Piano Keys

[heather-rawriee.livejournal.com]

*waves* hello!
Thank you guys so much for the warm welcome :]. Here is, as promised, a ficlet of sorts, which took FOREVER to upload! It's a Laura/Ryan story - WITH AUDIO! Namely this. This song (by the way, Jervy Hou is AMAZING) was the inspiration and I can just imagine Ryan playing it. Which is what he is doing in this.
A HUGE thank you toblindlyluvfor beta-ing - you rock.
Spare a comment or two for the newbie? ^_^

 

“Ryan?”

Ryan was tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair with one hand and propping up his head with the other. His tired eyes were glazed as they focused on Drew and Dan, discussing production issues... again. He roused from his daze as the melodious voice called his name.

"Yeah, Laura?”

Laura Hall was sitting behind her piano, her usual smile on her face. “Do you play the piano at all?” she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

“Um… no. Well, I’ve tried, but I sort of gave up,” he told her with a small shrug. “Why?”

She lowered her eyes to his hand that was currently resting on the arm of his chair. “No reason. I’ve just noticed that you have pianist’s fingers.”

Ryan looked down at his hand, a small, confused frown on his face. “I’ve got whose fingers?”

“You know: pianist’s fingers. They’re long and thin. If it were me, I wouldn’t waste them,” she explained. Ryan felt a slight flush creeping up his cheeks and for once was glad that Colin – who had gone to get something to eat – wasn’t there. He looked back up at her and she smiled, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear. He grinned back at her. “Will you teach me? I’ve always wanted to learn.”

“Sure,” she replied, beaming. “Stay behind after the shooting? I’ll teach you then.”

“It’s a deal.”

***

“And I play a C there?”

“Not quite – you play a G.”

Ryan nodded, his brow furrowed and mouth slightly parted in a look of pure concentration, as he restarted the piece they had been working on for a week. They were both sitting on the piano stool, Laura practically falling onto Ryan’s lap. She watched in amazement as his long fingers skimmed the piano keys. There was no use denying it – he was a natural.

“Beautiful,” she whispered when he got to the end. “Just beautiful. You’re so talented.” He smiled shyly, looking towards the floor, before tilting his head to the side to glance at her, green eyes sparkling.

“It’s only because you’re an amazing teacher,” he replied modestly. Laura nudged him slightly.

“Even amazing teachers can’t teach people without some talent. So did your parents play at all?”

“My mom did – she used to teach my sister,” Ryan said, a small smile appearing on his face. “She was so protective of that piano. Wouldn’t let me or my brothers touch it; we still had a go on it when she was at work though.”

“And were you the best?” Laura asked with a hint of amusement in her voice. Ryan bowed his head. “Of course!”

He looked up at her again, and the grin was gone. It was replaced by something else – an emotion Laura couldn’t quite place. But suddenly all she wanted to do was kiss him.