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The Artist’s Muse O/O- closed (stalkers will get some nice art)

@Tired-but-passionate forum 266 comments schedule
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Defeat was present in his face still, but he was unable to maintain gloomy eyes and pouty lips in front Jayme. Néci will never feel defeat when he has the sight of the blushing artist in front of him. His plan was foiled, but he does not mind the change of direction it is taking. He stared at the hand on his arm for a couple moments while smiling.

Néci bit his lip as he started to think of where they could eat. Where should they go? There are so many lovely restaurants all over the city. "Ah!" His eyes lit up then glanced towards Jayme. "How about Blanchard's, seven o'clock tonight? Then maybe afterwards we can go to a speakeasy that is two blocks away. What do you say?"

@Tired-but-passionate

(So sorry)

He nodded, starting to get a little excited. “Blanchard’s? Oh, yes, I have not been there in a while. That sounds lovely.” He chuckled. “Oh, how can I work when I have this to look forward to?”
Jayme pulled away and reached for the chair at his desk to put on his apron, as he had left it there. As he tied it behind his back, he looked over and glanced at the painting. He found himself pursing his lips and furrowing his brow, not liking what he saw. Up until this point, he had been okay with how the piece was going along, but now he sort of hated it.
“I’ll probably need to create another, larger version of this in oils…” he murmured aloud, thinking to himself. “So I’ll finish this today and send it to them…” It was some comfort knowing that he would soon have external feedback instead of having to rely on his own internal thoughts.

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A beam swept across his face. "You have been to Blanchard's too?" His ears turned pink. Néci chuckled before clearing his throat. "I wish I knew how," He shrugged, continuing to laugh a little while after. His eyes followed Jayme. They gazed at him with wonder, watching as he put on his apron. Immediately, Néci started to look around at random things when realizing that he was staring.

Glancing over at the piece gave him this feeling of awe that he had never felt before. To see a depiction of his face interpreted by a man and his brush, oh, it made him nothing but awestruck. Sure he may be fascinated as he is the model, and he is nor an expert nor an artist, yet he loved the piece. He thought that it was lovely.

Néci hummed softly while he ambled over to the bench. "I can help with sending the piece," He offered while sitting down. The bench made a little creak sound as he settled back against it. "Or I can deliver the piece to the client or we can go together! Yes? What do you think, Jayme?" While talking, he tapped his fingers against his knee. His eyes were sparkling. Whether it'd be due to Jayme, their date, this job, or the piece, he had not clue. All that he knew was that it is quite difficult sitting still when your heart is running to Budapest and back a thousand times.

Néci’s smiles were contagious. Jayme smiled back softly and nodded. “Yes. Usually with family.” He turned back to the painting, finding himself going back into work mode.
Maybe he just hadn’t mastered the watercolor quite yet. He was more used to oils, and this was technically only a small version of what he would eventually be painting. It’s okay that it wasn’t perfect, right?
Jayme sighed. The urge to fix every mistake and problem he saw was strong. He mixed some darker colors and went over the more shadowy areas before going over the cats again. Then he took the colored pencils he had taken out earlier and added extra details and texture, which seemed to make things better.
“Huh?” He only partially caught what Néci said. “Send the piece…? Oh—” he looked up. “You don’t have to. I have always done it on my own. It’s rather boring honestly— I’m not sure why you’d want to help.”

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"Oh, that's wonderful." Néci wanted to go on, asking Jayme what it was like going with family and so on. A gap formed between his lips. They hovered till they shut closed. Jayme was focused on working that he didn't want to utter a peep. There was a flame of focus lit within his eyes that made Néci sigh to himself. Staring made his chest heat up. He wondered what the painting looks like now, especially after Jayme started to use colored pencils. It must be as mesmerizing as it was the last time he looked at it.

He tilted his head to the left. Humming in question, he bit the inside of his right cheek before releasing. Néci shrugged, "I just want to help a little more aside from my duties. Surely you do so much already." He paused for a second before talking again. Gasping softly, his eyes lit up. "We can go together! It'll be less boring for you. I can learn how you do it too. Please, Jayme." It can be a little adventure for the two of them too. Gazing over at Jayme, he smiled before forcing his lips to pout.

A soft smile grew on Jayme’s face. It was strange how Néci could capture his attention as fiercely as his work. Or maybe, at this point, it wasn’t so strange. “You’re very kind, Néci,” he said, setting the pencil he had been holding down on the desk. “I… well.” He chuckled. “Alright. We can go together. Perhaps it would be good, and would show that we really are partners…”
His voice faded as he spaced out for a moment. Then he blinked, looking over to his partner. “Ah, could you come and look at this, please? I want to know what you think.” He motioned for him to come over.

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Néci leaned forward, eagerly waiting to hear what Jayme would say. Oh it would be so fun, the two of them walking down the streets to deliver such pieces of work! "Really?" He almost jumped out of the bench. "It would be a good, wouldn't it be, Jayme?" He beamed. The excitement left his face with a buzzing feeling. "Oh? Of course, hold on." Néci nodded before standing up. Briskly walking over, he went to stand behind Jayme. A couple of seconds went by where he didn't say anything. His brows pressed together as he stared at the piece.

Frankly, he was at loss for words. Not to mention he forgot the English word for shadows. His hand rested on Jayme's shoulder. "It is amazing, especially when you can see how much work you put into the…the uh…the things." He pointed at the shadows around the cats, but also the other details (that's the word he was looking for!) and textures. "You made so much progress and it hasn't been long since I last looked at it."

He just looked at him and smiled. Néci looked so happy, so excited. It was difficult to look back at his art again. He was entranced by Néci’s joy. “Yes, I think it would be quite enjoyable,” he agreed.
He looked between the piece and Néci’s expression. A soft chuckle left his lips as he followed his pointing. “Thank you, Néci. I see what you mean. Although, personally, it’s not my best work. I’m still new at watercolors, to be honest. When I show it to them, then paint it again in oils, it will look much better than this.”
He glanced at the hand on his shoulder, and placed his own hand on top. “However, I do think this is finished. Tomorrow, we will send it to Collier’s.”

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"It is going to be fun!" He exclaimed before bursting into laughter. Néci could not stop beaming. No really, it was impossible for him to. Between going out with Jayme and now they are going to deliver the painting together, all of gives him the reason to smile. Not to mention there was a lot of energy going through him. His heart was jumping all over the place.

His eyes gazed over at the painting. Either it was just him or he wasn't good at imaging what the final painting would look like. Now, it looked wonderful to him. He loved it…Perhaps it's just because he had a different perspective, but something about the painting made him feel fuzzy. He loved it. Though not as much as he loved the feeling of Jayme's hand on top of his. That also made him fuzzy, yet so did everything about Jayme. "I can't wait," He smiled, "Collier's will love it, I know it. You can bet on it, Jayme."

@Tired-but-passionate

“Well, aren’t you excited,” he remarked, still smiling with one brow slightly raised. After crying, agonizing over his feelings, and worrying about tomorrow, Jayme couldn’t quite match his partner’s zeal.
“We will see.” He took a breath and stood up. He took the painting and set it on top of the cabinet to be left alone, hopefully where Artemisia couldn’t get to it. He then took off his apron and put it up. “Okay Néci, all I need help with right now is putting up supplies,” he chuckled. “The colored pencils go here, the watercolors here. The palette can go here, it’s fine even with paint still on it. The brushes go here.” He pointed to each part of the cabinet as he spoke. “I can take the palette and the watercolors.” He learned quickly that it was better to be organized with supplies, otherwise things got messy very quickly. “Make sure to wash the brushes with paint still on them.”

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Néci laughed, "I am lucky I get to be so excited." At some points of his life, his energy was all that he had. If he can use it to make Jayme smile the way he was right now, then that would make him even more happy.

The instructions were all jumbled up in his head. Wherever Jayme pointed, he stared at it, labeled it in German, then did the same with the next. When he looked up at the cabinet, he whispered brushes in German. Put the brushes in the cabinet but wash them first, and make sure everything else goes in their corresponding place.

"Okay, I can do it, Jayme." Néci hummed to himself while going over the instructions. He made sure that everything was cleaned up and looked nice before everything was put away, but he did leave the paint on the palette. Honestly, he spent a few seconds debating on cleaning it off. Still, if Jayme told him to, he would gladly do it in a heartbeat.

@Tired-but-passionate

He took the watercolors and made sure the case and everything was clean, then shut it and put it in the shelf it belonged to. He left the palette with the same paints still on it, covering it with a towel before putting it in a different shelf.
He looked over to Néci once he was done and smiled. “Good work, partner.” He went over to him and tentatively took his hand.
“I think that’s everything. You’re free to go home for the day. But, ah… I will see you this evening, yes?” He looked up at him.

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"You too, partner." The corners of his lips lifted into a soft smile. Néci tried to open them again but was stopped when he felt Jayme taking his hand. They barely parted when his widened eyes looked down. The way his partner delicately held it made his heart all warm and fuzzy.

He pouted. It was hard for him to believe that they were already done. With previous jobs, sometimes he would not be done till sunset or even later. He didn't want to go. No not yet. A small crease formed between his brows. When Jayme looked up at him, all signs of this pouting was gone. Before saying a word, he eagerly nodded his head. "Oh yes, I will come fetch for you at six forty-five if that is alright with you, Jayme."

Jayme let out a small sigh of relief when he saw that holding his hand did not have regrettable results. The sigh turned into a chuckle when he noticed Néci’s wide eyes and warm expression. Although he was a little sad that Néci was leaving, he was more struck by the fact that he was so calm in this moment. Yes, Néci was leaving, but he would be back, and they would have a grand time. Or at least, he hoped.
“Six forty-five works just fine for me, thank you.” He smiled softly. “You’re quite the gentleman, Néci. I’ll see you then.” He led him to the door.

( @knightinadream)

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Néci gently swung their hands. Jayme's was slightly softer compared to his calloused hand, but he loved the contrast of the two. He loved holding onto the artist's hand. If only he didn't have to part from him so soon. Of course there was dinner yet he had little hopes they would be able to do something like this unless they were in private where no one could see them or no one would care. Options for such a thing are already limited as it is. It's frivolous, but he doesn't mind the risk.

When they reached the door, he took Jayme's hand up to his lips and kissed the top of it before letting go. "Thank you, Jayme," He beamed. Néci opened the door and had one foot out the door when he looked over his shoulder. "See you at six forty-five then. I am looking forward to it." And with that, Néci closed the door behind him. Before he could stop himself, he began walking down the street, making his way down to the street corner.

@Tired-but-passionate

He couldn’t help but smile at their swinging hands. He definitely hoped there would be more of this in the near future. His eagerness for it heightened as Néci kissed his hand. His cheeks flushed with surprise and giddiness. His brain couldn’t process it for a moment.
“Oh— yes, I… uh, I… of course—” Jayme stuttered as his partner opened the door. He shook his head and waved to him. “Me too!”
Once the door was closed, he let out a sigh, covering his face with his hands and shaking his head. “God help me.”

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Néci almost skipped down the street, but instead he smiled all the way back to his apartment. His heart felt fluffy and giddy with glee. The last time he ever felt like was this was when he left mainland Europe to go home; although this time was much different. To say he walked out of a place with a job and date was something that never happened to him. Of only he could tell others though. Zente and Estelle and his other siblings would be very proud of him for getting the job. Mother too. He himself was also proud.

Waiting for six forty-five felt like an eternity. The more he looked at his watch, the slower time got. Somehow he thought time would go quicker if he took a nap but he had to pick up his nieces from school at 4. Him and Estelle talked over tea about how their day went and his new job while the girls were playing in the other room. Eventually he went to join them before returning to his apartment to get ready.

Getting ready was a lot harder than he anticipated. Over and over again did he try something on, remove it, put something else on only to go back to the previous shirt or jacket or pants. By the grace of God, Néci was able to gather his thoughts and decided to go with what he was already wearing today. It was good enough to begin with, but he did stop to fix his hair on the way out.

It was six forty-four by the time he was at Jayme's door. He stared at his watch while his foot tapped against the ground. The second it hit forty-five, his hand immediately reached to knock on the door.

@Tired-but-passionate

When Jayme turned around and uncovered his face, he found Artemisia sitting at the base of the stairs, her green eyes fixed on him. He sighed like a guilty man, as if the cat had passed judgement onto him. But she merely mewed pleadingly, likely asking for her own meal now.
He went over to the cat and pet her head, and thankfully, she leaned into his hand purred. Jayme smiled softly. “Well Arty, look at that. Never expected to go out for a date in the near future.” He moved to scratch her chin, which she also accepted. “Do I deserve this? Do I deserve him?”
Artemisia just stared, moving away from his hand and pawing at it. The only thing she seemed to be judging him for was delaying her lunch.
“Alright, alright. Patience, you ravenous beast.” He moved back and started up the stairs. The cat licked her muzzle and followed him eagerly.
Other than feeding the beast, Jayme did not know what to do with himself until six forty-five. As Artemisia happily ate, he wandered about the kitchen and ended up glancing at the ice chest. When he opened it, he was reminded of the limited amount of lemonade that remained inside. Why not go ahead and get more?
After getting himself ready, he made his way to the general store and got more lemonade bottles. After placing them in the ice chest, he looked at the clock and was somewhat disappointed that not as much time had passed as he thought. He sighed, and was about to head to his room when he heard the phone ring. Confused, he made his way to the sitting room and took the phone to answer.
“Yes, Jayme Ashton speaking.”
His mouth hung slightly agape as he listened to the speaker on the other end.
“Oh! Wonderful, I’m… I’m pleased to know you’re interested.” He kept holding the phone as he moved to grab a piece of paper and a pen. “Miss Gelding, right? Okay. I can see you this weekend, is that alright?” He scribbled on the paper. “Late morning on Saturday, eleven o’clock perhaps? …Eleven thirty is fine, of course.” After asking a few more questions and scribbling a bit more on the paper, he said his goodbyes and hung up. He sat in the chair and let out a breath, finding himself rather excited.
Unlike Néci, Jayme was able to take a nap to pass by the day. Once he woke up, he checked the time, then rushed to get ready. His excitement came back, though for different reasons and with a touch of anxiety. At some point he realized he had no idea what to do. What does one wear to a date? He rather liked what he had on, but was it appropriate for the occasion? Looking down at himself, he sighed and decided to put on a nicer shirt, at the very least. His hair was messy from the nap, so he combed it down carefully. Even then, the soft curls of red hair showed through.
When he heard the knock, he scrambled and quickly went to answer the door. “H— hello.” He cleared his throat, eyes focusing on the man before him. God, how did he survive the past few hours without seeing Néci? He seemed to glow, his eyes shining down at him.

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Waiting outside the door felt like an eternity. Néci kept rocking back and forth on his heels with his hands inside his pockets. Did he looked anxious? Tired? He stopped moving and stood straight while his shoulders back. Then he kept his arms at his side, but he couldn't resist at least fidget with his hands. Taking a few deep breaths did help calm his nerves for a couple seconds.

It was a miracle that he could stand still. The sight of the door opening was enough to keep him on the edge, but seeing Jayme almost knocked him over. He was sure his knees were going to buckle or maybe he could've fallen backwards. Néci could have sworn his heart stopped. Everything in the world must have stopped in that moment.

God, what had he done to be lead to Jayme? Was it possible for an artist to look more handsome than his art? It was impossible for him to look away, to peel his eyes off of this man. His face was becoming rosy.

"Hi…" In an attempt to play it cool, he gave Jayme one his charming grins. "You look just as amazing as I last saw you. Should we go?"

@Tired-but-passionate

They seemed to mirror each other for a moment, Jayme getting caught up in Néci’s beauty as much as Néci was with Jayme’s. Images too shameful to describe rose in his mind, and his cheeks became flushed as well. Doubts from earlier came back. Did he deserve this? He wanted it so badly, but was that a good thing?
The flash of grin almost blinded him, yet he stepped closer. Jayme laughed, a little nervously. “Thank you? You… you look amazing as well. I’m ready to go, yes. By the way—” he brought out a sketchbook and held it up. “I was thinking of taking this with me, if that’s alright?”
Usually when he went out for extended periods, he would bring a sketchbook or something he could draw with. It helped with boredom and practicing his craft. He had no idea what to expect with a date, but it felt weird to him to leave without a sketchbook.

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Looking down at his shoes, he laughed. "Thank you." His weight shifted onto his left foot as he shook the right. When Néci returned to standing straight with them together, he stared at Jayme and said, "I wanted to make sure that I looked good for you. Something for those soft eyes of yours to look at."

Even in the space between them, he felt a spark igniting. Warmth ruptured, leaving his palms as hot as his cheeks and the back of his neck. All Néci could think of was, "Closer…please come closer…" He knew that it was something he should not be asking for, praying and begging for, but the voice in the back of his head persisted. It's not like it could happen out here anyways.

Looking down at the sketchbook, he smiled. An artist must be dedicated to their craft if they want to succeed. "Of course, I do not see why you shouldn't," He smiled, "Maybe you will make a masterpiece there, yes?"

"Okay." On his left heel, he swung around and made his way to the sidewalk. Glancing over his shoulder, he smiled again and motioned Jayme to come over, "Let's go!"

“Oh… is that right?” His cheeks flushed and he couldn’t help but bite his lip. Soft eyes. Quite the opposite of the other man’s piercing gaze.
Jayme chuckled softly, holding the sketchbook underneath his arm. “Probably not a masterpiece. I’m just taking a pencil, I’m not bringing all my paints.”
He stepped over the threshold, then closed and locked the door behind him. Then he followed behind Néci. It was an odd thing to think about, but Jayme found himself wishing he could hold his hand, or perhaps put his arm through the crook of his elbow. But it was better not to.
“I’ve never been to Blanchard’s with anyone other than family,” he murmured. “So this will be interesting.”

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Néci's eyes glanced away from Jayme. He bit his bottom lip while giving a shrug. "A muse must inspire the artist, no?" He asked while tilting his head, "I'm sure me and my attire must help keep you inspired when you draw and paint."

Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he looked up as they walked down the street. In the corner of his eye, Néci noticed the sketchbook. He wanted to carry it while the two of them held hands, swinging them as they strolled together. What a fantasy to have. Something that could only exist in his dreams.

He sighed at the thought of it, but he smiled while looking over at Jayme. "Really? I guess it will be," Néci said before giving a wink. "It will be fun."

Jayme grinned, and his bottom lip was freed from his teeth’s grip. “You do. You’re very good at inspiring me. The perfect muse.”
He picked up the pace a bit so that he could stay beside Néci, rather than behind him. He had been holding the sketchbook close to chest, but after a few moments he was able to relax, moving to hold the sketchbook at his side. His eyes flitted to their surroundings. He didn’t think he could look too long at the other man without staring or blushing.
Somehow, he was able to catch Néci’s wink. A shiver passed through him, he almost lost balance. “Y— yes? I hope so. I think I’m excited.” He grinned more, uncontrollably so.

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"Muse." The way it rolled off Néci's tongue fascinated him. Underneath his breath, he kept quietly muttering the word to himself. He stretched his hand out towards Jayme before moving it in a circular motion, gesturing towards Jayme and himself. "The perfect muse for the perfect artist and the perfect artist for the perfect muse. We must be perfect for each other."

Néci swore he could have seen the restaurant a bit down from where they were. His mind itched for him to grab Jayme's hand and just bolt down the street. They would be there in minutes, seconds even, but then he'd miss the opportunity to constantly look over at Jayme without anyone noticing. Every glimpse was enough to leave him satisfied till the next time he looked over.

Jayme's grin almost made him stop in the middle of the sidewalk. At that point, he wasn't just glancing over at him, he was just staring with his wide eyes. It was hard resisting the urge to let them linger. When he finally looked away, he beamed, "Oh, with a good-looking smile like that, I would say you most certainly are excited. Quite the site for sore eyes, huh?"