Despite his efforts to smooth this over, to try to avoid drawing attention to the inherent awkwardness of the situation, it isn't difficult to tell that J seems upset. With that being the case, it isn't difficult for S to guess why, either. Though he couldn't have anticipated that J would show up here, S still feels like it's his fault somehow. Until now, playing at work has been safe, a way to do so while avoiding this very sort of situation. It was a very neat, tidy divide, and now that line has been blurred, leaving him to wonder if it was a mistake to be playing at all. Except that can't be right. On the rare occasion the subject has come up, J has encouraged him to play, made a point of saying that he doesn't want S to stop for his sake. Maybe it's different in practice than it was in theory, but more likely, S thinks, he's just being fucking stupid.

The trouble is, he doesn't know how to stop. Instead, he gets to his feet, taking his phone from his pocket as he does so he can check the time. "Ah, only about ten minutes," he answers. They should have just locked up early. No one is going to come in to buy an instrument this close to closing time. J, meanwhile, has said he just thought they could walk home together, but it occurs to S that there may be another reason for his coming by today, so close to the end of the day, his previous offer echoing in the back of his head. "Did you want to play after we close up?"

It's easier by far to think about J doing so than about continuing to do so himself. Which is also probably stupid, when J has far more baggage attached to the piano even than he does, but that baggage is at least part of why S wants him to feel like he can try it if he feels like he can. He shouldn't have to give it up just because of the mess everything became before. "I'd be glad to stay for a while if you do want to try it."