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fandomweekly2016-02-09 02:19 am
mareel) wrote in fandomweekly2016-02-09 02:19 am
Entry tags:
[#002] Practice Time (Mass Effect)
Theme Prompt: Practice Makes Perfect
Title: Practice Time
Fandom: Mass Effect
Rating/Warnings: Teen/ Takes place post canon - spoilers for Mass Effect 3 (destroy ending).
Bonus: No
Word Count: 809
Summary: Sixteen months after the end of the Reaper war, Shepard has found some occupational therapy that he can enjoy.
"Hey, Shepard!"
I don't have to look for him. The slow and deliberate sound of piano scales being practiced lead me to the library where we'd set up my mom's keyboard for John's piano studies.
"Kaidan! You're home early. Slow day for the Council?"
He's stretching and flexing his left hand, the one that had been damaged almost beyond repair when he fired the Crucible to end the Reaper war. That he has the use of it at all is a testament to the skill of the reconstructive surgeons, and his own stubborn focus on rehabilitating it.
"Fairly slow, yes. One or two agenda items, but it didn't take long. I stopped by the apartment on the Citadel before coming home though. Brought you something!"
John gets up from the bench and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close for a warm kiss. "Where is it?"
He's always like a kid on Christmas about presents. It takes so little to make him grin, as long as he gets to unwrap it.
"Well, this one doesn't really have a wrapping. It's a data file on my omni-tool. But I think you'll like it. How's your hand feeling? What I was hearing sounded good... a nice steady rhythm and even tones."
I reach for his left hand and stroke my fingertips across the pink uncalloused skin of palm and fingers. Before I release it, I press a kiss into his palm.
"Feels pretty good today. There were some exercises I was working on earlier that Elena said would be good for trying to extend my reach beyond an octave. Important for some chords, I guess. Hard to know when it's just practice exercises instead of songs... what did she call them?"
"Etudes, maybe. She played a lot of them on the cello. I suppose there are ones for piano too. Seems like you're doing well and keeping at it longer than I ever did when Mom tried teaching me piano as a kid."
"Yeah. I can feel that my hand is more flexible now. So that's good. Maybe we'll be able to test that new pistol you bought me on the practice range soon. I should be able to handle the thermal clips with my left hand better than I could a few months ago when we first tried some shooting practice."
He sits back down on the piano bench and draws me down next to him. "So what's this data file you brought me?"
I pull up my omni-tool and transmit the file to the keyboard's data module. "Are voice commands and playback enabled?"
John shakes his head and adjusts a control panel. "No. But should be now."
"I got this from Glyph. I'd asked about it back when Mom first talked you into learning to play. You mentioned to her that Liara had played a song for you once, on the piano in the apartment. Something that you liked."
His smile is all the reward I ever need.
"You got Glyph to record Liara's song for me? I've been trying to remember how it goes."
"Not just record it, but actually notate it for you so that you can learn it either from written music or by hearing it. Whatever works best for you."
"Elena wants me to try both methods, but isn't insisting on one mode or the other. Let's hear it."
Given the voice command, the keyboard recreates the music file Glyph had provided.
"That's it! That's Liara's song. Kaidan, this is great. I need to learn it. Did Glyph need to tell Liara that you received a copy? Not sure about his programming when it comes to things like that."
"I don't know. I asked to keep my request a secret until you could surprise Liara by playing it for her. I'm not sure Glyph understood the concept of a surprise, but it was worth a shot."
John has closed his eyes, seeming to focus on the music. It's not a long piece, but has beautiful, haunting harmonies. When it ends, he flexes his hand again. "That will give my hand a workout. But I'm going to practice until I learn it."
"Show Mom the music. Maybe she can write out some fingering suggestions for you to make it easier to play, especially for your left hand."
"I will. Then we'll invite Liara for dinner and surprise her."
"She'll like that." I offer him another kiss, followed by a hand up from the bench. "How about dinner for us now? You can practice more later."
John's hands find their way around my waist and settle on my lower back, slipping beneath the tunic of my dress blues. His voice is husky. "Maybe I'll find something to unwrap after all... dinner can wait."
No argument from me. Some things don't need any practice – they're perfect already.
Title: Practice Time
Fandom: Mass Effect
Rating/Warnings: Teen/ Takes place post canon - spoilers for Mass Effect 3 (destroy ending).
Bonus: No
Word Count: 809
Summary: Sixteen months after the end of the Reaper war, Shepard has found some occupational therapy that he can enjoy.
"Hey, Shepard!"
I don't have to look for him. The slow and deliberate sound of piano scales being practiced lead me to the library where we'd set up my mom's keyboard for John's piano studies.
"Kaidan! You're home early. Slow day for the Council?"
He's stretching and flexing his left hand, the one that had been damaged almost beyond repair when he fired the Crucible to end the Reaper war. That he has the use of it at all is a testament to the skill of the reconstructive surgeons, and his own stubborn focus on rehabilitating it.
"Fairly slow, yes. One or two agenda items, but it didn't take long. I stopped by the apartment on the Citadel before coming home though. Brought you something!"
John gets up from the bench and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close for a warm kiss. "Where is it?"
He's always like a kid on Christmas about presents. It takes so little to make him grin, as long as he gets to unwrap it.
"Well, this one doesn't really have a wrapping. It's a data file on my omni-tool. But I think you'll like it. How's your hand feeling? What I was hearing sounded good... a nice steady rhythm and even tones."
I reach for his left hand and stroke my fingertips across the pink uncalloused skin of palm and fingers. Before I release it, I press a kiss into his palm.
"Feels pretty good today. There were some exercises I was working on earlier that Elena said would be good for trying to extend my reach beyond an octave. Important for some chords, I guess. Hard to know when it's just practice exercises instead of songs... what did she call them?"
"Etudes, maybe. She played a lot of them on the cello. I suppose there are ones for piano too. Seems like you're doing well and keeping at it longer than I ever did when Mom tried teaching me piano as a kid."
"Yeah. I can feel that my hand is more flexible now. So that's good. Maybe we'll be able to test that new pistol you bought me on the practice range soon. I should be able to handle the thermal clips with my left hand better than I could a few months ago when we first tried some shooting practice."
He sits back down on the piano bench and draws me down next to him. "So what's this data file you brought me?"
I pull up my omni-tool and transmit the file to the keyboard's data module. "Are voice commands and playback enabled?"
John shakes his head and adjusts a control panel. "No. But should be now."
"I got this from Glyph. I'd asked about it back when Mom first talked you into learning to play. You mentioned to her that Liara had played a song for you once, on the piano in the apartment. Something that you liked."
His smile is all the reward I ever need.
"You got Glyph to record Liara's song for me? I've been trying to remember how it goes."
"Not just record it, but actually notate it for you so that you can learn it either from written music or by hearing it. Whatever works best for you."
"Elena wants me to try both methods, but isn't insisting on one mode or the other. Let's hear it."
Given the voice command, the keyboard recreates the music file Glyph had provided.
"That's it! That's Liara's song. Kaidan, this is great. I need to learn it. Did Glyph need to tell Liara that you received a copy? Not sure about his programming when it comes to things like that."
"I don't know. I asked to keep my request a secret until you could surprise Liara by playing it for her. I'm not sure Glyph understood the concept of a surprise, but it was worth a shot."
John has closed his eyes, seeming to focus on the music. It's not a long piece, but has beautiful, haunting harmonies. When it ends, he flexes his hand again. "That will give my hand a workout. But I'm going to practice until I learn it."
"Show Mom the music. Maybe she can write out some fingering suggestions for you to make it easier to play, especially for your left hand."
"I will. Then we'll invite Liara for dinner and surprise her."
"She'll like that." I offer him another kiss, followed by a hand up from the bench. "How about dinner for us now? You can practice more later."
John's hands find their way around my waist and settle on my lower back, slipping beneath the tunic of my dress blues. His voice is husky. "Maybe I'll find something to unwrap after all... dinner can wait."
No argument from me. Some things don't need any practice – they're perfect already.
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