The Idea of You (Bdoc Royal AU)

Chapter Seventeen: A Break For Some Painting

[Day 15]

After what felt like a never-ending number of meetings and formal dinners, the princes were finally given a day to relax.

Prince Bdubs bumped into Doc that late morning and discovered he was just going to read in the library.

"Oh! I was going to paint today. Would you like to join me in the tower?" He offered.

He observed with great joy as the hybrid's face seemed to light up. "I'd love to!"

Taking his hand, he led him through the castle, and up the winding staircase.

Once inside his painting room, he began moving around the room with muscle memory, setting up his easel and a blank canvas, and looking through his assortment of paint to put on the palette he refuses to clean.

"What're you going to paint?" Doc asked.

He momentarily stopped himself from answering. He didn't want to make another piece of vent art, not today at least. Taking a second to stare at his blank canvas, he looked over to Doc. "I'm going to paint you if that's alright."

A flush color arose on his green skin and a crooked smile spread across his face. "Why me?" He lightly laughed.

"Why not you?" He countered with a big grin before adding different paints to his palette. "You're gorgeous."

"Thank you," Doc whispered, staring at him. "I'd love for you to paint me."

He set up a stool right where the sunlight from the window would just bounce off his face, illuminating the metal half. When the hybrid sat down, he looked even better in the lighting than he imagined and he couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, now if you could just..." his voice trailed off as he murmured to himself, delicately touching his face and adjusting his pose. His face felt warm as the dark brunette's eyes stayed on him.

Bdubs stepped back and started mixing the colors he had to form the right shades. However, he set it down momentarily, as whenever he painted he liked to make a light sketch beforehand.

Finally, he picked up his first brush and began stroking on the green color to his canvas. Heat pricked at his cheeks as Doc stared at him with his signature small yet sweet smile.

"How long have you been painting for?" The hybrid softly asked.

As he continued to paint on the base colors, he grinned. "Since I was little. Six, seven maybe? I think that's when I switched from crayons to paint. It's so... relaxing and therapeutic."

A comfortable silence settled in the room as Bdubs continued to paint. Until Doc spoke up again. "Do you still remember when we first met?"

"Honestly, it was so long ago I can't remember much," he admitted, adding strokes of dark brunette hair. "Although, I believe I showed you my pink carnations."

"All I remember was you laughing at something," the older prince whispered. "I... I can't help but wonder how different this would all be if we were able to see each other consistently over the past fifteen years."

He nodded, eyes flickering to Doc before adding more detail to the hair.

"So I was... wondering; because you're- since you have magic, and your dad's- did you like, sprout from a plant in the center of the forest like your ancestor?"

Bdubs pulled his brush away from the canvas as he tilted his head back, laughing. "Gosh is that what you've been assuming this whole time?"

When he calmed down, he realized how embarrassed Doc looked.

"Hey it's okay, it's okay. I apologize for laughing at you. And, no he was the only one to sprout from a plant. I had a surrogate mother," he explained, tapping the wooden end of the brush to his chin as he contemplated what step to take next. "Your face really is perfect to paint," Bdubs murmured, going back to begin the detail of his robotic half.

"You flatter me too much," Doc muttered. The prince looked up and grinned at how flustered he looked. He winked at him before returning to painting, carefully painting the different grey panels.

They continued to exchange small conversations as Bdubs painted. He took extra care with his details, determined to capture everything in this portrait.

-

Even though he couldn't see the progress, just watching the way Bdubs' eyes flowed over the canvas and the bewitching movement of his arm was more than enough for Doc.

He wondered if the prince was going to paint the flush color he was sure was visible on his cheeks.

He wondered if any of his panels had started to rust, despite them being freshly polished.

He wondered if his hair looked nice if there was a noticeable stain or weird wrinkle in his shirt if his silver crown was crooked.

Stop freaking out, calm down, he scolded himself, switching his focus back to Bdubs and his enchanting movements. The corner of his lips was twitching, threatening a bigger smile. Doc found himself getting lost in his eyes, observing as they carefully traced over the canvas and soaked in his face.

After who knows how long, Prince Bdubs finally placed down his palette and brush.

"Come look," he whispered, beckoning him over as he took a step back.

Slowly he got up and walked over. He heard the freckled brunette hold his breath.

The moment he saw the painting his eyes widened and the tip of his fingers covered his mouth.

It was a portrait from the top of his head down to his shoulders where it faded out. Below were pink flowers he could only assume were the carnations Bdubs was talking about. There was sunlight highlighting the metal on his face, and sure enough, there was a faint tint of blush on his cheek.

"You made me look beautiful," he breathed, tearing his eyes away from the painting to look at his betrothed.

However, his brows were creased and he had begun to frown. "You're already beautiful. I just wish you could see it," he muttered. Hands gently held his cheeks, guiding him down to meet his lips.

Doc slowly moved his hands to hold his waist as he pressed into the kiss. "Thank you," the hybrid murmured against his lips, kissing him again. "I genuinely appreciate it."

"I'm not lying, that painting is a spitting image of you. You're gorgeous just accept it," Bdubs grinned, his eyes shifting to the artwork.

He followed his gaze, holding him tighter. "If that's seriously how I look, how you see me, then I believe it. Promise." His lips pressed against his temple. "Are you going to have it hung up somewhere?"

"Well, most of my paintings live up here but my fathers like to push to hang up some of them. So I suppose we can hang up this one too."

The taller prince hummed as he was drawn to the afternoon sunlight spilling through the windows. "You know, we still have a lot of daylight, would you want to have lunch outside?" He suggested, pulling away to hold his hands.

Bdubs rubbed his hands with his thumbs, grinning up at him. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed.