kh_drabble | Challenge [260]: Music

Challenge: [260] Music
Title: A Piano is not Everything
Word count: 600
Notes: Mentioning CloudxAerith, one-sided TifaxCloud, and an extremely annoyed Leon.

Tifa watched how Aerith was playing the piano, or rather, trying to, because it sounded horrible. Why the epitome of all that was pink was playing the piano at 3am, Tifa didn't (want to) know, but if she had been able to fall asleep, then she wouldn't even have known about this.

Tifa's old piano. Looking at it brought a flood of memories back to her, mainly from the time when it wasn't strange to hear music in every room one would enter, to the last memory she had that involved music: Cloud had given her a small, rectangular pink music box with a ballerina on it. When she would open it, a sweet melody that she could still recall would start to play. A melody that made her feel utterly disgusted now, because he had chosen Aerith over her. And when that had happened, she had thrown the damned thing away.

Miraculously enough, Tifa's piano was the only piano that had had survived the invasion of the Heartless in Hollow Bastion, ten years ago. It was a creaky old thing that looked like it was about to fall apart if Aerith would press some keys too hard. Merlin was glad to look after it while Tifa was…away.

She had not expected that it would still be in such a good condition, though. At first, she couldn't even believe it was hers, until she had seen the characteristic scratches on the back of it that said Cloudie<3Teef, her own creation.

Merlin had probably seen them too, but he hadn't said anything about it…but what about the rest of the Restoration Committee?

"Hey, I didn't hear you come in," Aerith suddenly whispered.

Tifa didn't reply. Had she really been that preoccupied that she hadn't heard that the music had stopped?

"Couldn't sleep?" Aerith asked.

"…No."

It was needless to say that this was very awkward, much worse than trying to start a conversation about emotions with Cl-

"…So how about we play a song together?"

It took a moment for Tifa to register what she just had said.

"What?"

"Come on, it will be fun," Aerith said, enthusiastically.

Fun? When it involved the Flower girl? Tifa highly doubted that.

"…I haven't really played the piano for a while. I don't think-"

"I won't judge you. Besides, you're much better than me, anyway."

How would she know? Tifa had never-

"Cloud told me…"

Ah, that explained everything. She was mildly surprised that Cloud ever talked about her with Aerith. Well, they were probably both laughing at her behind her back.

"Okay, fine," she almost-spat (but she didn't regret it when she saw the slight-hurt look on Aerith's face. Just what she deserved from stealing Cloud away from her like that).

Tifa sat down on the bench to Aerith's left. When they were both ready, Tifa played the first notes, tentatively at first. Aerith followed lead and it soon turned into a song they both recognized.

Tifa would lie if she said she didn't enjoy this, but it was strange, too.

They had been playing that extremely soft, serene, and hauntingly beautiful melody for almost two minutes when Leon appeared in the room. A frown was evident on his face.

"Can't you two be quiet just for once? There are people trying to sleep here," he snarled irritably.

He didn't wait for their answer and stomped back to his room again. The two women looked dumbfounded at each other, before they broke into a soundless laughing fit, almost falling off the small bench.

"Someone's definitely not a morning person," Tifa whispered, smirking now.