Work Text:
Out of all of Alex’s friends Brian was the only one Amy actually liked.
Tim was weird. Jay was weirder. Sarah wasn’t necessarily Alex’s friend, but she was always awful whenever they saw her. Pretentious ass. Just because she managed to star in a couple of college plays didn’t mean she had a future outside A coffee shop. Seth only wanted to DM D&D if they were playing 3.5 E. Nightmarish.
But Brian was all right. A little bit weird and a little bit fake, but mostly all right. Hell, he might be more her friend than Alex’s.
”Fuck yes I want to do a group Legend of Zelda costume.” She matches Brian’s grin with one of her own. “I was planning on being a cat again. That’s way better!”
“I know. I’m a genius.” He leans forward, placing his chin on his hands, voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. “I even got a couple cheap wigs along with the cheap costumes.”
Yup. Definitely her friend.
“An evil Genius. Where did you get everything? Rob the prop room or something?”
“An evil genius never reveals his secrets.” Shaking his head he downs his second cup of coffee, probably hungover if how shitty he looked indicated anything. His eye bags were about as dark as his hoodie, the same one he had been wearing yesterday. Partying on a Tuesday night. Naughty naughty Mr. Thomas. Not that he actually learned anything for his psych degree, but it was a little offensive she hadn’t been invited. Whatever. She’d ply for details later. For now she had bigger fish to fry.
Amy kicks him under the table.
“Ow!” Eyes going wide, Brian grabs at his knee.
Baby. She hadn’t even kicked him that hard.
”A true evil genius reveals his plans to his partner in crime. Otherwise, the entire thing falls apart in the 3rd act.” She twirls a non-existent mustache. “Pony up. I got to know where you found them Bri. I am not getting lice again.”
”All right, all right.” Brian relents. “My friend Jodi works at the Spirit Halloween and has an employee discount. She’s willing to buy some stuff for us If we don’t go too crazy.”
Amy raises her eyebrows. “Wow. Well done.”
“It’s not like that you weirdo. Pretty sure she’s a lesbian.” Brian says in mock reproach. “I’m capable of having normal friends you know.”
“Cool. You got a number for me then?”
Now it’s his turn to kick her. “Aren’t you and Lex supposed to be dating?”
“Come on. You know we’re keeping it casual.” Not that she was interested in talking with anyone else right now. She takes another bite of her croissant, considering. “What characters are we going to be anyways? If you say anything from Wind Waker I’m walking out of this cafe.”
“Oh God no. I was actually thinking we could do something from the second-best Legend of Zelda game.
She kicks him again, harder this time, relishing the way he nearly spills his coffee. Whether Majora’s Mask or Ocarina of Time were better was a long-standing argument between the two of them. “OK edge lord.”
”Nostalgia blind.”
“Closet scaly.”
“You only like it so much because Sheik is butch.”
“Oh shit! Dibs on Sheik.”
“Already taken care of. You still A size 12?”
”Yeah. What are you thinking? One of the Zora?”
Rolling his eyes Brian flexes, the effect diminished by the lumpiness of his hoodie and Amy’s complete lack of interest. “Oh, fuck off Ames. There’s only one character I’m interested in being, and that’s the one and only hero of time.”
“More like the Hero of Tim. You dragging him and Merrick into this?”
For a split-second Brian’s grin falters. “Nah. He’s doing some sort of costume with Merrick. Pokémon related, of course.”
“Of course.“ Time to change the subject. Now is not the time to open that can of worms. “You check in with Alex yet?”
“I asked him last night. He wants to be Zelda. Made sense considering how the two of you are always joined at the hip. I figured the three of us could get together, help him out with getting ready before the party?”
His smile shifts, turning into something more genuine. He was probably feeling the exact same thing as Amy. Alex Kralie dressed as Zelda. Trust Brian Thomas to always make getting out of bed before noon worth it. And, if she was being honest, be good to Alex.
”Hell yeah. When do you want us to come over?”
When what about Alex Kralie made her stick around, Amy never had an answer. It was a question she herself couldn’t stop thinking about. The initial months of their relationship could easily be passed off as nothing other than a flight of fancy, a chance to experience something new. It wasn’t like she usually dated men. And that probably was true at first, the two of them drawn together by nothing more concrete than novelty. She liked hearing him talk. Sue her. But simply liking the sound of his voice wouldn’t have led to a relationship that lasted a couple of weeks, if that.
Yet here she was nearly a year later, watching Alex fidget with the strings of his hoodie, feeling an all too familiar warmth.
Maybe it was just indigestion.
“Objectively speaking it’s not even the second-best game Brian. The mechanics of Majora’s Mask are absolutely fucked. It’s a sequel for a reason”. Alex barely takes a moment to catch his breath before continuing to prattle on. This was what Brian and Amy like to call the Kralie podcast hour, an expected consequence of Alex having nothing to do. He’d been delegated to sit tight while Brian and Amy got ready, something he had complained about. Even Alex could admit he was useless in the costume department. “Furthermore-”
“Sequel for a reason? What does that even mean, Lex?” Brian interrupts, twirling the mascara wand as he turns away from the mirror. “Does that make any sense to you Ames?”
“No. Not exactly helping our case here babe.” Amy says, adjusting the silly green cap Brian was planning on wearing where it sat on her head. Most of the costume pieces he’d managed to get were actually kind of impressive. This was not. “Do I look hot or ridiculous?”
“Hot.” said Alex.
“Ridiculous.” said Brian. “Sorry Ames. You can’t pull off rugged medieval knight. That’s the reason why I’m Link.”
“Please. Being addicted to the gym isn’t going to change the fact that Link looks like a dork.” She said, chucking the hat at his head. Alex said nothing. “Besides, I’m like way hotter than you.”
“What? Can’t hear you, I’m doing my makeup.” Infuriatingly he catches the hat with ease, and, OK, maybe he was A bit of a jock. None of that was going to help him when he put the hat on.
Leaning over so that he could see her in the mirror she flips Brian off, laughing as he responds in kind. Alex is still uncharacteristically quiet. With his verbal diarrhea interrupted it seemed like he couldn’t think of anything else to say, a stalling car engine. Amy would have thought Brian was the one causing his nerves if he hadn’t spent the entire car ride over vacillating between complaining about Tim and complete silence.
Not that they could have gotten ready at either of their dorms. Both of their roommates were planning on spending the night at home, a baffling choice for a Saturday. When it came to getting ready Brian’s, house was the only option. Who even had a house to themselves in college? Rich motherfuckers, the lot of them. Maybe that’s why she stuck around Alex. Brian would have been the better option for gold digging though. Hell, his family were the ones who bought the house, apparently calling it an investment property. Maybe she should start talking to Tim. It’d be nice to have a conversation with someone who didn’t have a trust fund for his trust fund.
Abhorrent amounts of wealth aside, it was nice to be friends with someone who had a place. The parties Brian threw were legendary, and there was always a spare bed whenever she was arguing with her roommate. Brian’s main bedroom, with its scattered books and plaid bed sheets, was as familiar to her as her own dorm. A decent amount of her possessions were here too, A book she’d lent him about Victorian fashion he wasn’t going to read, extra nail polish, and of course the mascara he was still holding, mascara she was 95% sure he stole from her.
It was funny to think that Brian was the one who had most of his shit figured out. She gently squeezes Alex's shoulder. It didn’t take a genius to realize that some of Alex’s worry was about the whole makeup thing. Not that Amy could blame him. People could be vicious, and as much as Alex tried to hide it it was clear he cared. But Brian didn’t. Link looked like he was wearing makeup, so Brian was wearing makeup.
“I have to admit Brian. Looking good. Now give me back my mascara you little thief.”
“Told you I’d get good at it. All it takes is a little practice.” He smiles as he tosses her the mascara, which quickly disappears into one of the makeshift pockets of her costume. Turns out being wrapped up in a bunch of bandages made storage a non-issue, which was 100% better than last year’s costume. Nearly getting frostbite because she lost her phone on the walk home was not worth looking hot.
“Wait till I try and teach you contouring, braggart.”
“Please. I’m going to be a natural. Right, Kralie?”
“What? Oh. Right.” Alex glanced between the two of them. “What were we talking about?”
Sweet precious dumbass. “Nothing babe. We’re going to start on your makeup in a couple minutes, OK?”
“OK. That’s cool.” Then, as if a switch had been flipped, podcast hour resumes. “Wow. That’s not completely terrible. You’re both recognizable! How did you manage to do such good jobs on the costumes Brian? Maybe we should have you coordinate the outfits for Marble Hornets. I know the vibe we’re going for is more college casual, but me and Jay were watching Spring Break the other day, and I know the outfits were from the 90s, but we really should be embodying the era you know? Like Amy does.”
“Whoa, let me cut you off there Lex. I didn’t work on the costumes. It was all my friend Jodi.” Brian says, turning around to face the mirror, putting the hat back on his head. Oh Alex. Brian’s costume wasn’t terrible, hastily died medieval tunic and tights doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but it wasn’t exactly what Amy would call good. “OK, I take it back, I look ridiculous. I thought the mascara would help but I think the hat’s just too long.”
Amy hums distractedly, rubbing Alex’s shoulder. As he yapped on about potentially meeting up with Jodi he couldn’t keep his eyes off of Brian. She wasn’t the only one distracted.
Pretty much anyone would find it adorable. Maybe that was it, Amy muses. The sheer untapped potential that was Alex Kralie. 20 years old, knowing nothing about himself with the rest of his life ahead of him. Wouldn’t it be exciting to see where he ended up? Who was she kidding about gold digging? Whenever he did figure himself out that would be the end of Mommy and Daddy’s money. Oh God. Was she actually feeling mad about that? She hadn’t even met his parents yet.
Doctor Walters, marine biologist with a devoted stay at home spouse hoping to one day break into the entertainment industry. Gross. Appealing. She tosses her hair behind her head. “Brian, the hat looks like shit. Babe, do you still want me to do your makeup?”
Alex hesitates for a moment. “Yeah. Sure.”
“You sure? You don’t have to. Neither of us want to pressure you.” Amy says. Shit. Had she misread things? The last thing she wanted to do was force Alex into something he wasn’t ready for. “No one’s going to care if you don’t have a costume.”
“Yeah!” Brian nods at her. “No matter what we’re with you, but you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“No! I want you to do my makeup. I can’t be Zelda looking like this can I?” He gestures towards himself depreciatively. That was stupid. Alex always looked good, with his messy brown hair and cute little smiles. What was he thinking insulting her boyfriend? Her voice takes on a sterner tone.
“Who says that? You can be Zelda any way you want.“
“Everyone’s going to be busy looking at me and Amy anyways.” Brian pipes in. “Particularly me, because of the stupid hat. Oh my God we’re going to Michaela’s. She’s always lighting candles. I’m going to catch the hat on fire aren’t I?”
“Probably.” Amy agrees, keeping most of her attention on Alex. She’d like to say at this point she knew him pretty well. These were wanting to do something he thought he shouldn’t want nerves, not being forced to do something he didn’t want nerves. Alex pushes his glasses up on his face.
“I’m going to be Zelda tonight. I already agreed to the costume, didn’t I? And if I’m going to be cosplaying Zelda I want to do it right. You printed out a picture and everything Amy?”
“Of course! Who do you think I am? Someone who half asses their costumes?” She gestures towards Brian.
“What are you going after me for? Your costume is just a bunch of bandages!” Brian groans. “That is the definition of half assed!”
“You’re not going to make me look stupid??” Alex asks softly. Amy can’t help it. Gently pushing aside his hair she leans down and presses a kiss against his forehead.
“You don’t need any help to look beautiful.” She said, motioning for Brian. “Come on Thomas. We can moon about how pretty you are later. Toss me my bag and help me move Alex.”
Dutifully he does just that, tossing her satchel over before grabbing the back of Alex’s chair and pushing both it and him towards the mirror.
“Brian!” Alex squeaks.
“You’re all right.“ Brian says, patting his shoulder where Amy had been holding it. “You might be on to something there Amy. He’s already the prettiest guy I’ve ever met.”
“You’re going to need to stop complimenting him if you want his blush to be accurate.”
“I’m not blushing. Shut up. The lighting is fucked in Brian’s room, you know that. That’s why we can’t shoot anything in here.” Alex splutters out, voice gone high and thready.
Jesus. Maybe tonight will be the night the two of them worked their shit out. Preferably without the hat in the equation. “Did you steam the dress like I asked you to lover boy?”
It’s Brian’s turn to splutter “Ste- Did you actually mean that? That wasn’t a joke? I told you I don’t have a steamer.”
“Brian seriously? You actually don’t own a steamer? Oh my God, you are such a man. Just go grab the dress. Unbelievable.” Shaking her head Amy pulls out her makeshift makeup bag and makes room for it on Brian’s cluttered desk, knocking over more than a few knickknacks in the process.
“Amy! Careful!” Alex makes an aborted grab for Brian’s dice. “Don’t be a dick.”
Rolling her eyes, she picks what she hopes will be a decent foundation. Alex wasn’t wrong about the lighting, and she feels some of Alex’s stress start to rub off on her. This isn’t the first time she’s done Alex’s makeup, but it’s the first time he’s willing to go out in it, and that meant the pressure was on “Yeah yeah. Tell me what the filming schedule is going to look like?”
“Amy, I already told you the schedule. We’re supposed to go to this abandoned hospital Tim found next week.”
“Yeah, but what day? You’re the one acting like a dick you hypocrite. God forbid I want to know when we can hang out.” If she knew anything about Alex, and she knew a lot of things about Alex, it was that talking at length about his movie was a surefire to calm him down. It works wonders now, his anxious fidgeting coming to a stop as he started to talk about rewrites and lighting, all the little things that made him happiest in the world.
Not that she doesn’t like hearing about it. What could she say? Amy liked someone with a dream. Maybe that was it. His spark, fixation and passion. Alex cared more about Marble Hornets than almost anything. No. Maybe not, she thinks as Alex momentarily stops talking to allow her to apply lipstick. If her standards were someone who was obsessed with themselves she could just go after any man.
Maybe it’s the way he eventually turns the conversation back towards her, asking probing questions about her summer internship, remembering all the scientific names of the animals and plant life she was obsessed with, doodling little fish in the margins of his scripts. He was planning on visiting her for a couple of weeks in July. They were going to go out on the water, experience some of her future life together. If that was it she was more of a sap than she thought.
At some point Brian comes back and it’s nice, her friend peppering in his stupid theories about life and insisting on what they should do during the upcoming winter break. She knew an awful lot about psychology now and he was thinking about getting a pet fish. Different, but still nice. Alex and Amy and Brian. It’s over before she wants it to be.
For the last part of the process Amy has Alex close his eyes, partially for the novelty of a small surprise and partially to make applying the eye makeup easier. The last thing she wanted to do was poke an eye out during such a pivotal moment.
“Am I done yet?” Alex asks, resuming some of his fidgeting. “I’m sure you’re doing a good job, but I don’t want us to be late.”
“All right all right. You can look.“ Amy says, taking a step back.
Amy’s no stranger to doing other girls’ makeup. She’s good at it too, and what she does to Alex is, as always, a work of art. She shouldn’t be as affected by it as she is. But it was different with his eyes closed. Alex’s face had ping ponged between placidity and nerves while she worked. Now though? Now there’s nothing other than joy as he takes it all in.
Beautiful. That was the only word for it. Not that she had done much. A little bit of life contouring, light lipstick, a bit of eye shadow and mascara to make his eyes really pop. It’s the happiness there that really makes Alex look exquisite. That feeling of warmth that had invaded her all evening suddenly blooms into something so large she can’t help but shy away from it. There’s no use denying it. Love. That was it, wasn’t it? She loved him, not because of one specific thing but because of who he was in his entirety.
Judging by what she could see of Brian’s face reflected in the mirror what he was feeling wasn’t far off.
“Wow.“ Alex breathes out, leaning towards the mirror. “Well done Amy.”
“Yeah.” Amy hears herself say. “I told you I’d do a good job.”
“You – you really did. It’s… It’s nice.” Gingerly he places his hand against the mirror.
“Like I said. You look beautiful.” Brian says softly, coming up beside Amy. “Well done.”
“Thanks.” She says, mouth suddenly gone dry. She was going to need a lot more alcohol if she was going to get through the night without making a fool of herself.
Oh well. There were worse fates. “Brian? Grab the wig for me. Are you ready to see how you look all decked out babe?”