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It was a quick supply run, the sunflower hued buggy was still idling outside to prove it, and Gordon hadn’t been expecting to find much in the little cottage tucked away in the eastern european forest. Not that there had been a whole lot of time to mosey around and really search the half-rotted, Xen infested place anyways. With the data packet still secured at Alyx’s belt, the resistance needed to be made aware of what it could possibly contain, and that the Combine were headed their way. Time was of the essence and sight-seeing wasn’t on the schedule.
With aching feet, the physicist trudged in his reinforced armored boots across the beige and green slime coating the floor of the hall that trailed up the floral wallpaper, which had turned dark and mildewy years ago. He tried not to worry about what horrid diseases he may be contracting breathing in who knew what, some sort of orange spore maybe, that hung like suffocating dust in the air, secreted from the tube-like, alien growths that dominated the ceiling. But his lungs seemed concerned anyways and he began to cough, causing him to have to holster his Gravity Gun at the small of his back in order to cover his mouth and nose with a dirty kevlar glove. Not that he would dare go unarmed in here and he slipped his trusty crowbar into his right hand just to be safe. Another step forwards caused his joints to ache like an old rusted machine in dire need of an oiling, and his fatigue saturated him so thickly he felt it echo out across his body with each breath and every beat of his heart. Nearing the end of the hall, he glanced through an open door to the left and saw nothing but more extraterrestrial growth choking out every surface like a mutant coral reef in revolting shades of brown, yellow, and green. There were no spare ammo cans, nor stray medkits to be seen, only a shrink-wrapped skeleton in the corner covered by the slimy overgrowth, smiling up at him with hollow eyes. It made him shiver.
“All clear out here Gordon.” Alyx’s cheerful voice wafted in through a long gone window from somewhere outside, thankfully breaking him from his staring contest with the corpse and replacing the unease behind his sternum with something warm enough to make his heart flutter.
For someone who had nearly died just an hour earlier, she was handling it like a trooper and he had to applaud her for that. It was one of the things he was growing to love about her, her chipper resilience in the face of utmost hardship. They made for a great team that way, working together to cut through impossible odds in the heat of a battle. Huh, maybe he should just turn around, he thought as he finally made it through the noxious, biological gas, squinting in annoyance at the way the spores had decided to stick to the lenses of his cracked glasses. Blowing the fine living debris off the glass was semi-successful and he wished Alyx was there to clean them off properly like she happily so often did, fondling recalling the vulnerable smile that came to her whenever their fingers touched. The way to White Forest couldn’t have been long now and heaven knew he was utterly exhausted, as was Alyx, and he was dying to get himself out of the HEV suit. As safe as he had felt being the closest thing to a walking tank anyone could get, the suit wasn’t very comfortable to wear for such long stretches of time. And he couldn't exactly feel it whenever Alyx decided to hug him.
The treads of his boots squelched living matter that bubbled out a putrid slime that made him gag and nearly caused him to turn around without checking the last room but something within it caught his eye, something that made his heart skip a beat, and caused him to persist and turn into the doorway anyways. Half buried by Xenian infestation in the middle of the space was a gorgeous grand piano illuminated by little slits of sunlight beaming through the cracks of alien bulbs, fingers, and other fanning growths that blocked the view of the semi overcast sky from the collapsed ceiling. Tiny clumpings of floating purple jellyfish-like creatures brought gentle light to the space as Gordon walked inside despite himself, almost entranced by the sight of the deep obsidian hued instrument. It looked to be in relatively good condition even if it was mostly covered in veiny, oatmeal textured tendrils and the observation made him grin with wonder like a child.
Here in the middle of nowhere, fighting against the invasive and otherworldly species, was something so human. An object that had managed to cling to the time before the Combine invasion and make his heart squeeze remembering that before. He hadn’t seen a piano, or any musical instrument for that matter, since he had played his own piano in his dorm the night before the Resonance Cascade. Gently sitting upon the bench caused it to groan somewhat, but it held his weight firmly from where it was being devoured by a carpet of alien life. Gordon couldn’t move the bench to a position more of his liking because of this but he didn’t mind, the second he placed his fingers to the keys it was like all his exhaustion had flown away, replaced with giddy excitement. His crowbar went on the music rack and the unending anxiety about being hunted by the Combine melted upon experimenting with the opening cords of a well loved song to a videogame he knew by heart, and he grinned to see the instrument was still in good condition, not even realizing the Xenian wildlife shuddered at the vibrations all around him. As he continued to play a flourish of a sweeping intro, he found all but one or two of the keys to be relatively well tuned and in working order and felt his soul begin to calm to the sound of the smooth, melodic music as the fan-like alien growth above curled up on itself and let in a few more slivers of light.
It started slow, his right hand moving gently to the melody as the left reverberated a low and powerful octave chord and his smile chased away the creases of unease and tension that had previously settled at the corners of his eyes. After the meandering opening, his fingers suddenly picked up the pace into the main body of the music and when he closed his eyes, he was taken back to before, when the apocalypse had yet to strike his workplace and rapidly sweep across the whole globe like wild fire. He swore he felt like he was back in his dorm room in Black Mesa playing his own piano in the evening after a shift, waiting for Barney to arrive so they could get up to something mischievous together. The intensity of the song increased with each passing moment, letting the beauty soften the aching between his shoulder blades and mellow out the unending fizz of anxiety in his chest. The spindly fingers of alien overgrowth above shrank back at the tune and let more healing sunlight spill in through the open ceiling, and the spore producers in the hall shriveled protectively and cleared the air of their poison. His emotions bled out through his fingertips as they flourished, saying to the world what his mouth never could. That was part of the reason why he had always loved music so much; it gave him a voice.
Keeping his left hand to play the stabilizing base, his right jumped to higher on the hidden gem of an instrument and he let the art he poured out into the room consume him, forgetting the entirety of the human race was depending on him and Alyx. For right at this moment, he was just a man, no savior of humanity nor a beacon of hope against an apathetic oppressor, but just a human being indulging in the beauty of one of the species’ greatest creations. He was just a man, plain and simple, with a wide and joyous grin on his face and his eyes to his mind of all the good memories this piece of music brought dancing to his vision. Camping out at GameStop overnight with Barney to buy an Xbox, playing through the levels of Halo: Combat Evolved for the very first time with him, and participating in several LAN parties with a dozen other colleagues all crammed into one room just playing games that stretched on until the early hours of the morning.
When Alyx heard the melody of a song suddenly drift into the brisk fall air of the countryside, she was immediately curious. She hopped off the hood of the car she had been leaning against, wincing just a little at her still stiff backside, and smiled regardless of the dried blood trailing down her hoodie and jeans. Had Gordon maybe found a stereo so they could actually listen to some tunes on the road? That sounded like a whole lot of fun to her and an amused grin stretched across her face at the thought of how domestic that would be if you didn’t factor in the Combine being hot on their tails. Her intrigue brought her through a collapsed wall at the side of the house, since it was a closer entrance than the front door, and she raised a brow inquisitively when she got closer to the source of the noise in the hall. This couldn’t have been coming from a speaker, this sounded like live music and the song was gorgeous.
The woman entirely ignored the wretched scene of moldy alien plague that lumpily caked the building’s back hall and her heart skipped a beat when she peered her head around the last doorway to see none other than Gordon himself playing his soul out on a lovely black piano. She felt heat rise up to her cheeks watching his fingers fly, memorizing every little detail about him in that moment. The tension that had so clearly come undone from between his brows, that pure smile on his face was something she wanted to engrain in her mind for forever, and the way his body naturally swayed to the tune without a care in the world brought an affection so strong she had to keep herself from stepping any closer and potentially spooking him.
And oh boy, the song was gorgeous. It was lively as anything she had ever heard but dignified and sad all at the same time, nostalgic in a way she couldn’t describe. All at once, it both uplifted and grounded her, making her want to nod her head along to the beat and shed a tear all at once. As solemn as it was at times, it inspired her as well and she couldn’t help but feel an energy full of hope swell in her heart while lending her ear to its message.
She examined the poised delicacy in which Gordon’s feet graced the pedal, sending echoing harmonics waving through the air that shrank back the overrunning alien proliferation and sent stripes of sunlight to reflect off of him. The daylight brought such a prettiness to his auburn locks the way it delicately shone through at the edges, almost making him look like he was surrounded by a halo, and suited the handsomeness of his face quite well now that it wasn’t full of fear or caked in mud and blood. The urge to approach him and run her fingers through his hair brought her a half step closer to him but then she thought better of it and leaned back against the sagging doorway, an embarrassed smile tugging at her lips as the anthem crescendoed.
Gordon’s hands were a master of their craft, soaring with a practiced sharpness and accuracy to convey what his mouth was unable but his heart bled to tell as his thoughts turned back to the present. He missed his home, said the pitter-patter of the octave chords at the base, the high soaring melody belted that the earth he had woken back up to had moved on without him and become an unrecognizable and sickly place. They worked together to scream that he was still grappling to wrap his head around the glaringly obvious fact that the world had gone to hell, that his parents were probably dead, and it was all his fault!
While the tune slowed and lowered in pitch, coming to the end, he found his chest rising and falling in heaving breaths, with his eyes misty with grief and guilt. But that wasn’t all that was there and he wistfully smiled at the joy inside of him, this instrument had been a good find. He was grateful for the time it had given his brain to actually sit and think, to process some of the horror that had been knocking around aimlessly in his skull up until now. Like a pressure cooker letting off steam, playing such an animated and vibrant song had let out a lot of what he had been holding inside behind a stoic mask that all of human kind was relying on. And, it let him forget for a time, becoming concerned for no one and nothing but taking a moment to himself to relish in a little solace.
The last deep note marked the finality of the art piece and his hands returned to their lap as he let out a tired but determined sigh. With the end of the song, the Xenian infestation crawled out from its hiding places within itself and spanned back out like the canopy of a parasitic jungle, hindering nearly all sunshine from the room. Vaguely, he could make out the spores starting to spray back out into the hall.
But what he heard next nearly startled him off of the bench and caused him to send a sharp cacophony of notes spiraling into the air when his crowbar hit the ivory keys as he grasped it and brought it back into his arms.
“That was the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard.” Alyx complimented in a hushed tone, her face a cross between an apologetic cringe and a snicker seeing him startle.
The physicist’s eyes widened as his head snapped to hers, clearly surprised that she had snuck in here at some point. He saw the sincerity of her words written all over her face, as well as the self-consciousness for scaring him, and the amusement she took everywhere with her. It all made a gentle heat bubble upwards and rest at his cheeks as he blinked the tears from his eyes and grinned bashfully.
She made her way up to him, trying not to focus too much on how rosy his ears had turned or else it would surely make her own do the same. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” One of her hands came to rest on the scuffed silver of his armored shoulder and she went on with a kind and inquisitive smile, “You didn’t say you could play,” opting not to comment on how vulnerable his eyes appeared right now. He had clearly been having a moment to himself and she had snuck up on him, something she was feeling a little bad for now.
The shyness in his expression evolved into something more playful and he lifted his right arm to relay to her, “I don’t say anything,” in perfect American Sign Language.
A genuine chuckle rose from Alyx’s lips and she ruffled his hair, letting a few stray bits of dried mud free from where they had hidden themselves. It didn’t even matter to her if she could feel that his oily hair was in dire need of a washing, it felt electric on her fingertips and heavenly within her ribcage in a way that made a blush slither onto her cheeks.
“Yeah, well I guess you got me there.” She self-consciously beamed at him, delighting in how his piercing green eyes seemed to sparkle even in the low light.
Gordon returned the eye contact for a moment, examining the chocolate color of her irises and all the charm and grace contained within them, before he became aware of how long they had been staring at each other and swiftly ripped his gaze away while the crimson trailing either side of his nose deepened. He wished he could clear his throat or cough to create some sort of noise to comfortably distance himself from what he had caught himself doing, but his vocal cords knew he wasn’t in a safe enough place to do so and thus he remained mute.
Their pause however, is exactly what allowed them to hear the distant chopping of incoming helicopter blades along with the low beeping drone of a drop ship carrying Combine soldiers approaching from somewhere near the horizon.
Sheepishly, Alyx rubbed the back of her neck and commented, “C’mon, let’s get going.” As she watched Gordon stand and equip the Gravity Gun, she took her own pistol from its holster under her coat while her eyes gave one last look to the piano. “You’ll have to teach me to play sometime,” she remarked, stepping to the doorway alongside him.
The physicist happily nodded in agreement while the chopper continued its steady approach, a whole meadowful of butterflies fluttering in his belly at the thought of sitting next to her on a bench showing her the basics of reading sheet music.
A rumbling radio chatter of masked soldiers outside brought the both of them out of their cozy thoughts and hardened their faces as they sprinted through the hall and bullets began to fly. The high pitched ring of a dead soldier rang out shortly after a hurled oil drum flew through the air, and the burst fire of Alyx’s pistol began embedding deep into the trans-human forces. But among the wreckage of an otherworldly takeover, a small glimmer of humanity held out defiantly. A simple piano that had brought a brief refuge to two of humanity's fiercest fighters.