despite the fact you were dating someone who revolved around art, you didn't know how to draw at all.

you had tried, and every time you did, you failed miserably.

your hands looked like a mess, your heads were either too round or pointy, and even when you attempted to draw objects, those somehow looked just as bad.

of course, you were content with the fact that you were horrible at drawing. it wasn't like you needed to know how to draw. it wasn't something you longed to do, and if you were being honest, you didn't view it as a big deal.

but painter—your boyfriend—did.

"you don't know how to draw!?" his eyes were wide while he stared at you, and you blinked at him a few times out of shock. he was acting like you just admitted that you didn't know how to do the easiest thing in the world, and you understood that drawing was basically painter's whole thing, but you never expected him to react like this when you told him you didn't know how to draw. you'd just thought he'd laugh at the fact, but instead, he appeared offended that you didn't know how to draw.

"...that's what i said."

"how do you not know how to draw?"

the question rang out in his room, and you shot him a frown from where you were standing.

currently, painter was in front of the many servers he had in his room with a cord in his hand. he was probably rewiring some things so that he could set up more traps for the expendables, and while he was doing that, you were standing near the door. earlier, painter had warned you, saying that an expendable was getting fairly close to his room. so, you were listening in case you needed to hide.

but it had been about thirty minutes, and you were under the assumption that the expendable had been wiped out long ago.

since you didn't have to worry about an expendable, you were just chatting with painter while he did whatever he needed to do, and that's what led you to make the mistake of bringing up how you didn't know how to draw.

"because i never learned?" your sarcastic response earned a slight smirk from him while he turned his attention back to the server in front of him. the cord in his hand was plugged back into a port before he replied. "do you want me to teach you?"

you watched as he backed away from the server, and you furrowed your eyebrows. "what about the expendables?"

"i have the turrets on, and i made sure to change some door numbers. this group isn't the...brightest," he mumbled, "so we have some time. it won't take long."

"that depends on what you're going to teach me how to draw, though."

he nodded at your words as he started to walk over to the table beside you, and while he was walking, he picked up a small box that was on the floor. the box rested in his hands before he set it on the table, and you strolled over to stand beside him while he grasped a notebook that was already resting on the surface.

the notebook was opened and perched on top of the box, and it was leaned back slightly against the wall. it was like a makeshift easel, and your eyes flickered away from it once painter shifted back so you could stand in front of it.

"how about an apple? quick and simple," he suggested, and you shrugged. "you're the teacher—choose whatever you want."

he grabbed a pen off the table before holding it out to you, and you took it while you took a step to the side so you were right in front of the makeshift easel. painter had made it to where the notebook was somewhat below your height, so you could view it perfectly while still being able to sketch on it.

"usually, i'd have a pencil, but i kind of lost mine somewhere..."

"you lost it because you're stupid—"

"says the one who doesn't know how to draw."

you stuck your tongue out at him before facing the notebook, and you popped the cap of the pen off as you tossed it aside. you then placed the tip of the pen against the paper. "alright, what's the first step?"

"i'll show you."

you felt his presence behind you, and you couldn't even question what he meant before you felt his touch.

one of his hands placed itself on your waist while the other was set over your hand, and you felt your face grow warm as painter started the drawing.

he was moving your hands with his so you'd memorize the motion he put into each line, but if you were being sincere, you weren't even paying attention to the drawing. all your mind was thinking about was how close he was to you, and how his grasp on your hip tightened. "why are you so tense?"

at his question, you shrugged before letting out a low breath, and you relaxed in hopes he wouldn't notice your flustered state. he let out a quick hum of approval as he continued to make the outline of the apple, and for a second, you were able to focus.

but that was until he pulled you closer.

his chest pressed against your back while your hand continued to move with his, and your mind went blank until painter spoke up.

"you're tense again."

did he just expect you to be all relaxed and content while he was all up on you?

"sorry—" you attempted to focus your attention back on the notebook in front of you, but it felt physically impossible to do so. your mind kept flickering back to the fact that painter was so close to you. was he even aware of how close he was?

probably not. to him, all that was on his mind was helping you draw.

the pen continued to scratch against the paper while painter gently moved your hand around, and the photo looked like it was starting to come together. as soon as the base image was sketched, painter pulled his hand away from yours before resting it on your other hip.

"now just round out the top a bit..." he mumbled, and you did as he said. you flicked the pen to round out the top parts of the apple, and you were trying insanely hard to focus on the drawing instead of painter.

yet, he wasn't making it easy. his thumbs caressed your waist while he watched you draw, and you swore you could feel when his gaze shifted to stare at you.

"darken the stem." again, you listened to his words as you dragged your pen along the stem.

"and now you just sign it."

"sign it?" you repeated, and you peered over your shoulder to stare at him. his face was practically right in front of yours, and you paused for a moment before he gave you a firm nod. "you know, write your signature on it...?"

"but you did most of the work."

"who's the one holding the pen?"

your eyes flickered to glance at the pen in your hand, and you let out a playful scoff while painter hummed. you would sign it, but only because he insisted.

you dragged the pen towards the bottom of the page as you sketched your signature, and you placed the pen on top of the table.

throughout this whole process, you were the flustered one, and you planned to get your revenge as you turned around to face painter.

painter seemed surprised by your sudden turn, and it didn't help when you placed your hands on the side of his head.

"you're too sweet, you know that?"

he didn't even have a chance to reply as you started to kiss his face.

a flush sprawled on his screen as you peppered him with kisses, and his eyes widened once you finally pressed a kiss against his mouth.

your thumbs caressed the side of his head, and he stared down at you with a dazed look before he slightly chuckled.

"i should teach you how to draw stuff more often..."