Disclaimer: the sole property of Final Fantasy belongs entirely to Square-Enix

Author's notes: Edited by Cendrillo. I like trying new things ever so often, and this couple is one of my favourites. A little triangle drama and side-story to my upcoming novel. This has no ties with DoC but do have small connections with AC.

Duet

It had been a time since he heard the euphoric sound of a musical instrument. Clings and clangs with tunes in between were not classified as a musical composition but he did listen, even it was horrible.

Rescued from a fate of mould and termites, the grand piano stood in its full glory in the abandoned living room. Reeve Tuesti usually found himself standing amidst the sun kissed room for a brooding time. It was a hideous building, filled with nightmares but this particular room gave a sense of calm, no matter how eerie it was. If it was the piano or the atmosphere he did not know, nor did he care.

It was like a sanctuary, and now he knew what the gunman meant. Isolated, timeless, away from reality where he could just imagine himself away.

The calm was not the silence, he thought back; this time he had a companion.

A companion who played the piano with expertise.

Reeve watched the young woman play without interruption. He would have applauded but the serene feeling in that moment was too precious to be taken. It was time they took a break, they deserved it. He had pushed them too far at times, and often gave them no break. The fight was harsh and bitter like the glacier weather but everything counts – like every flap of a butterfly's wing.

Reeve frowned at the woman's expression. She was there before his eyes and yet far away from this very room, somewhere else where no one had ventured other than her. Still, her focus on the notes was evident, indicated by the small nibbling on her lip.

Wherever they were, environment or sound, it did not matter; Reeve saw a handful of made up pictures in his mind's eye. He did not recognise the song she softly played but it did have a nice ring.

The woman did it too. Once in a while she would stop, resume the last notes, add a few and do the whole process again. When she got the right notes, she hastily scrambled them down on her papers. An artist like himself perhaps; though a musical one.

Reeve did not know how long he had been standing there but the sunlight had turned into a light shade of orange, telling him that night was a few hours away.

Or… perhaps he had stood there all night in the living room, sharing the company of the lovely woman. Listening to her skill as a musician, losing himself in his own daydreams, his own private sanctuary. Such wistful thinking…

"I thought you said you had errands to do."

Reeve smirked, "I did, but those errands could wait

She laughed but otherwise said nothing. Reeve heard another song and frowned. Though it too was a nameless song for him, this one was different from the others. Gentle and soft in the beginning, with a sense of dark and gloom which soon turned into light and hope.

Although, it did not fit her.

"Vincent taught me this one."

Ah, the mysterious gunslinger himself. Reeve was not shocked but somewhat surprised that the man would socialize, even for some creativity, if it was not on a mission. True he was kind deep down, considerate—but deadly. Why was it that the handsome and the enigmatic shadowed men to got such fashionable attention?

Opposites attracting was a logical explanation for the chemistry between people. Levy was never for scientific material. To her it was a simple, earthy knowledge like cats and dogs; two total different beings, two opposites to make a perfect harmony.

He himself was a cat in that approximation, and two cats were not a good choice then, right? What had a small stray cat against a feral wolf? Reeve shook his head from getting into further details. It was only a theory, a childlike explanation, a small lead in search of love… He unknowingly flinched when the dark beauty touched his arm. The questionable expression on her face told him that she again had started another conversation, without his knowledge.

"I'm sorry, what?"

She smiled that lovely smile he had grown to adore and found himself smiling in return. It was at that point he noticed how close she was sitting. When did he venture all the way from the other side of the room to this spot and actually sit down?

"Do you play?"

Reeve gave a negative reply and stared down at the set of keys before him, still smiling. "Sadly no, there was never the time or financial opportunity to learn." he laughed then. "But I remember I used to sneak into the old theatre whenever there was an event."

"Must have been difficult to understand a theatre at such a young age."

"Actually…I thought Loveless was a fabulous play." A small attempt to be a comedian. True, he did sneak in and Loveless was one of his favourites, it was good to know it was still in the spotlight. Levy, however, did not approve his little mishap adventures.

She laughed along with him before the silence returned. Suddenly she reached for his hands and placed them gently on the keys before them. Reeve felt hot but not quite blushing. Feeling her soft hands against his calloused ones was an experience, and his mind traitorously replayed it over and over again. Placing her hands under his, the tempting nymph guided him through the song. It was a duet he recalled reading the letters, but for now it was only meant for one.

He continued to watch, eyes tone between the notes and the dance of her hands. She sat close, far too close for his comfort but he did not want the song to end. Time seemed to fly by; Reeve soon learnt the basics of the piano. He had discovered music was its own language in his own youth but seeing how she read the notes and small numbers and letters, made him think that it was a language which everyone could speak and understand.

It was graceful and marvellous. Long ago, Levy almost pleaded him to play music rather than his toys. But that created problems when he was a child. Practising led to some end and the completion of that end would be testified with a personal performance. Next thing would be troublesome interviews, autographs, attention, and isolation as practising for the next performance and so on. He did not want to be caged, even if it was music.

More particularly, he did not want to be center of attention. Even now as a head administrator at the WRO, he still had a slight difficulty getting his words out. The again, being alone like this was perhaps worse.

"You're doing well." She spoke and giggled when he lost his concentration on the task before him. "It's all right, pretend I'm not here."

I'm working on that…He thought dryly and tried to catch on with the notes. A sense of satisfaction abruptly came when he at last managed to get the toddler part.

"Congratulations Reeve, you've just taken the first few steps to becoming a musician."

He would not admit it, but hearing those words from her lips was so much better than hearing it from a professional.

"Why thank you Miss Lockheart. I appreciate your kind words." he said with a low voice, as if afraid to be heard in the echo. "It was set for a duet, no?"

She nodded, "Indeed it was."

"Who wrote it?"

"I think you know." she replied with a secret smile.

Music, like writing and art could tell of a person's emotions and characteristics. For some odd reason, he saw the butterfly again. The four staged insect, an insect of beauty and life; birth, life, death and rebirth. Who represented those if not everyone? Reeve saw the amusement in eyes and knew his mind was catching up. It then came as a revelation when he saw that the song was not finished, the last notes had yet to be written. Perhaps no one died but was forgotten…

"Vincent."

Tifa nodded sadly and turned back to the piano. "He composed it when he was younger. A beautiful melody for two to play." She sighed and lightly graced the keys with her fingers. "He never got the chance to finish it but he said that it was supposed to be a special duet for a special pair."

In other words, he seeks completion in you, Reeve thought with a sigh. Perhaps Vincent had chosen to move on. Reeve only knew a part of the story that happened within these walls over thirty years ago. His rank in Shinra did not present him much history and he faintly remembered his futile attempts to get the documents. He was young of course and careless, almost got in serious trouble if not for Veld.

The man told him the summarized version of Vincent's past but Reeve had sensed the fatigue in the Turk's voice, and did not delve further into it. Apparently, they were closer to each other than he would have thought.

"When do we leave?" Tifa asked all of sudden, breaking the silence between them.

"At dawn." Was his only reply and she nodded.

"I need to talk to Barret before nightfall. Good luck." She smiled and hugged him before she left, leaving him stunned. It was neither the first time nor the fifth she had caught him off guard like that but what could he do but smile?

He took the notes and pulled down the lid over the keys. The old notebook he and Tifa recently been playing from, was yellowed and nearly torn. Time was a silly thing and thirty years was a long time, he mused before he placed the bundles of paper in the hidden chamber of the piano bench.

The sun began its way down the mountains and Reeve took his own leave. The final tune in this room had been played; all that was heard was the fading sound of Reeve's footsteps. It would be a while until this mansion would play a haunting tune again.

Indeed, thirty years was a long time.

And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost…