AU #007: In which his music makes its way into her heart.
Note: Here we have a little sort of crossover. There is no plot crossover, however, this is more of borrowing characters. I'll explain more of this later.
Note [2]: Happy birthday to the wonderful artist who is the brains behind most of the art and cover images I use for most of my fics – ayinvui! Here is yet another birthday present from moi.
(*)
His eyes were closed, not screwed shut, mind you, but closed serenely, as if he was asleep. He held his violin with the sense of gentleness and love, and cradled it like a baby. His bow was held lightly with a hand that was both elegant yet calloused; the same could be said for the hand holding his violin. He swayed with the music, almost flying with it while his feet remained firmly planted on the floor. And the music? Oh, the music.
It was beautifully melancholic, a song of longing and love. It was haunting, yet genuine, and told a story. One could only begin to fathom what the story was even about, but it was beautiful nonetheless. His violin sang with notes that rung true and clear, never faltering or making a mistake. He commandeered his violin like a pro, but with an ease that only came with years and years of practice.
"You're swooning again, sweetie."
GoGo snapped out of her reverie, and focused her attention on the two individuals who had just entered Juan's Fabulous Pooch Salon. "I was not, Honey." It was an automatic response from GoGo, who was currently sitting at the window that faced the street, two of the windows opened slightly so that the music could creep into the salon.
Honey's companion, who was just as tall and slim as Honey was, snorted unattractively. "I sense denial," he trilled, sitting down next to GoGo so that both of them could stare across the street. "You've been watching him for the past two months, I think?"
"Stop teasing her, Wallace," Honey chided. "She'll admit it when she wants to. Right, GoGo?"
GoGo merely rolled her eyes, and stood up. "Where's Maximo?" Maximo, a beautiful, white, purebred Persian cat, let out a loud and strangled meow from a portable cage that was placed on the floor next to Wallace. "There he is." GoGo bent down to get the cat from his light blue pet carrier. "Anything special, Wallace?"
Wallace waved his hand dismissively. "You always know what looks best, GoGo."
GoGo couldn't help but smile as she left the two in the waiting room. Despite arguments, Wallace and Honey had quickly transitioned from regular customers to the closest friends that GoGo could ever ask for. Wallace took great care of Maximo on his own, but he took the cat for monthly visits to Juan's as a treat. GoGo worked part-time as a groomer at Juan's, and upon meeting Honey (who usually accompanied Wallace to these visits), the taller female had immediately staked some sort of claim on GoGo, slowly befriending her over the months. Wallace had gradually followed Honey's footsteps, trusting GoGo fully once he realized that Maximo actually preferred that GoGo was the one to brush through the long, (expensive), thick mane.
So much had their friendship grown, that Wallace and Honey usually spent their afternoons in the salon anyways, just to hang out. GoGo enjoyed their company; both of them were as flamboyant and friendly as GoGo was stoic and silent, which balanced out the friendship greatly.
GoGo set the cat on a table in the back room, making reassuring noises as Maximo started yowling. "Oh, Max, we've been through this before. You know I'm going to have to do this to you." GoGo sighed, and made her way over to her phone, which was connected to a speaker. With reluctance, she finally chose her 'Classical' playlist, and as the soothing sound of a piano filled the room, Maximo finally sat down and relax. The classical music made GoGo think about the violinist across the street, and she couldn't help but smile to herself as she started brushing.
She didn't remember exactly when she started noticing the violinist across the street, but there was one thing she was certain of. Once she started watching him, she could never look away. One day, she just happened to be looking straight across the street, and saw him, playing his violin and making the most wonderful music. GoGo wasn't a fan of classical music, not at all. But there was something so different and authentic with the way he played the violin that just made classical music so… beautiful.
She found himself watching for him every afternoon, and slowly adjusting her work hours so that she would be in the front room from three in the afternoon to four-thirty. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the young man stood directly across the street, where she could observe him from Juan's, and he would just set down his messenger bag and violin case and play. He let loose a cacophony of different songs every day, from classical music to covers of popular songs, but one thing never changed – there was one song that he played every single time he performed. The haunting, beautiful melody that GoGo had been witnessing right when Wallace and Honey walked in.
She'd noticed that he repeated the song about after two weeks of spying on him. The notes had become so familiar to her that she could tell when he was going to hit a high note, or strike a tantalizingly low one. One day, she promised herself, one day she'd ask him why he played that song in particular. It was a song he loved, obviously, one he knew by heart. But that wasn't the only thing she wondered about him – he was a street musician for sure, but he didn't accept money. He didn't open up his violin case, didn't leave a hat upturned in front of him. Even when the rare passerby just went up and forked a bill at him, he would just shake his head, smile, and continue playing. From what she could tell, he played simply for the joy of playing.
If anything, this was the main reason why she kept watching him – the unadulterated joy and happiness. How she dreamed of being that happy, of being that content. That's what she told himself, even as she would reluctantly admit to herself that he was pretty good-looking, too.
"Looks like we're all good," GoGo said under her breath, as Maximo purred contentedly from underneath her caring hands. She'd just trimmed off the excess fur, and brushed off the excess fur, thankful that her job had been made a bit easier since Wallace insisted on washing Maximo himself. "Come on, dreamboat, let's go get you out to meet your owner."
"He's gorgeous!" Wallace crooned, scooping his prize pet from GoGo's arms. "Honey, isn't he gorgeous?"
"Of course he is," Honey agreed, scratching Maximo behind the ears. "GoGo always does a great job."
GoGo shrugged. "All in a days' work."
"And now that you're done with your work…" Wallace grinned, and gestured grandly at the window, where the violinist continued to play. "We can deal with that."
GoGo looked up suspiciously at the pair. "What?"
"Well…" Honey smiled sweetly. "We wondered if you'd ever really voiced out wanting to meet him, so we thought that today was a perfect day for you to start talking to him!"
She made a face. "I do not want to talk to him!"
"Even if you don't want to talk to him," Wallace rolled his eyes, the disbelief clear on his face, "Let's all just assume that you need a new friend."
"A friend."
"Yes!" Honey chimed in. "You need another friend, sweetie! And it won't hurt if your new friend is actually really, really, really hot!"
"Honey."
"Oh, come on, GoGo. It's not going to take you ten minutes. All you have to do is cross the street and say hi!" Wallace insisted, starting to nudge her towards the door.
"Just cross the street and say hi?" GoGo spluttered, trying to resist her dear friends. "He'll think I'm trying to pick him up!"
"If he gets that impression, then… great!"
"Wallace."
"Sweetie, we've been watching you moon over him for three months. It wouldn't hurt to go over and say hi." Honey smiled, giving her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulders. "Look. We'll admit to trying to fix you up with him. But we just want you to be happy." As the months passed, Honey and Wallace had realized that their little friend was a bit more closed-off than she let on. She looked lonely, empty, and she never had anything to say about it. They were going to expand her social circle, even if she didn't want to. If she didn't open up to them, maybe she'd open up to someone else.
GoGo sighed, knowing that neither of them was going to give it up anyways. "Fine. I'll go. Say hi. Whatever."
"Yay!" Honey clapped her hands, a huge smile on her face. "Oh, GoGo, I'm so proud of you!"
GoGo rolled her eyes, making sure to flip the sign to 'Having a Quick Break' before exiting. "It's on you two if I embarrass myself." As she waited to cross the street, she studied the object of her… no, not attraction. The object of her curiosity? That sounded better. She studied the object of her curiosity, noting how lost he was in the music, a small smile on his face.
Maybe they were right. Maybe it's not a bad idea to become friends with this person. She crossed the street slowly, knowing he was smack in the middle of a song. She'd hate to interrupt him, or distract him from what he was doing. GoGo couldn't help but feel a bit more nervous as she took a few more steps towards him, the distance between them closing step by step. Finally, she was a mere foot away from him, and she just stopped in her tracks, slowly getting trapped in the music he weaved.
If he had sounded wonderful from across the street, he sounded even more wonderful up close. She could now appreciate his good looks (and admit it to herself – daaaaamn.), his height, his smile, his face. She felt herself swoon. Come on, GoGo, pull yourself together.
Suddenly, as if he could read his mind, he turned so that he was now facing her. And just like a switch went off in his head, he quickly transitioned from suave, collected musician to a frightened amateur. His arm jerked, bringing the bow down harshly across his violin. The shriek his violin emitted shocked GoGo to her core – she had never seen him get him thrown off like this.
"Sorry! Sorry!" He apologized, seeing the wince on her face. "It's just… uh… you caught me off guard." He laughed nervously, lowering his violin. "Wow. This is embarrassing."
GoGo held her hands up, stepping backwards. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that."
"You didn't sneak up on me!" He reassured her, smiling at her. "Wait. How rude of me. I'm Tadashi." He switched his bow to the other hand, and held out his free hand to her.
"I'm GoGo." She gripped his hand, the warmth of his hand spreading up her arm. "I work at Juan's." She gestured across the street with her free arm, trying to ignore her two friends, who were currently pressed up against the window like children.
"Oh, that's great." He smiled, letting go of her hand. "I've never really been good with animals – I mean, I have a cat, but technically he's my aunt's cat, but that's not the same thing as what you do, and I'm rambling and I should stop right now." A slight blush crawled up the back of his neck.
She couldn't help but smile at this. For some reason, she had envisioned him to be some stuck-up musician. To be proven wrong this way was great. "Nah, that's fine. I just wanted to say hi. And I really like it when you… play." Now it was her turn to blush. As she looked away to hide the blush from him, she missed the look of glee that flashed across his face. "I have to get back to work, anyways. I'm on break."
"That's cool, that's fine," he said, bringing his violin back to his chin. "Hey, we should talk more."
She smiled at him, tilting her head to the side. "Yeah. We should."
Before she turned around to cross the street again, he called out to her. "Um, wait! Do you have any requests? It's the least I could do for a new friend."
GoGo pursed her lips. "Uhm… how about you choose the song? Anything you think I'll like, really." She waited for him to start playing, as he finally positioned his bow across the strings. To her surprise, he started playing the same song he repeated for all of his little performances – the beautiful, classical melody.
One day, she'd ask him the significance of that song. But for now, she waved to him as she crossed the street.
(*)
Tadashi watched her leave, as he continued playing Chopin's ballade number 1 in G Minor, Opening 23. So wishes really do come true, he mused to himself, trying to convey his emotions through his violin. He envisioned the notes flying across the street with gilded wings, crossing the road and finally, finally, reaching the beautiful young woman who worked across the street.
He'd noticed her a long time ago; five months ago, to be exact. She'd walked into the pet salon just as he had gotten into position, and without any other thought in his mind, he started playing Chopin's ballade number 1. It fit, for some reason, and he played it every single day, hoping that his music would one day reach her, and touch her soul.
And it finally had.
(*)
End! Ahhhhhhhhh oh my gosh so many things to talk about in this Author's Note.
Okay so I've been studying a lot recently, and most of the music in my study playlist are violin covers by Lindsey Stirling, Daniel Jang, Simply Three, The Piano Guys, and many other people. And so the idea came into mind – what if Tadashi or GoGo played? What if? The idea formed, and suddenly crossed over with Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April); one of my favorite, most heartbreaking animes of all time. Your Lie in April helped me choose 'The Song' that Tadashi would ultimately dedicate to GoGo – Chopin's Ballade Number 1 in G Minor, Opening 23. If that sounds familiar to you, this is the song in the final episode of Your Lie In April, where Arima (male protagonist) plays this as a 'duet' with Kaori, and in which Arima continuously repeats the words 'Reach her. Reach her. Reach her.' I found it fitting.
Also, for anyone who recognized the character (or two) that 'crossed over', kudos to you! Wallace is the Eighth Gym Leader/Champion of the Hoenn League from the Pokemon Franchise; Juan is his former mentor and Gym Leader, as well. The reason I specifically brought Wallace in was because Ayin and I, both avid fans of the Pokemon games and anime, suddenly had this idea that Honey and Wallace would be the Best of friends if they ever met. Will this little idea of ours blow up into something bigger? We'll see.
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it – if you want to check out more of Ayin's works, she's on Tumblr as ayinvui.
PS If you noticed any errors, feel free to point them out! Constructive criticism will always be appreciated.
