Bellamy hadn't expected to be touched, and his shoulder jolted just slightly under the other man's hand. He couldn't decide where to look after that: the canvas, Darrow's face, or his hand on Bellamy's shoulder. There was a small lump in his throat, and he had to clear it before he answered.

"Art gallery show, probably," he said, and he might have shrugged except that the motion would have dislodged Alistair's hand, which seemed... almost rude, in a strange way. "But if I stage one myself I'll have to make it part of a collection, so I'm not sure. Maybe I'll wait until the Academy is accepting submissions again and try that. I don't know. I don't start a painting because I've got a plan for what to do with it," he pointed out. "I paint because some things deserve to be painted."

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Alistairs flush travelled down his neck at the idea of a painting of him being in an art gallery show. He had been somewhat expecting that answer, at least. He moved his hand away and nodded in understanding as Echelon said he painted things that deserve to be painted. It was still wild to him that Bellamy Echelon had considered him as deserving to be painted so now he could hardly look in the other mans direction. "Do let me know what you end up doing. If there is a show, I'll be sure to urge my family to attend. We're a large number, us Darrows."

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This wasn't particularly surprising — the Echelons were a large and expansive family, too, though at least Bellamy's branch didn't spend much time with any of the others (or at least, they hadn't up until the past two years, when they'd been stuck in England). It piqued his interest, however, though he couldn't have said why. He tilted his head slightly and gave Alistair a curious look. "You want to invite them?" he repeated, as though he hadn't entirely understood. "What do you think they'd think?"

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"If you wouldn't mind it," Alistair confirmed. He wasn't actually sure which of his family members had an appreciation for art but it seemed the thing to do. "I think they would be fascinated. Maybe surprised that I agreed to this at all." Or maybe they wouldn't be since Alistair was known for not exactly being able to say no if someone with a stronger personality wanted something from him.

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"Well. You didn't, really," Bellamy pointed out with a grin. He wasn't so unaware of things that he thought the beginning of this relationship had been mutual — he just didn't much care that Alistair hadn't seemed keen on it, because Bellamy clearly knew better. He was the one with the artistic vision, after all. That superceded other people's desire to stay in their comfort zone, in his mind.

"Should we go eat?" he proposed, taking a step out from the corner where he'd been painting.

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"That's true," Alistair said in agreement. He wasn't even truly that comfortable around the other man. He was just glad at the moment that he no longer had to pose for a painting. Hopefully, Bellamy Echelon wouldn't see the sun strike his lips or hair in some way again that the man would be once again driven into artistic fervor. Or whatever it was that had caused all this the first time.

"Yes, lets," Alistair said, allowing the other man to take the lead since it was the Echelons house.

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