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He shouldn’t have left it there. It was illogical, Roman had carried it out of his room, he hadn’t even put it on, and left it on the sitting room table before wandering off again. Logan had just been tidying it up when he slipped it into his pocket, he had fully intended on dropping it back off in Roman’s room and it was an honest mistake when he had forgotten about it, distracted by an “invasion” from Remus. Finding it later after he had begun settling into his room for the evening had been something of a surprise but hardly world changing. He had already slipped his tie off, his glasses neatly abandoned for the night beside the bed. Returning to the commons would mean redressing and getting up from his chair, and he was disinclined to do both so instead he pulled the tube out of his pocket and set it on the table.
The lipstick was perfectly noticeable, clearly out of place in his room and he would spot it easily in the morning when he left for breakfast. In the meantime he turned on his desk lamp and pulled over his notebook to check through his to-do list for tomorrow and add the odd things he had neglected to finish today. There wasn’t much, though the distraction in the living room today had left a few low-priority tasks left undone, he thought as he glanced over at the lipstick then back again. He would have to speak to Remus about his timing, he concluded, noting it down to the side of his list and absently comparing the blue of his pen to the blue of the lipstick.
It was an interesting shade, and a strange choice for Roman - certainly not a colour he had seen the other side wearing before. He picked it up when he realised his attention had drifted back over to it and opened the cap, marking the top of his sheet with the makeup to inspect it further, a “swatch” he believed the term was though he had little confidence in his usage. He recapped it and sat it aside again, scribbling neatly with his pen beside streak of blue to compare the two colours though he was unsure what it was exactly he was looking for.
He stared at it for a long moment as he tried to drudge up the vocabulary to describe it as anything other than blue. He didn’t know the exact shade though could tell it wasn’t as rich as the ink, a paler blue but darkened like a grey. Pulling the sheet closer to him didn’t yield him anymore answers so he picked up the tube again and drew a line on his hand, bringing it to his face, lost in thought as he studied the colour and tried to figure out what it was about it that was drawing so much of his attention.
He should try it on. The thought snapped him out of his inspection and he recoiled from it instinctively, dropping his hand from his face as he picked up the tube to move it away from him. His fingers coiled around it but with his arm now outstretched he couldn’t quite bring himself to let it go. It wasn’t illogical to try it on, he told himself, still holding the makeup away from him. Its sole purpose was to be worn so wearing it was actually the logical thing to do. The colour was hardly dignified but it wasn’t gaudy. He would almost say it could be considered classy. Plus he liked it, he thought. And he was alone. He could see what it looked like, figure out his thoughts on it, and move on.
He pulled his hand back in and took the cap back off with a trepidation that was illogical and had brought it up to his face before he remembered people usually used a mirror for this kind of task. Standing from his chair, he quickly crossed over to the mirror hanging beside his dresser and paused in front of it. He felt foolish now that he was standing, it would be just as easy to take it to Roman’s room and be done with it. He lifted the lipstick to his mouth with a foreign motion and clumsily swiped it over his bottom lip, tidying up as best he could as he went along until he had one lip done.
Nothing comes out perfect on your first try, he reminded himself, swiping at the outline of his mouth until he had a reasonably clean line. He set about filling in his top lip with little further consideration until he had completed the task. For little more than a basic understanding of the theory behind applying makeup he thought he'd done an alright job with it. It wasn't as neat as he would have liked but the colour was pleasing and if he could apply it more evenly-
"Logan! Have you seen my-" Roman crashed in unannounced and Logan spun to meet him, feeling his heart seize in his chest as he watched the flamboyant side gasp and let out a strange, choking screech before leaving, fleeing just as suddenly as he had arrived.
He might actually be sick, it was the only thought that was circling around his head, as absurd as it was, and he swiped angrily at his mouth, conjuring a damp tissue and scrubbing at the stain until it was gone from his face. His blood was running cold around his body, sharp in his lungs as he kept his breaths steady and sat back down at his desk, his back ramrod straight. Roman exploded back into the room within the minute.
“Ah, good you took it off!” He exclaimed and if Logan hadn’t been mortified before he sure was now. Oblivious, Roman powered over to the logical side and presented his hand with a flourish. Logan lifted his own hand with the lipstick and Roman snatched it up but instead of leaving again he just perched on the desk behind him and waggled a thin stick in his face. “I brought lip-liner. I know me and the emo nightmare tend to hog Thomas’s attention when he’s had makeup videos on before but I thought you would know some of the basics.” He paused when finally noticed that Logan wasn’t saying anything and lowered his hand. “Are you ok?”
Logan didn’t think he was ok but he didn’t know how to process exactly how or why. His anger was lifting but the embarrassment and confusion he felt were both still very much present as he realised he had misunderstood the situation. Roman took his silence as a cue to keep talking but now that he had paused to read the room he lost all of his excitement and fell immediately into concern.
“I’m sorry, I just burst and started yelling. I didn’t take the time to think- I’m so sorry. I just got excited-” His eyes widened as he realised what he probably should have said in the first place. “That colour looked amazing on you, you just needed to tidy up the look a little.” He held the lip-liner up again for Logan and tried to push every ounce of his sincerity onto his face as he waited anxiously for a response.
Logan swallowed hard and did his best to push down his insecurity, his embarrassment over being caught unexpectedly, and tried to approach this rationally. He could admit his application of the makeup had been less than ideal. He had enjoyed the colour, it was interesting, and sitting before him now was a willing teacher who could help him come to the most fully realised conclusion he could reach. It might even be foolish not to take this for the opportunity it was.
Clearing his throat, Logan schooled his features and met Roman’s nervous gaze with a falsely confident one of his own.
“That seems reasonable.” He started, reaching to adjust his glasses before realising they weren’t there. He focused on the fact that Roman himself was in his pyjamas and that his own casual state of undress left him far from underdressed and carried on. “If you are willing to assist, while I am assured in my theoretical knowledge of applying lipstick the actual physical practice is not a skill I have acquired.”
The grin that broke out across Roman’s face was hardly called for but it succeeded in breaking the awkward tension that resided between them.
“Putting lipstick on can be a b****.” He summarised, the bleep he used to censor most of his swearing sounding around them as he uncapped the liner and reached carefully for Logan’s chin.
Logan allowed him to take a gentle grip of his face and followed his instructions to open his mouth, not that wide, well now it’s just closed again, would you stop talking for two seconds? with minimal complaints.
The finished look was not, apparently, the finished look as far as Roman was concerned but from what Logan could see it was much better than his own first attempt. The colour was dignified and applied flawlessly under Roman’s careful ministrations. It was loud – there was hardly any denying that blue lipstick could be anything but – and yet its cool and reserved tones lent him both a confidence and comfort in his own style and presence that he couldn’t have assumed it would achieve. When Roman fled from the room a third time, returning once again with more products, Logan couldn’t quite find it in him to discourage the creative side as he began colouring in his features with more makeup than he’d ever seen any of the sides (except Virgil, maybe) wear at any one time.
The final final look would never leave his room as far as he was concerned but he was keeping the lipstick. If he ever decided to wear it out was his own business but under Roman’s enthusiastic tutelage he was quick to learn an almost flawless application, and while he still wasn’t sure what exact shade of blue it was, he was certain that he liked it.