Work Text:
Neil Perry was always stunned with art.
And not only paintings and drawings, but also with words, body language, speaking and showing emotion. Neil Perry is captivated by art in all its forms.
So it was hardly a surprise when he found himself falling for the one and only, Todd Anderson. Todd, who spoke the language of art the first time Neil saw him. Todd, with his harmless blue eyes and golden hair, shy and sweet voice and so much more. Todd was picture-perfect for Neil. One of the many things Neil loved about Todd was his way with words- but at this point who didn't love Todd's poetry?
Todd always knew exactly how to write a verse to hook the reader to the poem he created without even trying. His words were so damn addictive, Neil was scared he won't only have a nicotine addiction to deal with, but an addiction to Todd and his unbelievably perfect poems as well. Truth be told, Neil was Todd's best proof-reader, yet Todd didn't believe every praise he got from Neil because the anxious part of him always told him Neil was praising his work because they're in a relationship. When the blonde admitted this to Neil, he grinned and kissed Todd on the forehead, telling him he was always saying the exact criticism he thought of when he read his boyfriend's poems.
So, in short, Neil Perry loved art.
Because of all this, it really shouldn't have been a surprise when Neil suddenly developed a hobby for drawing. Yet, all of the poets seemed to be caught off guard seeing Neil draw. Not that they didn't support him, it was just unexpected, even with Neil's secret passion for art and especially theatre.
It started off with the basic sketches almost everyone does at some point. Stars, hearts (with Todd's name in it), birds- you get the point. It appeared everywhere- in Neil's textbooks, notes, script for 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', even Todd's notebooks and sometimes on his arms when he allowed Neil to draw on his skin. Weirdly enough, Todd wasn't surprised by Neil's request to draw on his arm. In fact, Todd liked the shapes and sketches on his arm, because he liked the way Neil's drawings look so carefully traced, and Todd liked having something of Neil's when they were apart, even for a minute.
What was most specific about those little sketches is not only Neil's sharp and detailed artstyle, but the pen he uses to draw everything.
It was a pen he got from a relative for his 15th birthday. It didn't mean anything to the little Neil Perry at first, but later the relative died and Neil suddenly had newfound interest in the pen. He didn't use it much before discovering his new hobby, but kept it safe and ready to be used when needed.
The pen never seemed to falter even the tiniest bit and Neil made sure he never spent too much ink. The ink was a beautiful shade of red Meeks recognised as vermilion. And since Todd started recieving the silly drawings Neil printed on his arm when they were alone in their dorm, he found himself associating Neil with the colour vermilion.
Then Neil had turned his sketches into something more meaningful. He drew flowers, landscapes, nature and sometimes even the city. He got many compliments from the poets and Mr. Keating for it. Their teacher even said: "Art comes in different shapes and sizes and it is upon you, gentlemen, to use it in every one of those shapes and sizes. No matter how small or how big, words or drawings- art and the expression of emotion is what keeps a human soul alive. So try everything, express yourself, and find yourselves in what you love."
And finally, just a few days ago, Neil drew his first human face in the last few years. He needed to recover his skills for a bit, and when he finally got the hang of it- he finally drew a complete face of the one and only Todd Anderson.
The brunette basically jumped on the way to the dorm he shared with Todd, estatic to show him the drawing. He was trying to do his trig homework in study group, but was too distracted.
He didn't even stop to open the all-too-familiar door. He threw the poor piece of old wood open to reveal the small dorm and the sight of his boyfriend scribbling in his notebook, just as expected. Neil threw the door behind him, not bothering to close it properly. Todd jerked his head up at the sudden noise and Neil was already kneeling down next to his bed.
"ToddToddToddToddTodd look what I drew!" he handed the paper to the confused boy in front of him with a giant grin.
Todd let out a breathy laugh at Neil's energy and took the paper. He studied it for a second and almost swooned.
On the paper was Todd in a similar position to the one he was in now, focused gaze on the notebook in his lap and a pencil in hand. The paper portrayed his hair, face, torso and half of his legs- the other half probably outstretched outside the canvas. Paper Todd looked so much like Todd it was hard to believe someone drew this. Every feature of Todd's face was included, which was the big indicator of Neil spending almost all of his time with Todd observing his face.
Todd tried not to cry.
"Neil- this is beautiful" Neil met Todd's eyes, full of sappy happiness. Neil just grinned more (if that was even possible) at the sight of Todd so happy over a drawing of him.
"You know when they say put your thoughts on paper? I wanted to share them with you because it turned out a lot better than I thought it would."
Todd smacked his shoulder but his smile showed no sign of leaving anytime soon.
"You're a dork, Neil"
Neil leaned up to kiss Todd's cheek.
"I'm your dork"
Todd kissed him on the lips.
Neil sat next to Todd on the bed, facing him with a smile on his face. Todd looked back at him, slightly giggling.
"What?"
"I'm trying to see if I missed any details"
"I'm pretty sure you didn't"
Neil responed with a hum, not bothering to form a proper response, and instead catching every detail of Todd's face. The drawing did resemble Todd to the point it didn't look like a drawing, but Neil still felt like he was missing something. Something important.
...
Aha.
Neil grabbed the paper from Todd's lap and strode over to the blonde's desk, grabbing his pen and vermilion ink in the process. He sat down noisily with the materials in hand. He could hear Todd sitting still in silence, but didn't pay any mind as he added a few things to the drawing.
"Okay, now it's finished" he stood up, eyes darting to Todd again.
"What did you add?"
"See for yourself"
They resumed the position, with Todd studying the paper again.
This time, he could see little vermilion shapes on this hand and wrist and a subtle blush covering his cheeks. The drawing was already red, so the blush didn't make a big difference, but it was still visible. Neil also wrote a little signature. There was an arrow underneath Paper Todd, and in Neil's practiced handwriting it wrote: 'The love of my life, Toddy ♡'
Neil swore he could see Todd's eyes light up and tears gather at the bottom.
"Baby don't cry"
Todd exhaled through his nose and buried his face in Neil's shoulder as the actor hugged him close, the drawing put aside by Todd carefully.
"I love you so much Neil"
Neil kissed Todd's head.
"I love you too"
And they spent the rest of their night sketching and doodling in eachother's notebooks and on their arms, all with Neil's vermilion ink to capture their love for one another.
♡