Title: Heart & Soul
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I don't own Auggie or Annie (though I've asked Santa for Auggie this Christmas), nor do I own any of the songs referenced here. I do own a piano.
"Just give me two minutes, okay?" Auggie promised as he let Annie into his apartment.
"Clock's ticking, Mister," she warned, though she was smiling as she said it.
They'd planned to hit the bar after work, but their plans had gone somewhat awry when Jai managed to 'accidentally' spill coffee down Auggie's front as they were leaving.
He'd been oh so apologetic, even offering to take Annie to the bar while Auggie went home and changed.
Annie hadn't missed the quickly concealed look of disappointment on his face, nor the not-so-quickly-concealed glee on Auggie's, when she'd turned him down, saying that she'd just run Auggie home herself and maybe catch Jai later.
Though Annie had been to Auggie's apartment before, she'd never really looked around much beyond the sofa and the cabinet where he stored his alcohol.
As she waited for him to change, she took the opportunity to take in her surroundings. Everything was ridiculously neat, though she guessed that someone who couldn't see would want to avoid clutter or things on the floor. He had several bookshelves, filled with an interesting mix of audio books, books written in Braille, and regularly printed books…she assumed those were from before his accident. There was a TV, a sofa (which she was well-acquainted with), minimal art on the walls…and then something else caught her attention. She smiled as she walked over to it.
Auggie had a piano.
It wasn't a grand piano or anything, just a standard upright, and the lack of dust told her that he was either a super neat-freak (possible) or that it was still used regularly. Considering the number of men Annie knew who even owned a feather duster, she'd put her money on the latter.
"Annie?" he asked, coming back into the room. "Ready to go?"
"Over here," she replied. "I didn't know you played the piano."
He chuckled as he walked over. "Occasionally, and not hugely well. My mother insisted on piano lessons when I was a kid, but they always wanted me to play boring classical stuff. I liked contemporary artists a lot more."
"Really?"
"Yeah," he said. "Ironically, I was a big fan of Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles before the accident."
She snorted. "My dad used to listen to Scott Joplin a lot, but since we moved so frequently he avoided having any more furniture than was necessary."
"Joplin, huh?" he asked, pulling out the bench and taking a seat. Orienting himself on the keys, he played the opening of 'Weeping Willow Rag'.
"I didn't get into him until last year, actually," Auggie admitted as he played, "but I like his stuff a lot."
"Show-off," she grumbled, then frowned. "Wait, if you didn't get into him until a year ago, how…?"
Auggie grinned. "I've got a pretty good ear. If I listen to something enough, I can usually pick it up."
"One of my friends in Heidelberg had a piano, but I just learned basic stuff like 'Chopsticks'…nothing fancy," she assured him. "She was going to teach me more, but we were only there for three months before Dad got transferred again."
He slid to the left and patted the right side of the bench. "Wanna play 'Chopsticks' with me?"
It was Annie's turn to grin as she sat down beside him. "Seriously?"
"Absolutely." Finding his place on the keys again, he started playing the bottom half.
Annie laughed delightedly and found her place as well. Still grinning, she waited for her entrance and launched into her part. She made one or two mistakes, since she hadn't touched a keyboard in over a decade, but Auggie adjusted his part to fit her tempo.
After 'Chopsticks', he discovered that she also knew 'The Knuckle Song', and they played that through.
"Here's one I bet you know," Auggie said, bumping her shoulder with his.
Annie closed her eyes and smiled broadly as he played the opening bars of 'Heart and Soul'. When her part began, she opened her eyes and started singing in a husky alto as she played.
"Heart and soul, I fell in love with you,
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do,
Madly...
Because you held me tight,
And stole a kiss in the night..."
Auggie had faltered slightly when she started singing, but he recovered quickly and kept up his part.
"Heart and soul, I begged to be adored,
Lost control, and tumbled overboard,
Gladly...
That magic night we kissed,
There in the moon mist.
"Oh! but your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling,
Never before were mine so strangely willing.
"But now I see, what one embrace can do,
Look at me, it's got me loving you,
Madly...
That little kiss you stole,
Held all my heart and soul."
Annie trailed off as the song finished, her fingers coming to a halt. Auggie followed suit.
"Sorry," she muttered, blushing. "That's always been one of those songs I can't help singing along to."
"Don't apologize," he told her. "You have a fantastic voice. And I never knew the words to that song, either, for all that I've played it a million times." He turned to face her. "Do you sing a lot?"
"Mostly in the shower or the car," she admitted. "I like to sing, but not usually in front of other people."
"So I don't count as 'other people' anymore?" he teased.
Annie laughed. "I guess not. Just don't expect it to happen too often…I think the last time I sang in public was a drunken karaoke experience in a pub in Edinburgh."
"Bet that was a fun night," he said.
"What I remember of it," she admitted wryly.
Auggie stood and held out a hand to her, then tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow when she stood as well. After pushing the bench back in, they turned and made their way to the door.
"Still up for drinks?" he asked.
"Oh yeah," she said. "And it's my turn to buy anyway."
"Ten bucks says Jai tries to spill something on me again," Auggie said with a straight face.
"I'm rolling my eyes at you right now," Annie informed him as she did just that, "but no bet. He seems to be suspiciously clumsy these days when he's around you."
"You're telling me! My dry cleaning bill has doubled in the last two weeks," he grumbled.
"Well," she said, giving his arm an extra squeeze as they walked to the elevator, "If you promise to play 'Chopsticks' with me again, I promise to protect you from falling beverages tonight."
"Deal," he agreed, sealing the bargain by sliding his hand down until it found hers again and squeezing it.
As the elevator doors closed, Auggie wondered just how drunk he'd need to get Annie to convince her to go to the karaoke bar down the street from his apartment.
A/N – I don't know why 'Heart and Soul' randomly popped into my head the other day (I haven't played/sung it in ages), but it did so with enough gusto to make me hunt it down on Amazon and download it. Then listen to it 15 times in a row. Then go home and play it on the piano another dozen or so times. No clue. That, combined with the fact that Brigit (my imaginary sometimes-muse) was feeling frisky, resulted in this fluffy little ficlet.