Work Text:
Ballister looked himself over in the mirror, taking in the thick eyeliner he'd applied, the stark black earrings at the base of his ear lobes, and the dark, gothic outfit he was wearing.
He carefully applied black lipstick to go along with his look and, as he looked himself over again, he began to feel a bit unsure.
Would people judge him? What if he looked silly?
When he walked out of the bathroom, he anticipated laughter from the blonde but, instead, Ambrosius looked more turned on than he had in a while.
"You look great" the golden boy admired, kissing the other man passionately on the cheek. Ballister laughed, relieved.
Nimona appeared from God-knows-where with a huge grin on her face.
"You look metal as fuck"
"Language!" Ballister scolded. Nimona rolled her eyes.
"I'm older than you" she reminded. "Seriously, though, you look badass"
"You guys don't think I look silly?"
"No" the pair said in unison, fully earnest. Ballister finally relaxed.
Slowly but surely, he began to dress this way more often, finding that it was fun and felt more like him. He even wore a skirt out on the town a few times.
He'd lived his entire life trying to mold himself to other people's standards, but not anymore. He was finally making choices for himself.
And it felt amazing.