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Alone, his pitiful excuse for warmth a thin shirt and jacket, he pushed on. A measly chill cannot stop the mission at hand. Thoughts of the praise he’ll get staving away the fog, trying to replace the numb. It was useless however, thoughts of warmth can’t replace the heat of the flame. The world went black.
Akutagawa awoke in a strange bed. Attempting to shuffle into a more comfortable position, he dimly noted the many blankets he was wrapped in. Thick, white, fluffy warmth was wrapped around him, and he snuggled in momentarily, until he saw stripes. “Jinko?! Where the hell am I?” Eyes snapped open, Akutagawa wriggled away, desperately trying to find an offensive stance. This commotion seemed to wake him up from a sleep, and two large yellow eyes stared Akutagawa, Atsushi’s gaze so intense it made Rashoumon quiver defensively… until he heard a soft meow, the tiger was stretching? Guard lowering, Akutagawa could only watch idly as Atsushi seemed to complete the morning routine of a typical housecat, even personal grooming. Seeming satisfied, Atsushi brought his attention back to Akutagawa, returning to his human form once acknowledged.
“You really are a cat aren’t you? Might as well call you kitty!” Rolling his eyes, Atsushi merely shrugged. “What can I say, my hair has never been healthier! Anyways, what exactly do you remember, you were barely an hour from hypothermia! If not for my tiger you wouldn’t be here right now, well, as a human and not a popsicle at least.” Calming down, Akutagawa flushed at the implications. The jinko sweeping in to rescue him, cuddling him back to warmth until they were in the safety of his dorm at the agency. “You were very noble indeed, such a brave lion.” “I’m a tiger! If you’re gonna call me a cat at least get it right!!” “Yes yes whatever, but if this is like any other time my valiant tiger has saved me, he must want a reward, yes?” With that his eyes flitted down to the weretiger’s crotch, much to the embarrassment of the other, “No, actually. You see, we need your quote unquote ‘flawless complexion’ at least, that’s what Dazai said.” Dazai? Hearing the name of his former mentor piqued Akutagawa’s interest.
“Jinko, when you said I was needed off, this was not what I was expecting.” A grumpy Akutagawa was seated in a stool, a vanity littered with miscellaneous makeup products to his side. “Well, Kyouka was wanting to learn about makeup, and since I wasn’t very busy and know some stuff, why not?” “Yes, but why me? Surely one of the other members can assist.” “Ah- well it was actually Dazai’s idea! I think he was getting sick of my moping dulling his jokes, do you have to be so busy? It makes it so hard to try and spend time with my fiancé!” Seeing his tiger’s pout, Akutagawa relented, settling back and letting Kyouka pin his hair back.
“Now, use your finger to gently smooth the foundation onto the large planes of his face” Atsushi applying the product onto his cheek and half of Akutagawa’s forehead, standing back to let Kyouka copy on the other half of his face. “Then, blend it softly until the foundation looks seamless, and apply concealer as shown.” This was strangely calming, Akutagawa thought. The gentle treatment and pampering relaxed him, letting him properly focus on the weretiger. For someone so seemingly clueless at times, Atsushi had a fair few talents, no doubt a result of his upbringing within the orphanage. Although nervous to what the final result would be, Akutagawa allowed himself to be buffed and powdered, shutting his eyes when instructed and pouting to allow product to swipe over his lips.
Some time later, Kyouka stepped back to turn Akutagawa’s chair to face a mirror, satisfied with her work if the accomplished look on her face. Atsushi had left her to redo Akutagawa’s face so he could go nap. Not wanting to look, Akutagawa closed his eyes tensely, calling out so he had at least some sort of support. Faintly smiling at the padded footsteps and claws clicking against the floor, he turned to his favourite cat. Sure, Atsushi could control his ability, but he still had a habit of transforming in his sleep. Once faced with the sleepy tiger, Akutagawa placed the customary kiss on the forehead he gave Atsushi every morning, only to see.. pink?
Finally turning to the mirror, he tried to hide his reaction to spare Kyouka. Bright, slightly messy lipstick was applied, and Akutagawa leaned in closer. There was too much blush, and the highlighter and concealer were a little cakey, but it didn’t seem too bad for a first try unassisted. Shutting an eye, he inspected the bright, glittery powder adorning his lids. The eyeliner was surprisingly good however, Akutagawa impressed with Atsushi’s teaching ability, and somewhat satisfied, he turned to Kyouka’s expectant face. “Your work is… rather good upon my inspection. You’ve come a long way since the Port Mafia, good job.” The praise surprised even Akutagawa himself, had this happened even a year ago he’d probably scoffed and rubbed off the makeup immediately. Seems having a loving partner and comfortable personal life really softens one’s heart.
That night, as they stood in their bathroom, Atsushi was desperately scrubbing at the pink tips of his bangs, trying to scrub off the lipstick from his hair. Akutagawa would have been laughing, if not for the similar situation he was in, eyes looking bruised from when he rubbed them, lipstick smudged all over his face, and his once pure white hair a light beige from when his sweat transferred the foundation to the hair stuck to his face post training. No wonder makeup remover sounded so outlandishly expensive at the grocery store, plain water and soap barely did anything to budge the worn mess on his face. Both sighing begrudgingly, they headed to bed, giving up to try and fix this mess when it wasn’t so late and they weren’t so tired.