Since the day he met Cha Hakyeon, Taekwoon looked at the world in a different way. Hakyeon had taught him so much; about himself, about other people, about life. It was like his eyes had been covered since he was a child and Hakyeon had come along one day and removed the restricting blindfold.

He wasn’t quite sure what to think when he met Hakyeon the first few times, because he looked different each time. Some days he wore washed out jeans and baggy sweatshirts, other days he wore flowy skirts and blouses that hugged his figure nicely. Sometimes he wore wigs, and other times his dark hair was styled quite simply. He wore makeup a lot, no matter what clothes he was wearing. He always said it was a hobby, something fun he liked to do, and just a way to express however he was feeling that day. It could be simple eyeliner some days, but Taekwoon often noticed the pink gloss shining on Hakyeon’s lips or the shimmering gold eyeshadow dusted across his eyelids. He always looked beautiful though, no matter what he did with his appearance.

Taekwoon felt it too rude to ask Hakyeon anything about the way he looked for a long time. And it didn’t matter that much to him, anyways. Hakyeon was Hakyeon.

But Hakyeon finally brought it up on his own one day. And it was that day that Taekwoon learned what genderfluid meant. Some days, Hakyeon was a man, some days she was a women, and some days they were neither or somewhere in between.

He was intrigued; amazed that he had never heard of this before. He sat back quietly and listened, much like he always did with Hakyeon, and hung onto every word. He learned that Hakyeon didn’t have a preference for pronouns, which he was pleased about because he would’ve felt terrible if he called Hakyeon anything he didn’t want to be called. But some days, Taekwoon would try something other than male pronouns, and he would sometimes see Hakyeon’s face light up. The more time he spent with Hakyeon, the easier it was to know what he preferred. Taekwoon could usually know just by looking into his eyes or watching the way he carried himself that day. Every once in a while, he was wrong, but he was almost always right.

Hakyeon’s clothing choices varied no matter what gender he identified with on a day to day bases. Taekwoon couldn’t always tell just by his clothes or makeup. It wasn’t so black and white.

Hakyeon was serious about his makeup though. He taught himself all there was to know about it. Taekwoon had never known makeup could be such a beautiful form of art until he had seen the things Hakyeon could do. It was a whole other world that Taekwoon knew next to nothing about. And Taekwoon was always eager to take a peek inside Hakyeon’s colorful world.

So when Hakyeon asked him one day if he could do his makeup, he readily agreed.

Hakyeon pulled him into their shared room immediately, eyes shining and his lips stretched into a grin, and sat him on the floor where he spread out a myriad of different makeup products.

“What is that?” He asked softly, pointing at the two toned pressed powder Hakyeon held in his hand.

“This one is a highlight,” Hakyeon explained, pointing at the lighter color with the makeup brush in his other hand. “And this one is blush,” he pointed to the darker. “You already have pretty cheekbones, Taekwoonie, but this will bring them out even more.”

Taekwoon felt himself blush, and averted his eyes as Hakyeon laughed softly at his embarrassment. He never could take compliments well. Even from Hakyeon, who he had been with for 2 years now.

Hakyeon collected some of the powder on the brush and swiped it lightly over his cheeks. The soft bristles tickled Taekwoon’s skin. This actually felt quite nice, therapeutic even. But maybe that was just because Hakyeon was doing it for him.

“Aaaah it’s perfect,” Hakyeon grinned. “I didn’t like this color on me much, but it looks so pretty with your skin tone.” He began to turn his head to face the mirror, but Hakyeon grabbed his chin before he could look. “Not until I’m done!”

The eye makeup was next, and Taekwoon learned that the foundation and blush was a walk in the park compared to eyeliner. “How do you put this on everyday?” He blinked his watery eyes, but it didn’t lesson the burn much.

“Sorry, baby. I tried to use hypo-allergenic, just in case your eyes were more sensitive, but I guess it didn’t help much. Here, close your eyes.” Taekwoon obeyed and let his eyes fall shut, only to feel Hakyeon soft breath on his eyelids moments later, attempting to dry the liquid eyeliner. “There, that should help.” He opened his eyes, and noticed a difference almost immediately. “Better, thanks,” he murmured.

“Hmm…,” Hakyeon stared down at the pile of makeup beside him, eyes searching the mess. “Should we try fake lashes? That could be pretty…”

Taekwoon shrugged, “If you think they would be, go for it.”

Hakyeon smiled again, his lips shiny from the lip balm he applied generously that day. “Okay, let’s give it a shot.”

He closed his eyes and let Hakyeon work his magic. The glue felt a little strange and sticky but Hakyeon’s skilled hands were quick and efficient and the lashes went on with no issues.

“It feels…heavy,” he commented when he finally opened his eyes. They did feel quite strange, and a little uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure how people wore these every day without getting annoyed.

Hakyeon threw his head back and laughed loudly at his comment. “Sorry, sorry,” he said a little breathlessly. “I guess they are a little hard to get used to.”

He blinked a few more times, trying to adjust, but he still couldn’t quite get used to the feeling. Hakyeon chuckled again, “You look too cute fluttering your eyelashes like that. I knew eye makeup like this would look great on you. I’ve been thinking about what colors to use for quite a while.”

Taekwoon’s face grew warm again, and he was suddenly curious about what he looked like at the moment. But he wasn’t going to even try looking again, before Hakyeon could finish.

“Okay, time to curl your lashes.” Hakyeon dug through the pile of makeup until he found a small silver tool that looked absolutely terrifying.

“Uuuh what is that?” Taekwoon asked, unable to mask the fear in his voice. It looked more like a medieval torture device than a makeup tool.

Hakyeon struggled to hold back laughter. “It’s an eyelash curler. I know it looks scary, but I promise I won’t hurt you. I know what I’m doing.”

Taekwoon trusted his everything with Hakyeon, but he still had trouble not jerking away when that thing got close to his eye. Hakyeon held his chin in place and very carefully, as he promised, used the tool to curl Taekwoon’s lashes. It didn’t hurt likw he had been expecting it to, and he let his tense shoulders relax. The mascara was fairly easy, but he did manage to get some of on his cheek and Hakyeon laughed softly before removing it with a cotton swab.

Lips were last and Hakyeon shuffled closer excitedly with supplies in hand, “Oooh I want to try a gradient style on you.” Taekwoon wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but Hakyeon seemed enthusiastic about it, so he nodded.

As Hakyeon brushed some color carefully onto his lips, his sweater slipped off of his shoulder slightly, and Taekwoon admired the golden skin that was peeking out. Hakyeon had once again stolen one of his sweaters (The white one that was big even on Taekwoon. Hakyeon was practically drowning in it.). He slipped on black leggings and kept his makeup simple and clean that day. Taekwoon couldn’t help but smile when he noticed the silver flower stud earrings Hakyeon had in. He had seen them a few weeks ago while shopping, and immediately thought of Hakyeon. He was relieved that Hakyeon seemed to like them.

“Done!” Hakyeon shouted, stepping back and admiring his work. He clapped his hands, his lips stretched into a grin and his eyes shining, “So pretty! I always knew you’d look good in makeup, Taekwoonie. You can look now.”

Taekwoon turned his head toward the mirror, and observed himself with quiet surprise. Hakyeon kept things simple, using a light pink blush on his cheeks and pale pastels on his eyelids. The lashes weren’t as thick and heavy as they felt; they actually looked quite natural. His lips were colored pink, the inside darker and the color growing lighter as it reached the edges. He understand what the term “gradient style” meant much better after actually being able to see it.

He actually looked good. “It’s…pretty,” he admitted quietly.

“Really!? You like it? You should let me do your makeup more often!”

Taekwoon laughed softly, lowering his head to hide his smile, “I don’t know about that. The blush isn’t too bad, but I don’t think I could get used to the eye makeup.”

Hakyeon sighed, still smiling as he observed Taekwoon. “Okaaay. But I’m definitely going to need pictures if I don’t get to see this on a daily bases,” he reached behind him to grab his phone.

Taekwoon glanced down at the pile of makeup, and the corner of his lips quirked up as he was struck with an idea.

“Only if I get to do your makeup.”

Hakyeon turned around to face him with a playfully horrified expression. “Oh god, that would be a disaster.”