HiMERU is never a good waker. that's the simple fact of it. most mornings, his drowsiness overtakes him before he can even grasp onto any semblance of wakefulness that might come with being conscious. as he's used to living alone, he's used to waking alone. but the simple truth is this : that the moment he remembers that he's in mana's house, enshrouded in warmth under mana’s covers, curled up against one of mana’s pillows, he's awake as quickly as he's ever been awake before, almost jolting at the sudden realisation. they're not around to actually witness that embarrassment, which he's thankful for, but even lying here for a few seconds makes him feel as if he's overstayed his welcome. for what it's worth, they really only had been sleeping.
but he's not about to say he had a very restful one.
it takes him nearly half an hour before he's cleaned the sleep out of his eyes and his pores, wet his hair with a bit of water, and made himself look as presentable as possible without his makeup, which he hadn't had the foresight to bring. he's not someone who will simply sleep over at anyone's home for the hell of it, and he's almost regretting that he'd taken this opportunity, too. but he's at least well and awake enough to make his way out to find mana, wherever they are.
@epithmia. “ hey. ” head cants westward, tipping strands of hair out of their eyes as they look him over thoughtfully. they hold a stare held between idle and intense thought as hands already begin to move to dig through the few cosmetics they own. not enough for anything flashy or dramatic, but with what they do have, mana thinks they can pull something together nicely for him. something natural, which honestly, seems like it would suit him the best. himeru’s already naturally pretty, so she’d rather just highlight what he already has. “ come here, ” signals with a curling finger for him to follow her. they end up posted in her kitchen for the lighting, and she has him sat down so she can have free reign over his features — extremities gently coaxing back through blue hair as her eyebrows already start to slowly furrow in focus, hair - clips held between lips ready to pin it out of the way. “ my mother taught me this stuff, you know. ” she doesn’t know why she’s sharing this with him, but it feels right to do so. it feels good, in this time just for them, before they have to go out into the world and into their respective obligations for the day. “ i never really cared at the time to be enthusiastic about it. but even so, i end up using those skills more often than i assumed. ” fingertips sweetly grab and tilt at his jaw — hold him in place right where she wants him and reaches for the first product to start with, “ before we could hire decent artists ourselves, i did the make up for tsukiyo. so i promise you won’t look bad . ”
he sits obediently in his seat as she combs through his hair, his hands clasped in his lap, eyes half-lidded before he thinks to do anything about it. he's not paying attention to them, but focused every little bit on what she's saying. he doesn't assume every person knows how to apply makeup like this. in fact, he mostly assumes that most people don’t know how to put it on as effectively as he does. and he's never let anyone else do his before, save for priest, whose methods he had layered into his own ways. to preserve what priest taught him was to preserve his own life and his own or, perhaps, preserve another's identity more effectively. and he is nothing if not attentive, though gratitude for it still doesn't come easy.
with his chin tilted up, he can watch mana from up close without worry. they're sweet to look upon, and their fingers are firm but not too cruel with him. they seem practiced. but he likes to look at her eyes most of all, which are a striking, deeplight pink that mesmerise him to the point he has to tell himself to glance away. he's always been drawn to eyes, and sometimes, as in times like these, it's more likely to fuck him over than it is to do him any favours.
❝ HiMERU wasn't worried about looking bad, ❞ he says softly. confidently. ❝ he's sure you're going to do a wonderful job. ❞ it will likely be different from the way he applies his own makeup. but, somehow, he's not worried. he trusts her.
* . ゜ unprompted ! 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗.
