#i imagine hes secretly super tender and heartfelt but refuses to let anyone in on that

[tetraharmonic]

Imagine a fic where Romeo guides someone through skincare. They don't really know how to take care of themselves, or they neglected to do it, so now they look at the shelves in the convenience store, confused out their mind. For a moment, they think about giving up, returning to their depression slump. Or, to what would be Romeo's horror later if he found out, they'd just go back to using a generic soap bar on their face. Romeo can't let that happen. So he sits them down, seeing how much they're genuinely trying, and can't help but feel a bit sympathetic. He walks them through toners and moisturizers and serums, sharing lavish face masks and perfumes, before gifting them all sorts of nice hot oil treatments, clays, and a jade roller. Of course, seeing the pile, they have no idea what to do, and get overwhelmed. Not to worry, Romeo has decided they're now his latest LOL. He applies it all himself, suprised to find so much patience in him, pulling their head back into his knees as they sit on the floor, and him in his nice seat, massaging hair treatments in and working out knots. He knows the ache, the post depression everything shower, the gender panic when giving yourself the proper care you deserve is seen as overly feminine, but also the struggle of not quite wanting to he feminine either. Wanting to just be. If they ask him to teach them how to do makeup, he'll teach them. Whether it's to present as feminine, or sharpen their features to present as masculine, all while reminding them that this isn't exclusive to one or the other. He teaches them to draw hearts in the smears of moisturizer with their thumbs in the mirror, so they never question whether or not they have the right to care for themself the way they should. That Romeo insists they deserve, but swear he doesn't give a damn. They feel so much better too. Sometimes they pretend to be lost to talk more. It's been a while since they've been heard. They ask "why the abbreviation?" Doesn't he know that LOL stands for laughing out loud?

He shakes his head. His tone isn't romantic, merely to the point, like stating a truth. An observation. "Nonono, belli*. Labor of Love."

* probably improper use of Italian. Someone help, what's the gender neutral way to say beautiful, I'm dying here.