Dabble in Drabbles 17: Melodies in Ivory Keys
I'm just listening to classical music right now and seriously, music nowadays cannot compare to how the composers of back then weaved melodies and strung harmonies with counterpoints and - okay I should stop before I weird ya'll out with classical music crap.
Basically, I love classical music, Adrien plays classical music, therefore I love Adrien!
Summary: In which Adrien's piano mentor craved for macaroons and Marinette gets a mini concert. (And Ladybug gets a midnight one)
"Lighter on the fingers, Adrien! This is Mozart! Think of twinkling little stars, of stones skipping over a stream, butterfly kisses. Too much pressure on the fingers, be gentle."
Adrien's eyes pore over the music as his fingers jumped on black and white keys.
"Nice, nice, now ease back a little. It's a piano at this part, and then, crescendo! Fortissimo!"
The notes glided up and down in quick successions before ending into a trill in the right hand. A two beat pause, and the passage repeats.
Adrien's eyebrows were furrowed as he concentrated on the notes. Unfortunately, his mind had already wandered and now he was just playing the piece, his fingers pressing the keys by instinct.
His teacher, however, noticed and she sighed. "Okay, Adrien, stop. Take a rest."
Adrien let out a breath he was holding as he dropped his hands from the piano and at his sides. Madame Ami smiled at him. "It looks like you didn't bond with Mozart very much for the past week."
Adrien grinned sheepishly at her. Madame Ami pulled out her phone and said, "Well then, since I'm feeling a little hungry right now, why don't you pull out Chopin while I order macaroons."
He grinned as he tucked away the Mozart concerto and arranged the Chopin waltz in front of him. Madame Ami was the only one who actually let him eat in between meals during their lessons.
Flexing his fingers, he started to run through Chopin's waltz in C sharp minor Op.64, no.2
Riiiiing!
"Marinette, could you answer the phone please?" Her mother's voice called out from the kitchen.
Marinette ran down the stairs. "Coming!"
As it reached the third ring, Marinette snatched up the receiver and said automatically, "Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, how may I help you?"
"Konnichiwa, Ma Cherie." A woman's light voice spoke up from the other side. Marinette brightened.
"Madame Ami!" Marinette pulled out a checklist and a pencil. With a grin, she said, "What would you like this time?"
"20 macaroons, the regular." Madame Ami said. Marinette wrote it down. "Oh, and a bag of chocolate chip cookies as well."
"Is that for your student?" Marinette asked as she pulled out a box and a pair of tongs, and headed to a corner of the bakery. "Who is it this time? And where?"
"His name is Adrien Agreste. Maybe you've heard of him."
Marinette squeaked as she almost dropped the phone. Adrien?! She was mentoring Adrien right now?!
"Ma Cherie? Is everything okay?"
Marinette righted the phone underneath her chin and quickly pulled out the piano teacher's order. "Peachy! I uhh, was kind of surprised for a second there."
"Hmmm." There was a hint of amusement in her voice. "If it isn't too much, why don't come and deliver it here?"
"I-I couldn't! I-I mean, I'd be intruding in your lesson!" Marinette stammered, internally screaming at herself for being so stupid! Accept her offer idiot! Stop being so stubborn Marinette!
"That's fine. We've got plenty of time." Madame Ami said cheerily. "Well then, see you in a while Ma Cherie."
Click.
Marinette stared at the receiver, not quite believing what just happened. A goofy grin slowly molded on her face.
She was going to meet Adrien! Inside his mansion! While he was playing the piano!
With a squeal, Marinette quickly packed the order and secretly added two more chocolate chips for Adrien. With an 'I'll be back later, gotta go deliver' the girl sped off to the Agreste Mansion.
Adrien was going through the descending arpeggios when there was a knock on the ball room door. He stopped playing and looked behind him. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he spotted the very familiar French-Chinese classmate of his.
"Marinette!" He called out her name in delight, internally laughing. On most nights, he would visit her as Chat Noir. But today, his princess had graced him with her presence in his house. "What are you doing here?"
Marinette ran-walk to him and held out a bag with the logo of her family's bakery on the front. "Um, cookies! For you! I mean, your teacher ordered cookies from my – our – my family's bakery, so I delivered them. She ordered macaroons too!"
Adrien looked at Madame Ami and she nodded. With a grin, he took the bag from her. "Thank you so much Marinette!"
"No prowbrewlm – I mean, no problem!" Marinette stuttered, her face a deep red. Realizing that she was still standing, he put the bag on a table and dragged out a chair. He smiled at her, gesturing to the seat. Marinette's eyes widened as she waved her arms. "I couldn't!"
"Why don't you play a piece for her, Adrien?" Madame Ami said with a twinkle in her eye. "Let's see, Liebestraum no. 3 by Franz Liszt."
"Liebestraum?!" Adrien gaped at his teacher. She winked and his face grew hot. "U-um, Marinette, would you like to listen?"
"Sure." Marinette chirped happily. Her smile was contagious and he couldn't help but smile as well as he positioned the chair so it faced the piano. Making sure that she was comfortable, he sat down in front of the grand instrument.
Adrien began to play.
Notturno, the third movement of Liebestraum by Franz Liszt.
Liebestraum. Love's Dream.
Poco Allegro, con affetto.
Marinette watched with wide eyes, entranced, as her ears listened to the beautiful piece. Adrien's face was peaceful as his fingers pressed on the keys of the piano.
It was a lament in Ab major. A heart aching piece of love.
And then it contorted into a frown as he played the crescending notes, and back down again to the main melody, this time, a little bit sweeter in the change key, but still bittersweet.
sempre stringendo - sempre riu rinforsando - appasionato assai
It was as if his feelings were in chaos, with the chords and the eighth notes melded and clashed.
As the octave scaled down and gilded through the notes with a dimuendo and softly returned to the main tempo, it was like he had finally reconciled with his feelings and accepted them.
Adrien had his eyes closed as he played a ritardando in the last few measures, and ended with the soft open chord.
He sighed and opened his eyes. Glancing at Marinette, his heart skipped a beat at the wonder-struck expression on her face. He said softly, "Marinette?"
Marinette jumped in surprise and quickly wiped away the tears from her eyes. She sniffed and said in embarrassment, "S-Sorry, it was just - I couldn't help but - it was so beautiful."
A gentle warmth spread throughout him as a smile grew on his face. "Thank you, Marinette."
"N-No, I should be the one thanking you! You made me listen to something as wonderful as this! You're really talented!" She gushed. "A-And you made me cry with that song."
Adrien grinned. "Well then, shall I play you a happy piece?"
Marinette's eyes widened and then she nodded quickly. Flexing his fingers, Adrien began to play Mozart's 12 Variation in C Major K.265, or in other words, 12 Variations of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Marinette laughed as he played the first variation, very familiar with the popular lullaby. But then her mouth dropped as Adrien played the next variation. He grinned.
Trills, ornaments, balance, equilibrium, lightness in tone, sound, and soul.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
A prodigy. THE prodigy.
People said it was childish and silly, but Adrien didn't care.
This was his favorite piece.
His mother sang him to sleep by this piece, and he played her to sleep with this piece.
The beginning of the piece was flighty, like the beginning of turning in for bed. As the piece headed towards the end, it was like a goodnight and succumbing into the land of dreams.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How I Wonder Where You Are…
That night, Ladybug was sitting on the edge of a rooftop, humming softly to herself when Chat Noir joined her.
Both of them just sat there, enjoying the warm breeze when he noticed the piece she was humming. "Is that Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?"
"Yup." Ladybug said, swaying to the piece still stuck in her mind. "It's my favorite song."
"Funny," Chat Noir chuckled, a hint of melancholy in his tone. "It's mine too."
"Do you know how to play it?" Ladybug asked him.
Chat Noir flashed her a grin. "Every single variation of it."
Ladybug's eyes lit up in delight. "Then, would you play for me, kitty?"
"Woah, we'd need a piano for that, my lady." Chat Noir laughed.
Ladybug looked around and saw Theatre de Champs-Elysees. Standing up, she threw out her yo-yo and landed on the theater's rooftop, Chat Noir behind her.
"You can't be serious?!" Chat said in disbelief. "It's the middle of the night! And the theater is probably locked!"
But he was silenced when Ladybug managed to open a backstage window and slip inside. She winked at him. With a gulp, Chat followed her.
The side entrance opened with a quiet click. Ladybug and Chat Noir slipped inside the dark hall.
"You know this is illegal, right?" Chat hissed, his voice reverberating through the room.
"It's only illegal if we get caught." Ladybug said cheekily, and then tripped on a chair. Chat, with his night vision, had no problem seeing in the dark. With a laugh, he helped her up and sat her on the plush chair before leaping up the stage.
He spotted a grand piano and pushed it into the center of the stage. She might not be able to see him, but she could hear him just fine.
Lifting up the cover and opening the lid, revealing gleaming ivory keys, Chat took off his gloves, letting them fall on the floor and stretched his fingers.
"And now, Chat Noir on the piano, shall be playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 12 Variations in C Major." He said with a dramatic voice. Ladybug clapped her hands.
And then he began to play.
The sweet sound twinkled in the darkness like little pockets of light. The dolce of a variation echoed around the hall, and Ladybug thought she could hear a slight sniffle.
"Chat?" She whispered. He didn't reply. He just continued to play, the lightness of his fingers on the piano, but a heaviness in his chest.
The finale was majestic and grand, filling up every space in the hall. It took her breath away.
And then, he ended it with a flourish.
Ladybug was in stunned silence. This was a whole lot different from Adrien's interpretation that morning. And she couldn't decide which one she liked more.
"My lady?"
She began to clap. Slowly, as if she was dazed, and then it grew louder and faster.
Chat grinned as he slipped on his gloves and returned the piano in its former condition at the side of the stage. Leaping down, he stood in front of Ladybug who's applause, which hadn't stopped, grew soft.
"That was amazing." She said. Chat took the back of her hand and kissed it.
"Thank you, my lady."
Suddenly, there was a shout outside the hall. "Who goes there?!"
Chat grabbed her and they leaped into the second floor, hiding out of view as a guard opened the door, flashlight slicing through the dark. They could see that the man was clearly spooked. He muttered, "Darn them music ghosts and haunted Phantoms of the Opera."
After a few moments, the guards footsteps faded away and the superhero released the breath they were holding. Exchanging looks, they fell into a hysteric of giggles.
"Thanks for the concert tonight, Chat." Ladybug said.
Chat bowed low. "You're welcome, my twinkling little star. Besides, music is one of my forte."
Ladybug rolled her eyes. Chat grinned. "What? That joke fell a little bit too flat for your taste? Should I find a better one? I have a whole Liszt."
"Chat." Ladybug whined. But then her earrings beeped. "I have to go. See you tomorrow, mon minou."
Chat watched her leap away in the night, a soft smile in his face.
Up Above The World So High, Like A Diamond In The Sky…
I love Mozart! Even though it's a pain to play his pieces sometimes.
I don't play piano, but I love listening to classical pieces in the piano.
Also, sorry if I used music terms there that you didn't understand! Writing about music or people playing music and describing music is hard!
I hope I got it down pat! Thanks for reading!
(I promised I would write the drabbles after Marichat week, but then…oh well.)