Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Facepaint ❯ Fun With Facepaint ( Chapter 4 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
FY is still not mine, this is still a yaoi, etc.
Facepaint
by Sunandshadow
Chapter 4 - Fun With Facepaint
In the morning Tomo arose and put on his dressing gown. He gave his hair its daily 100 brush strokes, then separated out the two forelocks and threaded one blue and one gold bead onto each. He reached for the white foundation to begin applying his mask, then suddenly remembered that he was supposed to wake Mareu up. The question was, how should he do it? Safely concealed behind his paint and costume? Or… should he go over there bare-faced and in his dressing-gown in hopes of catching Mareu's eye?
Tomo wasn't stupid - he knew almost no one would try to guess at what he looked like beneath the makeup. That was half the reason he had donned the costume in the first place, because a pretty teenage boy wandering around war-torn Kotou was the target of far too many unpleasant eyes, eyes of slavers, rapists, even women could be trouble if they decided they wanted you. The Jing costume was his armor, and he was understandably hesitant to let anyone see him without it. But that armor suddenly became burdensome when he wanted someone to pay attention to him for once. Tomo agonized over the decision for a moment, but then let his heart (or whatever ;) ) make up his mind for him. Picking up Shin he wrapped an illusion of invisibility around himself and stepped out the door.
Tomo knocked on Mareu's door just in case he had already awakened despite his claims to never wake up before noon without outside interference. There was no answer, so Tomo eased the door open and went in, carefully closing the door again behind him. Mareu hadn't drawn the bed-curtains, so Tomo could see him immediately: he was curled up not in the middle of the bed, but on the near side, as if he was used to having someone occupying the other half of the bed. Mareu had his fist curled into the blanket, pulling it right up against his chin and hiding everything below, so he was a cute, but not very mesmerizing sight. His long sunshine-colored hair was unbound and fanned across the pillow, and with his eyes closed he really was the spitting image of Nakago. Tomo remembered his illusion of invisibility and released it, then took a deep breath, preparing to wake Mareu up.
"Mareu. Wake up Mareu." I groaned and huddled farther down under the covers. Too early, ugh… Then my brain woke up a little and I thought 'Mareu'? That's an odd way to pronounce my name - who's calling me that? I pulled the sheets down far enough that they weren't blocking my vision and peeled my eyes open. I found myself blinking at very beautiful oriental man with long silvery-black hair, pale skin, and metallic yellow eyes. Ooh, pretty! Who…?
"…Tomo?" Without thinking about it I reached out to turn his face so I could look at it better, but he jerked his face away from my hand. I blinked in sleepy puzzlement, then retracted my hand and mumbled, "Sorry, I'm still half-asleep…" I sat up, yawned, and scrubbed at my face with my hands. When I ventured to look at him again he looked regretful, maybe for pulling away from me. "Lemme try that again. Good morning Tomo, thank you for waking me up." I smiled tentatively.
He sighed. "I didn't intend… not letting people touch me is an old ingrained habit, not something I do on purpose."
[Mareu tosses some clothes on and follows Tomo back to his room.]
"Have you ever considered something different?"
"Excuse me?"
"A different design?" I gestured to his face. "Something with more curves… It would be easier to show you than explain. You could wash it right back off if you didn't like it! So… could I?" I looked at him with puppy-dog eyes.
It was much easier to read his expression when his face was bare. Wide, wide golden eyes spoke to me of confusion, then startlement and trepidation when he realized what I was asking. Then, as he considered the idea, slightly parted lips betrayed excitement and a blush revealed embarrassment. I held his gaze and tried to look appealing, and after a long moment he slowly nodded.
"Really?" I breathed. He looked so kawaii blushing like that that I would have kissed him right then if I hadn't been afraid of scaring him away.
He nodded again, more firmly this time. "Hai. Maybe it's a good day for… something different."
"Yatta!" I grinned like a little kid with candy. "Allright, sit there, and let's make some art!" I turned the chair in front of the vanity around (so he couldn't peek in the mirror until I was done ^_^ ) and motioned for him to sit down. I pulled up another chair for myself, then started looking through the makeup supplies on the vanity table. The stack of clean-up rags was obvious, and the jars of color Tomo normally used, but I was hoping there would be… Aha! Kohl! (Otherwise known as antimony sulfide, or Cleopatra eye stuff.) I picked up the little jar of satiny black cream and the bone stylus used to apply it, and sat down. I reached for his face, slowly, so he wouldn't flinch away, and he let me touch him. I cradled his jaw and angled his face the way I wanted it - I could feel his pulse fluttering quickly beneath my fingers…
"Eyes closed please!" I commanded cheerily. As I made the first few strokes of my masterpiece I found myself quietly humming Building a Mystery by Sarah McLachlin. I outlined his eyes, making them even more mysterious and cat-like than they already were.
"Okay, eyes open!" His eyelashes fluttered open and he nervously licked his lips.
"Ooh, I like!" I purred. I made two little touch-ups and his eyes were perfect. "Which of these blacks would be better for on your lips?"
"The kohl, it's the only one that's waterproof."
"K, say 'aaah'." I colored his lips jet black. Ooh, gothic! I considered applying his usual white underlayer to complete the look, but he had such a creamy pale skin tone I decided to leave it be. Also I was afraid it had lead or mercury in it, a lot of those antique cosmetics were very poisonous. The kohl at least I knew was safe. "Okay, that's the basics. Now the interesting part! The purpose of the mask is to be intimidating and conceal your facial expressions, yes?"
He blinked, surprised at my insight. "Hai, more or less."
"Ok, so my drawing needs to cover most of your face. Hmm…" I put my tongue between my teeth in concentration. Then I wiped most of the kohl off of the stylus, leaving just enough to sketch with.
I began by outlining a pair of draconic eyes in the center of Tomo's forehead, mimicking the shape of his eyes. Then I added long trailing whiskers that echoed the wave of the feathers he usually wore in his hair. Grinning fangs, snarling mouth, broad forehead, waving mane and beard… I quickly outlined the remaining details of the face.
Now I had to make the most difficult decision: how to arrange the dragon's sinuous body to best complement the lines and angles of Tomo's face. Figure 8, with one loop over each cheek? No. Serpentine with the tip of the tail looped once around his neck, the tuft at its tip right at the hollow of his throat, like the pendant on a choker? Hell yeah! I grinned, dipped my stylus to get more kohl on it, and started sketching out sensual curves.
Gorgeous… Now I just needed colors. Since the dragon was nominally Seiryuu, I supposed it ought to be blue and green. And the eyes should be yellow like Tomo's, and the whiskers white to match the feathers, just a little white paint wouldn't hurt…
"Tomo, are there any colors you particularly do or don't want me to use?"
"They're supposed to be chosen for their symbolism."
I blinked. "Oh, I didn't know this was a symbolic color system. What do the colors mean?"
Tomo drew a breath and recited, "White is for evil, black or violet is for loyalty, blue is for cunning, green is for spontaneity, yellow is for brutishness, orange is for vitality, red is for courage, and silver and gold are for divinity." I could see the memories in his eyes.
I blinked and sat back, stymied. Tomo was such a controlled person that green was definitely not his color. But what could I use instead? I frowned in concentration.
"What?" demanded Tomo, with a mixture of suspicion and anxiety.
"Huh? Oh, it's just that that system's so backwards that I have to redesign my whole color scheme.
"Backwards?" he sounded a bit offended.
"Well," I said placatingly, "it's just different from what I'm used to. In America white is for purity, innocence, truth, and simplicity; black is for silence, secretiveness, and evil; red is for anger and passion; blue is for sadness and loyalty; yellow is for energy and happiness; green is for nature and health; orange is for jealousy and over-excitement; and purple is for nobility, friendship, and playfulness."
"That is backwards. White for purity? What an odd idea."
"Heh. Anyway, I was going to use green for one of my main colors because it's one of Seiryuu's colors, but impulsiveness doesn't go with you, right? So I'll have to use something different."
"Yes, green is not… I don't wear green."
Hmm. I was still going to use yellow for the dragon's eyes, no matter what it meant. But that was just an accent color, what should I use for the main colors? I discarded one color scheme after another, then suddenly I knew exactly what to do. I grinned. I set down the kohl stylus, picked up a brush, and dipped it in the purple.
Fifteen minutes later I applied the last stroke of yellow to the tail, then sat back and scrutinized my work. Every color bright and true, every shape dynamic, every line in its place, the design harmonizing with its human canvas… I permitted a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin to spread slowly across my face.
"Beautiful…" The sudden blush that flooded Tomo's cheeks made me realize I'd murmured my thought aloud. Oopsie… I cleared my throat. "It's done, you can look in the mirror now."
He turned to look in the mirror. I gazed over his shoulder at his reflection, watching his expression hopefully. He looked startled. He moved as if to touch his face, but stopped, knowing from long habit that you don't touch the paint because it will smear. He lowered his head and opted instead to crane his neck so he could see the heart-shaped tip of the dragon's tail adorning the hollow of his throat. A small smile curved his lips and lit his eyes.
"Like it?" I asked with quiet hope.
His smile got a little wider, and he nodded slowly. "Hai. You were right… it is beautiful. You are truly a skilled artist."
I gave him a big smile. "Thank you for saying so. And for lending me such a fine canvas to work with." I picked up a cloth and started cleaning the stray smears of paint off of my fingers, so I would have somewhere to look other than him. "The work can only be as attractive as its canvas, you know."
My hands were clean, so I had to put the cloth down and look at him again. He was just gazing at me, black lips slightly parted and glistening, skin lightly flushed with arousal where it showed between the purple coils, and fearful hope in his eyes. Instinctively I started to step forward with the intention of leaning in for a kiss, but I was abruptly brought up short by the realization: Bakayarou! I can't kiss him now, I'll ruin the paint! Doh… I can't even kiss him in a spot where there's no paint because he's so pretty and he wants it so bad that if I start anything odds are 5 to 1 that we'll end up in that bed rather than going to breakfast.
So, I couldn't kiss him, but I had to do something - I didn't want his shyness to have a chance to convince him that I wasn't interested after all. Something simple… I stepped closer to him, and he immediately locked gazes with me. I reached out (slowly) and picked up one of his beaded locks of hair, toying with it. "Ne, Tomo…"
"H-hai?" He winced at the waver in his voice and looked down in embarrassment. I trailed the end of the lock of hair along his collarbone, and suddenly I had his undivided attention again.
"Ne, will you give me a tour of the gardens today, after breakfast? I would really like it…"
"Hai, of course, I'd be glad to." He gave me a soft, shy smile and I grinned back.
"Excellent! I'm gonna go finish getting ready for the day, then I'll meet you in the hall to go to breakfast, ok?"
"Okay."
***
Tomo found that he couldn't put his crown on because the paint went up too high on his forehead. This stirred up his general anxiety about making this kind of a change in his costume, but he shrugged the feeling off, focusing on how the dragon managed to make him look intimidating and genki at the same time, and on the fact that Mareu's fingers had put the dragon there.
Tomo tied his hair up into an approximation of how the crown would hold it. He pulled the pheasant feathers out of the clips that held them in the crown and tucked them through the ties holding his hair instead. Then he donned his jacket and boots, making his outfit as complete as it was going to get today.
Mareu was not in the hallway yet, so Tomo wandered over to the window at the end of the hallway to wait. The window was one of Tomo's favorite places to lean and contemplate the parade of illusions that was life. Soi liked to stand at the window too. The two of them had a kind of unspoken agreement that they would not fight there, and, although neither acknowledged it, this made the place more precious to both of them. It was the only place either of them had any semblance of a friend - until Mareu came.
Mareu… Tomo had only known the man for 24 hours, yet he was ready to throw himself at Mareu's feet and beg for affection. He looked so damn much like Nakago, yet he was so kind, and when he had touched Tomo, actually, unbelievably, caressed him, whatever small amount of resistance Tomo had felt to begin with had been blown away. Tomo didn't know how to fall out of love with Nakago, or whether he even wanted to, but Tomo knew he wanted Mareu. Wanted him so bad it reminded him of the first time he had seen Nakago, before his spirit had been worn down by repeated rejection.
Soi finished dressing and arranging her hair. She stretched languidly one last time, then headed out into the hall. She glanced around to see if anyone else was heading for breakfast and spotted Tomo standing with his back to her, staring out the window… and he was mysteriously sans headdress. Curious, Soi decided to approach, to investigate and amuse herself with bothering him.
She sauntered casually over to the window and looked out, then glanced over at Tomo… and gasped.
"Hello Soi." He sighed, and let the silence stretch out for a moment.
"…Well, what do you think? Since I know you're going to tell me anyway…" Tomo turned his face fully towards her so she could see the dragon properly.
Soi cocked her head and examined the dragon. "Well… it's definitely an improvement. I didn't know you were such an artist."
Tomo snorted. "I'm only an artist of illusions. Mareu drew this."
Soi's eyes widened. "Mareu drew it… on a piece of paper for you to copy? Or…"
"Iie." Tomo smiled for the first time in the conversation. "Mareu drew it on me."
Soi gave a low whistle of amazement. "How did you talk him into that?"
"Actually, he asked if he could." Tomo chuckled. "And when I told him yes, he went 'Yatta!'" Tomo shook his head in amazement.
"He's so utterly opposite from Nakago…"
"Hn. I don't know how to think about the two of them, it's confusing."
"Very confusing… but I've decided that if I can have Mareu, I'll take him."
"You think he's gay? I suppose that would make sense, since he used to be a woman. But I kind of got the impression that he was enjoying watching me yesterday, so I don't know…" She met Tomo's glare and shrugged. "We could always just ask him."
"Don't you dare! If you do that he'll think you're interested in him!"
"Who says I'm not? But I'm being nice and letting you have the first shot at him. Anyway, if you don't want me to ask him, why don't you ask him?"
"Because I'm trying to be tactful, an art you clearly know nothing about, and…"
Soi cut him off, "And because you'd never be able to scrape up the courage to do it."
Tomo fumed, but being rather intensely aware that this was true he could think of no other retort than to fall back on their standard exchange of insults.
"Bitch!"
"Coward!"
"Whore!"
"Freak!"
"Eel!"
"Hentai!"
I had caught the noise, but not the words, of the beginning of their argument as I stood in front of my mirror pulling my hair up into a cute cheerleader ponytail. Then I had emerged from my room in time to actually hear most of this last exchange. I regarded the pair with amusement, cocking my head and putting my hands on my hips. When they didn't notice me or my posing, I cleared my throat to catch their attention. They spun to face me, Soi looking annoyed and Tomo looking shame-faced. "Children, children!" I tsked at them, "Didn't you already have this conversation yesterday?"
"I'm not a child!" growled Soi.
I blinked. "What, you want me to talk to you like an adult? Fine: 'I realize that a ritualized exchange of insults can be a useful way of delineating and reinforcing pecking order in a social hierarchy, particularly in the face of a destabilizing event such as my arrival; however, there are other methods that are less emotionally damaging and more constructive, and the two of you are smart enough to figure out a better way to negotiate your relationship.' Happy, Soi-the-adult?"
Neither Soi nor Tomo were prepared to admit that they weren't entirely sure what I had just said, so Tomo remained silent and Soi grudgingly said, "Yeah, fine."
"So what were you two arguing about anyway? Don't you like my dragon Soi?" My quick switch from professorial mode to eager child threw her for a moment.
"Uh, no actually, I do like it."
"Oh good! I'm pleased at how well it came out since the paint and brushes are a bit different from what I'm used to working with. A new medium is always an interesting challenge." I smiled at Tomo. "But if you weren't arguing about that, what were you arguing about?"
"Oh, we were just wondering…" began Soi arily. Tomo gave her a glare of death. "We were just wondering what was for breakfast today." Tomo facefaulted, then relaxed; that was obviously not what he had been expecting Soi to say. I decided that it would be more strategic to be friendly than to challenge them.
"Surrre you were." I chuckled. "But I am hungry, so why don't we go find out."
* * *
Chattering amicably, we sat down at the breakfast table, helping ourselves to the contents of the table. I managed to identify rice, fried egg, and chicken broth, then shrugged and decided to just try a little of everything.
"Absolutely not." said Nakago flatly.
"Eh?" I blinked to find Nakago's denial directed not at Tomo's new look, but at me.
"People are going to mistake you for me and I will not have you fouling up my carefully cultivated image by walking around with your hair like that. I don't care if you're gayer than Tomo is, you can not go around wearing your hair like a girl."
I blink-blinked at him. "Okaaay, One: I was trying not to look like you because I realize I should avoid causing you image problems. Two, it's ok for guys to wear this hairstyle where I come from," well sort of… "but if it isn't here I'll wear it some other way. And three, if you're going to comment on my sexuality you should at least be accurate about it - I'm not gay, I'm bi." I reached up and pulled the tie out of my hair, shaking it loose. Nakago had an odd look on his face, like gears were turning in his head - maybe he was bi too? I made a note to ask Tomo later. I figured it would be too obvious to throw Tomo a smile at this point, so I just smiled to myself and concentrated on eating breakfast.
Then the twins entered. The first thing out of Suboshi's mouth was a jibe he obviously had thought of yesterday and been dying to try out since then: "So Nakago, how do you like having a twin?"
Nakago glared at him, working his jaw, for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak. I quickly jumped in and spoke at the same time:
"Mareu is not my twin."
"Nakago is not my twin." Nakago glared at me, I looked innocent, and everyone else burst into giggles.