Work Text:
“Stay still,” Mark almost shouts, but the force of it gets lost in the giggle that follows. “Jacks, stop--”
“I’m trying!” It doesn’t look like trying to Mark, though, so he pinches Jackson’s side. Jackson whimpers in surprise and Mark falls into another giggle fit.
“I can’t work my magic on your face when you’re like that,” Mark manages to say eventually, the good mood making him sassier than usual. Jackson grunts in disapproval, but stops squeezing Mark’s thighs.
Mark coos at him mockingly and earns himself a smack on his butt. Will they ever be able to even get past the base? For now, it looks like Jackson’s dream to become a vampire won't ever happen. At least not in the nearest future.
Mark’s never given anyone a transformation makeup, let alone one to make someone look a certain way, not just different from how they usually do. However, recently Jackson’s watched a movie with vampires (Mark didn’t ask which one, he really doesn't want to know). He was texting Mark the whole time, even though Mark was busy and couldn't reply on time, and with each message it was getting clearer that Jackson has an idea. It didn’t take much time for Jackson to start whining about how he wants to dress up like a vampire, how he wants to channel his inner blood-sucking monster, and at some point it turned out that Jackson’s always wanted to dress up as a vampire, he just had no time to do so, ever.
Then, Jackson decides that he doesn't have to dress up. His dream can be fulfilled with a makeup look, just so at least Jackson’s face looks vampy enough that any black clothing would do as a costume. He’s a modern vampire, after all, he tells Mark with a serious expression.
And who’s Mark to deny Jackson a small playdate with makeup involved.
“Just don’t upload any photos or videos on your instagram,” he begs as Mark straddles him, Mark’s phone lying among all the makeup he prepared.
Mark rolls his eyes and doesn't promise anything.
There are some… turbulences, from the very beginning; besides the fact that Jackson gets terribly handsy and touches Mark all the time (Mark is literally sitting on him, true, but Jackson doesn't need to hold onto Mark’s thighs, does he), Jackson also keeps talking and giggling and getting distracted. Mark is guilty of the same crimes, but he’s not the one who is getting a vampy makeover and should remain calm during the process.
“Bams will come by,” Jackson says during another break they have to take, checking his phone. Mark’s lips form a thin line. “With Yugyeom.”
“Weren't they hanging out with Jinyoung and Jaebum?” Mark grumbles as he rummages through the eyeshadows he picked.
“Yeah, I guess that’s the problem,” Jackson snickers. “You know that when the four of them meets, it ends up in a disaster.” That’s a good point, unfortunately for Mark. It seems that he’s not going to get a one on one afternoon with Jackson and makeup, after all. The brats are coming.
Jackson doesn’t look bothered, he’s only more excited, if anything. Mark guesses that’s for the better, then. This afternoon is about Jackson.
“Okay, time for your eyes,” he speaks up, getting back into the small chaos around them. Jackson blinks owlishly at him.
“Will there be eyeliner involved?” He asks, mortified, and it makes Mark giggle. Jackson’s face instantaneously lits up in a grin. It looks dazzling on him, Mark has to admit.
“We’ll see,” he just says and smirks when Jackson pouts at him and starts whining about how he doesn’t want to lose his sight at such a young age. Mark’s pretty sure Jackson makes a silly Shrek reference somewhere along the way, but he tunes out a little, because he can’t find a good (clean) packing brush to set the primer on Jackson’s eyes. “I gotta apply this one eyeshadow with my finger,” he finally says, interrupting Jackson’s monologue. He’s sure the latter has already changed topics twice.
“Okay,” Jackson says easily, shrugging. Great.
It’s awkward, but Mark manages to put the light eyeshadow all over Jackson’s eyelids, all the way up to the brows (of which Mark’s quite proud, they look perfect after the battle he went through while doing them).
“That’s the most you’ve touched me for months,” Jackson comments as Mark dabs at his outer corner and they both crack up.
“I’ll use this palette for the whole eye look, I think.” Mark lifts it up as he introduces it and Jackson reads the name aloud.
“Saint and sinner?” He furrows his perfectly arched eyebrows and looks up in confusion at Mark. “Is that an innuendo? Which one am I?”
“You’re a saint now, obviously,” Mark deadpans. “And we’ll get you to the sinner level real quick.”
Jackson looks satisfied with the answer and closes both of his eyes. Cute. “Do me,” he pauses, waiting for any response, but Mark stays silent, judgmental glare unseen because Jackson doesn’t open his eyes. Mark doesn't think Jackson’s cute anymore. “...that favour,” he finishes in a monotonous tone. Mark feels like pinching him again, but he just gets to work.
“I’ve already used amen on your eyes,” he murmurs absentmindedly, sure that Jackson has no idea what he’s talking about. “And now I’ll-- you know what, I need another palette,” he sighs, because damn, there’s so much he’d like to do, but he has to keep his fantasies in check and keep in mind that he’s doing a vampy look to make Jackson happy, he’s not playing around for his own pleasure.
It takes him some time before he eventually decides on what he’s going to use. Jackson wraps his arms around Mark, probably bored already. Mark adjusts himself carefully.
“You have too much makeup,” Jackson complains, looking at Mark’s hips. Mark coughs and takes Jackson’s chin between his fingers to make Jackson lift up his head again. “If you had less stuff, it’d be easier to decide on something!”
“Disagreed. Maybe I wouldn't have enough stuff to be able to make a vampire out of you.”
Jackson hums. “Maybe,” he just says. Mark uses the temporary silence to get some more of the eye look done. They’re way too slow, he’s starting to get cramps all over his body.
As the dramatic smoky look shows up on Jackson’s eyes, layer after layer, Mark feels his usual nerves calm down and he smiles softly while blending the edges of the look, content with the outcome. The outer part is dark, but there’s the rapture shade in the middle and it goes all the way to Jackson’s inner corner, where Mark mixed it with a lighter shimmer shade he found among his stand-alone eyeshadows. He dabbed the smallest amount of glittery liquid eyeshadow in the centre of Jackson’s eyelids to make the pinkish shine pop even more. If Jackson doesn’t like it, Mark’s going to unfriend him everywhere, including real life. He worked hard on getting the lower lashline right and trying not to fuck up the eyeliner he decided to add, his work has to be appreciated.
“I’m gonna stick some glitter on your cheekbones, right below that smoked outer corner,” he announces and Jackson’s eyes goes wide.
“But it’ll come off, right?” He asks. Mark laughs a little, but Jackson still looks dubious.
“Don’t worry,” Mark says offhandedly as he adds red and fuchsia bits onto Jackson’s skin.
Jackson sighs. “How can I trust you like that?”
“I’m a professional?” Mark rolls his eyes, even though technically, he’s no professional and they both know it. Jackson smiles anyway and Mark ignores how weirdly fond it looks.
“Wouldn’t go under anyone else’s brushes,” Jackson says sweetly and laughs obnoxiously right after when Mark makes a disgusted face at him.
There’s a small commotion coming from the downstairs and Mark’s father shouts something about having guests. Mark shouts back an okay.
“Oh my god, they can’t see me now! I’m not ready yet!” Jackson’s panicking and Mark tries to shush him, but Jackson is just getting louder and more frantic underneath him. Geez.
The doors open and Jackson almost headbutts Mark. He ducks to hide his face in Mark’s hoodie and Mark shrieks, because the makeup isn’t even ready and this idiot is going to ruin it.
“Wow, you weren’t joking about that makeup makeover thing,” Yugyeom comments when he sees how cluttered the desk is.
Bambam scream in excitement, way more ecstatic than Yugyeom, and run straight to the chair on which Jackson and Mark sit. “Oh god! Show me! This is so iconic ,” they ramble, words slurring in their fast talk. Jackson groans and insists on hiding in the hoodie.
“You’re stressing him out,” Mark hisses at Bambam, even though he’s kind of amused by the scene before him. Bambam look like a kid who’s just been told that Christmas came early this year.
“Are you really making him look like a vampire?” Yugyeom asks from behind Bambam.
“It’s a vampy look,” Jackson corrects from where he’s nested. His arms tighten around Mark and Mark lets out a surprised oof, and they all laugh at it. “It means that I’ll get all the boys without even trying to get them!”
“Which boys are you talking about?” Bambam sass and that makes Jackson shoot up from his hoodie-shelter. The dramatic makeup look, although still unfinished, already looks quite intimidating on his expressive face.
“ All the boys!” Jackson screams in response, but Bambam are too busy fawning over the look now. In the midst of it all, Mark feels quite proud of himself and his work.
Yugyeom is quite shocked, judging from the speechless stupor he’s in now, but he goes back to his loud self soon enough and joins Bambam in excited screams and jokes. Jackson shouts at them more, but he’s laughing along, obviously happy with the response and attention he’s getting. Mark smiles quietly before he ushers Bambam and Yugyeom to sit on his bed, because he still has a job to finish.
Everything goes smoothly for a short while; Mark adds some more glitter and tiny stones in various places, like above the end of Jackson’s left eyebrow. The ruckus starts again as soon as he goes back to scrutinize the eyelook and states, “I can’t not add false lashes to this look.”
“I don’t want my real eyelashes ripped out later,” Jackson argues.
Mark furrows his brows. “You said you trust me,” he reminds with a wounded expression and both Bambam and Yugyeom squeal and holler after the sentence sinks in. Mark glares at them, wishing they’d just vanish from this planet. Or at least from his room.
Jackson makes a face at Mark and it’s even worse.
“I’m ripping them out anyway,” he mumbles gravely and Jackson chuckles and hauls Mark closer to himself, hugging him tight enough to make it uncomfortable.
“Not if we stay like that forever!” And that only makes the best friends on Mark’s bed cackle louder. Mark’s neighbours hate him, he’s sure they do.
“Just let me work,” Mark whines and from a lack of a better idea, he pouts as soon as he’s far enough from Jackson that the latter can see Mark’s face.
Jackson stares at the pout, at Mark’s lips, really, and he shuts up and obeys. Finally.
“What lip colour will you use?” Bambam pipe in when the room’s too silent for too long (it’s only silent for a few seconds, Mark can swear). Jackson has false eyelashes on now and looks like a completely different person. He keeps batting them at Mark, which makes Mark laugh uncontrollably; Bambam probably think it’s disgusting and want to interrupt them.
Yugyeom just looks amazed. They both have their phones in their hands, Mark notices.
“Yeah, which lipstick are we going for?” Jackson reaches for a bunch of lipsticks scattered in the corner of Mark’s desk. Mark’s heart almost jumps out of him through his throat when one of the lipsticks wobbles in Jackson’s grasp and it’s one of his faves, The Balm’s Loyal.
“We’ll outline your lips with a dark burgundy shade,” Mark explains, quickly grabbing the lipsticks from Jackson and putting them back on the desk. Really, does this boy have to be like a little kid half the time, with all his careless actions? “And we’ll see if an ombre lip is what’s going to suit the eyelook best, or if we should go for just one colour on your lips. I’d like to add something pinkish to your lips, though, to tie the bottom half of the face with the eyes.”
“Whatever you wish, I guess,” Jackson shrugs and purses his lips as if for a very, very wet and cheesy kiss. Mark giggles and mumbles a stop, you idiot, which makes Jackson grin widely.
Yugyeom makes a gagging sound at them and Bambam snicker from above their phone.
They end up with a slight ombre effect; the hint of fuchsia in the middle is rich enough to actually finish off the look, bringing the dirty pink undertones from the rest of the shades used. Under Jackson’s pleas and begging, Mark smudges a little bit of a red lipstick in the corner of Jackson’s lips and no, it doesn’t look good, but Jackson’s happy with it, and that’s all that matters in this case, isn't it.
“It’s the grand reveal moment!” Bambam clasp their hands with a loud smack and Yugyeom follows with weird noises as Mark just rolls his eyes at them and stands up (he’s all in pain from staying in one position for too long, but it’s worth it, it is) and hands Jackson a mirror.
Jackson’s eyes widen and he screams.
“Oh my god! Mark! What did you even…? My face!!!” No one can say if he’s content or horrified at first, but then, “I love it so much, I look like an emo wet dream on a halloween night, look at these lashes!”
“I’m living for it.” Bambam exclaim, their eyebrows quirked up as they try to get a better look at Jackson’s face.
Jackson’s a lively mess, though, and he starts pacing through Mark’s room, laughing and complimenting himself and Mark’s work. “Honestly… That’s what I wanted, Mark, my sweetest baby, the most talented man on Earth, number one among all instagram baddies--”
“Woah, woah,” Mark flushes in sudden embarrassment (it’s not as sudden as it is as soon as the my sweetest baby part leaves Jackson’s mouth). “Jacks--”
“For real though, he’s never looked so good,” Bambam say and Yugyeom agrees with a frantic nod. Jackson scoffs at them shortly and goes back to examining himself in the mirror from every angle possible. “Let’s get him a black button up and take pictures of him!”
Jackson stops, stares at Bambam in silence. They all contemplate for a second, and then,
“Mark, where do you have shirts--”
“With my phone, take it with my phone!”
“Give him my earrings! Hey--”
“Where’s the best lighting in your room?”
In a couple of minutes, Jackson’s sat in front of a ring light, white wall behind him and Mark’s phone in his hand. Bambam’s earrings, disinfected, glisten prettily on his ears. He pops open three buttons of the shirt Mark lent him (the widest black one he owns) and Mark can feel his mouth salivating at the view, but he manages to keep a blank look on his face. Looking around, it seems like he’s the only one who has trouble with containing himself because of Jackson.
“Maybe Mark should take photos of me instead, he knows how it should be done,” Jackson’s suddenly acting wary and he passes the phone over to Mark. “Pretty please?” Jackson’s batting his lashes again and this time Bambam move as though they’re about to puke.
“Try it yourself first.” Mark’s stone called. Maybe the act will make the tension rising inside him subside.
Jackson sighs heavily and glares at everyone before he wriggles cutely (it’s definitely cute, Mark can’t deny it) and takes three or four selfies. There’s no effort put into them and Mark knows what’s coming next.
“They all look bad,” Jackson states and forces the phone into Mark’s hand. “It’s a sign that you gotta take them!”
At this point, Bambam and Yugyeom completely lose the interest in Jackson and his vampy makeover. They get back to Mark’s bed, chatting about something neither Mark nor Jackson understand, and Mark’s left alone with his phone and a boy that looks up at him in an attempt to resemble a pleading puppy. It looks incredibly wrong with the makeup Jackson’s sporting now and Mark bursts out laughing.
“Wait, wait, stay like that,” he whizzes out and snaps a quick photo of Jackson. He shows it to him and his friend doubles over, laughing uncontrollably.
“Is it a photo?” Comes from Mark’s bed. “Send it to us. Too lazy to get up.”
Mark does so and another burst of laughter fills the room.
Somehow, they manage to start taking photos of Jackson. In the middle of it, Bambam and Yugyeom leave, saying that Jinyoung’s finally replied to Bambam’s texts, which means him and Jaebum are done with whatever they were up to that made the youngsters run away from them. The impromptu photoshoot ends up in Jackson doing everything to make Mark pass out from all the laughing. Some of the more daring poses get sent to the groupchat they’re both in. Mark’s never seen Youngjae typing so many laughing emojis at once.
They’re both tired when Mark says it’s definitely enough, his phone doesn’t have that much space left, let’s wrap it up. Jackson insists on a last pick up line and Mark rolls his eyes, but gives Jackson an expectant look.
Jackson combs his hand through his hair, quite dishevelled by now, and stares at Mark with an intensity that Mark didn't see in his eyes a second ago.
“Got this vampy look just so I have an excuse to suck you dry,” he drawls and there’s still the same glint in his eyes when he finishes; his face doesn't change from the sultry expression he schooled it into.
Mark’s kind of, sort of speechless. He just stares at Jackson as if he’s seeing him for the first time in his life now. What the hell.
After an eternity and a second more, Jackson furrows his brows, hand falling limply to his side and he heaves a long, exasperated sigh. He mumbles an apology and reaches to Mark’s phone to look through the photos, immediately getting into another act, pretending nothing happened.
It’s definitely an easy way out for Mark and he’s a little bit too relieved when they don’t bring this up again, but ugh, Jackson embarrasses him so much sometimes.
(Jackson’s vampy makeover ends up posted on Mark’s instagram and Mark’s followers go crazy about the boy on the photos. Jackson gains hundreds of followers in a record time and Mark swears these people are way nicer to Jackson than they are to Mark, but oh, well. These are just perks of being an instagram famous person, he guesses.)