He'd spent the last few hours not being able to stop himself from looking at the drawings over and over again. At least a dozen pages were filled with sketches of himself, most of them depicting him cutting flowers or wrapping them in bouquet. Some were close-ups of his face, and a few of them were beautifully colored with pastels. Rin's heart pounded as he studied the drawings and noticed that each one had an airy grace about them. He felt wonder and embarrassment all at once.

Why had Haruka drawn so many pictures of him?

It was before Rin was about to close for the day that he heard the door swing open, and he nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw who it was.

Haruka was standing there with his head down and drenched in rainwater. There was dead silence between them as Rin stared, unsure of what to say.

"You left your sketchbook here," he stated as Haruka walked up to him. He pulled out the sketchbook gracelessly and handed it to the artist, who accepted it with a grim face.

The silence continued and Rin fidgeted as he waited for the other boy to say something. When he finally did, his voice wavered and it was so soft that Rin wouldn't have caught it if it hadn't been completely quiet in the store. "Did you look in it?"

Blue eyes stared into his as he gulped. "…A little."

Haruka's entire body tensed before he looked down again, and Rin flushed when he saw that the artist's cheeks were tinged with pink.

"Why did you draw me?" he ventured and immediately regretted it because the other boy curled into himself even more and looked as if he was going to bolt at any second.

"I don't…know, really." He shifted so his bangs covered his eyes and Rin couldn't see his expression. "Sorry. I'll stop."

"No!" the florist blurted and it must have startled Haruka because he snapped his head up and looked at him with wide eyes. "I mean. It's okay."

The artist stayed quiet, and Rin couldn't tell what he was thinking. "They were really good. The drawings, I mean. I wouldn't mind if you drew me more. I've never had anyone draw me before and I liked them a lot, so…"

There was silence in the shop again. The florist fiddled with one of the cut stems on his counter and his eyes darted around, not sure where he was trying to take this.

"My final project."

"Huh?" Rin jumped to attention when he realized that Haruka's lips were upturned and he was actually looking at him now.

"…Can I draw you for my final project?"

Rin blinked. "I—yeah…sure," he said after a beat, taken by surprise.

"You'd have to sit a lot."

"I don't mind."

He seemed to relax. Rin was as thankful as he was confused, and he watched in silence as Haruka ripped a piece of paper from his sketchbook and wrote something on it. "That's the address of the studio I'm using. Are you free tomorrow?"

"I close at 8," Rin said as he took the paper and tucked it into his pocket.

"Can you come over at 8:30 then? If it's not too late. Just to start."

"Sure. I'll see you then, Nanase-kun."

The artist looked up at him. "You can call me Haru," he said after a pause, casting his gaze down and not meeting his eyes. Rin grinned.

"Alright, Haru."

The artist gave him a small smile before turning and walking out the door, leaving Rin alone to process what just happened.

The place that Haru directed him to was surprisingly pretty close to his flower shop, so Rin walked over after locking up the next day. It was only about a ten minute walk, so he could see why Haru found it so easy to just drop by every day. The building itself was nondescript and seemed to be some sort of apartment complex, with a distinct lack of flowers or decorative greenery.

The number on the scrap paper told him to find room 418. When Rin took the elevator to the fourth floor, though, he found that the numbers on the doors ended at 410. He back-tracked and circled around the level in confusion.

There was definitely no room 418 on this floor.

Had Haru set him up? The thought was even more confusing because he couldn't think of any reason why he might do that. Just to make sure, Rin double-checked the walls for extra doors. Nothing.

He was about to leave in frustration when the elevator dinged and he saw a man walk out. Rin would have ignored him, but he flinched when he realized that this was one of Haru's friends; the same on he'd seen in his shop and at the market. Why was he here? The man seemed to notice him before Rin could react.

"Oh, hi!" he waved. "You're the florist who Haru-chan's been visiting a lot, right?"

"…Yeah, I guess so?" Rin slowly turned to face him but stood rooted in his spot several feet away from the man, who walked right up to him anyway and held out his hand expectantly.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Tachibana Makoto." The man grabbed the hand that Rin lifted tentatively and shook it with fervor.

"Matsuoka Rin," he replied, giving the man a weird look because where did he even come from and why was he here?

"If you're looking for Haru-chan's room, it's on the other side of the floor but you have to take the other elevator because that side isn't connected with this one. I can show you there, if you'd like."

Rin considered his options. The smart thing to do would be to accept the help, but that would put him in a position of someone who needed help and that really rubbed him the wrong way. On the other hand, if he spent more time trying to search for Haru's room by himself, he'd probably end up being late. So he swallowed his pride and finally detached his hand from Makoto's grasp. "Okay. Thanks."

The other man smiled sunnily at him and started walking toward the stairs. Rin would have been content to spend the walk in silence, but Makoto seemed to be one of those naturally sociable people who wouldn't begin to fathom silence. He turned and waited until Rin was looking at him to say, "Haru-chan's told me a lot about you!"

"…Really?" Rin was dubious. Haru was as far from sociable as they came and had barely said five words about his life to him.

"Well, he told me who you were, and that's a lot if we're talking about Haru-chan." Makoto laughed lightly, shaking his head. "I'm glad he's meeting new people though."

"Guy doesn't get around much, does he?"

"He's not shy, he's just quiet. Usually he just sits in his studio and paints, and I have to drag him out so he doesn't faint from the fumes or something."

Rin scoffed. "That bad?"

"Sometimes I think maybe he just likes the smell of turpentine, but that's ridiculous, right?"

"I'd hope so."

Makoto laughed with a hint of nervousness. "I found him passed out in front of a canvas one day. That was really scary. But in the end he was just sleeping, and he got mad at me for waking him up."

It was just like the guy to pull something like that. Rin almost rolled his eyes.

They looped up the stairs on the other side of the third floor and came to a hallway that looked identical to one he had been searching in before. Makoto strolled down to one of the last doors and knocked. "Haru-chan never answers the door," he said after only a second of pause, putting his hand on the doorknob in a manner that seemed like it had years of practice.

There was a look of surprise on his face when the door opened by itself. Haru stood there in a smock with a brush in one hand, looking equally confused at the sight of the two of them.

"…Makoto? What are you doing here?"

The man in question withdrew his hand and laughed. "Haru-chan! I was just showing Rin where your room was, because he was on my side of the floor."

Rin bristled. "How was I supposed to know you're supposed to use the other side?"

"Hm." Haru stepped to the side to let him in, glancing at Makoto. "Do you need anything else?"

"Nope, I just got back from my last class and saw Rin."

"Alright. Bye." The artist gave Makoto a small wave before closing the door.

"He's not coming in?" Rin asked.

"Why would he?" Haru raised an eyebrow and gave him a weird look. He walked over to a sink and stuck his brush in a jar of some sort before turning the faucet on and grabbing a bar of soap. "I need to clean this brush, can you hold on for a second?"

Rin walked around hesitantly, not sure if he should sit down somewhere or if Haru was one of those artists that flipped their shit if someone touched their workspace.

The studio was surprisingly neat for an artist. He had expected racks of half-finished canvases, scrap paper littering the table or paint spatters on the ground, but the floor was relatively clean and it wasn't nearly as messy as he'd thought it would be. There was a stool and an easel sitting in the center of room with a chair in front of them, and a window with no curtains looked out onto the night street below.

A stove and a fridge were tucked into the corners of the far side, and there was even a bed behind a small divide. At this point, Rin realized that this wasn't really a studio; it was a long, one-room apartment and Haru had turned most of the living space into an art room.

The boy looked over his shoulder at him, probably judging him for standing in one place and just staring at the room. "You can sit on the chair."

"Oh. Okay." Rin sauntered over and waited as the artist wrapped the brush in a paper towel and set it to the side.

"I just want to do some sketches today to get some ideas down. It'll probably take around half an hour." Haru picked up a large sketchbook and set it on the easel, sitting on the stool with a set of chalks.

"That's fine."

"You can take a break halfway-through. Think you can sit still for fifteen minutes?"

Rin almost laughed. "Of course I can. I was an athlete in high school, you know. I'm not delicate just because I work with flowers."

"If you say so."

He side-eyed the artist, who looked rather unconvinced. Fifteen minutes should be nothing, he thought to himself.

"So…you live here?" Rin said after a moment.

"Yeah. I used to room with Makoto on the other side and had this rented out as a work space, but I live here now."

"Why?"

The artist shrugged and picked up a pastel. "I feel more at home here. Anyway, please don't move."

Rin caught himself leaning forward and sat back, straightening himself and staying as still as possible.

"Relax. You'll get tired in two minutes with that pose."

It was looking to be a long half hour after all.

For the first fifteen minutes, Rin just sat on the chair and watched Haru draw, trying not to move his head with his eyes. During that time, the artist turned into the strange boy in his shop again, sitting in his corner without a noise. He was as quiet as he was enigmatic; even after the last week, Rin still barely knew anything about him. All he'd gotten was an age group and a major.

And that, apparently, he liked to draw Rin.

Haru made gestures behind the sketchbook and still didn't say a word, but this time Rin noticed how at peace he looked against the backdrop of his art environment. Haru seemed to revel in silence, like it was part of his nature. It almost made Rin want to jump up or shout or knock his chair over just to get a reaction from the boy, but that'd be inappropriate so he kept his ridiculous urges to himself.

In the second half, the artist made him do different poses every five minutes, ranging from sitting to standing. He'd make him turn his head one way, or shift his arm and hold it in the air while Rin felt the blood drain from it. He had so much more respect for life drawing models now.

By the time Haru said he was done, Rin was exhausted. He got up to stretch and felt the joints in his neck cracking, earning him a grimace from the artist.

"Can I see what you drew?" he asked while Haru was putting his chalks away.

Haru nodded. "They're probably not going to look like these when I paint them. Especially the last one. The sun salutation pose is pretty silly."

"Why did you make me do it then?" Rin grumbled, rubbing his forearms to get the blood back into them. Haru just gave him a blank stare, and Rin sighed before walking around to look at the sketchbook.

There were multiple little sketches on the page, with some of them focusing on his face and others just a general outline of his body. Haru's strokes were light and careful and he didn't use many colors, but they were stunning regardless. Rin reached out and touched the paper, careful to not touch the chalk.

Beautiful…Rin couldn't get over how beautiful they were.

"You're a really good artist," He said as Haru watched for his reaction.

Wow, bravo, kudos to you for your stellar complimenting abilities. Go ahead and state the obvious.

"…Thanks." Haru took the sketchbook from under his hands and started to put it away. "I prefer the ones in the flower shop, though. You looked more comfortable there."

"Huh?"

"…Nevermind."

Rin suppressed a laugh. "Do you want me to bring you flowers next time?" he joked.

"That might work," Haru replied, completely seriously.

The florist almost choked, but he seemed to not notice as he walked over to a closet to put on some shoes and a coat.

"I'm going out to eat now," Haru turned back to him and waited.

"Oh." Rin stood up and threw his own coat on, heading towards the door. "I guess I'll get going, then. When do you want to meet up next?"

The artist regarded him silently for a moment. Then, "Don't you want to come with me?"

"Oh." He felt a little dumb. Clearly he was missing social cues, but this was Haru and he'd beg some leeway here. "That'd be nice."

Haru smiled, and Rin's heart jumped a bit. "There's a seafood diner downstairs and to the right, if you don't mind that. They stay open pretty late."

"Sounds fancy."

"It's small and not too expensive. I can treat you though, for being my model."

Rin shook his head vehemently. "No way. We'll go Dutch."

"If you say so." Haru shrugged as he pushed the door open and stepped into the lobby. Rin followed beside him and they walked to the elevator together.

As they went, Rin couldn't help but marvel at the graceful way the artist walked. He had this air about him that was easy to gloss over, but when you actually watched him, everything about him was elegant and he moved like a small stream.

Rin had tried to ignore it before, but…Haru was honestly really pretty. Not in a girly way, but even his skin was smooth and his hair brushed lightly against his cheeks as he walked. He'd wrapped his scarf around the bottom half of his face to block out the spring chill, and all Rin could see were his eyes.

There were a lot of things to be said about those eyes.

"Argh," Rin said out loud, and the artist gave him a questioning look. He flushed and turned away. "It's nothing."

He slapped a hand over his forehead, even though he knew Haru was watching him, probably judging.

I should really stop before I dig myself too deep.

A/N: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter! Pokemon was super distracting, and school's going to be keeping me pretty busy too. Hope you enjoyed this chapter though~