Verecund (Criminal Minds)

Chapter 22

By the time the group of shoppers had returned to Spencer Reid's apartment, the sun was already beginning to set. They waltzed through the front door, plastic and paper bags filling Ash's arms. Penelope, JJ, and Emily followed, chatting and laughing as they helped Ash carry her shopping bags in, their own left in the car. 

"Oh wow," Spencer commented from the couch, brows raised. "You guys really did some shopping."

"Don't worry," Emily laughed at the young doctor with two yellow bags in her hands, "We bought most of this for her. Didn't want to max out your credit card on our first shopping day."

"Oh, I don't use credit cards," Spencer declared. "Strictly debit. Credit cards interests and payment methods are set up specifically to entice individuals to spend more money than they are capable of paying back, thus causing more profit for the credit card companies."

"Either way," JJ drew out as she took bags from Ash's hands to place on the counter. "What are cool new aunts for if not taking you shopping and buying you things your dad wouldn't take care of?"

Spencer smiled a little bit, both at the thought of him being accepted as a dad and Ash being immediately accepted by his friends as family. "Is this all clothes?"

Most, Ash signed. 

"Most?" Spencer repeated back. "What else did you get?"

"Only the essentials," Emily pointed out with one hand raised, a hint of humor in her voice. 

Penelope gasped. She put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Let's show him what you got, like a fashion show!"

Ash tilted her head a little bit at the last comment. 

"You know, like when you were a kid and your mom took you shopping and you came home to do a fashion show for your dad," she elaborated.

Ash signed something that the blonde woman didn't understand, so Spencer translated, "Still grew up poor."

"Well, now you get the chance," Emily pointed out. 

"And I could do your makeup for it," Penelope's mouth opened wide. "Could I do that? I have my makeup bag- well, part of it- in my purse, would you be okay with that?"

Ash paused, then nodded. 

Penelope made a wide smile and put her hands up next to her head in victory. "Okay, let's bring all this in your room, then pick out your favorite outfits."

The other three watched Ash and Penelope haul the shopping bags through the hallway, leaning and turning to fit in the bedroom doorway. Emily then turned to Spencer. "She really did seem to have a lot of fun."

"She was hesitant at first about shopping, and did not want us buying her anything," JJ added, "But after she got comfortable, I think she really loved it."

"I'm glad," Spencer told the two softly. "I've been worried about what would happen when she went out without me, so I'm glad you could be there to help her make steps."

In the bedroom, Penelope was excitedly pulling makeup products out of her bag as Ash sorted through bags of clothes. She paused when she found a new phone case she bought, and clicked it onto her smartphone. She then displayed two different outfits to Penelope, along with a small  notepad.

Which one? The notepad's paper said. 

Penelope looked at both arrangements of clothes with the end of a makeup brush in her mouth, then pointed. "I say both, but I like that one best. You look good in dark green."

Ash had three different outfits laid out onto her bed, the rest of the filled and empty bags on her floor, and a collection of makeup splayed out on the sheets. 

"Okay, I'm never one for neutrals, I love my colorful eyeshadows and lipsticks," Penelope decided, "However, I think the best way to go about this makeup is nude colors so we can fit all three outfits. Or! I just mastered my black smokey eye technique, how do you feel about that?"

Ash nodded, and the blonde woman patted the bed next to her to invite Ash to sit next to her. "All right, you have, like, perfect eyebrow shape, so I'm only going to touch them with a little bit of powder filler and clear gel, then I'll do your eyes and contour and lips. I'm thinking a dark brown lip liner with a cranberry lipstick that we can blend into it, what do you think?"

The girl's eyes were wide with confusion, and she shrugged. 

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Ash shook her head. 

"All right, then would you like me to talk you through how I'm doing this so you can learn? The products I bought you today are very similar to what I'm using now. I can even show you the best ways to do your makeup when you're wearing glasses versus when you're wearing your contacts."

Penelope seemed very excited to teach Ash about makeup, and though Ash hadn't worn makeup very much before, she had become excited, too. The girl nodded again. 

Penelope did exactly that. She explained to the teenager why she used a thin angled brush to line her eyebrows, and how to carefully brush her eyebrows using clear or tinted gel with the spoolie. She spelled out every blending and brush technique she used while packing on black, grey, and brown eyeshadow onto Ash's lids and the importance of using an eye primer. Penelope gestured to her own face to show Ash how she was blending contour and blush, and why she should never use a shade too orange or too grey. She held the bottom of Ash's chin still while she lined her lips with liner and lipstick, telling her about the difference between the two and how to make them go together. She told Ash exactly how to finger curl her hair, which Penelope described as "just the right texture for."

"And remember," Penelope added at the end as she sprayed Ash's face with a cool mist, "When doing a full face, always blend down your neck, and use a setting spray." 

Ash nodded again at the woman. 

"Now, go take a look. Wait! Actually, put your first outfit on, then go take a look in the mirror. I'll step out so you can change." 

As Penelope left the room and closed the door, Ash picked up her first outfit. She changed from her original clothes into the new outfit, pulling off the plastic and paper tags as she went. The shoes that were paired with the outfit fit well, but firm enough that they needed to be broken in. Once she was finished, Ash slowly opened the door. 

"Okay, don't look yet!" Penelope called from the doorway as she saw Ash. Her voice lowered to a whisper, "Go, go, look!"

Penelope followed Ash into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She watched as the teenager stared at herself in the mirror with wide eyes. 

Ash thought she looked different this morning with a different shirt and jeans. But now, a short dark green romper with long sleeves draped over her. The black lace on the sleeves and hem of the shorts contrasted against her pale skin, but complimented the jade green fabric that was ruched at the waist. The two gold necklaces around her neck shined as she turned in the light, and a golden snake pendant with green eyes at the bottom of one chain dangled in front of her chest. The black ankle boots made Ash just barely an inch taller. Her face was how she never imagined her face could look. 

Ash had never had too much of a problem with her looks. Did she have insecurities? Of course, she was a teenager. Even a teenager without an abundance of trauma had insecurities, but Ash was overall unconcerned about her permanent appearance. But now, she was in awe of the smooth contour and blush shaping her face. Her nicely-laid and tinted eyebrows. The black shadow on top of her eyelids that carefully blended into a light brown where her eye socket ended. The maroon lipstick that contoured her mouth with a shining clear gloss. 

Penelope held her hands together in front of her stomach with an almost-nervous smile. "Do you like it?"

Ash still stared at her reflection for a silent few seconds. Her mouth made tiny movements. Then, a scratchy "I love it," whispered out. 

Penelope's smile had never grown wider. She opened her arms wide to hug Ash with a small "Oooooo" sound. The teenager hugged her back carefully before the woman released, keeping her hands on her shoulders.

"I'm so glad. Let's go show the others."

.

A/N: Wowowow three updates in one day that is entirely unheard of