Tamquam Alter Idem

The Creation of Adam (NSFW)

Zachariah Carnelian was a dreamer

He thought of impossible things and then made them happen. Applying to the prestigious Harvard University's art school, for example, with a portfolio he had only assembled a few nights before the deadline just to spite his sister, Anna, and getting in. Like attending classes without exactly knowing what he was doing, but succeeding despite his high school teachers telling him he never would. Like getting through the classes and finally reaching his senior year, his grades better than they had ever been in any school prior.

Riah was more than a dreamer. He was a creator.

He made everything from paintings and drawings to masterpieces several feet tall that were a bitch to carry around. He loved every single second of it. Anna hadn't wanted him to waste their family's money on a 'useless' degree, but Riah didn't think it was useless if he was happy.

Because, as well as a dreamer and a creator, Riah was a fighter.

Riah had used to fight with his fists, but now he resorted to words. Nosebleeds and bloody knuckles had become sharp smirks and biting arguments. Riah had fought for the highest grade in his painting class with his words alone. He'd argued that his unconventional pieces actually did mean something. He did it, and he did it well. And, unlike almost everything else in his life, art came easy to him.

But now, Riah was well and truly fucked.

"I will do all your dishes and laundry for a week," Riah begged, following Gansey into  the house they rented in Cambridge, not too far from their campus. They had picked the place together. Though, it had mostly been Gansey doing everything and Riah trailing behind him, judging everything in sight.

They had lived together during high school and weren't ready to part yet. The two boys had become more like siblings than Anna had ever felt to Riah.

"You were already supposed to do the dishes, Riah," Gansey said over his shoulder, letting out a long-suffering sigh. "And, I won't do it."

"Why not?" Riah asked with a raised eyebrow. "I've already seen Mini-Dick before."

"That's because you barge into everything, including the bathroom when I'm showering!" Gansey's face was turning a bright red and Riah tried not to laugh at the memory.

"Have you asked Ivy?" Gansey asked, mentioning the chaotic, blond boy Riah had met in a few of his art courses and become good friends with.

"Ivy is too feminine," Riah shrugged, pretending not to see Gansey's warning glance. "Besides, he wouldn't be able to sit still for that long."

Gansey couldn't help but nod in agreement. "How about the internet?"

"What about the internet?"

"Isn't there somewhere you can ask if someone is willing to model for you? Or, maybe you could put up fliers around campus?"

"Why the fuck would a random somebody model for me?"

"Maybe if you paid them?"

It was a classic Gansey thing to say. It was a classic Gansey idea overall, thinking a person could fix every problem with enough money. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it earned him a punch in the face. Riah respected either option.

This time, however, it might work. There were many poor students around who would maybe give up a bit of their time, as long as it paid well.

"Or I could ask my brother."

"Your brother?" Riah asked dubiously. "Is Helen trans?"

"No! No. The boy my parents adopted back in Staunton while we were in high school. Some sort of child abuse situation that the school dragged him out of. You said you didn't want to meet him, and I didn't push it. Probably for the best. He was skittish and antisocial for a long time."