Work Text:
People rely on technology for a large range of things in their daily lives. As such, those tasked with maintaining them are highly regarded in society. Yamato took his role of being an electrical engineer seriously, but one day he committed a horrible act. His father wanted him to succeed through any means, and forced him to take information from the company to sell it illegally.
The head of the company, Ace, while understanding the importance of the technological advancements he presides over, was an artist at heart. When the report came that the employee did such a thing, instead of doing as most would and firing him with haste, he spared the man.
Using the additional leverage that was his position and keeping Yamato employed at this company, Ace asked him, “Keeping in mind your situation at present, why is creativity and art crucial to us even now?”
Receiving only silence in response, he continued, “I will be moving to a new branch of this company for a while, but in a year when I return, I expect an answer from you.”
Yamato spent the following year asking any artist he could find and looking online for the answer his fate rested on. Once the year had come to a close, Ace returned. Meeting again, when the same question was asked, this time, the response was a flood of varying answers ranging from completely irrelevant to very specific, without rhyme or reason.
“This was sufficient, I suppose. Now, you must do something I ask of you, since I was the one to spare your job. You need to help me create a painting. It is a 9 x 6 foot canvas, and we will work on it every day until it is finished.”
The man wanted to be outraged, but Ace continually reminded him that he was indebted to him. And so, they began the painstaking process of gessoing the canvas, then Yamato observed the sketching, and a week later they were doing the underpainting. Yamato was often tasked with mixing colors and filling in large swaths of color with the largest brush, while Ace handled the more detailed things like the delicate faces of the figures. The more they worked together on this, the less he was viewing this as a chore, but rather something to look forward to. Some days Ace would play music and they would chat for hours about which music artists they listen to until they find themselves surrounded by music no more, their attention solely focused on the other’s voice.
Wiping sweat from his brow as the last stroke of the paintbrush brought the project to a close, Yamato stepped back in awe. The message that had been drilled into him subconsciously over the many hours of this artwork, Ace spoke out loud for the first time, “Being creative is being free. It is a necessary part of expressing our experience and communicating with others deeply.”
They were exhausted from their work but content and satisfied with the journey as well as the destination of the final product. Yamato’s preconception of Ace was that he would be demanding and make the experience of staying late to work on an art project something to fear. However, they had only grown closer, bonding with each other through the shared experience of pouring their souls onto the canvas.
Now that he had learned so much, the rough exterior of Ace he was imagining had gradually melted away and all that was left was a wonderful person he respected very much. Ace seemed to not share the sentiment, claiming he knew from the start that despite his actions, Yamato was a good person, which warmed the man’s heart hearing so.
“I know this painting was to repay a debt, but do you suppose you might owe me a favor, considering I was the one who brought muffins last week?”
Ace smiled. “I guess that depends on the weight of your favor, I might need some convincing.”
“Can we go out on a date?” The man with white hair had the pleading eyes that implored Ace to answer quickly.
“Have we not been doing that this whole time?”
A gasp followed by a hasty kiss on Ace’s cheek came after, and the two strutted out of the office hand in hand to their first official date.