Yami stared at the blank pages before him. The irony of being a professional musician was how important it was for him to not make any sound at times. There were entire pieces where a single instrument would only have ten seconds to play and then be silent for the rest of the forty-minute symphony.

And despite Yami being one of the several pianist pulled in for performances with Tea's new ballet company, he found he often sat quietly waiting for these cues.

Yami smiled, flipping the page to the finale. In Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, there was a piano part. However, the piano was tacet for the first two acts. It wasn't until the final act that Yami finally got to play and even then, it wasn't much. That didn't bother him too much. Despite some of the trickier arpeggios, the music fell comfortably in his range. It was a nice change of pace from his usual repertoire with his piano trio. Getting paid was a bonus as well.

The last nine months since moving to Cincinnati had been increasingly busy. Between moving into a new apartment, auditioning for various ensembles, and performing at local churches and studios to meet his new community and find potential students, Yami had his work cut out. It was difficult to reestablish himself. However, thanks to a well-placed connection in Rebecca's grandfather, Yami quickly found his place in the new city.

It was also thanks to Arthur's encouragement that Yami not only auditioned for his piano trio, but was offered the position. It was during their rehearsals that Yami learned that Arthur was mighty ambitious when it came to their trio repertoire. Despite Yami's efforts to keep learning music and hone his skills, he found himself relearning how to ride the bike with the rep list Arthur comprised. Their first performance that fall had included trios by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, and Schubert.

Their performance was just shy of two hours without intermission. Yami hadn't expected such a demanding list so early in the season, but plunged himself in no less. It helped that his starting studio was much smaller than in Domino – as the new artist in residence at the university, he took only a handful of students from the previous piano professor who had retired.

Whether this position would be a temporary or permanent one was up to Yami to prove. He intended to make it permanent.

Despite the rigor and demand, Yami lived for the challenge. Arthur noticed the drive and ambition in Yami, seeing his determination and focus. Instead of cracking under pressure, Arthur knew that Yami would rise to the challenge. That was why he programmed such difficult music for their first premiere performance with their new pianist.

Needless to say, Arthur was Yami's kind of musician.

With his new career as an artist in residence and member of the Queen City Piano Trio, Yami found his time was consumed by the things he loved. His days were spent with passionate musicians who sought to improve their art and shape the music into something new. He worked with undergrad students learning not only technical prowess but artistic expression and individualism in their music. He was surrounded by a community serious about music and a constant inspiration to his work.

And more than that, he spent his days with Tea.

Yami smiled, eyes intent as he watched the conductor move abruptly to the finale. He still had a good many measures to wait, but his time was quickly approaching. Perhaps previously in his old job, he would have tried to steal a glance at Tea on stage. This time, Yami decided to behave. Besides – he had sat backstage during the first two acts watching the performance on stage.

Yami heard the flutes in their trill, knowing his cue was coming up quickly. He jumped in fervently, a brief few measures before waiting again. Despite the intensity, Yami knew to save his energy – the real challenge came after the finale with the Apothéose – the true ending of the ballet.

Yami played the last few octaves, racing towards the grand finale end before transitioning to the true finale. The trumpet fanfare led the ensemble, resonating like a kings processional. The marcato, stately manner set the tone of regal splendor and grace. Yami struck the keys, using the pedal just long enough to catch the harmonics in each chord before quickly transitioning.

Despite the focus and awareness of the professional performance, Yami couldn't help the small smile on his face. His heart was racing steady and fast, yet his fingers never missed their mark. He held himself with confidence, assured of the notes before him. And more than that, he felt a lingering feeling of wonder and awe, to be part of such a fantastic assembly of artists and performers.

Yami felt humbled by the opportunity to play with this orchestra. He felt overwhelmed by the growth in his own life. He felt thankful for music and all the people he loved who were a part of making music.

Shortly afterwards, Yami found the piece reaching its final conclusion. It was always too soon, Yami wanting to linger on and keep playing. But that wasn't how the show was done – the curtain had to close. But not before the audience expressed their approval of the performance.

Yami finally caved to the temptation and glanced up to the stage. Old habits died hard, he supposed. The general cast filed to the front of the stage, line after line, to bow to the audience. Yami knew that Tea would be in the third line of dancers. It was strange the things he would pick up in the numerous rehearsals, most of which centered around his girlfriend.

These odd thoughts were set aside as he saw Tea run up, her hair done up tight in a bun. She smiled as she curtsied with the audience. Yami smiled when he saw her flick her eyes towards the pit, stealing a glance at the pianist. He chuckled as his smile widened, the two sharing a secret look before returning to their respective roles.

Yami met with Tea after the performance. They likely would either go to one of the after parties being held or go grab a drink with friends. Some things never changed from city to city. Even as they packed up their gear to leave, they could hear the smatterings of the audience, claps and cheers from a performance well done. They would do this ballet several more times before the season was over, the repetitive life of the artist.

And Yami couldn't wait. It was one of the things he signed up for after all.

The time following the curtain call was a blur as he walked out with Tea. They left the theatre, fingers linked together. Yet Yami found that his heart still remained on the stage with the music and people he loved. He hoped he would never stop playing music. He prayed that music would always continue to play on.

He wanted to play music forever. He wanted Tea to always be dancing by his side.

The two loves of his life were forever intertwined.

"Hey, Yami? You doing okay there? You're looking pretty spacey." Tea teased, bumping Yami with her shoulder.

He shook his head, chuckling at himself. "I'm fine. Thinking too much. But a good kind of thinking."

"Well, you think you can put your deep thoughts on hold for the evening? You know how anal Kaiba gets when we're late."

Yami rolled his eyes as he imagined the too serious technician. How he manages a theatre was beyond Yami given his short-tempered personality. "You bring up a fair point. Let's go get him drunk so we have one less thing to worry about."

"I like the way you think. Let's go!"

Yami smiled, letting Tea pull him towards their car as they went to go meet up with their friends.


AN: Thanks for reading! I'll have a one-shot posted by the end of this week before I move on to my next big task. Let me know if you guys are feeling murder mystery or fantasy epic. I haven't decided yet.