"Done already? Great! Thank you so much for your hardwork, sir. Here's the payment," Rei put some cash on the man's hand, and as soon as the guy received the money, he left the flat.
The door closed softly as the man exited the room. Rei walked towards the newly installed heater he got from Len's brother, Leon, who was the kindest person alive to donate for the broke blond. Well, knowing it was Len, none of their friends would give him a heater. Kagamine was an affluent family, richer than Rei and Fukase's parents combined. No one could decipher why Len was living as poor as a rat after graduating, anyway.
The raven haired man turned the heater on. It was truly freezing in Len's room without a heater, even if all windows were closed and the drapes were laid down. What confinement could escape winter, by the way? Rei could only wonder how the blond managed to sleep in this room for who knows how long, without anything warming him up. As a matter of fact, his bed sheets were cold, too. Rei grimaced at the thought that Len was gritting his teeth and shivering all night and day. The blond could always go back to his parents or ask help from his successful brother, instead of searching for luck in wrong places. Well, if it were Rei, that was what to do - ask help. Asking for assistance didn't sound so wrong.
He heaved a sigh and decided to explore Len's room of a mess. The small kitchen and living room could not be distinguished anymore, for both of the places were equally nasty. Empty mayonnaise bottles and brushes scattered everywhere. A4 papers were stuck on the wall, each was tainted with watercolors. The coffee table was stuffed by half-opened notebooks, ink drew lines across the pages. Rei recognized a sketch of him in one of the pages - it was him in cross-hatching. His facial expressions were drawn well, as expected from Len. Rei smiled. Sketches like this one were done in lightning speed, so long as it was Len who would draw.
Rei walked over to the table and picked up the black sketchbook. If there was something amusing about the blond (besides his drawing talent, of course), it was his photographic memory. It would only take one glance for Len to remember how an object looks like, and he could instantly transfer the image in his canvas. The raven haired artist giggled when he saw a drawing of an old street sweeper, his hand reached to cover his mouth. It reminded Rei of their project back in the university, when their professor asked them to draw an old man as a model. Len would always ditch the class whenever they were to draw a model. Nevertheless, that didn't pull Len's grade down. Rei remembered how Len could manage to draw a model by just peeking at the door for a minute. Then he would leave. Kagamine Len wouldn't show up until it was time for dismissal, to pass his work.
Rei was under the impression that Len hated to see half-naked or nude models at all. He heard that Leon was the same, always ditching the similar kind of activity. And why they were doing it? It was a riddle only Kagamine brothers could answer. It might be because the brothers hated to draw female body. (Who knows?) Rei turned the pages of the sketchbook and continued to look at Len's drawings. There were random things drawn, still objects Len had in his place: the jars retracting the sunlight, the chipmunk sitting on his window, the fallen dead leaf on his table, his lamp in the evening, and the His hand froze when he saw an illustration Rei didn't expect Len to draw.
A portrait of a woman.
She was pretty with that distant look on her face. Her narrowed eyes were glaring to whosoever looks at the drawing, as though she was not glad being noticed. The lips pursed in a thin line, an eye brow raised due to skepticism - she was an ice queen. Or at least Rei guessed she was. Rei chuckled to himself, quite unsure what to feel with regard to this little discovery. You see, Len always refused to draw a female model. It wasn't anything special, anyway. However, seeing a rough sketch of a female entity in Len's sketchbook might explain why the blond appeared cool with the commissioned art. Moreover, this girl totally fit Len's type.
Rei quickly dropped the sketchbook from Len's coffee table a la landfill. His legs brought him to the door and yanked it open. It was time to leave Len's flat and congratulate that numskull. The raven guy was sure that Len was inspired. Inspiration was a crucial sine qua non to make a meaningful art - that was the basic. "Always begin with end in mind," Rei could hear Leon and Len's voice in his head. That was how they began influencing him the raven not to do arts. To find the meaning, the purpose, why make art. Holding his phone on his right hand, he made sure to lock Len's door before scampering towards the elevator. As if the whole thing was plotted by someone omniscient, when the elevator door parted, there was a girl with long teal hair inside. A canvas was leaning to her right leg, and her arms carrying other fancy things (which Rei assumed as gifts from her boyfriend?). She didn't seem to have a good morning with that scowl adorning her pretty small face. Offering a polite smile, Rei stepped inside.
It was fated meeting, wasn't it? Rei knew the girl, more than she knew him. He bet the girl didn't know he was existing. That teal hair, that tiny pointed nose, those rosy cheeks - Rei saw all of them before...in a photograph. Well, of course she wasn't making a sour expression in that photo. She looked like a goddess (Rei meant to exaggerate it, yes), only if she would smile. In fact, Rei still had that photo in his phone. His client sent it to him for an art commission...where he assigned Len.
The door closed gently. Rei smiled to himself as he glanced at her. She had a hand massaging her head albeit it didn't relax her at all. Her brows were still knitted upwards. His honey orbs looked downward, noticing the canvas leaning to her. He could see a little of its color since it was turned away. Clearing his throat, he tried talking to her.
"Uhm, excuse me. Is this...a painting?"
She turned to him and nodded. Her eyes were cold and austere. Nevertheless, Rei believed she wasn't heartless. A kind smile could break that facade.
"I see," Rei chuckled. "Can I look at it? I love paintings, you have no idea how much I adore them."
She lightly pushed the canvas with her leg until it leaned to him. "Yeah. As a matter of fact, I have no idea who are you either. You can have it all to yourself," she shrugged. The door opened, leading them to lobby of the apartment complex. She stepped forward, about to go, but she stopped midway realizing the weight on her arms. "What about these ugly random things? You fond of them? I ought to dispose these nonsensical objects - that painting included, but you saved that one."
Rei forced a smile. She was a cold hearted monster, he concluded. He hadn't met someone who could this be unfriendly to strangers, but then again, people were acting all the same. He was just a popular artist to those who knew him, so he wasn't seeing all of humanity at all. His point? He couldn't please and charm all people.
"No," was his quick reply. "I like artworks not...those." He was clueless how to regard the gifts she had in her arms, and they were obviously personal. What would he do to those scrap items? She turned around and walk away, and he followed her out of the elevator while carrying the painting with him. "Hey, miss! Where to, anyway? I can offer you a ride."
"I can commute. Leave me alone."
That was a smooth, blunt rejection. Rei suppressed a laughter and watched her as she exited the lobby. It was about time when he looked at the canvas, finally. His eyes almost fell out of their sockets after looking at the art. Why not? It was one of the greatest work he saw back in college days. He looked back at the lady once more, and Rei noticed her grace as she moved away. Who was this girl and why did she have this painting? However, before he could ask, her form was slowly swallowed by the blinding light of the high noon sun, and he knew...he just knew...Len should wait.
Soon enough, his finger tapped 'send'.
Stay in that town until sunset. She'd come.