𝑏𝑦 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 || 𝙹𝚘𝚝𝚊𝙺𝚊𝚔

𝑣: From An Artist's Perspective

Noriaki had always noticed that Jotaro was within six feet of him. The trip to Egypt, at school, while they walked home. Now, he was even more aware of the ravenette's presence in the room. Every time they locked eyes, he flashed back to catching Jotaro after his shower and the process made him blush. Thankfully, setting the table and eating the dinner they had prepped gave him something to focus on aside from the taller male next to him.

They sat quietly, and for a while the only thing that could be heard in the room was the soft hum of the fan and the clinking of chopsticks.

"How's your studying going, boys?" Holly asked just as Jotaro was finishing his plate and getting up to get more.

Noriaki swallowed and answered. "It's going well. I feel more confident in my habits this year than last, and I think we'll do well."

"You're such a nerd." Jotaro sat down next to him, seemingly closer than he was before. "You've already got all the formulas down."

"It never hurts to prepare, Jojo," he replied, shoving a shrimp in the other boy's mouth to shut him up. The black-haired boy smiled, and the dinner table was quiet once again.

·～•✯•～·

Afterwards, Noriaki and Jotaro helped Holly clean the kitchen, despite her protests. The ravenette had noticed his mother was quieter than usual, but hadn't said anything. He and the redhead were now watching movies in his bedroom. School was going to be cancelled the next day because of the snow, so they were going to be up late.

He was a blushing mess, but the pre-setting sun made it difficult to tell. Yes, Noriaki was spending the night. And yes, they had slept in the same room more than once in the past. Despite him telling himself it was just because of the blizzard, he was excited and nervous. He could cross a line, and once he did there'd be no going back.

Noriaki sat quietly a few feet away, sketching in his sketchbook. It looked to be a man; but in order to tell clearly, Jotaro would have to crane his neck, and he didn't want to invade the redhead's privacy. Instead, he shifted positions, placing more pillows behind his neck. His jacket lay to the side, its chain shining from the partly setting sun.

He looked over at the boy in front of him. Noriaki sat with his back to him, staring down at his page. His pencil hovered, showcasing his uncertainty. He could feel the Kujo's eyes boring into his back, and he felt both uneasy and thrilled that he was being watched. He took a quick glance behind him, catching Jotaro's brilliant turquoise eyes just before he looked away. He took a deep breath. "Would you like to see what I've got so far?"

Jotaro's eyes moved back to the redhead; he seemed interested, though he had never struck Noriaki as the type to look at art. "Sure. Lemme see."

He handed over his book gently. "The drawing is nowhere near finished, as you could probably tell—"

"It looks good," Jotaro commented, tracing above the pencil lines with a finger. "What's it gonna be?"

The compliment made him blush. "I'm not sure yet. I haven't really gotten an inspiration."

Jotaro handed the sketchbook back. "Well, I was thinking about earlier."

Noriaki turned so he faced the Kujo. "What about it?"

"When you said I have a perfect figure. It seemed like you wanted to sketch me. I figured you could draw me now before it gets too dark."

The freckled boy froze for a moment, feeling his face warm up. It had already been hot, but by now, his face had to have been bright red. "Draw . . . you?"

"Yeah. I could tell you wanted to before, but you didn't verbalize it."

He looked the larger male over. His strong jaw, broad chest and shoulders, toned arms and slightly tanner skin would translate perfectly to paper. He grabbed his pencil, eraser, and sharpener, flipping to a new page. "Would you pose?" Jotaro gave him a sarcastic look, which made him laugh. "Fine, don't pose. Just look off into the distance and tilt your head slightly down."

He got into a comfortable position, leaning against the pillows and fixing his gaze on a spot on the opposite wall. He relaxed and placed his arm on his knee, keeping his head down.

Noriaki began with shapes. A circle here, a couple of rectangles there, a triangle here. Soon, he had a vague mess of geometry in light pencil and was beginning to trace thin lines that would soon be lined in pen. Jotaro kept quiet the entire time.

When the freckled male was satisfied with his sketch, he took a moment to look it over, making sure it was the way he wanted. He had purposely left Jotaro's hat off, and his eyes looked into the distance, just as he wanted them to. His body was perfectly toned, down to the finest muscles in his arms. He wasn't clothed, but only because the redhead found it easier to clothe the body rather than body the clothes. He stopped the drawing at the knee that had been propping his arm up because there wasn't enough room for the rest of him.

Noriaki nodded to himself and Jotaro, letting him know it was okay to move. The ravenette immediately went for the book and he got it, taking care not to smudge the pencil.

The redhead held his breath, waiting. Waiting for Jotaro to criticize him. Waiting for him to say it was creepy or weird to draw him. Waiting for him to point out this little mistake on his face. Waiting for him to comment that he wasn't wearing any clothes.

But Jotaro stayed in awed silence. "I see what you mean about a perfect figure," he said after a few minutes.

Noriaki nodded, reaching out to get his book back. He rummaged around in his bag for a piece of paper to put between the pages so the graphite wouldn't smudge more than usual. "You're fun to draw," he noted. And look at, he wanted to add, but thanked himself for the gift of forethought.

Jotaro's cheeks went pink as he returned to his previous position on the futon, adjusting the pillows again. "Thanks. You're a great artist. Have you thought about it professionally?"

The sun was now almost fully set, casting amber light through the room. The movie they were watching was over, Noriaki noticed, and he made a mental note of it. "Considered it," he answered, getting up and looking for another movie.

He layed on his back, looking at the ceiling. "You should try, at least. You've got talent."

He shrugged as he put the movie in. Then he closed the curtains slightly so only a little bit of moonlight would be able to shine through. As he did, he saw snow falling peacefully and for a moment forgot there was a blizzard coming. He went and laid down next to Jotaro, feeling the heat radiating off of his body. He turned on his side, looking Jotaro in the eyes. He found himself staring into those brilliant turquoise orbs and had to fight to not get lost in them.

He's pretty, but not just from an artist's perspective.

Jotaro was the one to break eye contact, pulling Noriaki in close. The amethyst-eyed boy said nothing, for fear of disrupting the comfortable silence between them. He snuggled into the Kujo, feeling his eyelids drooping ever so slightly. Don't close your eyes, he thought to himself.

Before he knew it, however, Jotaro's gentle breathing had lulled him into a peaceful sleep.

·～•✯•～·

A/N: I think I'm going to try to update every week or every other week. school keeps me busy but not too busy that I can't work on By My Side. I've got a few more chapters sitting in my drafts, and thanks for reading!

Word Count: 1343