TW: None

A/N: There will be a link to Smith singing the song Shady Grove in the comments below. It's amazing, totally worth a listen. 

"You were what?"

Smith looked around the room- at the soundproof paneling on the ceiling, at Trott idly tapping out a melody on the studio's piano, at Ross sitting against the wall, tapping out a rhythm on his thighs- anywhere but at Nano. "I was in a bluegrass band in high school."

"A bluegrass band? You? You've got to be kidding me." Smith hazarded a glance back at her. Nope, still staring at him. Still leaning on the back of her chair, perfectly faced in his direction. Still grinning like the cat that ate the canary. She twisted in her seat to look at Ross and Trott. "Did you guys know about this?"

Ross shrugged. "First I've heard of it."

Trott glanced up from the keyboard briefly, his hands still half heartedly tapping the keys. "Doesn't surprise me. His iTunes history was always suspect."

"Full of unnamed albums," Ross added.

"Dodgy downloads."

"Not to mention all the Sheryl Crow."

"Aw, fuck off," Smith spat. He glanced back at Nano, who was still grinning at him, her head propped on her arms.

"I still can't believe this," she said. "You? A bluegrass band?"

"I was in high school!" Smith said, throwing his hands in the air. "It was a phase!"

"I don't believe you," Nano sniffed, putting on an air of seriousness before breaking out into a grin again. "Prove it."

"Yeah, Smith, prove it," Ross said, not looking up.

"Wh- I don't have to prove anything to you."

"Sounds to me like you're lying," she sang.

"I am not. I hardly even remember any of the songs anyway."

"Don't lie mate," Trott said. "We've all heard you sing in the shower."

"That's- I'm not doing it," Smith said, crossing his arms against his chest. "You can't make me."

"That's fine," Nano hummed, pulling out her phone. "I'll just tweet about it and ask your fans to find me a video. I'm sure there's some shaky cell phone footage of it somewhere."

Smith's heart nearly stopped. He remembered exactly what he looked like during high school. He didn't want to be one of those 'before and after' pictures in a Buzzfeed article. "Alright, alright! Fine. I'll sing you a damn song." He picked an acoustic guitar up off the floor where he'd been messing with it earlier. What to pick. He strummed a few chords, trying to figure out which song he remembered the most of. He hadn't been lying; it'd been a while since he played any songs, even if he was prone to humming some of the melodies in the shower.

"I'm waiting!" Nano sang. He scowled up at her and started to strum.

"Shady Grove, oh my little love, Shady Grove I say! Shady Grove, oh my little love, I'm bound to go away." He remembered learning this song for the first time, playing it for a girl he used to know, the way she looked at him when he grinned at her, strumming the chords in between verses. "Cheeks as red as a blooming rose, and eyes the prettiest-" He glanced up at Nano's face and saw her watching him intently and smiling, the way it lit up her eyes- her brown eyes. Fuck. "Of the- the prettiest brown-"

"Oh, he flubbed it!" She cried, her grin getting wider.

"Flubbed it!" Ross screamed. "Flubbed the lyrics!"

"Fuck off," Smith stuttered. He took a deep breath and started the line again. "Cheeks as red as a blooming rose, and eyes the prettiest brown. Oh she's the darling of my heart, sweetest girl in town." He stared at the floor next to Nano's feet as he sang the chorus, not wanting to fuck up the lyrics again. She had the smallest feet. Tiny everything really; even Trott was taller than her, and Smith had never seen him with a girl shorter than him. "Went to see my Shady Grove, she was standing in the door, shoes and stockings in her hand, her bare feet on the floor." Smith wondered if Nano's toes were tiny. Probably. He could imagine them, pale like her hands, with the little spots of darker skin next to the nails. "Shady Grove, oh my little love, Shady Grove I say! Shady Grove oh my little love, I'm bound to go away."

"When I was a little boy, I wanted a Barlow knife. Now all I want is Shady Grove to say she'll be my wife." He started the chorus again and glanced up at Nano. She'd laid her head in her arms, the long side of her hair falling in front of them. She was watching with heavy lidded eyes, a slight smile curled on her lips. "A kiss from pretty little Shady Grove is sweet as brandy wine. And there ain't no girl in this ol' world that's prettier than mine." Smith started on the last chorus, still looking at Nano. She was watching his hands, he realized, feeling his face go flush. He'd thought she was just watching him play, but her eyes were following his hands.

Smith strummed the last chord, his face burning. He propped the guitar on the chair between his legs, both hands gripped around the neck. Nano hummed.

"That was good," she said, picking her head up off her arms. Smith watched her hair fall back over her shoulders.

"Nah," he said, fingers tracing one of the struts. "I think I forgot one of the verses in there somewhere. Something about corn, or horses or something."

"Fucking bluegrass," Trott muttered. Smith glanced over and realized that he and Ross had been watching him, too. Ross was grinning at him, his drumsticks still in one hand. Smith coughed.

"Right. So Trott, what's that melody you've been beating out all morning? It's driving me mental waiting to listen to it."

Trott rolled his eyes and turned back to the keyboard. Ross went back to drumming his thighs. Nano turned in her seat to look at Trott. She caught Smith's eye and grinned. Smith carefully pretended his stomach didn't swoop at the sight of it.

He was so fucked.

Credit to professorsparkletrash on tumblr