Eternal Midnight by Starrylove, a Twilight fanfiction.

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Angst

Pairing: Edward/Bella

Summary: Alice sees something into the future only a few days before the wedding that changes everything. She sees an older Bella. Happy. Pregnant. Human. Although she tries her best to hide the vision from Edward, he sees it in her mind and is devastated. However, he knows what he must do: give her the mortal life that not only he's always wanted to give her, but now was destined to give her, no matter the price.

A/N: I know the summary sounds very New Moon, with the whole Edward thinking it's best to leave Bella, etc. But, I can assure you, there's more to the summary that I can't reveal until it happens, so I hope you can stick with me!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters. I badly wish I owned Edward but unfortunately, he's property of Stephenie Meyer (well, and Bella Swan, I guess. Damn).

Preface

"An eternity with you seems like nothing; there are no hours, no minutes, no seconds. Just me and you. But those same hours, minutes, even seconds without you feel like an eternity of pain. Don't leave me. Please. Never again. Edward, we were meant to be together."

She gently placed her hand on my chest, where my heart would have been beating. Her dark eyes stared up at me, slightly wet, as if she were near tears. Her hand moved up to my touch my face, the warmth of her skin making me almost feel human again. For that split second, I forgot about the monster I was. For that brief moment, I felt like a man and nothing else.

We were meant to be together.

I took her hand in mine and lightly kissed her palm, trying to believe every word.

I desperately wished I could.

"Edward."

Her voice, quiet as a hushed whisper, broke the silence of the night as I climbed into her room. As always, her eyes were peacefully shut, her soft pink lips slightly parted, allowing her to breathe slowly as she spoke my name once again, as she usually did in her sleep.

However, tonight her breathing was more rushed than normal. Amused, I raised one of my eyebrows and slightly turned my head to an angle to study her face more carefully. Her breathing was still abnormally quick for a girl who claimed to be fast asleep. Bathed in the faint glow of the moonlight, I noticed a ghost of a smile creeping onto that irresistible mouth of hers.

With that, a smile of my own slowly formed as I carefully leaned over her so my face was merely an inch away from hers. I automatically heard her heart speed up as I reached down and purposely brushed the fingertips of my pointer and middle finger slowly across her full lips, tracing from the top lip to the bottom. In the moonlight, I noticed a faint blush take over her soft cheeks, while a heavy sigh escaped the smooth lips I had just touched.

Using this as an indication, I leaned even closer, pressing my cold lips to her unbelievably warm neck; another traitorous sigh giving her away. It seemed to be getting easier and easier to be close to her, as I was taken more by being physically close to her as a man in love than as a vampire who thirsted for her blood. After the brief kiss, I trailed my mouth up to her ear and whispered into it.

"Just as I suspected. Bella, love, I may not be able to read your mind, but when it comes to you, I'm exceptionally observant."

Bella refused to give in. She pretended to mumble some silly, incoherent words to try to fake her deep sleep once again. It was almost convincing, as she frequently mumbled phrases that failed to make even the slightest bit of sense, but it still proved unsuccessful.

Intrigued by her stubborn playfulness, I decided to play along.

"Oh," I started, pretending to be hit with the realization that I was wrong and she was indeed, asleep. I proceeded to think aloud so she could clearly hear. "She's in a deeper sleep than I thought. Perhaps I should quietly leave her alone tonight."

After playing my ruse, I turned away from the bed and faced the window, pretending to walk away.

In a matter of seconds, I heard the familiar creak of her mattress and suddenly felt her small body press against my back. Her cheek nuzzled into the back of my right shoulder and her arms firmly wrapped around my waist, her hands resting on my stomach.

"Edward Cullen. Don't you even dare," she warned. I could feel her breaking into a smile as she wrapped her arms around me even tighter.

We stood just like that for what seemed like forever. Her arms still wrapped around me possessively as I began to run my fingers up and down her soft skin, originating from her small wrist to her elbow. I felt her press a light kiss on my shoulder, a wave of her warm breath tickling my senses, making me even more aware of her body pressed up against mine.

I gently grabbed her hands and carefully pulled them away from my stomach. Turning around to directly face her, I raised one of my own hands to her face, brushing away a stray piece of hair that escaped from her loose ponytail. Her eyes probed mine, trying to read what I was thinking. Ever since she found out about my special talent, she attempted to read my mind as frequently as I tried to read hers.

Her skin looked exceptionally pale and delicate, glowing in the moonlight. It reminded me of what would happen, what she would become, in merely two weeks. Excitement coursed through my cold body, warming me and making me feel as if I were on fire, as I thought of an eternity of loving the one person I couldn't live without. However, a small part of me remained frozen; skeptical.

How could you take away her soul?

"Edward," Bella whispered, causing my previous thoughts to abruptly stop. "Tell me what you're thinking."

Once again, she wrapped her arms around me and leaned in dangerously close, not only stopping my thoughts, but making them disappear entirely. She brushed her lips just barely over mine, her sweet breath hitting my mouth with full force. Against my will, my unnecessary breathing noticeably sped up, causing Bella to slightly smile in triumph. She then started to softly kiss the corners of my lips, continuing to every spot around my mouth, deliberately avoiding kissing me directly on the lips. It was pure torture.

Unable to stand still any longer, my left hand snaked around her waist, pressing her body even closer to mine The other swiftly slipped her hair out of her ponytail, releasing her long, dark hair onto her bare shoulders that were only covered by the thin straps of her tank top. Without thinking, my fingers found their way tangled in her hair, all while I was bringing her face to mine. Just as she had done, I brushed her full lips with mine, but only slightly.

"Bella," I said against her slightly parted mouth. "You honestly can't expect me to think when you tease me like that."

And with that, I closed the small space in between us, covering her mouth with mine.

"Bella, you need your sleep," I insisted later that night, trying to successfully convince her to stay underneath the covers and get some rest. I remembered to lie on top of the blanket rather than under, to make sure the coldness of my body didn't reach her.

"Edward, it's not even midnight yet," she pouted, making her now red and swollen lips even more noticeable than before. "Besides, I'm not tired."

I glanced at the clock on the small, white table beside her bed. Fifteen minutes to midnight.

"You've had a long day today letting Alice drag you around shopping. I know for a fact you're tired," I laughed, wrapping the blanket around her again, hoping she might succumb to sleep. I could only imagine all the stores Alice made her stop at. I knew first hand that shopping was like a sport for my sister, and she was, without a doubt, aggressive at it.

"I'm not sleepy, I promise," she murmured, snuggling against my chest, and reaching for my hand to hold. However, before she laced her fingers with mine, she suddenly clapped her other hand across her mouth, attempting to hide an obvious yawn.

"Liar," I whispered into her hair, smiling. The rose colored blush returned to her cheeks as I slightly turned into her, so I was hovering over her closer than before. She tilted her head upwards and raised her lips up to mine again for quite possibly the hundredth time. I'd lost count of all the kisses we'd shared just in that single night.

Moving my mouth in tune with hers, I let her warmth envelop me, ignoring the harsh actuality of the cold that would run through me for an eternity. The warmth in my body was all my imagination, a façade, but with Bella in my arms, I wanted to believe it.

Slowly, I pulled away and kissed down her long neck , to her collarbone. From there, I rested my head against her chest, where I could hear and feel her heart beating. I smiled and closed my eyes, just listening to her breathing, just as I had done in our meadow nearly two years ago. Her fingers lazily ran through my disheveled hair as I continued to listen to her heart beat rapidly.

"It belongs to you," she said, so quietly that only I could have heard. "Regardless of anything that's happened, it's always belonged to you."

When she spoke of past events, I knew she was speaking of her feelings for the dog, and for a moment, jealousy ripped through me thinking of the way he'd touched her.

As if she knew how I was feeling, she pulled me back up so my face was level with her own.

"I mean it, Edward," she whispered, again barely audible, but this time with a hint of desperation in her voice as if she thought I didn't believe her.

"I know, love," I assured her, hugging her tightly to me. I glanced at the clock, again. The time brightly glowed in the darkness of the room. Midnight.

Minutes passed. The clock continued to tick loudly, slicing through the silence with each second. Bella's breathing progressively slowed into a constant rhythm and her hold on my shoulders slowly loosened.

I quietly sighed, realizing she was finally asleep.

Hours passed. I still couldn't take my eyes off of her sleeping form. In two weeks, we'd be married and I'd change her. I frowned as I knew she would never be able to sleep and dream again. However, we would forever be in love. We would be happy. We would be truly together.

You'd steal her life.

I grimaced as the two debating parts of me continued to painfully tear me apart.

"Edward, I love you," Bella muttered, as she turned over in her sleep for the third time.

It's almost ridiculous how those four words could affect me, vanquishing the fact that I was not just a man. It made me ignore the truth that loving a woman was not as simple as it was for everyone else.

None of it mattered.

It didn't matter whether we were dealing with vampires or humans. It was love. Alice had seen it countless times. Making it not only love, but our intended future.

I shook all thoughts away, my eyes focusing back to Bella in her deep sleep. I didn't want to miss a beat. It would be one of the last times I'd see her in that state; eyes closed, lips half parted, and dreaming.

Please read and review? This is my first Twilight fic, so hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

This chapter was basically all fluff and Edward's doubts.. but oh well, it was all necessary.

Again, there's more to the story than just the summary, so stick with me.

-S