For: Hitchy

Prompt: May-December romance in the making. (Bella is young, Carlisle is older). Shy, wide-eyed girl being kissed for the first time at midnight on New Years Eve.

Pairing - Carlisle/Bella

A/N: Of course I had to do the New Years prompt on New Years!


James was the one who goaded her into action.

"Baby, don't pretend you're not small potatoes," he'd said, his arm around her when she told him about all her big hopes and dreams. "You play it too safe for any of that. You haven't even been further East than Arizona in all your life."

It had bothered her because it was true. She did play it safe. She was careful with money and decisions. But he was wrong about one thing: she wasn't small potatoes.

This whole trip had been one big fuck you to everyone who thought she was some placid wallflower. She would show them. She picked a destination-New York City. There was so much she wanted to see, and it was New Years to boot.

She'd been in the city three days by the time New Years Eve came around. Three days during which she'd seen some amazing things, but she'd also experienced an intense loneliness. New York City wasn't the type of place she should have gone to prove she could conquer the world. It was incredible how alone she could be surrounded by that many people.

That was how she found herself inching further and further away from the insanity that was Time's Square on New Year's Eve. No one was alone. They were all milling about in groups or worse, groups made up of couples. Everyone was hanging on someone, dancing, throwing their arms around each other.

Bella wandered by herself, watching but not part of the hubbub. Trying her luck, she was able to sneak into a bar, disguising herself as part of a larger group. It was another story to tell. Who was small potatoes now? Who was playing it safe, sneaking into bars nine months underage?

With no one to have her back if she got a little too drunk.

Despite herself, tears pricked at her eyes. Right. This was why sensible, sedate Bella never did anything like this. She ordered a Pepsi, nervously telling the bartender she was the designated driver. When it came, she stared down into it, just waiting for midnight to roll around so she could have her story to tell.

She'd leave the tears out of it.

"So a horse walked into a bar, and the bartender says, 'Why the long face?'"

Bella looked to her side. She wanted to curse herself for being so she was a virgin. True, she'd never even kissed anyone, but she should have expected to be hit on in a bar.

Since he'd had to speak directly into her ear to be heard over the din, Bella expected to find him close. When she turned to the source of the voice, though, she was somewhat startled to see a soft smile instead of a leer. The man was blond and, well...he was fucking hot was what he was. He gave a small laugh at his own dumb joke. Strangely, it was endearing instead of irritating. "Sorry," he said. "You seemed sad. It's a strange day to be sad."

"Um. No. I'm not sad," Bella lied. She sat up straighter. "I was just thinking, that's all."

Another friendly smile. "About what?"

"About how weird it is to celebrate New Years." She spun her glass around in her hands. She actually had been thinking about this earlier, so it wasn't a stretch. "It's an arbitrary day, you know? It could have just as easily been August 13th as January 1st. And why are we all supposed to be so happy? The earth revolved around the sun like it does every day." She stopped herself, knowing she was babbling. "Anyway, it's just weird. If you think about it."

"That's true," he said, sounding thoughtful. "But then again, even if it's just an excuse to celebrate, that seems worthwhile." He gestured around them. "Anything that causes this much happiness is a good thing."

"That's true," she said.

He took a sip of his beer. "Do you know what my favorite thing about New Years is?"

"What's that?"

"It means the very first thing you say every year is Happy."

At that, Bella couldn't help but smile. She looked back to her drink, and was startled to find her heart was racing. There was a strange giddiness rising in her. Not for the first time in her life, she wished she was someone else. Someone who knew what to do in these situations. A little flirting wouldn't have gone amiss right then.

But who was she kidding. There was something curious in the way he looked at her. Something heated but cautious, and she could easily figure out why. This guy, on top of being ridiculously attractive, was also not in her age bracket-by at least a decade, if she had to guess. There was just no way anything was going to happen there.

Hell, Bella didn't even know what she wanted to happen.

"So," he said, leaning into her space to speak to her again. "What's a girl-woman like you doing in a place like this?"

"Do you always talk in cheesy lines?" Bella almost kicked herself for asking, but he only laughed.

"I'm an only child. My kind is used to amusing themselves. I'm a sucker for cheesy lines and corny jokes." He shrugged. "At least one of us thinks I'm funny."

She couldn't help her smile. "I think you're funny," she said.

He looked up at her. Their noses almost bushed-they were that close. In fact, when the whole bar began shouting in unison making them jump, their noses bonked into each other.

At eight, they drew back, each of them touching their noses.

By six they had figured out neither of them were seriously hurt and started laughing.

At three, the blond man's eyes darted down to her lips.

At one, Bella Swan, small potatoes virgin, got her first kiss from a beautiful stranger in a random New York City bar. It was a good kiss. A lingering one. Sweet and hot and...was one of them supposed to pull away? She didn't want to. Apparently, he didn't either.

It did break eventually, though neither of them pulled away from each other. His eyes searched hers, and he pushed a strand of hair out of her face. The chaos all around them was deafening.

Bella pushed forward, her lips against his ear. "Happy New Year."


A/N: Happy New Year to all of you. Let's make it a great one.