Fine Music, Fine Company (Sofia/Steiner)

It was cold, much like any other day in Russia. The snow was falling, the wind was howling, and the weather itself was almost completely unmanageable. Such was Russia, but tonight not even the weather could stop the concert that was about to enter into town, and that was because most of the noble dignitaries who had set up this concert refused to allow it to be so. It had taken some effort and many months of planning to get the highest rated orchestra to come to capital, but they had accomplished their goal. Weather would not deny them the fine sounds of wind, string, and percussion instruments playing in tandem to produce a symphony of joy, sadness, or mystery. Yet as the hour to kick off began and the doors opened early to allow nobles, businessman, and ambassadors entrance into the large concert hall where the magic was to begin, a lone figure stood out from the crowd.

He had dressed the best he could, purchasing with what little money he had left after obtaining a ticket, a nice ensemble of dress clothes that didn't suit him too well, but still made him look dashing none the less. He still, however, stood out against the rest of the crowd, all of which were wearing hand tailored clothes, and looked to be way above his social standing. Not that he had a social standing to begin with, after all he was only visiting. Steiner Franz stood in the main hall that would lead into the concert hall itself once the doors opened and he stood relatively alone. Not really bothering to socialize and distancing himself from people who seemed way too pompous or too into themselves to care for other people, Steiner remembered the day that he had first picked up learning the piano.

It had happened when he was the age of five, much like his brother before him, his parents had decided to give him a musical education, and it didn't matter how he felt about it. When he had first started out, he had hated it, and that was because he always seemed to mess up the songs he was trying to learn and while his teacher was more than forgiving, his parents were not. After every screw up and every failed lesson, Steiner would receive a beating, or worse have to spend a night in the hospital to recover from being shoved down some stairs or beaten till he was too broken to move. Over time, he began to appreciate music, as it was one of the few times that he could escape from the hell that was his home, and he improved slowly over time as his love and appreciation grew. He was no musical genius and no master pianist, but he was at least skilled enough to play beautiful music for people that would listen to him. In a way, that was more than enough for him, but it had never been enough for his parents.

However, Steiner wasn't here to reminisce, he was here to see his old teacher play in the orchestra in front of all these people. He had received a letter a few days back, his teacher telling him that he had finally made it big, much like he had wanted to do when he was younger. The teacher invited him, stating that though he couldn't afford to buy him a ticket that he would love for him, and all his former students to show up to listen to him play. Steiner couldn't refuse and as such made a trip out here, at a hefty price mind you, to see the beautiful music that would be played by his former teacher. Still, even knowing someone in the orchestra did not make Steiner feel comfortable around all these people who were more inclined to talk about business, or politics than to talk about the audio bliss they were about to receive. Steiner shrugged, he supposed it took all types.

Walking past several of these snobby people and making his way over to the long doors leading back to the outside, Steiner decided to get some fresh air. Too many hot heads and too many over inflated egos were suffocating him inside and he supposed the cold air of Russian winter would do him better than the warmth of this craziness. So, he went outside, loosening his tie as he did so, and making his way down several stairs till he reached the bottom. He had time before the concert and he would rather breathe than be suffocated before it.

Steiner's point for standing outside to escape the political and business garble that was seemingly fluctuating around the entire entrance hall had momentarily succeeded. Outside, in the cold, but extremely beautiful snow covered landscape of the capital Steiner could finally let his mind be at ease. He could focus on the thoughts of what sort of beautiful music he was about to listen to, after all if his teacher was playing he knew for a fact that he was in for quite the treat, and he wondered if his teacher would want to do something after. Surely, he would like to go out for drinks, or to go out for something to eat after playing in front of a large audience. More than likely a drink as he would want to calm his nerves and relax after probably a long day of practicing and then an even longer night of playing for the social elite. He stuck his hands in his pockets, to keep them warm mostly, but to also fiddle with the knives he had in his pocket, making sure they wouldn't stab him when he went to go sit down. Though he doubted he would need them, it was always good to have some form of protection just in case something did happen, and Steiner always had some form of weapon on his person as he felt naked otherwise.

He let out a long sigh, sending a great deal of steam from his open maw, and then was about to head back inside to rejoin the madness that was the geo-political theater the main hall had become when a voice stopped him from turning to enter. It was a pleasant voice, one that seemed to draw you in, and make you feel quite at peace with the world around you. The voice could have told him to drop dead or to die in a fire, but the pleasantness wouldn't have changed, he would still feel the warmth, and at peace. He turned his head slightly to the side, steel blue eyes peering around for the source of the voice only to lay those eyes upon true noble beauty. She stood there, clothed in an oriental style of dress the colors of blue and white accenting her short black hair and eyes that seemed to draw you in closer with their unique color that Steiner couldn't seem to place. For a moment Steiner couldn't believe that she was talking to him, turning his head to the side to see if there was anyone around him that could quite possibly be of a higher quality that himself.

Surely she couldn't be speaking to him? Some random man on the street that barely had an inch of unique quality to him outside of his fiery red hair and weirdly fitting suit that was a cheap imitation of a more expensive suit. After spending a few seconds of looking around he couldn't find anyone, not a single soul was outside save for the two of them thanks to the bad weather, and the confusion on his face turned to surprise. He turned his eyes back to the woman that had addressed him, trying his best not to stare, and not to make himself to appear weirder than he already appeared to be, he tried to open his mouth to say something. Only to find that no words were coming out, not because he had nothing to say, but because he didn't know how to phrase his words properly to not embarrass himself. A hint of red splayed across his cheeks, not from the cold, but from the sheer embarrassment that he was now just standing there, mouth open, and staring at her. He closed his mouth, a silent cheer internally could be heard reverberating within his psyche that at least he had some tact, and then he blinked a bit to try and stop the stare. Another silent cheer later and Steiner was now back at square one.

"Uh...", Steiner said as his mind did victory laps because it seemed that his entire vocabulary had not just stalled in front of this young lady. Another awkward silence later and Steiner finally got the nerve and became resolute as to not continue to embarrass himself and to put his best foot forward. He was a hero for crying out loud and he stepped bravely into fighting some of the nastiest things in existence, he surely could bravely talk to one of the prettiest things he had ever seen! "I came outside to clear my head.", progress was being made with each and every word and internal joy was being spread throughout his body with each syllable uttered. He was doing it, he was having a conversation! "I had hoped that people coming to see a concert would be more focused on the music than politics and business...guess I was wrong?", he said as he scratched the back of his head with one of his hands as he removed them from his pockets. Her smile seemed to infuse him with confidence as more words seemed to be forming in his head with each passing moment.

She ushered him inside with the realization that the concert was about to start, after all he had come here to see his teacher play, and wouldn't miss it even if he was on death's door. As he entered, following the young lady for a bit he couldn't help, but feel that there were more eyes on him. No, that wasn't accurate. It was more like there were eyes on her and by process of extension him as well. There were a few murmurs, albeit faint, of surprise that he was with the young lady attending this concert. Several of them tried to use his appearance as a means to label him as nothing more than her butler, someone who was there to make sure she was treated with utmost care, and little more. The sounds of surprised murmuring dissipated as they entered the concert hall which was both grandiose and decadent. For a moment Steiner stood at the entrance, mostly trying to find his seat, but also trying to see if he could spot his teacher from where he was standing. After not being able to spot his teacher, Steiner began to make his way to his seat only to be stopped once again by the young lady who hadn't, apparently, not left his side when they had entered the concert hall.

Internal screaming highlighted his surprise at the statement she had given him and he stood staring for a few more moments on the beauty as murmuring once again commenced around him."You...you want me to sit with you?", the young man asked his face a bit red and his eyes staring into her own in shock at the mere thought that someone like her would want to be caught sitting next to someone like him. He wasn't a noble, an ambassador, or even a businessman. He was some poor, low born hero that protected people, and tried to do his best to make the world a little bit safer for innocent people. Yet, he couldn't say no to her. Enthralled was probably the best word to use in describing how he was acting as he seemingly followed her, marching his way down aisle after aisle, a couple of times Steiner thought that they would stop, but finally they would reach their destination. The front row, the best seat in the house made better only by sitting next to someone as gorgeous as her. He tried to clear his mind, but things like this just didn't happen to guys like him!

He sat down next to her, nervously like a man going on his first tour of duty in some grand war, and tried his best to keep himself acting natural, though it was hard. As the lights dimmed and the music began to start to string up for the first song of many, she uttered her name to him, and he turned to look at her. "I'm Steiner, my friends call me Stein.", he said calmly, his mind going to ease as the music began to play. Still, he wondered why Sofia was taking time to spend with him, and why she had basically offered him probably the best seat in the house when he had his own. Maybe it was pity or maybe curiosity. Or maybe, just maybe she found him intriguing in some way or another, not that Steiner thought he was anything less than basic. As the music played his eyes would sometimes glance over at her, as if trying to figure her out, and to try and figure out her intentions, but eventually those glances stopped. Instead his eyes became closed as the beautiful music over took him, his hands momentarily from time to time fidgeting as if he were playing the piano as a beautiful symphony of sound washed over the hall.

Things had indeed gotten very interesting this particular afternoon as the young hero of honor had not expected to be graced with the presence of someone so high classed and refined, but also of similar ideals to his own. It is why he was so staggered by her reply to his question. Was this girl for real? Was she just pulling his leg and making a jest? Was this an elaborate prank set up by his former teacher to have a huge laugh after the concert was over at his expense? To him, at least at the moment, he had no idea how to feel, but one thing was absolutely certain at that point and time to him: He felt a connection to her. Many people joked about the concept of love at first sight and always seemed to talk about how cliche and completely impossible it was. But the combination of her looks and the way that she had replied to his question had him hooked like a fish on a line just waiting to be reeled in. It was why he couldn't keep his eyes off her, the way she walked with elegance, and purpose. The only thing stopping Steiner from acting like an out of control beast was his will and the mere understanding that he was a gentlemen and that wasn't how gentlemen acted.

So he acted like a gentleman, controlling his passions, and focusing on being as polite as he possibly could. "You would think with all the money and presence that most of these people had they would be doing some good for the people. I know I would if I was put in the same position.", he spoke with honesty because he had no reason to lie and besides even if he tried to lie he was never good at it. Sticking to the truth was much easier for him and though the truth had at times put the young man in harm's way he would rather take the horrors that stood before him for speaking without facade than dealing with the repercussions of being found to be dishonest. To be dishonest to him, was to be like the people who had abused him, and robbed him of what little childhood he had. And he would never be like them, he would rather die than be a scoundrel. That was just how extreme Steiner's dedication to fostering justice and protecting the weak was, it was to the point that he would rather end himself than be the cause of an innocent person's sorrow.

As she told him her name, he had responded to her in kind, and even gave her the nickname that all his friends referred to him as. The mere mentioning of his nickname being cute caused Steiner's face to go red a bit, easily visible on his pale, white, unblemished cheeks. He quickly composed himself letting out a bit of a cough as he tried his best to salvage the situation. Internally he shouted at himself to remember to be a gentlemen, but his hormones and the fact that Sofia was probably the most beautiful young lady he had seen in all of his life were easily struggling to take control of the young man's psyche. He pushed them down deep, nodding his head in reply to her statement, mostly due to the fact that he thought if he opened his mouth at this point he would say something stupid, and make himself feel like more of an idiot than he already was.

So instead he remained quiet, nervous and wound up, but quiet. Which was probably the only thing that had gone according to plan so far for the young man since he had arrived here. Though, having a girl like her sitting next to him was definitely not a bad thing, and neither was it an unwelcome variation from the plan of just having a casual time at a concert. In fact it was an improvement. Yet, he knew for a fact that he probably looked quite a bit nervous, and so far, much to his luck, she had not guessed what was making him nervous. Otherwise she probably would have left him right then or there, well probably not, she would probably call down an usher to escort him outside where he could spend the rest of his night out in the Russian winter.

Luckily for him the sounds of the music beginning to be played had forced them both to be silent, he doubted that he could hold a relevant conversation at that point anyway. Unless Sofia was fond of having her ears nervously chattered off by a guy who was too smitten to form coherent phrases or complete sentences. So, he closed his eyes, and allowed the music to take him. For a while the sound of music allowed him to unwind and drop the nervousness, he found himself afloat in an ocean of sounds that made him feel truly alive. It reminded him of the first time his teacher had played for him. At the time he had just watched his teacher with wide eyes, amazed that anything so beautiful could be crafted so flawlessly, and elegantly through the will of one person and the skills of deft hands. It was a good memory, maybe one of the few that he had up in his head, and was arguably one of his most cherished memories at that. The sound of movement next to him, however snapped him out of the almost trance like state that he was in, his head turning, and his eyes opening a bit to glance at the source.

Had Steiner been wiser, he would have been able to just tune out the distraction, but Steiner was not a wise man. However, he couldn't help, but feel he was probably the luckiest man in the whole hall as he stared upon Sofia dressed as she was. She had discarded the beautiful winter clothes for a more basic business like attire, but the sight of her looking like he did returned the feelings of desire that he had only momentarily repressed. He found himself staring, taking in all of the sights while his mind ran a million miles a second, rejoicing, and thanking the gods for the opposite sex. He quickly turned his head, an action that took far more willpower than he had ever used before in his life, and quickly looked back at the musicians playing their hearts out for the people in attendance while his heart was beating like it wanted to get out and break dance for the whole world to see. That is when he felt it, so close to him.

Hot breath on his ear and the smell of a sweet perfume caused his heart to skip a beat, for a moment he thought he would die right then, and there. He had to fight the urge to turn and kiss her or at least tell her how beautiful she was, but he was quickly brought back to rationality so that he could control his thoughts if only for a second. He turned to her after hearing her question, his eyes glancing down at certain points that no gentlemen should be caught staring at only to snap back to her face which in itself was beautiful. "The man playing the piano taught me how to play. I wasn't anywhere near as good as him, but he still called me his favorite student.", Steiner whispered with a smile, his face way more flush than before due to just how close she was to him. "How about you...why are you here this evening?", he asked quietly as he gazed upon her face with at least some level of lucidity.