A Song to Start it All (Gilbert/Antonio)(Past)

[Gilbert Fredrick Beilschmidt]

More often then not, Gilbert spent the day inside on his computer doing research for an upcoming article that needed due, or even practicing his hacking capabilities to keep them up to date. He didn't like spending as much time inside as he did, which is why he would often take an old laptop of his and head to coffee shops to work on researching his latest story. Though sometimes, on days like today, he didn't feel like working. These were the days he would take random trips to the park or anywhere that had a lot of people around. Gilbert was a people person, well, at least he liked to watch them even if they didn't always like him in return. There were a few times where a few kids had asked him why his eyes were the way they were and were utterly amazed to learn what he would tell them...all under the watchful eyes of their parents of course.

This day, he indeed went to the park for some of the rare sunshine that was like a treasure that one horded to themselves. There was nothing in particular he was looking for, but that didn't man he didn't usually find something interesting. Familiar notes drifted gently to his ears and he couldn't help the smile that lit up his face. The way the music wove into the sound of the birds chirping and the soft hum of the crickets and the uplifting sound of children laughing, it was a gift indeed. He knew that if he recognized his music right, it was the same man he had seen play in a few clubs around town. Following the music, he eventually came to the spot where the man was playing for a small group of people, a few children included.

This man always seemed to have a smile at his lips, just waiting for a chance to shine. His personality, from what he had seen, was like his smile; bright, and always cheerful with soft words to make any day cheerful. Gilbert knew he wanted to get to know this man better, that he would be a good friend to have around. Waiting for an opening to approach the man, he took his chance when the last child ran off and joined their mother. Taking a deep breath, he took a deep breath and approached him.

"Hey, you're the Anotonio that plays at a few cafe's at night and clubs, ja?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew those were potentially the wrongs words to say, they made him sound more like a fan and not someone who could be a potential friend. He didn't want the man's autograph, he just wanted to see about a potential friendship. Hopefully it helped that he was in casual clothes today, a pair of dark trousers and a t-shirt with a random band logo on the front. Gilbert was sleeping his his pocket, hopefully protected from the larger birds that might think he was a good snack.

"I'm Gilbert by the way, I hope you don't mind but you do have a way with music that I haven't seen before."

[Deleted]

No words escaped his lips, no hum vibrated in his throat, but it seemed as if everything he intended to say or mean was being conveyed just as clearly as if he had spoken it. As his fingers moved along the strings of his guitar, plucking and strumming each one with a certain finesse to bring out the best quality sound, he painted a picture of calm and joy—something that nature itself was reflecting right now.

Naturally, his talents had drawn a crowd, which the man didn’t mind at all. Antonio simply sat on ‘his’ park bench with a gentle smile spread across his features and his guitar case at his feet. Thankfully, people didn’t ignore the case and a few had tossed a few pounds in because of the man’s playing and the cheer that seemed to be radiating from him. He kept his gaze on his hands as it moved over the neck of the guitar to position itself into a serious of lively chords, but as a small child stepped forward to toss a few coins into the case, Antonio looked to him with a bright smile and a wink, mouthing his thanks but not daring to speak for fear of it ruining the mood he’d already set.

Despite his recent misfortune, Tonio had done well to stay optimistic and just live day by day and at his own pace. While it had been hard at first, things were starting to pick up a little bit more what with scoring gigs at a few bars and clubs from time to time. Even then, however, it wasn’t a constant source of money and he often had to resort to coming to the part or elsewhere to try and play for money (unfortunately, a few times he was run off, but usually everyone seemed to enjoy his music). Eh…maybe that lawyer lady he’d seen would help him get that building he’d been eyeing… But he still needed a good stash of money if he hoped to try and revamp the old run-down place and turn it into a small business (a place to offer guitar lessons or a café perhaps?). It was cheap to buy, but the renovations…who know what that would cost. Regardless, if he was lucky, then maybe, JUUUST maybe, he’d be able to get both a decent meal and a room for the night with his park-bench earnings.

As the crowd began to dwindle and the last child tossed a few more bits of change into his case, Tonio lifted his eyes to see his last patron—a new face… and a rather unique face. The other man had to be the only person Antonio had ever seen with that light of hair and such brilliant red eyes—those were real, weren’t they?

“Hey, you're the Antonio that plays at a few cafes at night and clubs, ja? I'm Gilbert by the way, I hope you don't mind but you do have a way with music that I haven't seen before.”

The Spaniard had to tear his eyes from the man’s unique features and mentally shake himself so he could offer the other a big grin. Well now, he didn’t mind having a fan or five at all—definitely not. “Gilberto, you say? Come y sit down for a bit—you don’t gotta keep standing there amigo.” He scooted to one end of the bench, shifting his guitar carefully so he wouldn’t end up hitting the man with it or knocking it against the bench. “Y I don’t mind it, amigo—to be honest, I think I’m about the only Spanish classical guitarist that I’ve seen around here. Most of the ones I see in the bars y such play electric--if you ask me it has its place but there just isn't as much passion in it, y'know? Pero I’m glad you enjoy it my music, Gilberto~”

Antonio bent to place the guitar carefully in its case after gathering the money and tucking it into the small compartment where people normally kept their tuner and extra picks. After he clicked the case shut, he sat back up with a content sigh and clapped both hands against his knees. “What brings you here? Or is there something I can do for you?” Ah the prospect of business would be a nice one…and with the mention of bars and cafes Tonio automatically assumed that Gilbert was going to offer him a gig or something. “Pero, first, I gotta ask… “ he leaned in closer to the platinum blond and draped his arm over the back of the bench. “Where did you get those wicked contacts, señor?” He pointed to his own eyes with a bit of curiosity causing his eyebrows to rise. “They looks crazy realistic.”

[Gilbert Fredrick Beilschmidt]

“Pero, first I gotta ask… Where did you get those wicked contacts senor, they look crazy realistic”

Looking at the man of a moment, he couldn't decide if this Antonio was joking or not with his eyes. Either way, the man was going to get an answer he had probably never heard before, and probably never would again. Though Gilbert wondered how it was going to go, he decided he should set the pace. He could only start laughing.

"They're real alright; otherwise I've been lying to myself and everyone else for years now. Do they frighten you?"

And he could only laugh again. He was in a good mood and this man was funny, could play music and was handsome. Somehow, he hoped this man would become a friend to him. Everyone needed friends after all. Looking the man over, he admired the way he dressed. In a way it kind of reminded him of Francis, even though there styles were two totally different types. Francis always looked put together an ready for a meeting of some sort, and now Antonio looked too good for words. He really needed to figure out how to dress like these two, even causal, they looked ready for a night on the town. He was sure that if the three of them ever went out together, he’d be the one who looked out of place. But then again, he never like fitting in, he would be the one standing out and drawing all the attention to himself.

"I do hope you're guitar playing is real, I'd hate for that to have been a recording. You do know what they say about musicians though?"

And apparently his first response was to joke around with and attempt to flirt with this man. Hopefully this didn’t keep the man from being pleasant. After all, it could be taken as an ice breaker. People have been known to say worse when unsure not to say with a stranger.

[Deleted]

"They're real alright; otherwise I've been lying to myself and everyone else for years now. Do they frighten you?"

“¡¿Qué?!” Tonio’s eyes widened a bit in surprise as he leaned in a bit more, shifting just a touch closer. He definitely hadn’t met anyone with as red as this before… sure there were a few people that had eyes that were so brown they kind of looked a bit crimson at times in the right light, but these? These were just red red. Squinting, he tried not to get up in the other’s personal space too much, but he probably had already invaded that and hadn’t paid much mind to it. At the very least, he couldn’t see where contacts met with the eye. “That’s crazy, hombre!”

Shaking his head, though still a bit curious and surprised, he sat back against his side of the bench with a small grin. “Pero do they frighten me? No….not really. Maybe if you had met me in a dark alley y there was no one else around,” He chuckled a little to himself, relaxing as a cool breeze blew past, disturbing his collar and pushing a few locks of hair into his face. He could probably enjoy this guy's company. He seemed to give off a pretty nice vibe after all, and thus far, his personality wasn't all that bad.”They’re actually kinda nice, y’know? Like rubies or something—better hope nobody tries to snatch them, fusosososo~”

His fingers tapped against the back of the bench and while the smile on his face lingered for a moment more, it faltered and vanished at the mere mention of his talents possibly being a recording. It was a small insult, or the Spaniard took it as one, but really he couldn’t blame the man for asking. Too many musicians nowadays didn’t play live and a scary majority were into that lip syncing crap. That’s just lazy and unfair to the people that come to watch them!

“A recording does not have as much passion as the performance you just saw, amigo,” he cut his eyes to the guitar case and then back to Gilbert. “…or perhaps you need another show, si? Just to be sure?” The grin that graced his face this time seemed to challenge the other man’s comment and it was fairly apparently that said comment had been transformed into a sort of challenge in the Spaniard’s mind. Regardless, he did pause for just a second to address the platinum blond’s inquiry. Tonio’s brows furrowed just a bit as he looked to Gil, slowly shaking his head. ”I hear a lot of things, Gilberto, but what is it that you’ve heard about them?” He was genuinely curious, and for the moment, any hostility or challenge he had regarding the whole recording thing was stifled.

[Gilbert Fredrick Beilschmidt]

He let Antonio get closer to him; he knew what he was doing, seeing if he was lying or not about the contacts. He had gotten used to this treatment over the years, so all Gilbert could do in response was to grin. His eyes sparkled with the mirth in the situation. While Toni had compared his eyes to rubies, he was one to talk; his own eyes reminded Gilbert of Emeralds… or perhaps a dark jade. Either way, there was more than one person here with eyes that could be compared to jewels.

But then, something that this Antonio did threw Gilbert off track, and that was his abrupt change in, well, not in mood, but something similar he didn’t have a name for right away. His expression did change and it left Gilbert stumped or what was said to possibly elicit this kind of response from the man.

"A recording does not gave have as much passion as the performance you just saw, amigo, or perhaps you need another show, si?”

"eh?"

Gilbert could only blink at the man, confusion etched across his face and in his eyes. One eyebrow was raised as he tried to figure out was meant before it slowly came to him. Apparently this Antonio had somehow taken offense at the recording comment. Slowly an idea crossed his face and he think he understood where the misunderstanding had happened. Laying a hand on the man’s knee, he shook his head and grinned.

”Nein, you didn’t hear what I said, and missed what I meant. You do not sound like a recording. I said you deserved to be signed for one. As in go to a studio and then have people by your albums."

Grinning again, he shrugged before leaning back against the bench, arm resting against the back of it while looking at the sky. If this man chose to take it wrong again, it was not his fault. It was too good of a day to spend in a bad mood anyway.

“You’re a lot better than a majority of those fools, never let anyone tell you otherwise, ja?”

[Deleted]

Antonio’s gaze remained locked on the blond’s face, waiting for some sort of answer to the previous question. Though he was curious, he half-expected the answer to be something akin to a compliment or pick up line (not that he hadn’t heard a few of those already by people that wanted some…ah…’backstage passes’ ). Regardless, he waited, but it appeared as if he had simply managed to confuse the other man with his own words. That was made plainly evident by Gilbert’s brief look of confusion and an explanation.

"Nein, you didn’t hear what I said, and missed what I meant. You do not sound like a recording. I said you deserved to be signed for one. As in go to a studio and then have people by your albums."

His fingers stilled at the brass latch of his guitar case, brushing over the metal as it toyed with the toggle ever so slowly as he listened and let his gaze drop for a split second to the hand on his knee. His own face scrunching up in mild confusion. Antonio, while he was a bit oblivious at times, wasn’t completely stupid and he was quite sure of what he had heard the first time…and it wasn’t what the other man had said he had said. But, considering that he didn’t mean too much by it (or was trying to redeem himself from accidentally insulting the musician), Tonio shrugged it off and smiled. So long as he didn’t try and push that issue he wouldn’t hold it against him.

“Aaah… well.. Perhaps amigo. I just have to get a bit more money before I can afford cutting an album or anything. Y people aren’t as open to new talent as some would believe, y’know?” He sniffled a bit, clicking the latch on his case shut again as he leaned forward, folding his arms over his legs. “A place like this, they prefer punk y rock n’ roll y that sort of stuff.” He wrinkled his nose up at it—it wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. Cutting an eye to Gilbert, he smiled warmly and reached over to pat his leg before withdrawing his hand. “Pero, it’s extremely nice to know that someone can recognize musical talent when they hear it.”

Relaxing again, the Spaniard let his head loll back onto the bench, but lifted a hand to his eyes to block the sun. A pause of silence passed between the two before Tonio picked up the conversation. “I forgot to ask Gilberto, what is it that you do though? Y …you never did tell me what people say about musicians.” A teasing grin reappeared on the musician’s lips as he crossed one leg over the other, hooking his heel just over his knee, and twisting his upper body toward Gil.

[Gilbert Fredrick Beilschmidt]

“I forgot to ask Gilberto, what is it that you do though? Y …you never did tell me what people say about musicians.”

"Basically it was they say because of so much practice with their hands, musicians make the best lovers"

Gilbert could only grin with that, he knew Toni was expecting something of the type, but Gil couldn't help himself. It wasn't very often that he could lines like that on someone and he took his chance. There was a good possibly that this Antonio would roll his eyes and leave, but at least Gilbert could be happy that he said it. Laughing himself, he gave a little shove to Toni's shoulder and settled himself in more comfortably.

"I had to use that line, been dying forever to use that line. But seriously, you have a good musical talent; more people need to appreciate it and get their heads out of their arsch"

Carefully standing up and stretching, he grunted as he felt a joint pop, but then sighed as pressure was released off his spine. He was in good shape, but he wasn't used to sitting in one spots for long amounts of time, but for this man, he would make due. Gilbert knew he was in rather sore need of friends here, and perhaps, just perhaps, this Antonio could become a good one. Looking around, the sun seemed like it still had a few hours until it set, and perhaps he would keep Gil company for a while; after all, it was never fun to return to an empty home when you were feeling a bit lonely… not that the so called Awesome Gilbert would ever admit to that particular feeling.

“Hey, what you say we get a cup of coffee and talk a bit more. Tell me how you came to London. I’m sure it’s an interesting tale.”