And who are we to argue fate and who is time to make us wait Who: Grayson and Saoirse When: Late night/early morning, take your pick Where: Gray’s apartment
Another night said and done at Heme, and Grayson liked to think it had been an successful one. At least, no one had been thrown out, no fights to break up, and that was always something to be grateful for. Grayson was well past the age when he found such things excited and thrilling, and besides, fights were a lot less fun when you were the sober guy breaking them up. Just for the record. Of course he’d offered Saoirse a ride home once they’d closed up shop, followed by asking if she’d like to come over for a bit. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d spent any quality time together outside of work, and Heme hardly counted most nights.
In truth, he was pretty sure no one had actually seen his apartment since he’d moved to Scarlet Oak. Not even Eric had been over, but that was understandable, seeing as the two men both had busy schedules. He glanced over at Saoirse and smiled as he led her up to the front door, digging his keys out of his pocket. “I promise you, the place is clean,” he joked, unlocking the door. It should be, he didn’t have an excuse for a messy home when he was a vampire who didn’t sleep and spent most of his time at work anyway.
He held the door open for her, flicking on the lamp next to the door. “Come on in.”
Saoirse scrunched up her nose and made a face at him before she entered. “I would expect no less,” she informed him. “The idea of you ever being a messy person is just... foreign.” Truthfully, she expected him to be a little anal when it came to his living space. He was such a workaholic, that anything else would just be... no. She was glad to finally be seeing for herself, though. Gray had seen her living space before (granted, he’d been helping her back after a wound), and it felt like a good step.
He chuckled. “I’m that predictable, aren’t I.” She’d seen his office at Heme, and he kept that pretty meticulous, the only papers out being whatever he was working on at the time. He had one room set up as an office here, for those many nights when his work came home with him, and it was just as perfect. Dropping his keys on the end table by the door, he led her into the living room proper. Overall, the look was quite modern, most of the furniture clearly purchased within the last few years, but there were a few antiques mixed in as well. An old gramophone sat on one of the end tables, next to an upright piano. All along the walls were pictures, some much older than others, including a few from his childhood. “Make yourself at home.”
Overall, Saoirse found the place to be pretty close to what she would have expected. The mix suited him, and she wouldn’t have expected to find anything but the best. The piano was the biggest surprise, and naturally, she made a beeline right for it. This, she was surprised she didn’t know about. “Do you play?” And how had she not known that? She didn’t quite make it as far as the bench, being distracted by the photos on the wall. Another fascinating surprise.
Grayson smiled to himself. Of course she’d be fascinated by the piano, he’d expected as much. “A little,” he admitted. “Nothing like you can, and I’ll admit, I’m out of practice.” He went over to the instrument, brushing a hand over the top, not a speck of dust to be found. “We had this in RiRa’s, when it was still a speakeasy. When we became an legitimate bar, we replaced it, but I always liked it, so I hung onto it.” He reached over onto the side of the piano, finding the latch that was hidden there. “This had a dual purpose.” The front of the piano opened, revealing a mini-bar inside. There were a few empty bottles of liquor still tucked inside, and it was clear it had once been used daily.
Saoirse watched with unguarded fascination, her lips parting in a wide grin once it opened. “I love it,” she said. She could just imagine what history buffs would do for something like that. “Very classy. It has great character.” And then she looked at him. “You realize you can’t let me see something like this without playing for me.” There was no way he would have ever gotten around that. She was so pleased with this little discovery that it wouldn’t even matter if he’d forgotten how entirely. The thought that he once could have would have been enough for her.
“It came in handy, you have no idea. Easy to tuck everything away when the police were beating down our door, too.” It wasn’t like Grayson would ever be the kind of man to get into trouble with the law, but it was Prohibition, and he was running a speakeasy. Thank whatever gods there were he’d been able to talk their way out of most of it, he’d always been better at that than Eric was. If Grayson could have blushed, he would have, and as it was he gave her something of a shy smile. “If you promise not to criticize,” he said, taking a seat and gesturing for her to join him.
That, Saoirse decided, was a rather precious look. And not one she saw very often. Or, you know, ever before. Her grin widened as she sat next to him. She put her chin on his shoulder and batted her eyelashes innocently as she looked up at him. “Would I do that?” she asked. Then she grinned again. “Okay, I would, but not to you. I promise.”
Before he could even think about playing, he had to close up the secret compartment, making sure it had clicked closed. “Because you are you,” he said with a smile, meaning it as a compliment. Then he leaned in, closing the distance between them to kiss her cheek. Flexing his fingers - something of a needless move, seeing as it wasn’t like he had arthritis or anything - he started off slow, playing what scales he could remember.
Saoirse giggled softly and gave him his space, managing somehow to resist hanging onto his arm. It wasn’t so easy. At the bar she respected his space and managed not to hang all over him, at least in part because she would worry about all the other employees knowing that the two of them were...whatever they were. In private, well, she was just a very affectionate person. And just the thought of Grayson playing already had her melting. It didn’t matter if he didn’t remember much - though, to be perfectly honest, the idea of owning a piano like this and not playing all the time was completely foreign to Saoirse. Still, she would have been happy to listen to absolutely anything.
Grayson at work and Grayson after hours could be two completely different men. It wasn’t that he had two aspects to his personality, just that he was very good at taking care of business when he had to and everything else tended to take a backseat. He didn’t particularly care if anyone knew what he and Saoirse were, but it was unprofessional to be caught making out in the coat closet, for example. Servers did that sort of thing, and Grayson was old enough to know better. Right now though? He liked this closeness, and he liked the thought that him playing for her was making her happy. After a moment he started to play one of the songs he remembered from his childhood, knowing that some of the notes were off, but seeing as he was playing by memory and not from sheet music? Perhaps he wasn’t doing so bad after all.
It was a song unfamiliar to Saoirse, which perhaps shouldn’t have been entirely surprising considering the different worlds and eras they came from. She was fascinated by the melody however, and would have to ask about it later. She didn’t want to distract him too much now. She wasn’t sure if talking would do that or not, but she decided to risk a brief attempt. “You’re doing much better than you said you would,” she said.
He did miss a note or two when she spoke, but he was smiling through it, knowing she was the better pianist between them. “Trust me, I’m surprised myself,” he said, with a little laugh. “Still, this is an art best left for you, I’m sure. You’re the one with a real talent for it.” With the song coming to an end, Grayson paused for a moment, looking over the piano again and the memories of the speakeasy it had once belonged in. Then, looking over at Saoirse, he gestured to the keys. “Perhaps you would do me the honor?”
Even if he did hear her play every week at the least, Saoirse was never one to turn down a request. She grinned and lightly fingered the keys, getting a feel for the piano before she decided what to play. In the end she went for one of her favorites, an instrumental piece she never played at the club. She had considered it a time or two - it felt vampiric to her - but in the end it always felt too delicate. She had a feeling Grayson would appreciate it better.
Saoirse playing in front of a crowd and Saoirse playing his old piano from his Prohibition days were two very different things. Yes, the song felt a little dark in places, but there was a power and a beauty to it when it came from her hands. It felt like her to him, and as she played he moved a little closer, one arm going around her waist, not wishing to disturb her as she played. “It’s lovely, you know,” he murmured. “I think I like this music best, of all the places you’ve played for me.”
The redhead smiled brightly and leaned back into him, clearly pleased by his approval. “I’d hoped you would like it. Not really right for Heme, but... I’m glad I could share it with you.” And in the end, that was better. There was something terribly intimate about playing for an audience of a single person. In a public setting you fed off the crowd, but one-on-one... nothing would escape either person. Everything was bared for the other to pick up on.
“Would you think it terribly selfish of me to want to keep this to myself?” With Saoirse leaning into him, Grayson moved closer, tucking his chin into her shoulder. These were the moments he liked the most, when he felt like he could be himself around her. So often he was caught up in Heme and the day to day of running the place, it was hard to find the time to step back a little. He was a social person too, and sometimes he needed to be reminded of that.
Saoirse doubted that she could be capable of denying Grayson much of anything. She liked to share these moments with him. Some of her happiest times since coming to Scarlet Oak were the times when it was just the two of them, all alone. Spending time with him made her miss sleep less. "By all means," she murmured happily. "Be selfish. It's a song that makes me think of you." Which was true.
The fact that Seer had a song that made her think of him touched him. Honestly it did, and that didn’t happen to Grayson so often anymore. He loved that they’d clicked so well together, and that they had gotten to this point. Dating, he liked to think. He didn’t want to push things too far too fast. “Then I’ll do just that,” he said. It wasn’t often Gray let himself be selfish, after all. Not anymore. With a smile, he leaned in, brushing a kiss over her lips. Now that, he did enjoy.