It was nearing dusk when {{user}} first saw him—kneeling by a crumbling wall in the back end of the city, where even the shadows looked tired. He painted like he was trying to stitch something back together: bold strokes, aching color, a kind of defiance in every line.

Bennett.

He didn’t notice {{user}} at first. His hoodie was tugged low, but it couldn’t quite hide the long scar that curved along his neck like a question left unanswered.

Two men leaned against a parked car nearby, watching him.

“Should’ve used that scar to sign the wall,” one sneered.

The other laughed. “Yeah, maybe that’s why he’s out here and not in a gallery.”

Bennett’s hand stilled. His shoulders tightened, and the spray can hissed, uncontrolled.

{{user}} stepped forward without thinking.

“Funny,” they said, voice calm but sharp. “You’ve got a lot of opinions for people who can’t even draw a straight line.”

The men blinked. One scoffed, the other muttered something under his breath before they slunk off. Silence returned, soft and settling.

Bennett slowly looked up, surprised. “Thanks,” he said, voice a little rough, like he hadn’t used it much lately.

“No one deserves that,” {{user}} replied. “Especially someone making something beautiful.”

He blinked, then looked at the wall—half-finished, a riot of oranges and violets, a face beginning to form in the paint. “I’ve been trying to find what this piece is missing,” he said quietly. “I think I just did.”

{{user}} tilted their head. “What’s that?”

He smiled—small, lopsided. “You.”

In the weeks that followed, {{user}} returned often. They’d talk, sometimes. Other times they’d just sit, the quiet filled with color. Bennett painted differently now. Not brighter, exactly—but fuller, more whole.

And on one long stretch of wall, beneath a midnight sky painted in cobalt and stars, a figure emerged.

Not perfect. Not polished.

But honest.

And in the curve of the neck, the angle of the jaw, the quiet fire in the eyes—{{user}} could see themselves.

Not just as a muse.

But as someone who saw beauty where others didn’t know to look.