"There you are, Melody!" Kaori cheered, grabbing the cat hurriedly out of her cage and rubbing her against her cheek. "I missed you so much!"

Kousei smiled and shook his head. Despite the fact that Kaori slept soundly, drooling on his shoulder the whole trip, she seemed more anxious than ever about this trip, checking their luggage every night for two weeks before their flight. A few months ago, they'd received their invitations to attend the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. For the newlyweds, who had spent their lives in Japan, this was a massive accomplishment. The opportunity to play with world class musicians and gain global recognition right in the home of Mozart and Beethoven was too good to pass up.

They bid a tearful farewell to their friends before taking off. Tsubaki bawled like a little girl at the airport but Kaori and Watari were able to calm her down before they took off. Nagi swore to join them soon. Takeshi and Emi, who would study at another musical university in Japan, wished them well. And then they flew, hand in hand for the entire trip. Kousei remembered how tightly Kaori held onto his hand as the plane took flight, the metal band on her finger digging into his hand. He looked at the matching ring on his finger as he leaned his head on hers and closed his eyes.

"Looks like we all made it, Friend A!" Kaori said, holding Melody to her chest as she stroked her fur gently.

"I'm glad," Kousei said, placing a quick peck on her lips as she smiled.

"So what do we do first? Find a piano and play our hearts out? Get our first legal drinks? Or find somewhere out of sight and-"

"Kaori, it's the middle of winter and we're in a new country," Kousei interrupted. "I don't think that'd be a good idea. Besides," he added, rubbing his eyes, "aren't you even the least bit tired?"

"Nope!" Kaori said, raising a fist in the air. "I rested on the plane! I'm ready to take no prisoners!"

A loud grumble from her stomach drew attention from everyone in the baggage claim area. Kaori clutched her stomach and smiled sheepishly. Kousei shook his head as he surveyed the airport. The moment he laid eyes on the nearby bakery, he knew what their first destination would be. He lifted their bags with one hand and held out another to her.

"You want some canelés?"

"Kousei Arima!" she exclaimed, taking his hand. "You don't have to ask."

"Kousei Arima!" Kaori yelled at the top of her lungs. "I love, love, love you!"

Everyone in the bar chuckled as they watched the spectacled man trying to wrestle his wife back into her seat. He was not having any success. When Kaori insisted they go for drinks a few days after they arrived, he originally jumped at the opportunity. He was curious what the fuss was all about. Little did he know what he'd be signing up for.

Within ten minutes of the first drops of alcohol touching their lips, Kaori was giggling at his every word. He could scarcely get a single sentence out before she would break out in laughter again. A few minutes and a couple of more drinks later, Kousei gave up and just laughed along with her.

"Isn't this fun, Friend A?" Kaori slurred. "We should do this every night for the rest of our lives!"

He burst into laughter at the thought.

"Hey! What's so funny, Friend A?"

"You are," he replied, wiping tears from his eyes.

She huffed in feigned annoyance.

"That's it!" she yelled, pulling him into a long kiss.

"Kaori," he said in between kisses, "we're making a scene."

"Do you mind?"

"Not really."

Their memories of that night were more fuzzy from that moment on. From the bits and pieces that Kousei did remember, they were not on their best behavior. The first mishap happened when he came back from the bathroom, his head feeling as light as air and footsteps as heavy as boulders, to see what seemed like someone else dancing with Kaori.

"Hey!" he yelled, rushing towards them. "Hands off my wife!"

The pair turned around towards him, confused, as Kousei took her hand and walked away.

"What were you thinking?" he slurred. "You said you'd never leave me!"

"Uh- Es tut mir leid Sie müssen mich mit jemandem verwechseln."

"What?"

He turned and realized, with horror, that he was holding a stranger's hand! He released his grip immediately and uttered a thousand apologies until he was tackled to the floor from behind.

"Kousei Arima!" Kaori cried, slapping Kousei repeatedly. "What do you think you're doing holding hands with another girl? I fight my disease, marry you, and fly with you to the other side of the world, and this is what I get?"

"I'm sorry! This was just an unfortunate coincidence!"

It took a while for Kaori's tears to stop and, after he calmed her down, the bar staff insisted they return to their dorm. The next thing he remembered was the two of them together again, in every sense of the word, in the warmth of their dorm. When they awoke to the alarm the next morning, she was the first to speak.

"Good morning, Friend A."

Kousei took a minute to pick up the pieces from the previous night through the dull headache that permeated his head. The more he recollected, the more reluctant he was to remember. At last, he gave up and planted a kiss on Kaori's forehead before whispering in her ear.

"Let's not do that again."

"Kousei."

He stopped playing the piano and turned to his wife, who stood by the doorway. Kaori never called him by his first name alone unless something was seriously wrong. He still cringed at the thought of the last time that happened, when she started to feel weak in the legs again. He barely caught her that time as she fell.

Kousei stood up from his seat and hurried over to her, wondering what could be wrong as her hair covered her face. A thousand prayers raced through his head as he wrapped his arms around her.

Please don't let her disease come back.

Please don't leave me.

Please just stay with me for one more day.

He placed a hand on her cheek and brushed her hair aside, revealing her tearful indigo eyes, which stared into his.

"What's the matter?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"I'm pregnant."

"Isn't she just the cutest, Friend A?" Kaori said, holding their cat in the air. "If I had canelés, I'd totally give her one right now."

"I don't think cats are allowed to eat those," Kousei responded, only to shrink back as she shot him an angry glare.

She held Melody to her heart and, despite the angry look on her face, he couldn't help but smile. The world was covered in a frozen white blanket and yet the sight before him, a beautiful girl holding a cat with her hair blowing in the wind, reminded him of that day she first asked him to play alongside her. She sparkled then as she did now, a hint of spring in the middle of winter.

Her expression softened as she noticed his obvious joy.

"What's gotten you in such a good mood?"

"I'm just treasuring every second with you," he said, holding a hand to her belly. "Both of you."

A light blush crept up to her cheeks as the corners of her lips turned up to match his. She placed the cat back on the ground and took his hand.

"Honestly, Kousei Arima," she said. "You don't need to be so mushy all the time. I'm not going anywhere."

They walked hand in hand as they headed back to their dorm. Kousei scarcely noticed the bite of the cold as he walked alongside her. To him, she wasn't just a reminder of a spring that will come.

She was the spring that would never leave his heart.