Title: 'She a window flower, and he a winter breeze.'
Rating: T
Pairing: E/B canon; BPOV
Summary: Missing moment between Twilight and NM. Edward surprises Bella. Partially inspired by the song "The Girl" by City & Colour.
Disclaimer: All hail SMeyer. She owns all. I own nada. Nor do I make a living off this stuff. It's all in good fun. Don't plagiarize, or litter. Not cool.
A/N: Title from the Robert Frost poem 'Wind and Window Flower' (1913). Based off the following prompt given at LJ's forkshighschool prompt post. E/B canon missing moment between Twilight and New Moon; fluff, please. Maybe Edward could be gone hunting and then come back early and surprise Bella?
I was in our meadow.
It was consumed by a thick, oppressive blanket of heat; the air swollen with moisture that had yet to fall. Everything in the lush, colorful clearing seemed to wilt under the weight of the summertime humidity--the tall, uncut grass; the periwinkle-colored wildflowers that dotted the landscape. The branches of the ancient trees surrounding the meadow seemed to bend and flex as if they solely were carrying the burden of the saturated atmosphere. Any living being within the meadow suffered under the affects of the relentless July heat wave…
Even myself.
I pressed my back further into the grass, hoping that my overheated body could be comforted by the slightly cooler temperature of the damp ground underneath me. Stretching my arms out to either side of me, I flattened my palms against the soft blades of grass and huffed.
Nothing I did seemed to help alleviate my discomfort, no matter how hard I tried.
I could feel the perspiration pooling in the small of my back, running down the slight curve of my spine before causing my tank top to stick to my skin. Fisting the grass beneath my hands, I let out a frustrated moan…a moan that quickly became a whimper as a cool breeze finally blew through the meadow, and swept across my face.
I sighed contentedly as the clean, refreshing air swirled lightly down my prone form; around my neck, across my collarbones, down my sternum, and over my stomach before the breeze retraced its path. I felt my fists unclench as the heaven-sent air wafted over me once more, and the pressure of the humidity on my lungs ceased.
Sucking in a deep, cleansing breath, my senses were filled with the most decadent scent ever known to man. It was honey, and cinnamon, and sunshine; it was sweet, and fulfilling, and all I would ever need.
It was comfort.
It was home.
It was Edward.
"Edward?" I breathed, filling my lungs once more before opening my eyes. My vision still clouded with sleep, I fluttered my eyelids several times before the blurry images before me came into focus. The ceiling fan above my bed spun lethargically, providing no real relief from the heat as it simply redistributed the warm, soupy air around my bedroom. Soft, silvery beams of moonlight filtered in through my wide-open window, casting the room in a muted, watercolor-like wash of grey. The comforting breeze from my dream flitted over my face once more, and I turned towards the source.
I smiled sleepily as two bright, golden eyes met my unfocused gaze, a stark contrast from the inky, onyx color they had been the last time I saw them. My hand reached up of its own accord, and I sighed in relief as my fingertips came in contact with the icy, marble-smooth skin of Edward's face.
"You're home early," I rasped softly, my voice still thick with sleep. "You told me before you left that you'd be away through the weekend…it's only Saturday night…" I turned my head to glance at the alarm clock; the green, digital display informed me that it was just shy of three in the morning. "…or early Sunday morning, depending on how you look it," I said as I cupped his cheek in my hand. "Is everything okay?"
Edward's face broke out into a beatific grin, and he nodded. "It is now," he declared, and nuzzled my palm before pressing his lips to its center. "I just…I didn't want to stay away for any longer than necessary."
"Miss me much?" I quipped teasingly.
"You have no idea," he answered with a soft smile.
Shuffling over to the opposite side of the mattress, I clutched his wrist in my hand and tugged, knowing that he would understand. Edward smirked, but did as I requested, and stretched out on his back beside me. I curled myself into his side, aligning as much of my overheated form with his drastically cooler one. Pressing my cheek to his chest, I sighed happily. "You're so cool," I all but whimpered in ecstasy.
"Not if you ask Emmett. What did he call me the other day? 'An old fuddy-duddy?'"
"Haha. Very funny," I said with a giggle before craning up to kiss his cheek.
"I thought so," Edward responded as he grinned down at me, clearly pleased with himself. "And you're very hot, love," he added with a frown before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
"I was having the most amazing dream," I began after wrapping an arm around his waist. "I was in our meadow, and it was so hot, but then the most amazing breeze blew through, and I swear, I was in heaven." My eyelids fluttered closed, and I sighed at the false memory.
"Like this?" He asked softly, and suddenly, the very breeze from my dream cooled my face momentarily before ceasing.
I bit back a moan as my eyes flew open to stare at him in wonder, and I nodded. "Yes! That was you?!?"
Edward chuckled. "Yes Bella; that was me. When I came through your window, you looked so uncomfortable…you were tossing and turning, and I thought if I could help cool you, even a tiny bit, that you might be able to sleep more peacefully. I didn't mean to wake you—"
"—I'm glad you did," I interjected. "And it did help," I added, and kissed his chest, directly over where his heart would have beat had he still been human. "But having you here? Like this? So much better."
"I agree," he said softly. Gently removing my arm from around his waist, he slipped out from underneath me, and turned onto his side to face me. "Roll over, love," he commanded, and I furrowed my brow in confusion at his request.
"Edward? What…"
"Just trust me, Bella. Roll over, facing away from me," he asked once more, and I complied.
Turning myself onto my side, I waited for his next instruction, but it never came. Instead, I felt Edward's icy fingertips brush the back of my neck as he gathered my wavy, sweaty locks into a makeshift bun of some sorts. He twisted the mass of hair until it was up and out of the way before molding his chilled form to mine. Stone-like arms encircled my waist, and pulled me close to his chest; cold lips kissed the base of my neck, and then, the same cool breeze from my dream rushed across my damp skin as Edward attempted to make me more comfortable.
"Oh God…Edward…" I moaned, and I felt his arms tighten around my waist infinitesimally.
"Bella…" He warned.
"Sorry," I apologized quickly, and bit my lip. "It feels really good."
"Really? I had no idea," he quipped, and I could ihear/i the smirk in his voice.
"Yes," I said with a chuckle. The room fell silent as we simply enjoyed lying in each other's arms after our nearly forty-eight hour separation. After a few minutes, I spoke. "So…you cut your hunting trip short."
"Yes."
"Because you missed me."
"Yes."
"And you hunted enough? I mean, from the looks of your eyes, it seems like you did, but I just—"
"—Bella," Edward cut off my rambling. "I hunted more than enough. I was quick and efficient about it because I didn't want to be away from you any longer than I needed to be." He sighed then, and pressed a kiss to my temple. "I hate leaving you, love; just as much as you hate my leaving, no matter the reason. I see it in your eyes, when I tell you I have to go…a part of me dies Bella, every time I hurt you…"
I threaded my fingers between the icy ones clasped at my stomach, and leaned back further into his embrace. "Edward, you can't help that you have to leave sometimes; hunting is part of who you are." I shifted in his arms so that I could face him. "It doesn't hurt me; it makes me sad, yes, that we have to be apart, but I know you're coming back—every time," I smiled up at him, and took his face in my hands. "I love you, Edward…every part of you."
His face nearly crumpled at my words, and I chewed on my lower lip. "You have to sacrifice so much to be with me, love; it almost doesn't seem fair! What can I give you, other than pain and suffering?" He exclaimed, clearly exasperated by the situation.
I sighed, and stared into his honey-colored eyes. "Edward Anthony Cullen, you give me everything! You give me yourself…you give me your love."
"I'm yours, Bella. Every last part of me," he choked out the words, before pressing his lips to mine, his kiss stealing my breath and quickening my pulse. Once we broke apart due to my need for oxygen, Edward covered my face with slow, soft, feather-light kisses. Each brush of his mouth against my skin made me smile dreamily, and I felt my heartbeat slowly return to normal.
I yawned suddenly, the urge too quick for me to try and stifle it. Edward chuckled, and after one final kiss, tucked my head under his chin. Resting his cheek a-top my hair, he inhaled deeply before sighing. "Sleep now, my love. I'll be back first thing in the morning, and I'm taking you somewhere," he said as he splayed his hands across my back, running them up and down the expanse in slow, languid circles.
"You're taking me somewhere?" I asked sleepily, burrowing further into him. "Where?"
"It's a surprise. Just know it's somewhere that we can keep you nice and cool," he responded softly.
"I hate surprises."
"I know. But you'll like this one."
"Hmph."
"Don't be difficult, Bella."
I pressed a kiss to the base of his throat. "I won't."
"Good night, love," he said with a chortle.
"Good night, Edward. I love you."
"I love you too, Bella; with everything that I am. Don't ever doubt that."
"I won't."
A/N: The last few lines were purposefully worded; I couldn't get it out of my head that this was supposed to be a missing moment between Twilight and NM, and felt as though some foreshadowing might be appropriate.
To the OP of the prompt: I hope this was what you were looking for. :)
To everyone else: thank you for reading, and taking a chance on this little o/s-drabble. I hope that this will wind up being the first of many things I write for this fandom—my writing style kinda runs the gamut, and this piece is just one example of it. Hopefully, you didn't hate it. Comments are welcome.