Companion one-shot to Finding You, which can be found on my profile. Read between chapters 35 and 36. Enjoy!

Breakfast that morning was uneventful besides Aro speaking to the server at the door about the marriage of the royal family happening the next day. When I had finished eating, Aro asked if I was ready to go. He apparently wanted to get a headstart on our day at the museum, something about there being a million things to explore. A part of me realized that he was either completely ignoring the fact that I had mentioned makeup earlier, which Chelsea had packed for him, or it suddenly slipped his mind. I went with the former. From what I had learned, vampires had near-perfect memory, and this particular vampire held thousands of memories in his mind that he could recall easily should he want to.

I went into the bedroom where I had left the makeup bag and picked it up, bringing it into the powder room. "Grab one of the dining room chairs, then meet me in the bathroom," I called out to Aro, who had been waiting in the front room for me.

There was a moment's pause before I heard movement, and then Aro stood at the door to the powder room, holding one of the chairs. "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Sit it down in front of the mirror and then sit down in it," I replied while taking a bottle of foundation and primer out of the bag. Honestly, I knew nothing about makeup except that the primer was supposed to go on first to prime the skin for the foundation. Chelsea had packed a few brushes as well, and I guessed at which one was meant for each step.

"Are you certain that I need that despicable liquid on my face?"

"You're paler than I am, practically translucent. Yes, you need something, or my dad's going to get suspicious. It's really not that bad. I've worn makeup a few times for special occasions."

Aro sighed as he set the chair down and seated himself on it. "How long will it take? I want us to have plenty of time before we are to meet your mother."

"Hold still, and it'll be done before you know it." I paused in thought for a second, not wanting to ruin the nice jacket he wore. "Take off your jacket first. I don't want to accidentally get any of this on it."

Aro did so, and I laid it down on the bed. Today was the first time that I had really seen Aro in something other than a tailored suit. Even while we were traveling, he had worn a business suit like he was preparing for a meeting once we arrived at the hotel. This time, however, he was dressed down. He had on a pair of slim, black drawstring pants and a green button-down shirt, which he paired with the black sports jacket. It was out of style for him, but at least he appeared more normal if such a thing were possible. When I asked him about the clothing, he said he had lent it from Carlisle, and that made a bit more sense.

Once I returned to the powder room, I squeezed the primer onto the top of my hand and began to dab it on Aro's skin. Aro sat stiffly in the chair, not even blinking. As I began to rub it in, I watched as his eyes squinted a few times. It was an odd sort of reaction, but I didn't say anything. I assumed it was due to annoyance that I was insisting on him wearing the makeup in the first place.

I picked up the foundation next, pumping some on my hand before taking a brush to brush it onto his face. It was then that he started jerking away from me. "Aro, stay still. You're only making it take longer."

"Those bristles bite."

His words took me back for a second. Hearing a vampire describe the brush as biting him was a bit strange. "Aro, it can't bite. It's not a vampire. Besides, makeup brushes are more fluff than anything."

"Feel it."

I ran my hand over the bristles of the brush, but I felt nothing out of the ordinary besides now having foundation on my fingertips, which I immediately washed off in the sink. "It feels fine to me."

I continued to apply the foundation to his face, Aro jerking away every few seconds. I decided to give him a moment again, half of his face painted, the other half not. The foundation really did do a lot to darken his skin tone, and blending it into his neck was helping. Whatever brand of makeup this was, it was near flawless. I could barely tell he was wearing any makeup at all. It looked just like a second skin.

Aro stared at himself in the mirror, and I moved to add more foundation to my hand to finish up the other side of his face. Unfortunately, before I got the chance to do so, Aro had grabbed my wrist and stopped me. Next thing I knew, the brush was out of my hand, I had been moved to the other side of the room, and Aro was standing over the sink, water running, and wetting down a washcloth he had grabbed from the counter.

"What are you doing?"

"I am taking this mess off of my face. I do not know what is in it, but the feel of it is otherworldly," Aro replied as he rubbed at his skin. I was slightly surprised that none of his skin rubbed off with it, nor turned red, with how hard he was scrubbing at it. Then I had to remind myself who I was looking at. "I don't understand how Chelsea can stand wearing any of this, or Heidi, for that matter."

"Proving once again that women are much stronger than men," I whispered to the side, but of course, Aro heard me.

"I do not see what makeup has to do with strength between male and female."

"Most women put up with more than men do, and in my experience, they act less like babies when things don't go their way. Like you throwing a fit because you had to wear makeup, so you looked a bit more human. Chelsea doesn't complain, and I'm sure it probably feels the same way to her."

"Be careful what you imply, my dear," Aro warned, but he was still busy washing his face.

"You don't agree with me?"

Aro retorted, "If I recall correctly, you were the one who ran away because things didn't go her way."

"That is not even close to the same thing. You were refusing to let me see my family and barely even let me talk to them. If anyone was throwing a fit, it was you because you didn't want to lose control of the situation," I replied as I hopped up on the other counter.

"I am letting you see your family now, and I can always change my mind."

With that, I decided not to push any further. I knew the threat wasn't empty, and the last thing I wanted was for Aro to drag me back to Volterra before I even got to say goodbye. I watched as he finished cleaning the makeup off of his face and finally threw the dirtied washcloth underneath the counter in a small, wired hamper. He made his way over to me, pushing himself toward me, so my legs spread, and he stood between them.

"I do not want to argue today," he said quietly before leaning in and kissing me on my forehead.

Meeting his eyes, I commented, "What if my parents get suspicious?"

"I am certain that you will think of something to tell them, but I am not having that gritty substance put back on my face. If I have to deal with that and these abhorrent contact lenses, then I will not be in control of my actions."

Meeting his eyes with mine, I sighed. "Okay."

"Wonderful. Shall we embark then?"

Aro helped me down off the counter, and as we entered the bedroom, he grabbed his jacket and put it back on. Before we left the room, Aro called the concierge and asked for him to find us a large umbrella, which we would pick up on our way through the lobby. Demetri met us in the hall, somehow knowing that we were ready to depart, but the moment we left the hotel, he disappeared. It would be a long day, and the only thing I could do was pray that the sun stayed behind the clouds and that my parents, for once, would be oblivious to the man that would appear on their doorstep later that night. If anything happened to them, I would never forgive him.

A/N: See you all on Friday for the well-awaited chapter of Aro meeting Lia's parents! I'm excited! The makeup scene is never shown in FY, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of what you'll see referred to in chapter 36. Now you know what it was that happened. Please review and let me know what you thought of this one-shot. Thanks for reading!