Art and Feelings

    Xander quietly tapped their front hooves together in an extremely nervous manner as they looked about the front of the museum. This was the chance they had been hoping and waiting for, for basically a few years now. They finally were getting a chance to try and show they were better than when they were little… To try and finally mend a bridge that was accidentally damaged by their stupidity. Though right now, they were worried whether he’d show up or not… They turned their gaze to the ground, their nerves slowly skyrocketing. “Kit said he’d show up, but… Given his disdain for me, as much as I want to hope he will, I doubt he will…” They’ll take a deep breath as they try to keep themselves calm. “...It’s okay, Xander… Even if he doesn’t show up, you can still enjoy your time here… It’s not like it’ll be--” 

    “Be what?” Xander jumped six feet upon the new voice and screamed, causing them to stumble and fall flat on their ass. They heard a light scrap of their feet skidding against the concrete ground. They winced as they looked at their hoof. 

    “Ow…” As they’re sitting there, they don’t bother looking up at the new voice, even as they hear their footsteps approach them. It’s not until they see a crystalline hoof enter their vision that they carefully look up and BOY, do they kind of regret doing so. When they did, they saw the bun they had been waiting for this whole time, looking at them with a bit of a worried expression. 

    “Um… You alright?” Yukio asked nervously as the snow around him swerved a little bit. Xander’s entire face began to heat up as they stared at him, thoroughly embarrassed that they reacted the way they did in front of him. “...Xander?” 

    “I, uh, um…” They’ll shakily place their hoof in his and let him gently pull them back up to a standing position. “I, um… I-I’m fine…” He’ll tilt his head ever so slightly. 

    “Are you sure? You don’t seem like it…” The grey bun will rapidly nod their head, making themselves dizzy for a moment and stumble a bit, but Yukio makes sure he stays balanced. “Woah, alright, alright! No need to make yourself lightheaded. I’ll believe you for now.” 

    “S-Sorry…” Xander wanted to crawl into the deepest hole and die, they couldn’t be more embarrassed. If this was a random other bun or even Lorien, they wouldn’t be this bad, but this is their literal crush, that they wanted to fix things with and this is how it’s starting?? 

    “You… don’t have anything to be sorry about…” They stayed quiet and refused to look at the wintery bun in front of them. “Well, this… really wasn’t how I was expecting for this to start. But, um… Here.” Xander will see a small, neatly wrapped box enter their vision. They’ll blink and slowly look at Yukio, still nervous to no end, but he was looking away himself, waiting for them to take the box. They’ll look back at the box then gently take it from him and carefully open it. Their eyes will widen upon seeing a small Corvat plush inside it. “...I may have spoken to Hutch and found out you liked flying imps, and Kit suggested I should grab something from the Toy Fair… Hope it's… alright.” They’ll take the plush out of the box then gently hug it to their chest and sniffle, eyes watering a bit. “H-Hey why are you--” 

    “I know someone else made you do this and made you come here…” Yukio pauses in his talking and quietly listens. “I know I was an idiot and screwed up when we’re little… But I… I’m sorry and…” A few tears rolled down their face as they hugged the plush a bit tighter. “...Thank you… For at least showing up…” Yukio stayed silent for a bit longer, just staring at the bun in front of him. He had mixed feelings from the get-go about going, he won’t lie. However, this entire starting interaction wasn’t what he was expecting at all. He thought he’d be dealing with an arrogant bun like he knew when they were small buns, but this… This wasn’t on the list of possibilities to him. Though, with seeing this and seeing how true they’re being, he’s got an idea that he knows what Xander actually feels towards him. Another thing he’d never thought possible, but… If this is how they actually are, then just maybe… 

    “Come on… Let’s get going.” Yukio will gently take one of Xander’s hooves into one of his and lightly pull them into the museum. Xander will let out a light squeak, still holding the plush tightly to their chest and sniffle again.

    “...O-Okay…” They’ll allow themselves to be pulled into the building, trying to keep any more tears from falling. As the two walk in, they’ll see a bunch of unique paintings and a couple of statues. 

    “Why am I not surprised that Kit set us up with an art museum…?” Yukio will quietly mumble under his breath, causing Xander to lightly giggle. A small smile will appear on his face when he hears the giggle and he’ll gently pull them to some of the paintings. “Do you have any interest in art by chance?” They’ll shrug at the question. 

    “I, um… I like looking at it, but I’m… not really good at it. Not good at a lot with my shaky hands and limbs…” They’ll glance at their hooves when they say that but pause when they realize that Yukio is still holding one of their hooves. Their entire face heats up again, for a different reason this time around. “I-I, uh… W-What about y-you…?” 

    “Eh, not a huge fan of painting. It kind of gets in my fur and I wear too many long sleeves that I don’t want to get messy. I occasionally sketch, but only Kit has seen those. She likes to ask for my permission to digitize them and call them collabs. It’s fun though.” The two pass by an abstract piece and Yukio slightly tilts his head. “...I won’t lie though, I really don’t understand paintings in museums. They just seem like a bunch of random colors and blending…” 

    “I get the feeling Kit might be the only one from our litter who’d understand the idea artists were going for…” 

    “Were the rest of our litter that bad?” Xander nods immediately, making Yukio laugh a bit. 

    “I’ve crossed paths with a few since leaving the care of our guardian and they’re… not bright. At all, really.” Yukio kind of laughs a bit more as the two continue walking. “...Your laughter is nice…” He’ll blink at the compliment then turn his gaze away from them. 

    “...Thank you…” Xander will smile a bit then let their own gaze look to the rest of the paintings they were strolling by. Some were locations in Burrowgatory, some were of nature, some were even of other buns! Though as they pass by one painting in particular, Xander’s hoof tightens its grip on Yukio’s, earning the wintery bun’s attention. “Huh? What’s up?” Seeing their face seem more flushed but also a hopeful look in their eyes, he turns his gaze to the painting that’s caught their attention. He’ll let out a soft ‘huh’ as he sees the painting is of two buns in their doll appearances in a very heartfelt and romantic setting. “...Something you want for yourself?” Xander will let out a light ‘eep’ noise and bury their face into the corvat plush. 

    “I-I-I… I d-don’t expect anything t-t-this extravagant… But j-just… having a p-partner to love and d-do silly and c-cute romantic stuff w-w-with…” Yukio will stare at them for a moment then look back to the painting and tilt his head as thoughts run through his mind. “...S-Sorry…” 

    “Don’t apologize, you haven’t done anything wrong.” They’ll let out a small whimper in response. He’ll take a deep breath then gently nuzzle a part of Xander’s face that he can see, causing the grey bun to let out another ‘eep’ noise. They’ll slowly turn their head to look at them and turn even redder from seeing a sweet smile on Yukio’s face. “...Keep being yourself and that may happen in the future…” Xander swears that their heart is gonna stop, is this a dream? It must be… “Come on, there’s still plenty of this museum to look at.” He’ll gently pull Xander along through the rest of the museum, while said bun was flustered beyond compare and hoping that this is all truly real. That, just maybe, they had a chance even after everything that happened. And that maybe… The painting could be them one day.