Author's Note: My first attempt at a story for Ikemen Vampire, written for the delightful hvdra00 of tumblr, drawer of fine chibis. This is a slice of life story, since I'm just getting to know these characters. That said, there is a hint of romance, and perhaps a shadow of conflict to come. Or not. Please let me know what you think, and what kinds of stories you'd enjoy in the future!

Light and Shadow

"I think it's because she's so bright—"

Vincent's soft voice was cut off by a sound midway between a snort and a snicker. A snork? Yeah… and the word was a perfect fit for the person who snorked, that is, Theodorus "Sarcasm" Van Gogh. I glared at him from the open doorway, certain he'd been aware of my presence from the moment I'd arrived.

Theo followed up his snork with a pithy, "Nee." His red-blond eyebrows quirked maliciously. "Just as well—not much point to being an intelligent snack."

"I guess this extra syrup is going straight back to the kitchen," I announced. Theo needed to learn that insulting the help was a bad strategy. "Can't remember why I brought it in the first place." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vincent look up from his plate, clearly startled and confused. Argh. Vincent was a sweetheart; he didn't deserve to be punished for his brother's failings.

"Mai—"[1]

"Don't be a pain, knabbele."

"You need to be nicer, Theo!" Vincent smiled at me, his sky blue eyes and golden hair exactly the colours of a summer day. "You know how he is, Mai. He wouldn't tease you if he didn't like you."

"Mm-hm." I set the syrup down beside Vincent, as far from Theo as possible given that the two were seated side-by-side as usual.

"Besides…" Vincent reached out and put a gentle hand on my arm, ignoring the syrup. "I didn't mean bright in that sense; I just didn't get to finish."

"That's a relief. Thought you'd lost your own God-given intelligence, to be saying something like that." Theo reached across Vincent's plate with a half-hearted apology, and snagged the syrup. He shot me a look of triumph as he turned his plate of pancakes into a sticky re-enactment of the Great Flood.

"Your pancakes need life-preservers," I commented snarkily.

Theo grinned, eyes gleaming. "Figures you'd think that way—feeling sorry for the food and all." His eyes were the exact same colour as his brother's, but not remotely as sunny. More like crisp autumn than soft summer.

"Theo, honestly—Mai, I have a question for you."

"Sure, Vincent, what is it?" Actually, I'd been hoping he'd finish explaining what he meant by "bright", if he didn't mean smart—and did that mean he thought I was dumb? No, that was overthinking things. Vincent was unfailingly kind and cheerful. I had the impression he tended to think the best of people even inside his own head.

"Would you like to join me on a picnic later this afternoon? There's this place—Napoleon showed it to me—a field of flowers that I think you'd like. I was thinking of checking out the area around it, too, for inspiration."

I automatically waited for somebody to mention sunflowers, then realized that neither Arthur nor Dazai were present. Not that Vincent ever took it badly, of course, but Theo sometimes got cross about everyone "fixating" on "just one of Vincent's hundreds of amazing paintings."

"You're going on a picnic, Vincent?" Theo was frowning. "It's pretty hot out there today, and you tend to forget the time—and little things like sunburn and heat-stroke—when you start looking all over nature for inspiration." Theo adored Vincent, and Vincent's art—clearly in that order, to be fair—but he seemed to be a city boy at heart. I had the impression he'd prefer Vincent not to ramble as much as he did.

Vincent laughed, and his eyes reflected only affection for his brother, but his hand remained lightly on my forearm, as if to tell me that he was sincere in wanting my company. He had long, thin fingers, and I could see faint traces of colour on his pale skin. I wondered if the paint residue had accumulated just since his arrival in nineteenth century Paris, given that most of the inhabitants of the mansion appeared to have been rejuvenated upon their "change". It was odd to remember that he was a vampire—his touch was pleasantly warm, for one thing…

"I'd be happy to go with you, Vincent," I assured him. "Just set a time, and let me check in with Sebastian."

"Thank you! Could you let me know once you're sure it's okay? I don't want to interfere with your work, but—"

"Sebas used to look after things on his own, remember? I'm sure he can spare the newbie for a couple of hours." Theo still didn't look entirely pleased, for some reason, but at least he was tacitly approving my proposed participation in the outing. "You better look after him, okay?" His sharp blue eyes bored into me, demanding an answer.

I forced myself to shrug lightly and look away, though it wasn't easy. "Of course, Theo. And I'm sure he'll look after me—right, Vincent?"

"Yes, of course! Not that there will be much need for it." Vincent sounded almost disappointed, but his soft smile wasn't dimmed for long. "It's not as if we're going very far, and besides, the city is much more dangerous than the countryside, no matter what Theo and Arthur think." I had to agree with that assessment, based on all the warnings about nineteenth century Paris I'd been given since my arrival.

"Yeah, yeah." Theo remained patently unconvinced, but he'd gone back to eating his breakfast instead of trying to skewer me with his gaze. "How did you come up with this whole picnic thing, anyway?"

"Oh—Mai mentioned the idea not too long after she arrived. I've been wanting to try it out ever since." It had only been few days ago, but he made it sound longer. "It's a perfect day for it today, too."

"Too warm."

"Not at all—that's just how it seems when you're surrounded by buildings and people. Right, Mai?" He looked up at me, and I thought I saw a twinkle in his usually guileless baby blues. Was he actually encouraging me to join him in teasing Theo? I decided he was.

"Vincent's right, Theo. Everyone knows that the best way to beat the heat is to get out of the city."

Actually, that was pretty accurate, especially if you lived in twenty-first century Tokyo, like I did. There was nothing quite like August in Tokyo to make you realize just how crowded our trains and streets had become, and just how hot and uncomfortable it was to be so close to so many people. And Tokyo stretched a long way in every direction, too. Suddenly, the prospect of an outing with Vincent in the semi-tamed wilderness surrounding the mansion sounded even better. He was bound to be pleasant company, too, and this would be a great chance to find out more about him. Vincent among wildflowers—

"What are you smirking about?"

"You look so happy!"

I blinked, and realized that I'd spaced out. I was once again the focus of both pairs of similar-dissimilar light blue eyes.

"I'm not smirking—"

"Sure."

"I don't think she is, Theo—"

"—And I was just looking forward to going out with you, Vincent." Wait, did I make it sound like a date? No, hopefully not. It might help if I stepped away from that angelic golden smile, not to mention the light-but-definitely-still-there touch on my arm.

As if he'd read my intention to move even as I thought it, Vincent lifted his hand away. Theo stood up from the table.

"I've got to get going. You probably do too, knabbele, since you're ditching work early today."

"Could you ask Sebas if three o'clock works for him, please?"

Once again, they spoke at almost the same time. I ignored Theo—not that he was wrong—and responded to Vincent. "I'll do that, and let you know."

"Thanks. …And, Mai?"

I looked back at Vincent. Opposite me, Theo paused in the act of closing the main dining room door behind him.

"About what I was saying earlier…"

"Yes?" I suddenly felt self-conscious. "I mean—you really don't need to worry about it." Okay, that wasn't exactly true, but I'd meant to bring it up later, when we were off on our own. Of course, Vincent had been talking to Theo in the first place, so he probably wanted to explain with both of us there.

"It's hard to describe… It's something about how you're always working so hard, and how you always try to be kind to the people around you, even if you don't know them very well." I waited, but there was no snork this time from Theo, which was both unexpected and suspicious. "Anyway, I was trying to explain to Theo that when I think of you in terms of colours—of painting—you seem very bright to me. Not the kind of brightness that hurts to look at. …Full of light, rather, and content to let it spill over freely. The mansion feels less gloomy these days; I like it."

I couldn't take it any more—my face was burning. If Vincent was embarrassed by what he was saying, it didn't show. There was a faint flush on his cheeks, but I could tell he was just being earnest. He didn't realize how much his words, combined with his angelic charm, might affect the recipient. Or so I assumed, based on his candour.

"Thank you, Vincent. All of that means a lot to me, although I'm really not sure what I've done to deserve your praise."

"I was just trying to describe what I was seeing. Theo was curious about what I thought of you."

My eyes turned automatically to the man in question, rather surprised. I'd missed him, though. All I saw was a swirl of brown coat, and then the door closing firmly behind his well-built frame.

"Why would Theo ask that?"

"Hmm?" Vincent looked surprised by the question. "Well, he often asks my opinions of people." Summer blue eyes sparkled with humour for a few moments. "He doesn't usually agree with the answer, though! Anyway, I'll see you later, hopefully?"

It was a gentle reminder to get back to work.

"Barring a butlering emergency, I think we're good to go!"

I took whatever needed taking off the table, and headed off to the kitchen. More residents would be down shortly, and then there would be Napoleon to wake up-I'd learned to use a pillow to guard against extra kisses—and then lunch to get started. I started musing about what food to bring on our picnic—pancakes were what Vincent liked best, but surely I could find some snacks, or fruit, that would be appropriate? And we want something to drink, maybe a well-iced tea…

"You look happier than you usually do after an exchange with Theo," remarked Sebastian, drawing me out of my planning.

"Ah, well, he's okay once you know how to take him." I smirked at Sebastian, who raised an eyebrow. "That's to say, with a large dose of Vincent!"

"So that's a Vincent-induced smile, is it?" There was a slightly knowing look in his grey eyes that gave me pause, but I ignored the question and moved on to more important things.

"May I leave a bit early today, since Vincent would like me to come with him on a walk and a picnic? And on that topic—what does Vincent like other than pancakes?" For some reason, Theo's irritable scowl flitted across my mind, and I added: "I suppose I should learn what Theo likes too. Maybe I can find a way to stop the tide of put-downs and weird names."

Sebastian regarded me thoughtfully, but didn't say anything right away. "As I believe Master Vincent told you early on, Theo only gives pet names—as it were—to those he likes."

"Well I wish he'd stop treating me as a pet—it's not that big an improvement on 'snack'!"

"I see you have him on your mind."

"What? No—no, really, Sebastian, that's just not it." I rolled my eyes. "So let's focus on Vincent's picnic, okay?"

"Of course. Do you realize how amazing it is that you'll be having a picnic with the Vincent Van Gogh? What an incredible opportunity!"

"Honestly, I try not to think of things that way—it's a little overwhelming."

Sebastian looked pained, but finally turned his mind to what food and drink might be suitable—and portable—for the occasion. I focussed on the dishes, and tried to remind myself that it was just a picnic. Not a date. Not an indication of anything other than friendly interest from a very nice man who happened to look like an angel. No problem. And if I occasionally wondered about his snarky younger brother, well, naturally one would remind me of the other—right?

[END]

[1] (MC's confession about the name "Mai") It was probably a mistake, but when pressed for a name, I gave them the name of the main character from my favourite mobile romance game. I admitted the truth not long after, but by that point everyone was—or claimed to be—used to Mai. To quote Arthur, "it's short and sweet, like you, so why not?" Responses to this comment were mixed, but that's a different story. Vincent, at least, appeared to be sincere in his agreement.