tampered | Log : Ongoing

When; Tuesday, the 27th
Rating; PG to be safe
Characters; Yumichika

too_ugly and Soubi

lying_obedience
Summary; Soubi makes good on an invitation to paint Yumichika.
Log;

Something was missing. There was a gaping hole at his side. It should have been filled with his daemon. To have just met it once and known it for an entire day, Yumichika felt as if he had been with his animal since birth. There was an intimacy between him and her that was ripped away merely by the passage of hours in the day. What an ugly violation.

So bothered by Kido's disappearance, he hadn't even bothered to bring his zanpakuto along with him. That in and of itself was trying, for it too almost never left his side. Even today he'd managed to find something to wear besides his dark Shinigami garb. Having been invited for tea by a Captain merely half a hour ago, he'd decided to wear a kimono of cotton. Powder blue and dotted with large tiger lilies stitched into its body and along its lower hem, Yumichika looked more like a woman at first glance than himself. He couldn't yet afford a nicer kimono of silk, but this one served an equal purpose and he wore it well. Hopefully it would be suitable for an audience with Soubi.

Hs fingers touched absently at the sash around his waist before they came to knock softly at the young man's door. The walk there was even a haze.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He'd readied everything before the final invitation had been given.

There was little to do in the way of it -- a comfortable setting, paper and easel. Of course, the canvas, but that was for a much later time. Often, it was easier for him to sketch and plan before actually putting any real thought to painting. Human subjects, too, were a little more obscure than the normal things he painted. Flowers, his specialty.

And their symbolism as well.

Thus, after situating everything and remembering to tie his hair back, it almost always managed to get in the way, Soubi only had to open the door. Yumichika seemed...

"It's nice," were the first words out of his mouth, slight smile behind them. He liked the colors of his clothes, though something else would have better suited him. Something darker. Still, he moved to the side to allow him to enter, eyes trained on him.

"Hm?"

Yumichika blinked, taken aback by the comment. it was given so suddenly that he had to question what Soubi was referring to. Once he realized he was talking about his clothing, he smiled gently and nodded his head in thanks.

"Oh. Thank you. I would have preferred something darker, but I thought it would have been slightly imposing on Captain Ukitake. I didn't have time to change."

Taking the invitation, Yumichika stepped inside and unconsciously flipped his hair. His attention was clearly on Soubi's collection of items. The temptation to touch his collection of brushes was strong, but he wouldn't dare.

"Thank you for the invitation. Have you been well?"

Immediately, he did not recognize the name being spoken, but that had little to do with now.

Soubi could not keep himself from watching Yumichika move, the way the folds of his clothing gracefully followed him with gentle movements. He always had admired that about traditional Japanese garb. Door closed, and he smiled at him, humming ever so slightly in agreement.

"Fine."

Then, that print caught his eye. Flowers...?

"Yumichika," he closed the space between them, mouth twisting into something more questioning, "tiger lilies?"

Perhaps there was a bit of humor in his words because, certainly, it was amusing. And briefly, he wondered if the other could smell the lingering scent of paint.

"That's very good. A large difference from the last time I was here."

Brushes, canvas, paint, lighting.... It was a small and intimate scene for this apartment. Yumichika easily saw the beauty in an artist's surroundings. He did catch the faint scent of paint, but he didn't find it offensive at all. From paint came all sorts of pretty things, with a little imagination. Perhaps one day, he would be able to try his hand at creating something with Soubi's permission. It'd be a change from calligraphy and simply recording information for documents like he did back in his true home.

A little smile unconsciously spread on his lips just before he felt Soubi step closer. His attention immediately settled on the taller young man, violet eyes peering past the other's glasses in question. Soon after, they fell to the lower hems of his clothing. He didn't think as highly of this outfit because it was just cotton, a little something to throw on between changes into more impressive clothing, but... the flowers were what caught his attention. The stark white print of petals against the blue accentuated the magenta-pink-violet centers of the flowers themselves. Being questioned about them almost made him want to go home and change. Almost.

"Yes... They looked nice. The gold stitching around the white petals caught my eye. But tiger lilies were always pretty flowers, in my opinion."

There was something about the look in his eyes that immediately captivated him.

Not particularly strange, just a fascination with the color he found there. Almost, if he thought to search hard enough, he could see Ritsuka staring back at him. It was nearly the same hue, perhaps a little darker, a little older, and he admired that. If he'd had permission, he would have reached out and touched. However, there was some sort of invisible line between them that Soubi hadn't the urge to cross. Yet.

Instead, the blond focused on the way his fingers skimmed the material to touch the stitching there. Just brief grazes, enough to allow Yumichika the option to move away if he so chose.

"They mean wealth." His voice was softer now, leaning close to whisper that last word. "...Pride."

Yes, he liked them. Very much.

Yumi didn't bother to move away. He didn't feel particularly threatened, to say the least. He did however find a little interest in the way he was being eyed and smiled. This must be the way that artists work, he decided. Close observances, lingering gazes here and there, study.

The shinigami's brows lifted in surprised as he picked up the hem once more to look the flowers over.

"Really? Wealth and pride? Do you study flowers, Soubi?"

The very mentioning of such inflated his ego but he lacked the words to bombastically boast about it as he usually would. A little humility wouldn't hurt every once in a while. Still, that pride simmered deep within him and he contained it with a knowing smile. He wasn't wealthy yet, but it'd be a nice addition to his greatness once he achieved that status.

Lowering the hem and calmly smoothing a fine wrinkle from the front of his clothing, Yumichika turned on his heels and approached Soubi's work station for a better look.

A slight shake of his head was all he could answer with.

Soubi wasn't particularly sure how to explain that. It wasn't as if he studied all the time, as a hobby. Particularly an interest in the way they looked on paper, on canvas. In pencil, charcoals, oils, and acrylics. Their texture, like silk, and the petals as they blossomed... One could preserve a flower's beauty forever, dry and press it to keep it suspended. Always beautiful, never to be--

A murmur, "In school."

Following Yumichika, long fingers idly touched a pencil resting atop one of the tables. His studio had become a little more cramped since Kio had arrived; more supplies, more things to do since he wasn't alone. But still, this was his place, conveniently situated beside the few windows that there were. Natural light was sometimes best. And beside it lay random sheaves of paper, sketched on and dappled with splotches of color. Soubi had thought to draw Ritsuka once, but he never sat still long enough. A kind of lazy smile fell onto his face then.

"When you're ready." Really, he wasn't in a hurry at all, and he picked up that pencil just to occupy his hands.

Yumichika nodded, satisfied with the answer. He wasn't too sure how old Soubi was anyway. He made a note to ask a little later on.

Deciding that his dark hair would look nice in the sunlight, Yumichika went to settle himself on the windowsill. Gracefully lifting a thigh up onto the structure, he situated himself better in his seat and slightly leaned against the frame. He'd seen a pose like this in old ukiyo-e paintings and thought it was one of the most graceful poses to have. He'd never been painted before and this would probably be the only time that he would be able to assume such a position. He had to make the most of it.

Tugging at the lapels of his kimono, he pulled them apart and allowed them to subtly drape. The small patch of skin at his collar had graduated to a fine v-necked strip of flesh that reached mid-sternum at his chest. The hint of shoulder and collar were just that: hints of flesh to avoid being vulgar. Tilting his chin up toward the sunlight, Yumi's eyes settled on the empty out just outside the window. The light above created a soft halo about his hair and skin and he felt sure of his pose. He'd trust Soubi to straighten any undesirable folds in his clothing that he couldn't see from this point. One hand rested against the sill to steady his pose while the other delicately clung to his kimono.

"I'm ready."

Log : Ongoing

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject