Disclaimer: Yep, no ownership of the Twilight saga here, that goes to Stephanie Meyer ;)

Chapter 13: Dry lips – Dúné

I ran through the forest in a blur. I couldn't deal with those two! Why did they have to act like a couple of Neanderthals?! If we had been humans, they probably wouldn't have hated each other that much! They would've tried! That was all I wanted! Them trying! But did they even give it a chance?! No!

The sound of heavy footsteps chasing me brought me out of my hair-pulling thoughts. I didn't want to talk to Paul right then. I didn't even want to see that big baby! Good thing I couldn't hear my stupid brother too. Dealing with the both of them would simply be too much.

"Go away, Paul" I didn't even have the energy to sound angry. My sound just sounded so incomprehensibly tired. He growled as if telling me no and I pushed myself to run faster. I even considered making a tree fall down in his path to stop him from chasing me, but I didn't want him to know about my ability like that. I couldn't spring something like that on him. It was like yelling out that I had a child or something. Ok, maybe not as massive as that, but still… an ability was important. Tom made me realize that - before he became a douchebag and decided to throw a fireball at my boyfriend for no apparent reason whatsoever.

No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't seem to shake off Paul. When I sped up, he simply did the same. I couldn't outrun him.

"Paul, seriously…" my voice was shaky and weak as if I was about to cry. Why couldn't he just give me some space and leave me be?

I heard him change course. Good.

I slowed down just a bit, but didn't stop running. I didn't know what would happen if I stopped, but it was as if my frustration would catch up to me and not just Paul – if he hadn't completely left me as I told him to for the time being. I could never regret meeting Paul just like I could never regret getting my brother back, but… God, I just wanted to be selfish and be happy for just one moment with both of them. Why did it have to be this hard? Maybe I was overreacting a bit. I knew all vampires hated the shape shifters and it went both ways, then… why couldn't I just leave it? Of course, I knew the answer to that question. I sighed heavily. Life had never been easy neither had my death, so why should my after-life or whatever you might call this, be any easier. Not that I didn't know that before this whole escapade. Life was just… messy.

Suddenly something big was in front of me and I shrieked in surprise. I didn't even have time to stop before crashing into it. I was enveloped in heat and grey fur and an all too familiar scent. I closed my eyes fully aware of it being futile to try to run again. He'd caught me.

A low rumble mixed with a whimper made me snap out of it and I quickly jumped back.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Paul! I didn't have time to… Why did you run in front of me when you knew I would run into you?! What if you got hurt?! Oh, you're not hurt, are you?" my mood varied between worry and anger on a matter of seconds as I spoke. Why did that stupid, reckless…

He made a sound much similar to a chuckle, which only made me that much angrier, but it quickly dispersed and I sat down on the ground in front of him with a sigh. My God, this was not how I had hoped this day would turn out. I honestly didn't know what I ever had done to the Universe to deserve this kind of complications. Why couldn't Tom and I just be humans? Then there would be nothing wrong with this imprint. Of course, I wouldn't have lived long enough to even meet Paul, but… oh, just forget it.

"You can't just run of like that, you know?" he sounded rather irritable and I was just about to retort as I looked up at him, but every word stuck in my throat when I saw him. I quickly looked away and coughed to cover my embarrassment even though that only backfired. Why the hell was he naked?! Oh, that's right, he ruined his pants when he phased back at the Cullens…

"Like what you saw?" oh, he was not getting off the hook that easily! I stood up with my side towards him and my gaze rigidly preoccupied at anything but him. Ever heard of modesty? He should really try it sometime.

"Don't change the subject" I crossed my arms and sounded awfully calm even to myself. I hoped it didn't fool him. He was in deep trouble and I was still going to scold him… as soon as I could concentrate properly again.

He sighed.

"I know, and I am sorry, Ann. I really am. I'm so happy for you that you have your brother back, but…" he stopped himself and I knew what he was going to say. I let out a sigh, seemed like I did that a lot these days.

"You just can't stand him, right?" I asked tiredly. It was rather annoying having a conversation without looking the other in the eyes, but I couldn't make myself turn to look at him. It would just be even more awkward with him being naked. Why couldn't he be a bit shyer about stuff like that? Jeez.

"I'm sorry" he said yet again. I knew he wanted to defend himself, but I also knew what he was going to say and it would only lead into a full blown fight, which I really didn't have the energy for in that moment. Moreover, a fight would be so utterly pointless. Nothing would chance just because we yelled at each other for a few hours.

"You're just both so important to me, what if… what if I hated Felicity the same way you hate Tom? I know you wouldn't like that, but… you don't even try" I knew it wasn't fair to bring Felicity into this. I really liked his mom and I had fun with her. I also knew how selfish it was of me to say all this to him, but I… I just needed him to know. I needed him to see it from my perspective and understand. I wasn't the only one being selfish. I knew how much his wolf filled. It was a part of him like being a vampire was a part of me. It wasn't something one could just stop being or turn off. He had instincts just like me and his told him that vampires were the enemy – someone to kill and dispose of. For some reason that didn't include me and it must've been so difficult for him. It must have changed so much for him. Edward already told me how Paul was before. He could barely stand being around the Cullens when the pack had to work together with the coven on more than one occasion. Now he came willingly into the Cullens' house without even snarling at the Cullens anymore – he even greeted some of them with a silent nod occasionally – and that was all because of me. I couldn't possibly ask more changes from him, and I wouldn't even dare. To me he was already perfect as he was. Yes, we had disagreements, but that didn't mean I loved him any less.

I sighed yet again. My inner ramblings had lasted nothing more than a few seconds.

"I know" he answered quietly and I finally met his brown eyes. He did look genuinely sorry and looked away with a sigh. He shouldn't be the only one who was sorry – and no, I wasn't just thinking of my headstrong, overprotective brother.

"Let's go home and find you some pants" I said. God, whoever made it so that vampires didn't have any blood circulation and therefore wasn't able to blush… that person was my hero.

"Yeah, good idea, it was getting kind of cold" I could practically hear the smirk in his voice and I had to fight back a smile.

"Your body temperature is above average. You wouldn't even freeze in a blizzard, Pauli" I teased and looked at his face. He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively with a smirk before phasing and I laughed good-naturedly. I was still somewhat mad at him and Tom for being so childish, but I was more than willing to put it aside for the time being.

..:-:..

"So you're going on another date with David?" I asked Felicity with a warm smile and a suggestive nudge in the side. She blushed delicately and smiled.

"Yes, he called me a few days ago and we decided on going out again because the first date went so well. I'm really happy you talked me into it, dear, he's a good man" she smiled and I felt kind of bad for not hearing about this sooner, as I had been busy dealing with the whole brother-is-back-from-the-dead-thing and the complications that came with it.

"Yeah, I still have mixed feelings about that, by the way" Paul interjected with a pout. I skidded to his side and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry, Paul, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Now, when were you planning on moving out?" Felicity half-joked and I smiled brightly as Paul looked like he didn't know if he should scowl or smile. It was rather cute actually, but I had better not tell him that – even though it would be funny. Apparently he thought it was degrading for his macho-ness or whatever when I called him cute. More like his ego… poor thing.

"So you can bring home random men?"

"Yes, but only those that have been in jail at least twice. Oh, come on now, Paul, you don't have to act like the parent here. I know how to be responsible, you know" Felicity winked at her son who crossed his arms.

"So you say"

"But in all seriousness, have you two looked at a place yet?" she asked with genuine interest as she wiped her hands in her apron. She was making cookies and had just finished washing her hands after putting the first batch into the oven.

"No, we haven't had the chance yet. We have been a bit preoccupied" I said with a wry smile to Paul and he grimaced.

"Yes, Paul told me your brother is visiting. How is he?" Felicity asked in excitement.

"An undead pain in the butt" Paul muttered and I elbowed his side, careful not to break a rib or anything.

"Don't start, honey" I warned.

"It must be so strange for you to have him back after all those years"

"It is, but I'm so happy about it too although I'm not sure what will happen in the future. He has a mate in the Volturi and I know he likes it there, and I have Paul here. When we were humans, we were inseparable and there were even times when we had nothing but each other. When I thought he was dead, I had trouble growing used to him not being there and now… I don't know" I sighed with a quick look at Paul who gave me an apologetic smile. I took his hand, not wanting him to keep feeling bad about his actions concerning my brother - even though I would wish for him not to repeat them.

"I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through, dear, but at least you can go visit each other. For you, there is no such thing, as not having the time or the money – as outrageous as it sounds" she giggled at the last part, but otherwise gave me a serious look. I smiled warmly at her and let go of Paul only to take one of her hands in mine.

"I really couldn't have hoped for a better mother-in-law than you, Felicity" I said sincerely and she blushed slightly. Good thing I hunted and had so good control, otherwise, I couldn't promise what would be of Paul's human mother. Ever after all these years and endless hours of practice to control my thirst, I still felt a burning sensation whenever I was around humans – especially in closed rooms, but you get used to not breathing too often. If it hadn't been for the fact, that I didn't wish to freak out Felicity, I wouldn't even bother breathing at all.

"Oh, shush it, dear" she brushed it off and went to take the cookies out of the oven. Paul took my hand once again and kissed my temple.

I think Felicity baked over a hundred cookies before she was done and as she finally took the last batch out of the oven, she decided it was time to go grocery shopping – leaving me in charge of making sure Paul didn't eat all the cookies.

"So what should we do while your mom is out?" I asked with a smile and looked up at my very tall mate who gave me a wry smile.

"Oh, I can think of a thing or two we haven't done in a while" he said suggestively before lifting me up on the kitchen-counter with ease and gently rested his hands on my hips. I snaked my arms around his neck and joined my hands at the back of his head with a sigh. I really had neglected spending some quality time with him now that I thought about it. Ever since Tom got here, I spend most of my time either being with him or being angry with the two of them. It wasn't fair to Paul, but that meant I just had to make it up to him.

"Hmm, I guess you're right" I whispered moving my lips closer towards his painfully slow. It was fun teasing him this way even though it was so damn hard to resist him. He growled as I stopped mere inches away from his lips and I smirked. If I still had a heartbeat, it would be beating just as hectic as his. I could easily hear his racing heart just beneath my fingertips. I hadn't even registered when I moved my hands. We were so close, so very close.

"Damn you" he growled before forcibly closing the distance between us and I smiled almost victoriously against his lips for a second. I was more than happy to oblige as I ached my body towards his, my hands grapping his shoulders almost too forcefully. I slowly moved my hands from his shoulders to the back of his head where I burrowed my fingers in his dark hair. His scent was intoxicating. His lips felt almost too hot for me to bear, but there was no way I could make myself pull away. It felt as though I was melting, but it was oh so painfully sweet. His hands had moved from my hips to the small of my back and he held me to him with the same fewer as I clung to him. My legs had somehow wrapped themselves around his waist, making a low growl escape his lips that made me go nuts.

All too soon, he had to break of the kiss in order to catch his breath and I felt my heart swell with love as he leaned his forehead against mine.

"Having trouble?" I couldn't help but tease and he growled.

"Shut it, woman"

I giggled almost high on happiness. Was it even possible to be high on happiness?

"No, you love it when I mock you for being so human" I smiled and pecked his lips.

"Human? Who are you calling human?" he met my eyes with an incredulous look and I laughed. Well, compared to me, he certainly was far more human, but that was just something I loved about him.

"Well, you're the only one of us with a functioning heart for once" I smiled, but he didn't return my smile. Instead, he gave me an all too serious look that even made my own smile falter.

"I think it's doing exactly what's it supposed to" he said almost huskily before leaning down and kissing me right on top of my unbeating heart. My God, I would have blushed the deepest shade of red if I could! And by the look of the smirk he was giving me, he was fully aware of that fact! I bit my bottom lip in embarrassment for having my teasing backfire like that. I know I was wearing a tank top and all, but still.

"You're just talking about my heart metaphorically, when in reality it's just a dead, cold lump in my otherwise just as dead and cold body" it was meant to come out all smartass, but it sounded more insecure as if I was only trying to hide my embarrassment – which I were.

"Wow, you really don't have a romantic bone in your body, do you?" he teased and I tried to smile cockily – don't ask me if I succeeded, because I have absolutely no idea.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I can be very romantic when I first begin to talk about various forms of torture used in the Early Middle…" I joked, but he cut me off by gently capturing my lips. It was completely opposite from the previous kiss that had been hungry and demanding. This one almost made it seem as if he feared I would break. Our lips moved almost lazily across each other as I easily found his pace, but as soon as our tongues touched it became so much more. The simmering sensation became outright fire and suddenly I weren't sitting on the kitchen counter anymore. I had somehow managed to push forward and made us fall to the floor with me on top of him. He chuckled against my lips and even though I knew he wanted to be the one in dominance, the alpha, he didn't move to roll us over. His hands slid down my back leaving hot trails in their wake until they found my butt where he squeezed. I screeched in surprise and instantly felt embarrassed, more so than I had earlier, and there he was, laughing his heart out. I smacked him on the chest, but it was halfhearted. I could barely fight a smile forming on my lips, as I knew he was only getting back at me for teasing him. Of course, he would get even. Why hadn't I prepared myself for whatever revenge he might plan?

I shook my head with a smile and moved to get off his laughing form, but he just wrapped his arms around me so that I was pressed flush against his chest. I could get away if I tried, but he would most likely break something and I didn't want that. He was shaking from laughter and the rough sound echoed through the air. It was an infectious laughter, but I resisted as I smiled widely. I silently agreed with myself that his laughter was by far my most favorite sound in the world – not that I would ever admit it: he would only give me hell about it if I did.

"You should've seen your face. So priceless!" he almost gasped as his laughter calmed down a little. I turned my head to look up at his face with a fake pout.

"Are you making fun of me, Mr. Lahote?" I huffed playfully. He looked back down at me with mock-offend.

"I wouldn't dream of it! You wound me with your wild accusations, Miss Wagner" he dramatically took my hand and held it above his heart as if it would break otherwise. I giggled before trying to regain a serious face.

"I thought as much" but of course, I couldn't keep the straight face as I cracked a smile. He cupped my face with an affectionate smile and I pushed myself the few inches towards his face so that my face was hovering above his. A lock of my curly, dark hair hung in front of my left eye, but he gently brushed it aside with a wry smile. The weight of his arms on the small of my back was comforting and made me feel so incredible safe, which reminded me...

I gave him a slightly worried look as I studied his face.

"Are you good?" I asked. I knew he wasn't fragile as a human, but it couldn't be comfortable for him to be laying on the floor with me on top like this. What if he hurt his back? I knew it would quickly heal, but still.

He gave me a look I couldn't quite make out before answering my question.

"I'll say" why was he smiling at me like that? Did I miss something?

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm good" ok, I was definitely missing something! He sounded far too innocent for my taste. Wha…

As I finally registered his tone of voice, my eyes when wide from embarrassment. Oh, that jerk! I whacked him on the chest. He knew I didn't mean it like that!

"Don't misinterpret me, Pauli!"

"Seriously… that nickname has got to go"

"But I like it! Do you really want to take something away from me that I like?" I made my very best puppy dog eyes combined with a small pout. He growled at me, as he knew exactly what I was doing and it was hard for me not to laugh.

"Fine" he grumbled.

"But I will come up with something equally embarrassing, just you wait" he promised and made a dramatic, threatening fist in the air. I laughed and kissed his jaw. His heart almost leaped and he smiled goofily at me.

"Maybe we should find a less compromising position for when Felicity gets back?" I suggested, not wanting to get caught on the floor like this. Yes, I knew we would both be able to hear her coming long before she even stepped out of her car, but still. He couldn't possibly be comfortable like this!

In one swift motion, he had us turned around so that I was now under him. He straddled me and put his hands on his hips with a wide smile that completely lit up his face.

"What compromising position?" he asked all too innocent and I giggled, not knowing if I should be amused or embarrassed. He put his hands on either side of my head, looking down at me with a warm smile. He slowly leaned down towards my face.

"But maybe you're right" he whispered huskily so close to my face that I could feel his breath on my skin like a hot wisp of a caress. My mind went completely blank at that and desire poured over me. But before I had time to even react, he was standing and pulling me up along with him. The second we stood, I pushed him so forcibly against the wall, it made small cracking noises, but I didn't care. I kissed him furiously before pulling back with a lingering sensation of wanting more.

"Don't use my own trick against me. We both know I'm a much better tease than you anyway" I said as I licked my lips with an evil smile. He seemed almost stunned before regaining himself and smirked at me.

"Well, it's your own damn fault, woman" he chuckled and I gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Do you think anything happened to the wall?" I asked worriedly. It would be an obvious telltale if there were any holes or cracks, and that would simply be too shameful for me to take. What wouldn't Felicity say if I wrecked her house just because I couldn't control my own hormones?!

Paul stepped a few paces back with a chuckle as he took my hand. There were no visible damages and I let out a sigh in relief.

"Naw, but I gotta admit… when we're actually going to do it, we better find a less… fragile location" he teased with a chuckle and earned himself another smack on the chest.

"It's not like I can control it, you know" I muttered in embarrassment and he put his arm around my shoulder with a chuckle… well, at least my awkwardness was amusing to one of us. We went into the living room where he pulled me down on the couch with him and I snuggled into his side with a content sigh as we waited for his mother to return home from grocery shopping. Sitting like that with my mate in silence – well, besides the usual sounds of his heart, breathing and so on – was nice. I could easily feel the heat coming off him through his T-shirt and my own clothes. His arms encircled me in a safe embrace and it almost felt as if I wasn't cold as ice. It didn't make me feel quite human, but I didn't feel so much like an immortal being than simply just a girl in love. And a girl with secrets.

"Paul?"

"Hmm?" he sounded tired, but not as if he was about to fall asleep. I guessed it had been a rather long day for him with patrol, our little almost-fight and all. But I really wanted to tell him. I figured this would be an opportune moment to do so.

"Well… did you know my brother was telekinetic, even though he's only able to move atoms and such? That's how he made that fireball today – by making the atoms vibrate faster" I paused in order to find a way to continue. I didn't look at Paul's face, but I could tell he was listening. He was very still.

"I'm kind of telekinetic too, although I can only move visible, inanimate objects" there. I said it. I didn't move the slightest as I let it sink in. After a few moments, I couldn't take his nonresponsive-ness and I looked up at him almost timidly.

"Paul? Honey?"

"Why are you first telling me this now?" he asked and I tried to read every emotion behind his question. He didn't seem hurt or offended rather… he just seemed genuinely confused.

I shrugged.

"It didn't seem important enough to share as I almost never use it, but… Tom made me realize that you might want to know something like that about me as… if it had been reversed, I would've wanted to know something like that about you" I answered quietly and he seemed to contemplate it for a few moments.

"Can… can I see it?" he almost seemed afraid to ask and I turned my head towards the coffee table with a small smile. It didn't take much concentration for me to make the remote levitate several inches into the air before landing besides the TV.

Paul seemed almost awed as he tore his eyes from the remote and looked back down at me with a breathtaking smile.

"I always knew you were amazing"

…

AN

I know, it's a cheesy line to finish off with, but you just have to deal with it, peeps.

Oh, I'm planning on finishing this story after two more chapters, just so you are warned. And there won't be any sequels, but I might upload a story kind of related to this, but not with Paul and Ann as the "lead-couple" so to speak… I don't know if that made any sense… But anyway, it's only maybe