Part Thirteen

After a more than enjoyable shower, in which Edward may have been very thorough in scrubbing me down, I finally manage to get dressed. Edward watches me shyly from his perch on the sofa, back in his t-shirt and sinfully tight jeans.

I marvel at how radically everything between us has changed as I stride over to him, smiling. His answering beam bolsters me and I take a seat next to him, lounging across the cushions. I watch him carefully as he turns to look at me. His hair is still damp, a brownish lock plastered to his forehead.

"Only you could make slacks and a vest look casual," he tells me, reaching over to place a hand on my calf, squeezing.

I sniff haughtily. "I try, unlike some."

Edward laughs, pulling my legs across his lap, his hands firm on my knees. I feel a little jolt in my chest that is most certainly not my long-dead heart. Edward grins crookedly, always privy to my inner workings.

"I'm glad you finally gave up on that whole 'newborn' thing," he divulges. "Everything is a lot more interesting without it."

"What do you mean?" I ask, brows furrowing.

Edward sighs, glances toward the door, then back at me. He appears almost sheepish "Well, I might have been trying to get you to notice me."

"How could I not –" I start to reply, but he cuts me off before I can finish the thought.

"No, not like that." His hand slips up to my knee, drifts over my thigh. My skin tingles at his light touch. "Like this."

Oh.

"You have a surprisingly one-track mind, when you focus in on something," Edward continues, his thumb rubbing circles across the fabric of my pantleg. "I finally figured that the only way you'd let yourself think of me that way was if I did something first."

I nod sagely. "Vampires are not known for multitasking."

Edward bursts out laughing. "Or maybe just you."

"How would you know," I object, before thinking better of it. Of course, his direct line to the thoughts of the vampires in this castle would dispel any statements I might try to pass off as fact. "Well that's just not fair."

"Is it ever fair?" Edward smirks, patting my thigh. "I'm just glad I could see in there," he gestures to my head, "it gave me the courage to finally kiss you."

I sigh, having to admit to myself that he might be right. Given all my self-doubt, my anxieties, I certainly never would have made the leap like he did. Hell, I couldn't even admit to myself how wildly attracted I am to him.

"Wildly?" His smirk grows, "Why, Alec, I never."

I smack his arm with the back of my hand. "Gloating is unbecoming of you," I quip.

Edward's gaze flitters to the door again and I get the sense that there is someone waiting outside. Edward responds to my unspoken thought. "Felix came by earlier, but, ah…" he trails off.

"Don't tell me," I plead, but I can see the truth in the firm set of his mouth. "Oh god, he heard us."

"It's not as bad as you think," Edward reassures me, having the decency to appear chagrinned. "Just, uh, when we were in the shower," he rushes out.

I'm mortified. Nothing is ever a secret here, not with inquisitive vampire ears always listening.

"It wasn't urgent, so he figured he wouldn't… interrupt us."

I bury my face in my hands, legs still anchored in place by Edward's strong grip. "The whole Guard will know within the week."

I feel Edward shift slightly. "Well, yes – I think it was bound to happen eventually, though… but you don't mind, do you?"

His voice is surprisingly anxious, and I glance up to see him worrying his lower lip, hand in his hair. "I'm horrified that we were overheard, but no," I agree, "I don't mind them knowing, per se. Just imagining the eternal humiliation that Jane is about to subject me to."

Edward appears confused. "Why?"

"You haven't properly met her," I muse out loud, "otherwise you'd know. Jane is a good sister, but she takes tremendous pleasure at my…inexperience in this domain."

Edward nods seriously. "Well, if spending months on end in your mind, listening to your every thought and feeling –"

"You say it like it's a bad thing," I joke.

"– has taught me anything," he carries on, ignoring me, "it's that you are fierce, and formidable, and will meet any challenge with stamina."

"Now you're just flattering me," I chide. "Do continue."

Edward chuckles. "As much as I'd like to keep stroking your ego – among other things –" he grins devilishly, "Felix is on his way back and I don't think I should turn him away again."

"Oh," I sigh disappointedly. "Well, if you must. Just don't keep me waiting," I advise as he stands up, placing my legs gently where he was sitting.

"Don't worry," Edward smiles. "I won't."

~o~

"Hello, dearest brother," Jane murmurs slyly as she enters my room a short time later without knocking. Edward is with Aro doing something – I'm not sure what, honestly. "I heard an interesting little rumor about you and your little newborn mentee."

God, Felix really needs to keep his trap shut. "Whatever it is, Jane –" I begin, making a mental note to never tell Felix anything ever, "It's –"

She cuts me off with a wave, her cloak trailing behind her. "What, it's not true?" She supplies, quirking a brow. "So, it isn't true that Felix popped by Edward's room earlier to get him and heard suspicious sounds coming from it? And again this afternoon?"

I grimace. "You all are a bunch of nosy –"

"Ha! Can't deny it now, can you? Besides, it smells like sex in here, no matter how much you air the place out."

"It does not!" I interject, but Jane ignores me and slides into a seated position on the chair across from me.

"I'm not judging," she says airily, smirking.

"No," I counter. "You are reveling. It's unflattering, you know."

"Pish," she dismisses, crossing her legs. "There is nothing unflattering about me. You're just embarrassed. I mean, good for you and all. He's… cute, in a gangly, boyish way, I suppose," reflects Jane.

It's my turn to raise an eyebrow. "Have you seen me lately? Or at all in the last millennium?"

"Well, you are quite the match then. When's the wedding?" she teases, flicking her short brown hair out of her eyes.

"It's not like that," I start, but then I don't know what to say next, so I trail off unconvincingly instead.

"Mmhm," she hums, leaning back and assessing me with her piercing gaze. "Come on, Alec. Talk to me."

Jane may have her flaws, but she is a good sister, in between all the errands for Aro. And the torture. I sigh.

"I don't know what is going on between us, he's gotten into my head – oh, you know what I mean," I snap at her rolling eyes. "But…I like him. I mean, he's annoying, sure, and that mind reading thing kind of gets on my nerves, but he's also surprisingly…sensitive. And funny."

"And handsome," Jane teases. "Never took you for the red-headed type."

"That helps," I mutter. "It's not just physical though – not that we've even gone all the way," I add hastily as Jane smirks suggestively.

"Alright, alright," she grins, lifting her hands in mock defense. "You haven't. Relax." When I can't seem to stop fidgeting in my chair, she jibes, "Perhaps you should, though, it'd probably do wonders for that stick you have stuck up your –"

"Okay, Jane, get out," I interrupt, hastening her out the door of my room. "Nice heart-to-heart, really, but I'm sure I have something I gotta do, anything," I gesture between us, smiling tightly, "other than this."

She laughs merrily and pecks me on the cheek before sauntering away. With one last swish of her robes, she rounds a corner and is out of sight.

I sigh with relief, sagging against the door frame as I stare after her. A well-meaning, but painfully prying, sister.

~o~

Time passes like it always does in Volterra – in dragging moments followed by leaps and bounds. I find that I slip into the consuming flames less and less now, distracted as I am by Edward. Aro is delighted when I visit him in his ornately decorated study.

"Alec! How wonderful," he congratulates me, grasping my hand in his. The feel of it is papery, dry.

His blank red eyes stare at me as he absorbs even the most private of my thoughts. "I could not have hoped for better, dear one. I, of course, wondered if you were made too young…" His gaze scans my face; he releases my hand and claps once. "Alas, it was not so. Young Edward has been an excellent addition, then."

Of course, I know Aro only thinks so because of Edward's powerful gift – it is just an unexpected bonus that he is now entangled further with the Volturi.

I'm not asked to do much during this time, other than my usual internet scraping, and Edward is still confined in the fortress as well, which means that we are able to spend almost every day together. When the weather is chill and the nights long, Aro concedes to allow Edward out of the fortress and into the city, and I take him out amongst the humans as they celebrate the new year with bonfires, loud fireworks, and chestnut flavored sweets.

In the dark, we don't worry about who sees us and we mill around the town bundled up in coats and red scarves we don't need, no one the wiser to our presence. Edward, his red eyes bright but invisible to humans in the night, takes it all in with wonder painted across his face, exclaiming at colorful displays of light, lingering Christmas decorations, and the jovial activities. We stay away from the bonfires, but listen to live music and watch humans of all ages play and dance.

"Why are so many wearing red?" Edward asks as we lean against a wall, watching a woman in a dark crimson dress stroll past with orange drinks in her hand.

I smile at him, adjusting the knitted scarf around his neck and smoothing his lapels. "It's good luck," I tell him. "If you wear red, then you invite a year of good fortune." A group across the piazza screams in delight, laughing, as the sound of breaking china sounds. A raucous banging of pots follows. "And the noise chases away bad spirits."

"This is so different than in the US," Edward smiles as I lead him around the crowd.

I tug on his hand. "The customs are different, but isn't it still a time of excitement?"

He nods, turning to me. "I suppose so."

I bring the back of his hand up to my lips. The colorful lights of fireworks reflect in his burgundy eyes.

"It's so beautiful," he whispers, his gaze locked on the dancing lights behind me, but I only have eyes for him. The child-like joy in the set of his smile, the awe there, is everything to me.

A cheer goes up in the crowds of humans; the fireworks reach new intensities. The gongs of the belltower reverberate through the brisk air. I reach up to cup his face, leaning up on my toes, and kiss him, the shadows and celebration providing a screen of privacy. For a moment, I forget that we are interlopers in this, that we will return to a place of cold stone and death, as my lips alight with warmth and my body tingles under his touch, the feel of his hands in my hair.

When we break away, his face is almost flushed, his gaze intense, his coppery hair unruly. His stubble scrapes my jaw as he rests his cheek against mine to whisper in my ear. "Let's go."

I follow him through the cobblestone streets, my body thrumming with the feel of his fingers entwined with mine, the shadow of his kiss lingering on my lips.