A little something for @starcallerrandgrid ! May not be exactly what you were hoping for, but this is what inspired me. ._.;;;
The intensity with which Hanzo stared at your fingers while you were drawing was a little distracting. You weren’t used to such focused attention. It prickled up your skin. Yet, you were content to have him nearby, so you continued to work. Time and again, Hanzo sat by your side to watch you draw. And then paint. His dark eyes twitched in short zig-zags as he followed the lines and the colours you chose. His brows tried to meet in the middle, creating a gentle fold in the skin.
He never offered a comment unless you asked, just watched. You were still nervous, but you became used to his presence. You sank down into your own world and didn’t notice he switched from leaning on one elbow to the other. And back. That he yawned, ending it with the softest groan, curling his tongue inward before shutting his mouth.
You may have shifted positions once, while Hanzo switched elbows a dozen times. Then his chin slipped off his palm. His sagging eyelids snapped open as he mentally kicked himself. Hanzo resettled and smoothed the lick of black hair at the front of his hairline between his thumb and forefinger. He rubbed his eyes and then smoothed his brows upwards. A little bit of vanity and fussiness leaking through.
An hour went by, and you took a break. You remembered Hanzo had been there when you started and looked up to find him. You looked side-to-side. Then looked down, to see Hanzo curled up and asleep at your knee, his arm around his head protectively.
You kept drawing, and Hanzo kept succumbing to his sleepiness. Until one week, you didn’t draw. Didn’t create. You weren’t feeling up to it. Hanzo noticed, and he assumed you were had just been busy while he wasn’t there.
One day, he brought it up out of the blue.
“If you’re not comfortable with me watching you sketch, you should tell me.”
“I’m not! I haven’t made anything.”
“Oh,” he said, looking sheepish. “I had just been waiting so I could watch.”
“But you fall asleep every time. Are you…are you bored?”
You searched for signs of an impending guilty admission in his features.
“No,” he said. You found none. Instead, his upper lids dipped dangerously close to his lower lids. “Lately, I cannot sleep. It’s strange, but the only thing that calms me down, that comforts me enough to let me rest, is watching you work.” He put his hand on yours and caressed your skin with his thumb. “I don’t mean to offend you. If I could stay awake to watch you create, I would.”
You came up with the best idea. You took up doodling before bedtime. Hanzo watched, his cheek smushed against your shoulder. Pretty soon he was conked out on the mattress next to you. His arm lay limply across your lap and his forehead against your hip.
You put aside your current drawing for your real one. You took an empty page, and eyeing Hanzo closely, you began to outline his face. Your fingers trembled from staring so intimately at your love’s face secretly, but you pushed on. You completed the piece bit-by-bit, hiding it each night before joining Hanzo in slumber. Pretty soon, you had a piece of art to gift to him, and the smudgy circles under his eyes were considerably faded.
Today was the day you were going to show your love the portrait. You had it printed the day before. Before going to find him, you were pulled it carefully out of its folder. Like the ninja he was, Hanzo was already behind you.
“Are you going to draw today?” he asked hopefully. A few moments of silence. “Is that…me?”
You nodded.
His chest expanded gently against your back as he took in the art you created.
“So you drew this while I was sleeping. Clever.”
You heard the smile in his voice and you smiled back. You blushed and tried to get away, but he trapped you in a loving embrace from behind.
“I love it,” he said tenderly, pressing a kiss to your temple, then your cheekbone, and then your jaw. Hanzo remained silent, brushing his lips along your skin, tickling your nerves that lead down your spine. He paused to ask, “Is this a bad time to make love to you?”