Devil's Fate

Panty Shopping

Mike Shinoda stood in front of the Blick acrylics display and carefully selected only the colors he was out of, not every color he wished he could afford. He loved the smell of the Blue Rooster Art Supplies shop he'd been going to for years. The smell of paint - acrylics and watercolors - and canvases, was one that was embedded into his soul. Art had always been a hobby, one his parents had indulged in their typical well-to-do Los Angeles way. Nothing but the best, expensive supplies for their son, so long as he paid attention to his studies. Mike had never lost his penchant for the good stuff, despite his now limited resources.

He mentally calculated the cost of the tubes in his hand, subtracting it from what he was allowing himself to spend. It was such a large number compared to the small tubes of paint, and he sighed. Money was tight, the way he knew it would be when he started music school at the University of Southern California. Three months in, and he still wasn't used to the reduced teaching hours at Red Pelican that cut his paycheck by two-thirds. He bit his bottom lip and picked up one more tube, Cobalt Turquoise, and did the math again. Everything was fine. He'd get the canvases in the sizes he wanted, and they would be able to leave.

Mike turned and looked at his boyfriend, who was poking around another display with a wrinkled nose. He couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Chester's face. Where Mike adored the smell of paint, Chester Bennington was still not used to the scents that wafted through the air when Mike was working on a project. The smell of the inside of the art store was like that, multiplied. A wave of fondness crashed over Mike as he watched Chester, his eyes skimming over the growing chocolate brown curls, his lip ring, and down to the flame tattoos that were peeking out of the long sleeved shirt his boyfriend was wearing. Chester was reaching for a tube of paint, and Mike cocked his head to the side, watching, wondering what Chester would be doing with a tube of acrylic.

"Whatcha got?" he asked, amusement in his voice as he stepped over to Chester and squinted to see what was in his hand. "Did you start painting and I don't know about it?" he teased.

Chester looked over. "No. Smart ass," he said with a soft snort. "I just like the color." He held up the tube of paint, which was labeled pink cosmos. "What do you think, Sexy Boy? Would it go with your collection?" He had no idea what he was talking about, but he figured one more color in Mike's stash of paint wouldn't hurt. And it's a pretty color.

Chester watched as Mike swiped his bangs from his eyes, and stared down at the paint tubes already in his hand. "I'll chip in and pay for this one," Chester offered, wiggling the pink cosmos around. "But you have to promise me you'll paint something pretty with it."

Mike didn't even hesitate. He reached for the tube of pink and added it to his collection. "I'll paint you whatever you want," he said, leaning over and kissing Chester softly, right in the middle of the paint aisle. "I'll paint you a sunrise. Those are the perfect colors for the morning sky."

Chester's hands went right to the front of Mike's blue flannel shirt. "I love sunrises," he whispered close to his boyfriend's ear. "And sunsets. Pink sunsets," he decided, already picturing the future painting in his mind. "With some stars poking out. Maybe a shooting star." Chester's eyes widened at the thought as he pulled back to catch Mike's black eyes. "A pink sunset with a shooting star. That's what I want."

"Then that's what you'll get." Mike nodded his head toward the back wall. "You can even pick out what size canvas you want. They're buy one get one free right now, which is perfect." He stepped back and motioned with his hand. "After you, babe."

Chester scanned the wall. There were canvases of every size and even a variety of shapes. He stood for a minute, sucking on his lip ring and debating which one would fit his pink cosmos sunset. "I kinda like this little one," he mentioned as he pointed to a four by four canvas.