Work Text:
“I can’t believe I let ‘ya talk me into this…” Leona grumbles under his breath as Vil pins his bangs back with some hair clips. Somehow, Vil had convinced Leona to let him give him a makeover.
“Hush, hush. It would do you some good to take care of your appearance.” Vil says, poking Leona’s face. The latter flinched, scowling and letting out a growl. Vil narrowed his eyes, huffing a dramatic sigh. “See, when you act like that, your good looks are for nothing.” Leona’s scowl turned into a mere frown, his bright green eyes fixated on Vil. His gaze was filled with contempt.
“Who cares what people think ‘bout my expressions or the way I act? If they don’t like it, they can scram.” Leona replied bitterly. Vil eyed him briefly before turning away to grab some products. Leona watched, unblinking.
“As Housewarden of Savanaclaw, you are the face that represents it. You must take into consideration the way you carry yourself, especially since you’re a prince. But you’re like… A common pauper. Anyhow, have no fear, I will make use of your handsome face the way it should be.”
“... What the hell’s a pauper–”
“Stay still. And don’t speak.”
Vil’s lips curled up slightly as he began his usual skincare routine on Leona. First was a cleanser. Then, toner. As Vil rubbed the liquid into Leona’s skin, the latter fought back a scowl. When was the last time he had let someone touch him like this? It must have been at least a decade ago, maybe. Vil pulled out a container labeled ‘Eye Cream.’ Leona groaned inwardly. Vil rubbed the cream on Leona’s dark circles with two fingers. Leona closed his eyes, which didn’t really do anything except highlight the feeling of Vil’s fingers on his face. Feeling his lips twitch, he resorted to just opening his eyes again. Seeing Vil so close, he couldn’t help but hold his breath.
After the eye cream, Vil treated some dark spots on Leona’s face. Then, he pulled out a moisturizer. Really? More products? Leona couldn’t take it anymore!...
“How many steps are there to this damn skincare routine of yours?!” Leona huffed. If there were this many steps to the prepping, then surely the makeup would take forever. The prince simply wanted to get this over with and go back to Savanaclaw so he could wash his face and take a nap. Or something. He couldn’t stand being ogled at for too long, especially by Vil.
“Tsk, tsk. Beauty takes time, you know. Do you think I wake up like this every morning?” Vil asked, gesturing to his face and hair. Leona narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. He couldn’t–and probably never would–understand how someone could put so much junk on their face just to look good. Just wash it and get on with your day, he thought.
“Fine, fine. Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.” He rolled his eyes, his lips pulling into a brief frown. It didn’t last long before his face went back to a deadpan expression. Vil applied the moisturizer to Leona’s face, taking his sweet time rubbing it in. It was… cold. Leona shut his eyes, letting out a quiet sigh. After what felt like forever, Vil finished the skincare routine.
“Rrgh…”
“See, you already look much better than before. I really do work magic.” He hummed, seemingly satisfied with himself. Leona fought the urge to retort something back, but he did feel a little bit cleaner. So he wouldn’t shoot Vil down… For now. “Now then, it’s time to apply your makeup. Heh…”
“I don’t like where this is going...”
Vil applied a primer to Leona’s face. Leona closed one eye as Vil’s fingers got too close to the corner for comfort. After the primer was on, Vil used a color corrector on the dark spots he had treated earlier. He looked like he was really into this; He even started humming a tune to himself. Leona only narrowed his eyes slightly as the song met his ears– He was being unusually obedient today by keeping his mouth shut.
Vil started holding up bottles next to Leona’s face, trying to find the right shade of foundation to use. Leona sat there, getting a bit irritated as Vil couldn’t decide between two shades.
“What’re you doing?” Leona grumbled. “Just choose one and get it over with. If you keep takin’ forever, I’m gonna start gettin’ old.” He crossed his arms, scowling.
“Ah-ah! Patience, princeling. What did I just tell you? B–”
“’Beauty takes time’, yeah, yeah. I get it…” He interjected, irritated. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Vil muttered something under his breath, rubbing his temple. He narrowed his eyes, taking some more time to decide on a shade. Eventually(after what felt like forever), he chose a shade for Leona. Using a… weird spatula thing, he applied the foundation onto his face. It felt weird. After the foundation came the concealer. Vil put it on Leona’s under eyes and some other spots Leona didn’t even know he needed concealer on. After Vil was done, he leaned back and stared at Leona intently.
“Alright, we’re done now, right?” Leona asked, starting to get up from the chair. But Vil only pushed him back down, gloved hands resting on his shoulders.
“Oh, we’re not even close to done. What even gave you that idea?” Vil said with a cruel smile. Leona groaned, slumping in his seat and scowling again. His ears drooped, pinning back to the sides of his head. “Heh, heh. It’s all coming together now.” Leona chose to ignore Vil’s weird muttering.
Vil took a large, puffy brush and applied bronzer and highlighter onto Leona’s face. It was slightly ticklish, and it made Leona’s face tingle… He couldn’t tell whether he liked the sensation or not. After Vil was done, he let out a satisfied chuckle.
“I’ll be so kind as to let you choose what kind of look you’d like for your eye makeup. What do you wish for?” Vil’s lips tugged up into a smile. Leona rolled his eyes.
“Who cares? Just choose somethin’ for me.” He grumbled. Now it was Vil’s turn to roll his eyes.
“As you wish.” Vil crossed his arms, staring at Leona. He looked to be in deep thought, letting out a low hum. After a bit, he got out some eyeshadow palettes. “Now, close your eyes. Unless you want powder in them.”
Leona let out a few curses under his breath before closing his eyes. Then, he felt that familiar tingle of the makeup brush on his eyelid. His ear twitched slightly as he tried to relax his expression, but to no avail. Vil was being unusually silent, so Leona opened his free eye to take a peek at him. But, he almost jumped back after seeing how close he was to his face.
If Vil were to let out a sigh, his breath would surely make contact with Leona’s lips. He had a focused look on his face, his light violet eyes trained on Leona’s eyelids. The prince felt warmth spring to his cheeks, shoulders tensing up.
“Gah. Too close.” Leona grumbled.
“Getting shy, are we?”
Leona went silent, his lips pressing together in a line. “‘Course not. I just don’t want your stupid face so close to mine.” Leona said sourly. Vil let out a small laugh, his minty breath brushing against Leona’s lips. The prince scowled, feeling his tail flick behind him. Vil continued applying the makeup, seemingly not noticing Leona’s discomfort.
Vil grabbed Leona’s chin, tilting his head to a better angle. Leona was taken aback by the action, his open eye widening. He crossed his arms just a bit tighter, his hand gripping onto his elbow. Leona didn’t know where to look; If he looked forward, it was Vil’s stupid(yet undeniably good-looking) face. If he looked down, it was Vil’s torso. Taking into consideration his options, he just opted to close his eye. Vil switched over to the other eye eventually, starting to apply makeup. His hand was still holding Leona’s chin.
“What’re you touchin’ me for? Let go.” Leona muttered in a huff. He opened one eye, to see Vil’s reaction.
“Many people would kill to have me touch them like this. You should feel lu–”
“Don’t make it sound weird.”
Vil let out a chuckle, his lips curling up. He still hadn’t let go of Leona yet. “If I don’t hold your face like this, I will not achieve the best result in your makeup.” He said. Leona sighed, feeling a major headache come on. Vil let out a low hum. “Your breath smells good. I’m surprised you even brush your teeth.”
“What’s that s’posed to mean?” Leona snarled. “‘Course I brush my teeth. I’m not that much of a bum.” He frowned sourly, his teeth gritted in irritation. Vil chuckled again.
“It doesn't mean anything in particular.” He was dangerously close to Leona’s lips as he spoke. Leona’s tail flicked behind him again, despite the stoic expression on his face.
Vil put the brush down and stepped back. Leona felt the tension in his shoulders slipping away, and they slumped. He fought the urge to let out another sigh. Vil grabbed a lip product off of the vanity desk. “I use this one a lot. It would look good on you.” He said, admiring the lip tint.
“So, you’re putting somethin’ on my lips that you already put on yours?” Leona asked with a raise of his eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes.
“You could put it that way, yes…” Vil hummed. He stepped forward and took hold of Leona’s chin again. His thumb brushed against the latter’s lip ever so briefly, but it was enough to make warmth spring to Leona’s cheeks again. Vil applied the product to Leona’s lips, not hesitating to use his finger to blend out the corners. Leona’s tail flicked behind him again, betraying his calm expression. He wouldn't ever admit it out loud, but his heart had skipped a beat.
Vil glanced at Leona’s tail, but pretended to ignore it. Just as he tried to pretend he wasn’t holding back a grin. Leona let out a snarl after Vil finished. The blonde walked around behind Leona’s chair, placing his hands on the other’s shoulders. “All done. I’d say I did a good job, hmm?” He leaned down so his face could be seen in the vanity mirror.
“I look the same.” Leona was quick to shoot Vil down. The younger boy rolled his eyes, placing a hand under Leona’s chin and tilting his head up.
“No, no. See, you look much different. Your complexion looks healthier, and I hid your dark circles ever so skillfully. And I did a nice, natural eye look to make it look as if you’re not even wearing any makeup at all.” Vil continued to go off about how he changed Leona’s looks, but Leona couldn’t really tell. He was going to wash it off, anyway, so did it really matter?
“Yeah, okay. Whatever.” Leona grumbled. “Can I go now?”
“A-bup-bup. Let me take a picture of you first.” Vil smiled cruelly as he pulled out his phone.
“No way, buddy.”
“How could I not acquire a picture of a once-in-a-lifetime event? This is quite likely the only time I will ever do your makeup. So, let me take a picture. Er… Please?”
Leona had a dark look on his face, his green eyes boring into Vil. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to say no again. “... Rrgh. Fine, whatever. Take your picture.” He grumbled. Vil let out a chuckle before snapping a few pictures of Leona. He put his phone back into his pocket, looking satisfied. Leona scowled just at the sight.
Vil walked back over to the vanity. “I’ll give you some skincare products. A face like yours mustn't go to waste, so you better use them.” He said, grabbing a bag and putting some products into it.
“I don’t need your silly products, and I don’t wanna put a buncha junk on my face.” Leona replied.
“Nonsense. Everyone could use a little bit of revitalizing. Take it.” He insisted, plopping the bag down in Leona’s lap. He really couldn’t say no now, could he? Might as well take them. Maybe Ruggie could use them.
“Ugh. …Whatever. Thanks, I guess.” Leona mumbled, standing up. He went to the door, about to leave, when Vil called out.
“Leona.”
Leona looked back. “What do ‘ya want?”
Vil's lips turned up into a smile. He placed one hand on his hip, speaking. “You’re handsome. Take pride in your looks, and take care of yourself a little. It would be no good if you ended up with acne.”
Leona was silent, standing still at the door. He quickly turned his head away from Vil, eyes glancing around at anywhere that wasn't the blonde. ”You’re handsome.” He felt warmth pool in the depths of his stomach, and heat sprung to his face again. His ears twitched before drooping and pinning to the sides of his head. Despite his deadpan expression, his heart had probably skipped a few beats. The honest look on Vil’s face, the shameless way he did things… It was so annoying, so infuriating– But Leona didn’t hate it. He didn’t like it either, or, at least, he didn’t know if he did.
“Whatever. You’re not… bad-looking either, I guess.” He glanced back and finally replied, his tail flicking a few times. After that, he left Pomefiore Dorm. But even as he arrived back at Savanaclaw Dorm, his face still felt oddly hot.
– – –
That night…
“Woah! Leona, are you… doing skincare?!” Ruggie blurted out in shock.
“Shut up.”