Disclaimer – Original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, plot lines and characterizations, all belong to Aurora18, copyright July 2012.

Last time…

He grimaced as he set the cup down and some spilled onto the saucer. I didn't mind one bit but he seemed really very worried about it. I held my hand out to stop his fussing and very gently placed my fingers on top of his. Fortunately for me I expected the shock that ran through me at his touch; he evidently did not.

His eyes were wide like saucers and he kept looking from my face to my hand but all I did was smile at him. He told me the price in a sort of daze and I happily handed over a fifty dollar bill, requesting that he keep the change.

"I'm sorry, I,. um, I'm not very g-good at making these."

I shook my head in disbelief and made sure I looked him right in the eye when I said to him,

"You're perfect."

Chapter 4 – Preparation – Part 1

I watched enraptured as a blush bloomed up his neck and lightly across his cheeks, the pink seemed to light up his pale skin wonderfully and I was thrilled that I could have that effect on him. I could not help but frown as I realised that he was looking down and it was not flattery that he was experiencing but embarrassment. I wondered why that would be so, surely my darling couldn't doubt my statement, did he not think of himself in that regard?

I could see his mouth moving and I presumed he was going to contradict me so I placed my fingertip gently across his knuckle still holding the coffee cup, as I had done last night, and beamed in joy as his eyes shot to mine once more. It was evident that the bond was forming, slowly unfortunately, in vampires it was fierce and instantaneous but I could imagine that with humans it would be much slower; I imagined that that amount of emotion would be impossible for them to process all at once.

I relished in the tingle of what felt like electricity running between us and the frown disappeared from his face but instead confusion replaced it, I smiled even wider, surely this must all be very strange to him, but all would become apparent soon enough.

"Thank you for my coffee Edward. My name is Isabella, and I am very pleased to have met you." I stared right into him as I spoke, and his eyes widened in surprise, although as he nodded his assent, the smallest smile began to take over his mouth and it warmed me in a way I hadn't felt in all of my years as a vampire. Instead of saying anything else, I sighed in contentment and walked away to my table.

I was happy to find that even though I was walking away from him, it didn't feel like I was leaving, it wasn't nearly as difficult as leaving this morning. That had taken a monumental effort on my part. I situated myself at a table where I could face Edward as he moved around the coffee machines and the bar that separated him from the customers. I was also pleased to see that even if he went into the staff room, the door of which was slightly ajar, I would still be afforded a fairly good view of my love.

Edward.

Edward…

What a wonderful name…now I had only to find out his surname. The lack of knowledge did not bother me though, because now I knew his name. I could tell Rosalie and father and the whole Volturi the name of my mate, my Edward, my wonderfully handsome and perfectly perfect love. I shook my head at myself, I had never imagined that I could be this happy, here I was sitting in a semi-crowded coffee shop about eight metres away from my mate and I think it could have been the happiest moment of my existence.

I realised that soon I would be able to make a list of the memories I had collected with Edward, a timeline of the moments we had shared together so far. I bit my lip and shook my head in disbelief at my happiness but as soon as I looked up I was met with the sight of Edward staring at me with a perplexed expression on his face.

Perhaps he was wondering what was making me so happy, I wanted to scream and shout that it was him, he was the source of my joy and ecstasy. I wanted to run over to him and tell him in every way how much I loved, adored and cherished him. He ducked his head shyly as my gaze met his but I remained transfixed by him, it had not escaped my notice that he wore no wedding band, and I had detected no scent of any other creature in his apartment.

How had a human female not begged him to be hers by now? He must have women beating down the doors at his home in the hope of getting to spend just a little time with him. But he was unattached…he was 'single' as I had heard it termed and I knew that he must be waiting on something more than just the fragile human attachments that I had seen formed hundreds of thousands of times over the years.

Without even knowing it, he was waiting for his mate…further proof that we belonged together in every way, as if my heart screaming it at me wasn't enough.

I stiffened as I noticed that the tan young man from earlier was coming over, I did not appreciate his scent invading my periphery but I managed to hide my disgusted grimace. My gaze remained on Edward though, and I winced a little when he tripped on a loose tile but recovered when I saw that he was alright.

"Hey, so I noticed you haven't drunk your coffee, everything alright with it? Ed can be a little…"

"I'm sorry, who?"

"Who, what?" I sighed in aggravation, stupid human.

"To whom are you referring?" Hopefully simplifying the question would aid this humans' understanding.

"Ed, he's the guy that made your coffee, look he can be a little clumsy but…" I held my hand up to stop him; I simply could not listen to any more of his tripe.

"First of all, the man to whom you are referring is Edward, which is his name, it says so on his name badge, and secondly my coffee is perfect, it's just the way I like it. Finally I would like to point out that the floor of the preparation area has a tile loose which is what is causing him trouble, I suggest that you remedy that problem as soon as possible." I slanted my eyebrow up at him to make sure he knew that I was being serious, but I didn't want to be too intimidating lest my love deem that an unattractive attribute of mine.

"Right, yeah, I'll get on to that." The boy was clearly put out at being put in his place but he was obviously compelled to do as I had told him to.

"Excellent and I have one last thing to ask, would it be possible for you to send Edward over when he has a spare few minutes please? Thank you." I watched as the boy was unsure as to whether or not he should question me about why I would want to talk to his colleague, instead he should gave me a strange puzzled look and turned around to head back to the coffee machines.

I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that I had already been in here for two hours and had not drunk my drink. I scolded myself internally, I hoped that Edward had not noticed and thought that it was anything to do with the drink itself. He wasn't to know that vampires don't drink coffee, or that I wasn't human and didn't drink or eat like he did. I held my breath and gulped it down furiously being careful not to wince at the saccharine taste. Of course I had tasted worse things but it wasn't something I would drink again if I had a choice, although I would suffer for my Edward if that was what it took to be close to him during his working hours.

A number of minutes passed and the swell of customers that had previously occupied the two before had died down and they were left alone at the front to talk where they thought no-one could hear them.

"Ed…hey Ed, you see the girl on table four? You'd never guess what she said to me, bitch is crazy." I laughed quietly to myself while still looking at Edward; the other little human had no idea who he was dealing with. If he did he wouldn't dare speak so disrespectfully, I had seen others destroyed for saying less than that to the royal guard.

"She's n-not cr-crazy Sam." The other man ignored him and carried on but I smiled when Edward just shook his head in disagreement. My mate was supporting me even though we had not bonded, I just knew this wasn't a mistake, how could it be?

As he was talking to him and telling Edward how he would have given me his number had I not been so strange he looked around at me and I met his gaze with smile. My poor dead heart jumped with joy when he returned it and shook his head, maybe he was blushing again. I couldn't wait to see.

"Man, are you even listening?" Edward was nodding his assent that he was but I could tell that he was distracted, I would be too if I had to listen to his colleague's foul language and strange way with words.

"Anyway she said to send you over when you're done so you can take your break then I guess."

"W-why d-does she wa-want to talk tt…to me."

"Crazy bitch remember? I didn't stay to ask why." I leant back in my seat as I watched my love sort himself out, he ran his hands through his hair and he seemed to be tugging at it nervously. Why on earth would he be nervous? I eyed him intently as he hung up his dish cloth and stuffed his apron behind the counter before he came over to me. It was obvious he was going to take his break as Sam had suggested. I looked over at the clock and was pleased to see that it was a standard lunchtime for humans so I presumed that he would be bringing over some food with him.

I frowned as I saw him walking over empty handed; he didn't even have a drink with him. Surely they provided some kind of free-drink policy for employees, how else would he be able to afford lunch?

I smiled appreciatively and encouragingly as he walked over to me, it was nowhere near fast enough for my liking but I enjoyed the extra time it afforded me to appreciate the sight of his body with every step he took towards me. He was by far and away the most handsome man I had ever seen, in the vampire and the human world.

When he arrived opposite me he seemed to struggle with words and I could see him attempt to mouth some things but failed. I waited patiently for him but unfortunately I could see him internally punishing himself for his trouble in speaking, I couldn't have that.

"Hello again Edward, please sit down." I winced at my formal tone, I didn't sound right in this context, but I wasn't sure as to how to adapt my speech to sound more like a young woman of his time.

He nodded gratefully and sat down slowly in the chair opposite me, he seemed too big for it almost, he was very tall and his limbs were fairly long, I surmised that it was the chairs that were the wrong shape and size rather than him.

We sat like this for a couple of minutes, in companionable silence but I could sense that his nerves were becoming a problem for him. He had both of his hands on the table slowly making tears in a paper napkin. I could stand it no longer and he jumped when I put my hands on top of his to still them. I closed my eyes at the feeling of euphoria as our hands touched, I desperately wanted to link our fingers but I felt that was a little too intimate at this stage, I was struggling to be subtle with my affections and I did not want to scare him away.

"H-how, how was the c-c-coffee?" He had averted his eyes towards our hands and seemed to be in wonder at the feeling we shared. I knew he could not possibly understand what was going on, but I enjoyed the feeling of our physical bond slowly being formed, I could feel it slowly growing and strengthening the more time we spent together.

I waited for him to look at me before I answered and when he did I smiled widely at the beautiful sight of him and his bright eyes that were shadowed by dark circles indicating a weariness that he should not have to feel.

"It was wonderful of course, thank you Edward; after all, you were the one to make it for me. I hope that your girlfriend knows just how lucky she is."

Of course this was only a half truth, I knew that he was unattached but I wanted him to confirm it for me, and for him to know that I wished to be known as his other half. The terms 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' in modern English had always confounded me; it seemed like such a strange contradiction to express a romantic attachment to another person by adding the word 'friend'. Needless to say that this was something that was never said in my world, Edward and I are mates, even though we are not yet bonded in the most physical sense, we are considered partners for as long as we both shall live, and even after that.

"M-my girlfriend?" He seemed confused, and he probably wondered why I was making such a statement.

"Yes, surely there is someone in your life…" He interrupted me by shaking his head quickly from side to side and I hoped that my statement had not been too bold.

"Well, I must say I'm surprised, shocked even." I pretended to look at him in disbelief, but really I was ecstatic that he was able to admit his lack of attachment to anyone so freely.

"W-why, why w-would, why would you say that?" His brows had creased together and he had his head cocked to the side.

"I think you're the most handsome man I have ever seen and today has been one of the best days because I have met you." His mouth dropped open and I desperately wanted to cup his jaw with my hand and feel the soft scarred skin beneath it. No doubt it would be the most wonderful thing I had ever felt. I wanted to add that this day and yesterday had been the best days of my entire existence but I didn't feel it would be appropriate to explain everything now.

The physical and emotional shock as he pulled his hands away from mine was unexpected and I winced from the pain of the separation. I looked up at his face and I saw a mixture of annoyance and disbelief, what had I done wrong?

"If, if this is s-s-some kind of pr-prank then it's not f-funny." His jaw was clenched and aside from his obvious anger and discomfort I found him devastatingly attractive.

"Edward, I would never make a joke at your expense, I wanted to be honest, I told you exactly what I was thinking, and I will only ever tell you the truth. I am sorry if I have offended you my love, believe me it was not my intention." I held out my hand for him on the table, apparently this time he was a little wary but he edged his fingers forward until our fingertips were touching. The shock this time did not surprise him but he seemed mesmerized by it.

"Do you feel that my love?" He nodded at me whilst seeming in a trance and I wanted to explain to him in a small way how much he meant to me.

"What I feel when you are touching me like this is better than anything I have ever felt before, just today you have made me happier than you can possibly imagine. Thank you Edward, a thousand times thank you." I wanted to worship him in every way a vampire can worship her mate, as a woman can to a man but it would not be appropriate, both in this public setting and in terms of how little he knew me.

I felt like I was unravelling my love's secrets a little more with every look he gave me, every quick glance, each searching look, I learned his mannerisms and his most minute of movements as he stuttered through his words. Each detail was more enchanting than the last and I knew I could spend eternity watching him, following him, if he would allow me.

"Isab-bella?" I looked straight at him and urged him to answer with an encouraging smile.

"Am I dreaming?" He whispered to me in a voice so quiet I don't think there was volume enough for his stutter.

I shook my head at him, "that was what I thought when I walked in this morning to this establishment, but I know that my mind could not have created you on its own. I am as real as you are."

"R-right, ok, well, u-um, o-ok, s…so you're an angel then?" I knew he wasn't trying to be flirtatious, but I felt myself wanting to blush anyway, my love thought me to be angelic, I could not ask for a higher compliment.

"I am whatever you wish me to be." I had heard a similar smutty line uttered in many an awful film production but my response was the most truth I could offer. Of course I would become anything that he needed me to be, that was my role, my purpose in life now, to please him and to be exactly what he wanted.

I closed the distance between our hands and clasped one of mine around his in a bold move of intimacy; it pleased me to see that just as I did so the right side of his mouth lifted into a small smile. Our peaceful moment was disrupted however when he realised how cold my hands were, I had been enjoying his warmth and didn't think for a moment that he would find my unusually cold temperature startling.

He stared down at our joined hands and frowned and I immediately asked him what was wrong.

"It's just, I d-d-on't have annny gloves, but if…if I d-did then you could ha-have them." He seemed embarrassed by his own admission and I didn't like that he looked ashamed.

"Please don't worry, I have a…condition, which means that my circulation is very poor indeed, I'm always like this I'm afraid." He nodded his head but still wouldn't meet my eyes, it seemed my love could be very brave in our interactions but he was still very shy, I was proud of him for the progress we had already made today. I wished that I could tell him of the real reason why I was so pale and cold, but even in my haze of love for my mate I knew that I would have to earn his trust before revealing my secret. Hopefully I would not have to wait long.

"But thank you anyway, for the offer; it was very generous of you Edward." He exhaled at that, and if I could see his face I am sure I would be able to see his blush, luckily being what I am I could hear the blood rushing to his cheeks, which would turn them a rosy hue.

"Have you eaten today?" I almost certainly knew the answer already but I had to be sure, he was too thin for his tall, slender frame.

He didn't give me a verbal answer but instead nodded his head, unfortunately this gave him away but quickly afterwards I heard his stomach growl. It displeased me that he felt that he could not tell me the truth but it just affirmed the need for me to look after him in another way, I couldn't bear the thought of my love going hungry, not when I myself had so many resources at my disposal.

"Wh-why…why are you here?" His eyebrows were creased together and he looked at me in a puzzled way, I thought my intentions had been clear enough earlier on, did he not understand that I was here for him and him only?

"I would have thought that was obvious." It saddened me that my mate could not sense my desire for him, even if he was only human. Why was it that humans were so inept at reading the feelings of others when things were so clear? I had not taken my eyes off of him in all the hours that I had been here, surely he must understand, but clearly it was still not very clear to him.

His hands left mine and for a few minutes we were both silent as he held his hands in his lap. My heart broke for him when I could hear his ripping little rips in the paper napkin he held in his lap, I couldn't comprehend why he would be nervous around me. Of course humans normally had some sense of self preservation and felt wariness towards our kind but this should not affect my Edward.

"You have no reason to be nervous my love, none at all." He looked up at me sharply then and sat up to his full height which was quite impressive in the creaky, awful plastic chairs in this place.

He seemed to be looking for something in my face and I couldn't help but stare back at him, he was inquisitive but clearly afraid to voice the questions in his head. I watched his mouth move as if to silently rehearse what he was going to say before he said it and waited patiently until he was ready.

Something in my periphery caught my eye and I held back a growl as I watched Edward's colleague come over here with a cocky look on his face, clearly he had gleaned from watching us that our interaction was not going well because we had not been talking very much.

"Ed, I need you in the back, the washer's broken so I'll stay out front. Now would be good." He didn't even ask him a question, he merely ordered him around. I gritted my teeth in frustration, hating the way my mate was being spoken to; nothing like this would ever occur in the vampire world, people simply had more respect than that.

I turned to address this despicable human as I stood up, "do you really think that's an acceptable way to talk to your colleagues?" I could see him waiting to respond when Edward interrupted us both.

"It-it's f-f-fine, I'll g-go." I turned to look at him in a mixture of shock and just a little bit of disappointment, how he could allow this man to speak to him in this way I could not understand. Sam was smug as he walked off and left us alone once again.

Just as my mate was about to go I looked him square in the eye. "Do you want to know the reason I asked you to come over to me?" When I knew I had his full attention I place my hand on his forearm and smiled as I felt the electricity of our bond jump from me to him, I could tell he could feel it was stronger this time as he was slightly taken aback. The more time we spent together, the more our bond grew, and even though my love would not be able to name what was happening, I hoped that he would start to understand the significance of it.

"Please take care of yourself my love, and enjoy your lunch." He gave me a small smile in return and I moved my hand down from his arm to his hand and gave his fingers a very gentle squeeze. I revelled in the tingling feelings running through me and gave my love a parting smile as I departed; I had plenty of work to do now.

"Until next time Edward."

I left him no time for any parting comments, the time I had spent with him was taking its toll on me, and it was not that I lusted for his blood but rather for his body. The more time we spent together technically 'un-bonded' was becoming more and more difficult. Every fibre of my being was telling me to mate with him, to seal the connection forever and make him truly mine and me truly his; alas the rules of human social interactions did not permit this at this early stage.

I had to be more patient, clearly in all of the hundreds of years that I had been alive and alone I had not accumulated enough of this specific skill to prepare me for this. But I would continue to do all that was best in preparation for being the true companion to my love.

I walked quickly, probably faster than was normal for a human, to the delicatessen I had passed on my way to where Edward worked. It was clearly popular as there were people queuing out the door, I had to wait for twenty minutes for all the people inside to be served and leave and as soon as I could I entered and shut the door.

"Good afternoon Miss, what can I get for you?" I watched the man closely and I was pleased to see that he seemed to know what he was doing, he spoke to me as he moved fluidly around the preparation area, he moved with the grace of having worked in the same place for years. I was glad to see that I was dealing with somebody who would not get my request wrong, after all this was very important.

"I am afraid I have a rather unusual request for you Sir, I'd like you to make me a sandwich." The man looked at me and had to hold back a laugh, I suppose the way I spoke wasn't so acceptable all of the time, I would have to work on that.

"That sound pretty usual to me ma'am, what do you want in it?"

"Well that's the thing, I don't know." I was feeling completely inadequate; I was trying to provide lunch for my love without even knowing what he would like to eat. I sighed at my lack of ability in this venture.

"Well is it for you?"

"No, it's for someone very, very dear to me. I want to give him lunch but I don't know what he likes, I have not known him for very long you see. What do you think a man would like in a sandwich?"

"Well he sure must've made one hell of an impression on you! Let me tell you what I'm gonna do, my son Johnny used to play baseball in high school and when he had practice, he always ask me to make him one of my specials, so I'll pack up a nice, big one of those for you, that ok?"

"That sounds wonderful, so long as it's nutritional and will fill him up; I don't want him going hungry."

"Trust me, he won't know what hit him when he has this, I only offer it to special customers 'cos you know not everyone can appreciate a good sandwich when they see one." He happily got to piling the ingredients together for his masterpiece, to me the different components smelled horrendous, but the man seemed pretty confident that it would be more than alright. I just hoped Edward liked it.

"Quite right too, and if it isn't too much trouble, would you be able to deliver it to him please? His name is Edward and he works at 'The Coffee Cup Café'."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind seeing your pretty face again if you were giving him this."

"I only ask because I am afraid of coming on too strongly, the last thing I want is to scare him away."

"Sweetheart, after he's had this, he'll follow you around like a lost puppy." I laughed with him at that, if only he knew how much I wanted that, I much I wanted Edward's approval and love.

"Thank you, I really appreciate this. I have just moved in to a new house and the kitchen is not exactly equipped with anything, otherwise I would have tried to make one myself. Here, I hope this covers the cost of your trouble." I watched his eyes bulge as he took in the sight of the fifty dollar bill that I had given him, he started to shake his head in protest but I gave him a look that said that there was no point in disagreeing with me.

"No problem Miss, and I hope he knows just how much you care about him, I'll talk some sense into him if not." I read the name on his name badge and thanked him again.

"I hope so too Joe, I really do."

I stood on the other side of the road as Joe closed up his shop temporarily and walked over to The Coffee Cup Café, I was nervous and excited to see what his reaction would be, but mostly excited.

I watched Joe as he entered and greeted some of the patrons by name; he seemed to be very popular, I was glad that I had made a good choice in asking him to make my love's lunch. I wouldn't have known where to start, and this way I would have time to prepare and gather the necessities to look after Edward in the future.

I could see him standing at the counter talking to Sam who tried to take the sandwich bag out of his hands. I was pleased to see that as he was instructed, Joe didn't hand it over and waited for Edward to appear from where he was working.

I couldn't help but gasp as my love stepped into view; he was sweaty from working hard and fairly messy from washing the dishes, although I still found him to be devastatingly attractive. He seemed puzzled as to why he was being handed a sandwich from 'Joe's', and informed Joe that it was not his as he had not ordered any lunch.

"You are one lucky guy, kid. If I were you I wouldn't let that girl out of your sight because she sure is something special, so don't screw it up." I smiled at the compliment, but I hoped Edward realized that Joe was talking about me.

I saw him mouth my name to himself and I felt so proud, he seemed taken aback by my gesture which was exactly what I was hoping for. He accepted the bag and turned to walk back into the kitchen with a smile on his face and his head held just a little higher, there might have even been a spring in his step.

This was just the beginning, if this small thing pleased him then there was no limit to what I could do for him. My mind was coming up with hundreds of ideas and I smiled at my accomplishment, I was one step closer to my mate and the thought warmed me like the feel of his hand against my heart.

So I know you've had to wait a long, long time for this chapter but if you could let me know what you think I would really appreciate it. If anybody has reviewed 'Substance' in the past few months, I have your reviews marked for a reply so I will get back to you tonight, but in the meantime, thank you all very much.

Aurora