Work Text:
It’s not like Rin hated the month of October, but it's safe to assume when that time rolls around, his job becomes a lot more grueling. It forces him to put in twice the effort and ten times the hours than he normally did. With an increase in people who would pay for tickets just to get the daylights scared out of them, Rin had no choice but to clock in and work extra hours that he could be spending lying down in bed instead.
It was just another day of effort that Rin didn’t want to do. Maybe he signed up for this, but he didn’t want to have to walk into his workplace at a time when he could be out doing anything else. He didn’t want to put up with all of his annoying coworkers that constantly pester him with bullshit. Seriously, fuck his boss, fuck all the people he works with, fuck the ones who pay for this. Why did he even continue staying in a job like this? He hates every second of it, so why-
The door to his dressing room opens. Familiar footsteps and a recognizable voice suddenly remind him why he stays. As corny and disgusting as it sounds, maybe- just maybe , he’s taken a small liking to the person who does his makeup every night.
Rin feels the need to vomit as he starts to feel his stomach flutter in anticipation when a particular cyan-haired makeup artist flaunts a smile in his direction.
“Good evenin’,” Hiori greets as formal as always. The corners of his lips are tilted in a polite smile and Rin despises the way his chest tightens at the sight of it. A black bag resting over his shoulder that‘s filled with all different types of makeup products. Rin has seen it too many times to not recognize it. “Ya doin’ alright today?”
Rin rolls his eyes. He knows Hiori can tell the answer to that question without even asking. “What do you think?”
Despite Rin’s insulting tone, Hiori doesn’t seem offended. He simply chuckles and walks over to the table that’s covered with dried-up fake blood splatters and old makeup stains. “I assume ya aren’t happy with the new schedule?”
“Who is?” He scoffs, the reminder setting a bitter taste on his tongue. He stands up from where he’s sitting currently and walks over to the black chair a few feet away from Hiori. “I have to suffer and work overtime because of some stupid people who wanna be scared? They can all die.”
“Why’d ya even decide to be a scare actor if it annoys ya so much?” Hiori asks, digging through his bag, setting up all of his makeup supplies, and laying them out. “Is the pay that good?”
No, that’s not it. Rin wants to say as his body tenses. That’s not why I’m here.
But he doesn’t. Instead, he clasps his mouth shut and tightens his jaw. “It’s whatever.”
“I’m sure there’s a lot of other places ya could apply to if ya don’t like it here. I mean,” Hiori cracks a cheeky smile. “Ya have the looks for it.”
Rin would like to pretend that didn’t do something to him, but he’s sure it’s written all over his face. With a flush creeping up his neck and to his cheeks, he looks away from him because he thinks he’ll explode if he doesn’t. “Shut up.”
“I’m serious!” He laughs as he pulls a chair in front of Rin, and sits down in it. “I'm sure you’d succeed in modelin’. As I said, you have a good face for it.”
Rin wasn’t freaking out. He absolutely did not have a crazy blush painting his face red and his heart certainly wasn’t beating at a million miles per hour. That’s absurd.
“So, what are we doin’ today?” He questions as if he didn’t just alter Rin’s brain chemistry with just a simple compliment. “What are ya feelin’ up to? Super scary or are ya takin’ it steady because ya don’t wanna be here?”
Rin shrugs. “I don’t care. Do whatever you think is best.”
“You’re givin’ me full reign?” A light sparkles in his eyes, exhilaration filling inside of him as he thinks of all the ideas he could paint on Rin. “Ya can’t take it back.”
“Just hurry up.” He mumbles, his gaze falling to the ground to look anywhere but at him.
Hiori scans through the setup of makeup that he organized and then looks back at Rin, squinting his eyes slightly. He seemed as if he was visualizing the idea he had in his head onto him to see if it would work. Hiori did that quite often, drilling his eyes into him with no shame whatsoever.
As a makeup artist, Rin understands that it’s just Hiori’s job and he needs to do that to make sure he can execute the makeup well, but sue Rin for getting nervous whenever Hiori keeps fucking staring at him like that. Maybe it’s in his head and Hiori isn’t looking at him for any reason other than to do his job correctly, but Rin knows they’re both smarter than that.
“Maybe we could do a clown?” Hiori suggested.
Rin shook his head with a grimace. “I don’t want to deal with the trouble of washing that off and spending twenty extra minutes here.”
“Somethin’ more natural and low maintenance then,” He hummed at the feedback, wracking his head to think of another idea that would fit Rin in terms of looks and comfortability. “We could make you into a vampire? I’ll still have to coat your entire face to make ya pale, but it wouldn’t take that long to wash off.”
He nodded. “That’ll work.”
“Great!” Hiori clapped his hands together and showered a toothy smile. Quickly grabbing the primer, he pushed out a small amount of product on his pointer finger. He stands up from his chair, always finding it easier to be on his own two feet when working. “Look up for me.”
Rin obliges without protest and lifts his head. When Hiori starts gently dabbing the base of the makeup onto his skin, Rin doesn’t bother closing his eyes and stares at Hiori’s concentrated face. His eyebrows are furrowed just slightly as a sign of his immersion and how focused he is. Even if Rin has seen it so many times, it never stops to grab his attention for whatever reason. It was something about Hiori that drew him in. Was it his eyes? They are pretty big and round, almost identical to owls. Maybe that was why he couldn’t stop staring at every chance he got.
The primer is cold against Rin’s cheeks and the tips of Hiori’s fingers are even colder, but Rin doesn't mind. The room that they’re in is like a sauna, anyway. Rin seriously wonders if anyone has ever touched the AC in months. It’s probably collecting dust by how long he’s had to deal with it. He knows he’s not the only one annoyed at this situation either. Other scare actors have used this room before, complaining about the unnecessary warmth, and yet nothing has been changed. Rin contemplates if it's because they’ve never had time or if his boss just likes seeing his employees suffer at the need for a check that isn’t worth any of the trouble.
Again, Rin should quit. The effort he puts into this shitty job isn’t even worth half of the money he earns, so he really should get the fuck out of here. And yet, as he blinks at Hiori’s vibrant eyes, unable to peel his gaze away from him, a tightness in his chest rises and his heart starts to race. Suddenly, the thought of quitting this job and never seeing Hiori again creates a sour feeling in his stomach. A pit forms in his throat at the image of Hiori applying make-up on someone else.
He doesn’t know why, but it makes him angry and confused all at the same time.
“Primer is done,” Hiori says as he pulls his hands away, the sound of the cap clicking back onto the bottle and snapping Rin violently out of his thoughts. “We’re gonna wait around for about a minute or two so it can dry.”
Shit, was he staring at Hiori that whole time? Normally, Rin would have his eyes closed and trust Hiori to do his job, but today, he was full-on drilling his eyes into the back of Hiori’s eye socket. Hopefully, Hiori was too laser-focused on the makeup to even notice.
Hiori digs through his bag once more, objects inside of it rummaging against each other and making all different kinds of sounds. He pulls out a small teal electric-powered fan, tossing a childish grin to Rin. He flicks the switch on the bottom of it and slowly, the blades of the fan begin to spin. Hiori looks back at him, waving the fan around and putting it up to Rin’s face. “To make the primer dry faster. Just speedin’ up the process.”
“You could’ve pulled that out sooner,” Rin muttered as the cool air began to feel refreshing on top of his skin. “Haven't you realized how fucking hot it is in this room?”
“Ya might melt off your makeup before ya even make it out of here,” Hiori joked. “But I agree. It’s super hot here.”
“We complain about it all the time, but that asshole doesn't have space left in his brain except for money.” Rin scoffs, relishing in the wind the fan blows against him.
“The money can’t be that good.” He chuckled as he looked away, still holding the fan with one hand while the other searched through his bag again.
It’s not. It really isn’t all that good, just enough for him to get by. Even knowing this fact, Rin stays because of the weird churning in his chest whenever he thinks of never having a conversation with Hiori again. The strange feeling in the back of his head anytime he imagines not hearing his voice again sets him off. He doesn’t like being bound somewhere because of someone else, but he still lets his mind be enchanted by Hiori.
He wouldn’t ever admit he only stays because… because of-
“And what about you?” Rin replies sternly and coldly, not wanting to continue his thoughts. “I doubt your pay is any good either.”
He shakes his head, letting out a small laugh at Rin’s blunt tone. “That’s because it isn’t. I probably make less than ya do, but what can I do, ya know? It’s not like this is the only job I work at.”
“Why not quit this shitty one and find a new one?”
“I could ask ya the same thing.” He shrugs with a carefree grin. “We all have our reasons.”
Some way more embarrassing than others.
To Rin’s disappointment, Hiori turns off the fan and places it aside. The unbearable heat around the room comes back and all of his anger starts to bubble up again. He really wishes Hiori could keep it on the whole session, but he needs two hands to work well. As annoying as that is, Rin swallows his pride and lets Hiori grab another make-up product from the table.
Rin has no knowledge whatsoever in makeup and he would be caught dead trying to learn how to do it all in one night, so that’s why Hiori’s here. Some of the other scare actors know how to do their own makeup because they actually know what they are doing. Rin didn’t even know how he landed a job in this department. Workplaces that are low on employees are desperate and will hire anyone they deem as decent, so Rin took advantage of that fact and here he is.
He’s starting to regret it now. It’s a miracle he hasn’t been fired yet.
Hiori grabs a powder puff, slipping his fingers under it and dapping it into the makeup. “It’s not like everyone does jobs for the money, anyway.”
“What else do they do it for?” Rin ignores the way his stomach flutters when Hiori’s free hand comes to cup the nape and tilts his head up, his thumb resting on his jawline.
“Maybe because they like what they do?” He answers as he begins tapping the powder puff onto his skin, the makeup painting his skin instantly. “Does everyone need a reason to do what they do?”
“…It'd be pretty stupid not to have a reason,” Rin mumbles, trying his best not to be distracted by the way Hiori’s holding his face. It’s a good thing he’s too engrossed in doing Rin’s makeup to notice how captivated he is. “If you're working at a shitty place like this? You’d stay for no reason?”
“What’s your reason then?” Hiori pauses his movements to finally catch Rin’s eyes. As their eyes meet, it sends sparks along Rin’s body and suddenly, he’s aware of how Hiori’s still cradling his face while staring at him with the intent of searching for an answer. “Going off from your words, you don’t like it here either. So why do ya stay?”
Rin grows silent.
Hiori takes that as a win for him and smiles, applying the makeup back onto him. “See?”
“I do have a reason,” Rin responded, gritting his teeth and averting his eyes.
“I never said that ya didn’t.”
The two of them fall into a blissful silence when he doesn’t respond to Hiori’s comment. When they don’t have anything else they want to talk about or feel the need to bring up, they often just bathe in the quietness of each other’s presence. That’s what Rin liked about Hiori. He didn’t feel the need to delude himself in mindless small talk and only struck up a conversation when he wanted to. Rin doesn’t know if Hiori is aware of the tiny understanding they share, but Rin appreciates that Hiori doesn't fill the air with meaningless talk. Sometimes, they just want to bare each other in silence.
Rin stops paying attention to what Hiori grabs and whatever kind of makeup he starts to smear across his face. He does end up spacing out most of the time, but each featherlight touch Hiori presses against his skin brings him back and he feels himself getting anxious all over again.
Hiori’s doing something to his eyes now, making him close his eyelids instinctively. His fingers maneuver to lift his chin and tilt upwards. Rin's breath hitches as his hands ball into fists, almost turning to jelly beneath his touch. With his sense of sight gone, Hiori’s movements are unpredictable and he can’t pinpoint what he’s going to do next. He’s gone through this process many times before, so he should be used to it by now. But as Hiori continued to drift his finger under his eyes, wiping off some of the eye shadows, Rin felt like he couldn’t breathe with his heart hammering inside his rib cage. He’s sure the roar of his own blood rushing to his ears was impossible to miss.
“You have really long lashes,” Hiori murmurs quietly, not seeing the reason for raising his voice since they were so close to each other. “I don’t need to do anythin’ to them at all.”
“Your lashes are longer than mine.” Rin snaps his eyes open, growing too nervous at Hiori’s choice of wording to have them remain closed. Normally, he'd wait until Hiori told him to look because he didn’t wanna mess him up, but it was too much. He could only tolerate it for so long.
His breath gets snatched away from him when he sees how close their faces are. Both of their eyes widened, equally taken aback and surprised, but none of them attempted to back away. Rin could move away easily if he really wanted to, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He stayed in place, too anxious to even move a single finger. Hiori didn't move closer or further, an unreadable expression on his face.
He waited, all he could think of was Hiori’s next choice of action. Rin’s eyes flickered down to Hiori’s lips before quickly flashing back into his eyes, scared of being caught. He was sure he was gonna pass out if he didn’t remember how to breathe properly in a second. Only inches from each other and if Hiori just moved a little more, then their lips could be-
Hiori broke the tension and pulled back first. Rin didn't realize how on edge he was until his body finally relaxed and he could finally breathe normally again. He wanted to feel relieved that the distance between them vanished, but as the bitter taste of disappointment deeper into his veins, the more frustrated he got at his own feelings. His mind filled with ‘what ifs’, each thought chipping and eating away at his brain.
What if Hiori moved in closer? What if the invisible veil separating them finally disappeared and Hiori just leaned in a little closer? Then what would've happened? What would be the outcome of that? If their lips touched-
“Ya startled me. I didn’t tell ya to open your eyes yet, so I wasn’t expectin’ you to…” Hiori nervously laughed, building up all of his courage to ignore the tension they just experienced. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he turned around and fumbled for a small mirror, showing Rin his makeup frantically in hopes of forgetting what just happened. “What do ya think?”
“…It’s fine,” Rin replied sheepishly with the same amount of anxiety in his voice. “It’s… yeah. It looks fine.”
He nodded and placed the mirror down. He started to search through his different shades of lipstick with a shaky smile. “That’s good. I thought I messed up when ya opened your eyes, so I just wanted to make sure.”
An apology lingered on his tongue, but he forced his mouth shut. Instead, Rin watched as Hiori grabbed his arm, drawing thin lines with the lipstick on top of his hand to test the colors.
Hiori made an indecisive face, flexing Rin’s hand around to see if lighting made a difference to the colors. “Which one do ya think? I feel like they'd all look good on ya.”
“It doesn't matter to me.” Rin mumbles. “I want to get this shift over with and go home. I couldn't care less if the shade matches or not.”
”I guess the redder it is, the better.” Even with the defensive approach that would usually push others away, Hiori still doesn't find any offense in it. He reached for the lipstick he wanted to use on Rin and held it next to the bottle of fake blood, cocking his head to the side. “It looks like the same color, so it should be fine.”
Pushing the fake blood aside, he grabbed the correct shade that he decided on using and twisted open the cap. Rin held his breath once more when Hiori’s hand came to cradle his jaw once more, tilting his head up. No matter how many times Hiori would touch him like this, he still felt his nerves jump at the innocent contact. Rin knew that it meant nothing, but every single time Hiori’s hands touched his face, his heart paused momentarily before picking up its pace drastically.
“Part your lips a little,” He spoke softly, holding the open lipstick between his fingers.
Rin’s heart never stopped pounding in his chest as he listened silently, afraid that if he tried to speak, all that would come out would be stammers. His eyes follow Hiori like a hawk as he leans in closer and starts to coat his lips in dark red makeup.
Hiori coated the lipstick on his bottom lip only twice and leaned back to inspect his work, taking in all of Rin’s new look. He squints his eyes to stare at his lips for a few seconds, finding that something looked off about it. ”Rub your lips together real quick.”
Rin did exactly that, but Hiori still stared at him as if something was missing. Before he knew it, Hiori’s thumb was swiping the edge of his bottom lip, getting rid of the makeup that spilled past his lips.
Rin froze right then and there. He didn’t know if his face could heat up any more than it already did, but it was definitely possible. He didn’t know what it was, but the silence in the air and the intensity of Hiori’s face being so close to him made millions of tiny goosebumps jump out of his arms. The tightness in his throat started to rise again as Rin swallowed a big lump of anxiety.
“Okay! You should be good now. The fake blood is all ya need, but you normally like doin’ that yourself, right?” Hiori finished, backing away from Rin. He grabbed the same mirror from before and handed it to him. “Anythin’ ya wanna change or is it to your likin’?”
Rin didn't need to look for more than a second, placing the glass down. “No, it’s fine.”
“I’m glad ya liked it.” Hiori smiled and began to gather up his makeup products, stuffing them in his bag. Rin doesn't know how he finds anything he needs in there if he's just shoving them in mindlessly, but he can’t judge since he actually gets the job done. “I must admit that I was rushin’, so hopefully it doesn’t look that bad.”
It’s not bad at all. “It’s decent. Should be enough to scare people, so who cares.”
He chuckled, zipping up his makeup bag and throwing it over his shoulder. “I have other people to attend to. I’ll see ya next time, Rin.”
As Hiori walks to the door without sparing a second glance behind him, Rin lets out a long and deep sigh when he's finally alone. He wants to bury his face in his hands and let out the loudest scream of agony ever, but because of the makeup, he slumps in his seat instead. He wouldn’t want to ruin all of Hiori’s work.
It’s like this after every session with Hiori. He always feels like he just got done fighting the biggest battles of his life and barely managed to make it out. Each minute he spends getting distracted by Hiori’s eyes, the more he thinks about them when he’s alone. Hiori’s eyelashes are practically longer than his if you’re close enough to see it. But if you were up really close to his face today, you'd see a small lingering eyelash lying on his cheek.
The image of Hiori getting that near someone leaves a sour taste in his mouth that he doesn't like.