𝐌𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐱 𝐂𝐢𝐧𝐪

𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣

Vanya tugs on Annalise's hand as they rush through the doors of the music hall, "Vanya! Doucement, j'ai de petites jambes!"

Though Vanya wasn't really paying attention, they were already twenty minutes late and rehearsal had already started without them, "Shit, shit, shit."

They snuck through as quietly as possible, Annalise only needing to place her binder on the piano and find exactly where they were in the piece, though Vanya had been so loud with her setup that the director had stopped conducting completely.

"I'm so sorry we were late," Vanya apologizes, the conductor glanced across the room to see Annalise looking straight back at him, nervous she was going to get yelled at, "I'm sorry sir."

"I was wondering why Annalise was missing," the conductor says, everyone waits an awkward moment as Vanya grabs her bow and sits back upright, "From the top."

And like that, the moment is over, gone but not forgotten.

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"Vanya, toilettes?" Annalise points to the sign. Vanya nods and holds Annalise's binder. Vanya steps closer to Helen, the first chair violinist as she was checking her makeup in the mirror.

"Helen, you were great today... really, really great."

"Thanks."

"It's those runs in the Stravinsky. I've been hacking at them for weeks, and you just make-"

"Make them look easy?" the pause in the conversation is awkward enough, Helen didn't need to add on anymore, "What's your name again?"

"Vanya..."

"Vanya, the pianist's older sister... and how many years have you been stuck in third chair? At a certain point, it's not about practice. It's whether you've got something special, and maybe you just... don't. You can put in your ten thousand hours, or... you can just go find something you're actually passionate about, and stop slogging away at Stravinsky like a scared thirteen-year-old. People like your sister make it in the spotlight, and sometimes that's the difference between who makes the cut and who's in the background. Think it over."

As she stalks off, Vanya pulls out her meds, taking a pill before she turns around, seeing Annalise standing at the end of the sinks looking guilty. Vanya smiles, though it's a fake half-smile, Annalise sees the effort she puts on to seem happy in front of her.

Vanya walks to her, wrapping an arm around her small form and asks, "You wanna go see Leonard's woodshop?"

"Okay!"

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Annalise had one hand gripping Vanya's and the other had her binder tucked underneath it. She was humming a tune she'd had stuck in her head all day, though she couldn't remember where it came from.  They reach the storefront and pause, Vanya debating if she should go in before looking down and seeing Annalise already looking up at her.

"Let's go in!" Annalise says with a smile, though it wasn't quite as big to her usual due to the pain that would ripple across her face when she smiled too big or opened her mouth too much. The swelling had only gotten worse, as Vanya had explained to Annalise that morning that black eyes usually become more swollen as they heal, and it made Annalise very upset over the fact that Klaus had decided to hit her where it was the most inconvenient and took a while to heal.