Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Stephenie Meyer the creator of Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.


Promises

After years apart, Edward finally catches up with his wife. Edward/Bella. AH.


Before

After the fourth time Edward was beaten up by his aunt's boyfriend, Charlie stormed over to his house and had a discussion with his aunt. An hour later, Edward found himself moving into the Swan residence, his bedroom situated as far away as possible from Bella's.

That night she helped clean his wounds and despite his constant attempts to bait her into an argument, she remained silent. When he caught the look of pity on her face, Edward almost lost it. He could take anything from her but he couldn't stand the fact she pitied him. When she finally spoke up and told him to shut the hell up in a teary tone, Edward realized it wasn't pity she felt for him, it was compassion.

Since then, Charlie kept a close eye on them since he was all too aware of the trouble hormonal teenagers could get themselves into. However, his worries about Edward and Bella dating were unfounded. They couldn't stand each other and their constant fighting drove Charlie crazy.

When Charlie started to teach them the ins and outs of his business, slowly involving them in planning heists at the ripe age of seventeen, he found their passion to out-do each other a great motivator to get them to work hard. Bella had a head for strategy; she would help him plan, plot, do all the background work while Edward was more of an expert in 'working the field'.

Emmett, his partner-in-crime and long-time friend, initially objected to the inclusion of Edward – much to Bella's delight – but changed his mind when he saw how truly talented the kid was.

"I have the fastest hands out of all of us. Just admit it," Edward taunted one day while sitting across from Emmett in the living room.

"I have the fastest hands out of all of us. Happy?" Emmett replied sardonically, drinking his glass of whiskey.

"Very mature, Em."

"And as a very mature person, I need another drink. What do you say, kid? Get me another one of these and I'll give you a tip."

Edward took the glass from his hand and walked over to the bar. When he handed the full glass back to Emmett, he extended his palm, waiting for him to put some cash in his hands.

Emmett gave him an amused smile. "Here's a tip. No one calls me Em except for her," he advised, pointing at Bella who just entered the room.

She was busy slipping her jacket on when Edward turned around to look at her. She paused for a second, taking in his heated gaze as his eyes traveled down her body from head to toe. Instantly, a tight coil of anxiety formed in her stomach, her mouth suddenly felt dry and she couldn't look away from him.

"Honey, where do you think you're going in that outfit?" Charlie asked, coming in the room right behind her.

Her dad's voice forced her to snap out of it and she turned around to face him. "I'm going to Lauren's party. I told you about it last week."

"Dressed like that?"

"There's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing, Dad."

"I thought the point of clothing was to cover skin," Charlie commented with faux confusion, rubbing his mustache. "Edward, I'm presuming you're going to this party as well?"

Since they both attended the same small high school, Edward and Bella shared the same group of friends and consequently ended up socializing with each other more than they liked. To be honest, Bella hated it much more than he did but there was little she could do short of finding a different set of friends that were completely immune to Edward's charms.

"I was thinking about it. I haven't made up my mind yet."

"Well, why don't you take Bella? This way I won't have to worry about her being stranded on the road because she ran out of gas."

"Dad!" she huffed, scowling at him. "That only happened once, I can't believe you keep throwing that in my face."

"I know, sweetheart. I'm a horrible father," Charlie responded in a placating tone.

"I'm not going with Edward. I'm taking my own car."

"That's cool. I don't mind if you drive. My horoscope said I would be risking something I value today. Makes sense that it would be my life," Edward snarked.

Emmett snickered but shut up as soon as Bella shot him a dirty look. "Whatever. I'm taking my car."

When she stormed out of the room, fuming with anger, Edward smirked at Charlie and Emmett. "That daughter of yours is a real charmer."

"She inherited that from me," Charlie grinned proudly, watching after Edward as he left the room.

A few hours later, Edward strolled through the crowded rooms, searching for Bella. After their argument in the car, she was even more pissed and had been avoiding him ever since they arrived.

He knew he could be a real jerk to her at times but there was nothing he loved more than to prod her into an argument and Bella never disappointed him. She was prickly and always on guard around him which only encouraged him further to see what else he could do to get under her skin.

He was heading into the kitchen when someone grabbed his hand from behind. Turning around, he found Jessica staring back at him with a suggestive smile on her face.

"Hey Edward," she breathed in a husky tone.

"Hey Jessie," he responded, knowing how much she hated the nickname he'd bestowed upon her.

Ignoring his words, she continued to flirt with him. "A bunch of us are playing spin the bottle in the other room. You wanna join?"

Edward cocked his eyebrow, giving her an amused look. "Isn't that a little junior high of you? I thought we'd all moved past kissing."

"Old school games are trés fun."

"Does that mean we're going to play Candyland next?" he snarked.

She giggled, linking her arm with his as they both walked up the stairs. He followed beside her as she led him into one of the quieter rooms. Upon entering, Edward was surprised to find Bella sitting in a circle on the floor, she looked eager and excited until she noticed him watching her. Edward ignored the rage he felt inside when Bella started to flirt with Mike Newton.

A few minutes later, Bella stared at Edward, wrapping her brain around the fact she was supposed to kiss him now. She'd spun the bottle and it had landed on him and there was no way she was ready for this. Not with him.

She was about to protest when the look on his face caught her attention. Edward was not good about hiding his feelings and for the first time ever, she saw an indefinable expression on his face she didn't recognize. It made her heart ache in a way she'd never experienced before and Bella found herself unable to turn away from him.

"Isn't that like incest?" Jessica asked, looking at them.

"They're not related," someone pointed out. "Besides, you have to kiss whoever the bottle lands on. It's your rule."

Jessica scowled, shooting Bella a dirty look which she didn't even notice; she was too busy watching Edward as he approached her. When he sat across from Bella, she had difficulty breathing, he was right there and so close and the way he looked at her made her insides tremble.

Cradling her face in his hands, he slowly pulled her closer. Bella was not prepared for the reaction he invoked in her when he finally kissed her. His lips were soft, tender at first. However, his tongue followed the opposite pattern. He played with her, stroking her until she was a throbbing bundle of nerves in front of him. His hands were soft against her skin, his mouth was hard against her own and she couldn't do anything except feel.

She'd kissed other guys before, but not like this. Never like this. And the fact that it was Edward making her feel like this should have been a surprise. But it wasn't.

When he finally pulled away, Bella stared at him, dazed and confused. She didn't want him to stop kissing her and he didn't look like he wanted to either. With his mouth slightly open, he watched her with a hungry look in his eye, clinging to her.

It took her a moment to remember exactly where she was, Jessica was glaring at her with hostility and everyone else watched them with amusement. "It's your turn to spin the bottle, Edward," Jessica reminded him.

Her voice was exactly what Bella needed to hear to snap out of her haze. She composed herself quickly, reminding herself to never give Edward the satisfaction of knowing how much he affected her.

"You had your kiss. Now can you get out of my face?" she asked in a haughty tone, glaring at him now.

For a second, she saw the pain and confusion in his eyes and it made her want to reach out and touch him. But she held herself back and watched as he took his seat again.

When he kissed Jessica next, Bella felt the burning pain of jealousy sweep through her. Their embrace was so passionate, it made Bella question if he'd been faking his emotions when he kissed her. Everyone hollered around them, cheering them on and all she wanted to do was rip them apart.

She spent the rest of the evening watching Jessica and Edward flirt with each other and then make out. Later that night when she drove home with Edward sitting next to her, they didn't speak a word to each other. He didn't bait her or taunt her and she realized things were never going to be the same between them.