Untitled (Cronkri)

"Ow! Fuck!" Cronus hissed, shaking his hand in an attempt to alleviate the pain of having pricked his finger with a needle. Looking down, he saw a tiny drop of violet forming. Dammit. Not again. 

Sticking his finger in his mouth, he sighed at the black denim jacket in his lap. He'd been working on it for a few months now, adding patches and pins he'd either made himself or bought online. Currently, he was in the process of sewing on a handmade patch with the words "All Blood is Beautiful" stenciled on it. How fitting. 

Once his finger stopped bleeding, Cronus went back to sewing. He wasn't the best at it, but even if his stitches were a little crooked, they still held up well enough. And with another few hours and some fiddling with spikes and safety pins, he was done. 

"Here's to hoping he actually likes it," he mumbled. 

Tap tap tap.

"Ah, shit."

Frantically, Cronus shoved all of his sewing supplies into his desk drawer behind his pens and guitar picks, hid the jacket in the back of his closet, and grabbed a pair of jeans to quickly pull on. He hoped it was just his roommate coming in to grab something and leave. But when the door didn't open right away, he realized it might be someone else. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. 

Okay, it's definitely not Kurloz. Unless he forgot his keys. Or he's been caught smoking weed again and he's got cops on his ass.

He opened the door cautiously. To his relief and surprise, it wasn't a police officer or the RA on duty. It was Kankri Vantas, carrying a large sketchbook and a few pencils. You know, the celibate theological studies major he kinda has a major crush on?

"Uh, hey chief… What brings you here?"

Kankri seemed to sigh at the nickname, but said nothing of it. "Hello, Cronus. I hope I am not interrupting your studies."

"Huh? Oh, nah, no worries. I was actually just, uh, takin' a break from somethin'."

"Oh, good. Taking breaks is always important. Would you by any chance have some time to assist me with something?"

Cronus tried to ignore his heart fluttering. Kankri wanted his help? Well, damn. He'd do just about anything if he asked. Still, he didn't want to come across too needy or desperate. He had to play it cool for now.

"Yeah? Like what?" He asked, realizing he should probably know what he was getting himself into first.

"Well, I am currently taking an introduction to drawing course for my art credit, and my current assignment involves four timed sketches of the same model. I am supposed to set a timer for intervals of one, five, ten, and twenty minutes, respectively. I was wondering if you would be interested in modeling for me. I understand if you are busy, but I thought it might be interesting and educational for me to choose a model with different anatomical features than my own. Your fins, for instance, would be quite fascinating to draw."

"My fins..?" Cronus definitely hadn't seen that one coming. "Ah, well, if that's all you want, I see no reason to say no."

"If you are uncomfortable with me drawing you, I completely understand. I can always ask Porrim or-"

"No, no, I'm cool with it. Just a little surprised you'd choose me is all."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I would like to start as soon as possible. There is a protest this evening advocating for more gender neutral restrooms on campus, and I would very much like to be there for it."

"Sure, sure."

As Cronus stepped aside to let Kankri in, it clicked. A protest? That would be the perfect time to wear a sort of punk ish battle jacket. Now he just had to figure out a way to give it to him without being awkward. He had a feeling that might be much easier said than done, unfortunately.