I'm glad I finally got around to writing this, as the Silver Pair is so fun to write about.

Disclaimer: (I can't believe I forgot to put this. . Sorry!) Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi.

Warnings: One instance of emphasis swearing. But otherwise, I think it's clean.

Music Appreciation

Shishido stood in the doorway of Hyoutei's music room, watching his doubles partner where he sat at the other side of the room, in front of a massive black piano.

Sure, he had seen a piano before (Atobe was his captain after all), but never before had one seemed so looming, so intimidating. Even Choutarou, who was larger than the average second, or even third, year, appeared small in comparison. And good God, the sound! It wasn't necessarily loud, but it had such a large presence. It occupied every bit of air in the room.

It vaguely felt confusion gnawing at the edges of his consciousness. Why did he feel so weird? Even though he knew several people who had a passion for classical music (Atobe, Oshitari, and his own partner Choutarou, to name a few), he was never really interested in it himself. It all sounded the same to him, and, even though he was no stranger to hard work, he had to admit that the thing looked like it would be a bitch to learn.

So why was he just standing there, totally enthralled in the music his silver-haired friend was creating? From where he stood, he could only see his partner's back. He didn't know what the younger boy was doing with his hands, but it sounded unimaginable complicated. The notes lifting from the huge instrument sounded chaotic at first, but eventually he was able to depict two separate lines of music, one low and steady with the other snaking all around and through the first. Shishido tilted his head to the side in some weird effort to visualize was he was hearing, but, just as he felt that he was onto some strange and wonderful epiphany, the music stopped, and the room was suddenly unbearably empty. Choutarou stood with a quiet sigh and realized Shishido's presence with a surprised jerk.

"Shishido!" he gasped, "What are you doing here?" Shishido ignored his question, still looking at the piano.

"How in the hell did you do that?" he asked, inwardly wincing at his own demanding tone. Choutarou blushed and fidgeted for several seconds, enough time for Shishido to wonder if the silver-haired boy was chewing his lip because he was thinking, or because he felt that he was being scolded. Shishido couldn't help but feel bad. He had just gained a new level of respect for his partner, but he spoke to him in a way that broke the other boy's confidence. He opened his mouth, an apology on his lips, but Choutarou beat him.

"I don't really know how to explain it," he began, wringing his hands and blushing, looking at anything but him. Shishido hated when his partner wouldn't look at him. It made him nervous that he had somehow offended the taller boy. "It's a combination of a lot of different things, I guess." Choutarou finished, and immediately resumed chewing on his lip. Shishido jammed his hands in his pockets and considered what he wanted to say next.

"Well, do you think you could show me how sometime?" he asked, looking at his partner seriously, and pretending he wasn't feeling the heat on his cheeks.

Choutarou nodded, smiling widely.

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