Felt like posting some of my ao3 fics over to here even tho i rarely use this site anymore lol.

Gloss, Nails and Concealer

"S-So? What do you think?"

Shiemi's heart thudded loudly as she watched Rin take the last step up the stairs that led into her room. The wide-eyed, excited expression on his face lit up every inch of it in a way that made her breathless. For a couple of long seconds, he didn't say anything as he took it all in.

It was the first time that Rin had ever been in Shiemi's room. Something that had them both feeling nervous. For Shiemi, it was not only the first time she'd invited a boy into her room, but also a boy who was her…

Her cheeks became red just thinking about it. The fact that they were dating still felt so new and exciting.

And Rin felt the exact same way.

"Whoaaa. This place looks awesome! You really did this all by yourself?"

The last time Rin had gotten a peek into this place, Shiemi had been resting on the first floor of the shed, on the tawdry little bed that was still there now, largely unused. The bed on the second floor, in comparison, was twice as big and looked far more comfortable and inviting with its colorful pillows and plush bed cover. The bright, flowery pattern of its decor matched well with the various plants decorating every inch of the room. Rin's eyes followed the trail of hanging plants, only pausing once he got a glimpse of the photographs lovingly decorating the walls. He approached them with a smile that widened further when he spotted one particular photo—it had been taken at the amusement park, where Rin and Shiemi had shared their first date. They stood cheek to cheek, holding cotton candy in their hands with bright smiles and flushed cheeks.

He turned to Shiemi, who was wearing that same expression again now.

"You're not doing anything tomorrow either, right? We should go out somewhere," he told her and his heart gave a leap at the way her face lit up at the suggestion.

She quickly nodded. "I'd like that," she said.

Rin grinned. With that decided, he turned his attention back to the room. He still felt awed by every inch of it. Shiemi had put a lot of love and care into it. It sort of made him want to clean up his own room. Just a bit.

The vanity on the left side of her bed caught his attention. Particularly, the items neatly displayed across its surface. He approached it without much thinking, his tail flickering from side to side, displaying his curiosity.

"You really have a ton of these…" His fingers traced over several familiar hair pins that he'd seen Shiemi wear before. Before he'd started True Cross, Rin had never given hair accessories much thought. But he'd gotten used to wearing them ever since Ryuuji had given Rin his as a sign of friendship. Even now, Rin treasured that hair clip. And similarly, he often found himself looking forward to seeing what type of hair accessory he would see Shiemi wear next. It wasn't until now, however, that he realized just how many of them she had.

"They're all so cute…" he said appreciatively as his tail continued to flick behind him, its movement picking up a little.

Shiemi watched Rin with a curious tilt of her head.

"Do you want to try them on?"

Almost as soon as the words left her lips, she reached up to cover her mouth behind her hands. "Um, I mean—!"

But Rin didn't find anything weird with her words, instead, taking them as wholehearted encouragement. He went ahead and picked up one of her hair clips, turning to look at her with a grin. "Yeah! This one looks like Kuro. What do you think? Want to help me put it on?"

A few minutes later, Rin found himself sitting down in front of the vanity, admiring his reflection. Shiemi had not only put his hair with a pair of matching black and white cat hair pins, but she'd also gone ahead and put some light makeup on his face.

"Hey, I look pretty good!" he said, preening a little. Maybe it was because this was Shiemi's handiwork, but he liked it much better than the look Mephisto liked to force on him whenever he ended up having dinner at his mansion.

Shiemi giggled at his side. "I think so too," she said as she set down the makeup brush and blush back on the surface of the vanity. She'd perhaps added a little bit too much red on his cheeks, but it didn't look bad.

"You look very dashing," she told primly, her voice taking on a teasing tone. "A little silly..." She leaned down a bit and pressed a kiss against his cheek. "And very pretty," she finished sweetly.

Rin grinned toothily, his fangs glinting a little under the warm light of the room.

"But not as pretty as you," he said, and then, he pulled Shiemi into his lap without warning and kissed the tip of her nose.

Shiemi let out a startled eep that turned into a peel of laughter as she wiggled in his arms and blushed brightly.

"Rin!" she protested half heartedly. "We're going to fall!"

"I won't let you fall," Rin told her confidently, but an impish look ghosted over his face as his fingers inched over her ticklish sides… and pounced.

"I leave you two alone for ten minutes…"

It was the sound of a camera shutter going off that ended up drawing Rin and Shiemi's tickle fight to an end. Izumo managed to snap a picture of them just as they had tipped over and fallen on the floor. The stare she gave them as they straightened themselves up was very unimpressed. At least, until she noticed Rin's face properly.

"Huh. That's a nice look on you," she told him, to which Rin was quick to smile.

"Thanks!" he said as his tail wagged behind him.

Izumo tilted her head as she looked him up and down with a calculating glint in her eye. "Shall we finish wrapping up your makeover? You two have a pretty similar build. I'm sure we can find something around here that will fit you," she said thoughtfully.

Rin blinked. "Um…?"

Beside him, Shiemi's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together in delight. "Oh, that sounds fun!" she said, already looking in the direction of her dresser.

Her visible enthusiasm warmed Rin's stomach. A fond, wry smile stretched across his face.

"Yeah, okay. That does sound fun."