Chapter Text
*Brush... brush... brush...*
The sound of a paintbrush touching canvas filled the quiet air in that studio. The painter carefully applied paint stroke after stroke; slow, steady and deliberate, he was afraid one mishap would ruin his work.
*Brush... brush... brush...*
Yellows, orange and royal blues covered his palette. At last he was close to finishing his painting and although he felt sad that there wouldn't be anymore to work on after, he also felt happy that his masterpiece would soon be complete.
*Brush... brush... brush... brush....*
One last brush stroke and he was done. He took a step back, blinking like he just woke from a nap, and smiled at his creation. A boy of similar age to him with peach-tipped blond hair and bright orange-yellow eyes smiled back at him. High in the sky dotted with clouds, he was riding atop a white pegasus whose wings stretched out beyond the canvas' borders, and the excitement of soaring in the air was captured in the boy's smile, his wind-swept hair, and his hands that clung fiercely to the pegasus' mane. Perhaps it was his dream to be like this princely boy or maybe it was his depiction of a hero but the painter, long ago, felt the need to capture this boy in a still image and began to paint continuously day after day.
"It's definitely one of my better works," he says out loud, aware there was no one to listen. "It would fetch me a pretty penny if I were to sell it."
But he had no intent on doing so and instead brought up a chair for him to sit on and admire his work. Being so tall and lanky, he flipped between crossing his legs to stretching them out before settling on the latter and only crossing at his feet. He sighed, pushing away his cyan-streaked purple hair from his face to rub his eyes. It had been a long day, like every day, but worth the small amount of money and large smiles he got from the crowds. With one last look at the boy in the painting, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.
"Would you really sell me?"
"Hm?" He didn't open his eyes, just tilted his head in the direction of where he thought he heard a sound. When he didn't hear anything more, he exhaled and went back to sleeping.
"Huh? You're going back to sleep? Hey! Don't ignore me! Are you going to sell me or not?"
This time he did open his eyes but not before yawning and stretching his arms out wide. He thought one of the apprentices he'd taken classes with was making fun of him again and he stood up to check the door. It was dark out and the alley that led to his and other painters' studios was empty. As it was a run down part of the city, at this time of night only the moon would show its cold but kind face and confirmed there was nobody about. Not quite satisfied with his search, the painter returned inside and made sure to lock his door, the little security he had from stopping others finding (and stealing) his possessions.
Resuming his position in his chair, he nearly jumped right off again when he saw his painting. "I must be dreaming," he said softly with a lopsided smile as he watched the boy on the pegasus scowl at him, the pegasus itself flapping its wings to keep them aloft. "Was it you that was calling out to me earlier?"
"Yes, I was!" The boy shouted but the painter failed to hear any true anger from his words. "I was asking you if you were going to sell me or not but you ignored me. How can you ignore a person standing right in front of you?"
"That depends," If I want to tease you or not, he thought. "But I might ask you something similar: why would you wake a sleeping person?"
"D-don't avoid the question! Answer me!"
"You're not quite the smiling prince I painted, are you? Not that it matters. This will all end soon enough, so I'll answer your questions."
The boy seemed surprised by his response which surprised the painter. "End? What do you mean 'end'? Are you really going to sell me?"
"First off, I'm not going to sell you. I had no intention of doing that and still don't for the time being." Seeing his nervous look, he continued. "Nor in the future. You're my prized possession, so I really don't wish to part with you at all."
"That's good..." The boy was easy to read as he let out a held breath while stroking the mane of his pegasus. "Then what do you mean by 'this' ending? What's going to end?"
"This dream, of course. Why else would a painting I've created start to move on its own?" Curiosity gripped him and he approached the canvas with confidence, letting out a soft 'ahh' at the sight of it. "It's almost like I'm looking into a film made of paint. It really is quite surreal being able to see the moving parts and what it looks like underneath, how the strokes move in time with you."
Subconsciously, he reached out to touch the boy's hair. "W-w-wait!! What are you doing?" The boy pulled back and flew into the background. The painter's eyes widened slightly, amused and perplexed at how the boy and his pegasus had grown smaller and the wings he only painted a part of had become whole. Despite the distance his voice could be heard clearly. "You shouldn't do that without warning! I... I don't even know your name!"
"So you even have your own personality..." He's shown plenty of it tonight, but I can't help but think of him as the smiling boy. "I'll be happy to tell you my name if you tell me yours after."
The boy hesitated, still keeping his distance in the background. "Okay... but tell me yours first!"
With a warm smile, the painter bowed at his waist with a hand in front of his chest and a hand behind his back. "My name is Kamishiro Rui and as far as introductions go, I'm an inventor and painter which you've probably figured out since you are one of my creations. Now, what's your name?"
The boy grew nervous again. "I... I don't have a name..."
"I'm not surprised," Rui responded, catching the other off-guard. "As it stands I haven't given this painting of you a title, so it's not too hard to believe you don't have a name."
"B-but I want one! Why haven't you given me a name yet?"
Rui shrugged. "Did you forget that I was asleep before?"
"Right... sorry."
"That's okay. Besides, if this is a dream then it must mean I'm still sleeping, right?" He watched as the boy tried to understand what he said before giving up and shrugging. "You don't have to think too hard about it. For now we should think of a name for you."
"Would it be too much to ask for a cool name? I want a name that will draw people's attention!"
Like any painting, he's asking for attention. "Alright, then how about Pegasus Boy? Or Boy of the Skies? Those would be rather catching to anyone who hears them."
"Pegasus sounds good. But what's this about Boy? Why am I just Boy?! That's not a name. I want a proper name like yours."
"Really? I thought they were rather fitting." There he goes glaring at me again. I guess I should give him a proper name like he wants.
"What are you thinking, Rui? You suddenly went really quiet."
"How about Tenma Tsukasa? Is that more to your liking?"
"Tenma Tsukasa... Tenma Tsukasa... TENMA TSUKASA!!" With an alarming shout, the smile Rui painted earlier had now returned to the boy—Tsukasa's face. "I like it! It's like I'm ruler of the skies!"
"Or the ruler of flying horses."
"Do you have to make it sound so uncool?"
"Are pegasuses not flying horses?" His laugh quickly turned into a yawn and he covered his mouth to suppress it. "I didn't think I could experience tiredness in a dream but I guess I was wrong."
"I still don't understand what you mean by 'dream'." Tsukasa flew closer to Rui, sitting almost exactly in the same position as he was originally painted in. "What makes this a 'dream'? And will this all really end when you next wake?"
"A dream is the subconscious state of mind a person experiences when they're asleep. A person can experience almost everything they would if they were awake except sometimes what they experience is a bit more... crazy."
"Crazy? Oh, is that why you called this a dream? Do paintings like me not exist?"
"I'm afraid not," he sadly admitted. "You're the first I've heard and seen of a painting moving on its own."
"I see..." Tsukasa matched his glum look. Rui felt bad for him as his existence was but a brief one. If he had his way in this dream, then he would've examined the painting more closely. Sure, he had spent a long time painting it and even more effort to not make any mistakes, but when given the chance to understand something further than what meets the eye, he'd readily take it. It wouldn't be the first time he's broken something for the benefit of knowledge gained. Plus, this was a dream so any harm done would not affect the safe and original painting. "Um... Rui? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you want to tear me apart? Or destroy me? Either way I don't feel safe with you staring at me like that."
"That's probably because I was thinking that."
"Wh-wh-WHAT?!"
"But don't worry~ I've had a change of heart." He struggled to keep his smirk, the urge to laugh at Tsukasa's sputtering face an amusing sight to see. Not to mention it's been the first time in a while since he had someone fun to chat with even though he was fictional. "Hah... I really should return to sleep. Thank you for keeping me company, even if it was in my dreams."
"Hmph!" Tsukasa huffed and looked away while crossing his arms. Even his pegasus seemed to sigh from Rui's antics which finally brought out his laugh. Then, in a quiet whisper, Tsukasa asked, "Do you think it would be possible to see you again?"
"Hm, it's a little hard to say. It's possible if I dream of you that we might meet again. Our circumstance might be different though. You might not be trapped in a painting and be able to move around freely, for example."
Tsukasa considered the borders of the canvas for some time while Rui prepared to go back to bed; this time he chose a more accommodating space than his chair and laid down on a used tarp. "So it's really coming to an end now...?"
Rui yawned and wrapped himself in an old, worn-out blanket. Maybe one day with his inventions he'll be able to afford some nicer material to fashion a blanket or even a bed; maybe one day he could afford to buy one himself. With dreams of tomorrow and a sense of hope he'd desperately kept aflame all these years, he closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Tsukasa..."
"Goodnight, Rui."
He was already fast asleep when unfamiliar footsteps paced the room, wandering around aimlessly and stopping every so often before falling silent by Rui's side. It was as if the person had entered a new world and, wanting to inspect everything up close, reached a hand out to touch the sleeping boy's arm. But he shied away at the last moment and watched his own hand, questioning if this was real or if he was real.
"I wish this wasn't a dream," the voice said disdainfully. He stayed crouched by Rui's side and wondered how long until he woke again. "Please don't wake up. Or if you do, please still be dreaming.
"I don't want to disappear..."