A/N: Much love and affection to all of you. I love that you love this fic. Hearts. Puffy ones.
There is a moment in every dawn when light floats, there is the possibility of magic. Creation holds its breath.
The quote floated up through Bella's consciousness as she woke. It was one of her favorites, but usually it was because of the punchline that came after it:
The moment passed as it regularly did on Squornshellous Zeta, without incident.
Today, though, as Bella transitioned seamlessly from pleasant dreams to pleasant reality, her thoughts lingered around the first part of the quote: floating light and the possibility of magic. It was a different world.
Bella couldn't remember the last time she'd awaken to absolute giddiness. In fact, she didn't think she ever had. She'd awaken sad, happy, content, tired, but never giddy.
Stretching her arms above her head, Bella basked in the warmth of the sun that streamed in through her windows. Her cheeks felt stretched and sore, but she couldn't stop smiling. When she'd stepped into the bathroom in the middle of the night last night, she'd noticed her cheeks were a hectic shade of red, and there was a gleam in her eyes she didn't recognize. She was willing to bet that look hadn't faded with sleep.
She felt silly, but for once, she couldn't care less. Despite the slight chill to the morning air, she felt warm, her blood still humming with residual heat from Edward's kiss the previous night.
Her smile tugged ever wider as she lowered her hands, running her thumb over her lips.
It was different - so different - from the first time.
That night in Vegas was like a blur. She'd been scared out of her mind - terrified and reeling. In a moment of pure panic and desperation, she'd clung to this kind, beautiful stranger, believing him when he said he could help her. When the minister pronounced them man and wife, Edward had seemed almost startled - as if he'd forgotten that part of the ceremony, the kiss to seal the deal.
That first kiss was tainted by her fear and his sense of duty. It was not the stuff dreams were made of, but nightmares.
This kiss - their real first kiss - was the antithesis of all that.
The whole evening was flawless. From almost the moment they stepped into the car, it was as though they left every worry, every care behind. She'd been aiming for a little fun. What she got was so much more.
The atmosphere at Cook Au Vin was light, playful, and Edward seemed to pick up on that. It had obviously amused him when the chef referred to her as Madame Cullen because he teased her most of the night. "You're stirring, not whisking, Madame Cullen," he'd whispered in her ear, his hand pressed flat against her side as he came up behind her to observe her work.
And she had to admit, the way his voice wrapped effortlessly around the awkward French words sent delicious shivers down her spine.
Then, as she drove home, her fingernails dug into the upholstery of the steering wheel. It was all she could do not to reach for him. Concrete thoughts flitted away as soon as they occurred to her. She had the feeling that she shouldn't touch him like that - she had no right to touch him - but she couldn't quite remember why.
In the hallway, though, it was as if time itself had stopped. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't remember how to speak. Words formed and evaporated on her tongue. She wasn't ready to be away from him, but she didn't know how to say it, or if she should say it.
But before she could force herself to step back, he was stepping forward. His hands were on her cheeks and she felt anticipation so real and tangible, she thought it might have replaced the air around them.
She'd wanted to kiss him. She rolled forward onto the balls of her feet, her head tilted up, before she stopped herself.
Surely, she had to be dreaming or mistaken. She had to be reading the situation wrong.
Then, as if he could read her mind, he was talking about kissing - their first kiss, and she'd laughed it off because she didn't want to think about that moment. She wanted to live forever in this moment - with his hand against her cheek and his body so close, she could already feel the impression of him against her skin - forever. She gladly would have traded every other minute of her life to hold on to whatever was happening between them.
When she looked into his eyes, the question of if faded away - forgotten. The new question was when, and the answer was in that next second, when his eyes closed and their lips met.
Bella rolled over, smothering an excited trill into her pillow. She knew she was being as silly as the squealing schoolgirls she used to revile, but how could she help it?
She was happy, and for the first time in recent memory, she couldn't wait to find out what the day would bring.
Someone must have heard her silent musing because the doorbell rang just then. Repeatedly.
The urgent sound was nonsensical, a discordant chord in the beautiful harmony of her memories.
Sitting up in bed, Bella frowned. The pleasant bubble was about to burst; she could feel it.
The ringing bell didn't stop and its insistence broke the lazy pattern of her thoughts. Standing, Bella hurried out the door. She was just in time to see Edward reach the top of the stairs. He was pulling on his shirt, which gave Bella pause for multiple reasons. She had a fleeting moment of worry that he would fall down the stairs, but the shirt was only over his eyes for a second.
Mostly, though, she had to acknowledge that the pang she felt was largely due to the fact she enjoyed seeing him without a shirt.
Bella had enough time to wonder if she had permission to think of him like this before life was thrown, once again, into chaos.
Edward opened the door just as she got to the bottom of the stairs. As he opened the door, Emmett shouldered his way in the door, forcing Edward to take a step backward. The movement startled Bella, and the fierce, furious expression on the larger man's face made her heart start to beat out a frantic rhythm. Jasper came in just behind him, his expression, if anything, even more feral.
Like the first time she'd seen them, Edward's brothers frightened her. They looked not like two young men but like soldiers primed for battle.
Battle was what they came for.
"Is there some sort of problem with your phone?"
Edward's eyes narrowed as he looked at his taller, broader brothers. "Not at all. It is off, if that's what you mean."
"How convenient," Jasper sneered.
"Yes," Edward returned, his eyes going to his youngest brother. "It was very convenient. I wanted to concentrate on Bella, so I turned it off." He folded his arms across his chest. "What is this about?"
"Yeah," Emmett said "That must be nice: showing your girl a good time. I wanted to show my girl a good time last night, but do you know what I was doing instead?"
"Enlighten me," Edward said tightly.
"Rosalie, my Rosalie, was crying her eyes out. She called The Ivy last night to ask a question, but seems they couldn't find our reservation." He took a step closer to Edward, his hands in fists by his side. "She had them do a little digging, of course. Come to find out, our reservation was cancelled after someone - you - put a stop payment on the check."
"Look," Emmett continued before Edward could react. "You want to fuck with me, that's fine. Whatever. But you don't fuck with Rose. She's been through too much shit, and she doesn't need this from you. Her heart was set on that place."
"The check I wrote The Ivy was stopped?" Edward repeated, his tone incredulous.
"No, fuck this not messing with us shit," Jasper interjected. "I do have a bone to pick with you messing with us. I can almost understand you not wanting to pay for their venue. That makes a little sense, though it would have been respectful if you told them about it. But then you mess with our homes?" He shook his head, his expression livid. "Seriously, Edward, that's fucked up. You promised there were no strings attached to what you did for us. We wouldn't have gotten into this whole deal with you if we'd known you could do this."
"Do. What?" Edward asked through clenched teeth.
Quietly, Bella went to Edward's side, taking his hand. His rigid posture relaxed infinitesimally at her touch.
"When were you going to tell us you stopped the automatic payments for the mortgages on our condos? What, were you waiting until the bank foreclosed and we found all our shit on the lawn?" Jasper asked furiously.
Bella felt the jolt of shock rush through Edward's body, and she found she couldn't hold her tongue. "You think all this is Edward's fault? How could you-"
"Stay out of this, Bella," Jasper snapped.
Again, Bella felt Edward's body shift, tensing this time. "Don't speak to her like that," he said angrily. "I already told you-"
"Agh, yeah. Okay," Jasper interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Don't be rude to your wife. I realize that's your biggest concern." He turned to Bella. "Pardon the fuck out of me, sweetheart. I'm just a little testy that your husband here is messing with the roofs over our heads."
"He wouldn't do that," Bella said automatically. She felt like she was reading from a whole different book than the rest of the class. "You wouldn't do that," she repeated, looking up at Edward.
"No," he agreed. "I wouldn't." There was a dangerous edge to his voice as he spoke.
"Oh, would you come off it?" Jasper exploded. The uncomfortable, antagonistic tension in the air seemed to intensify as if it were coming directly from him. "You know you always lectured us about building a relationship on honesty, well maybe it's about time you let Bella know exactly what kind of a brother you are."
"By all means," Edward said, sweeping his arm out. "You're here. Why don't you do the honors?"
"Your wonderful husband has been a little shit to us all our lives,"Jasper said to Bella, venom lacing every word. "He's always done things like this: giving us toys only to take them back, promising to drive us somewhere only to not show up."
"But this is a special level of fucked up," Emmett continued, crossing his arms and glaring at his brother. "You fuck with us? Fine. Whatever. But Rosalie and Alice don't deserve this. You're fucking with their lives, too."
By then, Edward was squeezing her hand so hard, it was very nearly painful, but Bella didn't cry out. He swallowed hard, turning to her. "What Jasper said was true," he said quietly. "I was a poor excuse for a brother..." He turned to his brothers as he continued, "When I myself was a child."
"You weren't a child!" Jasper protested. "We," he pointed to himself and Emmett, "were children. And you hated us. It looks like you still hate us, if you would do this-"
"I never hated you!" Edward roared back. His voice was so loud and angry that Bella flinched.
"Yeah? You have a funny way of showing it!"
"I envied you, you idiot," Edward snapped.
"Envied us what?" Emmett asked, his tone incredulous. "You had everything handed to you: school, cars, this fucking house."
"You think I wanted any of this? I hate this g'damn house!" Edward's fury drained in the space of a heartbeat, and the ache on his features was so present, Bella automatically wrapped her whole arm around his, holding him as best she could. "The only thing I ever wanted was what you had: two parents who loved you and a brother to grow up with. I wanted it so bad, I hated getting to see you because I knew you were only going to leave again, and I would be left with my room full of things and little else."
"Poor little rich boy," his brother returned with a scoff. "I've heard your sad story all my life. Build a bridge."
"I'm not trying to give you excuses. I'm trying to say I understand what I did in the past." Edward took a deep, steadying breath. "When I was a child, a teenager, I didn't know how to process my jealousy, my anger that I couldn't have your lives. I took it out on you both," he looked at Jasper and Emmett, "in ways I'm ashamed of, but that was so many years ago. I know we've had our differences, but what have I done in the last decade that would make you believe I could do something like this to either of you? Without warning, no less?"
"The bank-" Jasper began, but Edward cut him off.
"The bank said that Edward Cullen stopped payment on the check," he repeated their claim. "Am I the only Edward Cullen you know?" He sounded tired as he spoke this last.
Bella caught on before Emmett or Jasper did. "Oh, no, " she breathed.
"Are you trying to say Grandfather has access to your accounts?" Jasper asked finally, his tone indicating just how stupid and childish he found that idea.
"Not my personal account, no," Edward said calmly. "But the money for your mortgage comes out of a joint fund, which he is the primary owner of." He took a deep breath. "The money was mine to do with as I would, supposedly. It was my inheritance."
"You think he removed you from the account?" Bella asked in a small, incredulous voice.
"That would be my guess," Edward answered, his tone flat. Again, he breathed in deep and stepped past them to where he'd set his briefcase down the day before. Rifling through it, he pulled out his checkbook. "For now, all I can do is write you a check to cover the mortgage. As for The Ivy, we'll have to talk about that later."
The other men said nothing, but the silence in the house was deafening - rife with bad blood. Bella concentrated on watching Edward's hand move over the check, trying not to think about how she wanted to tell his brothers off and apologize profusely at the same time.
It felt somewhat melodramatic, thinking she was destroying his life, but what other conclusion could she come to? If he was right about his grandfather, it was their marriage that prompted all this, ending with this latest twist - unraveling a decade worth of hard work on Edward's part to be a good brother.
Edward handed the checks to his brothers without looking at them again and opened the door for them to leave. All three men wore their faces in an angry glower, though Edward's seemed tempered by sadness, and his brothers' by a dubiousness that may have become contriteness if they hadn't spent all of the previous night working themselves into a tizzy.
Only when the door closed behind them did Edward's posture slump. He stood still with his hand pressed flat against the wood, his shoulders rising and falling, his head bowed.
Bella hesitated, wanting to go to him but not knowing if she was welcome. But the next second, her internal struggle was a moot point.
Edward sucked in a sharp breath before he pivoted, grabbing the arms of the hall tree and toppling it. His roar of, "God dammit!" was louder even than the shattering glass of the mirror and the cracking of wood splitting. Bella jumped, shocked into stillness for the space of a few heartbeats before she lurched forward, grabbing his arm before he could throw a punch at the wall.
Under her hands, his muscles flexed. He growled, the sound almost animalistic, but he closed his eyes tightly, breathing in through his nose.
Slowly, careful of the broken glass and splintered wood around their bare feet, Bella stepped around him so she was in front of him. She slipped her arms under his, around his torso, and he seemed to melt a little, his posture softening as he curled her closer to him. She felt his nose nuzzle the top of her head, and his chest rose and fell under her cheek.
"I'm sorry," they said at the same time.
Edward blew out a long breath, his hands going to cup her face. His thumbs stroked her cheek as his expression gentled. "None of this is your fault," he said quietly.
"It isn't your fault either."
"That isn't entirely true," he said with a sigh, dropping his hands back to her waist as he rested his forehead against hers. "As I said, they were right. I did play those cruel games with them. I was my Grandfather's son for a good lot of their lives, and it's no one's fault but mine they haven't forgotten."
Bella tilted her head up to scrutinize him for a moment. "Why do you pay their mortgages?"
His lips quirked and he looked around. He growled when he looked down at their feet. "My God," he muttered. "You could have cut your foot right open." He shook his head, obviously displeased.
To Bella's surprise, he stooped, sweeping her up into his arms. Startled, she gasped, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding tightly. "What are you doing?"
"Making sure we don't have to take you to the emergency room for stitches," he said seriously, navigating forward carefully.
"What about your feet?"
He glanced up, a tiny smile appearing on his lips. "Well, until I learn how to fly, I'll just have to risk it." He frowned again. "After all, I was the one who broke the glass."
"Don't think I'm distracted," she warned. "I still want to know why you pay for their houses."
"It's really nothing to be concerned-"
"Okay. Don't do that, please," she interrupted.
His eyes found hers as he set her down in the safety of the living room. "Don't do what?"
Bella wrapped her arms around her middle, feeling self-conscious, not knowing if she had a right to ask for this. "If you think this is none of my business, that's one thing. I can respect that. But don't think you can take on all my burdens and expect me not to care about yours."
He studied her for a long moment before he nodded, taking her hand tentatively. Pulling her to the couch, they sat side by side, and he played with her fingers as he spoke.
"It never really sat well with me - the way my grandfather treated my brothers. I was raised believing my father and mother deserved to be ostracized-" his voice was pained as he spoke," - but I didn't understand why that extended to my brothers. He didn't ignore them on their birthdays and at Christmas, but..."
"He didn't give them what he gave you?" she supplied.
"Exactly." He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts as he traced the pad of his finger between hers, as if he was drawing an outline. "So, when I graduated from Cornell, Grandfather added me to that account. He said the money was mine to do as I saw fit." He stopped both moving and talking for a beat, staring down sightlessly. "I think it was the only time he'd ever said he was proud of me."
Bella didn't say anything, but took both his hands, squeezing tightly.
"I didn't really know what to do with it all. It's a lot of money, Bella. A lot. I had this house and that money..." He blew out a frustrated breath. "And as Grandfather loves to point out, my cousin offered me a job at his behest." He shrugged.
"I use my own paycheck for all my expenses, which is why I haven't noticed, if Grandfather truly did remove me from his accounts - which seems very likely. I made that choice a long while ago - to live off myself. Every investment I've made on my own, everything I've purchased for myself - it's all come from what I earned. But when my brothers need something, I take it from that account." He raised his head, his eyes searching. "I suppose I figured it was my way of sharing an inheritance that really should have been my father's."
"And it's reasonable to think your father would do what he could to help his sons," Bella filled in.
Edward nodded.
"So Emmett and Jasper think you're capable of doing what your grandfather has done to you," she murmured, just putting everything together.
Edward's brow furrowed. "Well, perhaps there's another explanation," he said lightly. "I can't very well be angry at my brothers for making assumptions if I turn around and do the same."
Bella didn't answer right away. She could tell by the tone of his voice he didn't believe there was the slightest chance this didn't involve Edward the First. Her body thrummed with renewed irritation toward Emmett and Jasper.
Past or no, how could they - knowing who Edward was now - believe he was anything like his grandfather?
Shifting on the couch, Bella scooted closer to him, taking his face between her hands. His eyes flitted to hers, a little startled, and he watched her intently as she leaned forward. Closing her eyes, Bella pressed a tiny kiss to his chin before she found his lips. He responded after only a moment, his hands splaying across her back as his mouth moved with hers.
When they parted some seconds later, the atmosphere had lightened considerably - a bright edge around a dour situation. Edward's lips were tugging up at the corners, and his eyes seemed less stormy than they had just a moment before.
"Find out," she said quietly. "And if your grandfather did do this, you're taking me to see him. Today."
Edward's features tightened. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."
Bella shook her head. "No. It's time. He has a problem with me, he needs to hear from me that I have no intention of hurting you or this family." She took a deep breath because the thought of facing that man had her both terrified and furious. "At the very least, we need to go together to show him the post-nup." Forcing a light smile, she brushed her finger over the ring on his left hand. "We're supposed to be partners, remember?"
That brought back the vestiges of his smile, and he nodded. "Okay," he agreed after a long moment.
A/N: Mmmm more questions.
Points if you can identify where the quote in the beginning is from.
Thanks to jfka06, barburella, and GinnyW for all their help. MWAH. Big smooches.
And thanks to all of you. You really have no idea how I wish I could respond to everyone. I think I got to the questions okay. Hmm.
So this will definitely post again before I leave for a cruise on Friday, but there will be a week of silence. Just to forewarn.
And to whomever nominated this for fic of the week on The Lemonade Stand? MWAH. Thank you. YOu made me grinny face.
