It's mostly for soundproofing for recordings. Keeps the sound from coming in or out, dampens it from reverberation. I don't know that it's necessary, unless you're looking for me to start selling albums...

[Faolan quirks a smile at the younger man. The younger man who obviously knows nothing about any of this but is willing to spend money on it nonetheless. To give up rooms in his home. To listen to him play without complaint. To sit through Faolan's ranting on the topic whenever he might get carried away. All of it -- to make him happy.

Faolan's smile softens, and he turns on the bench towards the younger man, studying him silently for a moment before reaching out to him with a hand.]

Come here. [He asks, softly.]

[He huffs out the breath of a laugh in response to Laurent's gentle protesting.]

Tempting. Definitely tempting.

[Once Laurent has taken his hand Faolan closes his fingers around the younger man's, gently swiping his thumb over Laurent's knuckles as he smiles up at him softly.]

I... Thank you. For this. For all of it. For taking me here and arranging all of this for me, I... [He shakes his head.] It means a lot. And I...

[His eyes flick to the doorway, then down to the ground, before back up to Laurent with another, more private smile on his face as he continues, more quietly this time:] I don't suppose you might come closer still so that I can thank you properly...

[He really is too short to just tug Laurent down and hope for the best, especially since he is seated and Laurent is not, much as he may be fantasizing about doing exactly that.]

[Faolan tosses one more glance aside at the direction the shop keeper had disappeared, before turning in his seat to face him more easily.]

[He reaches for Laurent's hands, raising one of them to his lips to press a kiss to his knuckles.] Thank you.

[He leans in to tuck his face into the crook of Laurent's neck, breathing in the smell of his skin before turning his head to press a second kiss to the skin under his lips.] Thank you.

[He moves to pull back slightly. Reaching a hand to cup the side of Laurent's face and trace his thumb along the line of his jaw. Studying his expression for a long moment before smiling at him again and leaning in to press a third kiss against the younger man's lips, long and lingering.] Thank you.

[Faolan starts at the mention of the tea. The shop owner. It's only Laurent's (knowing) hand on his shoulder that keeps him in place, though it doesn't stop him from jerking in response to the realization that they are no longer alone. Pulling away enough for Laurent to take his tea from the other man before turning back to the keyboard in front of him, a healthy flush coloring his face.]

I'm. I'm working on it. It's all about the touch and the sound.

[He glances back at the shop keeper before back at the keyboard. Nope, definitely cannot face the man after that, not so soon after anyway.]

[Faolan glances aside at the younger man and tries to will himself to calm down enough to be able to explain what it is that he means.]

In a way, yes. But it's more than just the feel of it. Here...

[He presses a note on the keyboard in front of them.] A real piano has a mechanism attached to each key that lifts to strike the string to play a note. When you learn to play, your fingers get used to having to press that hard to press the key down and move the mechanisms. That's what they call weight. A lot of pianos have different weights to them, but a keyboard that doesn't doesn't have any weight to the keys feels artificial, and doesn't play well. But the way a keyboard feels is the weight. Touch is... [He casts his eyes to the side to make certain he hasn't lost Laurent yet.]

Touch is the way the keys respond to you? It's not only the difference in how loud or soft you're playing, but how briefly you press and release? Again, for a real piano, pressing the keys is supposed to control a mechanism to hit the strings the way you press the key. But there is no string to strike in a digital keyboard. And if the touch is off, it doesn't matter how good you are -- you're not going to be able to make a digital piano sound the way it should. It's like... The difference between chanting the lyrics of a song and singing them, yeah? The words are all there in the right rhythms, but there's something missing. If. That makes sense.

[He realizes that may have been more than Laurent was asking for, but. He did ask.]

[The corner of Faolan's lips quirk up in response to Laurent's words.]

Something like that. I suppose it is something to do with personal preference. But it's more than that. It's...

[He glances back at the shop keeper, really wishing he didn't have an audience for their conversation. Laurent obviously doesn't seem to mind himself though so after a moment, he pushes himself to stand and crosses to what is obviously the cheapest option set out.]

Here, come here and try this one. Tell me if you can feel any difference between it and the key you just pressed before.

[Faolan glances aside at the keyboard the shop keeper had indicated, before trailing his way over to it. Despite the fact that the man is a salesman, to have a shop like this he has to know a thing or two about his product... Pulling out the bench, he lays his hands on the keys, playing a note a few times before again picking through the opening line of a piece to test the response and sound of the keyboard.

He's right, of course. It's better than any of the others Faolan has picked at so far, both in terms of sound and response. It acts, feels, and sounds the way it should, and Faolan knows from that that it has to be expensive. He glances aside at Laurent, then down at the keys under his hands, trailing his fingers over them idly.]

It is quite nice...

[He leans his head back into Laurent's fingers in his hair, a brief tingle of electric energy running through his nerves at the touch before Laurent is moving to sit sedately at his side again. He forces himself to breathe, glancing aside at the younger man before nodding slightly in response to Laurent's reassurances.]

I'll keep it in mind.

[It's true that he doesn't want to rush the decision. He's going to have to do a lot more testing of the rest of these keyboards to make certain that this is the one though, and with Laurent joining him on the bench as he is, he's finding it increasingly difficult to keep rising and moving about to do so.]

I've narrowed it down a little, at least. I'm going to have to decide between a few models to determine which is the one that I like best... [He turns to offer Laurent a hesitant smile.] I'm sorry if this is all a little boring for you.

[He flicks the younger man a smile before shaking his head.]

That's alright. You don't have to. I suppose I just wanted to warn you it might take some time. Feel free to make yourself comfortable.

[In truth, it might have been more comfortable for Faolan if the shop owner weren't hovering over his every move, but Laurent had arranged all of this for him already. He's not about to set him to yet another task for his own benefit as well.]

[He smiles back at Laurent gratefully. He doesn't know whether the other man understands that it's what he needs -- to keep the shop keeper from just standing there watching him the whole time.

It does end up taking him some time, moving from keyboard to keyboard as he tests them out, playing a little bit here and there, testing both the keyboard and, after a moment's thought, pedal response. Laurent does a good job of keeping the other man preoccupied while he wanders around, for that matter, and again Faolan wonders how on earth he is to thank him for any of it.

At last he finds himself settled back at the keyboard he pointed out to him before. Not that the others did not have their merits, but he can't help but feel as though the overall of this one is the best choice he can make.

Turning in his seat once more he offers Laurent a smile.]

I think... I've settled on this one then. If that's alright? [Not as portable as he had originally thought, but still smaller than a full upright. And he's certainly not complaining himself.]

[Simon. The shopkeeper. Faolan offers him another smile before glancing at Laurent and shaking his head. Truth be told, while he would love to be able to use the keyboard as soon as possible, this is a day to spend with Laurent. And he would like to take advantage of that as much as he can before it is over and they have to return to their regular schedule of Laurent's classes and him following the younger man as his shadow, his bodyguard, rather than... Well, whatever Laurent is offering him today.]

That won't be necessary. We need to make the room for it first, and I do believe that we have plans for the day already. Perhaps later this week...?

[If that would suit Laurent -- after all, he's the one who's technically paying for all of this.]

[Faolan shakes his head in response to Laurent's question, before glancing aside at Simon.]

Not really, no. Just -- to make certain it's the full stand set we're arranging to have delivered. With the bench and pedals and everything.

[Not that he couldn't just use any regular chair, but the bench was designed specifically with that keyboard in mind. He glances to Laurent again, hoping that's alright. He knows the more he asks for the higher the price, and even if it doesn't truly matter to Laurent's budget, it does matter to him. He could never hope to spend so much on another person as a gift himself, not even being paid as well as he is now, not without ample time for planning ahead.]

[Faolan ducks his head slightly in response to the look that Laurent gives him. He realizes that it had sounded a little... But Laurent had offered to get him what he wanted. He'd been offering this whole time, so he knows that Laurent doesn't really mind. ...does he?

He waits awkwardly while Laurent pays for the lot of it, sticking his hands in his pockets and hanging back by the keyboards themselves before Laurent walks back over to join him.]

I'd like that. Though I hope I'm not taking advantage.