"I can't stand to fly,
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find,
the better part of me...
" I'm more than a bird,
I'm more than a plane,
I'm more than some pretty face,
beside a train,
and it's not easy, to be me..."

Zexion sang softly to himself as he played his soul out into the keys of the piano. His body rocked with the beat of the music he made and the rhythym of the music ran through his blood. His gloves lying on the top of the piano vibrated gently when he hit a particularly loud chord and the sound of music and his voice rang throughout the halls of Castle Oblivion.

"I wish that I could cry,
fall upon my knees,
find a way to lie,
about a home I'll never see,
It may sound absurd
but don't be naive
even heroes have the right to bleed,
I may be disturbed
For what you can see,
even heroes have the right to dream..."

Zexion's fingers danced across the black and white keys of the piano and his feet played a familiar tattoo on the pedals. This opus had been growing inside him and had exploded into a spellbinding song. Every arc of sound mingled into one perfect euphony. Unbeknownst to the silver-haired man, he had an audience. This unknown presence stood just inside the doorway, completely engrossed in this new sound.

"Up up and away, away from me,
But it's all right,
You can all sleep sound tonight,
I'm not crazy...
Or anything...
I can't stand to fly,
I'm not that naive,
Men weren't meant to ride,
With clouds between their knees..."

Zexion's eyes were closed, his hands having memorized evey note in the melody. His body rocked, still in time with the music and scarce tears leaked from beneath his pale lids. Every bone and particle in his body felt the music. Passion burned in every chord of the creation. The silver-haired composer's audience still stood, enticed in the music.

"I'm only a man,

In a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street,
I'm only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me,
Inside of me,
inside of me...
inside of me,
inside of me...!"

"I'm only a man, in a funny red sheet,
I'm only a man looking for her dream,
I'm only a man in a funny red sheet,
And it's not easy,
It's not easy... to be... me..."

The song ended on a much quieter dynamic than it had hit in the beginning and middle. Zexion held his foot on the pedal, elongating the faint echo of the very last chord. A soft clapping of hands made him jump slightly. (Remember, he had no idea he was being watched.)

Zexion shifted slightly to get a better view of the unknown listener. His gaze landed on his fiery-headed advocate, Axel. The silver-haired man's mouth fell slightly open as he blushed. His formerly secret skill had been exposed, and strangely, it felt good.

"Wow Zexion... I had no idea... you never told... I never... wow." Axel's voice was genuinely amazed. The pyro's affectionatly awestruck face was sincerely impressed. "Why didn't you TELL me you could play like that! That was amazing! Amazing doesn't even BEGIN to describe that... that was... that was..." Axel's expression didn't change at all as he searched for a stronger word to describe what he had just heard.

"Thanks Axel..." Zexion blushed redder than Axel's hair.

"Where did you learn to play like that? That was brilliant!" Axel sat next to Zexion on the crimson-cushioned piano bench. " I had no idea." Axel looked at the keys on the piano, puzzling how anyone could manipulate the enigmatic black and white keys of the ebony piano. "How did you do that?" Axel's eyes sparkled in admiration.

"Well... I..." Zexion's blush deepened, "I taught myself when I was little..." Zexion looked away from Axel's sparkling eyes and adoring face. "Stop staring like that... you're embarassing me." Zexion smiled.

"Sorry..." Axel looked back at the piano keys. "Hey Zex?"

"What, Axel?"

"If it's not too much trouble, could you teach me?"

Zexion looked at Axel. "What?"

"Could you teach me? How to play... I never learned." Axel looked at Zexion, his emerald eyes shining. "Please?"

"Hmm..." Zexion smiled. "Sure."

The two friends looked at each other and smiled. Meanwhile, Marluxia walked past the door to the room. He stopped when he heard voices from inside. The brunette walked to the door and gently pushed it open. He looked inside and smiled.

(Z) "Okay, this key is a 'C'."

(A) "Okay. like this?"

(Z) "Yeah! Good. Now, this key..."

Marluxia smiled to himself and gently pulled the door shut. Axel and Zexion remained in the room, Zexion teaching keys and Axel listening intently to Zexion't every word. There was an occasional laugh when Axel mistook a 'B' for an 'E' or a 'D' for a 'C', and the ringing sounds of mismatched octaves. But overall, there rang the sound of an opus lingering, building up until it exploded into the familiar sound of many arcs forming into, much like Zexion, a perfect euphony.

The End.

Song: Superman by Five for Fighting.