Steel has spent the last five days tuning the piano.
Sapphire points out that the piano is a mere appendage to their cover on this assignment, that it makes no real difference whether or not it is tuned as neither of them need to play it, and that in any case it is tuned accurately enough for the human ear; it is only Steel's ear that is offended by the edge of imperfection that he can hear.
Steel looks down his nose at her, and then goes back to making infinitely tiny adjustments to the piano and playing the note again and again.
Sapphire lies there at night, alone in the double bed, listening to his finger on the key. Ting. Ting. Ting.
Days pass. They close the rift. They get a new assignment.
Steel scowls as they leave; the cover on the piano stands open, the note still off-true.
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