Work Text:
Peeking around the corner, Ryuji looked up and down the street to make sure there was no one who had seen them. After a few moments of keeping watch, he smirked and ducked back into the alley.
“‘K, nobody saw us, time to get crackin’” he said, rubbing his hands together.
His companion for the evening however, Yusuke, seemed unsure. “Are you certain we should be doing this here? This is a very busy street…”
Ryuji just waved him off though. “Of course it’s busy, that’s why I picked it, you want this to be SEEN right?”
“...that is true”
Satisfied with that answer, Ryuji started digging through his bag. This wasn’t how he had envisioned his night going, but he wasn’t about to complain! He still couldn’t believe Yusuke asked for his help with this.
____
“I need your help, I’ve been trying to figure out how to properly use spray paint as an art medium.”
Ryuji paused in the middle of bringing his soda to his lips. “And…. you came to me?”
“Well…. Yes I…” Yusuke seemed surprised. “I would have thought you…”
“You thought I’ve graffitied before.” Ryuji stated more then asked.
Yusuke was suddenly a lot more sheepish. “I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have just assumed that, I should know better then to make snap judgments, especially about those I should be treating as friends…”
Unable to hold it back anymore, a smirk grew on Ryuji’s face. “Nah I’m just messin’ with you dude, I’ve totally done it before.”
Yusuke blinked. “Oh… well, still, I apologize for assuming so.”
“Eh, no problem man, I’ll get you set up! I know where to get some good spray paint, and I think I have an idea for a good spot if it’s not already taken…”
____
“You got anything in mind? To paint I mean?”
Yusuke stared at the alley wall, pondering Ryuji’s question. It was a very large space and he yearned to fill it, but with what? He hadn’t yet figured that out.
“I’m unsure just yet, I’m hoping inspiration will strike as you show me how to properly use these paints.”
Ryuji frowned a bit. “Well… alright, but I don’t want to hear it if we use up most of the space before you get an idea.” with that said, he picked up a can of red spray paint. Can’t go wrong with red right?
Shaking it up, he walked over to the wall next to Yusuke. “Ok so it’s not too hard to use, you just gotta be careful not to breath in this shit, ok?”
Nodding, Yusuke watched him intently. It kinda made Ryuji a little nervous, he normally just sprayed whatever he felt like without really caring, but it felt… weird with Yusuke watching him. Given his passion for these things, he was a little scared at being put down for his lack of ability.
Seeing him hesitate, Yusuke spoke up. “Are you alright? ...are you having trouble thinking of something to make as well?”
“Uh… yeah, a little…” he lied “Usually I just kinda… go, ya know?”
Yusuke put his hand to his chin, considering this. “Just…. go…” After a moment he went over the Ryuji’s bag and picked up a can of black spray paint. “Alright then, let’s GO!”
Instantly feeling the pressure lift, Ryuji started spraying the wall, with Yusuke doing the same. It was kinda nice actually he had to admit, having company. Usually when he did this he was alone, just kinda spray painting for a little stress relief. Now, not only did he have company, but he was actually spending this time with Yusuke. They didn’t really hang out all that often outside of missions and sometimes Ryuji felt bad about that. It always seemed like he was busy, and it didn’t help that he went to a different school than the rest of them… he kinda wish he could find the time to hang out more, he wanted to get to know Yusuke a little bit better.
Oh well, they were enjoying a little bro time now and that was good enough for Ryuji.
“Hold on a moment.”
Ryuji was jerked out of his thoughts by Yusuke’s voice and the gentle hand on his shoulder. “Eh? What’s up?”
Yusuke’s eyes didn’t leave the wall. “Let’s step back a moment…”
He followed Yusuke’s lead, stepping back and looking at the work they had done so far. Ryuji had been very generous with the red, spraying it here and there, while Yusuke had tried to make many different shapes on the wall, black lines bleeding out across Ryuji’s red sea. Ryuji tilted his head while looking at it, trying to figure out this weird vibe it was giving him.
“Deja vu…” he muttered.
“Hm?”
“Oh uh,” Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck “Sorry, just a weird feeling it’s giving me.”
He was surprised to see Yusuke’s expression suddenly light up. “It’s giving you a feeling? That’s good! That is art’s entire purpose, to share a feeling with it’s viewer!” Ryuji couldn’t help but smirk a bit, he knew Yusuke got very weird when he was passionate, but it always had this charm to it. Tt was nice seeing him pumped for something.
“Please, what feeling does this give you?” he pressed.
Ryuji shrugged. “Just a weird feeling of deja vu… sorry it’s not a lot to go on.”
Surprisingly, Yusuke seemed to be considering his words as he turned back to their work. “Now that you mention it… there is a sort of familiarness to it, isn’t there?”
“Yeah” Ryuji squinted at it a bit, hoping that would help. “But it’s not like that nice kinda familiar you get, like when you meet up with someone you haven’t seen in a while, it’s more…” he stopped short.
“Twisted…” Yusuke helpfully finished.
After a moment of contemplating, Ryuji snapped his fingers.
“Oh! Dude, this totally looks like the metaverse!”
Recollection flashed in Yusuke’s eyes. “Yes… Yes of course! The oppressive reds and blacks mirror the metaverse perfectly!”
“Oh man, you know we gotta finish it!” Ryuji said, suddenly very pumped. “No one else is can make it look like the real deal!”
Yusuke smiled. “Yes, let us get to work!”
With renewed vigor, the boys got to work, now with an idea of what direction this was headed in. Ryuji was surprised at just how fun it actually was to have someone to bounce ideas off of while doing this, he needed to bring Yusuke out here more often!
After a while, Ryuji noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Yusuke struggling to reach farther up the wall. Yusuke wasn’t short, but this had started to become quite the large project, and it seemed like he couldn’t reach as high as he was aiming to.
Well, nothing Ryuji couldn’t help with of course!
“O-OH, WHAT- oh.” Ryuji couldn't bite back his laughter as he lifted Yusuke to sit on his shoulders, so he could reach higher. “Oh, thank you Ryuji!” he tried to act casual, but his face still held some pink from him being so flustered before.
Now with nothing to preoccupy him, Ryuji watched Yusuke work. Every movement Yusuke made seemed to be very deliberate. He was completely focused on the slow movement of his hands to keep the paint can steady, yet his movements would change to light feathery motions for some of the details. It was… actually kinda mesmerizing to watch.
“Ryuji?”
Once again, Ryuji was brought back to reality from his thoughts. “Eh?”
“I said I would like to get down now.”
“O-oh, right, sorry” He backed up and helped Yusuke down from his shoulders. “Got a little distracted… I know it’s kinda silly to point out but you’re really amazing at this.”
Yusuke’s expression warmed. “Thank you Ryuji, I must admit, this has given me a wonderful break from the norm. A new medium to practice with, new scenery… and I’ve never actually collaborated with anyone on a piece before…” he turned to face the wall they had almost completely covered. “This has been a wonderful night.”
‘It kinda has been huh?’ Ryuji thought as his face turned a little red, they needed to do this more often. He turned to the painting himself.
It looked pretty amazing if he did say so himself, the whole thing screamed mementos, though he could see subtle hints of the palaces they had been to in it as well, no doubt Yusuke’s doing. Near the bottom, was a group of small black figures he himself had added. It was supposed to be the group of them traveling together, he had tried to make them look distinct from each other, but you could really only tell apart Morgana due to his small size and Ann because of her pigtails. He was actually kinda proud at how good those came out actually.
“It’s a shame we can’t sign our work.” Yusuke added wistfully. “All great works should be signed.”
“Well who says we can’t?” Ryuji added mischievously.
Yusuke gave him a look. “The simple fact we will get arrested if this is traced back to us Ryuji.”
“Nah nah, I got this.” Ryuji assured him, once again digging though his bag. He pulled out a can of grey paint this time, along with a white one he tossed to Yusuke.
“Ryuji? What are you up to?”
Ryuji didn’t answer him, instead he kneeled down near the bottom corner of the painting and drew a crude skull there. He turned and flashed Yusuke a smirk, who instantly caught on.
“Ah! Very clever…” he leaned down and sprayed a bit more refined looking version of his own mask next to it. Once done, they both backed up to look over their work one last time.
“We should do this more often…” Yusuke parroted his thoughts from earlier.
Ryuji chuckled a bit. “Well if I find another blank wall, I’ll be sure to let you know!”
“Well… that would be nice, but I meant just… in general” Yusuke turned to Ryuji. “I notice we don’t talk much outside of missions… and this has been nice.”
Ryuji was surprised, of course he himself had thought about that, but he didn’t think Yusuke would share the notion. “Yeah… we should grab some dinner, I know this place that serves great sushi, you can ask for pretty much anything you want, I can guarantee they have it!” he offered.
Yusuke considered this for a moment. “...I’ve been wanting some inarizushi lately…” He said a little embarrassed.
“Oh my god dude, seriously?”
“Please don’t tell Futaba.”
Ryuji just laughed as he slung his arm over Yusuke’s shoulder. “Alright, let’s go get us some celebration sushi!”
Yusuke just smiled as he put his arm around Ryuji as well. “Yes, let’s.”