loudly | one of them will be me, watching you run

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one of them will be me, watching you run

( to her slight- okay, great- surprise, when hungary peers into the music room, austria isn't there. it's not that she was looking for him, just wandering around the house, but considering that she was mostly convinced he slept in there too…

she crossed the room slowly, feeling like she was trespassing. which was dumb. after all, they were… sort of… unified now, so shouldn't it technically be her conservatory too? her piano too?

yeah, didn't feel like it at all. not even slightly.

hungary cautiously pressed down on one of the piano keys, then another, then a third, dah-deh-do, not really playing anything since she didn't really know how. )

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( austria/piano? wow this marriage is clearly off on the right foot.

hungary isn't all that astute when it comes to reading people, especially the likes of austria. so she takes his comment as a fact, not politeness, and relaxes a little bit. equals, hungary! she lets her hand drop to her side again, and reaches out and sort of touches the piano, almost like she's testing his reaction. )

I don't really know how to play, actually.

You don't?

[Piano/Austria, to be accurate.

A part of him is still a small bit wary about other people touching the piano, but since he's here and he can see Hungary is gently stroking it and not being rough with it, he's okay with it. What he isn't okay with is her not knowing how to play the piano. Everyone should know how to. It should be a law, okay. So forgive him as he runs that through his mind again, because wow, surprising.]

...Well, I suppose it's high time you learned to play. [oh right, they're married now. He can't really tell her to take piano lessons.]

If you'd like to, that is. In all honesty, it's not that difficult to learn the basics. [But can that be trusted? We may never know.]

You… think so? ( wait- is this an offer? from austria? she blushes, notices she's blushing, and hates herself for having become that girly over the years. it was so much easier being unified with poland. she didn't like poland. not like that.

she draws away from the piano, taking a few steps, flipping her hair back, trying to be boisterous. channel prussia. there's something she won't admit to. ) Eh, I bet I'd be no good. When it comes to dancing I'm okay, but playing music's way beyond me!

[see, that won't work on him, because he's convinced that anyone and everyone can learn to play the piano. They might not all be Mozarts or Chopins, but they can at least learn. And really, learning the piano just makes everyone a better person, okay.]

Nonsense. If you can learn to dance, you can learn to play music. It's not that difficult at all. If you'd prefer a different instrument, I suppose I could help with that, but... [the piano is better, the piano is prettier, the piano is his bff, the piano is the piano /shoujo sparkles]

Well, the piano is simply more versatile and has more music than other instruments. Except for the violin, I suppose.

( part of her kind of wants to argue, or protest, or something, but she doesn't really know how. it's not like she doesn't like the idea of being able to play… one of the things she likes best is to listen to austria, or italy, perform. )

If… you don't mind teaching me, then.

Not at all. [Because really, he doesn't. If they're in a union now, shouldn't he be making an effort to share things? The thing he'd really care most about sharing is music (not his musicians, those are his and only his). He's sure Hungary would be an eager and quick learning student. ...Or at least he's hoping anyway.

He sits down at the piano bench, motioning for Hungary to sit next to him. It works better this way.]

Please, have a seat, and we can begin.

Okay. ( and she smiles! she tells herself to get over this blushing business. honestly. it's a political union and probably won't even last. it's stupid to get so… excited. she sits down next to him on the bench, wonders if she's too close or too far, and then, biting her lip, scoots an inch or two away. )

Go easy on me, alright?

[He passes her scooting around on the bench as her just trying to get comfortable and in what she thinks is a good enough place to begin. He might have to correct that later, but that would involve him standing up to supervise her. It's easier to teach the very basics at the bench, at least for now.]

I'm sure you already know that each of these keys plays a different note, and that the smaller keys up top represent the sharp and flat variations on those same seven notes, so I'm sure I don't need to start at the very basics. [because that's common sense and everyone should know that]

Starting with how to properly hold your hands while playing should suffice, I'd say. You can't simply lay your hands on the keys and expect it to sound nice while played. You have to position them like so in order to be able to reach certain notes and create certain chords to play properly. [resting his hands on the keys in the PROPER way okay. It's just natural for him at this point. Now it's your turn, Hungary]

( she has a feeling like 'does it seriously matter which way i put my hands,' but she goes with it, spreading her left hand over the keys in a much more casual way than he had. hey, every finger is touching a key. that counts. )

And then you just press the right ones to make a tune? ( it's intended as a light statement, almost a joke. after she says it, she realizes it's the sort of thing he might take seriously… )

Well, it's hardly as simple as that. [because really, there was much more to playing a piano than just pressing keys and hoping for the best. There were proper phrasing, key signatures, time signatures, accidentals, and all that good stuff to take into account.]

But, yes, naturally you would press the correct keys specified on the sheet music to play a tune.

I can't read sheet music. ( she's relaxing finally, and smiles as she admits it. )

[Her relaxing is good, but her not being able to read sheet music? That could be an issue.]

Ah... Yes, well, perhaps we should start there, then. It would be much easier in the long run, especially if you ever desire to learn another instrument.

Can't I just memorize a song? ( she looks sideways over at austria. she's positive she's seen him play without sheet music. and okay, he's mr musical genius country, but surely it's not impossible. )

[but doesn't everyone want to read music???]

Well, I... yes, I suppose that could work for now. I can find something simple enough to teach you to play. I can teach you to read music at a later date, then.

For now, though, place your hands... like this. [hope you don't mind, Hungary, he's forcibly (but gently!) moving your hands to where they should be for whatever song he's going to teach you.]

( well she doesn't mind per say, but she definitely tenses up an turns red. look at how well you've influenced her that her first thought is you can't just touch a lady!

wait unified. still with ridiculous embarrassment: ) W- wait just a second!

[see, in other situations, he would ask before doing that, but when it comes to pianoing, he sees nothing wrong with it. He's making sure she's doing things correctly! Besides, saying "place your finger on the key for middle C" or something won't exactly work if she doesn't know what key that is.]

Is there a problem?

N- no! ( argh hungary stop being a dumbass, she thinks angrily. she tries to make a joke of it- ) It's just pretty forward of you to grab me like that, don't you think?

[now it's his turn to be embarrassed, because as mentioned before: piano trumps other things. Truthfully, he didn't realize or think that Hungary would say something like that (not that... he would have without the added element of the piano, but he would have asked if it weren't involved).]

Ah, well--I... was simply demonstrating where your hands need to be in order to perform this next piece.

( the part of her that used to beat him up feels better, seeing him embarrassed too. this may make her a jerk but whatever. ) It's okay. I don't mind.

[Wow, jerkgary. But continuing the lesson now!]

...Very well. To continue, I suppose I can teach you a simplified version of the melody to Beethoven's Für Elise. If that's acceptable, of course. You do know of it, yes?

I've heard it. ( with a smile because she's not that musically illiterate! and she sort of debates asking for something by liszt just to see if he'd do it but… national pride later! ) It doesn't seem too difficult!

[if she asked, he would find something and try and teach her. Liszt was a pretty cool guy, Austria didn't mind him.]

No, its melody is relatively simple enough on its own. However, to begin with, we should play it at a slower tempo than intended, so you can grow accustomed to playing the proper notes for the correct amount of time.

Then please lead the way, Austria úr. ( not trying to be especially polite in calling him sir; in fact, she sounds pretty playful. )

[well, after having Hungary around for how many years actually calling him 'sir' to be polite (and probably out of obligation, as well), even Austria can tell the difference in her tone. He also rather likes it, since well, happy, playful Hungary sounds more like herself than Hungary pretending to be polite.]

Very well. I'll play it slowly, and then you can try after I've finished. Be sure to pay attention to the keys I'm pressing. [and yep, Beethoven goes here]

( she listens and enjoys listening- even if she can't play anything herself, she is still a mild music lover, after all. but while she knows the tune- at least the first, easy bit- it's totally different to remember what keys austria is hitting and when and where and all the rest. so when the song finishes…

she just looks blank. ) That was great!

[he sees that look, Hungary... He'll have to show her which keys to press in which order for how long again, won't he.]

Now, it's your turn. Do you remember which keys to use?

( with a serious expression: ) Dah na na na na na naaah. ( aka the first line. and no she doesn't remember the keys just the tune. )

[oh hungary never change]

...Yes, that's... not quite what I meant. Having the tune down is important, but knowing which notes to play is equally vital.

I was distracted listening.

[he can forgive that, it's understandable.]

Either way, it's your turn to play now. Place your hands where mine are, and I will guide you.

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one of them will be me, watching you run

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