Guitar (Newt x Reader)

The Park

(Y/n) walked quietly through the small park where she'd first encountered Newt, listening. She heard it a moment later, the gentle strum of his guitar. She walked towards it, coming through the trees and spotting him. He was sitting on a dark bench, his backpack seated next to him while his guitar was in his lap. He was focused on the strings so she cleared her throat to alert him of her presence. He looked up, his hand coming to rest on the strings over the sound hole. 

"Hey," he said, lifting the hand on the neck of the guitar. He reached over and grabbed his backpack, pulling it off the bench and setting it on the ground next to him, patting the now empty spot on the bench. A smile crossed his face. "Fancy meeting you here." 

She ducked her head as she walked over and carefully sat down on the bench next to him, folding her hands in her lap and fixing her gaze on them. Newt shifted his guitar to the side slightly and reached down to his backpack, unzipping it and pulling out a folder. 

"Since I'm apparently terrible at impromptu guitar lessons," he said, holding out the folder in her line of sight. (Y/n) hesitantly reached over and grabbed it, cracking it open. "I compiled a few things to get you started on the basics." He scooted closer to her, pulling the guitar off his lap and setting it to the side for the moment. He nudged the folder open wider and tapped his finger on the top paper of the right pocket. To make explaining for him easier, she pulled it out and closed the folder, setting the paper neatly on top of it. 

"These are the basic chords," Newt said, pointing at the letters on the paper. Pictured in dark ink was a small part of what appeared to be the fretboard with small lines that represented the strings and dots where her fingers were supposed to go. "So why don't you give a couple a go?" He retrieved the guitar and held it out to her much like he had back in her apartment. 

Taking the guitar from him, (Y/n) situated it on her lap, trying to peer over the body at the paper. Newt chuckled lightly and slipped it out, holding it up. She gave a small, awkward smile, casting it in his direction briefly before looking back at the chords. She looked over at the fretboard and fumbled with her fingers for a moment to place them on the right strings. After she was confident they were placed correctly, she gave the strings an experimental strum, rewarded with the satisfying sound of a pleasant C chord. She smiled fully and let out a quiet, triumphant laugh, one that in hindsight seemed slightly unprecedented for the occasion. 

Newt appreciated it nonetheless. 

"Good," he said, grinning. She bit her lip shyly, focusing instead on finding the places for her fingers for an F chord. She found them slightly faster than the first, strumming twice. "That's great, love." 

And she'd been doing so good. 

Her face flushed red at the nickname and she furrowed her brow slightly, her fingers fumbling over the strings for the next chord and strumming.

After she'd gotten the hang of the basic chords, Newt suggested trying a combination. He'd accompany. 

This new idea involved another paper from the folder, a simple combination of chords to create an equally simple tune. The lyrics to the song were printed in small black letters above the chords. "Let me try to get it a little smoother," she said softly, placing her fingers on the strings for the first chord. 

"Of course." She wet her lips slightly and began strumming on the strings, the beautiful sound of the guitar ringing throughout the small park. It was choppy and clearly the work of an amateur, but she was inwardly rather proud of her progress. 

"That sounds lovely," Newt said. She let out a daring, dry snort.

"It needs work," she said, though she kept her gaze on the strings.

"It's your first real lesson, (Y/n). No one starts out perfect." He placed his hand on her shoulder, leaning down in such a way that she was forced to meet his gaze, though his brown eyes were only warm and encouraging. "Even I had to start somewhere." He sat up, pulling her eyes with him. "Give it one more go and then I'll sing with you." 

She stumbled over the chords on her next attempt, easily getting frustrated with herself. She'd been doing fine a few minutes ago. Newt reached over and placed his hand over hers, caressing her fingers gently. "It's okay," he said gently. She sighed and dropped the hand on the neck of the guitar. Then she looked at his hand, which had come to rest over hers. She grabbed the guitar and pushed it over to him. 

"Will you play a song for me?" He smiled lightly and took the guitar. She tried to return the expression as best she could, which seemed to be enough for him. As he strummed a few chords to warm himself up, she gathered the papers and tucked them back into the folder, holding it between her hands as he started to play. 

This time, she allowed herself to watch his hands move over the strings, his left hand moving expertly up and down the fretboard. He then started humming softly as he played, his voice complementing well with the ring of the guitar. (Y/n) rested her head on her hand, her lips curving upwards. 

Halfway through the song, Newt's did too.

"That was beautiful," she said reverently as he plucked the final tune. He looked up at her, a full smile gracing his face. 

"You really think so?" he asked, his tone hinting towards teasing. She bit her lip again, though she smiled and looked down this time. "It takes practice, love. And I'll help you get there." He reached over and tapped the folder. "Hold onto this, alright? We'll just pick up where we left off next time. I'm sure you have work to do." 

"Yeah, of course," she said. She looked over at him once more. "Thank you so much for taking the time to try and teach me. I can be hopeless sometimes." They shared a brief laugh before Newt reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder. 

"A good student doesn't come around very often," he said. He followed her movements with his head as she stood up, absently plucking a string. "I'll see you around, then?" 

"Yes, of course." She offered him a small, final smile before hugging the folder to her chest and turning around and walking back towards the path back to her apartment, the sound of Newt picking up another song on the guitar the last thing she heard before she left the park for the day.