theshabbiestofmen | IC Contact;

[She gives him half a smile, and takes his hands and guides them to the piano, pressing her hands over his fingers, and plays a simple melody with him, just like that.

See? Simple.]

[He laughs softly.]

Teach me something-- go on, let's see if you can make a musician of me.

[She thinks about it for a moment, then flips pages in her notebook to a series of notations, and nods.

She arranges his hand a shows him a series of notes - an easy exercise that anyone who was raised in the 80s would recognize as the opening to Guns and Roses Sweet Child of Mine - she remembers this because it was the only song Grigori could play with her, and the only one he really gave a shit about.

Once he's got it:]

Okay, just play those notes, all right? Over and over, on my mark.

[She doesn't mind if he messes up, but once he's got those notes, she plays the rest - albeit an arrangement that makes her play over him a couple of times, but she's quick enough to manage it. She's done this before.]

[He laughs as he plays-- it's not really playing, not really, he doesn't know what he's doing and he's certain he messes up-- but it's close enough that he feels good about it. It's a pretty song, too, one he quite likes the tune of.]

Did you write that yourself?

[She shakes her head]

No, it's a popular song in the 1980s - it's called Sweet Child O Mine. My brother likes it, it's the only song I can get him to play with me. Did you like it?

Very much so. Although now I know a bit of the future, I'm sure this will come back to bite me-- but I'll be certain to pay attention when 1980 rolls around.

Grigori used to like it when I arranged covers of popular songs, so I developed a knack for it. It was the only way I could get him to sit down with me and listen.

I have a bet with Sirius going. That he can't stump me when it comes to songs.