[Team 1] A Chance Encounter

[jojibear.livejournal.com]

I have changed timezones again u_u

This is also part 1 of x of make-up fics for something I will probably post soon u_u

"I'm so sorry," Yara gasped, skittering backwards away from the guy he had just knocked down as he himself tried to find his balance. "Oh my god, I'm so, so sorry. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Have I-?"

"It's okay," interrupted the stranger, holding up his palm to stop Yara from rambling on. His voice, Yara was glad to note, was light, if slightly winded. "I'm fine. Just… Can you give me a hand up?"

"Of course," answered Yara, eager to be of help.

He reached out to grab the stranger's hand and pulled, hauling the other person up.

As the stranger dusted himself off, Yara bent down to start gathering up the scattered paper around them. Thankfully there were very little other pedestrians around them and the few that did pass by were mindful of the sheets, stepping around them or over them before continuing on their way.

As he gathered, he couldn't help but notice that they were in fact drawings, rough, incomplete pencil sketches of something… someone…

Him.

"Um," he began, holding up one of the more complete pictures to show the stranger.

The other man looked up, eyes blinking in question, before his eyes settled on what Yara was holding up and...

Instantly, the stranger squeaked, his cheeks flushing a shade of pink between shy and embarrassment. He looked away, his eyes darting about - anywhere and everywhere except on Yara - as he worried his lips between his teeth. He dropped the few sheets he had begun to pick up, his fingers linking together before twisting and twisting as the papers fluttered to the floor.

At the sight, Yara couldn't hold back the slight giggle that bubbled from his chest upwards, and the next thing he knew, they were laughing together in the middle of the street like two nutcases.

When the fit of hilarity died down, Yara looked around them, rocking on his feet as he inspected some of the drawing that lay face up on the concrete floor.

"I feel like I should be worried," he said as he bent down to start picking up the sheets of paper again, "that you have so many pictures of me, but they're so nicely drawn that I can't be mad."

"You're not weirded out by all of these?" asked the stranger, also picking up the works on the floor. "Most people would have run in the other direction and called the police or something if they knew some random stranger was in possession of multiple copies of their portrait…"

Yara didn't answer immediately, focusing instead on carefully picking up the pieces of paper from the pavement.

"Sure, I'm slightly weirded out," he answered once he was finished, his eyes fixed on the first sheet in his pile - the most complete looking picture of them all. "It's freaky that there's someone out there who's been drawing me whilst I haven't been looking, but…"

He looked up then, locking eyes with the stranger. A second, and then his lips curled up into a small, soft smile, his eyes crinkling. "I don't mind. I said before, didn't I? They really are beautifully drawn so I can't be mad. Looking at these pictures, I feel more good-looking than I think I actually am."

"No, but you really are amazingly handsome," blurted out the stranger in a rush.

Yara stared - and stared some more.

Belatedly, the stranger realised what he had said and he squeaked again, letting go of the pictures he had just picked up as his hands flew up to cover his mouth. Then, realising what he had just done, he cried in despair as he tried to snatch as many of the fluttering sheets out of the air as he could.

The comical sight was endearing to Yara, and he quickly stepped in to pick up the sheets that the other didn't manage to save before anything else hazardous could happen to them again.

"Do you want to give me the pictures in your hands before you drop them again?" he suggested with a small laugh.

The stranger nodded instantly, willingly turning over the small stack of paper in his hand to Yara. Yara took them, shuffling through the sheets to glance over the drawings he hadn't yet seen.

That was when he saw it: a sketch - still unfinished but almost complete - of him as he danced by the fountain in the nearby neighbourhood park. This must be newest drawing because today had been the first time he had danced there, a sudden impulse guiding his feet to a beat that had started in his heart.

Yara didn't know what to say, his eyes dancing over the lines and shades of the drawing.

"I saw you just now," explained the stranger quietly. "Your movements were so graceful, so emotional my fingers itched to trace it down, so…"

Yara didn't reply immediately, his eyes still fixed on the sheet. He wondered what this feeling was, this hammering in his heart like it would burst.

Eventually, he made up his mind and, looking up, asked, "Can I keep this?"

The stranger blinked. "But it's not finished…"

Somehow, Yara had known that was how the other would respond, and his lips quirked into an amused smile. "Just like the dance, then. Fitting, don't you think? That neither the dance nor the picture the dance is finished."

The stranger hesitated, biting his lips as he mulled over Yara's words.

"Okay then," agreed the stranger at last with a small nod. "I'm sorry it's unfinished, but if you really like it, I'd be honoured for you to keep it."

"Can I get you to sign it, then?" asked Yara, holding out the picture.

"E-eh?!" stuttered the other in surprise.

"For when you become a famous artist," explained Yara with a grin. "I want to be able to say that I own a copy of your first works."

"O-oh, I see." The stranger looked down at the pavement, a hand reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I-it's just a hobby, drawing. I don't have the talents to make it big."

"I don't think so," replied Yara. "I think you have what it takes. This truly is amazing."

The other man simply ducked his head as he took out a pencil from his bag and scribbled a signature across the bottom corner.

"Yama… moto… Ryo… ta…" Yara read, squinting at the tiny scrawl. "Your name's Ya- Hey!"

The stranger had disappeared.

Your turn, Mamabear aleena_mokoia o/