When Hiro opened his eyes again, Aoi was standing above him, slightly blurry until his eyes adjusted from their half-asleep state. "I'm finished. Shall we get to practice then?" Hiro smiled to Aoi and nods, rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand, and moves to fetch his violin from its case. He takes a moment to admire it - the sleek white wood, the tiny black details painted onto the front and sides, the strong silver strings and delicate horsehairs of his bow - before he lifts it to his chin and waits patiently for the sound of the piano to guide him. And the song begins, music flowing out the open window. XX
They played for nearly an hour, stopping every once in a while to discuss pitches or speed of the notes. Most parts of the songs came easy, and a few they had to replay a few times. Both Hiro and Aoi were quick learners so it wasn't that big of a deal. One of the songs, a classical version of the song 'Blue Dasher', actually caused a few strings on Hiro's bow to snap from how vigorously he was playing, though they were also rather worn anyways. XXX
After about an hour had passed, Aoi proposed that they take a break. It was now dark out, and it was doubtful that anyone else was still in the school, as most clubs had already ended. Hiro didn't mind. It definitely wasn't the first time he'd stayed late to practice, he ended up staying late a lot before performances since he couldn't play in his house without bothering the rest of the neighborhood. And judging by the fact that he hadn't made any indications of wanting to leave, Aoi didn't seem to mind it either. "I brought along some sweets. Do you want to have some?" Hiro nodded with a grin. XXX
Carefully returning his violin to its case, Hiro gladly took a chocolate eclair from the box and took a seat by the still-open window. The breeze was colder than it had been earlier, but it wasn't that bad, and Hiro enjoyed that he could see the stars from where he sat. "Y'know, you can't see the stars like this in the city. There's too much light, so they don't stand out enough. Here we don't have more than a couple street lamps every few blocks, so the stars are really easy to see, especially from places like the treehouse or that hill you took me to~" Hiro smiled as he spoke, admiring the constellations. XX
Hiro then pulled a package of horsehairs and a pair of scissors from his bag - how he could fit such random things into it, no one knew - and began to replace the broken strings on his bow. His hair hung over his face as he worked, the gel having come out after a full day, and he chatted animatedly with Aoi about the songs they were to play and how well their instruments blended. "The only other person I've ever done a duet with before was Hotaru, when we were in seventh grade. He got stage-fright in the middle of the performance and almost threw up on stage, it was pretty hilarious~ Actually, now that I think of it, that doesn't even really count as a duet since we never ended up actually playing the song..." Hiro couldn't help but laugh at the memory. XX
Once he'd finished repairing it, Hiro returned the bow to its case and the supplies to his bag, letting out a sigh. He leaned back in his chair in a precarious manner, and continued to chat with Aoi. He didn't pause in his stories until his phone lit up, jingling merrily. "Eh?" Picking up the phone, Hiro recognized his brother's picture on the front, and frowned slightly before answering. Akihiko scolded him for forgetting about their pre-planned video game marathon and demanded to know what had taken up his evening. Hiro hung up without another word, and returned to his conversation with a smile. XX
It was nearly nine pm by the time they finally left the school. Hiro waved dramatically as Aoi's car drove away down the dimly lit road, and turned his bicycle to ride off in the opposite direction. Despite how bad he'd felt only just that morning, now he couldn't help but smile, as happy as he could be. XXX
They played for nearly an hour, stopping every once in a while to discuss pitches or speed of the notes. Most parts of the songs came easy, and a few they had to replay a few times. Both Hiro and Aoi were quick learners so it wasn't that big of a deal. One of the songs, a classical version of the song 'Blue Dasher', actually caused a few strings on Hiro's bow to snap from how vigorously he was playing, though they were also rather worn anyways. XXX
After about an hour had passed, Aoi proposed that they take a break. It was now dark out, and it was doubtful that anyone else was still in the school, as most clubs had already ended. Hiro didn't mind. It definitely wasn't the first time he'd stayed late to practice, he ended up staying late a lot before performances since he couldn't play in his house without bothering the rest of the neighborhood. And judging by the fact that he hadn't made any indications of wanting to leave, Aoi didn't seem to mind it either. "I brought along some sweets. Do you want to have some?" Hiro nodded with a grin. XXX
Carefully returning his violin to its case, Hiro gladly took a chocolate eclair from the box and took a seat by the still-open window. The breeze was colder than it had been earlier, but it wasn't that bad, and Hiro enjoyed that he could see the stars from where he sat. "Y'know, you can't see the stars like this in the city. There's too much light, so they don't stand out enough. Here we don't have more than a couple street lamps every few blocks, so the stars are really easy to see, especially from places like the treehouse or that hill you took me to~" Hiro smiled as he spoke, admiring the constellations. XX
Hiro then pulled a package of horsehairs and a pair of scissors from his bag - how he could fit such random things into it, no one knew - and began to replace the broken strings on his bow. His hair hung over his face as he worked, the gel having come out after a full day, and he chatted animatedly with Aoi about the songs they were to play and how well their instruments blended. "The only other person I've ever done a duet with before was Hotaru, when we were in seventh grade. He got stage-fright in the middle of the performance and almost threw up on stage, it was pretty hilarious~ Actually, now that I think of it, that doesn't even really count as a duet since we never ended up actually playing the song..." Hiro couldn't help but laugh at the memory. XX
Once he'd finished repairing it, Hiro returned the bow to its case and the supplies to his bag, letting out a sigh. He leaned back in his chair in a precarious manner, and continued to chat with Aoi. He didn't pause in his stories until his phone lit up, jingling merrily. "Eh?" Picking up the phone, Hiro recognized his brother's picture on the front, and frowned slightly before answering. Akihiko scolded him for forgetting about their pre-planned video game marathon and demanded to know what had taken up his evening. Hiro hung up without another word, and returned to his conversation with a smile. XX
It was nearly nine pm by the time they finally left the school. Hiro waved dramatically as Aoi's car drove away down the dimly lit road, and turned his bicycle to ride off in the opposite direction. Despite how bad he'd felt only just that morning, now he couldn't help but smile, as happy as he could be. XXX
That first paragraph is so ridiculously picturesque, I didn't even realize how into the wording I was until I was proofreading my post after finishing it, heh!