Makeup

Three was visiting Eight's apartment today. It had been about three months since they had escaped the underground, and both seemed to be adjusting to the changes brought from their time in the metro. Eight was relaxing on the couch, reading her new favorite book for the third time that week. Three approached her cautiously, not wanting to disrupt her. She inhaled and broke the silence. "Hey, Eight?"

She looked up from her reading and giggled. "You're so serious! I told you, you can call me Kara now."

Three rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Ah, right, I forgot… Kara." 

Eight could tell by Three's grimace that she felt like she'd messed up. She smiled assuredly to try and show that she was just teasing. "You were gonna say something?"

"Uh, yeah. You know how to do makeup, right?"

Kara grinned eagerly. "Do I?!" She was very excited for her new friend's sudden interest in something she enjoyed. Though Three's tone of voice seemed like there was something more to it that made her slightly uneasy.

Three flinched at Kara's sudden exclamation. She took a deep breath, her words stuck in her throat. She had over thought this way too much by now. It was just a simple question. A simple question that left her extremely vulnerable. "Can you show me how to use that stuff that covers things?" she finally managed. 

Kara squinted trying to figure out what she was saying. "You mean concealer?"

"Yeah, I guess," she scowled. "How should I know what it's called?" Eight decided to ignore the attitude for now, though her mouth turned into a tight frown.

She went to the bathroom to grab her makeup bag and brought it back to the living room, setting it on the coffee table. She patted the spot next to her on the couch. Three sat down stiffly and faced her. 

"Your skin is rather fair compared to mine," Kara said. "So I'll show you on myself since none of these really match your tone. What area do you want to cover?" 

Three gripped her knees uncomfortably. The pit of dread had already started to claim her. "Umm…" She brought her hand to the area surrounding her right eye. "...here." There was a teal mark, a scar from Tartar's mind control goop, stretching around her eye and spreading over her ear and tentacles.

Kara held back a grimace. She had a feeling she'd known where this was going. Three fidgeted, waiting for a response. "Ok," she said. "I'll teach you, but can I show you something else first?"

Three crossed her arms, swallowing the lump in her throat. She already regretted asking in the first place, now Eight was gonna drag this out? "What," Three said. Kara grabbed the bottom of her shirt. Three jumped back and covered her eyes frantically. "AH- What are you doing?!" Her face immediately started burning.

"HA! Relax." Eight laughed nervously. She turned so her back faced Three. "Sorry, I probably should have explained…" She pulled up her shirt to reveal the lower half of her back. She waited for a moment of realization from Three, but her eyes were still shut tight. Eight sighed. "Look, just trust me, yeah? Open your eyes."

Three peaked through her fingers cautiously. Eight- no, Kara -had her shirt rolled half way up to expose her back. There was a faint teal color that etched itself roughly around a large area of her lower back. "You're not the only one with a scar," she said softly. Three gasped and reached out to put a hand on Kara's shoulder, but decided against it. 

"I'm sorry, I- I didn't know," she said as Eight turned to face her again. She felt like a huge jerk now.

"What's there to be sorry about?" She looked into Three's eyes curiously. There was a conflicted look in them. Kara rubbed the back of her neck. "I just try to think about it as a new part of me… even if it's a reminder of that stupid bomb that was strapped to my back."

At the alarming remark, Three tried to recall everything Cap had told her about Eight's time in the metro. There were tests she had to take, and a bomb on her inktank that would explode each time she failed one. How many times had it been detonated to leave a permanent mark on her? Bile pushed on the back of her throat as the enormity of all that Kara had been through hit her. Her hands formed into fists as a sudden wave of protectiveness washed over. Instead of doing anything rash though, Three let it all out in a giant sigh. "Thanks for showing me," her voice cracked. 

"Of course," said Kara. "I can still show you how to use a concealer. I just wanted to let you know you're not alone first."

Three paused. "I don't know, to be honest… I never really liked makeup. It seems kind of silly to start now." She felt naked sitting there telling Eight all this.

"Well I'd be happy to, if you wanted! But we don't have to if you're not sure," Kara said gingerly. Her mood changed quickly as she got an exciting idea. "Hey, we could just do it for fun! Not wear it anywhere! I could do something on you if you just want to try it." Eight grinned at the idea of introducing Three to something new. This whole time Three had been the one to introduce her to everything on the surface. Teaching her something would be a fun change of pace.

Three blushed at the thought of her being that close to her face. She pursed her lips. On one hand she was incredibly nervous, on the other, it would be hard crushing Kara's joy. Three bit back a frown. "Fine." Eight squealed at her response.

"Yay! Don't worry, I'll just do something simple," she said as she pulled out some lip gloss and blush. She took a brush and gave it a generous dip in the pink powder, and Three internally cringed. Kara scooted closer on the cushion, bringing the brush to her face. It felt oddly ticklish on Three's cheeks and she had to hold back a giggle. Eight hummed softly, the tune a vague mix of Into the Light and Fly Octo, Fly. A small smile creeped its way onto Three's lips. Her heart swelled with how cute and happy Kara sounded right now. How easy it would be for her to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead, and do something with all these stupid emotions. Once she realized what she was thinking, heat rushed to her face, and she was sure she didn't need that blush anymore. She hadn't even realized that Kara had finished with the blush and now Three was just staring at her looking braindead. 

Kara examined her face intently. "Aw,, you look so cute!" She exclaimed. "Not that you don't normally, of course. I've just never seen you so flustered." Three only squeaked in response. She'd known she was flustered? And she'd called her CUTE?! It took all of Three's willpower to not let the room spin around her as she braced her hands on her knees. She took a deep breath. This was fine, everything was fine. It was just makeup. It wasn't going to kill her.

Eight grabbed a lightly tinted lip gloss. "Hey, you ok?" She asked. Three snapped her hands up so that her chin rested on them and gave a wry smile.

"Yeah, I just hate new experiences." She tried to make her voice sound cool, but it came out weak instead.

"Well you don't have to do this," Kara said with concern.

Three gazed observantly at Eight. "Nah, you seem to be having fun. Besides, my therapist says new experiences are good for me." Kara raised her eyebrows at that remark.

"I know," she said. "After I'm done you could do my makeup! Give you more control."

"It won't be very good," she smirked. Their laughter burst through the air at the probable truth of her statement.

When the hilarity finally died down, Kara cupped Three's cheek in her hand. Three almost had a heart attack until she realized she was just applying the lip gloss. "That's not the point," said Kara as she gently dabbed the gloss's wand onto Three's lips. "It's just to have fun and laugh at, y'know? It's not supposed to be good." She smiled as she pulled away from Three and admired her work. Whatever she had just said blended to mush in Three's brain. Mostly because all she could focus on was the way her heart fluttered everytime Kara's hand brushed up against her face. Eight held up a mirror to show her new look to her. She was snapped out of her stupor, unable to hide the discontent at her new image.

"Sorry, it looks nice," Three explained. "But it doesn't… feel right."

Eight laughed. "That's ok! Now you've had the chance to try it, though." She grabbed her makeup bag and put it into Three's lap. "Ok, my turn!" Her face formed into a grin.

Three glanced down nervously. "I don't know what half these things do," she said. This remark caused Kara to snort. She pointed out the basics, then told her to do whatever she wanted.