A/N: Heeeeey! This is just a short one-shot I made due to Writer's block, and I reeeeeally don't know whether or not to put this as John/Vriska or John/Dad. Oh well. I should be up and writing the next Chapter for Black Parade soon. BUT ANYWAYS, I hope you enjoy this~

PS- The first song he plays is 'Farewell' from the Land of Fans and Music album and the second is 'Genesis' from the SBURB album.

I can't write piano playing...


John Egbert sat in his bedroom alone, even though it was April 13th; his birthday. The walls were paste white with lots of Nic Cage movie posters and his floor was spotless. His bed sheets were a deep blue with a sky blue Breath symbol on it that Rose and Kanaya had made for him. In front of his pillow sat a handful of rainbow squiddles that his ecto-sibling Jade had sent him from her lone island out in the middle of the ocean. A comic of Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff drawn on a piece of computer paper hung above the headboard, signed "D.S" in red ink. He had even gotten a few shitty romcoms from Karkat. Although normally, this would have been a most joyous occasion when he was younger, today it was a painful reminder that his guardian was gone, never to return unless a miracle happened. He wore his God Tier pajamas, being the same color scheme as his bed sheets and wore yellow shoes. His hood was down and instead, a grey beaten up fedora rested on top of his head, concealing his jet-black hair. His sky blue eyes were a cloudy grey as he sat on the bed, fondling a pipe in his hands.

He looked up and examined his room, but locked on to the wooden piano across from him. Its slender white keys and sleek wood beckoned to him, a siren calling to mortal men. He got up, pipe still in hand and sat down on the wooden bench. It had been years since he had played it, due to the Game. Could he still play it as well as when the game had started? He put the pipe in his mouth, and slowly out his hands on the keys, remembering how he and his father would play side-by-side when he was first learning. He played a slow, melancholy tune with a simple chord baseline. The peace remained slow and mournful for a few minutes, all his emotions flowing through his fingers and into his music. Tears formed in eyes as visions of the good and bad times he and his father shared together flashed: learning how to play the piano, running away from sight whenever Dad was baking Betty Crocker. All the feelings danced in the air and inside the boy's head, making the notes come out beautifully. He ended the piece with a soft chord, the sound echoing through the house.

John took his hands off the piano keys and laid them in his lap, folding them together. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, envisioning his father's face. When he opened them, he couldn't believe his eyes, rubbing them to make sure he wasn't dreaming: his father was standing at the doorway, his white dress shirt contrasting with his black tie and pants. The shirt was tucked in and a belt held his pants up in a professional fashion. He was tanner than John, and definitely a lot taller, but he had the same body structure: thin and well-built. He had a few wrinkles on his forehead and around the curves of his mouth due to the hands of time and experience. Medium-sized eyebrows rested above twinkling brown eyes. He glided over to the piano, gently sitting down next to the younger, whose mouth was agape and gently smiled, placing his hands on the lower portion of the keyboard.

John turned back and placed his hands on it as well, beginning a more happier piece, beginning slow as Dad played the bass line, starting at simple chords, John playing the melodic part with triplets and eighth notes. As the piece progressed on, John stopped playing for a few moments, Dad playing quickened eighth notes, but when John entered, his fingers flew over the keys a whirl, his body swaying to the rhythm. He began to slow down again, but Dad pushed the pace back up to the Allegro tempo they played at. The older laughed as they played and they moved together as one, becoming one person. After putting his foot on the pedal, the notes grew violent and staccato, but in a pleasing way but returned to being played smooth and legato. The music emanating from the piano filled the entire house with life and made both their spirits soar like an eagle in the crystal blue sky. After repeating the staccato portion once again, it began to slow down to the first phrase and melody, bringing it to a calm and gentle conclusion.

John looked back over but didn't see the man. Instead, he saw Vriska Serket, his girlfriend (or 'matesprit' as she and the trolls put it). She was wearing her black shirt with a cerulean Scorpio symbol underneath a grey denim jacket. She also sported dark blue skinny jeans with red converse, one on the piano pedal. Her raven hair travelled down to the small of her back, her bangs swished off to the left. Orange horns—one shaped as a claw and the other like a scorpion's stinger—sprouted from the top of her head. Dark blue eyes stared into John's sky blue eyes from behind rounded glasses, her left eye having 7 pupils instead of one. She was a light shade of grey and wore bright blue lipstick. She was smiling at him, her fangs glistening.

"W…Was that you the entire time?" John said as he got up, escorting her up to the door way. She was short compared to him, only reaching his shoulder.

"Well, being a FLARP-er comes in handy," she smirked as she stood up on her toes to kiss him sweetly. He automatically deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. After he pulled away, he rested his forehead on hers.

"Happy birthday, Egderp," She purred in his ear as they went downstairs hand-in-hand.


A/N: Welp! There you go! Reviews are welcome and much appreciated! Love you! *ollie outie*