Marinette was enthralled as she listened to her crush play. Adrien Agreste; She knew he was a talented model, fencer, and basketball player, but she was simply captivated with the way his fingers magically knew how to dance as she watched his intricate hand movements continuously glide across the piano.
The first song that he practiced was Tchaikovsky's Romance in F minor: Andante cantabile Op 5 as a warm up. Marinette fell more in love with each key stroke he played and took in how his demeanor became even calmer and more subdued when he was focused on the music. She could tell he was at peace when playing.
After he finished, he looked over to see Marinette still looking love struck and not moving from her position, "Is everything alright, Marinette?" Adrien asked as he tried to stifle a laugh. Aware that she had drifted off into her daydreams, Marinette blushed as she tried to recompose herself and come back down to earth.
"I-I'm fine!" She squeaked as her blush, which was a light pink, became an intense Russian red that spread across her face. "I was just so lost in your playing that I started day dreaming a little..." She whispered as she looked up to see him smiling back at her. If she hadn't been swept away with his playing, she was now definitely drifting away in the way he was looking at her. His eyes were very calm and sweet, like they always were when he looked at her.
"Haha, thanks, I really appreciate the compliment," he giggled as he looked back at the sheet music that he had just finished practicing. Adrien glanced up at the clock in the foreground of the room before drifting his gaze back at Marinette, "Aren't we supposed to be going to the park soon?"
Marinette looked up at the clock before flickering her gaze back to Adrien. "We still have time." The blue eyed girl stated as she smiled at the boy. "Besides, can I hear you play one more song?"
Adrien laughed before looking back down at the piano. "Okay, one more song, but then we really have to get to the park. Alya and Nino are both going to be there soon, and we all agreed to meet there." The two had been getting closer since the start of the new school year, especially since they continuously kept getting paired together for projects in school. He had to say that the more he started hanging out with Marinette, the more he wanted to be around her, and the more he noticed his feelings start to shift from being close friends to wanting something more.
He rummaged through the different composers and pieces that were on the piano: Bach, Mozart, Lover's Sorrow by Lieselbied, Schubert and many other standard pieces that were always played.
While Adrien was distracted looking what else to play, Marinette looked around the study room. She got up and started looking at the pictures on the wall of the Agreste family that surrounded a big bookshelf. She kept walking around taking in the different instruments and furniture when she came upon a small basket in the far corner of the room.
"Adrien, what's in here?" Marinette asked as she started looking through its contents. Said blonde looked up from a random Beethoven movement to see what she was talking about. His eyes landed on the basket that she was looking in and he smiled to himself.
"That basket holds all of my mother's favorite pieces." He smiled as Marinette kept looking through the wooden container. "She would often times come in here to practice, and I would sometimes sneak in to listen to her play when I was little." Adrien got up from the bench to look through the music with her.
"She would be so engulfed in the music that she wouldn't know that I snuck in to listen. It wouldn't be until I started clapping that she would turn around and laugh before inviting me over to play with her." His smile grew brighter as he thought back to the many memories the two shared.
Marinette fished through the stacks of booklets and sheet music as Adrien called out the composers and names.
"Blumenlied Op. 39 by Lange, Rose Adagio from Sleeping Beauty by Tchavoisky, Claire de Lune by Debussy, 5 Piano Pieces 193 by Liszt…" Adrien continued to let Marinette flip through the music until she stopped on one particular piece. She picked it up and flipped through the score when she looked at Adrien.
"What's the name of this one? " She asked as she handed it to him.
"Tristesse by Chopin, it was maman's favorite piece to play." He stated as he took the music from her hand and went towards the piano. Adrien opened the booklet and skimmed the score before placing it in front of him, preparing to play. Marinette followed him back to the piano bench, where she sat down and waited intently for him to begin.
As Adrien began playing, Marinette was once again taken in by the music. 'It's so soft and delicate,' she thought as she continued to listen to him play. Her imagination took her to a meadow with Adrien, just the two of them relaxing on a summer's day. Adrien's hands kept in time as he stopped looking at the music sheet and let himself be swept away by the music.
His eyes longingly looked at the keys as he continued to play. "Mon precieux chaton," Adrien's eyes widened at the memory of the phrase as the music started to shift to a slightly quicker pace. He kept playing as the memories of his mother kept coming while he continued to play. As the score started to quicken and he reached the irregular rhythms of the middle section, he was completely lost to his memories.
"Mon beau petit chaton," A woman with thick, long, golden hair called out as her five year old son ran towards her on the piano bench. "Do you want to play with maman?" Adrien giggled as he nodded furiously. His mother brought the young boy to her lap whilst she continued to play the Etude. His hands laid perfectly on top of hers as they restarted the song.
Adrien, happy to be playing with his mother, looked up with a smile showing his missing teeth as she smiled down sincerely at her son. The two, in a state of bliss, continued to play.
Marinette was taken out of her daydream as she noticed that Adrien's style of playing that was once so sweet and romantic, now became bitter and upset, like that of a crying child. She looked over to see tears start to well in his eyes as he continued to play. The more he panged on the keys, the quicker tears began escaping from his eyes. When his playing returned to the soft, sweet tenderness that it earlier held, Marinette became startled as she saw the tears freely running down his face.
After he finished the last note of the song, Adrien brought his hands up to his face as he continued to cry. Sobs started to escape as he held his face in his hands and continued sobbing. Marinette slid down the piano bench before taking him in her arms and cradling him. He continued to cry while Marinette rested her head on top of his. At a loss for words, Marinette just continued to cradle him while he cried. He took the hands away from his face as he wrapped them around her waist and completely broke down.