.Art Project.
Van Gogh x Reader
Word Count: 2564
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No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't get the thought of the tiny Dutch artist out of your head. You weren't even sure what about him it was that caught your attention. Perhaps it was his orange hair that almost looks red in the right lighting, or maybe his pale skin that mirrored the white bandages that you know he changes everyday (you also loved how his face would blossom with this gorgeous shade of orange-pink when he was complimented), or maybe it was just his hands. Yeah that was it. His hands, petite and delicate, that could paint such beautiful, exquisite paintings that told of many different things.
God you felt like such a creep.
But you couldn't help it. You were absolutely infatuated, -- no, that's not quite right -- obsessed with him.
And the worst part about it all was that the two of you have barely had any real interactions with each other. The last time the two of you had really talked was when you were assigned an art project with him. It was a collaborative project where you two were given a piece of art and two canvases and you would paint half the artwork on each canvas using styles and colors that were different, but still complimented the other half.
You two had received the artwork The Kiss by Gustav Klimt, with you painting the man and Van Gogh painting the woman. You had used cooler colors -- blues, greens, grays and purples -- while Van Gogh used warmer ones -- reds, yellows, oranges and whites. You had focused most of the detail on the man, leaving the background somewhat barren with Van Gogh doing the opposite, focusing on the background and less on the woman.
It had actually turned out really well and the two of you had received a perfect grade, but what you liked the most about the whole thing was how much time you got to spend with him.
You worked with him for a whole week and when the deadline was coming up he invited you to his dorm to finish it. You actually found it quite funny how much his room looked like The Bedroom, but you weren't surprised.
If you really thought about it, it was probably the second day when you started to become fascinated by him. The sketches had been completed and you two had just started painting. No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't focus on your piece, intrigued by his painting. His strokes were quick, decisive, like he knew exactly what he wanted. It was difficult not to stare as he painted and you had barely gotten any work done that day. And he quickly picked up on your distracted state.
"Is something the matter?" God that voice sounded just perfect to you. It was deep, but not too deep, and somewhat raspy, like he had a slight cold. You could listen to that voice for hours.
"Y/N? Are you alright?" You remember him asking.
"Yeah." You had answered, "I've just never seen you paint before. It's beautiful." After those words had left your mouth, that beautiful peach color blessed his pale skin and he looked away with a bashful smile.
"I-Thank you." He had stuttered and it was probably the cutest thing you had ever heard. You wanted to get him to do that more often. After that the two of you continued to work on your project with the occasional chatter between you.
When the two of you had finished, you didn't really talk to the other. You'd wave to each other in the hallways while transitioning classes or offer a quiet "Hey" when entering Painting II. What you did find a bit strange is that if you show up first, he'll sit at the same table as you and vice-versa, and neither of you seemed to mind it.
Actually, it kind of worked to your advantage.
You really couldn't help yourself and often found yourself drawing Van Gogh in your sketchbook, ranging from basic sketches to full on ink pieces (of course you'd ink them when you got back to your dorm). It's actually gotten so bad lately that you now have completed paintings of him, whether it be acrylic, watercolor, oil, gouache, you name it and you probably have it.
You were actually about half way through painting another piece of him, although you didn't like this one as much as some of the others since he looked a bit too feminine. While painting, you heard a knock at your dorm's door. You quickly looked at the clock hanging on the wall opposite of a window.
"It's almost 10pm, why the hell is someone coming up here?" You thought before getting up and looking out the peephole in your door only to be greeted with nothing. You grumbled to yourself while opening the door just to make sure no one left something for you.
Upon opening the door, you're greeted with none other than the clone of Vincent Van Gogh himself, canvas and set of acrylics pinned at his side. You felt yourself straighten as you greeted him.
"Oh-Hey. It's almost 10, are you alright? You need something?" You asked watching him shift his stance before answering,
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry for coming by so late, I just needed a bit of help with the portrait project and you're the only person I really felt comfortable coming to." He admitted, rubbing the back of his. You felt your heart stutter at hearing that.
"It's alright, what did you need help with specifically?" You asked leaning onto the door frame.
"I'm having trouble with making a background that works with the subject." He said. Weird. Backgrounds are usually his speciality. "Um, may I come in?" He asked. Your eyes widen slightly with realization of you forgetting to let him hit you.
"Of course! Sorry." You apologized sheepishly, moving out of the way to let him in.
"It's fine." He said. You closed the door before quickly jogging over to your desk, grabbing the still wet painting and placing it against the wall opposite the door, facing towards said wall. You cleared a spot on your desk for him to place his things.
"Alright, let's see what you got so far." You said looking over his painting.
You talked to him for about 15 minutes about how he could improve what he currently had before you got up to grab your painting to show him what you had done.
"That's Frida Kahlo, right? If I remember correctly she's from Mexican descent, so I would use brighter colors like greens, pinks and yellows." You said while rustling with the huge stack of paintings you had looking for it. "I had gotten Aaron Douglas, so I stuck with more desaturated colors and focused less on details and more on the silhouettes of the subjects." Once you found the painting you returned to Van Gogh, placing it onto the desk next to his.
Only...That wasn't the right painting.
Nope, instead it was one of Van Gogh, specifically the one of him you had finished a few weeks ago of him looking at himself in a full-body mirror while painting a self portrait. You grabbed the painting, pressing it against your chest the moment you realized it was the wrong one. You stared at him a moment before turning around and scrounging around in the pile again for the right painting.
"Y/N-" Van Gogh started, but you weren't gonna let him finish.
"Just! Give me a second." You said, searching a bit faster. God seemed to be against you that night because when you started to look for it faster the whole stack fell and, of course, with it came the majority of paintings you had made of him. And...the painting of Douglas.
You stood there a moment, feeling the sweat gather at your forehead and back of your neck. You grabbed the painting of Douglas before stacking all the other ones up. You turned back around, slowly walking back over to the desk and putting the right painting next to his. His eyes were on you the whole time.
"So, um, like I was saying earlier..." But your voice died in your throat when you heard him speak.
"Y/N." He said firmly. You felt yourself swallow thickly before looking over at him. "Come with me."
And you did. You really didn't feel like arguing with him after what had just happened. He led you to his dorm room on the 3rd floor, unlocking it and gesturing for you to step in. You did before he closed the door and walked over to the corner of his room. He pulled out a bundle of canvas, separating them from each other.
"You know, for the longest time I felt like such a creep doing this so often, but after seeing what you've been doing, I feel a lot less like one." He said while revealing the paintings to you.
They were of you. They were all of you.
You felt your heart leap out of your chest as your eyes laid on the paintings. They were all different from the last, varying in size, color, style, much like your own.
"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you ever since we were assigned that project together, ever since...you said that about my painting." He started, "At first you were just a passing thought, but as time went on, you started to plague my mind more and more often to the point where I couldn't get you off my mind." He finished, that stunning peach color returning to his cheeks.
You walked over to where he had the paintings spread out over his bed, running your fingers over the texture in the dried paint.
"Oh, Van Gogh, these are..." You started, still stunned about everything.
"Not my best work, I know." He said scratching the back of his neck, "It was a bit difficult painting you without having you here to reference." He admitted.
"No, Van Gogh, these are beautiful." You said stroking your cheek, "And not just because they're of me." You added with a laugh, to which Van Gogh also let out a chuckle.
The room then when quiet, neither of you having the courage to speak up until you decided the silence had lasted enough.
"I don't know what it is about you," You started, "But you've captured my interest, and ever since I got to watch you paint that day I also haven't been able to get you out of my head." You paused, breathing in deeply. Well, it's now or never you suppose.
"Everytime I think of you, I can physically feel my chest tighten and I feel almost like I'm going to be sick, but in a good way." You tried to explain, not meeting his light blue eyes once. "I'm not sure if this is what love is supposed to feel like, since I've never really been in love before, but...I know that I do like you. Like...really like you and...God, I don't know what I'm saying; I've probably said too much." You finish with a nervous chuckle.
"No," You heard him say, "You said just enough." He grabbed your hand, making you look down at him.
"I've...I've never really been in love before either, but...I do know that I really enjoy being with you, even if we're not talking to each other. Just being around you makes me happy. Hell, the whole point of me seeing you this late was just to see you." Van Gogh looked up at you briefly before looking down at the ground. "Ah, I'm rambling. Look, my point is that I don't know what it's like to love someone, but I do know what it's like to really like someone, and...I really like you." He finishes, looking back up at you only to notice the glassiness of tears that clouded you e/c eyes.
"Oh, no, wait don't start crying." You heard him say, but you couldn't stop the flow of tears that warmed your cheeks every so slightly. You collapsed onto your knees, embracing Van Gogh, soon feeling his arms wrap around you and the wetness of tears on the back of your shirt. You hugged him harder when you heard a sob rip from his chest, trying your best not to start sobbing yourself. After all, you didn't look the most elegant when you cried.
The two of you stayed like that for what felt like hours before finally pulling away from the other. You looked him in the eyes, rubbing away some of the stray tears that still remained on his cheeks. He returned the favor.
"All this time," he started, "I was so scared to tell you how I felt about you. Hell, I was scared to talk to you at all. I was so worried that I would mess things up between us that I decided to just stay silent." He paused, sighing. "It's...difficult for me to connect with people so...I don't have many good friends. I didn't want to ruin what we had."
"I was scared too," You admitted, "In all honesty, I wasn't sure if you even wanted to talk to me after we finished the project. I like being around you, so I was okay with just sitting near you in art." You ran your hand through his orange hair, being mindful of his bandages.
"I guess we're both kinda creeps." You say after a minute. He smiles with a chuckle.
"Yeah." He whispers, "I guess we are."
Extended Ending:
You let go of Van Gogh, allowing him to clear his bed and put the paintings away. He straightened his bed out, looking over at his own clock that read quarter til midnight. He turned to you, peach dusting his pale cheeks.
"Would you, um..." He stuttered, "Would you like to spend the night? I don't mean like, you know, but just...sleep. It's late, we have class in the morning and it's a bit of a walk to your dorm." He finished, gesturing to his bed. You blushed before smiling.
"I'd love to." You answered. He smiled before opening the covers, patting the open space.
"Great! I-Um, I'll get the lights." He said, walking past you. You took your shoes off before climbing into his bed, moving all the way over to one side. He turned the light off, the room only being visible because of the moonlight coming through the curtains. You felt the bed shift, assuming Van Gogh had gotten in the bed with you.
For a while, you both laid there stiffly, painfully aware of the other's presence. You felt his eyes on you for a while before he spoke.
"Um...would it be alright if I..." He said, scooting closer to you. You did the same, until the two of you met in the center. You turned your body towards his and he did the same. The two of you simply stared at the other for a moment before he wrapped his arms around your neck. You, in turn, wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your chin upon his head. He pressed his face into your collar and you shuttered as you felt his breath on your neck.
"This," he started, "This is..." Leaving you to finish his sentence.
"Nice."