her face. “I’m…sorry…” She said, heaving pants between each word.

Yixing silenced her with a finger to her lips “Shh… Don’t talk anymore…” he mumbled, his heart constricting at her pitiful state.

She shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. “Yixing…I’m…really…sorry…” She coughed and despite his pleads for her to stop talking, she still continued. She coughed again and Yixing replied, his tears slowly falling without him knowing. “Rin. Stop. Just stop…”  Rin shook her head and smiled, her hand reaching out to wipe his tears away.

“Shh..Don’t cry because of me..” She heaved another laborious breath before continuing, “Yixing...” She smiled once again. “I was so happy that I met you…”

He clutched her hand, ignoring the cold feel of it. “Rin…Rin…” She smiled at him one last time, before closing her eyes. Her hand went slack, and it fell from his grasp. The heart monitor beeped for a long time, signalling the end of her.

Yixing stared at the girl in front of him, before bursting into a fit of ugly sobs.

For almost half of his life, he had been playing the high treble without the accompanying base; the song he was playing, was a duet; yet without a partner, it would be incomplete and unfinished.

Back to the present:

Yixing sighed, running a hand through his brown locks as he gazed outside the window of the music room. His eyes trailed to the massive grand piano in front of him.  He had decided to quit learning the piano, and at times, people would ask, "Why did you stop playing?"

He would simply smile and then he would reply..

"There are sounds, smells, colors, and places that bring back sad memories." 

Yet now, he had no idea what drew him to sit on the piano couch, his fingers poised over the glossy keys.

A set of music sheets lay in front of him, waiting for the pianist to incorporate the notes into a beautiful melody.

Carefully debating on what to do, he opened the music sheet for the song they used to play, and of its own accord, his fingers start to move …

“Every meeting led to a parting, and so it would, as long as life was mortal. In every meeting there were some of the sorrow of parting, but in every parting there was some of the joy of meeting again.”

.

.

.

Let’s meet once again…Rin.

Author’s Note: I finally completed this one-shot~  I do hope that it gave a bit of angst…I hope you guys liked it~  Thank you for reading!