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“Woah! It’s been a while since I last went here!” A certain sparkling lad cheerfully walked around the studio, placing the box he was carrying on one of the tables. Leopold closed the door, making sure the place was locked in order to avoid sudden commissioners from barging in.
“It has been a while, isn’t it, Jamie?”
A couple of years passed ever since the attempted invasion of the former Plaid King at the Pastel Kingdom. Ever since then, Lorena was officially recognized as the Crown Princess, effectively freeing Jamie from the looming pressure of becoming a King.
And it had been a couple of years since Jamie and Leopold entered a relationship. As much as he was worried at first, before Leopold knew it, the two had reached years as a couple.
“It’s still messy here like last time, ah, you left my unfinished work here.” Jamie said, walking towards the canvas, touching the corners, fondly recalling the memories of it. The artist walked towards him, huffing.
“Of course, I’m not disrespectful enough to ruin someone’s work, especially when it comes to my lover.”
“Pfft—” Jamie chuckled, but his pale skin reddened. Leopold chuckled as well, proudly marveling at the glow around the Prince turning pink. “I haven’t seen you in a while. What’s up? What’s that box that you asked Bart to bring anyway?”
“Oh, that.”
Jamie and Leopold were already working before, and after the Prince was freed from his duties, he grew his career, expanding his services to distant lands. Of course, Leopold knew that the spark of that eagerness was due to Jamie’s rekindling towards healthier dishes. After their grandparents taught Gwendolyn more dishes from their homeland, Jamie researched more about other native islands, eager to learn more about other cuisines.
Leopold, meanwhile, continued his career as an artist. After other kingdoms saw his artworks of the Pastel Royal Family, he found himself receiving more commissions to create portraits for cursed royals, as they found comfort that he didn’t discriminate their appearances in his illustrations. It was an honor of course, he found it nice to see the happy expressions of the subjects of his portraits, which reminded him of Gwendolyn’s reaction upon seeing her portrait that he illustrated. Artistically, he was in cloud nine.
Although, of course, there was a certain person who haunts his canvas when he’s absentmindedly painting in his studio.
Leopold went near the box and opened it, taking a smaller box, which had a prettier design and placed it near Jamie.
“I’ve heard about face paintings recently, and while researching about it, I’ve come to learn how to make the paints myself. I’ve even tried making lipsticks recently…”
“Woah! Really?!” Jamie’s pink eyes sparkled, literally, as the shine around him became stronger. Frankly, Leopold was surprised by that reaction.
“I didn’t expect you to get that excited over this.” He said. It was true, the Pastel Siblings never needed makeup. After all, objectively, they were already much too beautiful.
“Well, Gwennie was mentioning it recently…”
“Miss Gwendolyn was…? But she’s already beautiful as she is.”
He had known about the twin sister’s insecurity about his appearance, which, while already subsided, tends to show up from time to time.
“Huh…Oh!” Jamie’s eyes widened, he waved his hands, as if shaking off the misconception that Leopold had over his words. “It’s not like that!”
“Then, what?” Leopold asked.
“Well, you know what Mom looks like, right?”
“Of course, I do. How could I forget?” Their mother, while her appearance was not similar to theirs, was breathtakingly beautiful. Her more vivid colors contrasted the bright pastels of the Pastel King, it was unforgettable. King Jack requested him to recreate her other portraits, which Leopold obviously obliged, fixing the disrespectful misportrayal of the Pastel Queen.
“Well, you know how Mom has naturally reddish lips and eyelids, right? Gwennie was curious on how it would look like on her.”
“Ah, so that was it.”
“Yeah. But, regular makeup doesn’t really stick properly on her skin, and our grandparents don't seem to practice it so she can’t try it.” Jamie said sadly. Leopold felt a light in his brain, as if understanding the issue at hand.
“You want me to create makeup for her.”
Jamie nodded. “You don’t have to force yourself though…”
“No, that’s an interesting proposal you had.” Leopold said. “Face painting requires proper ingredients so that it doesn’t harm the skin. I’ll look into it.”
“Really?! You’d do that?!”
“Of course.” He knew that although it may seem like a minor request, Jamie wants to make his sisters happy no matter what.
“Yaay!!!!!” Jamie cheered and lunged at him, pressing their lips together without hesitation.
“!!!” The artist felt heat rise to his face and pulled away, flustered by the sudden display of affection. It may have been years since they dated, but Jamie really doesn’t hold back on displaying his affections, especially if he doesn’t find the reason not to.
Jamie giggled at his reaction, obviously proud for getting the upper hand of it. He looked at the box and picked up one of the lipsticks.
“These are all different colors, what’s with the flavor label?”
“Ah, that.” Leopold composed himself and picked another lipstick, “These are ones that are made so that they taste like certain flavors. I tried it–”
He stopped midway when he saw what his impulsive boyfriend was about to do.
“Don’t eat that like that!!” He yelled exasperatedly and snatched the opened lipstick off the Prince. Jamie pouted.
“Why? You said it had a taste.”
“It doesn’t mean that you eat it like it’s a popsicle!” Leopold scolded. “It’s meant to be tasted, not consumed! It’s still makeup!”
“Booo.” Jamie jeered, pouting at him. “How will I even taste it if I can’t bite it?”
“You really…” Leopold sighed. “You can taste it by putting it on.”
“Won’t I need to lick my lips in that case?”
“Well, there is another way, that is…”
“Is…?”
Leopold hesitated. Was it a good idea to bring it up to the person in front of him?
“Leopold?”
He sighed. Whether or not it's a good idea, the Pastel Prince will surely pester him to answer. And if he doesn’t yield, Jamie will get it from others. And he doesn’t want to risk some pests making moves on the glowing Prince knowing how the man attracts people from all genders and ages.
“By crossing your lips with someone who wears lipstick.” Leopold answered.
In other words, kissing someone.
“Oh.”
Huh, that’s a surpsingly mild response.
“W-well,” He coughed, trying to shift the topic, “There are lipstick candies that do almost the same function, granted that those are mostly for kids. But actual makeup is not for consumption, else, once opened, the expiration will be sped up—are you listening?”
Jamie, of course, wasn’t. Instead, he was absentmindedly looking at the lipstick with pink hue. He looked at Leopold. And from years of knowing him, the artist knew that the Prince was up to no good.
“I want to taste it.”
“What?”
“The lipstick.”
“... Why? ”
“Leopold.” Jamie huffed at him. “Take the hint. Or are you afraid of what I’ll be tasting once I taste this?” The prince chuckled.
For a moment, Leopold felt a vein explode. Jamie was too good at pushing his buttons, although he didn’t have the best temper in the first place. In fact, he didn’t know why he was acting shy in the first place. It wasn’t the first time Jamie did something like this, and it was because of the prince that he had gotten used to locking his studio.
“....”
Leopold grabbed the lipstick fron Jamie’s hands and applied it on his lips. He wasn’t someone who used lipstick or makeup overall, but he made sure to thicken it. His lover grinned while watching him.
“Normal people look at mirrors while applying lipstick, not stare at their partner.”
“Stop whining.” He replied, placing the lipstick cap back. He leaned closer to Jamie, and without missing a beat, locked their lips together.
“Hmmph” Jamie closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around the artist’s neck and deepening the kiss immediately. Leopold could feel part of the makeup smudging across his face, but the heat of the moment made him care less.
The two parted to breath, pressing their foreheads together.
“... It tastes like raspberry and lychee…” Jamie naturally spoke, like how he usually does during his food assessments, though currently with a disheveled appearance. “... and you were thinking about me when you made this, didn’t you?”
“You caught on.” Leopold didn’t deny. Jamie smirked at him. The clear smudge of lipstick was visible on his lips.
“As long as you make something that I can taste, you won’t be able to hide anything from me, my dear Leopold.” The Prince said, kissing the artist on the cheek.
He was being teased, but it was undeniable for Leopold. With the lack of hesitance the Prince had with putting anything in his mouth, Leopold’s feelings, which he sometimes expresses through his creations, are bound to be noticed. And one of them was his desire towards the Prince, which Jamie loved to poke on, even now.
“Hmmm.” Leopold kissed Jamie’s nose. “I don’t think you still had a good grasp of the flavors, Prince.”
“Then, give me a better taste of it.”
The tone wasn’t teasing anymore. It was a demand. And Leopold obliged.
Leopold leaned down to kiss the Prince again, more passionate than their previous one. He carried Jamie and placed him on the table, making their height gap comfortable to deal with. Jamie responded to his advances, albeit, with a bit more passion than his. The way the Prince kisses always made Leopold feel like a dish that was hungrily devoured. Jamie kissed like he intended to taste Leopold thoroughly.
The fervor of their exchange always made Leopold want more. And he was sure that Jamie felt that was as well. A hand wrapped around the Prince’s waist while the other began to steadily unbutton Jamie’s vest. As he finished unbuttoning the top, Leopold moved, kissing his lover’s jaw down to his neck. His lips left traces of pink on the prince’s torso, becoming lighter as he continued. Jamie merely held his shoulders, balancing himself as he made soft sounds, indicating Leopold to continue.
“L-Leopold…”
Leopold finished, loosening his grasp and letting Jamie breath. He looked at his disheleved lover like a painting he was lovingly creating. The pale skin was filled with pink traces of lipstick, smudging on some areas especially on Jamie’s lips. The Prince’s cheeks were already flushed, the color matching his eyes. And of course, Leopold couldn’t ignore the pink glow around Jamie’s body, which had become more vivid in color than before.
Jamie looked sickeningly sweet. Like the deserts he would eagerly devour, though it was a sweet dessert that Leopold wanted to taste.
But he should hold back for now.
“I assume you’re satisfied with the taste?” Leopold asked while wiping his lips clean.
“Hmm-mm~”
“Good.”
Although the Pastel King approved of his relationship with Jamie (most likely because it meant he stayed away from his daughters), he didn’t seem to get the seal of approval to just do as he pleased. He had to mind his actions and control his desires.
“Then… let’s try the red one next.”
“Excuse me?”
“What?” Jamie raised a brow at him, his whole body was still showing signs of their activity from earlier, but somehow had the courage to act snappy.
“I’m a taste tester, where are you going to stop and not let me have the other flavors?”
“Well…”
He really is trying to control his desires.
“Here,” Jamie handed him the red lipstick with a smug look on his face, despite the disheveled appearance. “I want to try this flavor next.”
But Prince Jamie, the Prince of the Pastel Kingdom and his lover , was making it difficult.
Leopold grabbed the lipstick, coloring his lips without missing a beat.
“I hope you’re ready for the full course meal, Jamie.”
The Prince chuckled as he locked his legs around Leopold’s waist. The artist was already laying him down on the table.
“Then, let me be your canvas tonight, my dear Leopold.”