Say You'll Share With Me | Phantom Oneshots

POTOber Day 7 - Close Your Eyes

day 7 prompts: helplessness/blindness/music of the night 

~ 

He had never really figured out what Nadir's son had taken such a shine to him. From the moment he arrived at the Daroga's home, Reza had been eager to meet him and get to know him better. Nadir had seemed just as confused and was almost uneasy about having Erik around his son for the first little while. Not that Erik could blame him; he was a tall, masked teenager with a temper who had just come into his home on the orders of his king, he didn't exactly blame the man for not being completely trusting of him around his son. Reza seemed rather set on completely defying his father's wishes, though, which rather amused Erik given that pestering Nadir was quickly becoming a favourite hobby of his.

The boy insisted on being at his side whenever he was in the Daroga's home to get away from the palace, but Erik was able to put his own fears at ease about his face ruining that friendship like it had almost every other one. Reza couldn't even see him; his eyes were cloudy with the blindness that had set in before he had arrived in Persia, and it was only getting worse by the day. If he could find a way to fix it, he would because he could see the toll that it took on Nadir having to watch the boy stumble around more and more as his eyesight deteriorated. It let him keep their friendship alive without risk, though. Perhaps that was selfish—he knew it was, for that matter—but Reza was beginning to mean a lot to him and he found himself enjoying his company. He didn't want to risk losing that, and he had decided, one day while he was at the palace, that he wanted to make something for Reza to show him how much he cared for him while still being something that the boy could enjoy without his senses.

His surprise was discovered one night while he was working on the final touches in his room. A soft knock at his bedroom door caught his attention and he watched as Nadir poked his head into the room.

"Hello Daroga," he said, giving his friend a small smile before he went back to tightening the last few screws on the project in front of him. "I'm sorry I didn't come down for dinner, I was a bit caught up in this."

"That's alright, you're not required to join us," Nadir replied, and Erik could hear the confusion in his voice as his friend stepped over to stand just behind him. "You've clearly been busy. What is this?"

"A music box. A rather intuitive one, if I do say so myself, given that you clap to make it play," Erik said as he set his screwdriver down and sat back in his seat to examine his work on the small wooden box itself and the figure of a violinist on top of it. "I made it for Reza."

He heard a quiet gasp from his friend. "Really?" Nadir asked softly.

"Yes, really. I wanted to give him a little something since I know that both your absences and mine are never easy for him, but I wanted it to be a gift that he could still appreciate without his sight. Music has always been the greatest gift in my mind, so I thought I would give him that too."

"Erik...that's so kind of you, really," Nadir said, and Erik watched him step closer and reach out to gently touch the figurine atop the music box. "This is beautiful, I can't believe you made it."

"Yes, well, it took a lot of time and a few failed attempts, but I think it came out alright," Erik said with a quiet laugh, looking up at his friend and seeing the fond smile on his face. "Do you think he'll like it?"

"Oh, absolutely. He's going to love it," Nadir replied. "Would you like to come to give it to him now? He...he's had quite the difficult day and hasn't been able to leave his bed, so I think he really would appreciate getting this before he goes to bed."

Erik nodded, getting to his feet and carefully picking up the music box. "I didn't know he'd had a hard day."

"That's alright. You have other things to worry about than my son's health."

"Perhaps I have other things going on in my life, but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about how I can try to help him, even if I can't cure it. I care about your boy, Nadir, and I count you as a friend."

"Well, I appreciate that." Nadir gave him a smile just as the pair arrived outside Reza's bedroom and he pushed open the door. "Reza? Are you still awake, my boy?"

"Yes, Baba," Erik heard the boy quietly reply, and he sighed to himself when he noticed that he sounded just about as weak as Nadir had made it sound like he'd been the entire day.

Nadir stepped into the room, opening the door for Erik before he slowly shut it behind them. "Good. Erik's here, he has something for you. Do you want it now, before you go to sleep?"

"Oh, yes please," Reza said as he sat up in bed slightly, though his arms shook with the effort. "Hi, Erik."

"Hello Reza," Erik said with a smile, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed and set his hand over the boy's to let him know where he was. "I'm sorry you haven't had a very good day."

"That's okay. I'm used to it," Reza said with a shrug, but Erik didn't miss the quiet, discouraged sigh from Nadir from behind him, which was enough to tell him how much of a toll the day had taken on the boy's father.

"Well, I'm sorry nonetheless. Hopefully, this will help cheer you up. I'm going to set it on your lap." Gently, Erik gave the gift to his young friend and then took the boy's hands and placed them on the music box so he could feel it with his hands. "It's a music box that I built for you. It has a little wooden box at the bottom, but I built a figurine of a man in a suit playing the violin. He'll move when the music is playing, actually."

Reza gasped with delight as his fingers felt along the music box. "Wow. Thank you so much! How do I make it play?"

"You have to clap your hands like you're applauding someone who has just finished a beautiful performance. Like you mean it."

"So like how I clap when you play for me!" Reza said eagerly, giggling as he clapped his hands, then gently touched the figurine again and smiled when he felt it start to move as the music began to play. "Wow!"

"I'm glad you like it," Erik said with a smile. "The music will change every time as well. So now you can have a little something to keep you company when I'm not here to play for you or if you're just having a hard day and Baba isn't here either."

Erik turned his head away from the smiling boy a moment later when he felt Nadir set his hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at him to see his friend obviously trying to blink back the tears in his eyes. "Thank you," the Daroga whispered as he looked back at his son with a sad smile.

"Of course," Erik whispered back, reaching over to ruffle Reza's hair. "Anything to make him feel a little less helpless."