Work Text:
Seventeen had been staring at his canvas for at least an hour, racking his brain for what in Numberland he could possibly paint. He’d always known what to paint, why was this time so difficult? He was so focused on trying to make sense of what to paint, he didn’t even notice Three walking over to him.
“Hey Seventeen, whatcha painting?”
“I wish I could tell you,” he replied, turning to face her, “I have no idea!”
“Well you could always paint me,” Three gestured to herself, already posing.
“But I’ve painted you before, I need a new challenge.”
Just then, a butterfly flew by and landed on the top corner of the blank canvas. The tops of its wings were a brilliant blue, similar to that of the sky, and the undersides were dappled with shades of brown. It was nothing short of magical.
“Well, there you go!” Three exclaimed, “A new challenge for you.”
Seventeen reached for his paintbrush, but before he could grab it, the butterfly took off from the canvas, flapping around in circles, leaving him slightly irritated, but mostly disappointed.
“How am I supposed to paint something that won’t stay still?” Seventeen cried.
Three paused for a second, trying to figure out a solution. Then she darted off.
“I’ll be back!” she called as she ran, leaving Seventeen alone with the butterfly. He just sat down and studied its movement, waiting for Three to return. It was quite entertaining.
“I’m back!”
Seventeen looked behind him and saw Three running towards him, holding a camera. She stopped for a second to catch her breath, then started explaining.
“Watch this,” she said, taking a picture of the butterfly in flight, then showing Seventeen the result, “You can take pictures of the butterfly and paint from the pictures. You’ll even get multiple references for all seventeen!”
“Three, you’re a genius!"
Three handed him the camera with a proud look on her face, and Seventeen started taking pictures. Three sat down on the grass beside him and just watched the process.