This is Edward's POV of my oneshot "Shrine". I would highly recommend you go to my profile and read that one first. I tried to make this able to stand alone, but since I already had written so much of the story, it is quiet possible I left out some major clarification details in this one.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight series. No copyright infringement is intended.
Oh, and a shout out to EdwardBellaAndSasSak4Ev6209138 for the encouragement to write this.
--
Temple
I was absolutely miserable. I would cry if I still had the capability to do so.
While Esme, Carlisle, and Rosalie were out, Alice had insisted Emmett, Jasper, and I go to Olympia to get our tuxedos. More than almost anything in the world, I wanted my goddess, Bella, to go with us. Alice had flat out refused.
All morning I groaned and begged for Her to come. Alice just responded by thinking, 'no, nope, not gonna happen, Edward!'
Finally, I snapped and said, "You know how much it hurts me to be away from Her! Why can't Bella come?"
"Tradition," she snapped back.
"I don't care about tradition, Alice," chimed in my Bella. Oh, my wonderful goddess; She is always looking after me.
"Well, you'll both just have to get over it," she sighed. Then, hoping to use poor, susceptible Bella to achieve her evil ends, she made puppy dog eyes and a pout. "Don't you love me at all, Bella? We never get girl time anymore!" she whined.
My anger at Alice quickly turned to agony as Bella fell to her charms. "Stop it, Alice!" Bella cried. "I'll stay! I'll stay!"
"Bell-ah," I glared, and then tried a different tactic. I softened my eyes and looked at Her through my lashes—dazzling, She had called it in the past. "Please don't do this to me, love," I crooned.
"I really do think Alice and I need some girl time," She said, resisting my meager charms. If She had attempted the same thing on me, I would have become a filthy puddle at Her glorious feet. "And," She continued, "I'm sure Emmett and Jasper want guy time with you."
"If 'guy time' means 'torment Edward time,'" I muttered, thinking of the various tortures those two could inflict on me during the trip. Then I realized what I was doing: I was putting my own selfish desire to avoid those two nincompoops before what my goddess wanted, yet again! Trying pitifully to make it up to Her, I said, "if that's what You want, my love, how can I refuse?" I smiled Her favorite smile as I silently begged for Her forgiveness.
Bella just stood there in silence, obviously thinking very intently. Suddenly, She was startled out of Her thoughts as a very ticked off Emmett blew the jeep's horn, shouting, "stop ignoring our thoughts and get in the jeep, Eddie!" Oh, how I loath that nickname! I longed to rip off that idiot's arms and beat him with them….
I stared down at my goddess, begging silently for just a few more minutes with Her. Then, prompted by the increasingly murderous thoughts coming from the nearby Alice and the far off jeep, I pressed my frozen lips to Her magnificently warm and loving ones. Then, knowing how uncontrollable Alice could be without rules to follow, I growled, "If She says stop, you will. If She wants to call me, you will let Her."
"Sure," she squealed, followed by, 'don't worry; I don't want her resisting even more than she already does. I'll keep it relatively tame and PG.'
I turned to my Bella, confident that the pixie would control herself. "Goodbye, my love, my Bella," I crooned, bracing myself for the lengthy day without Her with one more kiss. As I did so, Her magnificent heart sped up, much to my delight. The thought of a demon like me having any affect besides absolute terror on this wonderful creature was absolutely heavenly.
I walked out reluctantly into the backyard and to the driveway where my tormenters waited for me. Why couldn't Alice just have the tuxes shipped, or pay the store to come up here?
"Took ya long enough, Eddie boy," bellowed Emmett.
"Come on, Edward, the sooner we go, the sooner we can get back," offered Jasper.
I held my hand out to Emmett for the keys, but he just shook his head. 'It's my jeep,' he thought, then, reconsidering, he said, "you can drive on the way back."
"Shotgun," called Jasper, jumping into the passenger seat. Darn it. They know how much I hate riding in the back. Well, if I was with Bella, I would gladly sit in the back with Her….
"Edward, you do know I can feel everything you do, right?" Jasper said, annoyed.
"Sorry," I muttered, as Emmett pulled out of our stone driveway.
"Well, then give it a rest!"
"Speaking of giving things a rest, are you ready to admit defeat, Jasper?" Emmett interjected.
"Not on your afterlife," Jasper shot back. Last night they had played Guitar Hero. Emmett had been in the lead for 99 percent of a song, but somehow Jasper had ended up with more points. The game had declared Jasper the winner, but Emmett would not admit that the "Game King," as he liked to call himself, had lost.
I settled myself more comfortably into the seat, glad that their argument had distracted them from me. I used my brief moments of peace to think about my glorious Bella….
Oh, how I worshiped Her. Everything about Her was perfect. Her silken hair… Her luscious lips… Her delicate hands… Her perky breasts… No! Bad Edward, I scolded myself. You have no right to think of Her that way, Cullen!
Bella, my goddess, had no idea of the extent of my adoration. She did not comprehend how I would do anything for Her: I would buy Her the moon if She said to.
I worshipped Her so much that I had actually built a temple—well, a shrine, it was much too small for a temple—in my closet for worshipping Her. It contained glorious photographs of Her perfection, candles so I could attempt, completely unsuccessfully, to duplicate Her glorious scent, a boom box with Her lullaby on a CD inside of it, and a lock of Her silken hair, removed strand by precious strand from Her hairbrush. I would never damage Her wonderful, eternal head by removing the fleeting hairs from the source.
Only Alice knew about the shrine. Her visions had made that unavoidable. I had threatened her and her husband's things to keep her quiet. I truly didn't mind if the family knew, but I could not risk embarrassing my precious Bella.
Ah, and Bella…I worried constantly what She would think. Would She hate the "present," or would She be furious at my lack of a proper house of worship? I knew She hated anything that remotely brought attention to Her, but how could the most perfect person in existence not want attention?
"Edward, if you value the fact that your head is attached to the rest of your body, stop now!"
"Oops! Sorry, Jasper," I said, reluctantly pulling myself out of my thoughts.
They had apparently put a hold on their argument. I knew they would not stop permanently until the next round of video games had distracted them with a new argument.
"This is brotherly bonding time!" Emmett shouted. "Let's do some bonding!"
Here we go….
"And what did you want to do, Emmett?" I sighed.
"Talk sports and girls, of course. Too bad we can't get drunk!" he exclaimed.
"You're marred, Emmett, so is Jasper, and I'm engaged. Besides I'm not interested in human sports." We had just passed Neilton. Only an hour until we get there, I thought.
"Spoilsport," grumbled Emmett.
"We can still talk about our wives," Jasper offered.
"Oohh! Good idea! When you gonna sleep with Bella, Edward? Even the 107-year-old virgin has to get some eventually." Emmett pried.
"Leave me out of this," I snapped. I wanted Her enough without being reminded constantly by Emmett.
"Sorry, forgot you were a prude! Hey, Jasper, what size breasts has Alice got? Esme made me do laundry the other day and one of her bras was in there. I didn't know they made them that small!"
"Emmett, SHUT UP!" Jasper and I shouted together.
"She's a 'B'. Her chest just makes them look smaller," Jasper retaliated. "Aren't Rosalie's melons?"
"Alright, alright. I get the picture: no more girl talk. And Rose's are not melons!"
Only twenty minutes, I thought as we passed a sign which said, "Montesano: five miles."
Just as I thought I would have to bail to save my sanity, a '09 Mercedes with awful wheels passed us.
"Did you see the tires on that thing?" Jasper gushed
"So trashy," Emmett said, rolling his eyes. I could defiantly handle car talk.
We eventually reached the city limits, and I began looking for Sun Street, our destination. We managed to get there ten minutes later.
Pierre d'Versailles' boutique resided at 1901 Sun Street. It was designer enough for Alice, but conservative in price enough for Bella, yet expensive enough that I felt I was actually being allowed to buy something for my goddess.
Emmett bounced up the marble steps as Jasper and I followed behind him
"Appointment for Cullen," Jasper announced to the assistant behind the desk.
'Ooh! These are the rich ones,' the man thought excitedly, then showed us to the dressing rooms where our tuxedos were waiting. We tried them on, showed Pierre, who had emerged from the back room, had minor adjustments made, paid, and walked out.
"Thank goodness that was painless and is done! Why couldn't they come to Forks?" I sighed.
"Because Bella didn't want to pay the delivery fee, remember?" Jasper reminded me unnecessarily. Why didn't my goddess like having money spent on Her?!
"I know, I know," I muttered. "Give me the keys, Emmett."
"Fine, Mr. No-fun," Emmett pouted. "I wanted to stay in Olympia a while."
"Fine, but you'll have to run home," I retorted.
Jasper and I loaded up the jeep and hopped in, followed by a very ticked off Emmett. Finally, we were more than half done!
We managed to get to Hoquiam in silence before a very board Emmett declared a game of I Spy.
"I spy with my—"
"Telephone pole," I sighed.
"How'd you know?"
"Mind reader, Emmett," I rolled my eyes. For such a smart vampire, he really was very clueless.
"Spoil sport," he grumbled. "Fine, only Jasper can answer."
Jasper indulged him in a few rounds, hoping (as was I) that he wouldn't come up with anything worse if we kept him distracted.
We were halfway between Amanda Park and Queets when I began to pick up Alice's thoughts. She was looking at a newly made-over and shocked Bella as she said, "…make it quick. The boys will be here in—let me check… twenty minutes." 'Ooh, I can't wait until he finds out I showed her the shrine!' she thought.
How. Could. She! Bella will be furious with me!
I jumped from the jeep, just barely managing to hit the brakes as I sprinted away. I raced north, cutting through the Olympic Experimental State Forest to hurry home to do damage control.
Two minutes later, I raced up the porch steps and up the stairs to my room where Bella's precious heart beat frantically.
'You hurt my Turbo, and you won't live to regret it,' I vaguely heard Alice think from the garage. I didn't care: Bella's reaction was much more important.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed with an indescribable look on Her face as I sprinted into our bedroom. I froze a few feet into the room and stared at the floor. I could not find the courage to look at Her divine face.
I could feel Her gaze on my face, but She said nothing for a long moment. Eventually, in utter desperation, I whispered, "I'm sorry."
Then, amazing as always, She breathed deeply, stood up, and wrapped he arms around me tightly. Instinctively, I put my hands on Her waist.
"Edward, look at me, please," She said a moment later. I immediately looked at Her glorious face, unable to resist the siren call of Her begging.
"I'm sorry," I repeated, searching the depths of those brown, endless pools for any hint I could find.
"Why exactly are you sorry? And why did you build that… well, whatever it is?"
I took in a deep breath of Her magnificent scent and started to babble. "It's… it is a temple—well more accurately a shrine since it is hardly big enough to be a house of worship. I… I worship You. I really do think You are a goddess—no, not in the 'You created life' way, but in the 'You have given me life and redemption' and the You are literally perfect physically, mentally, and in Your soul' sort of ways. As for saying 'I'm sorry,' it was, well, a blanket response. I know You hate gifts and outlandish shows of affection, so in that way I feel guilty that I might have upset You. But, also, the spiritually, divinely worshipping part of me is screaming at the rest that that is not a large or grand enough temple for Your celestial self. In that respect, I'm apologizing for not making a great enough house of worship for You. I'm pulled between wanting that proper temple and feeling mortified and awful for displeasing and failing You." I laughed at my pitiful attempt to explain myself.
"Oh, Edward," She sighed, as I continued to wallow in my inferiority.
I knew I had to say something-- anything. I eventually found a way to phrase my most pertinent questions.
"Please, B-Bella, I… I need to know Your thoughts. How much have I upset You? In which ways are You upset with me? Are You angry that I did not tell You about it? What can I do to make it be-?" Again, I was babbling.
"Edward, I'm not angry or upset. Admittedly, I'm very shocked: I know you adore me, even if I don't fully understand why, but this seems so out-of-character for you. The clump of hair is a bit disturbing, I will admit…." She wrinkled Her nose adorably, but I was too ecstatic to consider why.
"Oh, thank You! Thank You! I hate disappointing You." I wrapped my arms tightly around Her, grateful my life was not ending.
Still, I had more questions. "If I may, Bella, was that too much or too little?"
She smiled, and I felt my dead heart thump to life. "Both," She said. "It's strange that you 'literally' worship me, but since it's you, how can I be upset?"
I was getting more excited by the second, but I needed the rest of my questions answered.
"And the too little part?"
She giggled Her wonderful laugh. "As much as I resist presents, I do honestly love it when you show me how much you love me. If I think of it as a show of affection, it's rather flattering… well not the hair part, exactly. How did you get that much hair?"
I realized why She had wrinkled Her nose a few minutes ago, so I quickly soothed Her. "Don't worry, my love. I took it strand by precious strand from your brush. I can put it in the trash if you would like." I was reluctant to throw out a piece of my goddess, but the happiness She would gain was eternally worth it.
"Yes, please," She squeaked in reply.
Confident I was not in trouble, I allowed myself to feel the cravings I had been suppressing since I got here. "Can I kiss You now?" I asked hopefully. "I missed You so much!"
"You can always kiss me," She said, and I grinned internally in happiness. I instantly leaned down and pressed my lips to Her perfect ones more tightly than I ever had before. I even began to place my tongue against Her supple lips before I caught myself. No need to push it, Edward.
"Can I ask another favor?' I begged, many, many kisses later. I pulled just far enough away to speak.
"Sure," She mumbled, breathlessly.
I tried to ask as tactfully as I could, but when I opened my mouth, I blurted, "Can I call You 'goddess'?" Great job, Cullen.
"Only if we can always kiss like that," She breathed, tilting Her head back, which offered a tantalizing view of Her neck and lips. She puckered Her lips in invitation.
Just as I went to swoop down and take those magnificent lips for myself, Her stomach let out a growl more ferocious than some mountain lions I had hunted in the past.
In an instant I was furious. How dare Alice neglect Her so? "Didn't Alice feed You?" I would defiantly have to do some damage to that evil little pixie….
"Shh! Relax!" She soothed. "We got a bit distracted with my nails and hair. Oh, and Edward, how dare you threaten her or her husband's things just to keep her quite about that shrine!"
"I- I wouldn't really do anything. I was just terrified that You would be furious with me if or when You found out." Every time I managed to get myself out of trouble, trouble came back with a vengeance.
"Silly Edward," She teased. "Come on, my stomach won't stop until it gets what it wants."
Tempt not the desperate man, I thought as I lifted Her up like the bride She would be in a matter of weeks, and carried Her at vampire speed down to the kitchen.
"What would You like to eat, my goddess?" finally, I could tell Her what I really thought about Her!
Catching Her balance, adorably, She went over and leaned against the counter. Good girl, I thought. I loved it when I was allowed to pamper Her. "Just some tomato soup, please."
"Coming right up, goddess." I quickly threw the soup in a pan and turned the stove on under it.
After turning on the stove, I turned around to see Her lost in thought. Oh, how I wish I was granted access to Her thoughts….
After a moment, She looked up at me with what was obviously supposed to be a crafty look. "Just 'cause my stomach complained doesn't mean I'm done kissing you," She said.
Oh, my Bella!
"With pleasure," I purred, absolutely content. I wrapped my arms around Her tiny waist and molded my lips to Her perfect ones. In my glee, I pushed Her back over the counter extraordinarily far as we kissed passionately.
Despite how perfect the kisses were, I found myself wanting to praise Her verbally as well. After many, many kisses, I began murmuring, "my goddess, oh, my goddess," whenever I pulled away to allow Her to breath.
Lost in Her magnificent body, I didn't hear the boys return.
"'My goddess'? Eddie, come on, at least have a little dignity!" Emmett boomed as he walked in the kitchen door. "And what's with abandoning us like that? Isn't there some law, or at least some rule in the code of brotherhood about slamming on the breaks and taking off?!"
Why couldn't we have just a few more minutes? "Hello to you, too Emmett," I snapped, leaning back so I did not hurt poor Bella's spine.
Next, Jasper entered the room and quickly stepped back from the rush of emotions. Recovering, he said, "What are you yelling about, you big lug?" Then he turned to me. "Oh, Edward, very mature leaving us like that." 'You can be such a jerk sometimes,' his thoughts said.
I spiraled down further into my misery as Alice followed her husband in, saying, "He was yelling because Edward was referring to Bella as 'his goddess'. He actually built a shrine to her in his closet." She giggled as she danced over to the stove to remove the boiling over pot of soup. "Esme won't be happy if the kitchen gets burnt down by some abandoned food on the stove." Stupid brothers; they made Bella's loose Her lunch.
"He built a shrine? Eddie, you're even more of a pathetic stiff than I thought." As the room filled with laughter, Bella turned a deliciously beautiful shade of red.
"Edward, will you take me out to lunch just this once, please?" My beautiful Bella begged.
Everyone's thoughts spiraled around me. 'priceless,' was Jasper's contribution. Emmett thought, 'I'm writing this down for future torture.' Even Alice showed me a vision of the weeks of possible ridicule ahead.
"Of course, my goddess," I said, and the peals of laughter grew even more deafening. "I suggest we stop at Charlie's on the way. I have a feeling we'll need to leave town for a couple days until this dies down, Bella, love." Bella would appreciate Her toothbrush and some changes of clothes if we needed to stay away for a while. Besides, Charlie's was such a worrier when it came to his daughter. It was best to get "permission" to take Her away for awhile.
We stayed in a hotel in California for nine days as we avoided our siblings. My goddess wasn't happy about the money spent, but She dreaded going home even more. We had a great time passionately kissing in bed, the hot tub, the pool, the street, the Volvo, the park, restaurants, the lobby—well, everywhere really.
--
Yes, I know Edward was out of character. It was for emphasis.
If anyone has an idea they could give me for another oneshot, that would be great. I can't promise it will be up before August 2nd though. Even if you don't have an idea, please review and tell me what you think of this.
Quick funny story: I asked my step-dad what guys did during bonding time (for the jeep scene). After ruling out getting drunk and food, he suggested I have them talk about their wives "assets". I read the segment out loud for him and my mom, and, after cracking up, they decided they shouldn't have suggested it and that they needed to monitor my FF use. Apparently it's corrupting me. :-P
June