Title: ABC Guide to Edward and Bree

Rating: T

Pairing: Edward Cullen and Bree Tanner

Summary: The ABC guide to the relationship between Edward Cullen and Bree Tanner.

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Twilight!

A – Age. Being a vampire, Edward never really worried what age his mate would be, if and when he ever found her, because he figured that she would be a vampire and, therefore, frozen at whatever age she had been when she was turned. Yet when he saw Bree Tanner for the first time in an alley, preparing to eat a homeless man, he realized that she was actually reallyyoung, too young for the kind of life that had been thrust upon her. She was still a child in many ways and the mind reader was determined to take care of her. He wanted to give her kind of life she had deserved when she was still human.

B – Bree. Bree was an enigma. She was soft-spoken and had this innocence about her that most humans lost early in life. Edward had never met anyone like her. In some ways she was like a child and in other ways, she was as mature as Carlisle. Bree Tanner was unique, and being a vampire only put emphasis on that fact.

C – Change. "It hurt."

The words left Bree's mouth before she had time to think about what she was saying. She had been watching a movie with Edward while the others were out hunting and, ironically enough, it was about vampires. She and Edward had been laughing at the ridiculous way vampires were portrayed when Bree's words flew out of her mouth. "The change, I mean. It hurt. The movies make it seem all sexy and seductive, but it wasn't. It felt like my blood had morphed in to gasoline before someone took a lighter to it. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't because I was in too much pain. I thought that I was dying, but then I realized that death wouldn't hurt that much. I guess I can understand why the movies like to glamourize it. They wouldn't get as many viewers if they showed the reality."

The bronze-haired mind reader frowned as he recalled his own change. "Immortality comes at a price, just like everything else. I used to think that it was punishment for some kind of sin, but now I like to think that I had to endure the pain in order to find you. You have to break some eggs to make an omelet, after all."

D – Dizzy. Edward watched, bemused, as his girlfriend spun around in circles in the rain. He would ask what she was doing, but knowing Bree, her answer would be vague and leave him with more questions than answers. Besides, he loved watching her in these carefree moments she had. Seeing her act so human left him with his own feeling of humanity, almost like he was alive for a few short moments. The only thought on his mind as he watched her was how glad he was that vampires couldn't get dizzy.

E – Eternity. The prospect of living for the rest of eternity was a long time, even for a vampire. For a very long time, the idea of living for an eternity was torture. The mind-reader especially hated the thought of living forever because, honestly, what did he have to live for? He loved his family, but sometimes you needed something else, a purpose, and Edward lacked a purpose.

Then he had met Bree and everything changed. Bree was his reason to stay alive for the rest of eternity. Through his eyes Breewas the reason for everything.

F – Fred. "Bree, who's Fred?" Edward wasn't sure he would like her answer, yet a part of him needed to know. Obviously, this Fred was someone she cared about, because she thought about him almost all the time.

The newborn vampire smiled brightly at the thought of her friend. "I met him after the change. and he was a friend when I had nobody else. I wonder how he's doing? Maybe I should track him down to find out! He could even stay with us for a while, wouldn't that be great?"

Edward gave her a small smile, but kept his mouth shut. He didn't know Fred, but he already hated him.

G – Guilt. When Bree came home from a night out with Alice and Rosalie, her boyfriend could read the guilt in her expression. When his sisters went upstairs without a word, both of whom thinking of random topics so as to hide their real thoughts, he waited for her to say something. It was while waiting that he smelled the fresh blood – human blood – on her lips, and that was the only explanation he needed. In an instant, he had her in his arms as she sobbed without the tears.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried seeking comfort in his embrace. "It was an accident, I swear! One second I was shopping with Alice and Rose, and the next thing I know, I'm outside with a man dead at my feet. I don't even remember following him! I never meant to hurt anyone, Edward!Please don't hate me!"

H – Hero. When Bree had been a little girl, her mother often told her stories about a beautiful woman with a tortured past who was rescued by the handsome hero. Of course, she had never believed the stories, but it was nice to pretend every once in a while. When she had been cornered in the newborn battle, she never realized that her own little fairytale was playing out. Edward had stood up against the Volturi for her, and that was the moment she'd realized she was in love with him. He was her knight in shining armor, her hero.

I – Insanity. Bree was on a hunting trip with her mind-reading boyfriend and the silence was getting to her. She decided to talk about the first thing that popped in to her head. "When I woke up after the change and tasted blood for the first time, I'd thought I'd gone insane. In school – on the days I would actually show up – we learned about how some people would end up losing their minds for a variety of reasons, and I figured that was what had happened to me."

"I'm in love with a crazy woman," Edward teased as he pressed a kiss to her stone cheek.

"Well," Bree said as a grin of her own appeared, "I guess I can't disagree with you, can I? After all, I ended up with you."

J – Jewelry. "Why do you never ask for jewelry?" Edward was staring at his wife of fifteen years like it was the first time he was actually seeing her. "Alice, Rosalie, and even Esme ask their husbands for jewelry from time to time, but you've never asked me for jewelry once our entire marriage. Do I have bad taste?"

His wife looked up from the book she had been reading. "Your taste is fine, Edward, but I've never really been a fan of jewelry. If it bothers you so much, then go ahead and get me something. I'll wear it, but I have no reason to ask for anything. I have you." She smiled at him. "And you're all I want and need."

K – Kennel. When Bree told Edward she'd wanted to take him somewhere, out of all of the places he could have thought of, he never expected it to be a kennel filled with yapping dogs. "Are we stopping for a quick snack?" He chuckled a little in amusement.

The glare she sent his way sobered him right up. "This might seem silly, but I've always wanted to get a puppy with my boyfriend, and seeing as we've been dating for five years now, I figured it would be the perfect time. Don't laugh at me, Edward, because I really want this dog and we're getting it whether you like it or not. And no, you're not allowed to eat our dog if you suddenly get hungry."

Sometimes he wondered who the real mind-reader was in their relationship.

L – Lion. "I'm starving," the young vampire female complained for the hundredth time that day. "Can we go hunting? I'm in the mood for some mountain lion."

"Your wish, my command," her husband told her as he swept her in his arms with a smile. He needed to keep her fed so she would have energy for later; if he had anything to say about it, she would definitely need all her energy.

M – Married. She was frozen solid – both literally and figuratively – standing as still as a statue in shock. She couldn't move or breathe – not that breathing was an issue anymore. If her heart was still beating, it would have hammered right out of her chest before stopping altogether. She couldn't form words.

Edward wanted to marry her. He wanted to be hers – hers – forever. And she wanted it, too – oh God, did she ever – but she was so brain-dead that she couldn't think enough to form the word.

"Will you marry me, Bree?" he asked for a second time, wondering why she had not responded yet. He grinned. "This would be the part where you say yes."

She answered the best way she was capable of at the moment. By throwing herself at her boyfriend – fiancè now – and kissing him, holding him like she'd never let him go. And as he managed to pry her away long enough to slide the ring on her finger, she knew he'd never let her go, either.

TBC…

AN: So here is the driest half of the ABC Guide to Bree and Edward.

Please R&R like always!