Disclaimer: I do not own Nashville or any of its music, characters, and dialogue.

A/N: I re-watched some of season 2 today, and Rayna mentioned that Watty always used to say "steel is forged in fire," so voilà. Enjoy!

Nashville's Sweetheart

4

"Steel is forged in fire," Watty told Rayna as she stepped off the stage. He put his arm around her and pulled her into a side embrace as they went over to the back. It was a Friday and a much different scene than the usual Monday gig. A few rowdy men had yelled, "Show me your boobs!" and a couple people booed when Rayna had paused to gawk at them. It was all so stupid, really, but it was the first time it had happened to Rayna. It certainly wouldn't be the last time, and it was completely humiliating.

"You okay?" he asked gently, handing her a tissue. A few tears had fallen, and Rayna took the Kleenex and batted her eyes quickly, hoping no one else saw.

"Yeah," she sniffed, running her fingers around her eyes to wipe away any smudged mascara. "I'm fine."

It was part of the job. People were assholes, and as a young woman performer, Rayna had to get used to things like that. It was hard, but it had to be done.

"Steel is forged in fire," Watty repeated, now handing Rayna a glass of water before putting his arm around her barstool, looking out at the people assembled near the stage. "Steel is forged in fire. You're gonna make it, my little song bird. It'll be alright."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"I should've known you were a country pop kinda girl." Rayna was sitting at Deacon's table again while Watty chatted away with his friends. His comment made Rayna laugh. She'd gone back to playing a couple of her more radio-friendly covers, and that mixed with some of the classics seemed to have worked out for her. She hadn't gotten booed again and no one made any inappropriate comments to her, so perhaps that was the way to go. "Some people out there would say that's not traditional enough, though, you know."

"I know," Rayna sighed, propping her chin up on her knuckles, "and that's so dumb. I mean, times are changing. I like the old country sound, don't get me wrong, but I just think that there's more to itand that you can still combine the two. D'you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," said Deacon, taking the straw of his water and stirring the ice cubes. "I feel ya. I've started writing my own stuff, and it's kinda a blend, too."

"Really?" He hadn't mentioned this to her any of the previous nights. Again, Rayna was surprised to learn this about him, but at the same time, she was impressed. Rayna had always wanted to write her own songs, but she just didn't know how to start. And there he was, just starting. "Can I hear some of them sometime?"

His cheeks reddened again as he chuckled softly, and Rayna wondered if that had been too bold of her to ask. She knew how sacred music was to people, and she didn't want to come across as insensitive. "Not quite yet. But I will tell you what, darlin'." He paused to smile at her, and Rayna's heart twisted. He called her darling. "You keep singin' the way you've been singin', and I very well might let you sing one of 'em right up there on that stage for me."

"That would be great," Rayna gushed, because truly, it would be. Even though she had no idea what he was working on or how good his songs even were, the fact that he seemed to trust her enough to do that really touched her. They hadn't known other for too long, but just like the very first time, Rayna felt so comfortable with him, and she knew he was comfortable with her, too.

After a few quiet moments dragged by, Deacon cleared his throat and pulled out his wallet. "What the hell, I'm gonna order a beer. You want one?"

So he could order beer. That right there proved that he was indeed not in high school since the law had recently changed to require a person to be twenty-one, and Rayna felt suddenly embarrassed. He was at least twenty-one years old, and there she was, at stinking sixteen. She knew that she probably looked twenty-one with the curled hair and all the makeup, but she wasn't. And she wouldn't be able to hide it forever. It'd been hard enough to be so ambiguous about it for as long as she had.

"No thanks," she said quickly, too quickly. He looked at her strangely, and she lowered her head. This was it. "I'm uh, not exactly... Old enough."

"Oh." To Rayna's surprise, he let out a laugh. "I'm not either, if we're going to be honest here." Rayna looked up at him then, staring from his face to his pulled-out ID. "You're not? Then how –"

"It's fake." Deacon held the card out to her, and she took it, their fingers brushing with the transaction. Rayna felt chills erupt down her spine. "I had it made for me back home in Mississippi. Says I'm 21, and since no one here is too familiar with Mississippi IDs, they don't look too close."

"Then how old are you?" Rayna had blurted it out before she even stopped to think it through, and again, he blushed. He was definitely embarrassed of something, as was she. "You can be honest with me, you know." She smiled at him again, and she felt so soft and so tender to see him looking at her so vulnerably like that. "You don't have to hide anything."

"Seventeen." That was younger than Rayna expected, and she let out the breath she was holding. He couldn't have graduated from high school already and he wasn't that much older than her. Not that it meant anything, though, she realized, feeling nervous. This thing between them, it probably didn't even mean anything. They were two young people hanging out at a bar (two under aged young people hanging out at a bar), and they may or may not flirt with each other every now and then. Did that necessarily have to mean anything? Was Rayna just overanalyzing the situation?

"How old are you, then?" he asked her, quickly adding, "if I may ask?"

Should she tell him? He had told her. Sitting there at that table, Deacon looked so innocent. His eyes, still so clear and so bright, were probing hers gently, and she didn't feel pressured at all. There were times with Tandy and with her father that Rayna felt pressured to give in to their every demand, but it was different with Deacon.

"Don't laugh," she said in a small voice. She avoided his eyes, and she racked her brain about how she could preface this to soften the blow and diminish some of the embarrassment. He was seventeen and was ordering beer. She felt like such a child compared to him.

"Hey now." His voice was soft, and Rayna was surprised to feel his hand on top of hers. He was definitely holding it, and the act made Rayna's mind spin and her skin burn where he was touching it. "Like you said, you don't have to hide anything."

She didn't. Looking into his eyes, she knew that she really didn't. "I'm sixteen."

His eyes did widen a little, but they soon narrowed back down to amusement. He was still holding her hand, which must have been a good sign, and Rayna felt her shame melt into something else, something airy and light.

"Why would you be embarrassed of that?"

"Because..." She didn't quite know how to say it. Because she felt like a little girl? Because she'd been purposely misleading him? Anything she said would sound stupid, so Rayna didn't really know what to so. Her words faltered, and she again just felt like such an idiot. Why did she have to ruin everything?

"Naw, I get it." He let go of her hand now (it suddenly felt cold, and Rayna missed his hand's warmth) as he motioned to the waiter. After he ordered his beer with his fake Mississippi ID, he turned back to her, smiling in earnest again. "And it's fine, Rayna. I don't care how old you are anyway."

"You don't?" What was that supposed to mean? He didn't care for what? For being her friend? For... Liking her or something?

"Nope," he said, and when the waiter came back with his beer, he took a few long swigs while Rayna played with the ends of her hair, waiting.

"So," he finally asked, trying to keep his tone casual, "where do you go to school?"

"Oh, you know," she answered, feeling herself smile. "Around here. Where – Do you?"

"Oh, you know," he repeated, grinning again. "I'm finishing up a couple things, and then I'm gonna start playin' full time."