Work Text:
Yuuma tried—very earnestly—to stay perfectly still.
After all, Akari had worked up the courage to ask him to pose for her. The least he could do was make it easy.
That being said...
He hadn't expected staying still to be so much harder than it sounded.
He barely managed to resist the urge to scratch his cheek, run a hand through his hair, or fidget.
Akari didn't seem to notice.
She was completely absorbed in her work, hunched over her sketchbook as she sat on the floor.
He'd felt bad about that and insisted they could just share the bed, but she'd smiled, shaken her head, and said she preferred it this way.
So he'd given up.
Still...
Couldn't she at least use a pillow?
Sitting on the floor like that had to be uncomfortable.
Every now and then, she'd shift a little before immediately returning to her drawing, the tip of her tongue peeking out whenever she focused especially hard on a line.
It made him wonder what she saw when she looked at him to put so much time and effort into drawing him.
He'd tried peeking a couple of times already.
Akari had caught him immediately, smiled, and simply told him to wait.
Yuuma hadn't really liked it, but he'd accepted it all the same.
Patience, he reminded himself.
It would be worth it.
The minutes slipped quietly by.
Yuuma tried counting them to keep himself occupied while the soft scratch of Akari's pencil filled the room.
Then...
It stopped.
He shifted a little, curiosity getting the better of him.
She'd never paused for this long before.
...Had she finished?
He relaxed his pose, about to ask—
A tiny hiccup escaped her.
Yuuma blinked.
...Huh?
"Akari?!"
He leaned forward so quickly he nearly pitched himself off the bed, catching himself at the last second as his hands hovered uselessly in front of him.
"Why are you crying? Did I do something? If I did, I'll—I'll fix it! I promise!"
She sniffed, glaring accusingly at her sketchbook before thrusting it toward him.
Yuuma accepted it almost absently before looking down.
His eyes widened.
There he was.
Well...
Sort of.
Every drawing looked like him.
His clothes.
His hair.
His expression.
Only...
Every single version also had enormous sparkling eyes.
Floppy ears.
And an absolutely ridiculous fluffy tail.
Yuuma blinked.
"...Am I a cat?" he asked slowly.
He leaned a little closer, squinting.
"Or... a tiger?"
He honestly wasn't sure.
Akari sniffed again, her eyes still red.
"I wanted to draw you looking cool," she mumbled miserably, hurriedly wiping away another tear. "But every time I tried, you turned into a cute animal! I'm sorry..."
She buried her face dramatically in her hands, her words dissolving into muffled mumbling.
Yuuma looked back at the page.
If he was being honest—and he always tried to be—
These were amazing.
The fur looked incredibly soft.
One of the little Jewelpet versions even stood with its paws on its hips in exactly the pose he'd been trying to hold.
Another held his basketball.
She'd even remembered the exact pattern on it.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"I think it's great," he said quietly.
Akari froze.
Her hands slowly lowered from her face.
"...Huh?"
"No, really."
He leaned closer again, smiling as he admired the page once more.
"It looks just like me."
Then he looked up at her.
"And it's amazing, Akari."
Her eyes went impossibly wide.
Her entire face turned bright red.
"H-Hueh?"
Yuuma blinked.
Why did she look so surprised?
He was about to reassure her when another thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Alma needed to see this.
Immediately.
He jumped to his feet, carefully gathering the sketchbook into his hands as though it were priceless treasure, before bolting from the room.
"ALMA!" he shouted as he thundered down the stairs. "LOOK WHAT AKARI DREW!"
Alma looked up from her book.
She tilted her head, studying the page for a long moment.
Then she crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.
"...I want a drawing from Akari too."
Yuuma's grin somehow widened.
Right as a muffled, thoroughly mortified—
"HUEEEEEEE?!"
—echoed from upstairs.
Neither sibling paid it any mind.