Work Text:
Xeno spun around, arms flying out to present his outfit with a flare. “What do you think, Stan? Truly elegant isn’t it?” He had a big cat-like smile, intently watching his friend's face for his reaction.
Stan’s lips stayed tight around the stick of his lollipop. Eyes wide, he blinked a few times in silence as he fully took in the sight before him.
Stood proudly in his new stylish black coat, Xeno considered it suited him perfectly- and Stan certainly agreed. The young scientist took the shiny silver zipper between his fingers. It was slightly skewed, trailing from his center over to his right shoulder. He zipped it up just shy of all the way and adjusted the sharp cut collar.
Xeno fluffed the train of his coat out, fascinated by the elegant flowy-ness of the cotton fabric as it enveloped his legs like a gown. “I never would’ve guessed you’d have such good taste in fashion, Stan.” Bringing his hands together with a clap, Xeno seemed quite satisfied with his gift.
Stan shrugged, knee bouncing from where he sat on the bed. “Just saw it at the store. Thought you’d like it.”
“I do like it.” Xeno unzipped the two secured pockets of the coat, shoving his hands inside. “Did you get me anything else?” he asked.
“Um… Kinda.” Murmuring, Stan’s voice hardly broke above the blaring TV from the living room, “I wanted to do something.”
Xeno tilted his head, interest piqued. “What is it?”
With a hesitant breath, Stan stood. He glanced at his friend briefly, but ultimately could not maintain eye contact when he answered, “I wanna do your makeup.”
Stan held his breath. He wasn’t 100% sure that Xeno would like the idea. He had shown a mild curiosity about Stan’s own interest in it, but he never expressed any interest in doing it himself other than referring to his hobby as ‘quite elegant’- if that even counted.
Round dark eyes stared as he processed the proposal. “...Really?” Then, his eyes lit up, like the moon in the night sky just out Stanley’s bedroom window. “I actually quite like that idea! A makeover of some sort, yes?” The corners of his little mouth stretched into a smile. “I am older now, of course. Transforming my style into something more mature is in order…”
Stan couldn’t help but smile back, albeit awkwardly. “Okay.” was all he said.
Sitting back down, Stan looked for what he needed. Reaching under his bed, he fished out what appeared to be a pencil case. It was camo print. Plopping it onto his lap as he came back up, Stan moved over to make room on the mattress next to him.
Xeno took the invitation to join him. He scooched back to sit flat against the headboard. Raising a curious little eyebrow at his friend, Xeno asked, “Do you know what you’re doing, Stan? I trust you won't make me look like a clown, right?”
“Uh, well…” Stan bit his lip as he unzipped the makeup bag. “No- I’m not really that good at it yet, but-”
A pout grew on Xeno’s lips as Stan stuttered through an explanation. He interjected, “-Stanley…”
“Hm?” Stan had pulled out a makeup brush and was nervously twiddling it in his fingers.
Dark eyes glanced away. Xeno spoke softly, a somewhat coy inflection in his simple request, “...Can you make me look elegant? Do you think you can do that?”
Stan stared with wide eyes at him. “Umm.” Then he nodded like an eager puppy. “Yeah. I can. Yeah.”
Xeno snorted a laugh. Folding his skinny arms across his chest, he kicked his feet up to lounge across the blond’s lap. “Good.”
Stan chuckled, “Get your legs off of me, man.” Taking his friend’s ankles into his grasp, he tossed his legs away with ease. Hoisting his own legs up onto the mattress, Stan scooched in closer to sit on his knees across from him.
Flashing Xeno a soft smile, Stan fetched a small bottle from the pouch. He held it up. “I guess this is another gift. It's concealer- err…Or is it foundation?” Flipping it over, his nose scrunched as he examined it closer. “Oh. There. It says foundation.”
“What’s the difference?” Xeno asked.
Stan shrugged. “I don’t know. ‘Just figured out they were two different things the other day…” He unscrewed the cap. “You can keep it. I had to buy it cuz you're way paler than the one I use.”
Xeno’s bottom lip jutted out. “I’m not pale…!”
“This color’s literally called ‘ivory’.” Squeezing a pea size drop of the cream onto the back of his hand, he rubbed it in and held the sample up to Xeno’s cheek to compare. “Perfect match.” Stan snickered.
Jaw dropping in offence, Xeno brushed Stanley’s hand away. “You’re not allowed to make fun of me on my birthday, Stan.”
Retracting, Stan mumbled, “It’s just the truth…” Taking the makeup brush into his free hand, he blotted it against the foundation to get an even coat. Bringing the brush up, Stanley scooched just a little closer to his pouty friend.
Instinctively, Xeno closed his eyes.
“...You don’t need to do that.”
His eyes snapped back open. “What? Am I just supposed to make direct eye contact with you the whole time?” With furrowed brows, Xeno shut his eyes once more.
Stan sighed. Guess that would be pretty awkward…
Why did Xeno always have'ta be right?
Tilting his head, Stan got a better view of his canvas. Without thinking much about it, he flicked the brush back against his thumb to dust away a few strands of stray wisps, gently grazing his finger tips against Xeno’s temple. The faint sensation seemed to tickle his small friend- eliciting a tiny crease to pinch on his forehead.
His timid hand retracted.
Shaking his head, Stan was certainly glad Xeno had his eyes closed so he couldn’t see the light dust of rose blooming on his cheeks.
Why did something like that make him blush?
Stan kicked himself for being weird as he twirled the brush back around to be held at a proper position for use. “Okay, um… Tilt your chin up a little bit.”
Xeno did.
“Then, ‘little to the side.”
“Which side?”
“Don’t matter.”
Xeno did that too, presenting the right side of his face to Stanley.
Inching the brush closer, he took a deep breath. Stan really didn’t want to mess this up. He hadn’t been doing makeup long. A professional he was not- far from it.
Stan’s interest in makeup wasn’t all that new. It was only about a year or so ago that it started, wasn’t it?
Yeah. It had happened during recess and- well they don’t have that anymore this year. He had been sucking on a particularly pigmented grape sucker that he’d popped into his mouth at the beginning of the block. Then by the end of it, his lips had been completely stained purple.
Stan, of course, had been mortified when Xeno pointed it out (luckily he was able to keep his cool and Xeno was none the wiser).
But instead of teasing him for it- Xeno simply said: ‘That color looks elegant on you.’
And before he knew it, school had ended and Stan was biking his way over to the nearest drugstore. While there, somehow, a richly purple lipstick entitled ‘Late Night’ had just so happened to have fallen into his pocket.
Xeno was Stan’s best friend and Stan was Xeno’s best friend. Best and… only friend, really…
There was nothing they kept secret from each other- there was nothing they could keep secret. They were always together. So when Stanley started playing with makeup, he knew that there would be no shame in letting Xeno in on his new fascination.
So, even though Xeno wasn’t pressuring him at all… Stan still wanted to make it perfect. Almost as a thank you.
He wanted to make Xeno look elegant. As requested.
Stan pressed the brush against Xeno’s skin, stippling it with the ivory paint. Using a gentle motion of light pitter-patters, he spread the cream across the line of his cheekbone until it blended, disappearing against the surface of his smooth skin.
Dipping his brush down to reapply first, Stan started on Xeno’s cheek. As he poked it with the bristles, his chubby cheek squished beneath it.
How close he was to Xeno’s face, he could feel his breath as it whistled from his button nose…
Stan’s teeth gnawed down on the smooshy paper stick of his lollipop. He forced himself to focus more on getting an even coverage than that rising heat that was creeping up his neck.
Once again picking up some more ivory, Stan brushed it down Xeno’s round jawline, noticing how his friend seemed to lean into the touch as he applied it to his chin. Stan mentally compared it to how a cat would react to chin scratches.
Xeno hummed, “This is actually quite relaxing, Stan. I see why you enjoy this.”
Stan huffed a laugh, moving the brush to edge the side of his nose. “Yeah, it’s only relaxing when someone else is doing it for you…”
Applying another dollop of foundation to the back of his hand, Stan poked Xeno’s chin with the slightest touch of his fingers and gently nudged him to turn. Now presented the other side of his face, Stan repeated the same process.
Yeah, Stan had fun with it sometimes, but most mornings would end with him crying into the sink as he desperately scrubbed off the complete mess he’d caked his poor face in.
He’d learned his lesson early on to only experiment when he didn’t have anywhere to be.
When he wore it out, Stan liked to keep it simple- natural. A bit of foundation to cover burgeoning acne, some mascara to make his already long eyelashes even more striking, just a little lip gloss to keep his lips from getting chapped.
This came with the unfortunate side effect of him actually needing to wear it everyday- otherwise the difference between his naked face and his done up look would be obvious. If someone at school ever actually noticed he was wearing makeup, he’d probably die of embarrassment. And would undoubtedly never be able to live it down or hear the end of it.
He’d rather just avoid that altogether.
But, he and Xeno were just playing around right now… Nobody else would see it. Maybe he could do more of a bold look on Xeno? It would certainly suit his personality.
Once he had finished applying the foundation, Stan moved to pull out a simple pallet of eyeshadow from his camo print makeup bag.
Hearing the click of the container as Stan popped it open, Xeno opened his eyes to get a look. “Ooh, Stan…”
The colors in the pallet sat neatly all in a row, their fancy names printed just above each square; Midnight Black, Starry Nights, Moonlight, and Purple Space.
Honey eyes averted as he presented the pallet in shy hands. “I… also bought this for you.” Stan chewed on his bottom lip, his eyes falling to fix on the tiny star adorn box in his grasp. “Sorry. It’s kinda dumb that I got you all this stuff when I’m the one who’s into makeup…”
Xeno pursed his lips in thought, confused as to where Stanley had gotten that idea into his head. “What? It’s not selfish at all…?” He dipped down, trying to catch his friend’s bashful gaze. “Maybe you can do my makeup more often if you’d like.” he smiled.
Stan perked up. “Hm?”
One little finger pointed excitedly into the air. “Think of it as practice, Stan!” That finger came back to curl into a fist, held to his chest as Xeno held back his glee. “That’s what you need if you want to become a professional! Is it much easier when doing it to someone else, you think?”
Stan nodded a meek agreement. “...You wanna do this again? Really?”
Xeno locked eyes with him, his gaze soft in the fuzzy yellow light of Stanley’s bedroom. “Of course I do.” he said with the tiniest curl of his lips.
Stan was pretty sure- no- certain that he really meant it.
With a smirk, he scoffed a laugh. “So…” Stan lifted the pallet up “Is there anything you want specifically?”
Xeno shook his head. “I want to see your skills. Use your own discretion, but…” He reached out, tapping his stubby finger over a particular color. “Just make sure you use that purple.”
That purple- ‘Purple Space’- it was the same color as his lipstick ‘Late Night’.
That pretty color. That color Xeno liked.
“Is purple… your favorite color?” Stan asked.
Xeno lips parted in theatrical shock. “Of course it is! It’s the most elegant one of them all, other than black.”
“...It’s my favorite too.” Sharing a favorite color with Xeno… it made Stan heart race for some reason. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek. His hands began to sweat.
Xeno brought his arms in to wrap around his legs, pulling himself into an embrace. “I figured. Since you wear that color lipstick sometimes.” Resting his cheek against his knee, it squished cutely as he nuzzled it. “I like it. I wish you’d wear it more often… ”
Stan froze- as he usually did when he was totally freaking out.
Complements Stan didn’t often receive…
A complement from Xeno, though? He could die right now. Not that that would make any difference- he was already in heaven.
Chin up and eyes trained in between the spot between Xeno’s fluffy eyebrows, Stan bit down on the sucker in his mouth with enough strength to shatter it to pieces.
“I can do that.” He mumbled through sugary shards. Stan spit the empty stick out of his mouth, landing it into the trash bin near his computer desk with precision.
Satisfied with the answer, Xeno leaned back and closed his eyes- ready for his friend to continue.
Stan hurriedly placed the pallet onto his knees and retrieved a tiny brush from his makeup bag. Hopefully, getting right into it will help his racing heart settle back down…
Rubbing some black onto the bristles, Stan started applying it to Xeno’s eyelid, trying to get it to lay as dark as he could manage.
“Damn-” Stan hissed. Stray speckles of dust had fallen onto Xeno's cheek. He tried to wipe it away with his thumb. “Crap-” All that managed to do was smear it.
“What are you doing, Stan?”
“I got it. Hold on.”
Xeno opened his eyes just in time to see Stan lick the pad of his thumb before coming back in for another attempt.
“Uhg!” The young scientist shrunk away.
“Some got on your cheek, I’m trying to get it off.” Stan leaned in, his slick thumb inching towards Xeno- way too close for comfort in his opinion.
“Ew! That’s disgusting, Stanley!” He squirmed away, slipping down to escape as Stan closed in. “Don’t touch me with that!”
A mischievous look came to Stan’s face. “Stop squirming, you’re gonna rub off your foundation.” Then, without any warning, he pounced, pressing Xeno’s head flat against the pillow with the palm of his left hand.
“Don’t you dare-” Xeno squealed as Stan forcefully cleaned him. He gritted his teeth, a shout swelling from deep in his chest. “IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! LISTEN TO ME!”
Stan chuckled, “Okay. I'm done.” Stan sat back up and shrugged, that devilish smirk remained. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Lips squirming into a pout, Xeno locked his arms across his chest. He didn’t seem to have anything to say as a retort- or maybe he did, it just included some words he wasn’t allowed to say.
Stan waved him up. “Get back up here.”
“Hmph!” Xeno didn’t seem to be budging. If Stan wasn’t going to listen to him, then he wasn’t going to listen to Stan.
With a heavy sigh, Stan blew his blond bangs from his face. “You’re so dramatic…”
“You licked me.” Xeno huffed. “On my birthday.”
“I did not lick you…”
Xeno tilted chin up petulantly. “An indirect lick.”
Stan looked up to the popcorn speckled ceiling. “Shut up, man…” he sighed.
Scoffing at his audacity, Xeno sprang up to rest on his elbows. “Ooh- now you’re telling me to shut up?”
Stan rolled his eyes.
“Rolling your eyes at me?!”
Eyes falling down to his sulking friend, Stan sighed in defeat. “I can’t win this, can I?”
And suddenly, Xeno looked unbearably smug. “...Nope.” If he wasn’t so cute, Stan would've probably kicked his ass by now.
Wait-
Cute…?
Well… duh. Of course he meant cute like- a kitten or something. You wouldn’t kick a kitten’s ass would ya? That’s what Xeno was. An obnoxiously smug cat. Obviously.
And he kinda looked like a cat too, with one eye painted in black like a fur pattern. “So, you gonna let me continue or do you wanna keep looking like you got punched in the face?”
Xeno waved him off. “Alright. Continue…” he grumbled. Returning to his place against the headboard, he snappily swung one leg over the other and closed his eyes one more.
Stan scooched up to his friend’s side. As he worked on fixing up the shape of Xeno’s eyeshadow, his tongue poked out the corner of his mouth in tense concentration. He extended the black out to his outer lid, smudging it into what Stan’s idea of a smokey eye was. As the black became less concentrated, it did actually look a bit like smoke- so perhaps he did get it right.
Taking Xeno’s squishy chin between his fingers, Stan repeated the same on his opposite eye. The two eyes didn’t exactly look like perfect matches but… if Stan squinted they looked similar enough.
Stan leaned back to get a full view of his work. With those chubby pale cheeks of his, Xeno looked like a panda.
“Are you done?” asked said panda.
Stan wasn’t all that shocked by the world's first talking fuzzy animal. Maybe he’s watched too many cartoons- it’s lost its novelty. “Not yet.”
Pulling out the smallest brush he had, Stan dipped it in that sparkling purple Xeno had requested.
Starting at his inner lid, Stan spread the color over the crease of his eye. It was a royal purple. That color Xeno said was his favorite. The favorite that they shared. The specks of glitter twinkled as they caught the dingy light from the lamp.
He lined the ‘Midnight Black’ with ‘Purple Space’. Like a galaxy trying to escape the clutches of a blackhole.
When Xeno’s eyes fluttered open, the glitter peaked out from behind his eyelashes.
It was subtle while somehow being equally as bold.
Kinda like a princess. A ruler of the stars. In a black gown made of space.
An elegantly bold look.
“Do you wanna see?” Stan asked, digging in his makeup bag for a mirror.
“Yes, but…” Xeno smirked. It looked like the type of smile he did when he was plotting something. “There is one more thing I’d like to request.”
“What-” The camo bag was swiped from his grasp.
Xeno rooted around in it, searching for something specific. Now Stan considered that he looked like a raccoon.
“Ooh.” Xeno grinned as he pulled out the tube of ‘Late Night’ lipstick. “Here it is…!”
“You want lipstick too?” Stan asked.
The tube was thrusted into his face. “I want it on you.” Xeno pulled back, popping the cap off with zeal.
A devious giggle erupted from Xeno as he dragged the lipstick across Stan’s plump bottom lip. Good thing the blond was frozen still in shock, it made it easier for Xeno to apply. Then he moved to the top lip. He didn’t do it too well, smudging it over his lip line, getting a bit on his teeth. But when Xeno pulled back he looked quite happy with his job.
“Elegant.” he said. “Truly elegant.”
Stan was sure he turned bright red. That along with his dodgy lipstick- it seemed he was the one made to look like a clown.
“Well, now that I see it on you…” Xeno closed his eyes and smiled. “Perhaps I’d like to try some myself-”
And before either of them knew it, Stan had lurched forward. Squeezing his eyes tight and holding his breath, he planted a terribly amateur peck on Xeno’s lips.
It lasted only a second. But it was one hell of a second.
When he pulled back, Xeno stared at him with wide owl-like eyes. His lips stained a faint purple. That color that he liked.
Why did he just do that!?
It was surely a question on both boys' minds.
Stan was so mortified at what he’d just done that he could cry. He held it in as best he could. But the longer Xeno stared at him with those big eyes without a word made it harder and harder to do so.
But then, a smirk pulled on Xeno’s little purple lips. That color that Stan liked as well. “That’s what I was going to do, Stan. How dare you take my moment away from me.” he said. “On my birthday?”
His attention quickly moved from Stan’s panicked eyes, Xeno reached his hand out to pull a compact mirror from the camo makeup bag.
Xeno didn’t say anything further about the kiss. He didn’t feel the need to. Stan was grateful for that.
Holding up the mirror to look at his done up look, Xeno gasped, “Stan!” He dropped the mirror back into his lap, gaping at his friend with a look of overjoy.
Xeno’s smile was infectious. “You like it?” Stan asked.
Nodding, his eyes seemed to sparkle just as much as his eyeshadow did. “Of course I do.”
Stan knew he meant it.
Suddenly looking quite bashful, Xeno glanced away. He leaned it, wrapping his thin arms over Stan’s shoulders. Sighing, Xeno nuzzled his cheek deep into his friend's neck. “Truly elegant work, Stan."
Stan felt the pride of a job well down swell in his chest. He hugged Xeno back.
When Xeno pulled back, his eyeshadow was smudged.
Even though it was all messed up now- ‘Purple Space’ was smearing down his cheek and ‘Late Night’ was fading and splotchy. The only thing Stan could think when he looked his friend was:
Cute.
…Okay. Stan will admit it. Xeno was cute. Like- in a cute way.
“Happy birthday, man.”
Xeno smiled and he somehow got even cuter.
But if Xeno ever asked him what he thought of his new look…
Stan would tell him he looked elegant.