InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I tot I saw a putty tat!"

Marie-Pierre Duclos (duclos) wrote in vie_en_guerre,
@ 2008-01-28 19:40:00

Venèm vos cantar Nadal
Who: Hansierre
When: Christmas Eve
What: Nadal Festivities, which will not include a bonfire :C
Where: The Duck Nest
Rating: oh, we never get very high, because we are high on life
Incomplete

Laden with brown paper packages tied up with string - well, a brown paper package tied up with string, at any rate, and his violin case; with his hat at a rakish angle and a spring in his step; altogether in unusually high spirits, all things considered - Marie-Pierre made his way to the "Duck Nest."

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	heil_hans 2008-01-29 02:03 am UTC (link)
	Hans was sitting on the steps, having arrived a little early - a somewhat overful sack by his feet. He looked up and smiled at Marie-Pierre approaching. "Ah, there you are..." (Reply to this) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-29 02:18 am UTC (link)
	"Guilty as charged," replied Marie-Pierre, "although whether I might not be somewhere else at the same time - I can neither confirm nor deny." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-29 02:22 am UTC (link)
	Hans laughed. "Ah, I hope not - I am selfish enough to want your full attentions." He stood up and slung the sack over his shoulder in a casual fashion, waiting for Marie-Pierre to open the door for them to go inside. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-29 02:29 am UTC (link)
	Marie-Pierre unfastened the lock and led the way up the stairs, turning to block the door to the flat proper. "As soon as I open this door, it is going to ruin one of your Nadal surprises, so - " (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-29 02:40 am UTC (link)
	"Should I close my eyes?" Hans asked, pausing on the stairs. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-29 05:18 pm UTC (link)
	Marie-Pierre considered for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "The extra few seconds of wonder may be worth it, to gain the full effect," he decided. He cracked the door open and stood aside. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-29 07:33 pm UTC (link)
	Hans closed his eyes, and felt along the wall so that he didn't trip coming the rest of the way in. When he made it to where Marie-Pierre was standing, he rested his hand on the Occitan's shoulder. "Alright, place me where I need to be and tell me when to open them," he said, grinning. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-29 08:02 pm UTC (link)
	Marie-Pierre guided him carefully in, made a show of maneuvering him a couple of degrees this way or that to ensure the best angle, then stepped back very slightly. "There." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-29 08:13 pm UTC (link)
	Hans opened his eyes, and dropped the bag he was carrying. "That's... a piano." He rubbed his eyes as if to clear his vision. It was still a piano afterwards. "How - how is there a piano? Is this for me?" Still incredulous, he managed to cross the distance between him and the improbable, incredibly wonderful instrument and touched a key tentatively. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-30 12:41 am UTC (link)
	"No, it's a decorative ice sculpture in the shape of a piano and I have it on loan from the British Museum - of course it's for you, Hansin - I give you music." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

heil_hans
2008-01-30 12:52 am UTC (link)

Hans swallowed against the lump in his throat, rendered effectively speechless by that.

He settled onto the bench, and stared at the keys for a long moment, wondering if he would still remember how to play.
His hands hovered above the keys, trembling slightly in nervous anticipation.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to just try and see what would happen. He lowered his hands, and just let his fingers find their way. They knew. They remembered. More than remembered - they danced across the keys, and brought joy to his heart.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-30 01:08 am UTC (link)
	Marie-Pierre set his parcels down, hung his hat up on the corner of the cupboard, and returned to stand behind Hans at the piano (not that there was much else of a place to stand - the instrument removed a good deal of what floor space there had been, despite being an upright) with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-30 01:37 am UTC (link)
	Hans finished playing with a flourish, and turned on the bench to face Marie-Pierre. "What a wonderful gift," he said, his eyes shining with happiness. "I had forgotten how much I missed playing. Thank you, mein kleiner Käse, thank you." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-30 03:42 am UTC (link)
	"Polit nadal," said Marie-Pierre, still smiling. "Now - did you want to take off your coat and stay a while? I think there's a tiny bit more present in the package I received today, although of course you're sitting on the big one." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-30 04:05 am UTC (link)
	Hans got up from the bench and took off his coat. "Oc, forgive- I was overwhelmed by the piano." He hung up his coat over the back of the chair, and had a seat on the bed. "And after, I do have things for you as well." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

duclos
2008-01-30 05:17 am UTC (link)

"Be overwhelmed by the piano as much as you like - that's what it's there for, no?"

Marie-Pierre slit open his package and narrated as he unpacked it. "Whether it was entirely planned this way or not, I have to applaud the timing of this. Just arrived today. Let's see... oh, good, here's your oranges, and chestnuts - hadn't asked for those; thoughtful of him." A sheet of paper was removed, glanced over, and slipped into a pocket; then a larger item was removed and passed unceremoniously to Hans - an old child's copy-book, the pages yellowing, which for the first half (the second half being empty except for scribbles) contained a simply-sketched pen-and-ink illustration at the top of each page, with a child's rhyme beneath it - Occitan on the left and French on the right. "Here, this might help you pick the language up a bit or something."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-30 05:32 am UTC (link)
	Hans held the book carefully, gently turning the pages. He read one of the French rhymes, then the matching rhyme in Occitan, taking time to work out the pronunciation of it from what he knew already. It occurred to him that a lot of love had gone into making this little book, quite a while ago. "Was this yours?" he asked. "As a child?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-30 05:35 am UTC (link)
	Marie-Pierre nodded. "Elodie made it. I had to learn French and reading at the same time, you know, and there weren't any real books to help." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-30 05:40 am UTC (link)
	"I will take very good care of it," Hans promised, setting it gently down so that he could pull Marie-Pierre close to him for a hug. "Thank you. Thank you for all this. And do you want your gifts as well?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-30 05:51 am UTC (link)
	"You already gave me the cigarettes, and with them the ability to make it another week without snapping someone's head off like a peevish alligator," said Marie-Pierre, "surely that's enough." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-30 05:56 am UTC (link)
	"Ah, but I have other things," Hans assured him. He went to collect the sack, and brought it over to the bed. First he handed over a little box which, according to the description on the packaging, contained a windproof Zippo lighter. "To go with the cigarettes," Hans explained. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	duclos 2008-01-31 03:38 am UTC (link)
	"A necessary adjunct," observed Marie-Pierre. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	heil_hans 2008-01-31 04:41 am UTC (link)
	"And this," Hans said, handing over a cigar box, "is not tobacco containing, despite the packaging." Inside were folded pieces of paper, on which Hans had written little stories about his life. He didn't know how to explain why he had, or what exactly they where, so he just shrugged somewhat self-consciously. "In case you ever get bored, and need something to read..." (Reply to this) (Parent)