Archive of Our Own ^beta

Two Time's eyes dragged along the trail of a droplet upon the window above them. Watched it join with an adjacent drop, momentarily darting further before running out of itself and slowing once again. The rain was the softest it had been all week tonight. It tapped upon Azure's window like tiny pebbles tossed onto a drum and warped the moonlight into a melted, spotty image upon the glass.

It wasn't all that interesting. But despite that and the weight on Two Time's eyelids, they remained awake on the little couch with Azure's lent blanket, listening to his penship.

The way he moved the metal tip across the grainy page had a strange rhythm. It sounded frantic at times, as if gnawing on the page before suddenly snapping across it. Two Time had just assumed it was part of his botany work, but now they weren't so sure.

It took great effort to tilt their head and spot Azure, gently illuminated at the edges by a single lit candle. The position strained their neck, so they were shortly forced to twist the rest of their body too with protests from each limb. Azure hadn't heard them shift, eyes still locked on his paper. Two Time was curious now. And their legs, still sore from a day-long hike, never stood a chance at discouraging their impulsivity.

They took the blanket with them, though. Wrapped it around their shoulders and let it pool like a hood behind their neck. Their bare steps against the floorboards were silent. Two Time had memorized the creaky spots long ago. There was a comfort in knowing how to navigate a space without a soul knowing, even when there was no explicit danger. If anything, Azure's cabin had an intangible comfort to it that Two Time couldn't quite place. They settled on the conclusion that it was simply a different type of comfort than what the cult's housing units back home could offer. Here, it was just Two Time and Azure.

Now up close, Two Time could make out the beginnings of shapes and squiggles on Azure's paper. A step closer, and Two Time could now see the gradual change across the page from distinct plant features, to flowers that didn't exist, landscapes, and finally the crude sketches of faces and poses.

He had the proportions all wrong. The necks seemed to be protruding from a different, distinctly impossible place in each individual sketch. The length of the chest---maybe ribcage?---differed as well and made the too-ovular arms look wonky. The legs were at once too wide and too narrow. He was better with faces, but still struggled with the perspective on the eyes whenever the head tilted a little too much to the side. But there was effort.

Two Time decided to announce their presence by pulling up a chair. The scraping sound immediately snapped Azure's attention with a little gasp. "You startled me," he said with the pen-in-hand on his chest.

Two Time smiled lazily, turning the chair and letting their muscles cease function the second they were reasonably confident that they'd end up on the chair and not the ground. Two Time regarded Azure who smiled back, pretending that they weren't covering up their sketches with a textbook.

"Boo," Two Time whispered, darting a hand out and catching Azure red-handed. It actually made him jump a bit which Two Time delightfully giggled at, much to Azure's embarrassment. Two Time finally gave a proper gander at Azure's work while he fidgeted with his pen with increasing intensity. When Two Time dragged a fingertip across the page in line with a hilly landscape, Azure tensed as if Two Time's fingers were dragging along his heart instead. And like his heart, Azure closed up.

"They're bad," he murmured. As if acknowledging it somehow neutralized it. As if "bad" was even a sufficient adjective to judge something like midnight free-hands. What a dork.

Two Time didn't say anything, just continued to smile as they came across a sketched figure with remarkable similarity to themself.

"I like this one," they tapped it. Azure's face splashed a shade so brilliant that Two Time could make it out in the dark. They exhaled a chuckle and held out their hand, waiting for Azure's pen.

Azure hesitated but looked away and gently let the pen roll into Two Time's fingers. Two Time clasped it, running a thumb along the sharp tip and leaving a black scar of ink down their thumbprint. They flashed Azure a smirk.

"Roll up your sleeve," Two Time asked of him. Azure's eyes widened in curiosity before bunching up his loose robe and holding the fabric at his shoulder, presenting a freckled forearm to Two Time. He watched intently as Two Time leaned in, using their other hand to taut the skin and make for an easier canvas.

Azure flinched at Two Time's first stroke, his brows scrunched in uncertainty. Two Time looked up at him with those wide, questioning eyes and waited for a sign to stop or continue. Azure nodded and Two Time went back to work, the tip of their tongue poking out between pursed lips.

"Why my arm?" Azure asked, still a bit squeamish at the repeated light scratches. Two Time grinned.

"So you'll draw on mine next," they answered, examining their work so far. "Paper can be too permanent and impersonal sometimes. But skin is very..." They licked their thumb and swiped at Azure's skin to remove a line. "It stays on you as long as you'd like. Right upon your body..." they trailed off.

They kept at their work, thickening a jagged shape that ran adjacent to another, the two lines branching off into loopy curls and strikes. It wasn't an image of anything in particular, but each line looked purposeful, almost ritualistic. Azure relaxed under the gentle slits and let Two Time finish filling in a final curvature before blowing on the finished product. They removed Azure's hand from his sleeve, and just like that, the drawing was removed from sight. But Azure still felt the ghost of Two Time's touch and it made him smile, knowing something of theirs was now on him.

Two Time offered the pen to Azure expectantly. Azure plucked it out of the air and couldn't help but giggle at Two Time's excitement as they shifted the blanket off their shoulder and presented Azure with his own canvas. Azure moved the candle so it's light fell on Two Time then leaned forward to nudge the tip into Two Time's shoulder. Yet he hesitated and drew back, chewing his lip.

"Don't overthink it," Two Time's voice snapped him back to the present. Azure nodded and met their gaze. A few beats of silence passed before Azure suddenly resettled the blanket over Two Time's shoulders and scooted his chair closer to face Two Time head on.

Azure considered Two Time's face, his eyes tracing them up from chin to forehead. He had to slouch a bit for them sit at the same height.

Unprompted, Azure reached out a hand to the side of Two Time's jaw. Two Time's wide eyes showed the same confusion that Azure's once had, but they let the hand's delicate pressure tilt their head to the side. Azure seemed to be searching for something.

The same step was done on the opposite side, though Azure's hand lingered this time. When he was done, his fingers curled and grazed down their jawline, eliciting a shiver. Two Time's head stayed frozen in position until Azure tilted it back into place again.

"What?" Two Time asked curiously, thoroughly flustered.

"Shhhh..." was Azure's quiet response as his eyes traced Two Time's lips. Two Time wanted to say more, but Azure's eager smile stopped any of the words from climbing out. So they just settled a little more and tipped their head up again at the request of Azure's hand.

After a few more seconds, Azure nodded and raised the pen quite close to Two Time's eye. They shrank back a smidge, and Azure looked at them with that same questioning gaze, and something so deep and tangled inside Two Time unraveled a bit at the sight. All at once they felt the slightest breeze of Azure's exhale against their skin, the rain traveling from sky to ground echoed in their ears, and they noticed the aftertaste of the tea he had given them earlier resting upon their tongue. Their nod was a wholly conscious decision.

Two Time closed their eyes this time when Azure's hand approached. The eyelid closest to the sudden poke of his pen screwed shut.

"I'd like you to stay still," Azure patiently remarked.

"Apologies," Two Time whispered quickly before resuming their new role as a statue.

It probably wouldn't have been any easier to tell what Azure was drawing even if Two Time's eyes were open, but whatever it was, it was viny and Azure took much greater care on Two Time's face than the paper. His thin lines lacked any of the same thickness or jaggedness that Two Time's did, except when he'd swipe his pen in small, contained spots upon Two Time's cheeks or above their brows. Then his strokes were circular, then dots, and then Two Time stopped paying attention and nearly fell asleep in place, focused on the steady hold of the hand underneath their chin.

It wasn't until the hand left that Two Time dared to open their eyes. Azure squinted at him and pursed his lips before admitting, "I'm glad you can't see this."

"You don't have a mirror here?" Two Time chuckled, eyes darting around the room in search of anything that would reveal what Azure had marked on them. Azure only hummed in confirmation and Two Time practically deflated.

"To what do I deserve this punishment?" Two Time laughed lamentingly, genuinely cheerful and upset at the same time. Azure only snickered before he continued to stare at his art.

"Well," he started, leaning in and running a fingertip down the left side of Two Time's face. "These are supposed to be ragworts," the finger went up, "this is wisteria," across their forehead, "then bellflowers," down their cheek, "just a few leaves here..." and stopped at the crease of Two Time's lips before leaving.

"Is that all?" Two Time blinked.

"No..." Azure's face was ripe with blush. He did the ministrations he always did before asking: his breath hitched and his lips parted the slightest bit before he swallowed and asked, "May I?"

Two Time giggled and pressed their hands to his chest, letting Azure close the distance by wrapping his arms around them. Smiles crossed, they shared a few chaste kisses in the flicker of candlelight and comforting drizzle of rainfall, each exciting the fluttering in Two Time's stomach more than the last. Their hands slid off his chest as Azure's made their way up Two Time's back. He caressed both sides of their face and thumbed at the artwork, no doubt smudging it and leaving it's untouched version forever out of Two Time's view. They were strangely content with that fact.

"And nightshade," Azure murmured when they parted, his thumb tracing past the crease of Two Time's lips. "All flowers that remind me of you."

Two Time's grin widened as they exhaled a chuckle. They lifted a hand to the one on their cheek, caressing it a few times before dashing forward to deliver a final peck on their angel's endearing smile.