Author's note: Sap

Ages: Eli - 19, Specter - 16

"It's not finished yet, but what do you think?"

Specter stepped off to the side so Eli could get a good look at the wall, and his jaw nearly dropped in surprise. Dozens of round black buttons formed the shape of a ladybug half as tall as he was, the line separating the wings sketched out with a light colored marker. It was obvious a lot of effort had gone into it; the buttons were all a similar size and glued to the wall neatly.

"It's- wow. This is incredible. How'd you get the buttons to curve so perfectly?"

She blushed faintly at the compliment, looking away from Eli to study her work.

"I made sure to lay the sketch out first, and then I started gluing. It took a long time. I'm not sure how I'm going to fill it in yet though; I was thinking either buttons on this line here," and she reached out to trace the wing edge, "Then filling it in with paint and using buttons for the spots, or doing the entire thing with buttons. The latter'll take forever." She added sadly.

"I can always help!" Eli piped up, stepping close enough to touch the bug's antennae. "I mean, if you don't mind."

"If you want to, you can." Specter smiled brightly, moving to stand beside him. "You really like it?"

"Yeah, it's great! I never would've thought of something like this. My mom, maybe, she did artsy stuff all the time before I was born...still does sometimes, when we give her a chance to breathe." He laughed, letting his hand fall. "So what gave you the idea anyway? And doesn't your landlord mind? I mean, when they say you can decorate the walls, I don't think they mean draw on them."

Eli was referring to the multitude of sketches surrounding them; animals, flowers, patches of scenery. They were all done in crayon, paint, and even chalk that had then been sealed so it wouldn't rub off. It wasn't as good as some of the stuff he'd seen Kai draw, but it was pretty all the same, and getting better if the ladybug was anything to judge by.

"Oh...I don't know. I just...felt like it, I guess. My landlord doesn't mind, he thinks it brightens the place up."

Something in Specter's voice caught his attention; she was blushing again, looking down at her feet. Eli frowned at that, then glanced back at the wall, his eyes widening.

"Uh...my mom's mentioned my nickname before, hasn't she."

He caught the slight nod out of the corner of his eye, and he flushed. Oh. Oh.

"Well. Okay. Um."

What did he say now? Was the ladybug supposed to be a reminder of him, or was he reading too much into it? She couldn't just like ladybugs? Enough to go to all the trouble of making one out of buttons on her living room wall where she'd see it every day...

"Eli?"

Startled, he nearly jumped before turning to face her. Specter was almost as red as he was. He took a little comfort in the fact that he wasn't the only one dying of embarrassment here.

"Yeah?"

"You do still want to help, don't you? I mean, you don't have to if you're uncomfortable, but I'd really like it if you would..."

She trailed off, gaze slipping down to rest on her shoes again. Without thinking about it, Eli reached out and took her hands, entwining their fingers. Specter lifted her head, violet eyes surprised. Eli grinned at her.

"C'mon, a horde of Neoshadows couldn't stop me. It'll be fun. Need me to bring anything?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "Not really. You and some cookies?"

"I can do that."

He gave her hands a squeeze, and suddenly she was pulling away. Before Eli could finish wondering what he'd done wrong, she was hugging him, tucking herself up close. Caught off guard, he stilled for a moment before hugging her back.

Okay. Maybe this wasn't so hard to figure out after all.