Chapter Text
The local park—the typical place for artists such as yourself to find inspiration. The park had all kinds of references for both figure and scenic drawing. You watched the usual joggers walking across the sparkling riverside, the fashionable Akatsuka women donning their Sunday dresses, and the funny-looking man brooding at the bridge. However, the ample references would have to wait. Today, you will be concentrating on the fundamentals. Thus, you had situated yourself on a bench in a secluded area, where your only companion was the distant cacophony of park goers..
And the sound of a drink can rolling across the pavement.
You felt the tap of the metal container against your feet. Casting aside your sketchpad, you picked up the disruptive object. You looked to the direction where it came from and saw a guy running towards you. He was clad in a red hoodie with a weird spade symbol. When he finally reached you, he didn't hesitate to plop down next to you as he caught his breath.
"Um.. Is this yours?" You lend him the canned beverage. He grabbed it with his hand, which held a torn plastic bag. He tugged on the pull tab, making that satisfying hissing sound. He took a swig, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and let out a big sigh.
"Ah, thanks! Drinking a can of cold beer feels so much better after running a marathon."
"You didn't even run a full mile."
He laughed. It was loud and nasally. It was as if he didn't lose his breath a few seconds ago. "Well it felt like my lungs were on fire."
You smiled a little. "You don't look like a frequent jogger."
He faked an astonished gasp. “Are you saying that I need to work out?”
“No, no, no! I am just saying I don’t see you around here often.”
“I’d say the same about you.”
The breath of silence wafting through the air felt like an eternity. You forced yourself into a staring contest with your sketchpad, tapping the side of your pencil against the page. Not long after, the guy craned his neck towards you, putting his weight on his hand on the bench. You found yourself leaning away slightly, feeling a slight blush forming across your cheeks from the proximity. You were able to take in a bit of his scent, which was the faint smell of alcohol. He squinted his brown eyes, as if the bold letters on the cover of your sketchbook aren't big enough.
"Conté? Is that your name?"
"Hmm?" you snapped out of the mini daze caused by close contact and made a quick glance at what he was eyeing. Your fancy sketchbook. You chuckled. "Oh, no. I'm (Y/N)."
This time you tilted your head towards him, spotting the can of beer on his hand. "And you're Sapporo?"
His eyes darted at the label on his beer can for a split second then laughed, "I'm Matsuno Osomatsu, and last I checked I was the joker here." He flashed you a smile, rubbing the underside of his nose with his index finger. It was the same hand that was holding the can of beer.
“Nice to meet you, Matsuno-san and if you don’t mind, I think I’ll get back to work now.”
“Work? That sounds boring!” He whined, momentarily leaning his head back so his neck was on the top of the bench’s backrest.
“Drawing isn’t boring!” you quipped. Suddenly he faced you again.
“Drawing? You’re a drawer?”
“No, drawers are for storing clothes. I’M an artist.” you explained, a hint of self-pride lacing your voice. You’re not THAT good, but you will not condone to calling yourself a cabinet.
“Woah, can you draw me?” he cheekily suggested, doing that nose-rub thing.
You mentally facepalmed. Typical. He’s kinda cute though, so you made an excuse.
“I’m not very good yet. I’m drawing shapes and shading for now. Maybe another time?” you simpered, producing a half-lie. The lying half was the promise of drawing a portrait of him for free.
“Aww.. Okay.”
You hoped he would leave you alone after a while, but you also didn’t like the idea of him leaving. A few minutes in and you completely forgot the world as you focused your eyes on the empty page, itching to be filled with your assignment. You dug your hand into your pouch, the sound of pencils clattering against each other filling the silence. You picked up an HB pencil and began lightly dragging your graphite across the rough texture of the paper. Unbeknownst to you, Osomatsu found the continuous sound of pencil scratching on paper to be very pleasing. Yup, he totally stayed for that reason and not because he found you cute or anything.
Your wrist flicked back and forth as you translated the image of a shape from mental visualization to a tangible picture on paper. Once you were finished with a faint outline, you fumbled for another, softer graphite and applied more pressure on the surface. Osomatsu looked in silence as you constantly switched from pencil to eraser to pencil again and eraser once more. You blew softly over your drawing, ridding the page of eraser sheds. Another few minutes and you were erasing more than you were drawing. The shape looked okay, but your shading seemed unnatural. You rubbed your eraser again, but with a bit more vigor.
Immersed in your endeavors to create anything that remotely resembles a three-dimensional figure, you failed to notice your new-found companion staring at you.
“Are you okay? You look like you’re having a hard time.”
You jolted up in surprise, dropping your pencil on the ground. “Oh, yeah, yeah. I’m good!” You hunched over and reached for your drawing implement. Osomatsu instantaneously did the same. His hand brushed against yours.
Your lip tightened as you feigned a smile, but you were unable to stop the tinge of red spreading across your cheeks. This is too cliché, please-
You sat up straight, letting him pick up the pencil for you, then avoided his gaze as he handed it to you. Pretending to inspect the lead tip, you stammered, “Er.. Uh.. I’m just trying to draw something 3-D, but it doesn't look right!”
“Eh? Can I look?” You finally turned to him. His eyes filled with curiosity.
Your eyes fell to your failed attempt in contemplation, before you cautiously moved your sketchpad towards him for a better look. “Don’t laugh, okay?”
“It’s fine! I’m not much of an artist myself, so I really wouldn’t know any better.” he reassured you. Or did he? That only made you more uncertain. Wouldn’t it be better if you receive feedback from someone who knows a little bit about what things should look like? He studied your drawing, albeit a little too long. You figured this was intentional because he smiled when you nervously squirmed in your seat.
“Looks okay to me.”
You shot him an incredulous look. “Seriously?”
“Yeah! I’m pretty sure that’s how a cone should look like.”
“I don’t know..” you sighed, slumping your back against the bench. You pondered on possible improvements, glaring at your artwork. Osomatsu hummed, taking another sip of his beer. He was also lost in thought, absentmindedly fiddling with the tab. His fingers traced the contour of the container and soon found himself formulating a solution to your problem.
"Hey, would this help?" he suggested, holding out his drink towards you.
"Um, I'm not sure if getting drunk will help me draw any better."
"No, I mean try copying this. It's a 3-D thingy, right?"
Your eyes lit up. Of course! How could you forget? It's always better to draw from reference, even if it's just basic forms. "Oh! All right. That's actually a pretty good idea. Thanks, Matsuno-san!"
He beamed sheepishly, rubbing the underside of his nose again, wearing a faint blush masked by the alcohol.
Osomatsu placed the can on the bench, between the both of you. You turned your body just enough so you could have a better view of your subject. Flipping the page of your sketchbook, you made the first strokes of a new, hopefully better sketch.
Your hard pencil glided over the paper, swiftly etching a very light shape of the solid. Your eyes alternated from your paper to your subject, capturing everything from the basic form of the can, to the highlights, and even to the darkest shadows. You also caught a glimpse of your seatmate, who was completely entranced by your process. You lowered your head in response as if the sketchpad could hide your flustered face.
Taking another pencil, this time a 6B, you added another layer of graphite on areas where the shadows should be darker. An 8B further increased the darkness. You took a second to study your artwork so far and a smile crept to your lips. "Now for the fun part."
You brought some sort of tightly rolled paper which had pointed tips at both ends. Osomatsu marveled at the strange, white crayon.
"Woah, what is that?" he wondered, poking on one of the nibs. “Do you smoke this?”
You giggled. “No, it’s a blending stump!”
You demonstrated this by smudging on the parts where the midtones should be. It created a smooth transition of dark to light. After a lot of blending, erasing, and refining, you were met with an accurately rendered cylinder. You did this! You squealed in delight.
“Ah, I did it!” you exclaimed, proudly showing your work to Osomatsu.
“Woah, it looks like I could grab it! You’re really good at this, (Y/N)-san!”
“It’s all thanks to you, Matsuno-san. Thank you so, so much!”
“Hehe.. No problem!” He stood up, grabbing his can and sliding it in his plastic bag. “Anyway, I’m gonna go. It was really cool watching you draw stuff!”
“Oh.. Sure!” you also got up from your seat. Facing him, you bowed politely. “It was nice meeting you!”
He returned the gesture. “It was nice meeting you, too!” The action, however, made his near-empty container drop to the ground. A cyclist rolled past (a child with a flag stuck to his head), sending the can rolling across the pavement like it did earlier.
“Goddamn it, not again!”
You chuckled, watching his retreating form chase after that darn metal can.
Something tells you that this won’t be the last time you’ll be seeing him.