AN: Sorry that this is a little late again - I've just started uni! Taking a moment out of freshers' week to post this...
Huge thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate it :)
I hope you enjoy the new chapter! I'll try to update again as soon as I can xxx :)
Wordlessly, she reached up to cup his face in her hands, pressed her lips against his for several long seconds before drawing back, eyes huge and shining with curious tears. Paul rubbed one thumb gently across her cheekbone to wipe away the wetness there.
"You're it for me, Rach. And nothing else will ever be great enough to come before you. I could never ask you to sacrifice your happiness for me. I love you." His thumb slid down to brush across her lips. "Never ever doubt that."
"I don't," she promised."
Chapter Twenty-Five
Their argument – and the subsequent discussion at the beach – seemed to have cleared up all of Rachel's remaining reservations regarding their relationship, and left Paul in what the other pack members termed as a 'disgustingly' good mood. Nonetheless, he could quite cheerfully withstand the taunts and teasing which would have previously (pre-Rachel) thrown him into violent rage. That was probably, he decided, what they were referring to. It also helped that the general tension had eased enormously with the suddenly cordial relations with the faction on the other side of the border; not only were they now apparently talking to Jake, but the Cullens were no longer to be viewed as an imminent danger.
Paul, personally, wasn't entirely convinced by Jake's assurances that both Bella and the demon spawn (he still refused to acknowledge 'Renesmee' as a name) posed no threat whatsoever to either the pack or the residents of the rez and Forks. They were newborn bloodsuckers; it was part of the job description that they go crazy and try to kill people. It wasn't that he wanted that to happen, but he had geared himself up to expect some sort of battle and was now oddly disappointed that he wasn't going to have the opportunity to kick some vampire ass. Or Jake's, because he still hadn't quite forgiven the other boy for throwing him through the wall of the shed yet.
On the other hand, Rachel seemed enormously relieved that her brother and boyfriend weren't at war anymore, so there was an upside to the whole situation. Actually, Paul admitted, there were several advantages, including the reduced patrols – he'd actually managed to make it to his own birthday dinner after all. Quil and Embry had stopped being quite so whiny, and he was managing to get most of his schoolwork done as well which not only made Rachel happy (always a positive) but kept his mom off his back too.
More to the point, Rachel was in a perfect position to act as private tutor which provided an ideal excuse for them to spend more time together than his mom would have been otherwise entirely thrilled about; Rachel's dedication towards Paul's education was also helping to soothe his parents' concerns about the two of them dating.
Yes, he'd finally managed to organise a real date. Having been unable to think of a plan himself which would take place nearby (he couldn't leave the rez on week nights and Rachel was working at the weekend), and on a very limited budget (he had no money), he'd turned at last to Emily for advice.
"Don't tell anyone else," he'd pleaded. They'd find out anyway – of course they would – but it was still nice to have the illusion of privacy. Emily had laughed, reaching up to pat his cheek with one hand.
"Of course not." The knowing glint in her eyes made him wonder whether she'd been asked the same question before by Jared. "What do you want me to do?"
Emily, Paul decided now, was amazing. Not only did she promise not to tell anyone else about his difficulties in organising the date, but she also helped him to pack the picnic and made sure Sam knew he was off duty that Saturday afternoon. A picnic maybe hadn't been the best idea in the world, as it picked that day to rain – heavy, driving rain which didn't let up all day and had you soaked through almost the moment you stepped outside – but the look on Rachel's face as she saw him waiting for her outside the grocery store when she finished work swept away all of Paul's disgruntlement at his plans being ruined.
That was why they had now ended up back in Jacob's (newly repaired) workshop, soaked to the skin and laughing. The rain had churned up the ground between the house and shed into thick, sticky mud and even though Rachel climbed up onto Paul's back to save her shoes, the bag with their food was sodden where he'd dropped it after she leaned down to kiss him.
Hair hanging in dripping strings around her face, Rachel slammed the door behind them and promptly climbed back into Paul's lap. She didn't kiss him then, just leaned forward instead so that their faces were so very nearly touching; but the few millimetres between them still felt like a million miles to Paul as he inhaled her scent, made strong and sweet by the rain.
"I love you so much," she murmured, and he could almost taste the words in her breath ghosting over his lips.
There was absolutely nothing Paul could say to express just how exactly he felt about Rachel in that moment, so he leant in to kiss her instead, lips soft and slow as he tried to say with them everything he couldn't find words for.
They kissed like that for a long time with the rain beating against the roof outside, the entire world disappearing because really all that mattered was in the dusty little shed, and that was enough. Rachel's mouth twisted up into a smile against his moments before she finally pulled away. "I'm cold," the girl murmured, and before he could say anything in response lifted her arms to pull off her sodden shirt.
Paul swallowed hard.
"Won't that make you colder?" he asked weakly, trying desperately not to look down even as his hands settled on the suddenly bare skin where her hips flared out just above her jeans.
Rachel laughed softly, bringing one hand up to brush up along the side of his neck, and he pressed into her touch involuntarily. "You can keep me warm."
"I..." He swallowed again. "Rachel, are you –"
She cut off his words with her lips, one hand fisting in the front of his shirt to pull him closer. "I'm sure, Paul," Rachel replied quietly, brushing a thumb across his bottom lip. "I trust you."
Hearing her say that meant more to Paul than anything else could have, and he felt a smile spread wide across his face. "Rach, I love you."
"I know." When she kissed him again, it was firmer and with more intent, and Paul drew her closer with all his previous reservations gone. Rachel was so much more to him than any other girl he's known before – exponentially more, to use one of the terms she'd taught him – so he had to know that she trusted him, loved him, without any doubts of her own.
Outside, the sky slowly darkened into twilight and the clouds passed away to leave the world glistening and green, but neither Paul nor Rachel noticed.
Daylight filtered weakly through the joins in the wooden planking of the shed far too early the next morning, bringing with it a chorus of birdsong which Paul would have normally been totally oblivious to. He normally, however, slept a little further away from the forest in which any number of small, joyful birds had apparently chosen to gather this morning in particular to express their happiness at what had to be one of the first bright mornings of the month.
Unfortunately, telepathic death rays had absolutely no effect on them, so the boy slitted one eye open in disgruntlement, resigned to the prospect of not being able to go back to sleep. It was this moment when, faced with the unfamiliar sight of a workbench covered with various oily and tarnished pieces of some sort of engine, Paul realised that he wasn't actually at home, that he'd spent the night on the floor of Jake's workshop, and that the warm weight resting against his side was Rachel.
Oh. Right.
He twisted around to look at the girl beside him, fast asleep with her hair (now dry) spread out in a dark fan from where her head was pillowed on his shoulder. The pale sunlight creeping through the cracks of the walls set Rachel's rich skin to glowing, highlighting her cheekbones and casting shadows from her eyelashes to make them appear longer as they lay in crescents upon her cheeks. His movement prompted her forehead to furrow slightly in confusion or displeasure as she made a muffled grumbling noise and burrowed more deeply into his shoulder, and Paul couldn't stop the grin which spread widely across his face.
Rachel was so beautiful, and now she was his more than ever. His arms tightened protectively around her, one hand stroking softly along the length of her spine, and he watched the frown creasing her forehead disappear as she gave a contented little sigh and relaxed back against him, nose nuzzling warmly into his neck.
"Paul?" Her sleepy question was muttered into his skin, sending vibrations across his chest with her breath.
"Hey," the boy murmured in reply, brushing a hand through her hair. "Are you awake?"
Rachel shook her head slightly, and Paul couldn't help the laughter which shook through him. "Stop it," she complained drowsily. "'S making my head bounce." She pushed herself up on one elbow to lean over him, smiling back at Paul with heavily-lidded eyes. "G' morning."
"Hey, babe." He slid one hand lazily up the side of her neck to cup her face, feeling a shiver run down his spine as she turned her head to press a kiss against his palm. "Sleep well?"
"Mmhmm." Rachel settled back down on Paul's chest, her head tucked just under his chin and palm resting flat over his heart. He could feel it hot on his skin, like her handprint was a brand to mark his heart as hers. "Warm."
"Good." His fingers idly traced the shape of her shoulder blade, felt the skin there rise in goose-bumps as Rachel's breathing slowed to an even rhythm. His own breaths steadied to match hers, not quite asleep but content to watch her doze on his chest; not even the increasing discomfort of the hard floor beneath him was enough to prompt Paul to move, to risk disturbing Rachel from where she lay with her skin soft against his, her heartbeat thudding on a level with his own.
The boy still had no idea just what he'd done to deserve this, to deserve her. Even when he'd entertained dreams of imprinting – as they all had, at some time or another – loving Rachel surpassed anything he could have possibly imagined. The absolute knowledge that he belonged to her, and that she was his, made any other concept of love he had ever had pale in comparison, made him feel that all of the shit he'd gone through as a werewolf was worth it, just to have this.
"Stop thinking so loudly," Rachel murmured into his neck.
"Sorry," he apologized automatically, dipping his head down to kiss the top of her head. He felt her lips curve into a smile against his skin, felt the tickle of her fingers as she traced a shape on his chest. "What are you doing?"
Her eyes opened – lashes fluttering over his pulse – and glanced up at him with that dark, sleepy gaze. "'S a heart," she told him. "My heart. Thought I'd mark it."
"You don't need to. It's yours already." Rachel laughed then, and he could feel the vibrations of it in every inch of his body. "What?"
"You're so cute when you're being all clichéd," she grinned.
"You're the one who drew a heart on me," Paul objected. He paused. "Cute?"
"Uh huh. Totally."
"Really?"
"Oh, absolutely adorable."
There was a little too much of a mocking note in her voice for him to entirely ignore it. Paul rolled them both over suddenly so that he was leaning over her, braced with a hand on either side of her face as she laughed helplessly. "Are you certain that you've got the right word there? Because really, Rach – adorable?"
"I'm fairly certain I'm right." There was such absolute happiness in her face that he couldn't even keep up the pretence of being annoyed. Besides, Paul supposed that being adorable wasn't too much of a hardship, and he was in a perfect position to kiss her again right that moment, so the issue wasn't terribly important, after all.
"Do you know how much I love you?" she gasped when he finally drew back to let her take a breath.
Paul bent down to brush his lips gently once, twice over hers. "I think I might have an idea."
"I love you stupidly," she continued. "It scares me how much, sometimes."
His eyes sought out hers, held them, but all he could do was nod wordlessly with the truth of the statement. Being this much in love with somebody was terrifying.
"And it's forever." Her expression was almost astonished as she dragged one finger along the line of his jaw and over his bottom lip. "I get you forever."
Paul swallowed. Forever was something he'd never really thought about – but it sounded like a really, really long time. Not that he was objecting to that, of course, but it was simply the magnitude of it all suddenly hitting him all at once which seemed to knock all of the breath from his lungs. "Well," he began, but it came out as a croak and he had to swallow once more. "I'm terribly sorry." He grinned then, teeth closing carefully over her finger as she laughed.
"I guess you're stuck with me. I hope it won't be too dreadful for you."
"I'll have to muddle through. Hey, at least you're fully human – and legal – and not my ex's kid."
"Oh, we're joking about that, are we?" But Rachel's eyes were still sparkling with humour, even as she tried to muster a scowl which Paul did his best to kiss away. When he finally pulled away again, he didn't go far; couldn't bring himself to, instead bracing his arms to hover with his face only an inch from hers, their noses almost brushing together.
"You have to admit it's a little bit funny. Even Embry can see that now."
Rachel made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "I hope he imprints on a five year-old."
Paul chuckled, unable to resist pressing a kiss to the tip of his girlfriend's nose. "That's exactly what I said. Not because he laughed at Jake, but..."
She rolled her eyes. "I take it back; I couldn't wish him on some poor unsuspecting child. It would serve him right, though. I don't know why you're grinning, Paul, you're just as bad."
Paul's expression didn't change from the self-satisfied smirk. "Yeah, but I got you."
"I've got low standards." Rachel shifted, winced, sending Paul scrambling backwards in a panic.
"Are you okay? Am I too heavy?"
"Paul, relax. You're a lump, yes, but this floor's just really uncomfortable."
"I could have told you that. You've been lying on top of me all night." He offered her a hand along with a smile which probably came out looking a lot more cheeky than he'd originally intended, and Rachel's fingers wrapped around his but not without a long-suffering sigh. He was fairly certain she wasn't all that serious in her exasperation, though, as in the next moment she had her arms back around his neck. "I'm glad it was you," she told him quietly.
The concept of any of the others having imprinted on his Rachel had a hot surge of rage flooding through Paul, his arms lifting to circle her body possessively as he swallowed the anger down. It took a moment for him to school his voice so that his words didn't come out as a growl. "So you're not still sad it wasn't Leah?" he managed to tease lightly. "I know you were disappointed..."
Those dark, knowing eyes searched his for a second, seeing right through into the seething possessiveness which had threatened to break free, but Rachel's tone was as light as his. "Oh, devastated."
"I knew it." Calmer already, Paul reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair back behind Rachel's ear, fingers lingering. "So what do you say we –"
"Don't." Rachel shook her head to cut him off. "Please don't say anything, because if you do it'll make it so much harder for me to turn down. I have to go soon and start cooking lunch," she explained to Paul's unspoken question. "The Clearwaters and Charlie Swan are coming over, and I volunteered. I didn't know we had plans."
"We didn't, I guess." Still unwilling to let go of his mate, Paul twisted his fingers gently in the ends of her hair. "Ugh, Chief Swan? That should be awkward."
Charlie's abrupt introduction into the supernatural world – all thanks, Paul considered wryly, to Jacob – had sent small shock waves through the Black household and had everybody walking on eggshells. The Chief seemed to be regarding everything around him with wide, stunned eyes, as if afraid that something or someone might at any moment explode (or, perhaps, turn into a giant wolf) while everyone else was half afraid that Charlie himself was the one who would suddenly crack. This was all while steadfastly avoiding the entire issue and listening to him rave about his new granddaughter, even as he ignored that there was anything strange or unnatural about the demon spawn's existence in the first place.
Paul had been so glad to get out of there as soon as he could when he went to meet Rachel on Thursday and found them all sitting uncomfortably in the living room. The Chief had taken one long look at him before shuddering and turning away which – while on some level possibly understandable – was nonetheless really, really awkward.
"It shouldn't be too bad." Rachel didn't, however, sound entirely convinced about that. "I'd invite you too, but I think you and Leah combined might be a little much for Charlie to handle."
"What makes you say that?" Paul tried for an innocent grin, but the amused glance Rachel threw him made it clear that she wasn't fooled.
"I have no idea." She pressed her lips to his in one last, lingering kiss before dodging nimbly back from his reach. "Come on, we need to go. Don't pout like that, Paul."
He hadn't been pouting. That was something Haley did.
Rachel glanced back over her shoulder at where he still sat on the floor as she wiggled into her underwear. "Stop sulking."
He wasn't sulking either. "I'm just enjoying the view."
Only his wolf reflexes stopped him from being hit in the face by his own shorts, but he could see the smile that Rachel was trying to hide. "Perv."
"But you still love me."
"Stop fishing for compliments and get dressed, boy." Paul merely sat still, grinning affectionately up at her, for all of the three seconds that Rachel managed to hold on to her mock-glower. "Fine, yes, I love you too." Her face softened. "Thank you, Paul."
They crept back into the house through Rachel's bedroom window, trying to be as quiet as possible; neither was entirely certain what time it was, but it was light enough that Billy might already be awake. 'Quiet', however, wasn't exactly successful as Rachel kept giggling and Paul could only try to muffle his responding laughter. They probably hadn't needed to bother.
Leah was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her eyebrows drawn together in a dangerous scowl, and Rachel gasped. "Leah –"
"I don't even want to know. God, Rachel –" Leah bit off the words savagely as her friend fixed her gaze guiltily on the carpet. "God, Paul?" She gave a disgusted shudder which only had the couple's eyes flickering towards one another and then quickly away again to keep from laughing.
"What are you doing here?" Rachel demanded, managing to steady her voice into some semblance of composure. "I mean – my room –"
"I came to help with the food. Your dad sent me in here to wake you." Leah turned her disapproving glare back to Paul, but continued to address Rachel. "He thinks you've been home all night."
"I'm grown up enough not to spend every night in my own bed, Leah," Rachel retorted. "Dad knew Paul would probably be in here anyway."
"Deborah must be thrilled," Leah replied icily. "Rachel, go take a shower. Please."
Paul had taken half an angry step forward, already snarling with fury, before Rachel's hand on his arm managed to stop him in his tracks. "I love you too, honey," she laughed, and to Paul's bewilderment it seemed like she actually meant it. Leah sniffed in response, but didn't say anything. "Paul..."
"I'll head out," he offered. Without waiting for a reply – and casting one defiant flick of his eyes in the direction of the girl still on the bed – Paul crowded close to Rachel so that her hands came up to grip his forearms, face tilted up to his. "See you later, Rach." And then he dipped down quickly to meet her lips, felt her return the kiss and let it last longer than was strictly necessary to say goodbye – partly to spite Leah, and partly because Rachel just tasted so damn good – before stepping back.
Leah seemed to be choking on something, but they both ignored her.
"Bye, Paul." Rachel's smile was radiant, and the boy bent to brush his lips over hers once more for good measure, murmuring his own goodbye in the breath separating them.
"You are such a sixteen year-old boy," Leah told him in disgust.
"Seventeen now." Paul grinned unrepentantly.
"My invitation to the party must have gone missing," the girl hissed caustically.
"Aw, I knew you'd missed me." Paul was halfway out the window before he turned, glanced wickedly at Leah. "Next time you see Jake, tell him that the floor of his shed really isn't very comfortable. Love you, Rach."
Rachel's outraged "Paul!" rung in his ears to make him laugh as he fled back across the yard towards the trees, happy to put distance between himself and Leah.
"Paul!" This voice was different, and he slowed to see Jared loping across from the direction of the road. "Hey, man, where are you going?"
"Leah caught Rachel and me sneaking back into her room just now." He grinned. "Thought I'd drop into the pack. You just off patrol?"
"Yeah." Jared eyes suddenly widened. "Paul, you didn't –"
The boy shrugged, trying to appear casual, but he was fairly certain that he hadn't been able to erase all of the smugness from his expression. Jared's smile grew wider and he copied Paul in hurriedly shucking off his shorts.
"Dude, you –"
Paul fell forward onto four paws, and the first thing he heard was Jared's gleeful tone in his head. – you slept with Rachel? Fucking finally!
Oh my God. Jeremy sounded horrified. Oh, God.
I hate to say it because it's you, Paul, but congrats, man. Quil grinned.
Hey, why's everyone here? He'd known that they'd find out, sure, but he hadn't known they'd all be there right away.
Sam cleared his throat loudly. And on that note, I'd like to introduce Paul to our newest member of the pack.
Oh. Right. The immediate shock of phasing wearing off, as it always did, Paul became aware of the individual minds linked to his own, and in particular the panicked undercurrent of confusion and terror which typically accompanied a new wolf. He winced. Sorry, man. Welcome –
What'd I miss? Embry flashed into the pack mind.
Paul got laid! Jared and Quil chorused in tandem.
...And we have another newbie, Sam added dryly. Say hi to Nick.
Hi, Nick. Embry gave the new kid a quick once-over before turning to Paul. Dude, that's awesome!
Nick whimpered.
AN: Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review xxx :)