Short little Jacob x Renesmee. Characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.
The air smelled crisp and fresh. Like spring.
Only, the trees that loomed over them were dressed for fall. Their leaves an explosion of fire in the wind kissed air. Every sweeping breeze bought with it the aroma of spring as it knocked the orange and red leaves from the branches, tossing them in vicious swirls around the two forms beneath.
Those who knew of her would not recognize the young woman that stretched languidly amongst the pile of fallen foliage, her flaming copper hair fanning out and nearly vanishing amongst the ember like colors of fall. Renesmee was full grown now, a woman in body and mind though chronologically she was just shy of fourteen years old. Time passed slowly for a child like her; sheltered in a family that wasn't touched by age and kept from school until they were sure she wouldn't grow any older it was like the years weren't passing at all.
And in some way she supposed that was true.
Moving her gaze from the rattling branches above her, to the man that lay beside her, half buried beneath a mountain of golden leaves.
Jacob seemed to feel her eyes on him because he turned and met them. For a moment she was lost in the warm brown pools that looked back at her, falling all over again into that world that contained just two hearts. His and hers.
"What is it Nessie?" He practically rumbled his voice like gravel, rough. But for Nessie it was warm and welcoming, a soothing tone that helped her sleep when she was tired and calmed her when she worried. Silently she reached out and brushed her slender fingers against his face, letting her touch map out the lines of his jaw and cheekbones.
This face was as familiar to her as her own. "Nothing." She said, her word dropping off in a giggle as she rolled over until she'd managed to get her body on top of his. He was so much larger than her even now, and his muscles made it feel like she was lying on the hard ground. She knew that if her dad was anywhere nearby, or even her mother they'd probably have their hides handed to them. But Nessie didn't care. Closing her eyes she let her head drop onto Jacob's chest and listened to the sound of his heart.
It was eerie how they beat at the same pace, his and her hearts matching up like synchronized drums. Warmth radiated off of him in feverish quantities but didn't seem to faze her. Instead she seemed to wallow in it, letting it flow through her body, heating her.
"You know I like to look at you Jacob." She said shifting so she could cross her arms on his chest and rest her head on them. He moved in return to curl one arm under his own head to bring it up so he could look at her.
"Yeah your whole family seems to enjoy that hobby a little too much." He grumbled remembering how Edward had once eyed Bella like a piece of steak with legs, or at least that's what it had looked like from his end. He wondered if that's how it looked like to outsiders when Nessie looked at him or maybe even when he looked at her?
Nessie swatted him and laughed, her voice sounding like a bell. "Look who's talking." She leaned closer, so that her face was even with his. "I've caught you staring at me just as many times so don't pretend you're innocent." She kissed him then, brief and sweet. A short little kiss that probably would have sent him to his knees had he been standing, like most of her kisses seemed to do these days.
He grinned back and shrugged, curling his free arm around her back. "Yeah, yeah I'll give you that point. I still don't like getting stared at…when it's not by you."
She smiled and shook her head "Dad just does that because he's dad." She lifted a hand and tapped his forehead. "He knows what's in here you know…and I'm sure as 'innocent' as you think you are. What's in there isn't something a Dad wants to see."
She could tell by the grin that eclipsed his entire face that she'd hit the mark.
"So what do you want to do?" She said quickly before he could come back with some witty little remark or sarcastic comment. The question quieted Jacob for a moment and his expression became thoughtful as he focused his gaze passed her and at the tree again.
After a few moments he looked back, taken in by the wild look in her tangled copper curls and glittering eyes. Leaves wreathed her forehead like a crown; she was all at once everything he needed. He felt like if he stopped eating from this moment on, one look at her could keep him free of hunger forever.
He realized then what he probably should have realized a year ago or even a year before then. After she'd finished growing and come into herself. His Nessie, his Renesmee.
"Marry me."
The words startled her, and the little shocked expression on her face was as sweet to him as a bite of candy. Her eyes widened and water collected at the edges, her lower lip quivering like she was about to cry. He would have been worried if he didn't know her like he knew the forests around the reservation. If he couldn't see the sheer joy in her gaze he probably would have thought he'd upset her.
Instead she surged forward and her arms locked around his neck like vices.
"YESYESYESYESYES." She screamed kicking against him and screaming a little too excitedly in his ear. Then she pulled back and swatted him again. "What the hell took you so long?"
He shrugged and smiled, "Guess I kind of had to get away from your parents glaring at me all the time. You know they can be a little creepy right?" Especially Bella, he did not want to piss off Bella.
Sitting up so that she kneeled with her knees on either side of his chest she threw her head back and laughed. "Yeah they can be. But they like…they just worry." Leaning down she peppered his face with kisses. "But I think you should be the worried one once you get in reading distance of dad. He's kind of old fashioned you know…ask him first and all that."
Jacob had forgotten about that. Gulping slightly he gave a halfhearted smile. "Do you think maybe we could hold off telling until tomorrow?"