Chapter Text
A class that makes Nagi Seishirou pull out a pencil and start doodling anime eyes is a boring class, he doesn't make the rules.
For him, drawing doesn't require any brainpower, his hand naturally flows across the paper just like how the teacher's words went in one ear and out the other. So when they were demanded to join a club in junior year, he picked the art club. It was as easy as that.
The best part about the art club was how everyone is an introvert just like him. They rarely bothered with each other and preferred to focus on their own works. Only occasionally would they practice still lifes. Seishirou bet there were no other clubs as relaxed as this-- maybe except for when the others were stressing to make their art perfect. It was a peaceful time otherwise.
Until Mikage Reo transferred to their school.
Mikage Reo from the Mikage Corp. Someone with more money than they could ever use, in their average neighbourhood school. No, not just that, he was also in their class.
During the introduction, Reo never stated his reasons for moving out from such a prestigious school, Hakuho, where his parents invested their money in his future. It was odd especially since the two schools are in the same area, it wasn't like he was moving across provinces to start a new life. The atmosphere in the class turned hectic, curious about the billionaire's presence.
But— what was more odd... was Reo appearing in their art club on the first day of school. One would assume he switched schools just for that reason since Hakuho doesn't have one. But why? Rich people are confusing, he guessed.
After finally being accepted into the club, Reo beamed brightly, his gleaming eyes full of stars in the universe. He excitedly unpacked his bag to set up the easel. At first it was the same peaceful art club as any other day, Reo painted using expensive materials everyone stared at in awe and jealousy. However, the silence ended when Reo finished his piece and started walking around the room to admire others' works. He wasn’t paying attention but he heard small bits of the compliments Reo gave to every member. Seishirou prayed it will never be his turn. Facing a social butterfly like that would kill him instantly, or so he thought.
His turn to be inspected came. This room has turned into a labolatory and he a specimen. Reo stared at his sketchbook for a minute, analysing his lineworks, studying it. Seishirou wanted to squirm being under such…appreciation.
“Oh my god, I love your art!” classic, Seishirou could work with that.
“Thank yo—”
“The way you draw expressions are so spot on, they have such personality to it. And your strokes are simply incredible! Ugh- the thick and thin lines! Your control of the pencil is insane. Plus, the shading! Shows you really mastered the basics. Man, How should I say it, I just really want to eat you drawings.”
Seishirou was speechless. He turned to the other members and they gave him an understanding smile. Is Reo like that to just anyone? If that is the case, then how was he able to feel the intense passion coming from those words? Were that passion… directed to his art, or Nagi Seishirou the artist? Deep down, he wished it was the latter.
To Seishirou’s disdain, all the other members were unfortunately placed in different classes than him except for Reo. Thus here they are the next day, at the rooftop because Reo insisted they have a doodling session together during breaks. Seishirou initially refused but he lost to Reo’s enthusiasm.
To Seishirou’s surprise, Reo was actually pretty serious about this doodling session thing, after eating some snacks they both immediately got into a flow state and drew whatever came to mind, or whatever they wanted, really. It was the most productive he had ever been. He wondered if that had to do with having another person around.
He glanced at Reo who was practicing gesture drawings. The other exaggerated poses in ways Seishirou never dared to, but it worked perfectly with Reo’s style, bold and confident.
Seishirou came to his senses after realising his eyes lingered on Reo’s face for a bit too long, but that prompted him to make a quick portrait of the super elite billionaire.
As he started the first line, a small fire awakened in him. It felt different from just being focused. Time and place ceased to exist. It was only the two of them under the vast sky, and for him, only Reo was in sight. He felt like he was going to create a masterpiece. Reo's purple hair is just so deep and saturated in contrast to the white walls and even Seishirou himself. If he could take a picture, he was sure Reo's eye colour would be reflected in his.
"Whoa, the sky looks so nice today," Reo commented after he stood up to take fresh air. Seishirou looked and looked, but he couldn't see what was so great about it, then Reo turned around, clarifying, "It's a muted blue straight out of a Wes Anderson movie!"
He had expected what Reo saw to be a vibrant azure, that was naive of him. Such colours disappeared the moment they stopped being children. Now, only Reo's violet remained.
If only he had brought colour pencils to capture it...
Reo looked down at his sketchbook, finally noticing Seishirou's not-so-secret portrait, "Aww, is that me? You're not only talented, but also a charmer too, aren't you?" He crouched down to look closer and was surprised at the amount of details and effort Seishirou put into. Seeing that, Reo was the one who became flustered instead, "You cheeky bastard, how long have you been watching me- That's- That's unfair! Let me draw you too!'
Seishirou accepted his fate to sit still as a reference for the next half hour. However, he truly froze when Reo inched closer without any sense of boundaries, determined to memorise every single one of Seishiro's features. He narrowed his eyes to concentrate on smaller nuances that made Seishirou Nagi Seishirou and not anyone else. It made him feel special, he couldn't even list ten things that were interesting or unique about him and yet Reo found thousands.
Finally, Reo retreated, holding tight onto his pencil. Seishirou felt prompted to open his mouth, but he had nothing to say, perhaps he just wanted to gasp for air before Reo dissected him again.
The bell rang, saving Seishirou's breath.