#tagging this cos i want some more selfship frens

[silbeni]

MAKEUP

In which: Rohan does Ryoma's makeup for the club

Pairing: (DIU) Inkspots (Ryoma/Rohan)

Rating: Fluff!

TW: mention of scars

Part 1 of 2. Sequel can be found here

\\\AHHH uh here it is. this was meant to be a smaller chunk of a bigger fic but this ended up getting really long, so I'm making them into two parts. Rohan is really soft in this I know. they're good friends and I make the rules around here 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

Also it's pretty long. Enjoy?

Ryoma initially wasn't sure who to turn to with their romantic emergency. A girl she'd met very recently had invited her to the club on short notice. They'd never gone before, and they wanted to make a big impression. Her usual style wouldn't do, and they weren't too confident in their makeup skill, so they'd need some help. Help like Tomoko, who they'd usually go to for matters like this, but there was no way in heck she would let her go to the club. They could hear her go on her safety spiel just thinking about it.

With Tomoko out of the question, they had few other candidates. Josuke, while fashion aware, had school to attend to the next day- and that boy needed all the help he could get. She wouldn't want to drag him into their mess, anyway- in case Tomoko found out. They found she always went way harder on him than them on the rare occasion that both were in trouble. She had her reasons for her unequal treatment—she knew—but she wanted to avoid that if at all possible. They've gotta look out for their brother, you know?

With now Josuke off the table, there was no one else that she was particularly close with that she thought could help, except for... Rohan! That's right, why hadn't they thought about him before?He’s fashionable, an avid wearer of makeup, and someone capable of keeping things hush-hush. Most people found him rude, and off-putting—and they didn't particularly disagree with either of those things— but they liked who he was underneath of his prickly exterior. Turns out he's actually not a bad guy!

Sure, he has an ego, but that's not all he is. He can be a kind and thoughtful individual, someone that they really enjoyed getting to know. They'd become close over a short period of time, facilitated by their frequent visits. Fortunately, they worked right next door, so it was easy to drop by after their housekeeping duties were finished. Before they knew it, they were making themself comfortable at his mansion and joining him for dinner every other week.

About the plan, Tomoko had already been acquainted with him through Ryoma, so when they asked to stay over at his, she thought nothing of it. It didn't feel good to lie to her, but they couldn't think of any other option. Rohan himself didn't take long to convince. He showed a bit of resistance at the start, but after a moment of mulling it over, he was in.

Still, he made his reservations known about the whole ordeal. He didn't like Ryoma going to the club with someone they hardly knew, so he accepted with the condition that he would accompany them, and basically chaperone. They didn't love the idea. It'd be awkward as heck to have him third-wheeling their date, and they knew Rohan would be miserable too, but if it meant they could go...

So, there they were, 12 o'clock at midnight, getting ready at Rohan's. They had gotten dressed in a newly bought outfit, which showed more skin than they were comfortable with. Observant as ever, Rohan noticed their distress and kindly offered them the many fabulous, expensive jackets in his wardrobe - which they appreciated, but declined, wanting to maintain a false sense of confidence.

He had already begun on their makeup, prepping their face with foundation and concealer. Heavy coverage, as they'd asked. He proceeded with a smokey eye upon their request, and prepared for the next step. "Now, close your eyes and stay very still. I'm going to work on your eyeliner."

"Okay." Following his instructions, they shut their eyes and sat up straight and stiff in their chair like a statue.

Rohan didn't like to be bothered as he worked, and they figured it would apply to this too. He could get scary serious about it, though he was especially lenient with Ryoma. They were the one person he allowed to be in his art room while he worked on his manga. Well, as long as they didn't just stand there and stare at him. It made him antsy, said it made it difficult for him to concentrate. Which was a bummer, because it was fascinating to watch him in his element, but they respected his boundaries.

There was a rustling, the sound of things being moved around, and the opening and shutting of drawers, punctuated by a short silence. "Ah, here it is. Excellent."

"You mentioned you wanted something 'bold', is that right?" The sound of his footsteps gave away the gist of his location, making it not so abrupt when they felt his fingers tilt their face up. There was a little bit of adjusting before he settled on an adequate angle.

They kept their answer to a minimum, careful not to disrupt his workflow. "Mhm."

"Anything in particular you had in mind?" He prepped their face by brushing away a few stubborn hairs that had escaped the hair claw they wore. The sensation was a bit ticklish, but they remained composed. Unlike Ryoma, Rohan wasn't affectionate at all. He allowed them to touch him, but he would never initiate on his own, which is why this set-up felt odd. Not bad, just unusual.

The question he posed them required more elaboration than just a hum, so they spoke up. "Um, not really. I give you full creative freedom to do whatever you want."

Even without seeing him, they knew he was pleased with the answer. They could practically hear him smile, and they found themself softly smiling too. "I'll get started, then."

He held their face firm, only to release it a second later. They kept their eyes closed for a couple moments after that, expecting to feel something more.

After a minute or so, Rohan must've noticed their confused non-reaction. "You may open your eyes."

"...Wha?" Ryoma turned to the vanity mirror beside her to see that, yes, he had already finished. Their eyeliner was thick, sharp and perfectly symmetrical. "How did you-? I didn't even feel that." They moved closer to their reflection to admire it closer. It held up, even up close - impossibly smooth, clean lines. He said nothing about it, relishing in their reaction.

He allowed them to marvel at his handiwork a bit more before calling them back to their seat. "Now, mascara?" He must've anticipated their reaction, because he sat back down, tube in hand before they could respond.

Ryoma, notoriously big mascara fan, bounded back to their seat with a smile. "Yessss!"

"Look up for me." They did just as he said, and tried not to blink while he applied the product to their lower lashes.

Being so still, their cheer had nowhere else to go but to occupy the quarters of their brain. They thought about all sorts of happy things- mostly how excited they were for the date, and how grateful they were for Rohan's friendship. There was a backing track to it, a song that had been stuck in their head for ages played back at full volume.

"That's a lovely tune."

The realization put an immediate stop to their apparent vocalization. They weren’t exactly sure why they'd found it so embarrassing- they'd sang in front of him before. Maybe it was the fact that they weren't aware of *how* they sounded that petrified them. While they were close friends, there were things that they were still self conscious about, especially because of Rohan's critical nature. He hadn't made any negative comments, but they worried that he'd be still judging them in his head.

They must've pulled a funny expression because he chuckled and reassured them. "It's alright, I don't mind it."

They felt as if they had to after he'd given them the go-ahead, so they started up again, painfully conscious this time. But as the song went on, they lost the heat in their cheeks and their joyful spirit returned. They wagered he had been sincere. Rohan is very honest about the things he did and didn't like. Even if he tried to fake it, they'd be able to tell. That was one of the things they liked about him. For a chronic overthinker like Ryoma, Rohan’s directness was a breath of fresh air.

"Now, look down, down." Ryoma did as he said, absentmindedly watching his elbow pop into view every so often as he worked on her upper eyelashes.

After a bit, their focus wandered down to their lap. The tights they wore were a dark, see-through material. Insecurity seeped into their mind as they noticed the marks on their legs. They didn't jump out at you, but they were there. A part of them regretted not wearing solid colour tights like they usually did, while another held firm in wanting to be brave. They reasoned the club would be much darker than Rohan's bathroom, so their date might not even notice. On the other hand, they kinda wished she would. As nervous as it made them, they didn't want their scars to become a surprise. It's not like they could hide them forever. If they were to be rejected because of it, they'd rather it be sooner rather than later, when they've invested time into the relationship.

Rohan's voice cut through their negative thoughts. "Have I heard this before? It sounds familiar."

The mention of the song brought back happy memories, shelving their worries for the time being. They had a little pink iPod they carried pretty much everywhere with quite a few songs on it, but they always found themself looping the same few. It was handed down to her by Tomoko, way back when they were hospitalized. They had very little to do there, and the ipod gave them away to spend those long, dreadful hours. It was a dark time in her life, but she looks back at those moments with fondness. She really was a great nurse.

The little device lay beside them on the nearby counter. ‘Tomoko’ was printed on it, or it used to be. The decal had majorly chipped away, making it almost entirely illegible.

Rohan's firm stare returned them from their brief space out session.

"Oh, yeah- definitely, I listen to it all the time." He had to know. Everyone who knew Ryoma was familiar with it. They'd listen to it during their daily commute, sang it in the shower and as they cleaned up next door. It was one of the songs on the car playlist. They didn't have a license, but they'd play it whenever Rohan would drive her places, when he'd let her.

That clue made the answer immediately clear. "Belanova?"

They grinned. "You know it."

That gained a soft laugh from him. A warm, pleasant feeling bubbled up at the sound. "You're incredibly predictable."

"It's a good band!" They would've loved to continue their banter, but they didn't want to bug Rohan too much while he was working very close to their eyeball. While he had amazingly steady hands, that didn't account for them moving around. It wasn't long before he finished, but by then that line of conversation had died.

He took his hand away and screwed the wand back into its tube. "Alright, that's it for mascara. What else would you want me to do?"

Ryoma thought about it for a second. Red would be a nice pop of colour, and it would work for the edgy, romantic look they were going for. "Can I see your red lipsticks?"

"Certainly. Let's see here..." Rohan went into a cabinet, one of his bigger ones. It seemed to be designated for lip products only, and there were quite a number of them. They were sectioned by colour, so it was easy to find the reds. "Which one do you like most?

There were tons of good choices, but after carefully considering each of them they came up with an answer. They picked out a cherry red with a purplish tinge to it. “This one.”

"I was thinking the same."

"Well, great minds think alike, if I do say so myself." They boasted jokingly, placing their hands on their hips and puffing out their chest in a display of faux pride.

He reacted with a short, sharp exhale that could've been a laugh. He turned away from them, ashamed to be caught off guard by such a corny non-joke, which only added to Ryoma's satisfaction.There was something different about him, though. While they'd made him laugh before, this was all too easy. Maybe something good had happened to him? They didn't analyze it too deeply, It was just nice to see more of this side of him.

With their lipstick picked out, it was time to scope out the lip liners. A similar red would've been an easy pick, but they wanted something different, some contrast. “Red and black?” They held up a black liner.

By then, he had recovered from his brief break in character. "Excellent choice."

He took the items from them, and they returned to their designated spots. Again, he supported their face with one hand, while the other got the job done. They kept their mouth slightly ajar as he first applied the lipstick.

They made sure not to stare at Rohan too much, busying themself by examining things around the room. His house was always decorated nicely, with lots of ornate detail and unique pieces. The stool they were sitting on probably cost more than what they made in a year with their two jobs combined… They sat up a little bit straighter after that.

They felt him stop, but they continued surveying the room with the assumption that he had simply paused. Though, as time ticked by, they grew curious. They looked at him to see that he wasn't doing much at all. He was still leaning forward, engaged but paused mid-action.

Suddenly, their eyes met, and he was shocked back to life. He jolted violently, dropping the lipstick while the cap was off. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be too contaminated, but he didn't seem to care. He wordlessly picked it back up, placed it on the counter and continued with the liner.

Ryoma didn't know what to make of the drastic change in mood. They were obviously concerned about his big reaction, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it. They could only wonder about what he was thinking so hard about. There were a lot of things that they didn't know about him. Between the both of them, he was definitely the guarded one, while Ryoma was more of an open book, though they definitely kept their fair share of secrets. They hoped that, someday, enough trust would be built that he could open up to them.

He was silent during the process. It was done quickly, as if in a hurry. There was a change in his posture, a lack of that grace that he'd shown before. His grip on the pencil was stiff, and he used more pressure than he probably intended. While it wasn't uncomfortable, there was a noticeable difference to his prior performance. As soon as he was done, he quietly stepped back and loitered elsewhere in the room.

Deciding to leave him to his devices, Ryoma slowly rose and approached the mirror. Then, they leaned in closer to it, supporting themself on the vanity it was built into. After a few moments of stunned silence, they gasped audibly. The liner had blended beautifully with the red, while still emphasizing the contours of their lips. With the completed look, they couldn't believe the gorgeous stranger in the mirror was them.

“Well?” Rohan spoke for the first time in minutes. It seemed he just needed a little reprieve to overcome the embarrassment that came with his… whatever had happened, because he was back to his old antics.

They looked at their reflection, then back at him back and forth a couple times.“I look so PRETTY!!!” Without warning, a shrill squeal burst out of them, startling both themself and Rohan due to the unexpected volume. They were deterred for just a moment, giggling sheepishly into their palm.

The next thing they did was pull him into a big, tight hug. Unable to contain their excitement, they began to jump up and down, holding him in their arms. “Aaah! Thank you, thank you! You're a lifesaver!” He held them too, moreso clinging to them as he was lifted into the air.

Ryoma placed the smaller butch down once they noticed he had begun to turn red in the face, concerned that maybe they had shaken him too much.

He appeared a bit frazzled, but he seemed to compose himself after smoothing out his hair and clearing his throat. “...You’re very welcome.”

He was about to say something else, but he sort of froze up when they got up close to him again. They set their hands on his shoulders, and lowered themself until they were more or less eye to eye. “I'll find a way to pay you back somehow, I promise.” They held him like that for a moment before they smiled and withdrew from him.

They recollected some of their things that were scattered about the bathroom in preparation for their eventual departure.

He found his words once their back was turned. “I'll hold you to that, you know.”

They glanced back at him over their shoulder, at his still flushed but smug face. Acknowledged him with a smiling hum and resumed their task.