damned_institute | Day 30: Music Room (Third Shift)

The last intercom had spelled out everything.

Misbehavior. Someone had started a riot - quickly quelled from the sounds of it. He didn't want to say it was good thing he'd be stabbed, but from the looks of it, it was probably best he was absent from whatever shift this had happened during. The warning siren, and all of the habub about it; blood had probably been spilled. In his current condition, he might have been tempted.

Well, there was no might in that. He would've been.

Despite protests from his nurse as well as his own body, Edward politely asked for an escort to the music room, wanting nothing more than to get out of his little cell. The cream-colored music room was quiet, spacious, and had plenty of seating.

He was surprised to see it empty this time, and made no hesitation in moving to sit at the large keyboard. It was no parlor grand, but it was accessable. Couldn't really complain about it.

Edward sat for a moment, lost in his memories. It had been a while since he had played anything... something old sounded satisfactory. Maybe a song from his childhood? Popular song, maybe. Gus Edwards?

Nodding to himself, he let his fingers settle against the keys, keeping his back straight for the hole in his chest. Without an entrance, his fingers began dancing along the keys to the tune of By the Light of the Silvery Moon. A quirky little tune, but a personal favorite.

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Perhaps Alfons wasn't the right sort of person for this. He knew that he tended to hide things as best he could, especially from people who were worried about it. But at the same time, he knew that Tamaki wasn't just tired. Not when he'd been wiping his eyes and tucking himself in like that. Hm.

"...all right," he finally said, "but it just looked like, to me, that... you were sad for some reason."

What he didn't say, of course, was that Tamaki looked a lot like how Alfons knew he had to have seemed, curled up in his workshop and trying to ignore the fact that Edward saw him only as a friend or a false version of his brother. And this person had Ed, now... ah, this situation was so confusing.

"I supposed I'm just worried," Tamaki admitted. "I had friends who were in that fight at breakfast. And I haven't heard from a friend who went to find the radio man last night."

Which was all very true. He was worried.

"But I'm really all right. I came here to see if the keyboard was free. But it isn't. It never is." Didn't anyone learn any other instruments?

He supposed that much was true. There was a lot of chaos in the cafeteria, and Edward had been right in the middle of it, just like he always was. Alfons was worried as well, but he'd seen Edward on his way in, so he wasn't too worried. He just... didn't feel like he could close the distance between them.

"...I understand that, at least," Alfons quietly said, nodding a little. "I know that the people who were in the fight are all right, but... I hope that your friend is okay, as well."

Still, Alfons knew why the keyboard was always taken. It was rather axiomatic, where he was concerned. "As for the keyboard... well, it's not a concert piano, but it's the only real instrument here, isn't it? I just wish they'd bring more in."

"I'm glad they're alright. It looked so violent..." And he knew what those nurses and orderlies could do. Even if they looked normal during the day, they weren't normal at all.

"Oh, well, the recorders are sort of real instruments. But it would be very nice if they had more of a variety. Or at least more keyboards, I'm sure the staff can see how popular they are!"

It really had looked very violent. Alfons had worried about Edward and the others the more that he'd thought about it; it had definitely seemed like the worst might have happened, but... at the same time, he knew that everyone was okay. Just a little worse for wear. ...he just wished that he had the courage to walk up to Edward and try to take care of the guy.

In any case, he did have to agree with Tamaki on that point. The staff really needed to put out more keyboards, for the sake of those with musical talent. Of course, Alfons would have been happy with some more mechanical tools, but that was far less likely. "I think that they really should put in more keyboards. They're popular, and it's not like there could be more noise than there is now, anyway." A pause, and then he glanced at Tamaki. "Ah, does that mean that you can play the piano, though?"

"Oh yes!" Tamaki nodded. "I learned when I was very young. I like to play, when I'm feeling... well, all sorts of things really." He lifted his head up some, no longer quite so hunched in on himself.

"Do you play?"

"I'm afraid I can't, at all." Alfons sheepishly ran his hand through his hair, wishing that he'd had the capabilities to. He loved music, especially those of the great (German) classical composers, but he'd never had time to try to learn an instrument. And what little money he'd had went to his research and all his living expenses, so he hadn't even gotten to experience real live music save on very special occasions.

But that didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate the talent in someone else. "I wish I could hear you play. Music is one of those things that... well, it's amazing and something everyone can appreciate." Another quiet chuckle, and the German confessed, "I still wish I could play, though."

"OH!" Tamaki perked up immediately, eyes brightening. He sat up with an almost alarming speed, practically bearing down on poor Alfons in his sudden enthusiasm. "It's not difficult at all! To play the piano, I mean! I could teach you! Oh, if only we could use the keyboard. Or get more. We should certainly draft a letter to the staff! Sometimes they listen to small requests like that! And we have a very good reason for it...."

When Tamaki's mind had something to latch onto and focus on, it tended to momentarily push everything else out. And at the moment, his mind had very much latched and focused.

...wait, what? Alfons backed up a little, his blue eyes wide. He was glad that Tamaki was feeling so much better, but really! The piano was a strange and unfamiliar instrument! The only thing Alfons could hope to do would be to repair it if it got demolished, and even then, he wasn't sure how exactly it would work!

So he did as he usually did when caught in this situation. He stammered a little and nodded, waiting for his brain to try to catch up with the sudden shift in conversation. "E-er, yes, maybe we should? But I don't think I could learn it anyway..."

"Oh, I'm sure you could!" Tamaki nodded enthusiastically. "It's not difficult at all! We can start very simple, and it would be so much fun! And we all can use a little fun around here...."

Day 30: Music Room (Third Shift)

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