MELODY

MELODY 36

┏𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚓𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗 ┐

When the melody died and there was only the sounds of them breathing to keep the silence at bay, Bryan remained staring at the long fingers caressing his hand. The warmth. Sat side by side. Lips tingling from the kiss. Heart hammering against his chest, rendering him breathless with every look he caught.

Gently, he placed a hand on the keys once more, playing a simple melody. As if he had to release these emotions of softness and warmth somewhere. When an accompanying string of melody followed immediately after, he glanced at Jackson playing the piano with him. The corner of his lips tugged upwards, and together, almost as if they could read each other's mind, they played a song.

They messed up a few times, causing him to chuckle and in return, Jackson smiled.

When they stopped, Bryan couldn't help the complete warmth wrapping around him akin to a blanket under the coldest weather. The hands on his body, regrettably left to play the piano, but the lingering touch had him giddy.

"Isn't so bad now, is it?" Jackson said, his voice quiet as he continued to play a song.

"Yeah." Bryan shrugged, nudging the taller man.

Jackson paused and hummed under his breath. "How long have you booked the Instruments Room room for?"

Bryan gave him a sheepish smile. "I didn't book it."

That earned an eyebrows-raised look. "You sneaked in here?"

"Well," Bryan said. "I have a meeting with the student body council in..." He checked his phone. "In an hour. Thought to prove you wrong here in the meantime."

Jackson chuckled, the sound ringing in his ear like a beautiful melody. "You failed to prove me wrong."

He didn't bother to deny that. "Why were you looking for me?"

Jackson pressed a key, shrugging. "Just wanted to know where you were." Before he could reply, the taller man glanced at him. "Wanted to see you."

"Oh." It was rare for him to hear such admission from anyone. Let alone the man he thought wore a stoic mask like he owned it. Face flushing, he didn't stop what he was sure a silly grin crawling on his face. "I wanted to see you too."

The redness on Jackson's face had him grinning wider. They remained silent for a few minutes. While the quiet usually unnerved him, he couldn't help but to fall into a sense of serenity with the guitarist next to him. Dangerously he thought he could get used to this. This companionship. The softness between them.

"Do you speak Japanese?" Jackson's question took him off guard.

His brain scrambled to understand what it was he was asking before he turned his body a little to look at the man better. It was a question that came out of nowhere and his heart squeezed in his chest as he wondered if Jackson wanted to know him.

"What? What made you assume that?" Bryan asked, a little curious. 

"Your last name," Jackson said. "Or your family name. Bryan Ito. I looked it up and its..."

"Japanese, yeah," Bryan said, unable to hold back a smile. "You looked me up?"

Jackson glanced at him before he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I looked your family name up, not you."

But it was still enough admission that he tried to understand him. Bryan smiled wider, nudging his shoulder. He couldn't help but to say, "Is this you wanting to know me?"