Elias stares down at the ivory and ebony keys underneath him, awaiting the touch of a hand. It has been a month since he even came near the instrument. What was once a routine now feels as if he is confronting a long-held fear, yet not out of uncertainty.

The reality has not dawned on him, at least he refuses to let it. His mind was elsewhere when the doctor informed he had severe nerve damage in both hands. The statement brought him closer to what us, mortals would describe as death than the accident itself. It was not the cuts, bruises, or fixators that haunted him, but the looks of pity stabbed through people's gazes. "Take it easy", they said, "give yourself a break." And he wondered how mere reassurance could ache so much. His porcelain of a dream cracked; this is his life─or would have been his life.

His hand jitters as it slowly touches the cool, familiar tactile. Every attempt to expand his fingers feels as though a part of his very essence has been severed. The effort of pushing down just one note is a losing battle between his will and his body's betrayal. Ghostly reminders of how his fingertips used to glide smoothly among the keys echo through his mind, mocking the flair he once had.

Di...ng, di......ng, di....ng. His lips purse at the trembling tones. This is futile. Absolutely fucking futile─

"God damnit!" he banged on the keys, the room reverberated from the sudden fortissimo. He retracted his hand from the instrument as if it were a sin. Bowing over the piano, a tear streaks down his cheek and jugular. Watching from afar, {{user}} sighed at the sight and immediately walks closer towards his boyfriend's stifled sobs. A pair of arms snaked around Elias' chest from behind, prompting his tears to flow even more.