The Saltwater Room

Random one-shot about the song.

Grinning, he looked at the laptop and began singing, joining her, “I opened my eyes, last night, and saw you in the low light. Walking down by the bay, on the shore, staring up at the planes that aren’t there anymore.”

 

Suddenly, he grew more confident. She was the first person who hadn’t rejected his singing. Why not enjoy himself now? Why not believe? Why not pretend? She would never be his. But, this duet would never be forgotten by either of them. Enjoy it now, when the chaos of the internet would keep this memory between them and them only.

 

With louder and more fervent voices, they let the next lines roll off their tongues and into each others’ ears: “I was feeling the night grow old. And you were looking so cold.”

 

Here, she began coughing softly, clearly having expelled too much air.

 

With a soft, tender smile directed towards the screen, he continued without her: “Like an introvert, I drew my over-shirt around my arms and began to shiver violently. Before you happened to look and see the tunnels all around me.”

 

Finally realizing that she was singing a duet with the very guy whom she used to detest, a faint blush began to appear on her cheeks.

 

With an understanding and perhaps even a bit of a cynical nod, he decided to continue, despite her newfound hesitance: “Running into the dark underground. All the subways around create a great sound. To my motion fatigue… Farewell.” He whispered the soft word, looking in her direction.

 

She still had a slight red tint to her face, and he could only smile to himself as he watched. Thank god that miles of distance and the internet separated them.

 

Making his voice even stronger, he continued, still keeping his gaze upon her image on his laptop: “With your ear to a seashell. You can hear the waves, in underwater caves. As if you actually were inside a Saltwater Room…”

 

Finally becoming emboldened, she seized the opportunity at the end of the bridge to jump back into the song, and he took a breather himself.

 

“Time together is just never quite enough.”

 

Having recovered, he picked up the next line, still with a faraway smile on his face: “When you and I are alone, I’ve never felt so at home!”

 

Smiling again herself, she picked up: “What will it take to make or break this hint of love?”

 

“We need time… Only time!”

 

She uttered the next line with much more strength and even a fuller smile, “When we’re a part whatever are you thinking of?”

 

Bolstered by her openness now, he responded with confidence, “If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?”

 

“So tell me darling, do you wish we’d fall in love?” She shook her head a bit at the irony of the situation.

 

Smiling at the irony himself, he replied, “All the time! All the time!”

 

In unison, both of them stepped into the next stanza of the song, grins having permanently been plastered onto their faces.

 

“Can you believe that the crew has gone? And wouldn’t let me sign on? All my islands have sunk in the deep. And I can hardly relax or even oversleep.”

 

He dropped out to clear his throat, but she continued, “I feel as if I were home some nights when we count all the ship lights. I guess I’ll never know why sparrows love the snow.”

 

He jumped back in at the next line, more passionate than ever before, “We’ll turn off all of the lights and set this ballroom aglow…”

 

Her smile turning much gentler, and her eyes telling a genuine story, she posed him a question, “So tell me darling, do you wish we’d fall in love?”

 

And without waiting for him to answer, she responded to herself, “All the time!”

 

This new forcefulness in her voice took him by surprise, but he quickly recuperated. In fact, he recuperated quickly enough just to hear her continue her train of thought.

 

“Time together is never quite enough!”

 

Seizing the opportunity and not realizing how passionate his voice was becoming, he made as longing a statement himself, “When you and I are alone, I’ve never felt so at home…”

 

“What will it take to make or break this hint of love?” She asked with doubt lacing her voice.

 

“We need time, only time…” He tried to reassure her.

 

Right then and there, the two stopped singing, and just looked at each other, drinking in the fact that neither had rejected the other. A billion questions were zipping through each of their heads, but neither wished to pose any of them. Both just wanted to enjoy each other’s company. Talk could come later.

 

Besides, right now, no words were needed. The tangible magic of the moment answered every question in their minds.

 

As the two observed and admired each other, the song played on, reverberating in each of their ears:

 

When we’re apart, whatever are you thinking of?

 

If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?

 

So tell me darling, do you wish we’d fall in love?

 

All the time! All the time!

 

As the song ended, the two softly uttered the last few lines…

 

“Time together is just never quite enough. When we’re apart whatever are you thinking of? What will it take to make or break this hint of love? So tell me darling, do you wish we’d fall in love?”

 

And as quietly as possible, they finished the song, “All the time…!”

 

Neither spoke once the song was over. There was no need to. Both simply registered what had just happened and stored it to memory. No words were needed for that.

Author's Note

Uh... yeah...