A Beautiful Life
AN: I do not own Nodame Cantabile.
It had been several months since the Nodame-gone-missing fiasco and life seemed to have been reverted back to some semblance of normalcy.
'Or as normal as it could be with that hentai in my life…' Chiaki thought to himself with a wry smile gracing his lips.
He honestly did not know where, when, or how he stumbled so far into the infamous hentai forest. In fact, he actively and consciously tried to not wander into that forbidden land. But alas, when he realized where he was he was already too far to even muster the courage or will to get out of it. If he really thought about the matter, he just might have been doomed from the time he met her amidst the garbage filled apartment with the sound of Beethoven's Pathetique tickling his musical senses. From then on, she defied all senses of logic and, more importantly, his attempt to keep her at bay. Hell, he didn't know how he was supposed to respond to her strangeness half the time. Nonetheless, he was inevitably drawn into her life and she into his, and fate pulled them together like two pieces of puzzle.
But that was all in the past. Now, he fully embraced it – her strange facial expressions as she played the piano, the beautiful tinkling sounds of her piano, her various myukaaa's and gyabo's, her insecurities, and her happiness. He no longer had the will or desire to live without her in his life.
Which brings him to this very moment.
It was another typical day in Paris. The air was stifling with late summer humidity and the sky was overcast with rain clouds. But despite the dismal weather, Chiaki was walking down the pebble road towards the apartment that used to belong to him until a year ago with an armful of groceries.
'That hentai… She's gonna get it, making me go shopping in this weather. She just had to want pasta today of all days when I ran out of tomatoes.'
Really, nothing much has changed since their days at the Academy when he used to cook for her all the time.
He got out the keys from his pocket and let himself in to the apartment. As he set down the groceries in the kitchen, Nodame came out of the bathroom, showered and smelling of lilacs.
"Mukyaaa! Senpai, when did you get back?"
"Just now."
"Oh. Did you get the tomatoes?" she asked, peeking into the grocery bag.
"Yeah, you hentai. Things I do for you… seriously, you are gonna be the death of me someday," replied Chiaki with an affectionate bonk to her head.
"Heh..." She smiled and hugged him, leaning into his chest and mumbling a thank-you.
"Baka," said Chiaki, softly and pulled her closer to him, breathing in her lilac-scented hair. "Go keep yourself occupied for a bit. Dinner will be ready soon."
"Mmmkay," said Nodame and went into the living room to read her new score. But she stopped in mid-step and looked around at him. "Senpai, did you remember to buy the garlic bread that Nodame likes?"
"Yeah yeah yeah, I didn't forget," replied Chiaki and pushed her out of the kitchen. God only knows what kind of disaster is sure to arise when Nodame is in the kitchen.
"And the chocolate?" asked Nodame from the living room.
"Baka! Hentai! Just shut up and do your work!" yelled Chiaki from the kitchen. Shaking his head, he turned to his groceries and pulled the tomatoes out of the bag.
Seriously, not much has changed since meeting her for the first time; he was still the victim of her strange whims and wiles.
He thought to himself for the millionth time, 'How the hell did I end up here?' With a sigh, he decided not to even bother gracing that particular question with an answer. It was going to be an answer he wasn't going to like anyways, so why bother?
When he called Nodame to come and eat her dinner, the sun had dipped low in the horizon and various hued of orange and red was splashed across the sky. The rain clouds from the afternoon looked more ominous than ever.
"Mukyaaa! This looks so yummy, senpai!" Nodame exclaimed.
Chiaki looked at her affectionately at her childish exclamation. If there was anything that she didn't fail him on, it was her continuous praise and exultation for his culinary skills. Of course, it did nothing to keep his ego in check.
Nodame – being Nodame – was pigging herself out with forkful of pasta and he looked on with mild disgust and wonder. It never ceased to amaze him how much this tiny woman can eat. No matter, she is eating well and is healthy as a horse. He couldn't complain.
When Nodame finally put down her fork and gulped down the last of the wine, he cleared the table while she went to the piano in the living room. As he started to run the dishes under the water, the first movement of Barcarolle for Piano No. 1 in A Minor by Faure drifted into his ears. He smiled as he continued to do the dishes. This was his favorite time of the day, when the day was winding down and Nodame played the piano for him. And only for him.
'Her playing is as messy as ever,' he thought to himself as Nodame once again played a certain passage in forte instead of pianissimo.
Really, nothing's changed. She was still quite a force on the piano – a demon, if he had to put into words – banging away at the keys and yet creating music that had a mystical power over her listeners.
He entered the living room with a cup of coffee in his hand and sat on the sofa facing the window. It had begun to rain, and the pitter-patter of raindrops on the window was creating music of their own. He closed his eyes in reflection, letting Nodame's music wash over him. He thought back to their days together starting from their time at the Academy in Japan to their trials and triumphs in Paris.
They went through so much together and she had given him so much. Sure, he can tell people that nothing much has changed. They were still the same people, who still loved and embraced music and had each other. But he knew that this wasn't true.
Everything has changed.
In the beginning, she was nothing more than an annoying but fascinating creature. Then, she evolved into some kind of sick attachment to his life. She was always where he was and he no longer denied her existence in his life. Now, she was an integral part of his life; he honestly couldn't go a day without hearing her play the piano. She brought him happiness through her quirkiness and her music – sometimes, those two things combined simultaneously. Now he wouldn't give her up for the world. Her disappearance a few months ago taught him that.
Why did he feel this way?
He knew the answer: It was because he loved her. Somewhere along the way, he had not so much fallen but dropped precariously without warning in love with the hentai. How? Why? When?
Did it really matter? He didn't need a reason to love Nodame. Hell, even if he tried to articulate his reasons, it probably would sound very strange and if people laughed at his foolishness, then they can all go to hell. He didn't need a reason to love. All he knew was that there was no other happiness in the whole wide world that could even begin to compare.
He opened his eyes as Nodame changed the tune from Faure's Barcarolle to Beethoven's Pathetique. This particular Beethoven piece was a special piece between them. It brought them back to their beginning, cherishing the memories of the past, while dreaming of the future and celebrating that moment of happiness in the present.
He put down the mug on the coffee table and went to stand behind her and put a hand on her shoulder tenderly, letting her know that her feelings have reached him. She turned her face upward to face him halfway and a small smile graced her lips and the warmth of his presence permeated her very being.
Yes, everything has changed. He loved Nodame and she loved him. There was no denying it. He was inexplicably, inevitably, and hopelessly in love with the biggest hentai, the most amazing pianist in the world.
When she finished the piece and the apartment was filled with contemplative silence, she turned around from the piano to face him.
She looked up at him with her big brown eyes and said, "Senpai? Nodame is hungry again."
Really, she knew how to destroy the mood.
A vein popped in his forehead and he said, "It's been two hours since you had dinner! How can you be hungry?"
"Gyabo! Really? I thought I've been practicing for at least four hours," replied Nodame with an expression that clearly bespoke of her incredulity.
"Baka," Chiaki replied but drew her face close to his.
"Heh…" laughed Nodame as Chiaki's lips descended upon hers in a gentle kiss.
Really, nothing much has changed. Only that he loved her and will forever love all of her. And he was okay with that. Why? Because he loved his beautiful ordinary life. It was okay to spend days like these, doing nothing in particular as long as he was with her. He didn't have to go anywhere special as long as she was there with him. He loved their lives that were filled with their music, laughter, dreams, and ambitions. Of course, there would be tears and sadness, fights and trials. But that was okay too, as long as she was there.
'Yes, indeed, I love my beautiful ordinary life,' Chiaki thought to himself, relishing in the feel of her lips on his, as the sound of the raindrops hitting the windows filled the silence of the apartment.
AN: Hello my beloved readers! I hope you enjoyed the story. It was in part inspired by lyrics of the song "Beautiful Life" sung by DBSK. If you know the song, you might have caught glimpses of the story. I just thought that the lyrics were somewhat fitting for Nodame and Chiaki so I whipped up this story as I was sitting at a café. Please leave a review! I'd love to hear suggestions as well as criticisms regarding this one-shot. Thank you again for reading