Work Text:
- You wanna hear a new piece?
Sometimes he would start speaking out of nowhere, scaring her, but as time went by, she got used to it. This though… this got her paralysed for at least three days.
- What do you mean?
- I have a new piece. You wanna hear it?
- Is this a “got ya!” joke? Like, I say “what piece?” and you say “piss o-
- What? No, please. It’s just a little song.
- I thought you already played me all of Beethoven’s songs, remember? We did a marathon and you forced me to rank them?
- I still can’t believe you placed… anyway, no. It’s not Beethoven’s.
Three hundred days this time.
- What do you mean?
- It’s an original, - his smile started showing.
- Original? - she was falling in and out of reality. Not really believing what was happening.
- Yes. Do you wanna hear it?
- Emmm nahh, not really, - she heroically kept a straight face while turning away, but buckled down immediately after, - of course I want to hear it, what do you even mean??
- Okay-okay, got me scared for a second…
She could tell - he was shakier than ever. Not even a laugh? Weird, but understandable - the whole universe was about to collapse and at times like these, maybe it’s not the best idea to joke around…
- Oh now I don’t want to play it…
She almost screamed. What about the collapsing universe?! Now she was going to be lost in darkness and-
- I’m kidding! Good grief, you’re freaking out! - he chuckled.
- I’M GOING TO ughhh murder you gracefully and tastefully, so that the police starts admiring me and never locks me up. But maybe I wouldn’t even need to do that, because someone who still says “good grief” honestly should’ve gone extinct in like 50‘s.
They both laughed and he turned to the piano. She immediately stopped smiling and was watching his every move. Was it real? Or was she really going to have to tie him to a rocket and launch to the moon, just so he would feel how it hurts to prank people with that kind of stuff? No. The sound. The little notes hit her ears. Even though she wasn’t sitting in the designated chair, where “the acoustics are perfect, so you get the best sound of Beethoven’s legacy”, she still felt every press of the key in her bones. It was real.
- I need to know
That when I fail you'll still be here, mmm
She heard his singing voice before, but karaoke didn’t do him justice.
- ‘Cause if you stick around, I'll sing you pretty sounds
And we'll make money selling your hair!
The chuckle was not something she would expect to happen at the moment like this, but here it was, and she wouldn’t change it for the world.
- I don't care what's in your hair,
I just wanna know what's on your mind…
The momentary silence broke her in countless ways.
- I used to say, "I wanna die before I'm old",
She was watching a man grow and cycle through different mantras. The younger he was, the simpler it was to understand them. “If you break my piano, you are not my friend” - so you don’t break the piano, simple. “I want to die before I get old”. What was she supposed to say? So they sat in silence. And they joked it out. And he never repeated it. But she never forgot.
- But because of you…
For the first time he looked her in the eyes, even though she could barely see behind the flow of emotions.
- …I might think twice
The tears took over. The following hug only made it worse.
- Wait, wait, I’m not done yet!
- You’re joking, - she said while still sobbing.
He sat back and theatrically raised his hands above the piano keys.
- Yeah yeah yeah! - he yelled, continuing the same melody in a more energetic way, - Come on, with me, three, four…
- YEAH YEAH YEAH!