✓THE SPACE BETWEEN THE STARS|| BakuDeku Au

Chapter Nineteen: Naked Drawings 'n Shit

Talking To The Moon (Slowed, Reverb)↲ 
Bruno Mars

"Talking to the moon, trying to get to you. In hopes you're on the other side, talking to me too . . ."

≡

"You know I was just joking, right?"

"Well, you should never joke about me getting naked in front of you."

If anything, Izuku would agree wholeheartedly that he was not, in fact, joking when he initially mentioned capturing Katsuki's essence in all his naked glory. For artistic purposes, he was rather elated to finally draw a portrait or two of the boy . . . naked. Broad shoulders varying with muscles, trailing down his arms, ending at his calloused hands. His chest. Stomach. Legs and his—

No! Bad Izuku . . . think about ceramic tiles and eggs.

Izuku shook his head harshly, his cheeks flushing pink as not-so-innocent images swirled through his head. One of the downsides to having amnesia and having your own mother fake your death is that he now knows all that he missed out on . . . everything he missed out on. It was taking a while for his body and heart to align themselves with his head—especially when it felt as though he were on a rollercoaster of emotions.

One minute he was cautious and wary of how he and Katsuki went about their relationship, considerate of the time that had passed. And the next minute he was . . . well, he was still the same fifteen-year-old who had a hard time controlling himself around the elder.

Fuck, why did he even say anything, to begin with?

Before he could even bring himself to thoroughly talk Katsuki out of his own idiotic suggestion, Izuku had been left speechless on the bed—the series of sketches in his book long forgotten. After taking a minute or two to himself, the freckled college student clambered out of bed, fixing the disarrayed sheets and pillows until they were to his liking. If he was going to truly take the time to draw the boy he needed everything to be perfect.

Albeit, aside from his nerves, he had to admit Katsuki's room was the ideal spot for creating a portrait. The controls on the lights allowed him to dim them as low as possible or as high as he'd like—a recipe for crafting the perfect amount of shadows and light sources. Quickly, the boy sprang from across the room to adjust said control, turning it down a few notches until the room was dimly lit. Still light enough for him to see what he was sketching.

. . . For artistic purposes of, course. Only for the sole purpose that the dim lighting would give the elder an ethereal glow, painting along the lines of his abs, face, legs—

Ceramic tiles and eggs. Ceramic tiles and eggs. Ceramic tiles and eggs—

He paused, listening with slight amusement as Katsuki clamored around in the bathroom. Laughing to himself as he heard a soft thud followed by a series of curses, most along the lines of son of bitch and goddamn counters. For the shortest of seconds, Izuku almost felt his anxieties ebbing away—that is until he remembered why Katsuki was in the bathroom. Getting undressed. Naked. No clothes on. Did he mention naked?

Honestly, if he were being candid, he was not sure why his nerves had spiked the way they did. After all, he was the one who proposed they have the drawing session in the first place—and if that did nothing for him . . . he had seen the male naked. Once. Okay, twice, which had taken place just mere months before his father came along and he got amnesia.

In spite of the years, this should be fairly easy, right?

Right.

With a sigh Izuku slowly walked down the illuminated hallway until he reached his own room, finding his easel and satchel in no time. His mind had subconsciously drifted back to a more artistic approach as he began envisioning a surfeit of poses, some drastic, others more simple. Drawing Katsuki over the past few months had been somewhat of a challenge—however, it was not enough to quench the thirst he held for more. Now was his chance to prove his abilities as an artist.