Practice Makes Perfect
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Summary: In which Karen and Mary attempt to practice for the Music Festival and become woefully distracted. KarenMary fluff.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Karen or Mary. In my mind, they belong completely to one another. Outside of my mind, both girls are the creations. and thus the property, of the people what's made Harvest Moon. :)
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Within a small, simply decorated, warmly welcoming country church stands an organ.
Pushed off into the corner to the right of the pulpit, it is a beautiful instrument, all finely finished wood and ivory keys, beginning to yellow with age, and curving to the shapes of the many different fingers that have coaxed it to life and magnificent sound through the centuries that it has abided here.
In recent years, it has come to stand silent more and more often, as modern instruments gain popularity, and the girls of today begin to dislike spending so much time in church.
Yet even now, there is a young lady with a thick glossy braid of long dark hair, a quirky little smile, and eyes shining with quiet intelligence behind thick glasses, who prefers the organ with its deep, soulful tones to the lilting sweetness of the flute or the fluid grace of the violin.
Once a week, she comes by, peeks quickly around to be sure she doesn't have an audience before she's ready, slips onto the stool, and the small building fills with music.
And sometimes, it takes more than once a week.
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"Alright, Karen, which piece do you want to start with?" Mary asked briskly, sorting through her sheet music and propping it carefully on the ledge above the keys.
Karen gave a tiny shrug, expression the picture of indifference, but one eye kept very carefully on the girl at the organ.
"I don't know. Any suggestions?"
Permitting herself an impatient little sigh, Mary peeked over her shoulder at Karen.
"Well, I don't know. What have you been having trouble with?"
"Nothing really stands out."
Mary grit her teeth.
"Why don't we start with Seasons Change, then?"
"We know that one inside out," Karen snorted.
"Queen of the May?"
"We'd need Elli and Ann."
"I could just pick out the flute parts on the organ."
Karen snickered.
"I think we've all got that one down cold, too, except for Ann, but we can't practice for her."
"Elli's doing her best," Mary giggled. "The doctor is starting to twitch whenever he hears that song. Apparently, he had to wake her up last night when she started humming it in her sleep."
"See? Isn't it good to know that you're not the only one who's obsessive about this?"
Karen's grin transformed instantly into a stunned, outraged gape as an eraser from Mary's music folder bounced off her head.
"You're the one who called the extra rehearsal, Karen," the bespectacled girl reminded her mildly, completely ignoring the blustering.
"Right, right, sorry," Karen sighed, climbing from the pew she had been happily lounging in, and moving behind the organ bench to lightly rub Mary's shoulders, and grinning again as a sound distinctly like a purr drifted back towards her.
"We should get back to work," Mary said reluctantly, nevertheless leaning back into Karen's touch.
"You decided what song we're doing yet?"
Mary deflated slightly.
"Oh, right. Umm…" She flipped quickly through her bundle of sheet music. "Bonny Portmore?"
"Know it."
"Gloomy Sunday?"
"Know it."
"Song For a Winter's Night?"
Karen frowned.
"I thought that was Elli's piece."
"Oh, right," Mary sighed, chin in her hand. "Well, Karen, do you have something you would like to practice?"
"Nope."
Mary turned to glare at her.
"Then what did you call this rehearsal for? What are we going to do for an hour?"
Karen permitted herself one more grin, stretching nearly beyond the boundaries of the average human face, and then leaned swiftly down to catch the smaller girl in a kiss.
Arms winding tightly around Karen's shoulders, one hand sliding up to tangle in that thick, glossy mane of sandybrown, Mary exhaled on a soft, blissful sigh. With a half-purr, half-growl, Karen pushed Mary back against the organ, one hand on either side to pin her in place.
A sudden burst of sound sent both girls a foot in the air, and scrambling frantically away from the source.
"Whoops," Karen laughed sheepishly.
And with that, both girls dissolved into breathless giggles, spurred on by the heat of one another's hands and lips still ringing through them, the thought of Carter's shocked expression if he should return early, and very possibly a distinct lack of oxygen finding their brains.
"Why don't we relocate?" Mary finally managed, wiping away tears of mirth.
"Sounds good to me," Karen shrugged, already snatching Mary's glasses from her hand and setting them on the organ stool, before dragging her lover towards the nearest pew.
"Ack!" Mary noted curiously as she found herself pushed down, flat on her back, against the coarse cushioned fabric of the narrow wooden bench.
"Shh, honey, you'll wake the neighbours," Karen purred, pressing one finger to Mary's lips and gasping sharply when a small pink tongue darted out to draw it in and nip lightly.
Bracing herself on one elbow, she leaned in again to claim another heated kiss.
Mary gave a startled little squeak as Karen's hand landed lightly at the hem of her little pleated blue skirt and slid up, pushing the fabric away.
"Karen," the dark-haired girl murmured, eyes wide with something that couldn't entirely decide if it was protest or pleading.
"Don't worry," Karen whispered against her forehead. "We've got an hour, remember?"
Mary's flush deepened, and her eyes darted away from Karen's.
"Um, actually, we have two hours."
Karen raised an eyebrow curiously.
"How do you figure?"
Mary's blush became nearly bright enough to double as a light source.
"W-well, I thought this might be what you meant when you said extra practice, so I asked Carter to book us for another hour."
Karen hooted with laughter.
"You amazing, adorable little brat! But you know what this means, don't you?"
Mary pondered this for a long moment.
"No, not really," she finally admitted.
"Well," Karen said casually, tugging Mary closer for another kiss, "it just means that with all this extra practice, we're going to have to really kick this festival's ass, or Carter's going to know something's up. He's pretty smart, for a man."