“I feel like my eyebrows are a little uneven…”

“You just noticed?”

“But that’s fine, I can fix it!”

“Evening out your eyebrows still won’t fix your face.”

Maybe she was just too preoccupied on perfecting her makeup, but Mel felt like nothing but background noise. He had even turned his attention away to his nails, mindlessly spitting out half-insults without sparing her a glance.

It was only when he heard her ask, “Which one?” that he looked up again. She was holding two bottles of pink lip stain, awaiting his input.

“You’ll look tacky either way,” he huffed. “But the lighter one matches your outfit better, I guess.”

She peered down at the shade he suggested, tapped her finger against her bottom lip in thought, then nodded to herself. He watched her apply it with delicate strokes, before she went back to fussing in the mirror. Any strand of hair out of place, any spot of skin she felt hadn’t been blended enough. She left nothing untouched. She might have been overdoing it, even.

Mel rested his cheek in his palm, not understanding the point in all of this.

“Do you think that no-name meister is putting in half as much effort as you? All this thoroughness feels like nonsense to me.”

...…? Unless her mind was playing tricks on her, that was the first comment Mel had made that didn’t insult her in some way. She looked at him curiously through the mirror’s reflection.

“You almost sounded jealous for a second there.”

Mel faltered for a moment, lips falling into a flat line. But he quickly rebounded and cracked into a wicked smile.

“What’s there to be jealous of?” He stuck his nose in the air. “I get your company whenever I want. Or is it your nonexistent kissing skills I’m missing out on?”

Now it was her turn to pause. His words didn’t sting in the way he probably meant them to, but they stuck with her nonetheless. He’d brought up her lack of experience twice now—and he was right. She’d been feeling very insecure about it, in fact.

Pursing her lips, she picked up her lip-blotting tissue again. Then, hesitantly, she swiveled around to face him.

“Actually, Mel, I wanted to ask a favor…”

“Heh~? Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll think ab—”

He abruptly cut himself off. One look at the lipstick-stained tissue in her grasp made it clear what she was insinuating. As soon as that dawned on him, Mel’s lashes swept upwards, caught in a daze. But he forced out another taunt to deflect back onto her.

“T-This is some top-tier nonsense, even from you!!”

“I-I’m being serious!” She jumped to her feet, trying her hardest to keep her composure. “I won’t force you, it’s just... I’ll die if I embarrass myself tonight. Please?”

Mel went quiet.

“We can use the tissue as a barrier,” she insisted.

“...I don’t care about that... um...”

He refused to meet her in the eye. A soft blush colored his freckled cheeks. This was not the first time she’d seen Mel become so shy, but it definitely wasn’t a side of him she was used to. When he finally flicked his eyes back at her, he crinkled his nose before letting out a quick tch.

“...This isn’t going to save your garbage date anyway, but I’ll let you practice... once. And you don’t need the stupid tissue paper.” Mel sat up on the edge of her bed, but made no other advancements. He simply waited for her to do as she pleased. It was her practice; she could do all the work.

And so, she tried to mimic what she’d read in books: she tucked a loose curl of hair behind her ear, squeezed her eyes shut, and blindly pecked his face.

“...!” Mel immediately lurched backwards, swiping the back of his hand against his mouth. “What was that? You’ve really got nothing but sludge in that brain of yours, huh? Be gentler!”

“S-Sorry,” she rubbed her own mouth, trying to soothe the pain from knocking into him.

Her second attempt succeeded in being gentler, but Mel thought it was still too stiff.

“How are you this bad? You should be grateful I kept pestering you about this. That good-for-nothing meister would’ve dumped you in seconds.”

At that, she pulled away, clearly vexed by his words.

“If you’re such an expert then why don’t you show me?”

Mel was no longer shy like before -- this had evolved into an earnest training session, and he was determined to have it bear fruit. Without missing a beat, he cupped her cheeks in either hand. He then levitated above her, just for a bit of leverage, and pressed into her.

The difference in technique had never felt clearer. His lips were gentle, and warm, and molded against hers in a perfect blend of magic and passion.

But Mel broke apart just as quickly as he began. A smug smile crawled onto his face, while the Guild Keeper was left in a stunned haze. He’d taken her to enchanted places with just a single touch.