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The alarm hadn't even finished going off before Tei noticed how much his head throbbed. On auto pilot, he pushed himself and sat up, reluctantly shedding the covers off him. He shivered from a mix of sluggish exhaustion and from the stale morning air hitting him.
Behind him, a raspy voice made him jump.
"About time."
His eyes drag along the curve of his own arm, down the chain, before reaching Ikeda's face. Who, for one, looked like complete shit. His eyebags were as deep and as dark as Tei's, and his lips were pulling back into that nasty sneered smirk.
Tei rubbed at his temples, trying to soothe the ache behind his eyes. "Morning... how long have you been up?"
"Dont know." Ikeda shrugged noncomitally, squinting at his nails. "Didn't sleep."
"No? Why not?"
"How would anyone be able to sleep if they were forced to share a bed with you?"
Of course... Tei rolled his eyes, turning his sights to the bathroom across the tiny room. Even if its a short distance, he seriously didn't want to get up. For a brief second his body sagged, wanting nothing more than to sink into the hard mattress, until his dry lips and even dryer tongue protested.
"Whatever... c'mon. Up." Tei stood up slowly, giving Ikeda a chance to follow.
"Huh?"
"We're getting dressed."
"Wh- Oh, are we now?"
Tei shot him a look. "Sorry? I dont want to walk around in my pajamas." His nose crinkled, catching a whiff of himself. "Plus, I smell."
"I can tell." Ikeda exaggeratedly gagged.
"Then get up so I dont have to."
That seemed to be enough to coax Ikeda out of bed, although he dragged his feet and whined with every step. Tei did his best to ignore it, knocking on the bathroom door before stepping inside.
Only, he's stopped by the chain going taut.
Tei suppressed his groan, turning back and once again following the chain up to Ikeda's face. The boy had stopped just outside of the bathroom, refusing to move and glaring at him. Tei narrowed his eyes in response.
"... What?"
"Im not going in there with you." He stated stubbornly.
Tei let's out a slow breath, "If its the bathroom thing, you dont gotta worry about that. I don't need to go just yet, and when I do, I figured we'd use the communal bathrooms in the hall."
"Im not going in at all."
Taken aback, Tei could only reply with a confused. "What? Why not?"
"Because I don't want to! Going into a cramped bathroom with you of all people. Blech."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Tei shot back, his voice rising for just a second. He ran his fingers through his hair, doing his best to soothe himself, even if he was unable to hide his exasperation, "Look, Im just going to brush my teeth, wash my face, and put on some makeup. It won't even be more than fifteen minutes." His lip curled back as he looked Ikeda up and down, taking in his disheveled appearance, unbrushed hair, and greasy skin. "And you should too-"
"... You wear makeup?"
Tei stifled an awkward noise. "Ye-yeah, I do... It's not that unusual." He meekly defended himself. Of course, he expected a level of pushback, but what he didn't expect was for Ikeda to narrow his eyes on Tei's face. Squinting so much his eyes could have been closed.
"Huh. No kidding." Ikeda murmured, less judgemental than Tei expected, much to his relief. "I didn't even notice."
"That's the point. It's not supposed to be noticeable, not like Ninomiya, at least."
"Thank god for that. We dont need two clowns in here."
"Can- can you just come on already? Your breath stinks."
"H-Huh?! No it doesn't!"
"It absolutely does."
Ikeda grimaced. "F-Fine, but you better not try anything."
To which Tei responded with a weary groan. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Tei was just happy that he agreed to come in. They had three free hours, but Tei would rather not waste it. If he had to shower, maybe, but this was essentially nothing...
However, that didn't change the fact that Ikeda was acting... strange.
He wasn't doing anything bad, but his discomfort was clear as day. There's an intense amount of hesitance in Ikeda's jerky movements as he squeezed past Tei- taking to his right side, which was annoying, but in Ikeda's defense there wasn't much space on Tei's left anyway. Not only that but he kept twitching and tensing up at every little sound.
Tei chose not to focus on it. Out of respect for Ikeda and because he didn't have the emotional capacity to deal with a vicious cycle of concern and worry. Maybe Ikeda's just wigged out because he didn't want to be in a random bathroom with a random guy. Tei couldn't blame him, really. The fact that Ikeda specifically wanted to avoid going in with him added some credence to that theory. If it could even be called a theory.
At the very least, maybe if Tei acted unbothered, it would calm him down.
Might as well do what he planned to do.
Being extra careful not to jostle Ikeda's arm (even though Ikeda was not making himself very helpful) Tei fetched his toothbrush from medicine cabinet, along with face wash and his eye make up.
Weirdly enough... Ikeda still wasn't doing much of anything. He didn't move. He didn't talk. He just stared ahead into the corner of the room.
Tei wrote it off for a moment, assuming he was just focused on something and taking his sweet time... but after Tei spat out his gargled water and saw Ikeda still just standing there, he just had to say something.
Tei cleared his throat. "Everything okay?"
"Mm- What?"
"Um, you're just sitting there. Why aren't you getting ready?"
Tei nodded to the spare toothbrush left there last night. Ikeda eyed it warily, hesitating before awkwardly grabbing it.
Tei wasnt sure what Ikeda's deal was, but he sure is... awkward. Weirdly awkward. All of his motions are stiff, and each action was unsure and cautious, even in jusy applying the paste. Its a startling shift compared to his earlier snark. Not only that, but Ikeda was sneaking glances as he lifted the dry toothbrush to his mouth.
Ikeda brushed furiously. Back and forth and back and forth. In one straight path that Tei knew did nothing to clean anything besides the front part of the teeth. But hey, he wasn't going to be the one to point that out. At least Ikeda was brushing his teeth to begin with. As dissapointing as that sentiment was... its something.
Tei briefly wondered if it was something Ikeda struggled with. Tei certainly struggled with it for a few years, but after his teeth began to yellow, he went nuts trying to stain them back to white. They're still slightly tinted, which sucked, but at the very least, he could provide some tips
His line of thinking is interupted when Tei peered at the boy through the mirror and found pale eyes reflected back at him. Ikeda pointedly looked away, his face scrunched out of embarrassment.
But thats when Tei noticed, he's slowly changing the tempo and style of his brushing, the strokes becoming circular and far more thorough.
Its only when Tei brushed his tongue and gums that he realized something: Ikeda was copying him.
Surely not, right?
Tei tried not paying it any mind, but he could have sworn Ikeda was sneaking glances at him.
He didn't exactly mind, but it threw him off a little. Without thinking, Tei tests it; rinsing off his brush, gargling some mouthwash, and then he plucked the toothbrush again to go again (a habit he picked up a while ago, since he hated the taste of his own mouth sometimes).
Although he was notably confused when Tei brushed his teeth for a second time, sure enough, Ikeda did the exact same.
Huh! A little weird, but Tei wont judge. It's not like he learned to do this stuff on his own either. Tei was grateful for the older coworkers and other homeless teenagers who took him under their wing. Some people just learn late. If they don't have someone to model, it's to be expected.
... And if Tei was the one he wanted to model after, well, then all Tei could do was his best and show him without drawing too much attention to it. It's important to learn, and shame wont get him anywhere.
They move in silence, ignoring eachother beyond the short glances and their elbows bumping. Tei lathers soap into his hand before washing his face, and Ikeda hesitantly followed. Its a miracle he didn't get soap in his eye.
By the time they're done, Ikeda was over it.
"Yeesh, how long does it take you to get ready?" Ikeda plopped onto the toliet lid. Due to the chain, it awkwardly pulled Tei to face him. God, he couldnt wait for the cuffs to be removed...
Ikeda didn't seem to care that he was making things difficult, pointedly watching as Tei lightly layered color corrector under his eye. Tei stammered for a second before meekly shrugging, feeling way more self concious than he had a moment ago.
"It hasn't been that long."
"Its been long enough," Ikeda scoffed. "Whats the point in covering them up anyway?"
"The circles?" Tei blended the corrector along the crease before he wiped off his hands and grabbed the concealer. "It just makes me feel better."
"Really? How? It looks uncomfortable as hell."
"Not really? Its only bad if you put too much on." Tei dotted the bright concealer along the crease. He does he best to ignore the fact that its his face he's looking at. That he's staring into his own eyes as he blended the second layer. It doesn't feel like he's looking at himself.
"... I dont like the look of eyebags. On myself, I mean." Tei is quick to add, not wanting to spark an insecurity in Ikeda, whose circles were as dark and pronounced by the early morning fatigue. "I could care less if someone else has them, but I... I don't know."
He has to look alert and awake and presentable. Pretty. He has to be pretty. Thats what others wanted out of him. Although, Tei was sure the other captives wouldn't care too much. They've been kidnapped, sleepless nights were to be expected. Even still, he cant shake the feeling of being judged. He patted on a setting powder.
"Why do you keep your hair so long?" Ikeda abruptly asked, pulling Tei away from his spiral.
Tei perked up, glancing over to find Ikeda eyeing his hair. He shrugged and began gathering his hair in his hands with his free hand - which was awkward and annoying as all hell, but theres not much he can do about it besides removing the cuff. Tei makes due where he can, bringing most of the wavy locs over his shoulder. "Because I like it."
"Thats it?" Ikeda crossed his leg over his knee. "Doesn't it get in the way? Seems kinda heavy."
"You have no idea," Tei sighed, combing his fingers through the ends of his hair to untangle any tangles before he took the brush to it. He has to use to cuffed hand to hold the unruly curls steady, and in doing so, pulling Ikeda's wrist taut. Ikeda grumbles, adjusting now that he couldn't prop his head up with his elbow.
"I usually put it up in a pony tail or braid before work... although it takes a lot longer than I'd like." He clicked his tongue as he began to brush from the bottom. It fluffed up with each stroke. Who would have guessed that he'd regret washing it before bed last night. Maybe he should have gotten ahead of the curve and tied it up days ago, but.. "The hair bands also give me headaches."
"Cut it off then." Ikeda suggested bluntly.
"Trust me, I've considered it... but I actually really like my hair. I like taking good care of it, regardless of how much of a pain in the ass it is. And it's fun to style sometimes..." Tei sighed mournfully, brushing out another section, "in an ideal world, if I had the time to do my hair up in different style each morning, I absolutely would. But time waits for no one, and I hardly have the energy anyway."
Quirking an eyebrow, Ikeda hoisted himself up, standing so his arm wasn't dragged about. "Why dont you now?" He asked, "We got all the time in the world here. Go nuts."
Tei paused, blankly watching their reflections in the mirror. Its such a simple, almost innocent statement. His mouth automatically opened, but the answer he had was stuck in his throat.
Ikeda then thought about it, glancing at the chain, before huffing. "Could've gone nuts. With a nest like that you'd end up breaking my arm." He snickered, looking Tei in the face and asking, "What—cat got your tongue?"
Tei thinned his lips and tugged the bristles through the curls roughly. He shook his head, and evntually managed to choke out a lame, "I guess. I don't know."
Its uncomfortable standing so close to this guy. He seemed to have no sense of personal space - or maybe the cuffs are to blame. Tei shuffled in his spot, swaying slowly as he focused on the drags of his brush rather than the boy staring him directly in the face.
Ikeda tilted his head, squinting.
"Maybe I'll braid it for you."
Tei paused, eyebrows furrowing as he glanced at the boys fraying greasy locks. He frowned, unable to help imagining the worst, where Ikeda went ahead with his advice and simply cut it off when Tei let his gaurd down.
"You know how?" He asked slowly.
Ikeda shrugged, "I've never braided hair, but It cant be that hard."
"Oh? What do you braid then?"
"Stuff for art projects, like wire or tassels. I don't do it often, but..." Ikeda drummed his fingers against his chin, leaning to the side to get a better angle on the mass of hair. Tei shifted again, unsure if he enjoyed the sudden attention or not. It made him antsy, and Ikeda had a perpetually devious look about him. "I think I could do something neat with yours."
He says it with (what Tei could only assume is) complete sincerity. Ikeda actually sounded excited at the prospect of messing with Tei's hair... and in all honesty, it made his face warm a bit too much.
Still... the chance to have his hair done, and not have to do it himself?
"... I might take you up on that." Tei said quietly, "Not right now, but later, or tomorrow, if youre up for it. We still have the meeting to attend."
"Sounds like a plan! I look forward to it."