Disclaimer: SM owns the characters, I own the plot. © isakassees 2009-2010
A/N: Thanks to Fantasy Mother for prereading through every step of this with me. Bellamarie117 is the bestest beta in the world. And you can all thank aleighy for getting me on twitter finally. You can follow me isa_kassees
Epilogue: Happy Perfect Day
(December 24th)
EPOV
"Are you okay, love?" I asked Bella, placing my hand over her knee to halt her bouncing.
She giggled, albeit a little hysterically. "Oh, yes. I'm perfectly fine. Wouldn't you be? If you were waiting to get on a plane to fly cross-country, but your flight was delayed because of too much snow and fog and ice to safely leave the runway, so you were waiting, left thinking about how in a few short moments you will have to enter a giant hunk of metal full of potentially short-circuiting wires and engines full of possible loose screws and giant metal wings that actually bend when the wind is too strong, which is ridiculous given how strong they supposedly are supposed to be, and you don't understand how it physically even lifts off the ground, let alone flies in the air, to fly through more snow and ice and fog and your amazingly wonderful fiancé didn't think to buy tickets for coach, when everyone knows that's the closest to the little black box, which is the only thing that ever survives a plane crash and instead you will be at the front of the plane, as far away as possible from that little black box that would save your life, but it doesn't really matter, because at this rate, we'll never even survive lift-off."
I blinked in shock at her for a moment before I was able to recover my ability to speak. That had to be the longest sentence I had ever heard Bella spit out. "Bella," I soothed, putting an arm around her shoulders to try and calm her and ignore every one of the reasons she just gave for our apparent last moments alive. "You've heard the statistics before. You're more likely to get in a car crash than get in a plane crash."
"Oh, yeah?" she hissed. "Now tell me the statistics for how many people have survived a plane crash versus a car crash."
"Damn, B, didn't know you were afraid of flying," Emmett laughed loudly, somehow not waking Jasper up beside him in the chair. "We could've taken a boat around South America if it would've made you feel better."
"Do not get me started about the misconceptions regarding the safety of cruise ships, Emmett," she snapped, making Charlie absolutely lose it.
"Bells," he laughed. "It was just a movie."
"A very convincing movie, Charlie," she huffed. "And I wouldn't laugh if I were you. The dad's the one that dies."
Emmett and I were completely confused and Charlie noticed. "The Poseidon Adventure. She saw it on TV when she was a kid and has never lived down her fear of cruise ships."
I turned to her, caught between wanting to make her feel better and laugh myself. "But what brought on this sudden fear of flying? You never mentioned it."
She scoffed. "Right. Like I was going to scare the hell out of my baby by discussing the inevitability of my imminent demise."
"So, if I go and get her out of that Starbucks and bring her back over here you'll calm down?" I asked hopefully, because I was about five seconds away from slipping her a Xanax.
My dad was apparently on the same wavelength as me. "Bella, would you like to take something for the anxiety? It's very common for people to need something to help them on flights."
"This is me on something, Carlisle! I took it before we even left the house today," she replied quickly, not taking her eyes of the snow falling outside the windows at Sea-Tac.
My humor was lost as I saw my girl really struggle with this fear. Short of calling the hospital and asking for another week off and then driving her cross-country, I was going to have to find a way to make this better for her. Standing up, I held my hand out for her. "C'mon, love. Let's go take a walk…Dad, I've got my phone on me. Call us when they start boarding or if Lily needs anything."
He smiled, nodding. "I'll call you when we board. Your mother, Rose, and Alice have her surrounded in an impenetrable circle right now at that Starbucks. They'll keep pumping her up full of muffins and hot chocolate until the time comes to board. She won't even know you're gone."
I glanced at her in the coffee shop behind us as she sat basking in all the attention being bestowed upon her by her aunts and grandmother. They were huddled protectively around her, eyeing every single person walking in and out of the store. Bella slipped her hand into mine and I pulled her up, guiding her with my hand at the small of her back down a few gates. I found an empty one and walked us toward it.
"Bella," I began slowly, trying to keep my tone soothing and not accusatory. "Why didn't you talk to me about this? I had no idea you were afraid of flying."
"I don't know," she sighed heavily. "You've been so busy with work to get this time off and I've been wrapping up the final edits on my book and the whole family's been so busy with planning the trip that I just wanted to try and get over it. And I've done such a good job distracting myself with all the plans and the presents and Lily and we were trying to get that house until somebody just swooped in and bought it right out from under us that I just didn't know it would be this bad. But this weather, Edward…" she trailed off, shuddering and I pulled her close to me, wrapping my arms around her.
"It's not just the flying," she continued, speaking softly into my shirt. I could barely hear her over the din of security driving by in carts and people talking too loudly on their cell phones, so I steered us a bit further into the empty gate, into a quiet and secluded corner.
"Tell me, love," I coaxed, rubbing my hands up and down her back.
"It's the whole trip thing. I watched this thing on the Travel Channel and it was showing Disneyworld at Christmas. It's packed, Edward. Completely packed. There are going to be people everywhere and I was two clicks away from buying a leash for Lily on the Internet before I calmed down. But I haven't really. All I can think about it is all those people and how excited and hard to control she's going to be and how I don't want to ruin that for her by handcuffing her to my wrist, but I don't know how I'm going to do this," she sniffled, her nails scraping gently against my back as she clung to me.
"Baby," I sighed, leaning her back slightly. "Don't you think I've been worried about it, too? But we've talked about this. She's got her phone, that alarm bracelet, we've got walkie talkies, and we're not letting her out of our sight. The ratio is ten adults to one Lily and one Emmett. This trip is to celebrate how far we've come. We've all earned this, to watch her have this perfect day. And it will be, if you let it."
She nodded slowly, the worry around her eyes loosening slightly. "I'm sorry. It will be perfect. I won't ruin it by worrying."
"Bella," I chuckled, pulling her close and nuzzling her neck. "You're her mother. Worrying about losing your hyperactive five year old is normal. I told you, I'm worried, too. You're not going to ruin anything. It will be perfect even when we're both watching her like a hawk during all four days of gruesome Disney torture."
"Edward!" she gasped. "Will you stop calling it torture? It's going to be fun."
I smiled smugly as her gasp turned into a faint moan when I pushed her hair off of her neck and bit it lightly. "Coming from the woman who's never had to sit through the It's a Small World ride. The pain carried over from childhood and still haunts me now."
"It's going to be fun," she repeated weakly as she melted into me while I kissed up and down her neck.
"Uh…no, it's not. It will be fun to watch Lily enjoy herself. It will be fun to watch Emmett wear his Goofy hat and act like a moron," I said as I pressed against her more firmly, effectively pinning her against the large window looking out over the runway. Dropping my voice to a whisper, I continued. "It will be fun to have crazy hotel sex with you tonight while Lily sleeps with my parents. It will not be fun to watch robotic demonic dwarves sing the same chorus a hundred times in obnoxiously nasal voices."
"What was that about crazy hotel sex?" she squeaked as I slowly moved my kisses across her throat to the other side of her neck.
"Wait and see," I murmured, licking a hot trail up to right beneath her ear.
"Edward?" she hummed softly.
"Yeah?"
"You're better than Xanax," she murmured before pushing up on her toes.
I chuckled lightly as I met her halfway, amazed that even after all the kisses I'd shared with her, she could still send a jolt straight to my heart with a simple touch of the lips. But there was never anything simple when it came to my Bella. As well as I knew her body, her expressions, her mannerisms; her mind continued to surprise me on a daily basis, her reaction to the flight and trip a glaring example.
A buzzing in my pocket pulled me away from her, an adorable pout playing on her lips as she tried to bring me back for more.
"My phone, baby," I whispered. "I think the plane is boarding."
A quick glance down at the screen confirmed it and she sighed resignedly.
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked concernedly, rubbing her arms with my hands.
She nodded with a reassuring smile, intertwining her hands in mine with a squeeze. We walked back to our gate and gathered our things as Lily began directing traffic.
"Daddy! Mommy! You have to sit by me! I want the window! We gotta hurry! We can't miss it!" she hopped up and down on each word and I could only hope she fell asleep sometime during the six hour flight.
As the family made their way down the walkway to the plane, Lily popped up between Bella and me.
"Daddy? Is it true that if I jump in the airplane I can make it shake?" she asked innocently.
I groaned as I felt Bella's hand tighten in mine, her face giving nothing away of her anxiety so as not to frighten Lily.
"No, Lily," I sighed. "Where did you hear that?"
"Uncle Emmie," she replied sweetly.
"Rose," Bella called out in a bored tone.
"Got it," Rose answered.
"Ow! Dammit, Rosie!"
"Emmett! Language."
.
"Oooh. I can hear it, I can hear it," Lily bounced excitedly as the planes engines roared to life and Bella squeezed the life out of my hand.
"Ya know, Bells, you'd think after all those planes you flew on as a kid back and forth between me and your mom, you'd be used to flyin' by now," Charlie called out over his shoulder as he took a seat in the row before us.
I barely caught Bella's wince as he said it and I turned her face to mine immediately. I didn't even have to ask, I could see the pain in her eyes. Images of a scared little brown-haired girl flying for hours alone flashed through my mind and I had to resist the urge to unbuckle her seatbelt and pull her into my lap. Laying her head down on my shoulder, I kept one hand in Lily's bouncing lap and the other squeezing Bella's as tightly as I dared.
"Close your eyes for me, Beautiful," I whispered softly into her hair, kissing her head gently before laying mine on hers. "When I was eight, Alice caught me sneaking ice cream in the middle of the night and she threatened to tell my mom if I didn't…" I wasn't as good at telling stories as Bella was, but I hoped if she could just focus on my voice and my touch, she might not realize the plane had begun moving down the runway. I lifted our hands to her chest to feel her heartbeat as I embarrassed the hell out of myself telling her about the time I let Alice dress me up like a girl so she wouldn't tattle on me to my mom. "…but the makeup was burning my eyes so bad, I ran screaming to Mom and tattled on myself just to get her to help me get it off."
Bella's head shaking under mine made me lift it up, only for her to double over in her seat in barely contained laughter.
"Edward…" she gasped out, covering her mouth with her hand to not bother the other passengers. "You let her name you…Claudia? And you answered to it the whole tea party?"
"Oooh, Edward," Alice's smug grinning face popped up over the seat in front of me. "Are you telling Bella about the time I made you my bitch?"
"Mary Alice!" Mom scolded from across the aisle, shocked.
"Mom," she said plainly. "He was."
"Alice," Bella giggled out, just barely. It wasn't that funny. "Put your seatbelt on. That stewardess looks like she's beaten down some rule-breakers in her day."
Alice looked the middle-aged woman standing near the cockpit up and down and scoffed. "Whatever. I could totally take her. Besides, we can move around now, Bella. We've been flying for over twenty minutes."
Bella looked at me shocked, her amusement forgotten. "Edward…"
Still a little sore about all her laughing, I huffed at her. "Yeah, you're welcome. But the first time you call me Claudia, I'm throwing away your copy of Wuthering Heights."
She tried to suck in her smile repentantly, but her laughter still shone in her eyes. "Thank you, Edward. Really."
I rolled my eyes as Lily reached across to grab Bella's attention. "Mommy, look! I think I see our house!"
Leaning across me, Bella looked out the window and gasped. "Wow, Lily. I think you're right." She glanced up at me and tried not to notice my growing smile. She knew I couldn't really be mad.
I am so whipped.
.
Lily never did end up taking a nap on the flight, but we made it without incident, landing smoothly in the Orlando airport and trading our snow for sunshine.
"It looks so warm here," Lily gushed. "And, look! A palm tree!"
"You're going to see lots of those," Bella laughed, taking off her sweater and stuffing it into her giant purse. "Here, sweetie, give me your sweater."
Lily pulled it over her head and handed it absentmindedly behind her to Bella, her nose still stuck to the airplane window.
"C'mon, Lily," I urged. "It's our turn to go."
We de-boarded the plane and picked up our luggage without too much trouble, except for Alice and Rose, who each brought enough clothes for five people. As we walked toward the exit, I looked down at the one suitcase Bella was pulling behind her and sighed happily as I heard Emmett and Jasper struggle with their luggage carts.
Renee and Phil were waiting for us right outside the airport exit and I almost did a double take when I saw her. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Fifteen strands of painted wooden beads and an armcuff, but shorts. And a t-shirt. She looked halfway normal. I felt a finger under my chin close my mouth with a snap.
I turned to find Bella snickering at me under her breath.
"Renee was in full healing mode when you saw her before. She doesn't always look like a freak," Bella smiled, turning back to her mother just in time to be swept up in a huge hug.
"Oh, Bella, honey! How was the flight? We were so worried you were going to get snowed in!" Renee worried, moving from Bella to me for a warm welcoming hug. "Edward, we're so excited you're here! Your cards show nothing but happiness this trip."
There she is.
I hugged her back tightly, because I'd actually missed the crazy bird. "Thanks for checking, Renee."
She beamed back at me brightly before crouching down to Lily's height. "Hello, there, Miss. Have you seen my granddaughter Lily?"
"Nana! It's me!"
"What?" she gasped. "But you're so…big! How did you get so big?"
"I eat my vegetables and I take my naps and I get lots of exercise jumping," Lily informed her matter-of-factly.
"Are you ready to go to the hotel, big girl?" Renee asked as she picked Lily up and began carrying her and her suitcase to the shuttle waiting for us.
"I wanna go swimming!" Lily yelled excitedly.
"Nap first," Bella and I groaned out in unison as we handed our suitcases over to the driver and settled inside the large van.
.
Three hours later I was awoken with a kick to the groin as Lily stirred in her sleep. Bella was curled around her, oblivious to my poor balls' brush with death. Biting my hand to keep in my groan, I calmed after a moment and sat up a bit to look over my girls. Lily had a long strand of Bella's hair wrapped tightly around her finger while Bella had her arm thrown across Lily, her hand scratching at the sheets. I slipped mine into hers and she relaxed immediately, sighing happily.
"Edward."
My thumb immediately ran over her ring finger, spinning the diamond around a bit. I knew when she woke up she'd be embarrassed, because she hated when I watched her sleep, but I couldn't help it. She was so beautiful when she slept. The little secrets she'd let slip through her subconscious and pass her lips, the way she sought my touch in her slumber, the way she relaxed and smiled when she found it, it was too enchanting not to watch. As if she could sense my eyes on her, she stretched a bit, her eyes slowly fluttering open. As predicted, her cheeks blushed immediately.
"Edward," she groaned sleepily. "You know I think that's creepy."
"It was only a couple of minutes this time, I swear," I grinned unashamedly.
"Mm-hm," she hummed, not believing me for a second. "Well, quit it. I want to go back to sleep."
"Baby, we can't," I argued, much to her indignation. "It's technically dinner time. We need to meet everybody downstairs to eat in less than an hour."
"I hate time zones," she mumbled into her pillow, turning her face away from me in protest. "I'm not hungry. I'll eat tomorrow."
Lily stirred and slowly woke at the sound of our voices, releasing Bella's hair and blinking up at me sleepily.
"Daddy? What's going on?"
"I need your help, Lily," I grinned.
"Don't do it," Bella's voice warned, muffled in the pillow.
"We have to get Mommy up," I continued, ignoring her. "Are you ready?"
"I said, don't do it," Bella warned again, definitely awake but letting me have my fun. Lily nodded and I counted silently on my fingers, both of us attacking on three.
"Stop! Stop!" Bella laughed as we tickled her without mercy.
"Are you gonna get up?" Lily threatened, still crawling her fingers all over Bella's sides as I lay across her legs and tickled her feet.
"Yes! Yes!" Bella gasped out. "I'll get up. Edward, stop!"
We both sat back and looked at her, grinning as she practically fell off the bed to get away from us. Bella glared at me before smiling down at Lily.
"Come with me, Little Thing. Let's get you cleaned up to go to dinner. Daddy will unpack for us while we get ready." She ushered Lily into the bathroom and stuck her tongue out at me before closing them inside.
"Daddy will do what?" I called out, sinking back into the mattress.
"You heard me, Cullen!" she called back. "Get to it!"
I am so whipped.
.
A little less than an hour later, we were downstairs in the lobby as our family slowly trickled out of the elevators. Lily wore her Ariel wedding dress and was tapping her light-up shoes impatiently against the floor as she waited for everyone to convene.
"Why is nobody else dressed up? I'm gonna look ridiculous!" she protested hotly as we began making our way through the large resort.
"Lily, do you trust me?" I asked her, slipping my hand into hers.
"Not with clothes," she retorted, making Bella choke back a laugh.
"Lily," I repeated, seriously.
"Yes, Daddy," she sighed, continuing to walk toward the restaurant. When we reached 1900 Park Fare, she stopped dead in her tracks with her mouth hanging open.
"Daddy," she whispered, shocked.
"Yeah, baby?" I asked, crouching down and trying to keep from smiling.
"That's Cinderella," she whispered, pointing at the princess walking about the restaurant.
"Oh, her?" I remarked nonchalantly. "Did…did you want to meet her?"
If possible, her eyes grew even larger as she nodded her head furiously up and down.
Laughing, Bella and I both tugged a hand forward. "Well, c'mon then."
She didn't take much encouragement. Once she started moving, we had to work to keep her from taking off in a sprint. We were shown to a table and it took all my strength to keep Lily seated as Bella excused herself for a moment. When she returned, we took Lily over to where Cinderella was, now standing a few feet away from the buffet.
By some miracle, Lily didn't tackle the poor woman right away, just stopped within a foot of her and stared like she was afraid if she touched the princess she'd disappear.
"Are you really Cinderella?" she whispered.
The actress caught Bella's eye and winked once before kneeling down gracefully and smiling at Lily kindly. "Of course I am, Princess Ariel, you know that."
Lily gasped as my jaw dropped, and I turned to see Bella fighting a smile. I squeezed her hand and her smile broke free as she shrugged her shoulders. I should have known she would find a way to make sure she kept her promise of Lily being confused as a princess.
"I…I…my name is…I…Lily."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" the woman gasped, her hand flying to her cheek in embarrassment. "You're just so lovely I mistook you for my friend Ariel. I'm so glad you came to visit me Princess Lily."
"Will you come eat dinner with me?" Lily asked hopefully.
"Oh my goodness, you're so sweet to invite me," the woman smiled, patting Lily's cheek. "But I'm afraid the prince is waiting for me at the ball and I have to meet him or-"
"Or he'll think you're not coming and he'll have to go look for you!" Lily finished for her, too lost in the fairytale to be disappointed. "Will I see you again?"
"Will you be at the Christmas parade tomorrow?"
Lily looked up at me and I nodded in return, her bright smile the actress's answer.
"Then you'll see me ride in my carriage tomorrow. I'll be waving to you, Princess Lily. I've got to be going now-"
"Oh!" Bella gasped, rummaging around in her giant bag for…something. How she ever found anything in there was beyond me. Keys, phone, wallet, makeup, coloring books, the thing was packed. "Aha!" she emerged victorious with a camera and held it up, smiling at the actress.
"Let's get a hug for a picture, Princess Lily," the actress smiled sweetly, pulling Lily's hand toward her to wrap an arm around her. Lily and Cinderella beamed brightly for the camera while Bella snapped the picture quickly. She kissed Lily's hand once before standing and waving goodbye graciously and sweeping away.
Lily wandered dreamily back to the table where everyone was watching the interaction, my mother of course snapping photos of the whole thing. As Bella and I walked back behind her, I wrapped my arm around her waist.
"Did I ever tell you that when Lily first told me about Disneyworld, I threatened to punch Prince Eric if he tried to kiss her?" I asked lowly so Lily couldn't hear us.
Bella burst out laughing, bringing her arm around me as well. "You would not. It would be adorable. It's just too bad that Ariel doesn't seem to work this restaurant, but Cinderella was able to serve her purpose."
"Did you pay her?"
"No!" Bella laughed, shaking her head. "I just asked her. Something tells me I'm not the first to do it, either."
Looking around the restaurant at the many families, the dressed up little girls stood out pretty clearly. "No, I imagine not."
.
After dinner, we walked around the resort for a while, letting Lily and Emmett take pictures with the various characters walking about. When everyone started complaining about their feet hurting, we decided to head back up to our rooms. I was so busy daydreaming of all the positions and places I wanted to have Bella in tonight that I completely zoned out on the conversation around me until Bella nudged me in the ribs.
"Edward. Did you hear Lily?"
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts as I looked down at her.
"I'm sorry. What is it, baby?"
"I said I changed my mind. I don't wanna sleepover with Nana. I wanna sleep with you and Mommy," she huffed, obviously irritated. "And you never told me how Santa is gonna give me my presents without a chimney."
"Um…the balcony. We'll leave the door open," I blurted out. "And of course you can sleep with us, Lily. What made you change your mind?"
"Because."
I nodded. As good a reason as any. It didn't hit me until we were back inside our room and Lily was changing in the bathroom what that meant for my plans.
"What about crazy hotel sex?" I whined, throwing myself pathetically onto the bed and looking at Bella's soft body as she changed. Watching her slip my shirt over her head made me groan into the pillow as I willed my dick down.
"I know," she sighed, climbing into bed next to me. "But we'll be here all week. We can make it two days, can't we?"
"Two days!" I exclaimed, my head flying up.
"Tomorrow's the girl sleepover, remember?" she grimaced, probably dreading the makeover to come.
"Oh no. Hell no. You keep your phone on you tomorrow night. And be ready," I demanded, a plan forming in my head.
"Be ready for what?" she asked, bewildered.
I shook my head, leaning over to give her what I meant to be a quick kiss, but as always, it turned to more. Lily opening the bathroom door snapped me out of it, making me groan as I realized my problem had returned.
"I'm all done. Can we read a story before bed?"
"Mommy will start it while Daddy takes a quick shower," I got out through gritted teeth. "A very cold, quick shower."
I shut the bathroom door behind me, Bella's muffled laughter ringing through it and Lily's curious voice.
"Daddy is so weird sometimes."
.
Bella and I waited until Lily was snoring before we slowly rose out of bed, retrieving our presents for her out of our luggage. Bella pulled out a long tube of paper and began unrolling it, a smile spreading across my face as I watched her. She had a Christmas tree cutout of construction paper that she and Lily had obviously decorated. I watched as she stuck it to the wall next to the balcony, the idea giving me one of my own. Running into the bathroom, I grabbed a glass and the plate underneath the coffee to set by the balcony door.
Bella gave me a curious look.
"Milk and cookies," I whispered. She grinned, nodding in agreement as she rose to grab the presents. She returned with two for Lily and one for me. "Where have you been hiding that? I looked everywhere."
"Shh," she laughed quietly. "I'll never tell. And if I catch you in the middle of the night trying to open it, I'll take it back."
"I'll be good," I grinned, lying through my teeth.
"I mean it, Edward," she protested in a hushed voice. "It took me forever to figure out what to get you. And I'm still not sure you're even going to like it. So you'd better fake it or I'll cry."
"Love," I chuckled silently, pulling her away from her present arranging into my lap. Leaning against the glass door, I wrapped my arms around her. "You know I'm going to love whatever it is. No faking required…Will that sticky stuff hold up stockings?"
"No. I think we might need to actually tack them to the walls," she answered softly, making no move to rise and get them.
"Trash the hotel room. Awesome. Didn't know you had it in you, Swan."
She lifted her head off my shoulder with a sly smile. "I live to be a rebel. I might even steal the bathrobe…You know, you're going to have to get used to not calling me Swan. Pretty soon we'll just be yelling Cullen back and forth to each other."
I grinned. "I cannot wait, Mrs. Almost-Cullen."
"I'm still not a hundred percent sold on that name changing thing," she joked, giggling softly as I shoved her off my lap in mock annoyance. She laid down in front of our paper Christmas tree and I slid toward her.
"March twentieth at two o'clock, you become Mrs. Cullen," I whispered, covering her body with mine as I looked down at her. Pecking her face with kisses, I made sure to get every freckle. "All mine. Forever."
She nodded, still trying to keep from laughing out loud. "If I don't kill your sister before then, yes."
Groaning softly, I lifted my head up. "Is she being really bad?"
"No," she sighed. "She's been good about understanding it's about us, not her. She just gets so into it sometimes, I want to run off in the night to Vegas. Making my dress has been a good deterrent for her hyperactivity."
"What does it look like?" I breathed, images of her walking toward me in white flying through my mind.
"Well…" she began, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "It's…white. That's all you get."
"Should've known," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "You ready to finish this up, Mrs. Claus?"
"One more kiss."
Smirking, I stood up and offered her my hand to pull her up. Wrapping my arms around her, my hand slid up her back to cradle her face as I leaned down to kiss her, smiling against her lips as I felt her push up onto her tiptoes to press back.
We got the stockings up quickly, tacking them vertically down the wall next to the 'tree' and filling them with candy and a couple of little presents for Lily.
"I'm not really tired yet," Bella remarked after we were finished. "I think I'm going to get some fresh air for a minute before bed."
"Want some company?" I smiled as she grabbed the iPod dock off the table and slipped through the open door.
"I was hoping for some," she supplied over her shoulder. I followed after her quickly, a wide grin spreading on my face as the music began.
"I really love that you're a Beatles fan," I told her as When I'm 64 came over the speakers.
She bit her lip, pointing awkwardly behind her to the dock. "It's not very soothing for the middle of the night, is it? I can change it-"
Reaching out and grabbing her hand, I pulled her over to me, smiling and shaking my head. As I began to rock back and forth to the rhythm, I shushed her.
"This is perfect."
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four.
You'll be older, too
And, if you say the word, I could stay with you.
"Last time we were on a balcony like this, I couldn't dance with you," I smiled. She smiled in return, resting her head against my chest as I shifted from foot to foot. We danced and talked and laughed until she began to yawn, both of us shuffling inside quietly to find a spot on either side of Lily, our hands locked together as we drifted off to sleep.
.
(Christmas Day, December 25th)
"He came! He came! He came!"
The bed moved with each shriek, bouncing me awake. My brain barely registered the bright digital display that clearly read six a.m. before I buried my head underneath my pillow.
"Make it stop," Bella groaned, stealing my pillow to cover her own head.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, ripping it back. "It's bad enough I have to freeze every night when you leave me three inches of bed to sleep on and steal the blankets. You will not have my pillow, woman."
"It's Christmas!" Lily screeched above us, still jumping as she returned our attention to her.
"Lily," I tried fruitlessly. "It will still be Christmas in a couple of hours. Come lay down."
"Daddy, please? It's Perfect Day."
That little, manipulative, pouting…
"Ugh," I groaned, tossing my pillow to the ground. "Fine, Lily. You win. But please let Mommy and Daddy have some coffee first."
"Can I open my stocking while you cook your coffee?" she traded, already inching toward the wall where they hung.
"Mmph," I replied, rolling over and pushing Bella weakly. "Bella. We need coffee. You're closer to the machine."
She whimpered quietly, shaking her head with her eyes still stubbornly closed. "Go away."
"Mo-o-o-o-mmyyyyy!" Lily protested, resuming her jumping at the foot of the bed. "Pleeeeease! Santa brought me presents!"
"Alright," came Bella's tired sigh. Lifting her head up to check the time, she didn't even try to fight back a yawn. "Lily, when that clock says six-one-five, we will start opening presents. I'll start coffee for me and Daddy and wake up a little bit."
"Can I open my stocking?" Lily asked again, her eyes and tone pleading.
"If it's okay with Daddy," Bella mumbled as she rose to start the coffeepot before disappearing into the bathroom.
"Daddy?"
I stretched, my brain still on Pacific Time. "Yeah, okay, Lily. But get me Mommy's camera first so I can take pictures of you."
She agreed immediately, jumping off the bed and all but dumping the contents of Bella's purse onto the small table in the corner. She brought it to me in a rush, eager to get to her stocking. Lily was popping candies in her mouth and trying to unwrap her new Polly Pocket when I felt the bed sink in behind me, the smell of coffee already waking me up.
"Here," Bella murmured, handing me a steaming mug while sipping on her own. "So how did Santa do so far?"
Blowing into my mug, I grinned at Lily's excitement. "So far, so good."
"Can we open presents now?" Lily begged.
I turned to Bella who was frowning.
"I don't know…Should we wait and do it all together with the rest of the family, do you think?"
Sipping on my coffee, I tried to wake up enough to think it over.
"I think the family would understand. This is our first Christmas altogether. Let's just have the three of us, okay?"
Bella smiled brightly and nodded, leaning over to give me a quick kiss, ignoring Lily's vomiting noises coming from by the tree. Pulling back with a sigh, I eyeballed Lily.
"You know, you don't get grossed out when your Disney princesses kiss. Why can't Mommy and Daddy kiss?"
She rolled her eyes, pulling her presents into her lap. "Because…you guys kiss all the time. When I grow up I'm never gonna kiss like that."
"You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear," I said solemnly, jerking my head away from Bella's flick at my ear. Lily inspected all the presents in front of the 'tree,' frowning as she did.
"Santa didn't bring you guys any presents," she said sadly.
"Santa doesn't bring presents for grownups," I said quickly. Bella smiled, scooting off the bed and finding a seat on the floor across from Lily. I slid off the bed and made myself comfortable in between them. Lily proudly gave me her gift as Bella slid hers over to my leg. "Remember what I said," she muttered under her breath, wiping away a fake tear.
I laughed, pulling them into my lap as I pushed Bella's toward her.
"You forgot your stockings!" Lily exclaimed, jumping up and ripping them off the wall with little grace. She dumped them out in front of us, which didn't really matter since I'd filled them the night before and knew it was just a bunch of candy. Until something hard fell right on top of my toe.
"Ow! Son-of-a-mmmm!" I cursed, gritting my teeth to keep from teaching Lily a slew of new words. "What is…?'
Picking up the offensive item, a smile spread across my face as I looked over the stethoscope. And not just any stethoscope. A Littman Electronic 4100. With Dr. Edward Cullen engraved on it. I glanced up at Bella who was grinning slyly at me.
"I guess maybe Santa does bring presents for grownups sometimes."
I shook my head at her, leaning over to give her a quick kiss, whispering, "Thank you," in her ear before sitting back to let Christmas begin.
"Can I go first?" Lily asked eagerly. We nodded and she tore into the package, tossing the bow and paper aside quickly. "A pillow pet! Yeeees! Santa did get my letter!" She nuzzled her ladybug pillow against her face, humming happily.
"You've got two more, Lilybug," I pointed out, laughing as she opened her eyes and dropped the pillow to her lap to open the next present. She opened the box with a flourish, her eyes lighting up as she looked inside.
"Ballerina clothes? Does this mean…"
"You start lessons next month," Bella finished for her, smiling sweetly down at her.
"Yeeeees!" Lily shouted, pumping her fists into the air in a victory V. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."
"You're welcome, Hyper," I laughed. "One more to go and then it's Mommy's turn."
She slipped on her new ballet shoes before opening the last one; her expression clouding into confusion as she picked up the photograph nestled inside the tissue paper.
Putting her out of her misery, I leaned over and pointed down at the picture. "That's your new keyboard. It's waiting for you in your room at home. So you can practice whenever you want to. We'll still do the lessons on the big piano downstairs, but I thought you might li-"
I was cut off as she jumped up and threw her arms around my neck. "My very own piano!"
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, squeezing her back tightly. "You're welcome, sweetheart. I love you, Lily."
"I love you too, Daddy," she grinned, pulling away and moving over to Bella. "Are you gonna take me to ballet, Mommy?"
Bella smiled and hugged her, nodding. "Sure am, Little Thing. I can't wait to see you dance around."
Lily pulled back after a moment and picked up two boxes off the floor, handing one to each of us.
"That's from me. Nana helped. Open it!"
Bella and I smiled at her and each other before tearing open the paper, each revealing a beautiful photograph of Lily in a frame decorated with some kind of noodles or beans or both.
"It goes on your table by the bed. I gave you the same one so you didn't fight over it," she explained seriously. "See? It says Mommy in beans on yours and Daddy in noodles on yours."
I ran my fingers over the frame, grinning and nodding. "This is perfect, Lily. Thank you."
"I love it," Bella added, beaming as well.
Taking a deep breath, I picked up the small box containing Bella's gift and handed it to her. "Alright. Your turn."
Bella took it with no hesitation, holding it up to her ear and shaking it a couple of times. Shaking my head at her, I motioned for her to hurry up. This could potentially either be mind-blowingly the most awesome gift ever, or just blow up in my face. Her fingers slid the ribbon off easily and she lifted the lid to reveal the keys inside. Her brow furrowed as she picked them up, squinting to read the small print engraved on the keychain. Her eyes widened and her face jerked up to look at me, her expression not giving me any clue if she was happy or not.
"But…I thought…it had the sold sign out front…" she stammered, her grip on the keys so tight her knuckles were white.
"Well," I scratched the back of my neck, really wishing she'd either just go ahead and scream at me or kiss me, preferably the latter. "Somebody did try to outbid us, I just didn't tell you about the counteroffer I made to close the deal...You wanted that house so badly, I could tell you loved it…I couldn't let it get away."
She moved so fast she was a blur, tackling me with her arms around my neck in a move reminiscent of Lily.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you," she murmured as she pecked my face all over with kisses, her own face wet with happy tears spilling out of her eyes.
"We're going to move to the new house that has the princess tower?" Lily exclaimed, somehow finding enough space to jump onto me as well, squeezing the life out of my ribs. "Can we get a new baby, too?"
I couldn't breathe, I was being squished from every direction, and it was one of the happiest moments of my life. I wrapped my arms around them the best I could. If someone had told me a year ago that this Christmas I would be celebrating the purchase of a family home with my almost-wife and mother to my daughter, I would have laughed in their face. Or possibly punched them for their cruelty. But here I was, holding my life in my arms as they smothered me with their affection.
"You girls make my life perfect, you know that?" I asked softly as they both nestled into respective crooks on either side of me. Bella lifted her head up, her eyes still glistening, making my own sting with the enormity of this day.
"We love you," she whispered, leaning forward a few inches to capture my lips in a chaste kiss that Lily didn't even protest for once.
"Oh, Daddy!" she yelled, jumping off of me. "You forgot to open Mommy's present!"
Bella sat up quickly, blushing immediately. "No, don't. I'll get you something else. Yours was too big…"
"Bella."
Her lips twitched, but she answered anyway. "Yes, Edward."
"Please shut up."
Surrendering the gift, she smiled and nodded. "Yes, Edward."
I shook it once obnoxiously, making her laugh. Right before I ripped off the paper, her hands flew over mine to still them. "Just…you know how we talked about how I can't change my penname? That's still the same, this is just…Crap, just open it."
I moved her hands back to her lap and patted them once patronizingly, making her shake her head and narrow her eyes at me in playful warning. Ripping off the paper, my eyes locked in on the cover of the book in my lap, something stirring deep inside me as I read it.
Bound By Fate
Bella Cullen
"Open it," she whispered, breaking my trance on the words in front of me. My Bella. With my name. With slightly shaking fingers, I opened the cover and flipped past the title and copyright page looking for something to jump out at me, since I had no idea what I was looking for. On the third page, I found it.
To my life, my love, my heart, my husband, my friend, my Edward:
I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you
Always yours
Your Bella
And to my sweet Little Thing:
Whoever loved, that loved not at first sight?
Mommy loves you
A drop of water hit the page, luckily missing the ink. I rubbed the paper softly, realizing the warm drop was a tear. Soft fingers moved under my eyes, making me look up to see Bella worrying her lip, awaiting my reaction. I was all out of words, none could come to mind to tell her how special I thought this was. A copy of her book printed only for me, dedicated to me, to our love, to our family. Pulling her over to me, I held the book tightly in my hand as I wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her hair.
"I love you," I whispered, unable to speak any louder without my voice breaking. Her arms immediately came up around my neck, her whole body pressed into mine fitting perfectly.
"Ugh. You guys are about to get kissy, I just know it. I have to go potty," Lily announced, rising off the floor and wandering into the bathroom. When I heard the shower turn on, I shifted back a bit to look at Bella.
"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are to me?" I wondered aloud, combing my fingers through her hair.
She shook her head shyly, blushing a light rose color. I sighed, cradling her face gently. I would be trying to figure out how this beautiful, caring, complex woman chose me for the rest of my life. And I loved it.
"Merry Christmas, Edward."
"Merry Christmas, Beautiful," I murmured before leaning down to capture her lips, neither of us moving to deepen the kiss, just connecting for a brief, quiet moment, before the madness of the day could begin.
.
"It's Chriiiiiiist-maaaaaaaaaaas!" Emmett's booming voice rang as he ran down the hallway. It was a good thing we'd had to practically rent out an entire floor to accommodate everyone, or we'd probably be getting complaints to the hotel security right about now. Lily, Bella, and I had been awake for a couple of hours, eating pancakes in bed as our family started to make noise out in the hall.
"Finally," Lily muttered, sliding off the bed to go open the door to our suite. "Does that mean it's time to go, Daddy?"
I nodded, stuffing one last bite of breakfast into my mouth and swallowing before responding. "We'll open presents with everybody else and then go to the park."
"Can I go out there?" she asked, her hand on the doorknob.
I nodded again, watching as she opened the door and jumped straight into Charlie's arms. Bella pushed her plate away and lay down stomach-first onto the bed, her eyes snapping shut.
"What are my chances at getting to take a nap first?" she mumbled tiredly.
"I don't know," I grinned leaning down and pushing her onto her back. "I could go ask Renee to check her cards for you if you like…"
She laughed, slowly opening her eyes. "No, no, I'll get up…Have you got your mom's present?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Have you got Emmett's?"
A devilish smile spread across her face. "Oh, yeah. And I've been practicing the face I'm going to use to convince him to wear it."
"No more hanging out with Alice for you," I ordered, shaking my head at her as she gave me a glimpse of her perfected pout.
"Whatever," she laughed, pushing off the bed and slipping her shoes on. Her Princess of Blue shirt fit her body perfectly. "I learned that from your daughter."
"Why is it she's always my daughter whenever she's being troublesome, but when she acts like an angel she's your daughter?" I sighed resignedly.
She laughed at me, pulling me up off the bed. "Because."
As good a reason as any.
.
She and I migrated down the hallway toward the sound of our family congregated together in my parent's suite. The presents for everyone were stacked on a table in their living area and Bella and I set ours on the table with the rest of them.
"Finally," Emmett grumbled, standing up and placing himself next to the table to distribute the gifts. "Alright. Moment of truth. Who picked who?"
Everyone revealed their pick for the Secret Santa that our family did every year to eliminate the stress of buying gifts for everyone when they were more than able to buy whatever they wanted for themselves. My mom loved her new zoom lens for her camera and flash and Bella laughed over the copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies she received from Jasper. Finally the moment came for Emmett to open Bella's gift.
I watched Bella become the consummate actress, hesitating slightly before releasing it to Emmett.
"Emmie, you have to understand. I…it took me so long to figure out what to get you. But when I saw this, I just knew you had to have it. I really hope you love it as much as I do," she said softly, her eyes full of hope and what I could recognize as just a glitter of mischief that Emmett didn't notice.
He threw a giant arm around her shoulders, hugging her. "B, I'm gonna love it."
"Okay," she nodded, stepping away to watch him open it, motioning for my mom to get a picture.
He threw the wrapping paper everywhere in his haste to get to his present, his eyes widening while his face screwed up in momentary confusion. "What is this?"
"It's like a utility belt," Bella chirped, rushing over to him. "See? This big compartment is to hold your camera and your wallet and then there are these holders on the sides for a water bottle and sunscreen and your walkie talkie and your phone."
"B," he began, shaking his head. "Batman has a utility belt. This is a fanny pack."
"You don't like it," she said sadly, her shoulders sagging in disappointment. I could see Rose shaking behind Emmett, her face buried in a pillow as she tried not to laugh. Everyone was waiting for Emmett's reaction while Charlie was shaking his head and smiling nostalgically.
"What? No!" he stammered, standing up quickly and fumbling with the buckle to put it on. His brightly colored Hawaiian shirt was a stark contrast to the black fanny pack, but he strapped it on proudly, walking and modeling it for the whole family. His smile was an eerie replica of the Goofy hat on his head, but he looked genuinely happy with his present. "I love it, B. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Emmie," Bella grinned.
I'd been so wrapped up watching everybody open their presents, it didn't occur to me that I hadn't received one. We were about to head downstairs to let the rest of the family eat breakfast when Charlie stopped me.
"Hey, Edward. Um…here," he grunted, thrusting a small package into my hands. Bella caught my eye and smiled, ushering Lily out and giving the two of us a moment alone.
I opened the box as quickly as I could, but it would seem that Charlie was no better at wrapping presents than I was. After tearing through the layers of scotch tape, I was able to lift the lid to reveal a small, scratched gold pocket watch.
"Um…it was my grandfather's. It got passed down to my dad and then to me," he mumbled, looking a little bit uncomfortable. I inhaled sharply at his words, picking up the watch carefully to look at it more closely.
"Thank you, Charlie," I breathed. He shrugged, focusing very hard on an invisible spot on the floor. "Are you sure you want t-"
"I wouldn't have given it to you if I wasn't sure. I never had a son to pass it down to…until now," he said, meeting my eyes with fierce resolve.
"This means a lot to me, Charlie. Thank you."
He gave me an awkward one-armed hug with a pat on the shoulder before leaving me in the room alone. Popping open the decades old heirloom, I squinted at the small print inscription that looked a lot newer than the watch itself.
It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.
"He picked that out himself," Bella's voice sounded softly from behind me. She walked around to face me and I pulled her into my arms, still clutching the watch. "He loves you, you know."
I nodded with my face buried in her hair, letting out a deep breath to try and get a grasp on my emotions. There was so much swirling within me regarding this day, the relief that we'd made it, the happiness now that I had everything I could ever want, the painful memories that reminded me how we all came together. She let me just hold her for a while, giving me time to calm down and get a grip on myself. She was always, would always be my center.
Pulling back, I kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose and then her lips, smiling as I felt her do the same. "Let's go put this in the safe in our room and then head downstairs. Let the torture begin."
"It's not torture!" she argued as I dragged her down the hallway, laughing over her protests.
.
Less than an hour later, I was in hell. Pure, unadulterated, Disney Christmas hell. I had been previously unaware that Disney characters sang Christmas carols. I now knew that they did, in fact, sing them. And they were being played through every speaker throughout the entire park and inside every store. There was no escaping it. The only other sound muffling the music drilling holes into my brain was the roar of about a million people. Bella hadn't been kidding. This place was fucking packed.
Lily was wearing a backpack with her phone and walkie talkie inside and an alarm bracelet on her wrist that let out a siren if pulled. She would probably have a hard time pulling it though, with the death grip Bella had on her hand.
"Mommy," Lily huffed for the third time. "Too tight."
"Sorry, sorry," Bella stammered, loosening her grip slightly, only to immediately clutch it again as a large man knocked her shoulder as he passed.
Skimming my map quickly, I found what I was looking for. We needed to find a line to stand in, even if it took an hour.
"Alright, come on. This way," I ordered, scooping Lily up to carry her through the crowd, the family following behind, Emmett and the jingle bells around his neck ringing as we went. As expected, the line for the teacups was insanely long, but at least we were stationary.
"Teacups! Teacups! I wanna ride 'til I throw up!" Lily announced, bouncing in my arms. I could see the tension visibly leave Bella's body as we settled into the line, her shoulders returning to their normal state, her face losing its tightness, her chest rising and falling smoothly as her short, sharp breaths dissipated.
"Me, too!" Emmett boomed, making Bella grin.
"I don't know about this," Charlie muttered, eyeing the spinning cups suspiciously.
"Papaw! Please?" Lily begged, batting her eyelashes and melting him instantly.
I reached over with my free hand and tugged Bella over to me, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "After this, we'll go straight to another ride. I'll carry her so you don't have to worry, okay?"
She sighed, shaking her head. Murmuring quietly, she looked up at me. "No. I mean, if she wants to go straight to another ride, we can, but I don't want to rush her through the whole thing. I want her to enjoy it. I'm okay."
I tried to smother my laugh, but I didn't do a very good job. "Baby, a woman tried to comment on how cute our shirts were and I'm pretty sure you hissed at her."
She grimaced, squeezing my hand. "I didn't mean to. She surprised me…But I'm feeling better now. It was just such a change from the hotel to….all this," she motioned toward the crowds passing by.
"If you're sure…" I trailed off, watching her closely.
"I am," she smiled. "I really want to get to see Tomorrowland. And, Lily!" she spoke loudly to get our daughter's attention. As the smirk appeared on her face, I knew I was fucked. "Do you want to go on the It's A Small World ride?"
Lily's eyes widened as she nodded exuberantly. "Oh, yeah! What's that?"
"It's the best ride they have," Bella answered, ignoring the death glare I was shooting her. "And Daddy's favorite."
Clenching my jaw, I leaned down to her ear again. "I will make you pay for this."
Turning her head so her lips were almost touching mine, she whispered, "I'll make it worth your while. Every time they sing the chorus, you get a kiss."
Maybe this won't be so bad after all.
.
Forty-five minutes later, Emmett was bent over at his knees, trying not to vomit.
"That was so exhilarating!" my mother exclaimed. My mother.
"I know! You could feel the wind speaking to you!" Renee agreed, hooking her arm with my mom's and walking past Emmett without a glance.
Everyone else was fine, although Charlie looked a little green.
"What's next?" Lily chirped from between Bella and me.
"Whatever you want, Little Thing," Bella smiled, swinging hers and Lily's joined hands between them. The happiness radiating from the two of them was palpable as they looked over the map. After some deliberation and Emmett's recovery, we headed through the crowds towards the carousel. There was a line for that as well, but it wasn't nearly the wait that the Mad Tea Party was.
Throughout the day, we had saltwater taffy for a midmorning snack, rode countless rides, took pictures with various characters around the park, ate spaghetti at Tony's for lunch, and I got kissed senseless during my new favorite ride.
"That was dumb," Lily decided as we dismounted the boats.
"I thought it was great," I grinned, pulling her hand as we made our way to the Main Street for the Christmas parade.
. . . . . .
BPOV
"Lily. It's starting," I spoke into her ear, struggling to be heard over the music and the people as I tangled with her sweater, trying to get her warmed up now that the sun had gone down and the air was cooling around us
"Will she see me? Will she see me?" Lily vibrated, making it extremely difficult to get her wrapped up as she strained to catch a glimpse of Cinderella.
"When she gets close, we'll put you on Daddy's shoulders, okay? But she won't be 'til later. Here comes a float. I think it's the chipmunks," I grinned, trying to boost her up enough to see over the person's head in front of us.
I held her through the first half of the parade, the second half she spent on top of Edward's shoulders. I took as many pictures as I could of her screaming at the characters, catching candy canes and waving at Cinderella. She looked close to fainting when Santa rode through on the last float of the parade, even though she had to be exhausted. She'd woken us up at three a.m. Seattle time and it was now well past ten Eastern Time. With no nap the whole day, she'd be lucky to make it back to the hotel awake. I was half-dead on my feet myself.
"Santaaaaa!" she screamed, her voice growing hoarse after an hour of yelling at the passing parade. Fireworks went off overhead above the castle creating the perfect end to the day. These Disney people definitely knew how to make a day feel magical for a kid. I lifted her off of Edward's shoulders once the parade was officially finished, everyone waiting for the crowds to dissipate before heading back to board the monorail to head back to the resort.
She snuggled into my shoulder, laying limply against my body.
"This was my favoritest day, Mommy," she slurred. "Do you have the M&Ms for sleepover?"
Shifting from foot to foot, I cradled her body close to mine as we slowly began walking back. "Of course. They're the most important part."
"Mmm. Mommy?" she yawned. "Can I have a makeover in the morning instead? And wear it to the other Disneyworld?"
"That would be fine, sweetie," I assured her, squeezing her as we boarded the shuttle back. By the time the ten-minute ride was over, she was out like a light. Full-on snoring, drooling, head-lolling out.
"What do we do with her?" I whispered to Edward as we stepped off the train. He took one glance at Lily and shook his head.
"I don't know," he whispered back. "I think she'd be disappointed to wake up without all the girls since she wanted a sleepover."
"I promised her we'd do makeovers in the morning," I added, narrowing my eyes when he smiled. "You laugh now, but you're going to be stuck walking around with me looking like a clown all day."
He grinned, steering us toward an elevator to go up with the family. "Let's just get her upstairs and tucked in."
"I need to change," I said lowly as we stepped inside and headed up. "And I need to get her stuff for the morning out of our room."
His lip twitched, but he remained expressionless. "Okay, love."
The ride up was remarkably silent, everyone too exhausted to gush over the day's fun. Emmett, Jasper, my dad and Phil all moved toward my dad's room, while Edward continued on with me towards Esme's.
"I'm just going to help Bella tuck Lily in," he called out over his shoulder. I heard Emmett mutter something, but I couldn't quite make it out. Once Lily was nestled under the covers of the main bed, Edward began pulling me out of the suite as I tried to explain myself to Esme.
"I just have to go get our stuff and then I'll be right-" I was cut off as the door closed, shutting me off from Esme, Rose and Alice's smirking faces while Edward continued to tug me down the hall impatiently.
"Edward! I was trying to talk to-" I was cut off again, only this time by his mouth on mine as he pushed me against our door, trying to unlock it with the keycard. Once it beeped, he pushed us roughly inside, his hands tossing my purse off my shoulder somewhere into the darkness of the room. "Oh."
"Yeah, exactly. Oh," he mumbled against my lips as he ran his hands all over my body. He pulled away for only a second to rip his shirt away before returning to me immediately, gripping my face in his hands as he poured his love and lust and want into his kiss. I grabbed the bottom of my own shirt and pulled it up just as quickly, ripping away from his lips for only a second to toss it away. He licked his lips at the sight of my bared chest, lifting me by my ass to wrap my legs around him as he dove into my breasts. Continuing to walk forward, I was surprised when my back met the cool glass of the balcony door.
"Edward," I gasped, trying and failing to not melt into a puddle as he continued his ministrations on me, the grinding of his hips against mine. At the sound of my voice he stilled, slowly setting me down to my feet.
Looking me straight in the eye, his gaze was fierce, commanding. "Don't. Move."
I nodded slowly, my body already reacting to the dominant tone in his voice. This man could rule me anywhere, anytime. He stepped away to the bed, ripping the comforter off of it and stalking back towards me. Standing right in front of me, his mouth was so close I could feel his breath on my lips as he reached behind me to open the balcony door. Silently, it slid open and I would have fallen through had his arm not been wrapped around my waist to guide me out.
When he threw the blanket onto the ground, I sank down on it wordlessly, his movements lithe and as graceful as a predator as he followed after, his body perfectly aligning with mine. Always perfectly.
Even though we were alone, he spoke in hushed whispers. "The last time we were on a balcony, there was something else I wanted to do…"
I surrendered under him completely, letting his fingers play all over me like I was his piano, letting his mouth bring to life all the surfaces of my skin that lay dormant before I knew him. Our remaining pieces of clothes slowly disappeared as our kisses grew more intense and our hands wandered further. When there was nothing left but he and I, bare for each other, he trailed his kisses up from my breasts, up my neck and to my chin, pausing to gaze over me.
Feeling emboldened by the love in his eyes, I pushed him to roll over onto his back so I could straddle him. Just like the first time we made love, he threw some of the blanket around my back to cover me as the wind picked up around us. When I lowered myself onto him, we both exhaled matching sighs of relief as our bodies connected. His hands crept up my body to hold me as he moved me up and down, always knowing my body better than I did.
"Fuck. Oh my God. I can feel you, baby. Come for me. I'm right there with you. Fuck," he breathed, his head thrown back and his eyes clenched shut as I came apart above him, his tight grip around my waist the only thing holding me up.
"I love you, I love you, I love you," I chanted, over and over as I all but collapsed, my ear pressed tightly to his chest where his heart was beating a furious tattoo underneath.
His hand nudged my chin and I tilted my face up for a kiss, the kind of kiss that held so much tenderness in every part of it that I wanted to cry. He held my face in his hand, his lips moving slowly against mine until he pulled back suddenly.
"Hey, what's this?" he whispered, wiping away a tear that had fallen.
"Happy. It's just a happy one," I sniffled, embarrassed as they continued to come.
"You're such a girl," he joked, trying to make me laugh even as I read the concern in his eyes.
I sniffle/laughed, sliding off of him to lie on my side on the floor next to him. He turned to face me and wiped each one away as they came.
"Talk to me," he murmured softly.
"It's just…it was such a big day, you know?" I sniffled, relieved when he seemed to understand and nod. "I…I never thought it would happen back then. And now we're here and it's even better than I used to dream about because I'm here with you and I think it might be illegal for someone to be this happy, but happy isn't even the right word for it because it's so much more than tha-"
The kiss that cut me off was so soft, I almost couldn't feel it, but it was enough to silence me.
"It's the same for me, love. I've been feeling it all day, too. This is more than I could have ever hoped to want and have," he smiled, running his fingers along my jaw. "I know it was supposed to be sleepover night for you girls, but what would you think about doing that later this week? When she's actually awake to enjoy it. And maybe we go get her and bring her back to our room for tonight. I want to get to go to bed with both my girls on Christmas."
I nodded immediately, missing her too. We gathered the scattered clothes from the balcony and tossed them into our suitcases, dressing for bed quickly. By the time I was finished in the bathroom, he had returned with a sleeping Lily. As we snuggled into the sheets, Lily stirred slightly.
"Mmm. Daddy? Is it still Christmas?"
He chuckled, scratching her back to soothe her back to sleep. "For a couple more minutes, Lilybug."
"Hmm. Merry Christmas, Daddy. G'night, Mommy."
We both laid kisses on either side of her head as she slipped away again, her breaths slow and deep. His hand found mine in the dark and I laced my fingers through his, smiling as he placed a kiss on each one.
"Love you," he whispered.
"Every part," I whispered back, curving myself around Lily and closing my eyes finally after a long and perfect day.
. . . . . . . . . .
A/N: Well? What'd you think? Let me know if you'd like. As always, thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, rec'd, nominated and voted for this story. The next epi will be up, probably in a week, maybe a week and a half.
When I'm 64 Copyright © The Beatles
Roy Croft: I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you
Christopher Marlowe: Whoever loved, that loved not at first sight? Full poem:
It lies not in our power to love or hate,
For will in us is overruled by fate.
When two are stripped, long ere the course begin,
We wish that one should love, the other win;
And one especially do we affect
Of two gold ingots, like in each respect:
The reason no man knows; let it suffice
What we behold is censured by our eyes.
Where both deliberate, the love is slight:
Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies written by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith Copyright 2009 Quirk Productions
Friedrich Schiller: It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.