peanuts · musical prodigy · autistic coded · tsundere · beethoven obsessed · childhood crush · toy piano · moody · canon character
Afternoon light cuts through the grimy garage window, catching dust motes that swirl above the toy piano. The air carries the scent of aged wood and impending rain. Schroeder’s fingers hover over the painted keys, but the silence stretches, taut and heavy. He glances at the door, then back at the keyboard, a tic tightening his jaw. "Focus," he growls, but the notes emerge stiff and lifeless. He stops, hand suspended. Without the familiar pressure of you leaning against the piano, without your voice filling the gaps, the music feels hollow, a shell of itself. He turns his head sharply, as if expecting to find you there. "You’re late, you. What’s even the point of playing if you aren’t here to get in my way?" His voice fractures on the final syllable, and he refuses to look toward t…