A Slice of Life

Play With Me

It took a moment before Sam caught the rhythm of the song he wanted to play. He was like a little child concentrating, with the tip of his tongue darting out. Aleksei quickly recognised the melody as a popular Sam Smith song.

There were some mistakes here and there. But then, somewhere between the strokes of his bow, Sam's eyes had fluttered closed as he played.

And that's when Aleksei became unable to tear his eyes away. Sam's music was amazing - undoubtedly the result of many years of hard practice. That's not what really got to Aleksei, however. It was the expression on his face.

Aleksei felt a warm rush of affection, happiness, watching Sam lose himself in the music and enjoying it. He almost forgot to breathe.

Sam played the last few chords of the song that had been in his mind for a few good days already, before he opened his eyes. He didn't exactly know what to expect once he looked at Aleksei. A part of him knew he had been sloppy in the beginning, and that same part expected Aleksei to laugh, and tell him he wasn't talented enough; like he had heard before.

A bigger part was hoping Aleksei had enjoyed listening. It was the same part that wanted to keep playing until his fingers couldn't continue any longer. The part that remembered how he always felt when he played in the past. The same part that caused a tear to roll down his cheek.

He quickly wiped his cheek with his sleeve, clearing his throat awkwardly.

Sam felt a little out of breath, as if he had held in his breath for a long time, when he searched Aleksei's eyes to find out what his reaction was.

Aleksei saw Sam rubbing his cheek, but decided not to comment and pretended he didn't see instead. Well, sort of. Since Sam was still holding the cello, Aleksei opted for slipping his arms around Sam from behind, softly resting his chin on Sam's shoulder.

"You're really good."

Sam's vision blurred, but Aleksei's kind words made him smile. He leaned into Aleksei's hold a bit, and turned his head to peck a kiss on the other's boys cheek. Aleksei's hug calmed him down a bit. It was a simple gesture, but it told Sam Aleksei noticed he was sad after playing on the cello, and he no longer tried to hide a new tear that slipped and rolled down his cheek.

Aleksei noticed more tears coming, and hugged Sam a little tighter. "Why did you quit playing?" he asked quietly.

Sam swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump that was forming in his throat. He bit his lip while he searched the right words to explain. He took a deep breath before he started talking.

"Remember I mentioned them missing a recital?" Sam started with a hoarse voice. "It was always like that. I actually picked the cello when I was young, because it's one of the only instruments nobody in my family knows how to play. I wanted to impress my parents and I practised day after day. But they never came to watch me, focusing on Jenna instead. So I gave up and stopped playing. After a while, I guess I just forgot about it."

Aleksei breathed in sharply, swallowing his angry words towards Sam's family. Sam didn't need him being mad, did he?

"I really don't like your parents," was all Aleksei commented, keeping the rest to himself.

Sam snorted at his response, his smile widening a bit. He got up before he spoke to Aleksei again. "Not liking my parents is an understatement. I'm far past the point of 'not liking' my parents. So you can say whatever you want about them." Sam placed the cello back in its place before he walked back to Aleksei.

"Okay." The corners of Aleksei's mouth twitched. "Assholes," he called Sam's parents in Russian.

Sam smirked, sitting back on the chair, pulling Aleksei on to his lap. "I love it when you talk dirty," he mumbled into Aleksei's ear, kissing the skin beneath it. "Though I have no idea what you just said."

Aleksei shivered when Sam pressed his lips to a sensitive spot. He'd placed his hands on Sam's shoulders, surprised at being pulled down, and now glid them to Sam's back.

"Just something dirty," he replied dumbly. Sam holding him like this and kissing his neck made it hard to think of clever things to say.

"Hmm, I could play you too..." Sam gently tickled Aleksei, his hands slowly lowering down Aleksei's hips.

Aleksei squirmed, a chuckle escaping his lips. "Stop," he protested, but without any real conviction. "I'm ticklish."

Sam loved the chuckle that he got, and since Aleksei admitted being ticklish, his hands moved back up to tickle him some more. He wanted to hear Aleksei laugh. He wanted to see him laugh. He wanted to make him laugh.

"No!" Aleksei laughed, twisting and turning from side to side, trying to dodge Sam's tickling. "Stop!"

Sam eventually stopped, smiling like crazy. Aleksei's laughter was addicting. "You have a cute laugh," Sam told him, hugging Aleksei again. "You should laugh more often."

There was still a hint of a smile left on Aleksei's face after Sam stopped tickling him. It vanished when Sam mentioned laughing more often, and Aleksei thought of what would make him want to laugh more because he'd be genuinely happy.

"Sam, I'd laugh more often if I heard you play the cello more," Aleksei carefully offered, searching Sam's face for his reaction.

Sam's smile slowly turned into a sad one. He awkwardly bit his lip, thinking about playing the cello more often.

Aleksei definitely noticed the way Sam's face fell, and that immediately made him want to take back his words. "I mean," he said. "Only if you enjoy it."

"I don't know..." Sam drawled, lolling his head to the side. "I mean, when I get to finish the songs I play it's fun, but my parents never really allowed me to practise for long periods of time." Sam shrugged, staring towards the cello while thinking. "I guess they're not around that much anymore, so maybe I could give it another try."

"You could play for yourself, rather than to impress someone," Aleksei added.

"That's true," Sam nodded in agreement. "I stopped trying to impress them a long time ago. If I'd start playing again, I'd do it for me... Well, and a little bit to make you smile," Sam told Aleksei, smiling shyly.

Aleksei's cheeks heated up. "We could even play together some time," he suggested. "There are a lot of Sam Smith songs that could use a piano guidance."

Sam smiled at Aleksei, kissing his cheek gently. "I'd love to play with you," Sam replied.

"Play with me? Or play the cello with me?" Aleksei asked, making his eyes go wide with fake-innocence.

Sam chuckled, pulling Aleksei a bit closer. "Let's play with the cello at a more appropriate time," he mumbled, before kissing Aleksei on the lips.

"Okay," Aleksei mumbled back between kisses, shifting himself so he was straddling Sam. "Playing with each other it is." 

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