It was after a game.
The Ravage Rhinos at Hetalia Academy just lost another game, the locker room was filled with the foul smell of sweat. A tense feeling went into one Alfred F. Jones as he could only hear dead silence.
The silence was soon interrupted by a red faced middle aged man with bulging muscles and a clipboard at hand. It was the coach of the Ravaging Rhinos, a man who seriously needed to take some anger management classes.
"I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH AWFUL PLAYING IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!"
He hollered like an ape who had its bananas stolen, but in this circumstance, it was victory that was taken away.
"ARE YOU BLOCKHEADS EVEN TRYING? WELL, I BET YOU WILL JUST BE WORSE IF YOU DID."
"But Mr. Hollman," A player spoke up.
"We did try but we were distracted 'cause you didn't stop yelling at u-"
In seconds, the clipboard that was held in his large hand was thrown harshly against the wall with a smash.
The boy made the smart decision to close his mouth.
And the coach never stopped cursing when he left the room.
Alfred F. Jones could only sigh as he put all of his belongings in his locker. In an instant, he realized that something was out of place.
His cellphone was missing.
He angrily placed his palm on his forehead as he sprinted out of the locker room. He had a vague idea where he would leave his cellphone, it was probably ringing persistently with texts from his brother and parents about the game. He was just about to turn the corner when he heard something. It was faint, but it was definitely there.
It was a euphonious sound, one that could only be compared with the choir of angels or the sound of summer rain. A pip pip pip and a breath of a chord and a gentle, tranquil melody like the roll of waves. Not only was it pleasing to the ears but it was brimming with so much emotion that it only pushed him to go faster to find the source. He curved left and right, not having a clue where he was going until…
He was right in front of the music room.
Of course. It was the sound of the piano. But he never heard of that old thing being able to produce something that could be this good.
The door was a crack open so he smashed his face against the wall to take a peak. His breath hitched when he saw what was inside.
The soulful song was played by a boy that was just as beautiful as the tune playing. He had rustled, blond hair and pale skin and that was all he could see. It was the fact that he radiated something that he never saw before that made him assume that he was attractive.
Not that he was wrong.
With an attempt to see in more detail, he leaned forward, but with that force the door opened, and he fell in an awkward heap.
The song stopped abruptly and he internally cursed, he messed up.
"Wha- who's there?" Came a hushed, quivering voice, coming from the piano boy.
He looked around panicked, like he was lost in a dark alley. The boy on the floor could only stare wondering what he was doing. He was hit with the truth when he was able to see his eyes.
There were green, entrancing, but glazed over.
He was blind.
He gulped and the boy seemed to hear, turning around in an approximate direction where Alfred was.
"Ummmm… I-I'm real sorry about all this but I heard you playing and… and it was like, really good." The boy moved a step closer.
"Where are you?" He asked.
"H-here." He carefully walked over, grabbed his hand and led him towards him. He could see that his hands were scarred and calloused, but were soft. The boy tried to meet his eyes but couldn't. With pity, Alfred moved his other arm forward and tipped his chin up.
"Hello," The boy said, looking straight into Alfred's eyes.
"Hi."
"This… is awkward, isn't it."
"… A bit, yes."
"I didn't mean to interrupt, it's just that I was able to catch a really great sounding song and I wanted to know where it was coming from and I think I ran for like a really long time until I found this room and then I saw you and you were just-"
Alfred stopped his babbling when he heard a soft sound, like the jingle of tiny bells. The boy was laughing.
"You are rambling, good sir."
Alfred blushed massively, the being in front of him was just too gorgeous.
"Are-are you an angel?"
The laughing stopped, but started soon afterwards until tears sprung from his eyes.
"No… I'm just a blind boy, sorry to disappoint you."
Alfred moved a bit closer.
"You're no disappointment! Er… um… "
"Arthur. Arthur Kirkland."
Arthur gave a small smile.
"I'm er… Alfred F. Jones."
He replied, seemingly forgetting his name in the process.
Arthur's smile turned into something worried.
"You seem like an interesting lad, but are you alright? You keep stuttering and muttering, are you sick?"
He placed one hand on Alfred's cheek.
"Wow, you are tall, aren't you?"
Alfred only could chuckle nervously.
"There's no need to be so uptight lad," Arthur said, figuring out the root of Alfred's strange actions.
"I'm not angry, and blindness isn't contagious."
"No, I… You are just… so mesmerizing that… my heart can't stop going crazy when I'm with you and… you are just so bright and wonderful and… are you sure you aren't an angel?"
Arthur smirked.
"I'm pretty sure I would know if I am an angel or not, Alfred."
Afterwards, they fell into small talk and started learning about each other. Eventually, Alfred was able to relax enough to ask Arthur to resume playing the piano.
And in that moment, it was sure that two sounds merged into a duet and then something so much more.
Something short and sweet, like a quick dessert after a long day or something.
Additionally, I imagined Arthur playing La Campanella by Franz Liszt during this story.
Hope you have a lovely day.
