do i hear another crack pairing? norway/austria
CP05: Norway/Austria
Summary: "It's simple. You play this song on the violin, I'll accompany you on the piano. A duet."
--
Nikolas groaned in frustration once again and slammed tired fingers on the World Conference's grand piano. Why did Erik's favorite song have to be on the goddamn piano, for gods' sake, and why did his birthday have to be coming up so quickly? Why had he bothered to come an hour early to the world meeting just to get to that grand piano?
And why was he such a good brother that he was trying to learn that stupid song just to play it at that party?
His ring finger missed a black key, and he swore out loud, thankful the room was empty, and tried again.
Then he botched a chord, and he was on the verge of giving up and just buying Erik a birthday card or some puffin stuffed animal when he heard voices coming down the hallway.
"Like I said, Roderich, I don't see why you refuse to go to Vash's party…"
"Elizaveta, I wasn't invited. Going without an invitation is undignified."
Nikolas heard a sigh. "It's always dignity with you, isn't it?" They stepped out of the hallway and into the main conference room when Elizaveta spotted Nikolas at the piano. "Nikolas! Hey!"
Nikolas raised an eyebrow at her and felt like smashing his head on the piano keys when Roderich spoke up. "Ah, Norway. Good day. So it was you who was…playing earlier."
"Yes, so what of it?" Nikolas deadpanned, adjusting his hat, although he was pretty sure he knew where this was going.
"Do you perhaps need assistance?" Roderich asked, primly straightening his cravat. Elizaveta let out a barely muffled squeal and melted into the background, her hand on her camera.
Nikolas didn't answer and instead muttered something under his breath. Roderich frowned. "I suppose I'll take that as a yes, then." He motioned for Nikolas to move over and seated himself on the piano seat. "I didn't know you…played," Roderich said, flexing his fingers.
"No." Nikolas hated admitting it. "It's just that Erik's birthday is coming up, and…"
"Ah." A ghost of a smile hovered on Roderich's lips, as if he knew something Nikolas didn't. "So what song does Erik…"
"You Raise Me Up." Nikolas cut in, frowning. "It isn't even Icelandic," he added in frustration, remembering Erik's reaction the first time he'd heard the song. Taking Arthur up on his offer watch that Westlife concert was a very bad idea indeed.
"It's a lovely song, though," Elizaveta put forward, smiling meaningfully.
"True." Roderich smiled as well. "I know how to play it, as well." He took the music sheets from the piano and studied them for a minute, then put them down and closed his eyes.
Nikolas bit his tongue to stop from groaning. Of course Roderich knew how to play it. The man knew how to play half the songs in the world. He was probably best buds with Beethoven and Mozart while they were still alive. But still, for the sake of politeness, he said, "Could you?"
Roderich nodded silently, and Nikolas got up and watched as Roderich's fingers struck the piano keys, gently at first, and then getting more passionate and more beautiful as the song went by. The resulting music was lovely, and the notes soared up to the ceiling, reverberating, echoing, in the grand walls of the World Conference building. Nikolas stood back, impressed, and even Elizaveta looked surprised.
"Dear, that was lovely," Elizaveta breathed when Roderich had finished. Roderich smiled at her in thanks.
Nikolas, on the other hand, was shocked. "I-I can't possibly learn that in two days!" he cried, indignant.
"You don't have to." Roderich gave him another half-smile. "I hear you play the violin, do you not?"
Nikolas nodded slightly, and Elizaveta cut him off. "I've heard him play!" she cried. "He's fantastic at it!" Nikolas stared at her. He never played in public: only at home. But then again, this was Elizaveta. Nikolas made a mental note to himself to not do anything that would prompt her to use blackmail.
"Then play it," Roderich replied matter-of-factly. "It's simple. You play this song on the violin; I accompany you on the piano. A duet."
Nikolas swore under his breath. Why hadn't he thought of that before? "All right."
"Give me a piece of paper, then," Roderich said. Elizaveta dutifully gave him a notebook (that had YAOI printed in front…Nikolas didn't want to know.) and he flipped to the back page, closed his eyes, and started writing. After a few of minutes he handed it to Nikolas. "Here you are. The violin notes. Shall we practice now?"
Nikolas looked at the paper, then at Roderich, then back again, amazed. Some people really were geniuses. But he shrugged and took a violin from the ones lining the shelves. The violin, though not his, felt at home in his hands, and the bow was like the one he kept at home.
"Careful with that, now," Roderich warned, flexing his fingers again. "That's a Stradivarius you're holding there."
"I know." Nikolas glared at him, only to find that he was smiling. He rested his head on the neck support and took a deep breath.
"Are you ready?"
Nikolas nodded, took a deep breath, and played.
Elizaveta was squealing with happiness. "That was even more beautiful than the first time!" she cried out. "You guys are fantastic!"
"Thank you," Roderich said again, and turned when he heard applause coming from the doorway.
"That was awesome!" South Korea came into the room, followed by his siblings. "Austria, you have to teach me how to play!"
Taiwan turned to Nikolas. "Your violin was lovely, too! It sounded so…ethereal!"
"Truly something worth listening to," Kiku commented approvingly.
"So that was Norway and Austria playing?" Belgium popped up from behind Vietnam, Romano, Spain, and her brother in tow. "It sounded gorgeous!"
"It did, didn't it?" Alfred called from the second floor.
"Of course, that's an Irish song, you prat! It's almost as bad as that your dumb Titanic movie!"
"Eh, but Arthur, you cried during Titanic..."
Soon the entire room was filled with buzzing nations, talking about the performance. Nikolas seemed lost in the middle of all of it with a confused look on his face.
"Wait!" Elizaveta squealed the squeal that made men hush up in fear. She turned to Taiwan. "Can you sing?"
Her friend shrugged, and Yao cut in for her. "She's being modest, aru. Wan-chan is a mean soprano."
"Well, then, so is Bella," she countered. "And Lien is a wonderful alto."
"Su-san has a lovely bass voice also," Tino piped up, and Berwald flushed. "So does Heracles-san. Alfred-san is pretty good with tenor."
"Wait." Arthur pushed himself to the middle of the crowd and frowned at Elizaveta, who smiled back at him. "You're going to make us sing?"
"Why not?" Elizaveta chided. "It's a charming song with just piano and violin, Arthur. It'll sound even more wonderful with people singing it. And you're the one who's always going on about bonding time." She turned to Roderich and Nikolas. "They will accompany us, of course. Also, I hear you're a great tenor." She stuck out her tongue at him, and Arthur seethed and muttered something about some people never growing up.
"It sounds fun, I guess," Toris noted. Feliks, on the other hand, was nodding excitedly.
"I think it's a great idea!" Matthias said, and grinned at Arthur. "And the best part is that Erik isn't even here yet."
"Fine! Why do you all gang up on me?" Arthur swore under his breath and disappeared into the crowd.
"Are you guys ready?" Elizaveta asked excitedly, ignoring him, and was met with a crowd of nodding heads. She took a deep breath. "Listen, the girls sing the first part, all right, and after that, Berwald, you're going to…" As she gave out directions, Roderich seated himself on the grand piano again, and prepared to play the song for the third time that day. Next to him, Nikolas started flexing his fingers and rested his head on the violin.
"Okay, one, two, three…"
Nikolas didn't know what was better: the exhilarating feeling of his fingers running up and down the violin strings and the fact that several beautiful voices were singing with the violin, or the sight of seeing a teary-eyed Erik in the doorway, his hand on his chest and an incredibly touched expression on his face. Nikolas smiled at him, and then glanced at Roderich, who winked.
They were still people, after all.
You raise me up
To more than I can be.
Blame Josh Groban for this. Completely. I listened to him for the first time in a couple of months last Sunday and this is the brainchild of that and Paper Bag-sama's crack pairings. The bad thing is that this isn't even decent. It's more of a Norway/Iceland brotherly thing than anything shipping-related. /bangs head on wall
(Also, does Norge even play the violin in canon? It's just that I've seen far too many fanworks of him doing so, so this.)
On a side note, the Hetalia cast would make a great singing group. Just saying. :D
Summary: "It's simple. You play this song on the violin, I'll accompany you on the piano. A duet."
--
Nikolas groaned in frustration once again and slammed tired fingers on the World Conference's grand piano. Why did Erik's favorite song have to be on the goddamn piano, for gods' sake, and why did his birthday have to be coming up so quickly? Why had he bothered to come an hour early to the world meeting just to get to that grand piano?
And why was he such a good brother that he was trying to learn that stupid song just to play it at that party?
His ring finger missed a black key, and he swore out loud, thankful the room was empty, and tried again.
Then he botched a chord, and he was on the verge of giving up and just buying Erik a birthday card or some puffin stuffed animal when he heard voices coming down the hallway.
"Like I said, Roderich, I don't see why you refuse to go to Vash's party…"
"Elizaveta, I wasn't invited. Going without an invitation is undignified."
Nikolas heard a sigh. "It's always dignity with you, isn't it?" They stepped out of the hallway and into the main conference room when Elizaveta spotted Nikolas at the piano. "Nikolas! Hey!"
Nikolas raised an eyebrow at her and felt like smashing his head on the piano keys when Roderich spoke up. "Ah, Norway. Good day. So it was you who was…playing earlier."
"Yes, so what of it?" Nikolas deadpanned, adjusting his hat, although he was pretty sure he knew where this was going.
"Do you perhaps need assistance?" Roderich asked, primly straightening his cravat. Elizaveta let out a barely muffled squeal and melted into the background, her hand on her camera.
Nikolas didn't answer and instead muttered something under his breath. Roderich frowned. "I suppose I'll take that as a yes, then." He motioned for Nikolas to move over and seated himself on the piano seat. "I didn't know you…played," Roderich said, flexing his fingers.
"No." Nikolas hated admitting it. "It's just that Erik's birthday is coming up, and…"
"Ah." A ghost of a smile hovered on Roderich's lips, as if he knew something Nikolas didn't. "So what song does Erik…"
"You Raise Me Up." Nikolas cut in, frowning. "It isn't even Icelandic," he added in frustration, remembering Erik's reaction the first time he'd heard the song. Taking Arthur up on his offer watch that Westlife concert was a very bad idea indeed.
"It's a lovely song, though," Elizaveta put forward, smiling meaningfully.
"True." Roderich smiled as well. "I know how to play it, as well." He took the music sheets from the piano and studied them for a minute, then put them down and closed his eyes.
Nikolas bit his tongue to stop from groaning. Of course Roderich knew how to play it. The man knew how to play half the songs in the world. He was probably best buds with Beethoven and Mozart while they were still alive. But still, for the sake of politeness, he said, "Could you?"
Roderich nodded silently, and Nikolas got up and watched as Roderich's fingers struck the piano keys, gently at first, and then getting more passionate and more beautiful as the song went by. The resulting music was lovely, and the notes soared up to the ceiling, reverberating, echoing, in the grand walls of the World Conference building. Nikolas stood back, impressed, and even Elizaveta looked surprised.
"Dear, that was lovely," Elizaveta breathed when Roderich had finished. Roderich smiled at her in thanks.
Nikolas, on the other hand, was shocked. "I-I can't possibly learn that in two days!" he cried, indignant.
"You don't have to." Roderich gave him another half-smile. "I hear you play the violin, do you not?"
Nikolas nodded slightly, and Elizaveta cut him off. "I've heard him play!" she cried. "He's fantastic at it!" Nikolas stared at her. He never played in public: only at home. But then again, this was Elizaveta. Nikolas made a mental note to himself to not do anything that would prompt her to use blackmail.
"Then play it," Roderich replied matter-of-factly. "It's simple. You play this song on the violin; I accompany you on the piano. A duet."
Nikolas swore under his breath. Why hadn't he thought of that before? "All right."
"Give me a piece of paper, then," Roderich said. Elizaveta dutifully gave him a notebook (that had YAOI printed in front…Nikolas didn't want to know.) and he flipped to the back page, closed his eyes, and started writing. After a few of minutes he handed it to Nikolas. "Here you are. The violin notes. Shall we practice now?"
Nikolas looked at the paper, then at Roderich, then back again, amazed. Some people really were geniuses. But he shrugged and took a violin from the ones lining the shelves. The violin, though not his, felt at home in his hands, and the bow was like the one he kept at home.
"Careful with that, now," Roderich warned, flexing his fingers again. "That's a Stradivarius you're holding there."
"I know." Nikolas glared at him, only to find that he was smiling. He rested his head on the neck support and took a deep breath.
"Are you ready?"
Nikolas nodded, took a deep breath, and played.
Elizaveta was squealing with happiness. "That was even more beautiful than the first time!" she cried out. "You guys are fantastic!"
"Thank you," Roderich said again, and turned when he heard applause coming from the doorway.
"That was awesome!" South Korea came into the room, followed by his siblings. "Austria, you have to teach me how to play!"
Taiwan turned to Nikolas. "Your violin was lovely, too! It sounded so…ethereal!"
"Truly something worth listening to," Kiku commented approvingly.
"So that was Norway and Austria playing?" Belgium popped up from behind Vietnam, Romano, Spain, and her brother in tow. "It sounded gorgeous!"
"It did, didn't it?" Alfred called from the second floor.
"Of course, that's an Irish song, you prat! It's almost as bad as that your dumb Titanic movie!"
"Eh, but Arthur, you cried during Titanic..."
Soon the entire room was filled with buzzing nations, talking about the performance. Nikolas seemed lost in the middle of all of it with a confused look on his face.
"Wait!" Elizaveta squealed the squeal that made men hush up in fear. She turned to Taiwan. "Can you sing?"
Her friend shrugged, and Yao cut in for her. "She's being modest, aru. Wan-chan is a mean soprano."
"Well, then, so is Bella," she countered. "And Lien is a wonderful alto."
"Su-san has a lovely bass voice also," Tino piped up, and Berwald flushed. "So does Heracles-san. Alfred-san is pretty good with tenor."
"Wait." Arthur pushed himself to the middle of the crowd and frowned at Elizaveta, who smiled back at him. "You're going to make us sing?"
"Why not?" Elizaveta chided. "It's a charming song with just piano and violin, Arthur. It'll sound even more wonderful with people singing it. And you're the one who's always going on about bonding time." She turned to Roderich and Nikolas. "They will accompany us, of course. Also, I hear you're a great tenor." She stuck out her tongue at him, and Arthur seethed and muttered something about some people never growing up.
"It sounds fun, I guess," Toris noted. Feliks, on the other hand, was nodding excitedly.
"I think it's a great idea!" Matthias said, and grinned at Arthur. "And the best part is that Erik isn't even here yet."
"Fine! Why do you all gang up on me?" Arthur swore under his breath and disappeared into the crowd.
"Are you guys ready?" Elizaveta asked excitedly, ignoring him, and was met with a crowd of nodding heads. She took a deep breath. "Listen, the girls sing the first part, all right, and after that, Berwald, you're going to…" As she gave out directions, Roderich seated himself on the grand piano again, and prepared to play the song for the third time that day. Next to him, Nikolas started flexing his fingers and rested his head on the violin.
"Okay, one, two, three…"
Nikolas didn't know what was better: the exhilarating feeling of his fingers running up and down the violin strings and the fact that several beautiful voices were singing with the violin, or the sight of seeing a teary-eyed Erik in the doorway, his hand on his chest and an incredibly touched expression on his face. Nikolas smiled at him, and then glanced at Roderich, who winked.
They were still people, after all.
You raise me up
To more than I can be.
Blame Josh Groban for this. Completely. I listened to him for the first time in a couple of months last Sunday and this is the brainchild of that and Paper Bag-sama's crack pairings. The bad thing is that this isn't even decent. It's more of a Norway/Iceland brotherly thing than anything shipping-related. /bangs head on wall
(Also, does Norge even play the violin in canon? It's just that I've seen far too many fanworks of him doing so, so this.)
On a side note, the Hetalia cast would make a great singing group. Just saying. :D