Work Text:
1.
Why does he wear the mask? There is no reason. Why does there have to be a reason? He just likes to mess with people.
2.
This is the first reason, the simple practical one. He has a very, very good sense of smell. When he was small, two or three years old, he would get migraines, and spend long minutes staring into space, unable to process any sensory information because so much was coming in through his nose. He doesn’t need it now, has learned to block out the scents he doesn’t need, and focus, but that’s how it began.
3.
It’s everyone else who made a big deal of it. He just wore it, didn’t care about keeping it on. But it seemed so very important to everyone else, at the academy and even now. If people demand to see his face there’s no way he’s letting them. It’s his face, after all.
4.
He’s just too pretty. When he was younger he was too cute. He hates people cooing over him.
5.
It’s a defense mechanism. A piece of cloth isn’t much of a barrier between himself and the world, but it’s something. He’d feel terrifyingly naked without it.