A/N: I don't really know. I felt the urge to write and didn't even know what to write, so I just filled in the blanks below and wrote based on that. In dedication to Ms. Inniger, my first accompanist =)
Title: Follow the Leader
Rating: G
Fandom: La Corda D'Oro
Characters/Pairings: Tsuchiura Ryoutarou, Tsukimori Len
Genre: Sorta friendship, humor, it's not really anything.
Word Count: 642
Warnings: Implied BL, music terms that are defined
Summary: Len gets a surprise visitor in his practice room.
Disclaimer: I do not own La Corda D'Oro.
He descended the A-minor scale, fingers agile and fluid. Len rose up again in an arpeggio, making a gradual crescendo to the top and pulling off a flawless diminuendo, ending beautifully soft.
Ryoutarou watched from the window as Len sifted through his piles of music, pulling out an assortment of pages and setting them on the stand. The violinist set the instrument on his shoulder, exhaled, and began a furiously fast-paced, bright piece.
Vivaldi's Concerto in A Minor. Ryoutarou had never seen anybody play it so quickly. Every recording he'd heard of it was fast, but Len's fingertips were shooting up and down at breakneck pace. Len's dynamics and musicality shone through, and he shifted positions like a pro. The ending of the first movement approached - Len started to slow, vibrating at the highest notes.
So Ryoutarou really couldn't help but do what he did.
He opened the door and, ignoring the abrupt ending and glare from Len, seated himself at the piano.
"Get out." The pianist's lips curled into a smile. Len was such a drama queen. Did he really think that Ryoutarou would listen to his demands? After all, the rivalry between the two extended far beyond music, and Ryoutarou had never obeyed him before.
"No. Keep playing, Tsukimori. I like the second movement." As if to emphasize his point, Ryoutarou played the opening notes of the accompaniment.
Scowling, Len spat, "I won't slow down for your sake, so you'd better keep up, you lame excuse for a musician," but even as he said it, he was drawing his bow up to the strings. As if to spite Ryoutarou, he began without warning. The grassy-haired pianist fumbled for a moment, then, remembering his awkward practice sessions with Kahoko, found the spot in his musical memory and struck chords that even perfectionist Len couldn't complain about.
Len's trills were perfect and his intonation insanely accurate. He must spend time with a chromatic tuner, Ryoutarou thought vaguely as he remembered the sour notes that Kahoko had played in place of Len's flawless ones. The violinist's left hand fluttered, creating a rich, romantic sound, and he drew long, graceful notes with his bow.
Tsuchiura hesitated slightly as the largo movement closed; was Len going to stop here, or go on?
Len must've sensed his hesitation, because he plowed on through, making Ryoutarou play a couple of notes incorrectly. Len smirked, opening one eye momentarily to glance at Ryoutarou. Screw you, Tsukimori. The accompanist caught up within a couple of seconds, left hand working harmoniously with his right. He was stunned at Len's vivaciously short bowstrokes and the violin's ridiculously high range. Where Kahoko had fouled with the natural harmonics, Len did played them as if he'd been doing it his entire life.
Well, he actually had been doing it his entire life.
The sprightly fingers alternated so incredibly quickly that Ryoutarou found himself hanging onto every long note. The third movement was a tease - it would lead you on and then go into the opposite direction. It would do the same thing repeatedly then suddenly stray from its normal behavior.
Who better to play this than Tsukimori, Ryoutarou mused wryly, playing with as much fervor as possible to match up with Len's strong passion. Unpredictable and not always meaning what it says.
Len performed a sublime rallentando, brisk notes becoming agonizingly deliberate. Ryoutarou pounded out some closing chords, breathing out with pleasure as the concerto finally ended.
Len was the one who broke the silence. "Not bad for someone who didn't have music." He offered the pianist a slight quirk of his lips; not a smile, but as close as he could get to one.
Tsuchiura stood and ruffled Len's blue mop of hair before walking out with a grin. The disbelieving grunt that followed was priceless.
See you tomorrow, Tsukimori.
-Fin.
1.) arpeggio - all the notes in a chord played separately; these are normally played after their corresponding scales.
2.) crescendo - gradually getting louder
3.) diminuendo - gradually getting quieter; also decrescendo
4.) largo - a slow tempo, usually employed for majestic pieces and sometimes funeral pieces (about 60 beats per minute)
5.) natural harmonic - a high, pure note achieved only by gently touching your skin to the exact middle of the string
6.) rallentando - gradually getting slower; also ritardando