Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Does this look okay?”

Four poked their head around the corner, looking Shadow, his roommate, up and down. They wore a long, sleek dress, deep purple in color. A silver chain hung around their neck, holding the weight of a small, circular panel of glass, purple-lined cracks running out from the center.

Four swallowed, nodding meekly. “Uh- yeah. Yeah, that looks good.”

Shadow hummed to themself, picking up a small tube. “You have steady hands. Would you do my eyeliner?” they requested.

“...I can try.” Four accepted the tube, taking a deep breath.

Shadow sat down, closing their eyes. “You know how I usually do it, right?” One brownish-red eye peeked open, staring up at their roommate.

“Yeah,” he breathed, sitting in front of Shadow. “The little wings.” Four opened the tube, revealing a small, fine-tipped brush. “Not that I don't want to help you, but… why aren't you doing this? You'd probably draw it better than I would,” she pointed out.

Shadow raised two hands, each presenting with a small tremor. “I'm nervous,” they explained simply. “There'll be so many good artists there!”

Four nodded, resting his hand against Shadow's cheek. Slowly, carefully, they drew a thick line, sharpening toward the wing. “That makes sense,” he murmured, examining his handiwork. “How's that?”

“Mm…” Shadow blinked, staring at their reflection with a critical eye. “It's a little crooked.”

“Should I redo it?”

“Nah.” They waved a hand, shrugging. “Just do the other one. It's fine.”

Four did as asked, this time resting his hand against the bridge of Shadow's nose. She carefully drew the wing on her roommate's other eye, doing their best to make them identical.

Pulling away with a soft huff of breath, Four stared at Shadow. His roommate was now sporting two nearly identical wings, neatly framing each eye.

“Hmm…” Shadow hummed to themself, taking the eyeliner from Four. “That looks good,” they finally decided. “You’re a natural.” Shadow shot a sharp-toothed smile at the young engineer, eyes sparkling. They capped the eyeliner pen, setting it aside. “You should try it on yourself sometime.”

Four shook her head. “I… don’t know. I probably wouldn’t pull it off as well as you,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Pink flooded his cheeks as she avoided eye contact.

Shadow shrugged noncommittally, turning away to fiddle with their cracked glass necklace. “You would,” they replied simply.

Silence filled the room. Four’s face burned, but Shadow didn’t seem to notice their roommate’s flustered expression. They adjusted the straps of their dress, standing up to admire their finished look. “Do I look okay?” they wondered.

Four swallowed. “Uh- yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, you look nice.”

“Great!” Shadow grinned, teeth poking past their lip. “Are you coming to the show?”

Four nodded. “I was planning on it.” They looked down at her current outfit— a multicolor t-shirt and jeans. Not terrible, but compared to Shadow’s gorgeous purple dress, it was pretty shabby. The art show wasn’t a formal event, but most of the featured artists dressed up for it. Four, being an engineering student, didn’t care as much about his current attire. They much preferred the comfort of casual clothing, but here, with Shadow, she felt a little underdressed. “Do you think I should change?”

Shadow hummed, shaking their head. “Nah. Most people there won’t be dressed fancy.” They paused, taking one last glance in the mirror. “I bet someone will show up in pjs.”

“...Probably,” Four agreed, snorting. “I’m ready to go, then. Anything else you need before we go?”

Shadow took a deep breath. “No,” they murmured. “My art pieces have already been set up, I just need like…” Shadow waved a hand, shaking their head.

“A little courage?” Four finished.

Shadow snapped their fingers. “Exactly.”

“You belong there, you know,” the engineer encouraged. “Your work was chosen for a reason.”

“Yeah,” Shadow sighed. “I know. I just know there’s gonna be so much good art there…”

Four nodded. “Including yours.”

Shadow smiled. “Including mine.” They held out a hand, eyes crinkling. “Alright, Rainbow, ready to go?”

“I am.” Four accepted Shadow’s hand with a small grin.

“Then let’s go!”

The art show was huge, with students and professors alike swarming the place. Shadow slowed down, glancing around the room with hesitance in their eyes.

Four squeezed their hand. “Do you know where your stuff is?” he asked.

Shadow shrugged. “Somewhere over there.” They pointed across the room at a wall. “I guess we do a loop and then I stay at my station?”

“If that’s what you want,” Four agreed.

Shadow nodded, leading Four around to various art pieces. They explained techniques and showed her which artists they knew from classes, excitedly pointing out every little thing that caught their eye. Four just tagged along, nodding as Shadow blabbered on about color palettes and other things the engineering student didn’t really care for. Still, she listened, letting their roommate exist in their element.

“There’s a lot of types of art here,” Four observed, glancing around. Sculptures, paintings, and even architectural models littered the place, all on display for the art show.

Shadow nodded. “The film students are next door, too.” A thought seemed to occur to them mid-sentence. “Hey… before I go to my station, would you want to watch a student film?”

A light blush spread across Four’s cheeks. He looked down awkwardly, chuckling. “Um, sure. Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Awesome.” Shadow grinned widely, pointed teeth poking past their lips. They dragged Four through the crowd, weaving between groups of people with ease. Four just let herself be tugged along, fond gaze focused on Shadow and only Shadow.

“Here, let’s sit in the back,” they suggested, pulling Four into the back row of chairs. It was dark, lights dimmed for the film showing. It was fairly empty, with most of the attendees clustered toward the front.

Four and Shadow were— essentially— alone.

As the lighting dimmed further, Shadow leaned in close to Four. “You know, I heard some of the films get a little… risque.”

Four was grateful it was dark in the room. Shadow had seen him blush enough for one day.

“Course, I don’t know which of them… or what one we’ll see, for that matter.” They sat back up straight, waving a hand. “Guess we’ll find out!”

“Guess so,” Four echoed, voice low. The screen lit up with the opening to a student film, and both Four and Shadow eased into their seats. They watched quietly, enjoying the soft romance of the lovers on screen.

And then, as Shadow had mentioned, it turned sexual. Four averted his eyes, feeling the heat creeping over their face. She was usually fine around this sort of stuff, but with Shadow so close… well, it was difficult to stay unaffected.

Thankfully, the film wasn’t long, and soon enough, the lights were coming back up. Shadow was grinning brightly, eyes sparkling. Four returned their smile, albeit more shyly.

“That was better than I expected,” Shadow commented, waving a hand as they stood. “What did you think? Did you like it?”

Four nodded. “Yeah, it was good…” he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I wasn’t expecting it to have, um-”

“Literal porn?” Shadow finished, laughing. Four chuckled, nodding. “Yeah, Rainbow, I wasn’t expecting it to be actually graphic. Still, the story wasn’t bad.”

“It wasn’t,” Four concurred.

Shadow clapped their hands together, grinning. “Okay! Since we’ve seen just about everything, it’s probably about time I get to my station. Y’know, in case anyone is interested in my art…” Their smile faded into anxiety.

Four placed a hand on her roommate’s shoulder, trying hard not to blush. “People are going to love it,” he assured, nodding. “I can hang out for a while, too.”

“What?” Shadow shook their head, frowning. “No, no, you have your own things to do. Go home, Rainbow.”

It was Four leading Shadow back to the main room now. “I did my homework ahead of time so I would have time today,” he explained. “And I want to see your art— you still haven’t shown me any of it.”

“Ah…” Shadow sheepishly rubbed the back of their neck. “Well, I- it’s- it’s personal, Rainbow.”

Four paused, stopping to make eye contact with Shadow. “...And you don’t want me to see that side of you?”

“I…” Shadow deflated.

“It’s okay if you don’t,” Four added, shrugging. She glanced away with a frown. “But I would like to see your work, if you’re willing to share.”

Shadow stared for a few moments, blinking slowly. A small smile crept across their face, tiny fangs poking past glossed lips. “Yeah. Okay. I… I think I’d like for you to see.”

Four held out his hand, matching Shadow’s shy smile. “Lead the way, then.”

Shadow accepted Four’s hand, guiding them to a dazzling purple display. Four audibly gasped, dropping Shadow’s hand to examine the closest art piece. It was a drawing of a small figure in white, hunched over and facing away from the viewer. The background was this deep, heavy purple, starkly contrasting against the figure. But what amazed Four the most was the glass— shards of all shapes, sizes, and colors, glued onto the surface of the paper. It looked as if someone had attempted to stab the figure, breaking the glass that protected it.

“So?” Shadow spoke up nervously. “What do you think?”

Four turned to face her roommate. “Shadow…” he murmured, shaking his head. “This is incredible!”

A small grin crossed Shadow’s lips. “You really think so?”

“It’s so… evocative,” Four continued, glancing back at the art piece. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” She shifted, moving to look around at the rest of Shadow’s art on display. All of them shared the same cracked glass appearance, but the drawings beneath were different. There was one with the same figure, punching at the spot where the glass was broken. Another had two figures, one curled in on themself and the other floating above, gently reaching for them. The glass was cracked from the corners, causing a line to form between the pair. “You’ve got a lot of skill, Shadow,” Four murmured, gaze drifting between the various pieces.

“I hope other people think so, too,” they replied, anxiously rubbing the back of their neck.

“They will,” Four assured. “They’d be stupid not to.”

Shadow grinned, eyes crinkling. “You know… there’s two hours left of the art show. If you don’t have anywhere else to be-”

“I’d love to,” Four interrupted, smiling. “I’d love to.”

“Awesome.” Shadow clapped their hands together. “And after, we’ll go to the ramen place down the street to celebrate.” They paused. “...If you’re down for that.”

Four’s eyes crinkled. “I’m down for that. I’m paying.”

“Wha-?”

“We’re celebrating you tonight, Shadow,” she insisted, shrugging.

Shadow sighed, shaking their head with a smile. “Alright, Rainbow. It’s a date.”

Four inhaled sharply, eyes wide. He nodded. “...It’s a date.”