A Kiss in the Dark
-One Shot-
It was extremely dark before the time was noticed, and the forest had grown eerily silent as the hours had passed. Edward Cullen still sat contemplating his current troubles, as he had a tendency to do more often these days. He had yet to move from his perch, a tree that had recently fallen, and was looking rather troubled. Edward's thoughts ran wild through his mind. So lost in thought, as he was, he failed to notice the approach of another until they spoke.
"Rough day?" came the innocent enough question from the darkness of the forest, effectively startling Edward from his thoughts. The voice, he did not recognize, sounded neither overly male nor overly female with a bit of a husky/smoky undertone. Edward spotted the speaker leaning lazily against a mossy oak several feet to his right. Shadows from the surrounding trees worked effectively to conceal the stranger from closer scrutiny. One thing certain, they were not human. No matter how deep in thought he might have been, it was not humanly possible to approach without notice from the youngest Cullen.
"Who…?" Edward questioned, his 'hackles' up (much like a cat), as he got to his feet. They were alone. Edward tensed as the figure shifted away from the tree, and he realized he didn't have his usual advantage. He could feel their mind and almost could reach out and touch it, but it managed to elude him every time he tried.
"Imagination," the figure chuckled, shifting again, now standing in a more straight albeit almost defiant position, arms crossed loosely over a narrow chest. In comparison to Edward, they were relatively average for a female… but he still remained uncertain about their gender.
It came to him then, a scent that was both foreign and yet so terribly familiar. It was cruelly human with a subtle vampiric undercurrent. It was a very cruel thing, the scent. It teased the monster within him, much like Bella's did, yet it kept the monster at bay with the cold faint scent of death.
"Imagination, huh?" Edward found himself replying without much thought as to what he was saying.
"Maybe a dream, yes? Just a dream." The figure replied with a soft chuckle.
"Ah… 'We' don't sleep; 'we' can only but wonder about things like dreams," Edward murmured, only momentarily wondering why he was carrying on a conversation with someone he didn't know, that could quite possibly be a danger to himself or his family. Edward stepped forward, ignoring the voice in the back of his mind that tried to reason in the danger and insanity of this whole situation, staring into the darkness trying to see a face well hidden by what appeared to be a thick hooded jacket.
"Touché!" the person laughed, a deep bell like sound, stirring to life something inside Edward's chest. There was no thought in his actions, which was the only way he could explain it when thinking back on that moment to try and justify himself.
Before either could register his movements, Edward had the stranger pinned to the oak they had previously been propped against. The scent wafting up to him, so strong and sweet, so much like his Bella, but so much more! Edward's impatient mouth descended then, open mouthed eager kisses were met with a tight lipped response. The stranger stiffened under his ministrations. It was then that he realized just what he had been doing, and he jumped back several feet in shock at his own actions.
Not his Bella! A stranger! He could have never, nor would have ever, kissed his Bella like that! Though sometimes Bella seemed all too eager… Those impatient kisses on closed lips reminded him of those he had shared with her. It left a feeling of incompleteness. Did Bella feel like this when they kissed?! God! Did he torture her with half kisses?!
The touch of cool hands on his cheeks brought him back to the situation at hand. Edward was standing toe to toe with the stranger who held his face gently between two elegant slim fingered hands that were slightly warm to the touch. A kiss was placed chastely to his lips as the 'person' rose on tip toe, surprising him far greater than his own lack of not pulling away.
"Touché…" was whispered against his lips, as cool breath brushed across his face. Then in a blink of an eye they were gone, leaving behind their slight warmth and a scent that Edward could easily classify as his downfall.
A dream…? Perhaps it was a dream; a kiss in the dark.
~ FIN ~
