I would like to thank the amazing averysubtlegift for beta-ing this!
Enjoy the fluffy clouds of fluff. (:
"You drive me crazy, you know that?"
"You've told me before, once or twice," He smiled, leaning over and giving me a lazy kiss on my jaw line. I turned to meet his lips, but he pulled away during the same moment.
"You're doing it again."
"Doing what, my dear?" He smirked, and I rolled my eyes, nudging his side with a laugh.
Edward Cullen: The oldest living tease. Before he could react, I stole a kiss from his lips, pulling away just as quickly. Edward gave a small chuckle, showing me that crooked smile that was forever burned into my memory.
I rested my head on his chest, and he pulled the blanket up. I silently shook it off.
"Bella," He warned in a low voice, "please, help my conscience out here…" He pulled it up again.
"I'm not even cold, Edward. I like…how your skin feels…" I blushed, burying my face into his chest so he didn't see the redness of my cheeks.
"You do feel a little warmer than usual, are you feeling sick?" I faced his worried expression, quirking a brow.
"No, Dr. Cullen. The reason I'm warmer is because you're trying to shove a 10 pound blanket up my butt."
He snorted, stifling a laugh. I shook the huge comforter off and tangled my legs with his to prove my defiance. I settled in again, this time resting my head against his shoulder. We stayed quiet for a while, stealing occasional kisses and whispering "I love you" every now and then, just because it felt good. It felt right, natural. Like breathing.
It was a rare sunny day in Forks, but we were both enjoying staying in my bed, "sleeping in". Charlie had long since left for work. We had plans to go to the meadow later to enjoy the weather of the just beginning summer, but neither of us was making a move to go just yet. The sun shone through my window, giving Edward's skin a slight glisten, and only furthering the fact that a blanket wasn't needed.
His head leaned back into the direct ray and he closed his eyes, sighing at the warmth. I smiled at the totally human gesture, and reached my hand up to his face, cupping his cheek. It was rare that he let his guard down like this. He leaned into my hand in response, smiling wider, "So warm…" He mumbled. Edward loved warmth. I laughed, letting my hand stay there as I glanced at the clock. Wow, it's almost noon. We'd been lying there for hours. I also took note of the date. June 13. I gave a little gasp when I realized that it was only…
"What are you thinking?" My thoughts were scattered as I heard his musical voice in my ear, felt his nose in my hair. I heard him inhale, smelling my hair.
What was I thinking again?
"Do you know what today is?" I asked, turning to him. His golden eyes were guarded and I couldn't see what he was feeling.
"The thirteenth of June…" He answered, kissing my forehead.
"Do you know what's one week from today?" The last part of my sentence came out as a little squeak, as Edward started trailing kisses up my neck, to my earlobe. I closed my eyes, not letting my thoughts scatter.
"Hmm?" He hummed in my ear. I reached a hand up and ran it through his hair, tugging lightly and scratching the scalp. I got a little moan in response, knowing he loved it.
"Stop trying to distract me," I said, grinning, "I know it's your birthday in a week, Alice told me," He sighed shaking his head.
"Alice, Alice…wonderful Alice…" Edward rested his head on top of mine.
"So…how old are you going to be?" I couldn't help but ask.
"No."
"'No'? That's not an age, Edward." I teased.
"'No', as in, I'm not telling." He pulled both of us to the other end of the bed so he could lie in the sunlight. The blanket slid off me all the way, and I trailed my toes up his leg.
"You're not like one of those middle aged women who hate their birthday, are you?" He grinned and touched noses with me.
"But Bella, you hate your birthday."
"But I was born middle-aged. Ask my mother."
He pressed his lips to mine, grinning. "Try telling that to Alice. She'll throw you a huge party. And this'll be the first time she'll get to pick out a cake." I rolled my eyes, thinking back to Edward's birthday. I did the math in my head. If Edward was changed in 1918, and he was seventeen then…
"105 years old…" I whispered, in slight awe. I always knew he was about a century old, but actually putting a date to it was a little shocking. He didn't say anything, so I changed to a lighter note "I'll bet Alice throws you a big party every year."
"No, she doesn't throw such a big one anymore after she picked-up on my strong dislike for them." I could imagine Alice decorating the whole house, and Edward playing along, for the sake of the others.
"Why do you hate birthdays so much?"
"Why do you?"
"Oh, just answer the question." He gave a small smile and sat up, pulling me into his lap.
"The way I see it, birthdays are worthless for my kind. In human tradition, birthdays are used to celebrate age milestones, growth…something impossible for a vampire. I stopped having real birthdays once I died. If anything, they're…just a reminder of what's no longer mine."
With a small sigh, I wrapped my arms around his neck loosely, running fingertips through the hair at the nape of his neck. It wasn't so much about getting older, if was an issue of his humanity, a sore spot for him.
"Well…what'd you do for birthdays back then? When you were human?" His eyes flicked up to me, and I saw that they were decades away, remembering something from deep in his past.
A sad smile ghosted over his face "It's hard to remember…but birthdays weren't the crazy celebration that they are these days. I'm pretty sure mine consisted of formal family dinners, with more relatives than I could count and a very itchy tuxedo." We shared a laugh, and I thought back to how handsome Edward had looked in a tux at prom. And me with my ungraceful boot.
I grimaced. Poor Edward forced to go through the whole formal aspect. But it seemed to fit him, from the way he talked to his mannerisms. I could barely handle the colorful party hats and obnoxious noisemakers that comprised Renee's version of a birthday party. We even had a tradition of going out to buy a cake at the supermarket after she'd burned the one she was making.
Edward gasped against my hair, and I turned to look at him. His eyes were wide with a subdued sadness. "What is it?" I asked, taking his face in my hands once again.
"I just…remembered something. From my past. I hadn't even thought about it since…wow…" He let out a breath, and was silent.
"Tell me?" I asked, wondering if it was too painful or private for me to hear. He nodded, leaning back with me on his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to his chest.
"Most of our human memories are dull. Like looking at them through frosted glass while wearing earmuffs. But this one, it's so remarkably clear. I'd forgotten all about it until now. As I said before, birthdays were a formal affair. More so as you got older. My mother knew I hated them dearly, but I bit my tongue, knowing it was customary. Then, on my sixteenth birthday, I woke to find my tuxedo bag on my bed. I opened it, and found a set of swim clothes."
He paused to let out a laugh, resting his forehead on the crown of my head "The three of us took a train and went to New Jersey. Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to be exact. We spent three days there, and spent everyday at the beach."
I slid out of his lap to look at his face. He was smiling, eyes unfocused, remembering.
"It was the best birthday I'd had. I think I refused to take off my swim clothes for days." Edward's smile faltered, and his eyes returned to the present to look to me, "We were going to go again the next year, but the flu wave hit Chicago around my birthday of the next year, and…" He shook his head, closing his eyes briefly.
I put my hands to the sides of his face, not saying anything. Words weren't needed. He knew. His eyes opened again, and a small smile flickered onto his face. "It's fine, I'm fine." Edward mumbled, though he knew I wasn't convinced. I traced a thumb over the circles under his eyes. He sighed and I felt him relax.
Touches and caresses were whole paragraphs of words to us. It was how we worked.
He stood suddenly, and looked to me, "Should we get ready to go? The sun will be at its highest point soon." I got up and went to him, nodding.
"Okay, but you should get something to eat before we go," I told Edward. He looked worn out from our close proximity, and his golden eyes had dimmed significantly.
"I'll be fine."
"Edward, I need to take a shower anyway. I'll be busy for long enough to give you time to hunt and get a change of clothes, okay?" I smiled up at him, but I knew it wouldn't help much. He was all too wary of leaving me since the incident with James. It'd taken me months just to get him to stop blaming himself. Out loud, at least.
"I'll be fast," He assured, and kissed my forehead. I crinkled my brow. He was stretching himself too thin, only hunting small animals and only spending time with his family when I was over. And it was horrible to know that the only solution was the one that he would never consent to.
Sometimes I just wanted to drive to Carlisle and get him to change me, before Alice could see it or Edward could protest.
"Take your time," I whispered, silently begging him, for once, just once, to put himself first. He seemed to notice my desperation, because he nodded without protest, and was gone.
The room felt empty without him.
Absentmindedly, I took off my pajamas and stepped into the shower. What could I do for Edward's birthday? I thought as the hot stream of water hit me. He hated birthdays, but how could I not do something for him? I ran through the things he liked:
Piano. Well, he loved to compose music. If only I could play piano, I'd write him a song. It would never be as good as his compositions though.
Books. What genius, you're gonna write him a novel? I was sure he'd read every good book already, but what was I going to do, give him a book for his birthday? No.
I reached a dead end, and knocked my fist against the tile in frustration. What else was there? The only fond thing he'd said about his birthday was going to the beach with his parents. And, it's not like I could take him to the beach now. We couldn't even go to gloomy First Beach.
"The Cullens don't come here." Jacob's words rang through my head. I remember being confused as to why, back before I knew vampires existed.
The beach was the only way I could give him a good birthday. But, it was pretty much the only place that was impossible for a vampire... If only I could…
And it all clicked into place. A grin crept onto my face.
I stepped out of the shower, the plan formulating in my head. This was perfect. It was perfect for Edward. But would it work? It had to. I had the element of surprise on my side; Edward would never be able to know because of my mental glitch. But how would I do it? I'd need help. A lot.
A sound rang in the other room, my phone vibrated. I walked into my room and got out a shirt, light jacket, and jeans for the trip to the meadow, and walked over to my phone. A text message, from Alice:
You're a genius.
"Alice, you need to calm down. Even though it's impossible, I think you're close to blowing a blood vessel. "
"Oh, Bella, hush. I know you're excited too. It's not often we get to surprise him. He has the most annoying vampire gift ever."
"But can't you do almost the same thing? You can see any surprise before it's even thought of!"
"Yes, true, but at least I try and act surprised. Eleven years ago I tried making Edward a cake filled with deer blood. He didn't even act happy. But I did get him to try it. Bad idea."
"Didn't work out?"
"I should've known we wouldn't be able to digest the vanilla cake I used. He spent the whole night coughing it back up." We both shared a look, and burst out laughing. I felt bad, but the image was pretty funny.
"Well, okay. At least this has nothing to do with birthday cake." We were sitting on the couch of the Cullen house, waiting for Edward to get back. Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle took him out for a "birthday hunt". Emmett said that they needed "bro time".
So, that left the perfect window for me to carry out the plan for Edward's birthday gift. Esme and Rosalie left to go furniture shopping after they'd finished helping us. Alice graciously stayed behind to help me calm the madness going on in my head. I secretly think she got a kick out of me freaking out.
I was jittery, really jittery, and not just because I'd been awake the past 36 hours. I was so nervous. What if Edward hated it? It was a stupid plan. I don't know what I was thinking coming up with it. This was all just a huge mistake. Edward would never know. We could go out somewhere, instead…
"Bella, you need to stop changing your mind." Alice groaned, putting a hand to her temple "You're driving me crazy here."
"Sorry." I whispered. No. I was going to do this. I could do this. He'd like it. He'd…
"They'll be back in two minutes."
Crap.
Those two minutes felt like hours. I ran through the scenarios in my head, from him hating it, to loving it, to kicking me out of the house. "Can't you just tell me if he likes it or not?" Alice purposely refused to tell me the outcome of the gift.
"No."
"Well, obviously he doesn't hate it, or else you'd be stopping it right now, and you wouldn't be sitting there with that smirk."
"Good deduction Bella. But one of the things I've perfected over the years, especially living with Edward, is a good poker face."
Damn you, Alice. Sitting there, smiling. I oughta-
"They're here!" She sprung up from the couch, and danced over to the door. Holy shit. They're here. Edward. Is. Here. I got up and trailed behind Alice, practically ready to bounce off the walls. Alice's pep was not helping me stay calm.
"Happy Birthday Eddie!" She squealed once he came through the door, throwing her arms around him and jumping. My Adonis laughed and hugged her back, even though I knew he hated being called that. At least he's being a good sport this year, maybe for my sake?
Jasper's head turned abruptly to me, studying me for a few seconds before sending calm waves my way. He must've sensed that I was super high strung. I nodded a thank you, and he tipped his head with a lazy smile. Emmett bounded through the door, picked me up in a hug, and twirled me several times. "Bella-boo!" He exclaimed with a loud laugh.
"Emmett, I hate it when you call me that." I grumbled, trying to steady myself as he put me down.
"Emmett, you're going to hurt her."
My head turned to Edward and I was locked in his gaze.
My heart warmed at the way he looked at me; like I was the only one in the room.
"Oh, grow a pair, birthday boy. " Emmet let go of me and I advanced towards Edward. I wrapped my arms around him and sighed as his cool arms encircled me.
"Happy Birthday," I whispered.
"Don't remind me, he mumbled with a smile, pulling back to kiss my forehead.
"What do you say, boys? How about we go catch a movie. Maybe two; from what I see, they're going to be busy for a while…" Alice said to Jasper and Emmet. She gave me a thumbs up, and seconds later I heard the car revving up and pulling out of the driveway.
"So, why again was Alice chanting the Greek alphabet backwards in her head?" Edward asked, raising a brow. He looked annoyed. My stomach fluttered. Edward hated birthdays, why would today be any different? He would hate the gift. This was all going to go horribly wrong.
"I-I got you something," I whispered. Edward brushed a strand of hair from my face.
"Bella, you didn't-"
"I didn't spend anything on it."
"Oh." He looked around, using his senses to try and figure it out. I shook my head and covered his eyes.
"No cheating," I might've heard a little huff come from him. What was he, seven? With a giggle, I led him upstairs to a room that had otherwise been empty since last night.
"Can you see?"
"No,"
"Liar,"
"Bella…"
"Close your eyes!" Another little huff. Was he going down in age? Or was he just trying to annoy me. My stomach squeezed. This is it. Moment of truth. It's now or never.
"Bella..?" Shit, just open the door and stop talking to yourself. I reached back and turned to knob, backing into the room with one hand in Edward's and the other covering his eyes. I closed the door and took a glance around to make sure everything was perfect, and took my hand off his eyes.
And he just stood there.
The only thing moving were his eyes, looking around. He took in the walls, painted an array of yellows and oranges and in the center of the main wall was a painted setting sun. He scanned the floor, which was now covered in sand. He glanced over at the conveniently placed heater, which was set to just the right temperature and the ceiling lights that shone down on the scene, illuminating it perfectly. And his eyes rested on the two patio chairs set in the middle of the room, facing the sun painting.
And he didn't say anything. And he didn't move.
Shit. He hates it. He hates it so badly he doesn't know what to say. Where the hell is Alice?
That's when my mouth decided to start rambling in a last ditch effort to cover my ass, "I-I wanted to take you to the beach for your birthday, b-but I know we couldn't do that because you would expose yourself to the people and you said you don't go to First Beach so we couldn't go there so I figured I could try and recreate the beach for you here and I know it's not the same but I thought you'd like it and I…" He was still as a statue, and I'm pretty sure my heart had just thrown itself off a cliff a few seconds ago.
"And I told you I didn't spend anything on it. The sand is from the beach, we put it in buckets last night and drove it here…and the furniture, heat lamp, and paint are from the storage space in Olympia that Alice showed me where you keep your furniture when you're not using it anymore and we went there and…" I had to stop, because I was close to tears. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the thing, not wanting to even thing about this stupid idea I had. I should've known that doing this would bring up bad memories for him, and that he'd hate it. My cheeks burned. My hand slipped out of his.
And that's when I felt lips crushing to mine.
And that's when I realized I was now pressed up against the wall.
And that's when I could finally breathe again, cause I realized he actually didn't hate the gift.
"Oh Bella," His lips tickled me with kisses all over my face, and then hovered on my forehead. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me close. "This is just…simply amazing…" His voice trembled with emotions.
"So you like it?" The insecure me couldn't help but ask.
"Like it?" He laughed then, looking around once more, "Bella, I love it. I can't believe you did this for me…" He held me close, and the contrast of his cool skin with the warm air felt nice. I pulled away and slid off my sweatshirt and sweatpants, revealing the tank top and shorts dug up from my Arizona clothes. Edward traced his palms over my bare arms and slid his shirt off, showing the room his marble chest.
"There's just one thing…" Edward said with a smirk, taking my hands and pulling me towards the center of the room. Shit. I knew I wasn't all the way out of the woods.
"What?" I asked hesitantly.
"This," He gestured to the big sun painting, "I don't need this…" His cupped his hand on my cheek. I looked up at him, confused. He smiled down at me.
"I already have my own personal sun."
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