Eli and Thrawn were walking down the busy streets of Coruscant back to their doormroom after attending a seminar a few blocks away. They walked in a comfortable silence, with the Chiss observing everyone who passed them and Eli trying to calculate the remaining amount of seconds he had left on the hateful planet; that was until Thrawn decided to open his mouth.

"Cadet Vanto," Eli let out an internal sigh as Thrawn contemplated yet another question. "Why do so many of the females of your species wear battle paint?"

Eli frowned in confusion before the alien motioned to a table outside a cafe where a group of young women were sat as an example. Their faces were chalked white with intricate patterns etched around their eyes in the style of the once queen and former senator, who's status as a fashion icon had only solidified after her sudden death.

"It's not battle paint. It's called make-up." Eli explained. "Does your culture use battle paint?"

"Yes." Thrawn replied in a short simplistic manner which Eli had come to understand meant that he wasn't going to elaborate on the matter. "But if it does not invoke fear into their enemies then what is it's purpose?"

"Oh I'm sure some wear it to invoke fear in their enemies." Eli said with a slight chuckle. "But mostly women wear it to cover up imperfections in their skin or to express themselves."

"I see." Thrawn said in another of his typical cryptic responses, effectively dropping the subject.

The pair continued their walk in silence. Once they made it to their dorm it was only a matter of minutes before they lay on their bunks ready for bed. As the tendrils of sleep started to fog Eli's brain all memory of the previous conversation was wiped from his mind as he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning Eli awoke with a long yawn. As he blinked last nights sleep from his eye he looked across to the bunk and the other side of the room and was surprised to find the bed empty. He sat up like a shot in panic, his mind now suddenly awake with worry. Up until this point Eli had woken up every morning to find the Chiss tinkering on his bed having been up the last few hours as his species required less sleep. As tried to work out what dire senarios that the could have gotten himself into now the refresher door slid open to reveal the blue outline of his roommate standing in the doorway. Eli let out a sigh of relief and jumped off his bunk.

"You nearly gave me a heart atta-" Eli cut himself off when he realised that under Thrawn's eyes was a layer of red eye liner.

Eli's first thought was "When did he get that eye liner?" and the second was "Wow...".

The smooth curves of crimson made the harsh glow from his eyes softer to resemble to twinkling of a distant red star. It drew out the soft pink undertones of his desirable lips. And the contrast of colour made Eli notice for the first time the dash of freckles that the sun had kissed across Thrawn's nose.

"What are your opinions of my appearance?" Thrawn said, his voice suddenly sounding a lot more silvery to Eli's ears.

"I erm...yeah you look...you look great." Eli replied, knowing his face was blushing the same colour as the eye liner.

"Thank you Eli." Still distracted by Thrawn's appearance it took a moment from to realise that he'd used his first name which only made him blush harder.

"Once we are dressed there is a establishment that I wish to visit that, according to the holonet, sells a liquid to moisturise my skin." Thrawn said, the corner of his lips turned upwards in a rare giddy smile. Eli smiled fondly back at his roommate before getting changed.

His only hope was that Thrawn's new found artistic fascination wouldn't get them into trouble.

A/N I've always wondered where and why Thrawn got his eyeliner from that he wears in Star Wars Rebels since it's not part of his skin or mentioned anywhere else. Hopefully we'll find out where he gets it from in canon at some stage. Xxxxxxxxx