He was asleep, yet he fiercely held onto you. It took a few minutes before you gathered enough willpower to try and wiggle out of his arms, moving as little as possible to avoid waking him. You would love to fall asleep in his arms but you weren't ready to let go of him again so you fought your urge to sleep and got off the bed. You couldn't help but stare lovingly at him in his deep sleep. His breathing regular, his hair covering part of his face, and his creamy pale skin almost blending with his white sheets. He looked like an angel. After staring at him for what didn't feel it was long enough, you left his bedroom. You went ahead and used the restroom, cleaned up, put your clothes back on, and walked around his apartment. You found his fan letters in a box by a small bookcase. You looked at the books in it and saw it was mostly scripts and theater plays. It brought a smile to your face. You found an electronic keyboard piano in a corner with a pretty worn out music sheet notebook. You picked it up and looked at a sequence of notes scribbled on the sheet. Well, you couldn't read music, that was for sure, but all the eraser marks on the page hinted that whatever was written there was written by him. You turned the page around and a page fell out. Well, maybe not a page, just a piece of paper that had been hiding between the sheets. You pick it up to put it back in the notebook when you noticed his handwriting.

Take a chance, stay by my side

I could not condone losing you

I cannot love you halfway, nor be loved

Take a chance, I must know

Time stops when your love shines

You complete everything

You take my pain away

You make me lose myself

My body without your soul is

A ghost that fades at nightfall

You complete everything

You wondered if it was a poem or maybe lyrics to a song. You complete everything... Why don't you just pull at my heartstrings, Zen? Even if it wasn't something he wrote for you, these few words encompassed what you felt. Incomplete without him. You touched the keys of the keyboard. It was turned off so they didn't make a sound but you ran your fingers through them anyways, wondering how many times Zen had sat in very chair, playing the piano, perfecting his music. A sound dragged you out of your thoughts when -

"MC!" you heard Zen call out, as he stumbled out of his room, frantically looking for you. He stood in the hallway, as completely naked as you had left him in bed.

"I'm here" you answered, getting up from the piano stool. It wasn't obvious where you were from his angle as the bookcase covered probably half of you. When you stood up, however, his eyes found you and you saw him breathe in a sigh of relief. He turned around and went back into his room. You got up to follow after him. By the time you reached his room he had pulled up his running shorts which he had been wearing before your lovemaking. When he saw you he rushed to hold you, pulling your head against his chest.

"I thought you were gone again" he whispered.

"I didn't fall asleep" you said "I was scared to"

"I'm glad you're still here." he said, laying a kiss on the top of your head. "Would you like to take a shower with me?" he asked. You nodded.

fade to black - read the full chapter at AO3

Once you regained your composure, you washed each other's hair and rinsed off. Zen wrapped the clean towel around you and rubbed your arms to warm you off as it immediately felt chilly out of the hot steam of the shower. You both got dressed and he had you sit on a stool in his bathroom while he blow dried your hair.

"I don't want you to get a cold my baby lamb" he said playfully. You couldn't help but to giggle at his remark.

"Baby lamb? Is that because you're a wolf?" you asked lightheartedly.

"That's…" he said leaning close to your ear "...exactly right" he whispered, before planting a kiss on your neck and continuing to blow dry your hair. Moments like this made your heart flutter with love. Such a simple thing but it made you soar. Nothing could ever compare to this feeling.

You talked about silly, mundane things and the time flew by. You cooked food together and fed each other while kisses, caresses, and whispers of love floated in the air whenever your eyes crossed. But even then there was an ache in your heart that coated with a sour undertone every time you looked at him. You did your best not to let it show but there was this melancholy to his eyes that no matter how many times you kissed him or you professed your love for him just wouldn't disappear.

Trying to put these thoughts out of your head you asked him about the piano. After some persuasion, he agreed to play something for you. He started with some basic stuff, songs you'd heard countless times before. He was wonderful. His singing was the most beautiful sound you had ever heard and just staring at him play made you forget anything that was wrong. Any looming sense of dread you had vanish, if only for a few minutes. He moved the pages on his music notebook and the paper came out with the handwritten lyrics. He chuckled when he saw it but made no motion to comment on it.

"Did you write it?" you asked him, referring to the lyrics.

"I did" he said. "You read it? It is not complete" he added. "I started writing this before I met you… but the last part I wrote when you were gone" he stared at it in thought. "Do you want to hear it?" he offered. You nodded. He opened the previous page of his music notebook and position his hands on the keys. He paused for a second, as if stringing the music in his head before laying it out to you. "It sounds better on a grand piano" he added before starting "I wrote most of it using the theater's piano". Then he began.

It was a soft melody, full of light-toned keys that mixed well together. It wasn't upbeat, in fact, it was very much a melancholic song… or maybe it was just how he was playing it. He sang the lyrics you had read, his eyes closed when he his the higher notes and he did so beautifully. Then he added a verse you hadn't read before.

Even apart, I still love you just as much

The yearning of this love still beats today

I see in your eyes this fire won't fade

This fire is still there.

You complete everything.