A/N: Hi, kids! I was trying to segue into the drama, but Edward asked me for a tender moment. Sigh. This story is gonna be a million chapters long. *pouts*

"Bella?"

Bella pressed herself against the door to push it shut. She reached behind her to turn the lock.

Edward sat up in bed, blinking. Bella grinned as she watched him in all his sleepy, mussed-haired glory. This was hers. He was hers.

"Bella." His voice was rough with sleep.

He was hers and she intended to have him. She padded across the room and knelt at the foot of the bed. She crawled to him and pressed a kiss to his chest, to his chin, and then his lips. He sighed and kissed her back. His hands fell around her, and he pulled her to him.

"Bella. Bella. Bella," he said between kisses. His hands were on her face, in her hair. It had been a long, tense day, and Bella had needed the reassurance of his physical touch. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

"That would be counterproductive to this whole idea of living happily ever after, wouldn't it?" That was one of the many accusations her aunt had hurled at her. She was pretending to be an adult, believing her life was a fairytale. She shook her head to dismiss the kernels of doubt Rosalie had planted and straddled him.

Edward groaned. "Bella, we can't do this. Not now, not here."

"Why?" She ground her hips against him in that way she knew he liked.

He pressed his hands against her waist, stilling her movements. "Because I promised my brother, for one thing."

"My uncle is not invited to our bed."

Edward caught her face in his hands. "It's not about that, Bella. They're your parents for all intents and purposes. They have a right to be worried about you, and indulging in this one rule is only respectful."

Bella pulled back though she kept her arms looped around his neck. "Because they were super respectful of you? Rosalie tried to kick you out of the house. She said awful things about you."

Even in the limited light of the room, Bella could see the sad look on his face. "She could have been calmer, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't respect her in her own house."

Bella bowed her head feeling like the silly child they kept trying to say she was.

"Hey." Edward cupped her cheek. "Don't feel self-conscious. I'm new to this, too. I'm just trying to do this right."

Bella rolled off him onto the mattress and stared at the wall. "I guess that means I'm not."

"No. That's not what I meant." He sounded flustered. Still put out, Bella let him stew. The bed shifted as he laid down and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her tight against him. He found her hands and threaded their fingers together. "I know you're angry about the things they've said, but Rosalie let me stay. You're usually such a pragmatist. Talk to me. What has you going against your aunt and uncle's wishes all of a sudden? Tell me what this is really about."

Bella was silent for another handful of seconds before she shuddered and snuggled back against him. "I don't know. I was scared they would make you too guilty, that you would leave me because everyone else seems to know what's best for my life. Why should you be any different?"

He let go of one hand so he could brush the hair away from her ear. He kissed the back of her neck. "You don't have to seduce me if you need reassurance, Bella. Don't get me wrong. I want you. I always want you, but you can talk to me about anything."

"I know." To her horror, Bella's voice wavered. She hated how uncertain and emotional she'd been since she set foot back in her house. This was supposed to be a safe place where she was accepted unconditionally. Now she wanted to run and drag Edward with her, clinging to him so he couldn't let her go.

The neediness that crawled under her skin was unnerving.

"Bella, look at me."

She shook her head and pressed her face against the pillow to hide her tears.

"Okay." He ran his finger through her hair, untangling knots with gentle strokes. "I'm scared for us, too. I know neither of us got into this for the wrong reasons, but then again, no one ever thinks they do. Everyone thinks they're the exception to the rule. I want to promise your life will be better because we're together, but it's not a promise I can make. But then again, that has little to do with our age gap or who I am or anything like that. No one could make that promise. You and I have always been realists, and I don't think we should lose that now.

"But that being said, we're going into this with both eyes open. I will fight for you, Bella." He stroked his fingers down her cheek. "You've always been strong, stronger than me. I believe we can be the exception rather than the rule, and I'm not scared enough of failing that I'm not going to try. With you, I have too much to gain. Walking away would be the bigger loss. I love you, Bella. I love you so much, I might as well be a ridiculous schoolboy again. I want to memorize sonnets and try my hand at poetry. I want to ask you every minute of every day if you love me just to hear you say it, just so I can believe it's real, and I feel so stupid sometimes."

Bella turned in his arms pressing herself against him. He kissed the tip of her nose and her forehead. "I suppose it's possible your aunt and uncle are right, and this is doomed from minute one, but the same could be said of any relationship. The same could be said of anything." He cupped her cheek and tilted her head up to him. "I'd rather have five minutes of wonderful than a whole lifetime of nothing special."

At that, her lips turned up. She tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help it. "Did you really just quote Steel Magnolias? Really? You're so much better than Julia Roberts, Edward."

He grinned. "It made you smile." He looked smug, but his touch was gentle as he brushed the remnants of her tears away. "You know you're the only person in the history of the world who has ever gotten to see me like this, right? Like some cliche romantic leading man."

"Everyone in the world has gotten to see you like a cliche romantic leading man."

He kissed the tip of her nose again. "But this is me. I can be stupid with you. That's the whole point." He squeezed her tight. "And you can be silly or insecure. I'm not going to love you any less. I want to give you what you need, Bella, but you have to let me know." He kissed the side of her mouth. "Deal?"

"Yeah. Deal."

They kissed for a few minutes more. They were lazy kisses not meant to lead anywhere. Then, Bella sighed and sat up. "I better get back to my room before I fall asleep here."

Edward took her hand. "We're going to show them, Bella. We're going to show them our lives are better together than they would have been apart."

"Promise?"

"No. But I believe."

A/N: Many thanks to barburella and jessypt.

Next time... we're going to Hollywood, baby.