Emmett regarded himself in the mirror. Maybe if he focused very hard on the job at hand he wouldn't have a chance to get nervous.

It didn't work. His eyes still darted to the dressing room door whenever someone new walked by. He didn't want to be caught off guard if that photographer came in. Especially while sitting shirtless for the makeup team.

They kept him in the chair a lot longer than he would have expected. He got a fresh shearing to the back of his head, to that most satisfying petting length, a trim to his bangs and even a quick bleaching to remove the blonde notes and take him all the way back to white.

One of the make up artists slapped him when they caught him chewing on his nails and a pair set to buffing and applying a clear layer of polish as well.

"Why all of the fuss?" Emmett hissed in complaint when the touch ups continued on and he was forced to endure a series of facial waxes.

"Haven't worked with this photographer before, have you?" One of the ladies chimed in. "He doesn't let people retouch his photos and he doesn't like wasting film. If you just do what he asks you won't actually spend that much time in front of the camera."

"It sounds like he has his head stuck up his own ass."

Fingertips trailed along his shoulder until the hand settled in a loose grip upon the base of his neck. "I've 30 years in the business. Allow me my quirks."

Emmett wished they'd already put the makeup on him. He saw his own face glowing red as the older man came into view next to him, a thin smile on his face. Even that couldn't have hid everything. Emmett was sure Beck could feel his heart begin to pound beneath his fingers.

Beck was talking to the girls. Emmett couldn't hear him. The guy's fingers were tracing the planes of his face now so it must have been something about the makeup he wanted.

Just say something if it's bothering you.

But it's just mundane shit. I'm overreacting, aren't I?

The moment passed before Emmett had even taken a breath to speak.

Coward.

Emmett met the man's eyes in the mirror. "It's for a fragrance so it'll be tightly framed." He held his hands in front of Emmett again, indicating a box from the top of his head to his shoulder. "Give me a play on soft and hard. Hard eyes and soft mouth, sharp angles with your hands and a soft expression... Things like that."

I can't be the only one who thinks that sounds suggestive as fuck.

Emmett could only muster a bored expression. "You told me before that I should be haughty in front of the camera."

He immediately wished he hadn't said so. Beck looked all too pleased at being remembered.

"I would like to see that, yes." Beck pulled his hands away but not before resting his fingers on Emmett's cheeks one more time. "Ladies please make sure to accentuate his cheekbones. They're his best feature."

He moved on to the next seated model, a girl with hauntingly large eyes and Emmett was left with a knot in his gut and prickling skin.

The makeup artists got right back to work, something that was largely natural looking except for the excessive use of highlighter that left his skin practically glistening. He would have loved to know who exactly the target audience was meant to be for this fragrance.

They were done with him all too quickly after that and Emmett moved out into the studio, disappointed when Beck waved him over. He'd hoped to see him interacting with another model. He'd hoped to see if he was as hands-on with everyone he shot.

He hoped the shoot itself would move as swiftly as the girls suggested.

Emmett took a seat in front of the lights, the camera feeling all too close in the dimly lit studio. It made them feel too alone. At least the ring light acted as some sort of barrier.

"Focus please. Bring your hands into frame. I'm going to test the lighting."

Emmett did as he was told. There was a quick flash that left rings and spots in front of his eyes. Beck titled a couple of the lights as Emmett tried to blink then away. One more flash and another slight tweak before the man seemed to be satisfied.

"Now then." Beck ducked to line his eye with the camera's viewfinder. "Inspire me please."

It made Emmett more nervous than it should have. Haughty. He'd tried it before, dressed in that suit a couple weeks ago. He narrowed his eyes and set his brows in a hard v. His lips he left slightly parted and his fingers resting softly on his jaw.

He felt one of his eyebrows twitch as he waited.

There was no flash of light, no click of the shutter. Emmett felt his expression falter. This was what he wanted, wasn't it?

Beck straightened to regard him over the camera. "You're not making me want you."

Whatever control Emmett had over his features cracked immediately. I don't want you to. His fingers tightened in annoyance and he had to resist an urge to cover his face.

"You have a lover, don't you? How would you tell them you want to fuck without words?"

Thank God for the makeup this time. The heat that rose to his face told him just what shade of red it was covering. Emmett hardly ever felt embarrassment over his sexuality so how did this guy keep managing to make him feel ashamed?

Emmett swallowed against bitter tears. He couldn't get frustrated over something that he knew he was capable of doing. He just had to pretend he was looking at Edan, right?

His heart gave a heavy thud. Those feelings were still complicated.

Fine, those teasing looks he'd kept giving Jonas on that stupid mistake of a night. He sat up a little straighter, looking down at the camera with a thin, crooked smile. With one hand he clutched at his shoulder and the other he rested beneath his chin, strategically resting a fingertip in the corner of his mouth.

The look came easy, he'd have to figure out what that meant some other time.

Finally, a flash of lights. The triumph made his heart swell, and a giddy chuckle escape. Annoyingly, one of those tears also rolled down his cheek. Beck didn't call for makeup so Emmett tried to keep going. Slight turns to his head, looking at or away from the camera, Beck may have even caught a shot of Emmett biting his lip.

Beck stood up suddenly from his camera after only half a dozen pictures. "I've got the shot."

It felt like whiplash. The disappointment, the success, and now it was over. Standing up, he almost wished he could stay in front of the camera a little longer. Reviewing that thought for a moment made him feel gross.

"Come have a look."

Another surprise. Emmett came around the other side of the camera, to the laptop displaying the brief shoot. The casual way Beck rested a hand on his lower back reminded him why he didn't like the guy. Emmett folded his arms around himself while Beck tapped on the computer.

"This one." The guy pointed at the screen, pulling Emmett closer. "This one is your look."

'Fuck me' eyes, basically. So he was supposed to tell every viewer out there he was down to get bent?

Edan probably wouldn't like that.