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“You know, Xiao,” Menogias starts, a hand under his chin as he looks the shorter up and down with appraising eyes. “Your features are so soft and pretty. Aside from your eyes. They’re very sharp.”
Xiao merely stares at Menogias, while the rest of their friend group stares at Xiao. He doesn’t understand why Menogias would bring this up. Xiao himself would never describe his features as anything close to “soft” or “pretty”. But he knows that he is not unpleasant to look at.
What does it matter, though? Appearance is something Xiao has never really cared about before. “And what about it?” Xiao asks, glaring at Indarias, Bosacius, and Bonanus. Unfortunately, it does not deter the three from openly analyzing him.
The next words that leave Menogias’ lips are an idea that is even more foreign to Xiao than the last. “Have you ever tried makeup? I think you would look lovely in it,” Menogias says. It is a genuine sentiment, Xiao can see that much. And he isn’t offended by the comment, just… perplexed.
Him? In makeup? He’s never been interested. Even thinking about it now, Xiao is completely uninterested in the idea. Makeup is a waste of time. It is expensive and takes a long time to apply nicely. And you spend all this money and time, and it all comes off at the end of the day anyway. What a waste.
“No,” Xiao answers Menogias’ question. “And I do not think I would like to try.”
Indarias is the one who speaks next. “Aww, but Xiao! I think Menogias is right. You would look wonderful!” she exclaims in support of Menogias. Unsurprisingly. Xiao does love his friends, truly, but they do like to make things hard for him.
Just looking at Bonanus and Bosacius, Xiao can tell they will also agree with Menogias. This assumption is only confirmed when Bosacius follows up with a, “Light makeup would make you look nice. And hey, maybe you’ll even officially catch the attention of that RA you’ve been pining over.”
At the mention of Xiao’s secret (not secret at all) crush, his cheeks flush profusely. He is aware that all his friends know already, but Xiao still denies all allegations of any romantic sentiments towards anyone. The dorm’s RA in question is Zhongli, a refined upperclassman only two years ahead of Xiao. Xiao has had this crush on Zhongli since his freshman year of college began.
But since Xiao himself feels he is inadequate to be the lover of someone as perfect as Zhongli, he doesn’t want to admit he has a crush. Respect and admiration, perhaps. But it is harder to admit to himself that it’s something beyond all that.
“I do not have a crush on Zhongli,” Xiao denies sharply.
“I’m pretty sure he likes you too, though,” Bonanus says. All his friends always say that; that Zhongli is definitely interested in Xiao and if he would only say he is interested in Zhongli too, then they could have something.
That, too, is something Xiao cannot admit to. Only this time, it is because he himself does not think it to be true. Zhongli has always treated him the same as the very first day he met Xiao. He probably does not even see Xiao as someone familiar to him, in that case. Xiao would hate to make things awkward between them by trying to push past Zhongli’s boundaries.
Xiao knows he must quickly shift the topic before the other four start to ramble about his potential love life. It’s not as though theirs are any better. But Xiao’s crush is a tiny spark that they believe could ignite into something brighter. It makes them more proactive about his relationships than their own.
“Haven’t we strayed from the initial topic?” Xiao asks, because it’s his easiest out. It’s hard to get the others to deviate from a topic of interest once it’s come up. Especially for Xiao, whose voice is softer than all of the others.
Menogias, at least, is intrigued. “Oh? So you would be open to trying your hand at make up?” His assumption is enough to pull the others back into the previous topic (though Xiao doesn’t much like that one either). “I also have some nice clothes you would look good in.”
Xiao can see the wheels turning in Menogias’ head. He wants to dress Xiao up completely, and he’s already got a few looks in mind. “I’m not a doll,” Xiao protests with a huff.
“Then what’s the point in discussing it further? I maintain my stance that you would look nice in something subtle, but if you’re against the idea, I can’t force it on you,” Menogias replies. And, well, Xiao can hardly argue with that logic.
The other three are unabashedly looking at Xiao with intrigue, wondering where he will take this. Even he doesn’t know. But he has to say something, or Menogias will successfully dismiss him.
Truthfully, Xiao knows there is only one out for him. If they’re not talking about his not crush, then they’re…
“I’ll do it. Just this once.”
Immediately, the other four are firing off like rockets. Indarias shoots up, insisting on picking the colors. Bonanus is offering up her best eyeliner, and Bosacius has long since pulled up a makeup tutorial. Menogias is already out of Xiao’s dorm, no doubt off to retrieve something from his own room on the next floor.
For the first time in a very long time, Xiao knows fear.
Xiao speeds down the stairs, being as sneaky as he can. He’d forgotten what day it was and that he has a class in the evening thanks to the others’ antics. Xiao has nothing against makeup, except that it is not his thing. He doesn’t care if others wear it, but he’s never wanted to stand out. He will definitely stand out now that the other four have dolled him all up.
To be honest, they did a very good job. As they promised, Xiao’s makeup was very light and consisted of mostly nude colors. One could hardly tell the difference aside from his newly painted crimson eyeliner and his rosy, glossed up lips.
That didn’t mean he liked it. It didn’t mean he wanted to go out like this. It didn’t mean he wanted to be seen like this.
Xiao does a pretty good job of not running into anyone despite practically sprinting down the dormitory stairs. There is one moment where he almost bumped into someone. But he’d been swift enough to dodge and no incidents occured (although the other student did shout at him). Otherwise, he sees no one and no one sees him.
Until…
Xiao reaches the lobby. Usually there is a student manning a reception desk. Today there is no one. Xiao is just about to send thanks to the gods, and it is then that he runs into someone. Literally.
Strong arms catch him, however, and the pair do not tumble down. Xiao looks up to see who’s caught him and demand they let him go. But lo and behold, his captor is none other than Zhongli. Instead of spiteful words leaving Xiao’s lips, all he can do is clumsily fumble around the other man’s name.
Zhongli doesn’t get annoyed by Xiao’s running into him. All he does is smile as he steadies the shorter man. “Hello, Xiao. You look different today,” he says, wasting absolutely no time in commenting on Xiao’s look. Xiao flushes as curious amber eyes fall on his face, taking in his best friends’ handiwork.
Xiao clears his throat. He can’t help but get clammy around Zhongli. “Um, yes. That’s… true. I suppose.” Xiao awkwardly shuffles his bag, not missing the way Zhongli’s gaze lingers on his lips. If he didn’t know any better, Xiao might have made some dangerous assumptions about that look. But he does, and so he doesn’t think much of it. Zhongli is just looking. He likes to look. That’s all there is.
Or, maybe he doesn’t know better. Because Zhongli’s eyes meet Xiao’s, and he speaks. His words have Xiao’s heart stuck in his throat, his cheeks heating impossibly. “You’re always beautiful, Xiao. But this… It looks good on you, too.”
For a moment, the only thing Xiao can process is that Zhongli thinks he’s beautiful. He just told Xiao as much. Zhongli thinks he’s beautiful and he likes the way that Xiao looks in makeup. Zhongli thinks he’s beautiful? Yeah. Zhongli thinks he’s beautiful.
A breathy, barely existent thank you is how Xiao reacts to that information. It’s all he can do without combusting on the spot.
Zhongli just laughs softly at Xiao’s flustered response. He pats Xiao gently on the shoulder. “I’ll see you around. Have fun in class.”
If it were anyone else and Xiao had the time, he would probably have snapped back with a “How is one supposed to have fun in class?”
But because it is Zhongli, Xiao just nods his head like the lovestruck puppy he is and tells Zhongli to rest well.
They part ways after that, but Zhongli’s words linger in Xiao’s mind. He’s never thought of himself as beautiful. He’s never even cared about things like that. But hearing it from Zhongli is a blessing Xiao didn’t know he needed.
“Will you guys… teach me how to do my makeup?”
There is a brief moment of complete silence. And then there are four voices exclaiming all at once that they are willing to help. Well, three. Bosacius doesn’t do makeup, but he offers to give advice anyway.
Xiao sighs at how loud his friends are. Probably, Cloud Retainer next door is filing a noise complaint at the same time that Xiao is thinking up his own in his head.
But he smiles, despite himself. His friends are noisy and can be quite troublesome. But he wouldn’t trade them for the world.
And, well, sometimes it pays off to listen to them. Only sometimes.