idv ship requests

   ann was happy to hear the sounds of music floating through the halls of the manor. it sounded like a piano, a soft, chiming thing that she found herself humming along to. she couldn't tell why the tune was so familiar, but it was very pleasant to her ears. with how apostle was purring atop her shoulders, she could assume it sounded just as nice for him.

   drifting on towards the sound, apostle decided that he was going to go on ahead of her, meowing gently and flicking his tail before trotting off. trailing after him, she continued listening to the disjointed melody, not caring how many times the person on the piano seemed to mess up. she thought the noise was beautiful.

   as she came around the corner of the living room doorway, peering around with her long neck, she was delighted to see antonio at the piano bench. he was drunk, if his swaying motions and uncoordinated fingers were anything to go by, but she didn't mind. she wasn't even aware he could play piano. he's humming along to the music he's playing, and she quickly realizes that she recognizes it as the song he plays during matches. maybe he's just practicing it in new forms, or perhaps his drunken mind just had him convinced that he could .

   he hadn't yet noticed her appearance in the room until apostle had stalked forward, wiggling his haunches before jumping onto the high end of the piano keys and causing a sharp twanging noise to interrupt antonio's playing. antonio glances at the distraction with confusion before seeing that it was just apostle, muttering to himself, " oh, simpatico gattino. . . mi hai interrotto. "

   upon realizing that apostle's appearance likely meant ann was somewhere close, he clumsily swivels his head from side to side in search of her, grinning ear to ear as he spots her in the doorway. he swings his legs over the side of the piano bench before he unsteadily stands and stumbles over to her, wrapping his lanky arms around her waist and pulling her into the room completely.

   "ah, cara mia. . . non sapevo che fossi lì," he chuckles to himself while nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, drawing a faint giggle from the taller woman. 

   "you know i can't understand italian, love," she croons chidingly, folding her arms around his shoulders gently. despite the porcelain mask that she wore, she bends down to press her 'lips' to his face.

   antonio scoffs at himself like he really had forgotten, but his smile gives him away immediately as he replies, "i'm so sorry. . i didn't realize. how could i ever make it up to you?"

   ann giggles behind her mask, leaning back from the musician as apostle jumps back to her hunched shoulders, curling up around her neck contentedly. she raises a hand away from antonio to scratch behind one of apostle's ears, drawing a soft purr from the black cat as she pretends to contemplate what antonio could do for her. eventually, she looks back down to him and murmurs, "i did quite like your playing. . could you play some more?"

   antonio draws back from her and gives a deep bow, looking seconds away from making himself fall over even as he states, "whatever you'd like, cara mia."

   she makes her way to the seat closest to the piano, settling into it as the fire in the fireplace crackles a few feet away from her. she folds her hands in her lap neatly and closes her eyes as antonio continues to play, focusing on the sound of it contentedly. it was hardly intelligible as the song he was meaning to play, but it was still undeniably music .

   the religious woman listens as he starts to hum again, humming alongside him in a higher pitch. she doubted he could hear her over the smooth baritone of his own humming, but she didn’t care. she loved hearing him.

   ann opens her eyes as apostle meows gently, almost seeming like he was accompanying their humming by singing. she giggles softly and returns his mew, raising up one hand to stroke the fur of his flank gently.

   “even apostle likes it,” antonio chuckles from the piano bench, his fingers still working the keys despite his obviously distracted state. 

   another laugh meets his words, coupled with a nod from the woman beside the piano. she listens as he draws close to the end of the song, relaxing into her chair as her cat slips down into her lap and curls up again there.

   the violinist finishes off the song with what ann was sure was supposed to be a flourish in the music, but he falls a bit short, with the ending sounding a bit janky and off - key. regardless, an audience must give appreciation to the performer, and she claps for him.

   “thank you, thank you!” antonio grins as he stands from the piano bench, grabbing his wine bottle from where he had set it atop the piano and taking a long swig from it. “i’ll be here all— all night.”

   he stumbles toward ann and bends down to kiss her on the cheek of her mask, shortly after beginning to kiss all over her face. ann laughs at his behavior and leans away from him with her long neck, smile obvious even if it wasn’t visible.

   “what? oh, cara mia, can i not kiss you?” the musician whines in complaint, reaching down to take both of her hands in his own. she giggles softly and leans forward to give him a gentle kiss on his lips, or at least the closest approximation she could get to it with her mask still on.

   “you smell like wine,” she teases, nudging him back away from her playfully. 

   he steps back upon being pushed, gasping exaggeratedly and grasping at the cloth over his chest as if he had been stabbed in the heart. he stumbles backwards and eventually falls back in the chair adjacent to hers, ragdolling as he pretended to be dead.

   “you’ve killed me with your words, carissima,” he mutters to himself, letting go of the wine bottle as soon as he was sure it wouldn’t topple over. 

   in response, ann just gives an amused noise between a laugh and a meow, causing antonio to drop the act. 

   “what? was my death not convincing enough for you?” the musician raises a brow at her light - heartedly, sitting up in the chair but still keeping himself splayed out comfortably. ann shakes her head to the negative, eyes glinting with mirth.

   antonio just scoffs in reply, muttering playfully, “well, now i know that you’ll be laughing when i drop dead.”

   ann waits for apostle to move out of her lap before standing from her chair, lurching over to antonio with a laugh as she states sweetly, “oh, you know that’s not true, antonio, my dearest. .”

   the man can’t help but drop the irritated facade at her gentle tone, chuckling to himself and reaching out for one of her hands as she draws closer. she takes his hand in one of her own as she leans down, settling on the floor beside his legs and resting her head in his lap.

   “mia amata, you’re being awfully affectionate tonight,” antonio notes in a hum, using the hand that wasn’t intertwined with her own to gently smooth out the wrinkles in her habit.

   she only gives a short noise of acknowledgement, seemingly having had enough of speaking for now. the violinist didn’t mind at all. he was content to just sit here with her and apostle, with the crackling of the fire and his own humming being the only sound to be heard in the room.

   they were comfortable there, just basking in the company of each other.