Work Text
Keigo sat by the lake with his tablet as he tried to come up with a new idea. He had been stuck in artist's block for two weeks now, and he needed a new idea for a sketch, and fast. After all, he had rent due for his tiny one bedroom apartment in New York."Come on, think Keigo, think. I need something to sell out there so I can get some cash..."Keigo wandered back and forth on the lakeside pavement to ponder on his predicament. As he was pondering and pondering, the lake began to somehow drain by itself as a young man in clothing that looked like it was from the days of mass hysteria about witches plagued the world, crawled out. The man coughed and climbed onto the bench. Keigo looked at the young man and quickly rushed to help him."Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" Keigo asked as he dragged the young man out of the water.The man coughed and breathed heavily. "Yes, yes I'm alright..." The man coughed some more and sighed. "T-Thank you..." Keigo helped the man up and gave him a towel. "Here, dry off with this." The man took the towel and looked at it. "What...is this?" "It's a towel...you...dry off with it." The man looked at the towel and was still somewhat confused. "Uh...here, lemme help you." Keigo dried off the man's face, hair, and hands with the towel. The man tilted his head as Keigo finished up. "There...all done." The man's sparkling blue eyes reflected the moonlight perfectly. Keigo smiled and looked at the man. "Gee, your eyes...they're really beautiful. Do...you have a name?" "Touya...nice to meet you." Touya extended his hand out for a handshake. Keigo shook Touya's hand. "Name's Keigo!" "Keigo...an interesting name." Touya said, as he looked around the lakeside. Touya looked at the tablet placed on the side of the lake. "Hmm, what's this?" Touya picked up the tablet and examined it curiously. "Oh that? It's a tablet. You can do a lot on a tablet, like draw, write, surf the internet-" "Internet?" Keigo tilted his head. "How do...you not know what internet is?" "It simply didn't exist in my time. Why, is that some form of reason to judge me?" "N-No! I was just...surprised is all!" Keigo responded. Touya crossed his arms and looked away from Keigo. Keigo sighed heavily and picked up his tablet. He looked at Touya and had an idea. "Touya, stay just like that!" "What?" Keigo began to sketch Touya in his pouty position on the tablet, perfectly replicating his eye shape, face, hair texture, and the texture of his clothes. Touya looked at Keigo. "What on Earth are you doing?" "Just stay still for a moment." Touya put his hands on his hips and looked at Keigo. "I demand to know what you are doing! I have a right to that, you know!" "Andddd done! Come take a look!" Touya scoffed and looked at the tablet. On the screen, he saw himself, arms crossed and eyes shining from the reflection of the water. "What...is this." "It's art. Well, more specifically, it's called a sketch." "A sketch?" "Mhm. It's like a first draft of a art piece. Usually it's done to provide a...sort of outline for a art piece." "Hmm. Fascinating." Touya said, looking at the sketch. "And how long does it take for this...sketch...to become a art piece?" "Depends, really. For me, somewhere between a week and two weeks. Some sketches could take artists longer to finalize and publish." "You can publish an art piece? Isn't that reserved for the rich?" "Well...not anymore. Anyone can publish art. It's just...a game of chance and luck to see if you can get any viewers." Touya sat on the bench, listening attentively. Keigo smiled softly. Touya reminded him of a little kitten. "Listen...I have to get going back to my apartment...but your welcome to join me." "Join you? Oh I couldn't do that." "Cmon, I insist. I got a couch you can sleep on." "What's a couch?" "I'll show you, now come on!" Touya stood up and followed Keigo as they walked back to the cramped studio apartment within the bustling streets of New York. This...was the start of something great. A journey neither of them were ever expecting to have.