Work Text:
One day when they were thirteen, Vince showed up at school wearing makeup.
It shouldn't have been that surprising, Vince sometimes wore girly things, a bracelet or more colorful things than the other boys Howard knew. But usually he was discreet. It was there for everyone to see, he was wearing black eyeliner and mascara that made his eyes look even bigger and bluer than they already did.
And the others talked about it. Howard spent the whole class listening to them gossiping about it, but when he looked at Vince he didn't seem to be affected, he continued with his same sunny disposition as always, more focused on drawing pictures in his notebook than on what the others were talking about, or on the content of the class.
It wasn't until after school was over and they were walking home together that Howard discovered that Vince wasn't as distracted as he seemed.
"I don't understand why they care so much, it's just my face. Why do they need to talk about it?" Vince said as soon as they were far enough away.
“Well...I guess they’re just not used to it. Makeup is something girls do, not boys.”
“I just think it’s pretty and I want to wear it. It’s not about being a boy or a girl, it’s about being me...do you think it looks ugly Howard?”
He didn’t. Not at all. Like Vince said it was him, and therefore couldn’t be ugly.
“No. It looks good on you. I wouldn’t wear it myself, but if you want to wear it you should and if others try to give trouble for it I’ll protect you.”
Though how exactly he could protect Vince was a mystery even to himself.
But Vince didn’t seem to find the idea as absurd as it probably was, because Vince looked at him with those giant blue eyes shining like there was nothing Howard couldn’t do and then he hugged him.
A part of Howard wanted to tell Vince not to touch him like he had told him a few times over the last year, lately whenever Vince did it he felt tense in a way he couldn’t explain. It felt good too, but the tension and confusion always seemed bigger and more powerful. And those feelings were still there, but he didn't protest—that hug was more important than that, he suspected.
That hug was about Vince feeling safe and accepted.
And that would always come first.