He eyed her idly at first, noting the tone enveloping her words.[break]
A sigh eventually escaped his lips.[break][break]

”...Definitely one of the more common stereotypes, sadly, yes…” he mused with something akin to a wry smile, however faint it may have been by the given point in time. Hues of azure drifted listlessly towards the grand piano before him. ”...All the more reason I’d have to speak my thoughts, though, I’m afraid~,” he added soon after, pressing gently against a few of the keys closest to him.[break][break]

By no means had he been as musically inclined as his more youthful companion, but he played an idle tune to the best of his abilities, even if just for a few seconds.[break][break]

”...And that being said, I hope that you know there is neglect in obsession, piccola.” His gaze shifted towards her once more as his fingers continued gliding across the keys. ”Neglect is just…not caring. Not nurturing a bond as you should. …Obsession makes you blind, and by extension, more prone to neglecting someone else— regardless of if you’re aware of it, or intending to do it..”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

neglect in obsession?[break][break]

that's a first she's heard the term; you'd think that two things so opposite could work so well hand-in-hand (and when she thinks of those violet eyes glaring at her, with a toothy grin that transitions into a sly smirk, with the same eyes sharpening, cupping her cheeks and smearing the same scarlet on her face, things start to make more sense). "you're right." indeed, he never loved her. [break][break]

"he never loved me." it's said aloud that time, her fingers pressing against the white keys of the piano. it's to a rhythm as her gaze hardens, and something about her words are starting to click and echo as clearly as the notes resounding. "he only loved his research, loved his science" her other hand reaches up to add in a melody, and she gently biting her lower lip "he loved his live test subjects." [break][break]

then there hits a gradual crescendo, intense as her grits her teeth "never loved me, and never loved mom" never loved anyone but himself. [break][break]

her blood starts to boil, and the notes hit louder "and mom just loved the idea of a family."

Dante Telos [break]
song

☉

Though he’d chosen not to voice as such, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity as the expression settled upon her face, however faint the realization had proven to be amidst her common demeanor. The furrow of his brows had been equally as vague as a singular hue of cobalt lingered upon her, only straying from her form in favor of absentmindedly eying the keys as her fingers began to move along them once more.[break][break]

For a small amount of time, he’d simply opted to listen to the thoughts that began to churn, and the thoughts that brought themselves into fruition. A couple of nods had somehow found their way from him alongside a couple of hums in agreement and acknowledgment, alike.[break][break]

After another bout of thought, he eyed the seat before taking the farther half of it. A distance had been maintained out of respect as he continued to watch her fingers dance upon the keys.[break][break]

”...And though I know you resent both of them, I do think that both you and your mother were cheated out of greater things because of it.” His eye narrowed softly as he eyed the bars of whites and blacks before them. ”All you ever wanted and desired had been…functionality. It wasn’t either of your faults that someone seemed to feign affections and prioritize their own goals over everything else.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

her, cheated? [break][break]

"no," she says immediately, her gaze fixated on the piano she tries to play, as he song continues with its higher volume "mom was the only one who got the short end of the stick." she ays it immediately, thinking that it's true; she never wanted to marry a monster, nor give birth to one. that's how it is.[break][break]

what gets her is that they might have been a functional family if she never found out. they'd still be a functional family today, she thinks. she's the reason they split ways. she's the reason for mother's mind breaking. he'll pity her? then she'll pity her mother, who had to care for a child whose mind couldn't handle a simple scrape or wound without trying to harm herself in the name of research, or science. [break][break]

but "he was a different kind of messed in the head." the calculating type, the manipulative type. the scary type. "not someone who was impulsive, or sudden, or sporadic and careless." he was cool-headed, and composed, and always seemed to have an unreadable, warm, fatherly gaze. [break][break]

".. if i were to hate mother for something, it would be--" she pauses as the song comes to a close, her brows furrowing in thought. [break][break]

"-- for not taking me with her."

Dante Telos [break]
song

☉

Though calm and attentive to the words spoken to him, a hardened touch enveloped his gaze towards her later words. He narrowed his eye as a faint spark of cobalt lit aflame within it, instinctively beginning to turn further towards her as he remained seated upon the opposing side of the seat.[break][break]

”...If by ‘taking you with her,’ you mean leaving the household with you, then…yes. I do agree.” Although low and seemingly more calculated, they had been the words to leave his lips in immediate response, void of the common amusement and lightness that had so commonly accompanied his speech. ”You insist it was only she that was cheated, but I still stand by what I said. …The two of you were cheated in different ways.”[break][break]

He furrowed his brows in brief thought.[break][break]

”...It’s only natural to be wanting to stay with the person that actually wanted the best for all of you, anywho.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

no, no. [break][break]

he must understand; although she doesn't blame him entirely for not knowing. her eyes stay glared on the piano, watching the black and white keys in their resting position. now, she doesn't press down upon them. they're lucky that they're in the music store alone, and the that clerk had gone to the back after realizing there was more personal stuff being said. she caught it in the peripheral of her vision - and she's grateful. [break][break]

he's lucky that he knew her before she became marisol. [break][break]

otherwise she wouldn't be saying anything, and wouldn't be admitting anything. with a deep breath, she'll correct him: "she did take me with her." the glare hardens, and she's steeling herself. "but she took her own life, and it forced me back with my father." and she hates her for leaving her, because her mother was tired of caring for a monster. [break][break]

"she did her best to calm me down, or treat me, or take me to doctors. it was working," a little "but not enough for her." then she narrows her eyes, beginning to idly play along the scale. ".. although i'm starting to think i don't actually loathe her." [break][break]

she wouldn't be playing the piano if she did.

Dante Telos [break]

☉

…So that was what she’d meant.[break][break]

Nevertheless, a steeled touch remained within his gaze as it loomed upon her. The words settled further within his mind as his eye drifted towards the varied keys strewn before them, and as if emphasizing the subtle sense of exasperation that so suddenly embedded itself within him, he breathed a soft sigh in thought.[break][break]

”...By no means have I experienced something like either side, but I’d imagine it’s difficult for both parties either way.” He hummed lowly. Pensively. With chest and shoulders lifting gradually once more amidst the breath that filled him, he crossed his arms within an absentminded manner as the words began to find themselves. ”It was hard for both of you, of course— and it’s…tragic.”[break][break]

Another hum.[break][break]

”Tragic that things worked out as they did.”[break][break]

Another bout of silence before he glanced towards her once more.[break][break]

”...Even if she chose the path she did, though,” he started once more before long, ”I’m sure that she’s proud of you for getting this far; for persevering even after all this time. …I know I am.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉