"Wait!" Dorian stood up abruptly before I could say anything. "Sorry. I just remembered I have something for you." he smiled at my confused state.

"Okay." I blinked, reaching out to the hand he'd stretched out and getting on my feet.

   I was behind him as he picked up a bottle of wine and his glass, moved to the piano and took a seat next to him on the bench behind it. As his hands settled onto the black and white keys, I noticed how they did so with such ease, like it'd been done a thousand times before, which I suppose in Dorian's case, it had.

   His fingers sunk into one key, then another, then the standalone melodies began to sound more harmonised as he began to play multiple keys at the same time. The stealth movement of his hands and how precise he was every time made him look like one of those viral sensations that came on shows from time to time. The best part about watching him was that he looked like he was really enjoying himself playing... wait...

"That's the Seekers theme song!" I squealed, grabbing at his arm. Then realising that wasn't a good idea. "Sorry. What I meant to say was, thank you."

"You're welcome."

   Since Tali's capture and the events that followed, to the constant training and review over the plan made it impossible for me to get through a single comic without interruptions during the day. And even at night, when I was free, exhaustion took me straight to bed.

   Hearing this song from my favourite comic book turned movie and TV show, however, plus being so close to home for the first time in days, made me understand what Dorian meant by the normalcy he felt when playing the piano more than ever.

"Question one," he said, softening his fingers on the piano so that it sounded quieter.

   Oh, right. I'd been on the verge of asking him questions before he started playing. It was nice to know that the music wasn't some kind of distraction. Although, it would have been a very good one.

   It was getting harder to ask him about the Virtual Reality Dance and the exploding camera. He'd already answered questions about the tattoo and told me about large, painful parts of his past I didn't even ask about. It would be wrong to take advantage of this moment. And he promised earlier that i was going to know everything so what's the rush?

"If you had a pet, what would it be and what would you name it?" I asked.

"Uh..." I detected the surprise tainting his response, but it was brief. "I suppose it would be a cat and, boy or girl, his or her name will be Fefu."

"That's an awful name," I snickered.

"Excuse me," he had a mock offended face. "Can you come up with a better one?"

"Not right now, but I'm pretty sure I can think of a thousand names way better than Fefu." I teased.

"I wait in high anticipation for your shame when that name catches on," Dorian shook his head while playing the final notes of the theme song.

   I shook my head. "So how'd you learn to play the piano? Who taught you?"

   Instantly, the melodies of one of the Seekers songs sounded harsher, darker, just like the current look his face had. I watched his fingers move across the keys faster and faster, maintaining the dark edge he'd introduced, until the song came to an end.

   I released a breath louder than intended. Even with those creepy tweaks, the song still sounded good.

"My parents," Dorian finally answered me. "My birth parents."

"I'm sorry."

   Way to ruin the night, Beth. And on just the third question. This has to be some sort of sad record.

"You have nothing to apologise for," he said, surprising me by putting an arm around my slightly slumped frame. "I was lucky enough to get adopted into an incredible family and get the best sibling anyone could ever have."

   My face scrunched up at that last remark. "Sibling?"

"I didn't mention that the other time?" Dorian frowned, referring to when he'd admitted to being adopted while we were in the basement at dawn.

"No." I'm pretty sure I would remember if he told me he had a freaking sibling!

   Already, my mind began to toy with what Dorian's adopted sibling would look like. Was this mystery sibling a boy or girl? Was he or she like Dorian in terms of personality? Was he or she a genius like Dorian?

   I could only come with one question amidst the chaos coursing through my head, "And he or she attended Zavlon? Like you?"

"He attends," Dorian replied with a tone I couldn't recognize, sighing as he buried his face with his free palm.

   Staring at Dorian's shielded face, it suddenly hit me. Of course! This sibling was obviously one of the Zavolonians made subject to the placement! The sick feeling in my stomach at the thought of that only made me wonder how he must be feeling. I had to admire how he'd been able to stay composed throughout this whole thing, knowing that someone so close to him was the puppet of the Yunies.

   I leaned closer into his hold, moving one of my hands to the back of his neck to give him light, comforting strokes, "This must be so much harder for you than the rest of us. I'm not going to act as though I know half of what you're going through since losing your best friend to the Yunies is not the same as losing your brother, but you would have done everything in your power to stop him from going to the dance if you knew. I'm so sorr–"

"It's Aarav."

"Sorry, what?" I couldn't have jerked away from Dorian's body faster if it were on fire.

"The Hoodas were the family that adopted me. Rav's my broth–"

"Heard you the first time!" I snapped, the strangest energy drawing me to my feet to stare down at him. The amused glint in his eye only fuelled the fire in my stare, which was two seconds away from transforming into an 'if looks could kill' glare.

   Dorian and Rav. Brothers.

   As weird as hearing that was, it actually didn't sound that weird. It made sense now why he got along with Rav who was in a lower year–my year, so well, when he couldn't even stand his own classmates. Or the 99.9% of the Zavolonian population for that matter. During my first few times of eating at their lunch table, I often wondered how on earth Rav and Dorian became friends since they couldn't be any more different.

"But why didn't you tell anyone?" I sat back down. "It's not like being adopted is something people will make fun of you for. Not in Zavlon anyway."

   The memory of Minji telling me that Camila was adopted one day came to mind. She'd said it so casually, not even regarding the numerous students that were around us. And it's not like we'd known each other for that long.

   Dorian shrugged. "It's none of their business. Especially since I had no real friends in Zavlon. They were always Rav's friends."

   He was not wrong.

My eyes followed Dorian's fingers as they began sinking in the piano keys, then met his when he asked, "Next question."

   As he toyed with another tune I recognised from my Hero manga comics, my eyes surveyed the piano room for the second time since I arrived. This time, the scene struck me differently.

"Have you ever been here when the moon is this full and bright?" I asked while glancing through the only window in the room. "Its light seems to cascade to several parts of the room– particularly the piano– to give each part a unique glow." I stayed in awe of the glint on the clear coloured upper part of the piano I'd never noticed before. "This is breathtaking."

"Beth?"

"Hmm?" I'd barely turned toward Dorian when I was ambushed with the sudden feel of his lips on mine.

   It took me less than a second to respond, my hands, on instinct, wrapping around his neck to draw him closer. Even though he still tasted like the wine, I could confidently say that that was not what was getting me intoxicated. Our lips moved against each other with a fervour I'd never experienced–not even with him–as our other body parts–mine on fire at this point–following suit.

   After what seemed to be infinite bliss, we eventually pulled back, my lungs threatening to explode from breathing in so hard. After my head felt less foggy was when I realised that in the heat of the moment, my sitting position had switched from the chair to a straddle on Dorian's lap, with my hands still draped around him.

   The heat dominated my face at that self-awareness seemed to go unnoticed by him as he leaned in again to press his left cheek to mine. The combined effect of Dorian's next words in my ear and breath made a pleasant shiver resonate through every part of me.

"I've been wanting to do that since I laid eyes on you tonight."

   Thank God I wasn't on my feet. Stupid jelly legs.

   He pressed a quick kiss to my cheek and reached over to retrieve his half full wine glass. As Dorian took a sip, it was getting harder and harder not to stare at his lips, which had become fuller and pinker from our kiss.

"Next question?" Dorian asked.

   Right. Forgot about that.

   Aside from the ones I'd saved for after this whole Yunies thing was over, I honestly had nothing to ask. The typical, 'what's your favourite food/colour' questions had already been asked during the times he and I spent in his bed at night.

   But then again, I didn't want this night to end so soon.

"Go out with me," I said.

"I thought that was what we were doing," Dorian replied with a confused chuckle.

A/N: Who saw the Rav/Dorian part coming 🤣?

Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts💞!