ABCSonicKirbyWarriors: Thank you for your nice comments :) I'm really really happy you started listening to Shostakovich again because of this fic! It makes me feel very determined to continue this :D

The Rigged Symphony

1937

Leningrad, Russia

When he woke the next day, Dmitri was sitting across from him, smoking as he read Pravda. Ivan blinked and slowly sat up, relieved when he found that his head had stopped hurting.

"Доброе утро," Shostakovich said, glancing at his watch in amusement. "Or should I say добрый день?"

Feeling rather grumpy and unamused by the composer's humor, he shot him a glare and looked at his own watch. Dmitri only laughed as he squinted at the numbers in disbelief.

"It's almost one," Ivan grumbled, "why didn't you wake me sooner?"

Dmitri moved out of the way as Ivan threw the covers off and stood, wobbling slightly but finally finding his feet after a moment. He looked at the blanket and sighed. They must have put it on him last night while he was asleep.

"You needed sleep. Do you remember how sick you were last night? We nearly had to carry you out of the theatre," Dmitri said pointedly.

Ivan was about to argue when Nina walked into the room holding Galina on one arm and a pile of letters in the other hand. She said good afternoon to Ivan, which Dmitri smirked at, before putting the letters on the table and sorting them.

"Dmitri, Dmitri, Dmitri, oh, the Shostakovich Family! Dmitri, Dmitri," she listed off the names of who they were addressed to, which was mostly Dmitri, until finally, she came to the last one. "...Marshal of the Soviet Union, Ivan Braginsky,"

He could feel himself pale and sat down, reaching over to the letter with shaking hands. He glanced up at the family, who hadn't known his official ranking, and looked greatly surprised by it.

Rather unpleasant thoughts ran through Ivan's head.

They won't trust you anymore.

You won't be welcome here.

Stalin will ship you to Siberia.

The room fell silent as Ivan opened the envelope and took out the letter. It was an official letter from Generalissimo Stalin himself. Feeling even more nauseous with every sentence he read, he finally stopped and stood back up.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go. Our...our Great Leader requires my presence," Ivan found himself stammering.

He left before he could see the looks on their faces.

"Why didn't you tell me he was making another symphony?" Stalin asked quietly, his tone sending tremors down Ivan's spine. Stalin was furious. More than furious. Livid.

"I didn't know he was writing anything, sir," Ivan lied, his gloved hands clasped tightly behind his back.

"How could you not? You were watching him the entire time!"

"He must have written it while I was asleep sir,"

Stalin growled loudly and flung something off of his desk, standing as he did. Ivan was using all of his strength to keep his face emotionless. He couldn't show Stalin how terrified he was. He couldn't give him that satisfaction.

"This is your first and final warning, Braginsky. No more surprises, or you will be facing the consequences," Stalin bellowed, "now leave!"

Ivan didn't have to be told twice.

A few days later, the second performance of the fifth was scheduled at the Leningrad theatre.

Ivan hadn't been back at Shostakovich's apartment since he had had that meeting with Stalin, but he was going to this second performance of the fifth. He knew that Stalin had sent spies over to see why everyone loved the symphony so much, so he had to go make sure everything went smoothly.

Ivan didn't know why he was so worried. At the end of the performance, everyone, including himself, gave it a standing ovation. As people flooded into the hall however, he heard something that troubled him.

Someone was yelling about the audience being hand picked, about how rigged the symphony was. Narrowing his eyes, Ivan snuck up behind them before throwing his arms around the two of them.

"Привет, comrades!" He said with a cheerfulness that had the men shaking with fear. "Excellent symphony, да?"

"C-comrade Braginsky!" They said in unison, turning to look at him. They both paled at the grin on his face.

"It-it was amazing, truly," one of them stammered.

"Да, да, best one this year!" The other exclaimed shrilly.

"I think so too," Ivan agreed, smiling even wider. " I think this symphony will be one of the greatest in soviet history!"

They glanced at each other and shakily nodded their heads at him. They spewed out agreements faster than Ivan had thought was possible. Deciding to quit torturing them, he bid his farewell and left the building, smirking as they tried to collect themselves after the encounter.

When Ivan got home to his house in Leningrad, he was a little disturbed to find his door not all the way closed. He cautiously opened it all the way and took out his metal pipe before stepping inside. He quietly shut the door and shrugged his coat off, hanging it on the rack. Then, he carefully took off his scarf and rolled up the sleeves of his long-sleeved turtleneck.

Holding his metal pipe like a baseball bat, Ivan quietly snuck around the house until he confirmed that there was no one there.

When he came back downstairs, he felt a little stupid.

There was a letter on the table by the door. He was friends with the mail deliverer, so they must have just put it inside instead of in his little compartment outside.

Dreading what it might contain, Ivan opened the envelope with caution. He was greatly relieved to find that it wasn't from an official party member, but curiously, it was from Dmitri Shostakovich.

Marshal Ivan Braginsky,

I am not sure if this letter will get to you, but I am hoping it will.

I read the contents of the letter you received from Stalin and felt like I was personally responsible for your misfortune. I have not heard from you in a few days, and am genuinely concerned.

Nina and I are worried for your safety. We assure you that from now on we will do everything we can to ensure it.

If you are still in Leningrad please contact us to at least let us know how you are doing.

-D. D. Shostakovich

Ivan turned the envelope over. There was a little note on the flap that he hadn't seen before.

Your house is too easy to break into.

Ivan laughed and placed the envelope and letter in his pants pocket before wandering upstairs to his bedroom. He made a mental note to visit the Shostakovich family the following morning.

Ivan changed into his pyjamas and climbed into his bed, feeling at ease for the first time after Stalin came into power.

Before I get into explaining this chapter, I would just like to say that I am incredibly saddened by what happened in Orlando over the weekend. My thoughts are with everyone who was affected by this tragedy, and I sincerely wish the best to my LGBT brothers, sisters, and/or others.

Okay so

Long story short, the party thought it was realllyy sketchy that everyone enjoyed the fifth symphony. They sent two NKVD agents from Moscow to check it out, because they thought that the only reason it was successful was because everyone in the theatre was Shostakovich's friend (because composers naturally just have so many friends that they can fill a theatre). The symphony was not considered anti-soviet or formalist so it restored Shostakovich's reputation and gave him some time to breathe a bit.

Oh, Ivan.

So I'm not really sure what Stalin's reaction was to the symphony, but knowing him, it was probably not very good. Hence, the spies at the second performance.

I think Ivan didn't go back to Shostakovich's apartment right away because of two things.

1: I think he was afraid that he wouldn't be welcome back. Marshal was just one rank under Generalissimo after all, and having someone so high up in the party at your house was bound to be stress inducing. I think he liked Shostakovich too much to force himself back into the house after something that important was revealed about him.

2: I think he also needed time for himself. After the incident at the premier and then Stalin being a douche (like always), naturally you would want some time to think things through.

I created the letter scenario because despite how creepy and tough and ruthless Ivan is portrayed as, I think he's still very fragile and sensitive, and maybe even innocent. I think he needed to know that he was wanted back so he could go "do his job" and "spy" on Shostakovich.

Thank you for reading!