For some reason, Dante had woken up in a pretty sour mood. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he guessed it really didn't matter. Maybe the weight of everything that had transpired was finally wearing away at him. Or maybe it was just a bad day. He'd tried playing his acoustic guitar in his barely furnished apartment. The acoustic guitar he had to trade his amp and effect pedals for since his ex made him pick between the electric guitar or Duke...in the apartment he had to get after his ex made it so it'd be easier just to start all over. The apartment that he was taking odd requests and jobs to live in, that he couldn't afford decent furniture for because he'd lost the majority of his money in the settlement.

He needed to take the edge off, but it wasn't even noon yet, and day drinking wasn't something Dante was willing to resort to just yet. So, after feeding Duke, and taking the large dog that hated people almost as much as the mutant himself did on a walk, Dante left his pup to nap on the couch and headed out for a walk in solitude. It'd be a good day to explore, maybe blow off some steam and lift his mood.

He'd heard about a music shop a good walk away from his apartment, so he decided to go there and check it out. Walking in, it wasn't a large building, but they made use of what space they had, and it was one of those where you could actually test the instruments--just what he needed. He walked over to the wall of guitars, finally settling on one that he thought would be a perfect fit for him, and then he walked over to the amp, plugged that bad boy in, and closed his eyes, pulling a pick that he always kept in his pocket.

It didn't take him long to get the feel of this guitar, though he purposely made a point not to look at the price tag. He'd never be able to afford it, but he wasn't here to shop. Once dialed in, he began to play. He didn't sing this time, just let the guitar do the talking. Despite it being a small building, the acoustics in there were actually pretty great.

He never once opened his eyes, but as the music filled the room, he could already feel everything that weighed him down starting to fall off. Acoustic guitars weren't good for stress relief; they didn't have volume buttons. They were too mellow. Dante needed something with a little edge to it, that always rested below the surface, yet ready to come out swinging.

Something sort of like him. He ripped through the solo, and finished out the song strongly, almost forgetting he was playing in the middle of a shop. But when his eyes opened after playing that final note, he was sporting quite the genuine smile.

Something about music really was magical.

Lee had been having more trouble getting Kevin to practice his piano recently. With Blaine practically living at their apartment, Kevin had been more than a little distracted, spending more time with Blaine than doing anything else. Not that that was very surprising, since Blaine had barely left the apartment since the day Lee first brought him over. Though other than the nightmares and not leaving the apartment, Blaine seemed to be doing alright, back to himself. Mostly.

But Lee did still need Kevin to practice playing. He was young enough that if he didn’t practice frequently enough, he would lose what he had already learned. And Lee certainly didn’t want that. Kevin already loved music, how could he not with her as a mother, but despite how he fought against playing now, she knew he’d appreciate it when he was older.

So to help things along, and make life easier for her, Lee decided to get Kevin some new music. Hopefully something new and fun would make him more willing to sit down at the keyboard. Which meant finding a music store to buy new music books. So on her lunch break, Lee left the Haven building to look for such a place.

Finally, she found a promising shop. One which seemed even more promising when she walked in to hear someone playing guitar. Playing rather well, to be honest. Slowly, Lee walked over to see a dark haired man standing off to the side in the shop, playing a rather nice looking electric guitar. Normally, Lee favoured acoustics, but that was a damn nice guitar.

As the man finished the song, Lee could recognize the smile on his face. She’d had that same smile on her face a number of times while she played, the music relieving stress, easing burdens.

”That was great,” Lee said after a moment.

The shop was relatively empty when Dante had started playing, though the occasional person would stop to listen. Some he'd notice, but most he didn't because he'd had his eyes closed. He'd set his jacket on the floor so he was just wearing his sleeveless shirt that showed off his tattoos.

Once he finished his song, he noticed a very attractive woman who decided to come up and compliment him. "Thanks," he said, looking her over. Not bad. Not bad at all. Maybe today will get better after all.

He quietly started playing another song as he looked at her. "I'm Dante. Though I will say, I'd be mildly disappointed if your name isn't something as angelic as you look," he said with a wink.

As the song came to a close, Lee's attention shifted from the song, her eyes zoomed out from the guitar to the man holding it. He had a dark punk metal vibe going, which fit rather well with the song he had been playing. And he had some damn good tattoos on his arms that he was obviously proud to show off considering the sleeveless shirt he had on.

He was quite a bit younger than she was, Lee noticed, even as she noticed him checking her out. Though that didn't even phase Lee anymore after working at the bar.

Then he was starting to play again, though quieter this time, so Lee stood and continued to listen. It really was nice just sitting and listening to someone play simply for the love of playing.

But that’s when the pick-up line struck. Lee was used to men hitting on her; even with the regulars at the Trasheteria who knew that Blaine and her were together, she had been hit on when enough alcohol had been added to the mix. But this guy, Dante he said his name was, was young enough that Lee was surprised by his words. ”I’m not sure about angelic,” she said, a slightly surprised but happy smile on her face. ”I’m Lee. So are you shopping for a new guitar?”

Dante had to admit, 'angelic' didn't do the woman's appearance any justice whatsoever. So the melody he played was a little simpler, just for the sake of talking--and looking. An age was hard to put on her, but Dante really didn't care about that; she was of age, so he was liking the attention.

"Well, that's what came to mind. Angelic, heavenly, a gift from whatever higher power you may believe in," he said with a smile. "Lee...I like it," he said, turning his attention back to his playing, shredding out a nice little mini-solo for a moment.

"I hope to take this baby home one day. But for now, I'm just taking her for a test drive," he answered once he'd finished, still seeing what this baby could do. "But I will say, I like what I'm hearing." He looked down at the guitar, then back to her. "I'm liking what I see, too."

Lee had heard a lot of pick up lines over the years, even before she had started working at a bar every night. Dante’s line here was pretty good, if Lee were to be honest. As he continued to speak, the smile stayed on Lee’s face, though grew less surprised. ”That’s what came to mind, is it?” Lee questioned. It was rather flattering that he was hitting on her like this with how much younger he was.

Then Dante turned his attention back to the guitar and his playing. As she stood and listened, Lee slipped her jacket off, her green blouse not able to hide her very obvious to herself but barely there baby bump.

After a minute, Lee saw Dante look back up at her. So he wasn’t shopping at the moment, merely dreaming and hoping for the future. Lee nodded at that, she remembered that quite well. In fact she remembered being in much worse shape financially.

It was a nice looking and sounding guitar, Lee thought, as Dante spoke. ”I don’t normally like electric guitars,” Lee told the man in front of her. ”But you’re right, that is a pretty nice looking and sounding guitar.”

"Yep, and any man that says otherwise is selling something," he said with a wink, his spirits having been lifted considerably, but only partly from playing music. Maybe life wasn't as bad as it seemed to be. He'd just been dealt a sour hand was all.

"It is a great guitar. Figure it'd be a nice goal to set for myself. Getting this beauty, and of course a rig. But baby steps," he said with a slight nod as he continued fiddling with the guitar. "Though I wasn't just talking about the guitar earlier," he said with a smile.

After that, he went back to playing, picking out a rather fast, fitting melody that tested both his mettle, and the guitar's. The song was played in silence, not that he technically knew what the lyrics were even saying in this sense, but he continued to play, once again his eyes drifting closed as the sound of his music again filled the store.

”Really? I thought it was the other way around,” Lee said, an eyebrow raised as she regarded the man in front of her. ”Use flattery to lower inhibitions so that they can sell you something.”

But Dante was still playing the guitar in his hands, even as he continued speaking, talking about baby steps toward saving up for this guitar and what else he’d need to go with it. ”That’s part of why I prefer acoustics. All you need is the guitar, and you can play it anywhere.”

And Lee knew that Dante had been talking about more than the guitar looking good, she had just chosen to overlook that little comment. Lee just gave that a slight smile. But luckily it didn’t look like he was expecting an answer since he had started playing the guitar again. And his eyes slid closed as he played. The slight smile stayed on Lee’s face as she listened.She had never heard the song before, but it certainly looked like Dante was putting the guitar through its paces.

Something that the guitar seemed to stand up for perfectly well. As the song came to a close, Lee nodded, not even realizing that the slight smile was still on her face, had been the entire time Dante had been playing. ”It sounds like it’ll do the job nicely for you when you manage to get it,” she said.

"Touche. But I'm not a salesman," he said smoothly. "Merely...an appraiser."

He gave a nod. "Yeah, I have an acoustic, and I like it. But they lack a certain...." he shredded a few notes. "Edge. It's hard to take out frustration with something so mellow," he added with a chuckle. Though he did notice the smile on her face, even if that wall of ice was showing no signs of cracking. But she did like the music, and that was a start.

"Thanks. So you said you play?" he asked, pausing his playing for a moment and he just let the guitar rest on his shoulder. Damn it felt good. But three and a half grand was a lot to put down on a guitar. Especially now.

"There aren't many to choose from, but I saw a couple acoustics over there if you wanted to show me what you got."

That was true, Lee couldn’t imagine that Dante was a salesman. At the very least, he wasn’t a salesman at this store, she didn’t think that they’d allow their employees to dress like this and play around with the merchandise in this way. At least she wouldn’t have let anyone who worked for her do that while they were working.

So he did have an acoustic, but he prefered electrics. That was fine, but he was wrong about one thing. ”They may not be able to play as loud,” Lee countered. ”But that doesn’t mean you can’t play your emotions, can’t get rid of frustrations.” She certainly had been able to, at least.

Then Dante questioned about how she’d alluded to being able to play guitar as well. Lee nodded, another small smile coming to her lips as she saw Dante finally stop playing the guitar he had strapped to his shoulder. ”I play a bit,” Lee admitted. ”Mostly just for myself, I rarely play in public anywhere.”

And yet, despite that, Dante was telling her he’d seen a few acoustics in the store, asking to hear her play. Lee thought for a moment. She probably should be getting back to work, but at the same time, it would be nice to be able to play. To maybe get some feedback on her playing that wasn’t from Blaine, who even now with everything he was dealing with, he thought that she was amazing.

”Sure, why not?” Lee said with a shrug before turning and slowly making her way through the store over to where Dante had indicated he’d seen the acoustics. He had been right, there really weren’t many to choose from. Not much difference in the guitars. And since she wasn’t planning on actually buying one, simply playing a song, maybe two, Lee grabbed one of the guitars.

Slipping the strap over her shoulder, it took Lee longer than normal to get the guitar feeling comfortable, the slight bump of her stomach causing things to already start sitting slightly differently. That was going to get annoying rather quickly, she realized.

Finally, Lee gave up and just started playing. With Blaine at the apartment, and with her trying to help him get back to normal after that fight, there had been a lot more of his music playing than her own. As such, the song she had ended up starting to play was heavier than her normal music selections. But it seemed to fit, especially with what Dante had been playing. Unlike him, however, Lee started singing along with the guitar. She had been first and foremost a singer, after all, even if she didn’t sing in front of people all that often anymore. And, though her voice started off fairly soft, it didn’t take long before her eyes had slipped closed while she played, the volume slowly raising as the song continued.

"My frustrations are very....loud," he said with a shrug, "and need to be released as such. Acoustics are great, but don't have that extra bite I need. It's a personal thing."

He nodded as she spoke. "Yeah, I normally play to myself too; though you may catch me in the park with my case open sometimes. I'm not part of any band or anything; I just play for me."

And then, the conversation stopped as she grabbed a guitar and came back over. The song was one he was very familiar with, and sounded pretty damn good on an acoustic, especially when she started singing. To be honest, it wasn't what he'd expected out of her; he'd expected something slow, sweet, maybe even romantic. But...it fit, and he liked this better than what he'd expected from her.

This was the kind of thing he lived for though. Sometimes the best parts of life were thanks to music. It'd gotten him through so much already. Her voice was pretty amazing, to be honest.

When the song ended, he gave a smirk, and a nod as she'd finished. "You're pretty great, yourself" he complimented.

Loud frustrations needed loud outlets, and an acoustic wasn’t good enough for that. Lee didn’t understand that, but then again she didn’t fully understand Blaine’s need to punch things when he was upset, either.

”Maybe I’ll see you in the park at some point, then,” Lee said with a shrug. ”I’m not there as often as I used to be, but I am still there fairly often. If you play this well out there, I will definitely drop some money in your case.”

As she finished playing and her eyes opened once again, Lee saw a smirk on Dante’s face. But then smiled as he complimented her playing. ”Thanks,” she said, just standing there with the guitar at the moment. Again shifting it to try and get it into a more comfortable position. Where she normally set it, her stomach was pushing the guitar out a bit. ”It’s not what I normally play, I’ve just learned to play that one.”

"I'm not there very often, but at the chance of seeing you again, I'd have to make a habit of it," he said with a smile. The young man didn't want to admit that he was only there when he needed money, which was honestly a little more often than he'd like to confess. He noticed the way she kept shifting the guitar, and it made him quirk an eyebrow a little.

He'd gone spells without playing, but he never really had the kind of awkwardness with it that she seemed to be having. So, he finally unhooked the beauty of a guitar, setting it on a nearby stand instead of on the rack where he got it. After all, he didn't think he was done with it yet.

"You need some help adjusting the strap or something?" he asked, offering his help. "You look a little uncomfortable."

Lee nodded when Dante said he’d have to make sure to be in the park more often if it meant seeing her again. She was going to have to nip this in the bud soon; she wasn’t actually interested in Dante, even if it would have been a different story six months ago, she was far too happy with Blaine. But it sure was flattering how he kept hitting on her with how much younger she was sure he was.

And then he offered to help her with the strap, having noticed her discomfort with the guitar. ”Thanks, but I don’t think that’ll help,” Lee said with a shake of her head. ”It’s just my stomach. I didn’t expect to start showing this early, and it’s just awkward with the guitar.”

Starting to....

"Oh. Oh...." he said when it hit him, his face turning a lovely shade of pink. He'd used his best lines, laid on the charm thicker than a river of molasses, and she was pregnant.

Well now, that was awkward, wasn't it? Wow, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were..."

But when he paid close attention to her stomach, which wasn't necessarily what he'd been looking at prior...it wasn't obvious, but you could tell there was a little something going on there. And then the inevitable silence threatened to rear its ugly head, so he strapped the smoke-grey guitar back on and began to play. Nothing in particular, just whatever came to his mind.

Music could soothe anything, right? He actually liked Lee, but now that his chance of scoring was off the table, he wasn't sure what to say. Especially after his blunder of hitting on her in the first place.