Note: I'm sorry I've been gone so long. I can't promise I won't leave for a while again, but I can promise that I think about this story a LOT. I wish I had someone to bounce ideas around with.

Chapter Summary: In which Bella consistently sticks her foot in her mouth or

In which Aro gets to spend a little bit of (supervised) time with the human.

Bella stared down at the plate in front of her, her eyes wide.

"Wow…this looks amazing."

Esme hovered nearby, her tightly clasped hands the only sign of her anxiety.

"The real test will be if you like the taste. Go on," she urged gently.

"Well I mean it smells good…" Bella muttered, but picked up her silverware anyway. She cut off a slice of chicken and, without much preamble, bit into the piece.

Her eyes closed and she had to resist groaning. God, Esme was like the model housewife. It wasn't fair. Swallowing, she took a short breath and looked at the older woman.

"It's…really good."

"Oh! Thank goodness; I haven't had many opportunities to cook this dish."

Bella nodded then shook her head lightly, raising her eyebrows. "Well, you should make it more often. It's amazing."

"I'm glad to hear it," Esme said with a smile. "I'll leave you to it, then."

"Wait, what about you guys?"

The older woman paused, turning back to Bella with a soft smile.

"Oh, we've already eaten; don't worry about us."

She turned again and began walking toward the door, but once more paused when she heard Bella speak in a small voice. "Um…"

"Yes?"

Oh, this was stupid, Bella thought to herself. It was a ridiculous request, and she should be used to eating alone – she'd done it plenty enough when she was living with Renee – but the idea of eating alone in such a large and beautiful kitchen had her feeling unsettled.

"Would it…uh. Would it be okay if I ate out there in the living room?"

Esme blinked in surprise.

"Well of course dear. But why would you want to do that?"

"Um…" Bella bowed her head slightly, biting her lip softly. Esme could see that the girl felt unsure, nervous. Her motherly instincts kicked in and all she saw was a child that needed the comfort of family. She smiled softly, understanding.

"Nevermind, dear. Come, I'll grab a small folding table so you can eat in the armchair."

An unexpected surge of relief surged through Bella, releasing itself in a quiet sigh. She picked up her plate, preparing to follow Esme out.

"That would be great, thanks."

She wasn't sure what had possessed her to think this was a good idea. She quietly picked at her food, trying to pick up snippets of the conversations around her. There was a small comfort in having other bodies around her, but it was overshadowed by the curious glances the Cullens kept sending her, and by the overwhelming presence of Aro.

Aro.

What was with him? She'd seen arrogant people before, proud people, but Aro was on a completely different level. He carried himself like royalty, with a presence that filled the room with subtle power. He sat on his part of the couch as if it were a throne, and even just reading a book as he was, he did so while radiating statuesque grace and beauty. It wasn't fair, she grumped to herself silently. What was he reading, anyway? She tiled her head, trying to get a view of the cover partially obscured by his fingers. 'He has such nice hands.'

'He has such nice everything,' another, quieter voice in her head stated.

'Get a grip', she scolded herself, stabbing a piece of chicken with more force than strictly necessary. She just met the guy and she was having an attack of hormones. Could she really hold it against herself, though? He was one of the most attractive people she'd ever met. He was tall, not as tall as Emmett or Jasper, but still taller than her measly 5'4", with gently sloping shoulders and a lean figure accentuated by long legs framed perfectly with expensive looking slacks. She moved her study of him to his face, faintly narrowing her eyes in thought. His jawline was sharp with a gently rounded chin, his lips thin but soft-looking. Said lips were lifted slightly in amusement and paranoia made her look quickly to his strange murky violet eyes to see if he had noticed her staring. He seemingly hadn't, thankfully still focused on his book. A part of her felt guilty at the relief the felt that he may have problems with his vision, that he wasn't utterly perfect.

Perhaps he was anemic, too? The Cullens were pale, absurdly so, even to a pale girl like herself, but Aro was pale to the point of being chalky. It made his dark hair stand out even more starkly, falling like a layer of black silk against his shoulders. Her perusal continued, violently squashing the urge to cross the room and pet the raven locks, audience be damned. The investigation ended at his hands again, and she wondered why she liked them so much. There were a lot of things to admire about his appearance, but his hands drew her attention like nothing else could. Belatedly, she noticed that his fingers had shifted, pulling the book higher and allowing her to see the title printed on the spine in stark goldleaf lettering: Goethe's Faust.

"Faust?" she intoned, not realizing she'd spoken aloud.

Aro smiled wider, raising his eyes from the tome to lock gazes with her.

"The sordid tale of a desperate man who sold his soul to Mephistopheles for a mere glimpse of transcendence," he commented airily.

Huh. "I didn't think you the type to read fantasy."

She wanted to squirm at the look he gave her. "Do you know all individuals so soon after making their acquaintance?" he questioned, raising a brow.

Flushing hotly, Bella stumbled over her words, feeling horribly rude and stupid. "N-no, I mean, I didn't, I would never—"

She abruptly cut herself off, taking in the way his eyes were creasing at the edges and his shoulders were shaking with repressed laughter. She took a quick swig of tea, trying to fight down the burn of shame that she'd made such a fool of herself.

"I am teasing you, Isabella. Please do not get upset."

"I didn't mean to assume…" Bella mumbled.

"It is only human to do so," he reasoned, and he heard the eldest Cullen boy snort in a rather undignified fashion at his choice of words.

"In any case," Aro continued, "you could hardly consider it fantasy. Rather, it is a tragedy, seen by some as a cautionary tale against wishing for that which you do not have. In fact, I'd say that it's a shining example of the folly and arrogance of Man, never able to take the blame once it is shown that Man is at fault."

She didn't think herself the smartest person around, but Bella did have a deep-seated love of books. As long as the story was good, she was game. Her curiosity piqued, she smiled and leaned forward a bit.

"Well that sounds kind of interesting. I'll have to go get a copy at the library or something."

The book lowered toward Aro's lap and she felt a little thrill at having his undivided attention. Granted, she'd likely had it the entire time given how he'd hardly taken his eyes off her since she'd spoken, but it was the gesture of him lowering the book that made it so satisfying.

"You enjoy books?"

"Yeah, have ever since I was small. I like going to different worlds, being someone else and going on adventures, that sort of thing. It's the best kind of escape and has endless possibilities! It's…well it's…er…" she trailed off, realizing that her enthusiasm had been bleeding into her voice and body language. Aro quirked a brow.

"What is wrong?"

"I just…I got too excited. Sorry," she mumbled, her shoulders hunching up around her neck.

The man snorted softly. "Isabella." She looked up at him, feeling heat crawling up into her face when his voice dropped to a purr. "Never be ashamed of enjoying yourself."

Feeling decidedly flustered, Bella leaned back and took a slow breath.

"Y-yeah. I uh…thanks."

He couldn't help but chuckle. Aro hadn't felt this entertained by another being's facial expressions since he'd knocked the Romanian coven from power. Sparing a quick glance at Carlisle and the rest of his coven, he took in the looks of disgust and growing suspicion at their conversation. Ahh, so they didn't trust him around the human, he thought with amusement. He watched as Esme gently asked if Bella had enjoyed her meal, the plate mostly empty. Nodding and apologizing for taking her time (she apologized often. Why?), she stood, grabbing the plate and heading to the kitchen. Esme followed, saying that the girl didn't need to wash her own plate, but Isabella insisted. Of course she would – she was hardly the type to be waited on.

He swiveled his gaze back toward the living room, and saw that at least three of the men were studying him intently, his own friend included. Carlisle looked curious, Edward looked distrustful, and the Major looked considering. He had looked completely contented before, apparently soaking in whatever emotions Isabella had been giving off. The rest regarded him cautiously, and Alice, the dear thing, radiated tranquility, gently rubbing circles into the Major's hand and leaning against his shoulder. The blond vampire glanced her way and leaned down, murmuring something unintelligible into her hair. A sweet gesture, he thought idly.

An odd thing, mates. Despite the many glimpses he'd gotten of it over the ages, he'd never understood the concept. He knew what they were, but not how it was supposed to feel. How could one tie themselves so irrevocably to someone else, risk life and limb and power all for the sake of another? It made no sense. His own sister had had one and look how that ended up. She sought to steal one of his kings, one of his prizes, and with her gone the man was practically a shadow. Where was the advantage in that? He'd spent decades, centuries, building his empire, taking what he wanted, when he wanted and how he wanted. No one would ever take that from him.

Crocuses invaded his nostrils again and he shut his eyes briefly before fixating on the source, the girl laughing softly at something Alice had said. She looked in his direction before quickly turning away, tucking her hair behind her ear and a blush high on her cheekbones.

No one.