Work Text:
Druig glanced around at the coffee shop to see that his companion hadn’t arrived yet. A bit odd since it was almost time for their scheduled meeting, but nevertheless he went up to the counter to order for two.
“A chai latte and an earl grey.”
The drinks came out fast and just as he settled down at a table, the person he was waiting for appeared. As she came through the door, the light just seemed to radiate from her as though she was the very center of the universe.
He felt his smile grow at the sight of her, “My beautiful Makkari, you’re late.”
She cocked her eyebrow up as she moved her hands quickly but concisely, “Is it my fault that the subway broke down and I had to run the last 4 blocks here?”
“Oh please, you’re probably just as fast as the subway.”
“Maybe if I didn’t have to wear my heels today.” He passed her the mug with the chai latte. Makkari took a sip, smiling in satisfaction. Then proceeded to open her ipad and her planner before Druig could even blink. “How’s your progress going on your piece for next month’s group exhibition?”
“I think I’ll be ahead of schedule for once, but I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
“Have there been any changes to the materials that you’re using or the size of the canvas?”
“No. Everything’s the same as we previously discussed.”
“Do you have any ideas for a title for the piece? I know you like to figure out names last, but it’ll help with advertising if you have one finalized.”
“I’m bouncing between titles, but I should be able to decide on one soon.”
“Ok, if you don’t figure it out by next Tuesday, I’ll talk with the advertisers to make it sound mysterious to build up the anticipation,” she signed out with one hand as she wrote down notes with her other hand, “And I can count on you coming to opening night?”
“Anything for you, my beautiful Makkari.”
“Excellent. I think that’s all we needed to discuss for work.” Within another instance, she cleared the table of her things so that they could talk more comfortably. “Now, let me tell you about this delicious elote stand I found on my last run.”
“Well, don’t you know the way to my heart?” Although she already possesses his heart, there’s really not much more she could do to win him over, whether she knows or not.
Druig stepped back, taking his work in.
No, this still isn’t right.
Is it because he doesn’t like portraits that this isn’t going right? Or is it because his skills aren’t good enough to capture Makkari’s likeness? It just doesn’t look like her.
Druig huffed in frustration and took off his apron.
He’s been working on this piece for months at this point. He decided that he would tell her when this painting’s done. But somehow the finish line never seems to move.
Knock, knock!
He opened his door, realizing what time it was and who had come, “Hello Phastos.”
“Uncle Druig!”
Druig smiled, “Hey Jack, ready to figure out how quickly it takes for an entire civilization to fall apart?”
“Yeah!”
Phastos stared at him with parental disappointment.
“What? I’m obviously talking about the Fall of the Roman Empire.” Yeah, totally that and not how the world went to shit over toilet paper. “It’s history.”
“Remind me why am I trusting you with my kid?”
“Because Sersi’s lecturing right now, Ajak is covering for someone at the hospital, and Sprite’s in the middle of getting that extra degree for creative writing. Not to mention that Gil and Thena are out of town for their anniversary.” So he is quite literally Phastos’ last choice. “Aw, come on Phastos, I’ll behave.”
“You better or I will take away your babysitting rights. Ok, you know the rules, homework needs to be done, no going outside unless you’re with Druig, and make sure to have healthy snacks. That last one goes for both of you.”
“Aw, that’s no fun Phastos.”
“Do you remember when you gave him a bunch of sugar and then he couldn’t sleep until midnight?”
“Yes. Your point?”
“Don’t do it again.” He turned back to Jack and kissed his forehead, “I’ll be back at 6:00, ok? ”
“Ok, bye Dad!” Jack settled into his favorite chair in Druig’s living room and took out his math workbook. He looked up to see the painting that was still out, “You’re still not done?”
“No. Not yet,” he answered, walking over to the painting.
Jack studied it for a moment, tilting his head to the side, “What’s it missing?”
“It just doesn’t look right to me yet,” he settled on as he moved the painting back into his studio room. He feels like he could try painting Makkari a million times and it’ll never be quite right. The smile on her face is either too mischievous or never mischievous enough. Her body language doesn't convey the energy and passion she has. The gleam of her eyes doesn’t shine enough or her eyes lack a certain depth.
“Really? I think it’s great, it looks just like Aunt Makkari.”
“Call it being picky.” He closed the door. “Get started on your homework, the sooner you finish, the sooner we can do something fun.”
“Ok!”
After Jack had finished his homework, there was a knock at the door.
Druig opened the door to see his favorite person in the world.“And what do I owe the pleasure of having the beautiful Makkari come to see me?”
“I was in the area to meet with another client and wanted to stop by.” Makkari then proceeded to pull a pastry box out of thin air, “I made sure to pick up from that bakery you love.”
“As much as I would love to partake, I am tasked with babysitting duties today,” he explained, eyeing the box. Are baked tarts with whipped cream healthy? There’s fruit on it, it should count. “So I hope you’ve bought enough for 3.”
Makkari scoffed and rolled her eyes a little. “You’ll have to give up some, but we can make do.”
“Aunt Makkari!”
Makkari ruffled his hair. “Hi Jack! I bought some snacks with me, do you want some?”
“Yeah!”
“You can choose first.”
Jack carefully examined each individual tart, seeing which one had the most of his favorite fruits.
“Coffee?” Druig offered.
She nodded. “Three sugars.”
“Tough day?”
She shrugged, “An average day for an art dealer.”
“I want this one!”
Jack chose a chocolate tart with candied orange slices on it. He chose the one that was heavily decorated with large green grapes, one of his many favorite fruits. While Makkari had one with white chocolate and mango.
They were having a lovely little time.
… Until Makkari snagged one of his grapes and ate it before he could even blink.
“Is it good?” She nodded in delight. Doesn’t she look adorable? Although he’d rather that she didn’t steal food from him. Druig smirked and immediately took the last mango piece from hers.
Makkari stared at him, “What the hell was that for?”
“Payback.” She threw up her middle finger towards him. He chuckled, “Now what would Phastos say if he saw you do that in front of Jack?”
“He’s young, not stupid.”
“Yeah, I’ve known that for like a year already, Sprite told me.”
“See?”
Druig stared at her for a moment, he could see the mischief on her face. What was she planning now? Her eyes flickered down towards his last grape. Her fork was out and ready, but for once, Druig was just a hint faster than her and speared the grape with his fork. She pouted in defeat.
“You know you could just ask,” he mentioned, offering the grape to her. He rarely denies her anything.
“What fun is that?” But she opened her mouth and he fed her the grape.
“You little kleptomaniac.” She just beamed as she chewed, “Would you like to join us for a riveting game of Candyland?”
“Sounds great, but I’ve got another meeting to get to. Sorry.”
There was a pang of disappointment in his chest, “Shame.”
“I’ll see you on Thursday.”
“Looking forward to it, my beautiful Makkari.”
“Bye Jack!”
Once Makkari left, Jack asked, “Are you sure you and Aunt Makkari aren’t going out? You make the same googly eyes that Dad and Daddy do at each other.”
“Is this your way of asking for more sweets so that you stop interrogating me?”
“Maybe?”
“Well played. Which one do you want?”
After another tart for Jack, two more for him, and a round of Candyland, Phastos arrived right at 6.
“Thanks for watching him.” Phastos caught sight of the bakery box that Makkari had left on the counter. His smile shifted to a scowl, “I told you to give him a healthy snack.”
“There was fruit.”
“It was really good Dad!”
Phastos immediately switched back to a smile,“Is that so? That’s good, but that means tonight you’ve gotta eat all your veggies. Get your stuff, Daddy’s got dinner waiting for us.”
“Ok!”
“How’d you even have time to get to that bakery, it’s like eight blocks away”
“Makkari stopped by.”
“Figures. You know you’ve really got to do something about your feelings for Makkari.”
“Do I?” If it wasn’t for the fact that Jack snuck into his sketchbook to find his drawings of Makkari, Phastos wouldn’t have even noticed. He used to assume that Druig’s attempts of flirting and teasing as some kind of banter between close friends.
“Why don’t you try asking her out?”
At the risk of ruining their friendship?
No fucking thanks.
But he knows that Phastos would start lecturing at him if he answered like that. So instead Druig gave him a noncommittal hum, “I’ll think about it.”
“If you keep thinking about it, you might end up missing your chances.”
“And you’ll miss dinner if you keep hounding me.”
“Oh crap! Jack, say bye! We’ve gotta go!”
“Bye Uncle Druig!”
Druig waved goodbye before shutting the door.
It’s not like he hasn’t thought about just biting the bullet and asking her out on an actual date and not just hanging out with just the two of them. He’s daydreamed about what it’d be like to hold her hand, to hold her, to kiss her.
But there’s more at stake than just his heart. She’s his source of inspiration, his muse. He doubts that he would be able to make anything half decent without her by his side. But even more than that, she’s his best friend. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he ruined their friendship because he wanted something more.
And if someone else did ask her…
Well, he’s not sure that there’ll be anyone who could ever match up to Makkari. But if there is someone who happens to beat him, he’ll probably give his blessing (after wallowing in tears, jealousy, and ice cream) so long as Makkari’s happy.
“So what do you think?” he asked with a grand gesture towards the canvas. The piece that he worked on for the exhibition was a depiction of the city of Babylon from its prime to its decay after Persia’s conquest. He had spent a lot of time on the little details of the people who were living there in its prime, so that way it felt even more desolate after its fall. He had gotten the idea after Makkari had been telling him about ancient civilizations.
Makkari stepped back, “I think it’ll look great on opening night!”
“If you say so. You’re the expert here, my beautiful Makkari.”
“I’ll contact the delivery service and have them come by tomorrow to pick it up.” She pivoted from him to message someone, but then she stopped. “What’s that?” she asked, gesturing to the canvas that was still covered by a sheet.
“Just something,” he played off. He had taken the portrait of her out to work on earlier, but he had lost track of time and Makkari had come earlier than he expected, so the best that he could do to hide it was to put a cloth over it.
“Can I see?”
“It’s a personal project.”
“Ok.” She leaned away. Druig almost sighed in relief, but then he saw it.
That mischievous glint of curiosity in her eyes.
He moved quickly, but Makkari was already one step ahead of him. The cloth fell down from the canvas to reveal the portrait. She stepped closer to the painting, examining it carefully.
Ah… That expression. He loves that expression on her.
He wishes that he could paint that glorious expression of hers.
He wishes that he could paint all of her expressions.
She looked at it in awe and confusion. “Who is it?”
At this point, he might be able to play it off. Pretend that he was just doing an experiment, pretend that it wasn’t her. But under the gaze of hers, where her lovely brown eyes seem to pierce through everything, he couldn’t lie.
He swallowed before saying, “It’s you.”
“Is this how you see me?”
He looked at the painting and then to her. It’s not accurate at all. The painting lacks depth, it lacks life, it can mimic her, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the real Makkari.
Druig looks her straight in the eye, hoping that his hands wouldn’t shake. He said, signing alongside like always, “Well you’re more beautiful than that. But you’ll have to forgive me, my dear, beautiful Makkari. My skills are still in critical need of improvement.”
She seemed taken aback by his comment.
“Why…” Her hands paused. She remained still for a moment before asking, “Why did you paint me?”
Of course she would ask, she knows his art better than anyone. She knows that for him, portraits are an intimate thing. They’re something that shows what the artist thinks of the subject. For him, this portrait was his way of coming to terms with what his emotions for Makkari were.
But he didn’t even need to finish it to realize just how enamored he was with her. That’s when he decided that when this painting was complete, he would tell her.
Now that plan’s out of the window.
So he answered her, truthfully, “Because I love you. And you’re the most beautiful person that I have and possibly will ever know.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you mean it? When you call me ‘beautiful Makkari’?”
He lifted up his hand, index finger extended, and moved it in a circular motion a few times. “Always.”
Her eyes were still wide with shock. At best, she might try to reciprocate his feelings. At worst, she’ll never want to see him again. He closes his eyes, just to delay the process, just to make the seconds feel longer.
But his waiting stops when Makkari taps his hand. He opens his eyes but still doesn’t look at her. She then lifts his chin up slightly so that he would look at her. Her lips curved into the most beautiful, radiant smile that he’s seen on her.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to hear you say that.”