Skritch, skritch, skritch…. Arthur's pencil worked against the textured paper, bold lines and gentle streaks appear in the wake of the tip. His lithe fingers curved and bent in the familiar movements as he worked. "Here you are, sir." A voice said. There was a small clink and the warm scent of freshly brewed tea wafted up to his sharp, petite nose. He muttered a small word of thanks, but did not look up from the lines appearing on his paper. The world around him was buzzing, a wild mix of clinking dishes, murmuring voices, and shuffling shopping bags, but he remained engrossed in his work only momentarily looking up to gaze at the scenes around him. Somehow the mall served as the inspiration that fed directly into his mind and flowed through his pencil. Diversity was key in this profession of his.
The lines and curves were bold against the stark white paper and with the outline finished what was left was color. Arthur reached into his bag, taking out his neatly (anally) organized Copic marker case. He flipped open the flap and searched for the correct color, midnight blue. His trained eyes moved down the spectrum of marker caps till the greens began blending into blues ranging from lightest to darkest. He looked to the spot where the color should have been resting safe and nestled in the canvas case, but was surprised to find that it, in fact, missing. He checked again. If his system was right, which he knew it was, midnight blue should have been right in between sapphire and Prussian blue. Still no matter how many times he looked or checked the marker was still, in fact, missing.
"Bullocks…" He muttered to himself, thick brows furrowing. He dropped the marker case on the table with a thump drawing attention from the table next to him. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his lean chest with a pout and a small 'humph'. Well what was the man to do now? He could return home and search for the missing marker, but…. He tossed a longing glance to the creation on his paper. What if the marker wasn't at home? Then he would have to wait until the next day to get one. He had to finish this while it was still fresh in his mind otherwise it might not come out the way he wanted….
With no other options Arthur closed his marker case and sketchbook and placed them back safely in his bag. He quickly finished off his slowly cooling tea and placed some money on the table before getting up and slinging his bag over his shoulder; he was off to the art store. He knew very well that the art supply shop was on the second floor, down the east corridor tucked in between Macy's and Hollister. He walked along at his usual brisk pace, but not so much that it made people wonder 'Why the hell is that guy walking like that'. His loafers made a soft click on the floor as he walked, sharp, green eyes darting back and forth at the many people he passed.
Possible ideas, he thought to himself.
He finally made it to the correct store, walking inside like he had been there a million times- which he had before- and directly to the back where all the Copic markers were lined up nice and neat according to color and brand. His eyes traveled across the rows to the dozens of shades of blue. Navy blue, federal blue, sapphire, and…. "Bloody fuck." He cursed to himself when he found that the spot where midnight blue should have been was empty of anything, but a bit of dust and a price tag for the inexistent item.
Why the universe so bent on ruining his life?
Arthur gazed around a bit more to see if someone might have misplaced the marker in a different slot, but all the colors were in their respective places and midnight blue was still nowhere to be found. He let out a heavy, frustrated sigh and gazed down the aisle. At the end of the aisle was an employee, a tall blonde boy with glass who appeared to be somewhere around his late teens and early twenties. He was humming some pop song that Arthur vaguely remembered hearing on the radio as he stocked the area where sketchbooks were kept. Arthur turned on his frown and marched up to the boy, putting on his best displeased customer act.
"Excuse me," He said as he approached the boy. The boy did not respond, but only continued what he was doing. "Excuse me." Arthur said again a little more loudly. Still no response. The boy only continued to hum his song and place the sketchbooks in their places. Okay, now he was getting irritated. "Excuse me!" He said a lot more loudly, tapping the boy briskly on the shoulder. The boy finally stopped humming and looked up at Arthur with a dumbfounded look. He reached and pulled something from his ear and, wait… was that… oh, of course, ear buds.
"Oh, sorry about that. Can I help you with something?" He asked a friendly smile on his face as he looked down at Arthur with bright, energetic blue eyes.
Now he was pissed, but he retained his anger and merely frowned, "It appears that you are out of midnight blue Copic markers on the floor. I desperately require one and I would like to know if you have some in the back."
"Midnight blue?" He asked, grimacing slightly as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry, man, but someone else just bought the last one and we'll be out of stock until the day after tomorrow." Arthur's frown increased, folded lines growing more prominent at the corners of his lips. "Weird, a lot of people have been buying that color lately. It's almost like it's the in thing." The boy laughed; an annoying sound the bounced off the shelves and came back to Arthur's ear like a ringing that wouldn't stop.
Arthur continued to frown, "That's because it is," He retorted very matter of factually. "Do you know nothing of the world of fashion?" The boy gave him another dumbfounded look and cocked his head to one side like a dog.
"Nope, not a gosh darn thing!" He proclaimed with a bright grin as his head snapped back up.
Arthur rolled his eyes. What was wrong with this boy? Was he an idiot? Judging by that dopey look on his face it didn't seem like he was too quick on the draw about anything let alone something as fast paced and changing as fashion. Arthur sighed once more, "Well that's just perfect. If I don't get these designs in by Friday…" He didn't want to think about the possibility. He was already struggling enough to get by with what little money he made, but if he lost his job then….
"Hey," The voice of the boy interrupted Arthur's thoughts. "Just wondering, why do you need to buy another midnight blue marker?"
Arthur shot the boy a stern look. Why should it be any of his concern? "Well, I'll have you know I happen to be a fashion designer and I am in desperate need of one of those markers for my work."
"No," The boy replied. Arthur gave him a bit of a perturbed look. "Haven't you noticed? You have a marker right there in the pocket of your bag." The boy pointed one thick, calloused finger to the bag around Arthur's shoulder and sure enough when he looked down there was a marker poking out the side pocket. Arthur snatched it up and looked at label and sure enough 'midnight blue' was written in bold white letters against the dark blue background.
Now he remembered. Last time Arthur had used it he realized he was late for a meeting and had no time to put the marker away properly before he rushed out the door. He had just barely gotten into the conference room on time that morning. Arthur could have thrown the stupid marker on the floor and stomped it into the ground, "Bloody mother… stupid… such bullocks…" He muttered and cursed almost inaudibly as he grabbed out his marker case and shoved the infernal writing utensil back in its proper place.
"Easy with the mouth there, dude, there're little kids around." The boy said, blue eyes darting around behind his glasses at the people who began staring at the blonde man with the thick brows. Arthur shot him a furious glare. "It's alright, people forget stuff sometimes, it happens." He said, holding his hands up as if in surrender. Arthur only glared with his venomous green eyes once more.
"Thank you very much, but I won't require your help anymore." With that Arthur pushed past the blonde employee and strode out of the store. Well this was fantastic; the idea had faded away.
My newest fanfiction featuring fashion designer!Arthur. Can you guess who that art store employee is? ;)
Comments are always loved 3 Thanks!