Norway X Violinist!Reader Open Windows Chapter 3

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~Flashback: A few days ago~

A group of hands lead you into a house, while you are blindfolded. A warm scent meets your nose, probably something baking. Whatever it is, it smells delicious, and your stomach growls. You wish that you could stop to eat, but the hands keep leading you down a long hallway. The sound of a door opening is not too far from you and a faint breeze goes across your face. You notice a slight temperature drop, along with the scent of fresh wood.

A gentle touch on your shoulder stops you and the blindfold is taken off. You're standing in what seems to be a workshop full of hammers and the like, with pieces of furniture lined up in the back. The curls of wood shavings pile up in random corners, releasing the scent of wood you smelled earlier. The table pushed against the wall is probably what your friends want you to see, but more so on what's on it. 

Walking over to the table, your eyes widen and you gape in surprise. You are spellbound at how beautifully crafted the violin is, the glossy wood softly shining, the strings a stark contrast in white. You pick up and run your hands over the body of the violin, marveling at the smooth, almost flawless transition from spruce to maple on the front and back, and the matte ebony of the fingerboard, pegs, tailpiece, and endpin. Your finger traces the intricate carving of the scroll and move to the bow, which is also a beauty. The horsehair shines, held in a straight position by the carefully crafted bow. Mathias and Tino chuckle at your ogling and wonder, while Lukas and Emil are talking in the back of Berwald's workshop, looking over at you occasionally.

Gently putting down the violin back on the table, you stride over to Berwald to give him a huge smile and a hug. He looks down at you with his usual expression, but his eyes soften and he hugs you back in response.

"You did such a amazing job, Berwald! It's so beautiful!" You exclaim.

"'t w's n'th'ng, r'l'y. B't, t'n'k y', ______."

"You should try playing it, _____! I want to hear you play again!" Tino suggests, picking up the violin.

"I'm not really sure if I should, since it's Lukas's, not mine..." You say, looking over at Lukas for his input. He nods, giving you permission to play it.

You take the violin and place it on your shoulder, the side of your face and chin gently cupping it on the chin rest. You bring up the bow and play a quick song, the notes perfectly tuned and clear. Bringing it over to Lukas, you present it to him.

He seems to be at a loss of what to do, so you demonstrate your motions, and he seems to get a sense of it. He places the violin perfectly in place but fumbles with the bow, unsure of what to do with it. You place your hand over his and gently curve it into a 'c' shape, index finger on the grip, middle and ring finger curving more until they almost touch the horsehair, and pinky in what you called a 'precarious' position; it supports the bow at the end by the nail, or at the fingertip. The thumb makes up the bottom curve of the 'c', touching the fingertip of the middle finger, but not quite.

Removing your hand, you see that he has it in the position you put it in, and you motion him to try playing the strings, and he does so, but a little clumsily, the bow sliding across the strings and emitting a noise between a squeak and screech. A giggle rises up because it reminds you of the first time you tried playing, but you it dies as you notice that Lukas is turning uncharacteristically red.

With restrained anger, he puts the instrument and its partner back on the table and stalks out of the room. The quiet thumps of his footsteps are heard overhead and a door is clicked shut. The workshop is completely silent, except for the sound of breathing and the quiet ticks of a clock on the wall.

Mathias turns to Emil and elbows him slightly in the side. "Maybe you should-" He suggests.

"No way! He's going to kill me if I go up there, unless I call him by what he wants to hear, and I'm not going to do that!" Emil protests before Mathias can finish his sentence. "When he gets angry, he gets really angry." His face pales a bit, and the other Nordics' faces do also.

"Maybe Berwald can go talk to him, what about that idea?" You say, and shoot Berwald a glance. He coughs a bit and suddenly becomes occupied in moving the furniture around the room and dusting them off.

"It can't be that bad, right?" You say with false cheerfulness. "I mean, Lukas isn't that kind of guy from what I know."

"Why don't you go find out for yourself, _____?" Tino says with a grimace. "You'll see what we mean when you do."

"Where is hi-"

"Second door on the left, _____! Uh, good luck?!" Mathias shouts and pushes you out of the workshop, then closes the door.

Following the scent of whatever's baking, you come into the kitchen, where you remember that you passed by here not too long ago. Quickly looking around to check that no one's there, you peek into the oven to find trays of baked goods. You resist the urge to snag one for yourself, and climb the stairs to the second door on the left.

"Hey, Lukas, can we talk?" You say, the words echoing around the hallway and bouncing back as if to mock you.

The door inches open and a deep blue eye peers out at you. He opens the door fully and invites you in. He sits down on the floor, back against the wall, and stares up at the ceiling. You're unsure of whether you should sit on his furniture, so you decide to sit a few feet away from him, mimicking his pose. From what it looks like, you don't think he's angry at all, just a little bit embarrassed.

An intricate mobile with twisting patterns and dark blue stones set in it spins in the air on the ceiling. It sparkles in little flashes of light and what seem to be fairies hang down from the strings. You sneak glances around his room, taking in your surroundings. The wallpaper seems hauntingly mystical, with a foggy wood at night with the moon shining. Spots of glowing orbs are seen, with a few fairies spotted here and there. The whole thing seems to be a painting around the four walls of the room.

The room isn't that dark, but it seems to be accented by the wallpaper and by the fact that the window is covered by a light curtain. It rides the breeze coming through from the open window, and brings scents of flowers. Lukas is still absorbed in looking up at the ceiling, but moves his gaze to the swaying mobile.

"I'm such a failure, _____." He says, breaking the silence.

"Huh?"

"I failed at my first try at violin." He says again, but describes it a little bit more.

"Lukas, everyone fails at their first time in everything. It's okay."

"But-"

"Failing is a part of life, and everyone does that and also make mistakes. How do you think we get better? By practicing and failing. We learn from our mistakes." You recite and look over at him.

"I understand now, ______. Thank you." He says in response, offering you a halfhearted smile.

"Are you ready, then?" You stand up and offer him your hand.

"Ready." He says, grasping it.

~Flashback End~

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"Okay, everything seems to be in order, so, your first lesson starts now!"