PTB's Writing Challenge 2013

Challenge Number/Title: #2 – The Empty Glass

Date posted: 02/19/2013

Fandom: Twilight

Rating: M

Genre: Canon

Content Descriptors: post-BD, mostly fluff

Character Pairing: Bella/Edward

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer and Summit own the rights to the Twilight franchise and its affiliates. These words, however, are the product of my own imagination. No copyright infringement intended, but also, please don't copy as your own.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed as I threw the deer's carcass away from me.

"I told you to get the younger one," Edward teased. "They make for more sport and taste better."

"Marginally," I muttered.

Truth be told, it wasn't the taste of the old buck that put me off. Frankly, I didn't mind ending its suffering, as the poor animal had lost nearly all of its teeth and was slowly starving. But the taste of plant eaters in general was, at times, insufficient. It had been a while since I had taken down a mountain lion, but I could recall with perfect clarity its much richer taste. More muddled, but no less appealing, were my memories of sipping human blood from a styrofoam cup when I had been pregnant with Renesmee.

Edward moaned in a combination of discomfort and hunger; I quickly raised my mental shield again. After decades together, it had gotten easier for me to lower my shield when he was around; we had even discovered that our bond as mates allowed Edward to 'speak' into my mind, enabling silent communication. On occasion, I would let him in, then raise my shield around us both, creating a mental bubble while his arms provided the physical one. At this moment, however, I knew my clouded human memories would remind Edward of the taste of my own blood, as well as his victims' in his vigilante days.

His moan brought me out of my thoughts, igniting another one of my instincts. Ever since I had awoken, my desire for my husband had only increased. The almost animalistic need for each other was especially heightened immediately after hunting, which was why Renesmee never fed with us both. I barely had time to kick the remains of my kill further away before Edward had me pinned to a nearby rock and was tearing away my clothes, revealing my skin to the August sun.

o.O.o

A few weeks later, Renesmee, Alice and I came back from a class we were taking at the local university, to find the family home suspiciously void of vampires. The only one greeting us was Jacob, waiting on the front porch for my daughter, waiting to take her on a date for her birthday. When we'd had to relocate, a year or two after my change, he had left his pack and joined us, not wanting to be separated from his imprint. We had gone back a few times to pay our respects when someone from our human lives had died, or to celebrate a happier occasion, but Jacob seemed happy spending most of his time with his vampire family.

Next to me, Renesmee was vibrating with excitement, as she always was after having spent even the smallest amount of times apart from Jacob. I knew the feeling all too well; after a day mostly apart – we were following different courses this time around – I longed to reconnect with my mate. On my other side, an impatient Alice was smiling at me mischievously.

"Have fun," she said, winking, before darting off into the woods in search for Jasper.

Jacob held out his hand for Renesmee to take, and after a brief hug, they left as well, leaving me standing alone in the driveway. As the rumbling of Jacob's bike faded away into the distance, the soft notes of my lullaby emanated from the house.

I smiled to myself.

Edward was welcoming me home.

I let the soft sounds of my husband's piano play wash over me for a few moments, basking in the emotions they invoked. I felt Edward's mind reach out to me and lowered my shield, letting him in.

I've missed you, his mind's voice, an even more velvety version of his normal one, spoke.

Not wanting to keep him waiting any longer, I quickly made my way inside as the final notes lingered in the air. Edward sat motionless at the piano, his fingers poised over the keys he had struck last. His eyes were closed and a serene smile played on his lips. I closed the distance between us and hugged him from behind, resting my chin on his shoulder, inhaling his familiar scent.

"Welcome home, love," he said, raising my wrist to his lips and placing a soft kiss to the crescent-shaped scar there.

I kissed below his ear as I thought to him, Where is everyone?

"They've left for the weekend to give us some time alone," he answered as he turned to face me. "Happy anniversary, Bella."

Puzzled, I searched his face, looking for a clue. My birthday – both human and vampire – was still a few days away and would be celebrated together with our daughter's, marking the milestone. And our wedding anniversary had been just the month before.

"It's fifty years today that we both tasted human blood for the last time," he clarified.

"Okay," I replied slowly. "That's great. But I still don't see the significance."

Rising from his seat, he took my hands and guided me through the house, into the large kitchen.

Since I had come into their lives, the Cullens had found an actual use for the room, even more so since Renesmee and Jacob had joined us. Even though it was only the two of them eating the food, Esme loved to cook for them, and several family members could usually be found joining them at the table, if for nothing more than just pleasurable company. Even Rosalie had found a way to participate in the, to her still unappealing, activity; she had taken it upon herself to find the most beautiful crystal glasses, and the finest China.

Today, two large, hand-blown, Venetian wine glasses from her collection were waiting on the granite counter, a red rose placed in front of them.

"Go ahead, read the card," Edward said. "I'll just get something from the pantry."

Carefully picking up the flower, I sniffed its sweet fragrance before opening the plain card attached to it.

My Bella, my love, I read. Fifty years ago today marked the start of our eternity together as you began your change. I cherish every second of that eternity with you, and want to give you something special to celebrate this milestone. You have my heart, Edward.

A lump formed in my throat at his thoughtful words, and tears would have been pooling in my eyes if I had still been capable of shedding them.

Edward materialized behind me, a carafe to match the antique glasses in his hand. A carafe filled with what looked like sumptuous red wine. Again, I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Baby, I know we keep wine around for Ness, and for appearance's sake…" I started, but he cut me off with a finger to my lips.

"Do you see this?" he asked, pointing towards the stopper.

Upon closer examination, the stopper didn't originally belong to the carafe. The elongated bulb was engraved with the Cullen family crest, and fitted to a stainless steel, conical stopper.

"It's especially designed to provide an airtight seal," he continued. "It allowed me to keep this in the house without driving Jasper crazy with bloodlust," he chuckled.

When he pulled out the stopper, the most mouth-watering aroma filled the air around us, and I knew my eyes would be darkening with thirst. The carafe did not contain wine; in it was blood. Human blood. Venom pooled in my mouth at the smell, heightened by Edward's reaction to its scent. If I didn't have better control, I would have yanked the carafe from his hands and devoured its contents then and there. Instead, I swallowed and licked my lips, focusing on my mate's hungry gaze. In a wise move, he placed the stopper back, diminishing the immediate temptation, albeit slightly. Adding the glasses to his hand holding the carafe, he took my hand with his free one, and guided me to the central staircase.

"After our hunt the other day, I figured we might as well enjoy a treat," he started to explain. "So I asked Carlisle to bring home some blood from the blood bank. I was hoping to enjoy a few glasses of it to mark half a century with my wife. In our bed."

Suffice it to say, those glasses didn't remain empty for long.