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Huffing through his nose, Yoichi stood in front of his luggage. He really did forget a toothbrush. He could see it now, on the counter of his bathroom, waiting to be picked up before he left home. But now, it was nowhere to be seen, and he was time zones away from home in his boyfriend’s house with grimey icky teeth and all he wanted was to eat a tube of toothpaste to freshen up his breath before Michael got back home.
He thought about texting him, bothering him during his last minute team meeting that he couldn’t get out of, but he decided against it. If Michael had spare toothbrushes, they would be in his bathroom, and he could find them all on his own.
The first cabinet he opened was full of towels and rags and nothing else. Yoichi peeked around the side of the towels, just to see if something was squished along the sides of the cabinets but nope. Nothing.
The second looked more promising, with unopened bottles of shampoo and conditioner, other hair treatments and body wash. Skin care, a backup bottle and travel sized bottle of Michael’s favorite cologne, and a few other odds and ends, but no toothbrush.
Finally, sliding open a drawer, he found an opened package of toothbrushes, which he quickly tore apart and tossed in the trash can. After scrubbing his teeth down, Yoichi sighed, already feeling much fresher from that small action.
Rinsing out the sink, Yoichi stared at himself in the mirror, adjusting his hair to additionally help him freshen up for Michael’s return. Yoichi always felt a bit out of sorts in Michael’s bathroom, simply because his German boyfriend did so much more to take care of himself than Yoichi did and at times he felt lacking. He did some skincare, sure, but it was nowhere near close to Michael’s ten step process that started in the shower and ended with a moisturizer and toner. Yoichi didn’t even know what a toner was until he started dating Michael. Deep conditioning treatments for his hair was never a thought, and Yoichi would be lying if he said he still didn’t go to the same barber who cut his hair since he was a child whenever he went back to visit his parents in Tokyo….
Michael was just of a different breed of male than he, but Yoichi didn’t blame him at all for going through all the steps of his primping and grooming routine, because really, it worked for him so well. Michael had even tried out a few of his products on Yoichi before, and had insisted he get on board with some of the steps of his routine.
“You will regret not taking care of yourself more carefully now when you’re older,” Michael said, right before he purchased a much too expensive and extravagant and step intensive skin care set for him last time he visited Yoichi at his home. “Just trust me.”
And, while Yoichi did trust him, he also wouldn’t be too proud to admit that half of that skin care set still sat in his bathroom, less than half used. He tried, for a few days, but it just was so tedious to keep up with when he didn’t notice any major differences in his skin. So he stuck with the face wash and moisturizer and sunscreen, because he did see a benefit for those, but, all of the other millions of little things….he would have to pretend he loved them and had already bought a second bottle of the products for himself.
A few of Michael’s influences stuck, however. Like the cologne Michael had picked out for him. From the same brand Michael preferred, but a different scent. He enjoyed it, mostly because it was something Michael had bought for him, and because if sprayed on the correct side of his neck, always had Michael’s face pressed right against the skin when he hugged him, inhaling deeply before kissing his nape.
Anything to get his attention.
Picking up Michael’s bottle of cologne, Yoichi removed the cap, taking a deep sniff. He sighed happily, the warm scent reminding him of his boyfriend, before replacing the cap and setting it back on the counter.
He grabbed Michael’s eyeliner pencil next, picking it up and inspecting the side of the pencil to see the brand. This was one thing Yoichi could never understand. While he liked how Michael looked with the eyeliner, he could never imagine himself wearing it. He definitely wouldn’t make a line so neat and defined as Michael, and with his luck, he would poke himself right in the eye.
Taking off the lid, Yoichi ran his finger across the tip of the pencil, noting that it was softer than expected as he colored the tip of his finger red. A softer pencil made much more sense. He realized that he had been picturing a hard, sharp, brittle pencil lead that could easily hurt someone if sharpened enough…
“Having fun?”
Yoichi jumped, dropping the cap of the pencil into the sink. He quickly retrieved it before turning towards Michael with an embarrassed look on his face.
“I was just…looking for a toothbrush. Forgot mine.”
“That really doesn’t look like a toothbrush, love.” Michael stepped into the bathroom, plucking the eyeliner from Yoichi’s fingers. He inspected it briefly , as if he had expected Yoichi to ruin it, before removing the cap again. “Want to try it on? We can match.”
Yoichi’s mouth opened, initially wanting to say no. He was curious about how it would look on him, but again, did not trust himself with the pencil to not gouge out his own eye.
“Will you put it on me?”
Michael smiled sweetly, belying any ill intent.
“Of course. Stand still and keep your eyes open.”
Yoichi nodded before locking his knees, standing stock still as Michael grabbed his chin. He gently turned his head to the side, getting a better view of his right eye.
“Look up at the ceiling.”
Yoichi did so, keeping his gaze on the texture of the ceiling above them. He felt the pencil start at the outer corner of his eye, and he tried his hardest to not flinch or close it. Michael worked steadily, his hand never shaking, and soon he was turning Yoichi’s head to the right to get a better view of his other eye. Following the same routine, he dragged the red pencil from the outer corner of his eye to the middle of his lower lashes.
Setting the pencil down, he held Yoichi’s cheeks between his hands, getting a good view of his face and making sure his eyes were even. Licking his thumb he rubbed slightly at Yoichi’s right eye, removing some of the color before letting him go.
“Ew.”
“You love it, don’t complain,” Michael said with a smirk, turning Yoichi to the mirror so he could get a good look at himself.
And, to no surprise, his eyes matched Michael’s perfectly. Red liner under each of their eyes, though, Yoichi much preferred the color on Michael than himself. On himself, it almost looked like he had been crying, and it wasn’t a particularly good look on him.
“You are too cute,” Michael cooed, kissing his cheek before grabbing Yoichi’s hand to drag him out of the bathroom. “You should let me dye your hair later too. Give you blue tips. Turn you into a mini-Kaiser.”
Yoichi cringed at the thought, shaking his head no, because absolutely not.
All of those fancy, tedious cosmetic treatments much better suited his boyfriend. He liked them better on him. They were a part of him, and while Yoichi wanted every bit of himself that Michael had to offer, these were things better suited to stay with his boyfriend.