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It was early in the morning. Nya had just woken up and started on her skincare and makeup for the day. Being a ninja at the very least meant endless trips to the city, countless paparazzi hounding them for photos, and tons of fans to interact with. And that was on an easy day. All the exposure meant that the ninja always had to look their best as they fought all the various evils that descended upon the city.
Sitting at her small vanity, she turned the light on low so as to not wake up Jay who was still fast asleep. She glanced behind in the mirror and smiled when she saw him lying silently in bed. After she had prepped her face, she took out her small makeup kit from the vanity drawer.
As she cracked open the kit, she heard the sheets rustling behind her. From the mirror’s reflection, she could see Jay turning over in bed and quietly groaning.
“Sorry to wake you, but it’s time to get up.” Nya chuckled as Jay sat up in bed and yawned.
He rested his chin on his fist and watched as Nya started putting on a thin layer of tinted moisturizer. She blended it into her skin, giving her face a dewy look while shooting Jay a silly face as she put the bottle away. Focusing on her eyes, she quickly swiped on some shimmery brown eyeshadow and began on her eyeliner. With a short flick, she applied a perfect thin line from the inner corner of her eye that ended with a sharp wing, and then repeated it on the other side. After finishing her eyes, she used the eyeliner pen to accentuate the small mole on her cheek.
She picked up her waterproof mascara. Something she considered an absolute essential, due to her element. One couldn’t harness such an element with black streaking into your eyes and down your cheeks. Once she unscrewed the tube, she noticed Jay was still intently watching her.
“I can see you.” she smirked as she made eye contact with him through the mirror. “Come on, you should get dressed.” Nya said as she patted some blush onto the apples of her cheeks.
“I can’t stop watching you. You’re too pretty.” Jay hummed as he dragged himself out of bed and stretched. He walked over to the vanity where Nya was sitting at and kissed the top of her head as he embraced her from behind. She relaxed into his touch before rising from the chair and deepening their embrace.
Jay looked down at the vanity table and into Nya’s makeup kit. A couple of tubes of lipstick and lipgloss were neatly organized in the corner of the kit. One stood out to him. A caramel-pink tube with sparkles. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and shuffled over to the bathroom to get himself ready for the morning.
As he brushed his teeth and washed his face, he thought about the tube of lip gloss he was looking at on the table. He’d kissed Nya while she was wearing it before, the pretty color and sweet flavor lingered on his lips and throughout the day he found himself smacking and licking his lips to taste it over and over again until all of the color and taste had been licked away.
He blinked away the memory and stepped out of the bathroom, back to Nya who had noticed him staring down at the table. “You like that one, huh?” she asked as Jay nervously nodded.
“I put it on the other day and kissed you after. You wouldn’t stop licking your lips afterward.” she giggled as she too recalled that day. She picked up the tube and looked at the small glitter particles inside and how they reflected the light. “I like it too. It looks good. Tastes good, too.” she remarked as she unscrewed the cap and lifted the applicator to her lips before freezing.
“I should brush my teeth before putting anything on my lips.” Nya mumbled to herself as she got up from the vanity and went into the bathroom. She turned on the tap and the rush of water reminded her that she hadn’t used the bathroom that morning. With a groan, she told herself that it would be easier for her to just do her business now, instead of having the inconvenient urge to use the restroom in the middle of a mission later in the day. As she busied herself in the bathroom by using the toilet, washing her hands, and then brushing her teeth, Jay busied himself with the makeup on top of her vanity.
He cracked open the eyeshadow palette in her kit and looked at the colors. Some muted, and some bright. A particular shade of blue stood out to him and had him practically hypnotized. He swiped his finger over the pressed powder and swatched it on the back of his hand. Moving his hand around to see how the color and glitter reflected the light, Jay smiled at the sight before the tube of lip gloss from earlier caught his eye.
He closed the eyeshadow palette and turned his head to see if Nya had come out of the bathroom yet. She hadn’t. So that meant Jay was free to examine the lip gloss for another minute or so.
He unscrewed the lip gloss and swatched it next to the blue eyeshadow on the back of his hand, simply admiring the color combination and shimmer on his hand. It was such a shame that Jay had to only apply the cosmetics to his hand, and not put them on his face as they were intended to. Guys don’t wear makeup. Or at least, glittery and bright makeup.
After all, Jay himself had prior experience in the world of makeup. When he was younger, he used to hide his freckles with concealer and powder every day. And back when he was a TV show host, he always had to look his best for the camera. But that wasn’t the same thing as wearing pretty makeup. He had a routine of foundation, concealer, contour, and powder to keep on hiding his freckles and keep his face from getting shiny under the studio lights. Maybe a little blush and tinted lip balm to keep him from looking washed out, but he never got to get all dolled up. His time in the makeup chair was the highlight of his time as a TV show host, but he was never allowed to really enjoy it.
He was mildly discontent during his brief stint as a TV show host. The job came with the good, and the bad. But a surprise visit to the studio from Lloyd did him some good, and some bad.
Lloyd had used his ninja skills to sneak into Jay’s dressing room to try and convince him to rejoin the team. Reminding him of the responsibility he holds as an elemental master and poking fun at Jay for wearing makeup, much to the former lightning ninja’s dismay. He did eventually rejoin the team, but the thought that men shouldn’t wear makeup was still present in the background of his mind as he screwed the lip gloss shut.
Before he could set the tube on the table, Nya opened the door and saw him standing over the table, holding her makeup as he quickly noticed the swatches on his hand and rubbed it on his leg to remove the makeup.
“Were you…” Nya froze as she tried to make sense of her boyfriend seemingly using her makeup.
“I… I’m sorry. I just think it’s really pretty.” Jay confessed as he stepped back from the vanity. “I wasn’t doing anything weird with it, I promise.” his voice shook as he frantically started explaining himself to her.
“Hey, it’s alright. No need to worry. I trust you with this stuff.” Nya stepped close and reassured him that she wasn’t at all upset at him for touching her makeup. “Do you want to wear some of mine? I know it’s been a while since you’ve put any on, Mr. I used to hide my freckles with makeup every day. ” Nya joked to ease his anxiousness.
Jay nodded and Nya lifted his hands to see what he had swatched on them. It was the lip gloss he was eyeing earlier and she could faintly recognize her blue eyeshadow smudged on his hand as well. “It’s blue.” Jay mumbled as he averted his eyes from hers in embarrassment.
“It’s a really pretty color. Would look so cute on you.” Nya hummed to try to cheer him up. To which Jay looked at her and blushed. “Can I put some on you?” she asked before Jay nodded.
She opened the eyeshadow palette and searched for the particular shade of blue before spotting it and picking up a small brush. Before she could dip the soft bristles into the blue pressed powder, Jay stopped her. “Wait. maybe something not so… bright…” he frowned as he eyed the bright blue eyeshadow.
“Why not? It’d look really good on you.” Nya smiled as she placed the brush back onto the table as she turned to him with a sincere look.
“I don’t want it to look like I’m wearing makeup. People might take pictures and see and everything…” Jay trailed off as he remembered that men aren’t supposed to wear makeup, fans might get mad, and it would only add more stress to the ninja’s hectic lives.
“Why wouldn’t you want people to see? There’s no reason to hide that pretty face.” Nya cooed as she could sense that there was something wrong.
“Because guys aren’t supposed to wear sparkly makeup!” Jay exclaimed as a sad look washed over his face. “I used to wear it just to hide my freckles, and then to look good for the camera. But I’ve never worn pretty, sparkly makeup. I wish I could, but I just can’t.” he huffed as he looked at himself in the mirror, tears nearly welling up in his eyes.
“It’s okay.” Nya held him close and realized why he was so apprehensive to try on some of her makeup that he clearly wanted to try on. “We’re ninja. We protect the city, and we protect each other. If anyone has a problem with your pretty face, they’ll have to deal with me.” she reassured him before giving him a kiss.
Jay’s heart fluttered at her two-in-one compliment and promise. She had already expressed her interest in seeing him all dolled up with her own makeup. He knew she adored him, and he did in return; maybe even moreso. But even though, Jay was anxious to let her use her glittery makeup on him, even if he wanted oh-so-badly to wear her sparkly lip gloss and shiny eyeshadow and look as pretty as her.
After careful consideration and coming to the conclusion that no matter what he put on his face, Nya would always love him; and that he was the same strong ninja who had saved the city countless times, even underneath blue eyeshadow and sparkly lip gloss. And if anyone had a problem with him indulging himself in glamming it up, they would have to go through Nya to stop him.
Jay took the eyeshadow brush from off the table and dabbed it into the blue eyeshadow, handed it to her, and shut his eyes. With a smile, Nya started patting it onto his lids, packing it into his crease, and blending it up into his browbone. To add extra flair, she used a darker shade closer to his lashline and a lighter shade to highlight his browbone and inner eye, giving his lids a shimmery, 3D look.
Nya told him to open his eyes once she finished blending, and Jay was astonished at the combination of color and how pretty his eyes looked. He only closed his eyes once he was instructed to by Nya so she could put on eyeliner and mascara.
Once Nya was finished, Jay opened his eyes again and saw the finished look. Literally, unable to believe his eyes at how amazing of a job she did. “I look so pretty.” Jay mumbled in astonishment at the sharp eyeliner wing and length of his darkened lashes.
“Yes, you do. You’re such a pretty boy.” Nya cooed as she opened up her blush again to pat some onto Jay’s freckled cheeks. He gave a genuine smile as she pinkened his cheeks and his eye caught the tube of lip gloss that he was fascinated with earlier.
“Can we match?” Nya asked as she started unscrewing the tube.
“Can we?” Jay gave a hopeful look as she made a kiss face at him, instructing him to copy her as she applied a thick layer to her own lips.
She leaned in to kiss him and coated his lips in the gloss, topping it off with a light swipe so the layer was even.
“Look at us. I think we’re the prettiest couple in all of Ninjago.” Nya smiled as she directed Jay’s face towards the mirror. Jay placed his hands on the table and leaned in to get a closer look. As she smacked her lips and smiled, Nya packed up her makeup kit, but took the lip gloss with her; smiling as she thought of reapplying it later in the day.
To her or him, it didn’t matter.