Written for Day 2 of Fairy Friendship Week. Prompt: With a little help from my friends. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave a review if you do, they make me very happy!
Midnight sat at his dresser, chin resting in his palm, staring into his mirror. His red eyes watched him back. Black and white hair was washed and neatly brushed. Music and laughter drifted up to his room from downstairs; Angel had turned thirteen today, and Brain had given in to her demands for a party. Midnight had stayed long enough to swipe some food, and then retreated upstairs for an early night. He'd probably get an earful from her tomorrow for being unsocial.
Midnight huffed, unhappy, and more than a little resentful. Angel had been given an assortment of makeup sets for her birthday, and had wasted no time trying out one after another. She'd looked so pretty. All those different colours. Midnight had no idea there were so many different types. He pulled open a draw, and rummaged around until he found what he was looking for; a pink lip gloss and dark eyeshadow. He'd pilfered them from Angel's room a while ago, and took to trying them out when he was alone so he could keep his interest a secret. His father had tolerated Midnight's eccentric fashion sense up until now, but he didn't dare risk the man's disapproval by making himself look like a girl.
Midnight opened up the lip gloss and dabbed some onto his lips, then added a dusting of colour to his eyelids. He tilted his head, checking himself from every angle. It looked good, but this style was getting boring.
"Screw it," Midnight said to himself, wiping his face clean and getting to his feet. Angel's party was still going strong as he quietly made his way to her wing of the castle. She'd had her presents brought up there before the party, and he knew what to look for. A servant hurried around a corner, and they almost ran into each other. The man looked annoyed at first, but that quickly turned to terror as he spotted who he almost knocked over.
"O-oh, Master M-midnight," he stammered. "My apologies, I-I didn't realise you were still awake. C-can I fetch you anything, s-sir?"
Midnight just glowered at the man until he looked ready to wet himself, then continued on his way. Once the wizard was out of sight the man slumped to the floor, shaking.
Man, I need to find another job, he thought to himself. These kids are seriously creepy.
Midnight paid him no more thought as he pushed open Angel's bedroom door and snuck inside. He cast his eyes around, searching for his target. There, on her bed. He crossed the room and picked up one of the boxes. So pretty! He dug out one of her pocket mirrors and settled onto the floor, getting to work.
Midnight became so engrossed in trying out as many as possible that he didn't hear the footsteps skipping down the corridor, or Angel's voice whistling happy birthday to herself. The door swung open and Midnight's head shot up, face covered in a horrifying mixture of lipsticks and powders. Angel stopped in surprise, a can of fizzy drink in her hand, and the fairy wings of her costume bouncing behind her.
"The hell?" she said angrily. "What do you think you're doing?"
The boy scrambled to his feet, cheeks a furious shade of red, and stormed past the girl.
"Hey, you stop right there!" she demanded. "You can't go walking around with that abomination of a face! Come back here and I'll teach you how to do it properly."
Midnight stopped, surprised. "Teach me?" he asked. Why wasn't she making fun of him?
"That's right, you've obviously no clue what you're doing, so someone has to set you straight," Angel replied, marching over and grabbing his arm, dragging him back to her room. "Sheesh, I can't believe you! I bet you've made a right mess of my stuff as well."
Bewildered by her reaction, Midnight silently complied as Angel sat him back down and wiped his face clean.
"Green?" she exclaimed, shaking her head in dismay. "We're going to have to start right from the beginning with you, aren't we?"
Angel spent the next half an hour holding up one product after another, explaining what they were for and how to use them. Midnight listened in fascination, any embarrassment forgotten.
"Remember, keeping it simple is the key," said Angel. "You're quite pale, so I'd recommend black or purple lipstick. Purse your lips. Good. And you definitely need eyeliner and mascara to bring your eyes out."
Angel sat back to admire her handiwork, and nodded. She then pulled out the mirror and held it out to him.
"Take a look," she said. "What do you think?"
Midnight did so. Sharp eyeliner and mascara framed his red eyes, and dark lipstick was a stark contrast against his pale skin. A smile slowly emerged.
"I like it," he said.
Angel then sighed dramatically, and crossed her arms. "It's really not fair you know. You're a boy, but you're prettier than me."
Midnight blinked. "You think so?"
"Yep," Angel answered, shaking her hand, white pony tail swishing. "So sad. Now, let's go downstairs and show off my handiwork."
"Wait!" Midnight exclaimed as Angel dragged him to his feet. "I don't... The others might laugh."
"Don't be silly, of course they won't," Angel insisted, marching out of the room. "And if they do, just beat em up."
Midnight tried to protest further, but Angel was having none of it, and shoved him into the drawing room the Seis has converted into their hang-out area.
"Cobra, Racer, take a look at Midnight," she said. The two boys glanced up from their near sweet-induced coma.
Racer snorted a laugh. "You look like a girl!"
Angel huffed. "And what is wrong with looking like a girl?"
"Well, nothing, for a girl," Racer said. "But if you hadn't noticed, Midnight's a boy."
Midnight felt his cheeks grow hot again, and started to edge out of the room. Cobra had gone back to his prone position on the sofa, but reached out with a leg and kicked Racer in the shin.
"So what if he wants to wear makeup?" the snake wizard mumbled, ignoring Racer's cursing. "You look fine, Midnight."
"Thanks," Midnight said quietly.
"Now where's Hoteye, I want to show him too," Angel asked, grabbing hold of Midnight's arm yet again.
"In his room I guess?" Racer replied, still rubbing his shin.
And so the pair set off again. To get to Hoteye's wing they had to pass by Brain's study, and Midnight's apprehension returned at the thought of his father seeing like this. Just as they were almost past the door, it swung open, and their huge master emerged, staring down at some papers. He looked up as they approached, and stared when he caught sight of Midnight's face.
"What on earth is this?" he demanded, marching over and grabbing Midnight's chin, turning his head from side to side. "First your ridiculous outfits, and now you're painting your face? You do realise you act as my ambassador every time you step foot outside? How do you expect the Oracion Seis to gain a decent reputation when its members look like dolls?"
Midnight quailed before his father's anger, but Angel spoke up on his behalf.
"His clothes aren't ridiculous!" she exclaimed. "They make him look super cool and fierce. And the make up does too."
Brain rounded on her. "So this was your doing, was it? Midnight has great potential, he doesn't need you distracting him with this foolishness."
"But, sir...," Angel trailed off, downcast.
Midnight found his voice again. "Father, it was my idea, I wanted to try it out. And I like it. It won't distract me, I promise. I'll train extra hard from now on. And if any lesser wizard dares insult me, I'll throw them into a nightmare they'll never escape from."
Brain seemed mollified by this statement. He awkwardly patted the boy's shoulder. "Very well, if it means that much to you. You know how important you all are to me, don't you? One day you'll become pillars of the dark guild world, but to do so you must hold yourselves to high standards. Now go to bed, both of you. Your training schedules will be doubled tomorrow."
And with that, their guildmaster strode off to whatever errand needed completing.
Angel gave a nervous laugh. "See? That wasn't so bad. And just remember what you said, if anyone laughs at you, make them regret it." She presses the dark lipstick into Midnight's hand. "Keep that one," she said. "It's not my colour anyway."
"Thank you, Angel," he replied. "I'll keep practicing."
The two quickly went to show Hoteye, whose interest was only piqued at the thought of a new cosmetics business opportunity. When he was finally in bed, Midnight silently thanked Brain too. He'd work harder than anyone to show his father just how grateful he was.
Hope you guys enjoyed! Please leave a review if you did, they make me very happy!
