Thank you everyone!
The following morning felt like a fresh start. Edward recalled the events from the previous night, still amazed that Bella was going to be forever his. Just like her new tattoo said.
At the moment, she was curled against his side. Her left hand was resting on his chest, and the diamonds on both her ring and her bracelet sparkled in the morning sun. Edward lifted his head to kiss her forehead, but his gesture aroused her from slumber.
"Mmmm," Bella pressed her face into his ribs. "'s it mornin'?" she slurred.
"Yeah. You could sleep some more."
"Don't go." She threw one leg over his, trapping him to the bed.
"I'll be right back."
"Stay," she mumbled sleepily, holding onto his arm.
"Bella, I really need to piss."
"Bad Doodie."
Edward shook free from her grasp. "I'm never speaking to you again if you repeat that."
He left her laughing, as he adventured to the bathroom they had to share with Jasper and Alice. He knocked, not ready to walk in on his friends. When there was no sound from the inside, he adventured to open the door.
He was almost done brushing his teeth when the door banged to the wall. Cynthia was butt naked. She stumbled to her potty toilet.
"Hi, Doodie," she said cheerfully, as she sat on the potty seat.
"Hey," he said around his toothbrush.
Alice appeared in the doorway, looking like she'd barely slept. "God, Cynthia. I'm sorry, Edward."
Edward bent to cleanse his mouth. "I don't mind her. It's cool."
"Is Bella awake?" Alice asked through a yawn, watching her daughter amused, as Cynthia opened her legs to stare into the potty. "Cyn, honey…"
"I'm pee-pee, Mommy!"
Edward chuckled. "I'll bring Bella downstairs in a few. We had a long night listening to our next door neighbors shouting for candies and getting crack whores in exchange."
"I'm failing her," Alice groaned, pressing her face into her palms.
"At least, Cynthia is not into titties, like Bella's niece. Kitties," Edward explained, when Alice dropped her hands to gape at him.
"Jesus! Kids can say the funniest stuff."
"Doodie speaking to you," Edward joked, cringing. "Seriously, I'll have a talk with her that I'm Edward. She could be the only one to live if she takes to calling me Eddie, even. Just, for the love of all things holy, stop her from calling me that!"
"Eddie-doodie!" Cynthia exclaimed.
"I made it worse, didn't I?" Edward cringed.
"Way worse." Alice nodded, going to help her daughter and clean her up.
Edward returned to the room he shared with Bella, to find her sitting up in the middle of the bed. Her hair was a mess, she was still wearing his t-shirt – which she had changed into after redressing her tattoo, and she was admiring her ring.
"It's so beautiful, Edward," Bella whispered.
He went to sit next to her, kissing her temple. "I had to get you something to represent your beauty."
She kissed his mouth, before crawling out of the bed. "Show me to the bathroom."
"Alice is in there with Cynthia." He flopped back on the bed. "I've been upgraded to Eddie-doodie."
"Good for you!" Bella giggled, picking her toiletries bag, and leaving the room. "Christ, Jake! When did you get so tall?"
Edward lifted his head to see Bella had run into her friend.
"Whatever you say, Shortie." Jake ducked out of view before Bella could smack him.
Edward wondered why he'd ever doubted her abilities to take care of herself.
Edward snoozed until Bella returned. She made too much noise searching through her suitcase, so Edward raised on his elbows to see what she was doing. He was greeted by Bella's divine ass in the air, as she rummaged through her clothes.
She turned to him, her face an unhealthy shade of red. "How much trouble am I in if I don't wear panties this week?"
"Heaps."
"I forgot to pack any! I'm such a moron."
"Are you kidding me now?" Edward sat up, fighting amusement.
"Believe me, I'll be the uncomfortable one, not you."
"It's official! The pre-honeymoon stage starts now. We're not leaving the room."
"Of course. Try to remember that we're in the twenty-first century, not still in the cavemen era." Bella rolled her eyes.
"We're going in town shopping." Edward got out of the bed, and headed to his own suitcase. "I want to do something else, while there, anyway."
Bella nodded, relaxing. She tugged on her a pair of jeans and a pale yellow sweater. For her feet, she used some short boots she'd bought for their trip to the mountains back in February.
They went into the kitchen to find out they had been the last ones to get downstairs. There was so much food on the wooden table, that it felt like Christmas had come early.
Emmett pointed to two cups of coffee on the counter. "They're black, so feel free to add anything in them."
"Thanks, Emmett." Edward took over adding some cream in his, and cream and sugar in Bella's.
Bella fell into a chair between Jacob and Emmett.
"Sleep well?" Jacob asked.
Bella covered her mouth, yawning adorably. "Kinda." She turned to look at Alice and Jasper.
Edward leaned over her, placing the cups on the table, before lifting her up and sitting down with her on his lap.
"What?" Bella demanded, turning her eyes to Jacob, who stared at her oddly.
As Edward looked around the kitchen, he noticed everyone was staring at them. He held Bella close to his chest.
"What's your problem?" he barked.
At the same time, Alice squealed so loudly Elliott started crying, Rosalie burst into tears, and Emmett and Jasper clapped as if someone had won something.
Edward caught Felix's eyes, who subtly pointed to his own hand, which made Edward understand. They'd seen Bella's ring.
"About time, man!" Emmett clapped his shoulder. Edward kept his arms locked around Bella, when his most natural instinct would have been to knock Emmett out.
"I'm so happy, baby brother!" Rose sobbed, rounding the table to hug them both.
Then, Alice bounced by their side, shoving Jacob out of his chair to sit there and inspect Bella's ring.
"Would you give us some room to breathe?" Edward groaned.
Bella hid her face into his neck. He could feel her skin burning.
"You didn't have it yesterday," Jacob, the ever perceptive guy, pointed out.
"Well, a lot can change in one night," Bella mumbled, still embarrassed.
"We had the most romantic background music – Cynthia demanding candies and crack whores," Edward added, amused.
Cynthia, hearing her name, slapped her little hands in the jelly sandwich she was supposed to eat. "Eddie-doodie saw Cyn-Cyn potty!"
Edward had no idea he was still capable of being embarrassed by anything. Then came Cynthia and ruined his clean record.
"If anyone needs me, I'll be outside," Edward slipped out from under Bella. He saw Jasper and Emmett following him.
"I thought you were waiting for Christmas Day," Jasper said, when they stepped outside.
Edward shrugged. "Change of plans."
"For how long have you been cooking this up?" Emmett asked, leaning against the wooden wall of the cabin.
"Since February," Jasper said, amused. Jasper had been there with Edward, when he'd gone ring shopping.
"What?" Emmett sputtered.
"I wanted to find the perfect moment," Edward snapped. "Clearly, I found the worst moment."
The front door opened to reveal a red-faced Bella. She dove into his arms. "Save me. You brought the vultures upon me."
"I did no such thing, love." Edward hugged her tightly. "Let me grab the car keys. We're going into town, and hopefully our news would die down by the time we return."
Edward returned to the kitchen, dodging his sister, and going to Felix. "I need the car keys."
Felix dug into his pocket. "Be careful, sir. The roads are icy."
"I'm aware. We have the winter tires on and the chains, don't we?"
"Yes, we do." He handed the keys to Edward.
"Can't this trip be postponed?" Alice asked, pouting. "We won't ask any more questions."
"It can't, actually. Later."
Edward escaped the kitchen, before anyone else could ambush him. Bella was huddled against the car, glaring daggers at Emmett. Edward chose not to know what had happened in his absence.
"Keep Alice under control. Sit on her, if you have to," Edward muttered to Jasper, on his way toward the car. He clicked the alarm button, so Bella could get inside, before he reached the driver's side.
"Maybe I should have taken it off, before we decided to tell them," Bella mumbled, strapping her seatbelt.
"I don't want to hear you ever saying that you want to take it off."
"You do realize, it's necessary. When I wash, for example. It will catch in my hair."
"We'll shower together. I'll wash your hair." Edward winked, turning the engine on. It roared loudly, and the tires made horrible crunching sounds on the frozen snow, as he pulled out of the spot.
"Quite the environmentalist," Bella joked.
"Big word there, love."
"Want me to drive?" Bella suggested, probably noticing the way Edward was gripping the steering wheel.
"I've got it under control."
Edward could feel her eyes on the side of his head, but he kept his focus on the road. Once they hit the main road, the grip was better, but not perfect. Edward tried to remind himself that people drove all the time in such conditions in areas where seasons were a thing, and nothing bad happened.
Bella stayed quiet, understanding that he had to concentrate on driving.
It allowed Edward to think of what he planned on doing in town. Sure, he'd come to like tattoos…on Bella. He still wasn't their greatest fan on anyone else. And there he was, ready to mark his own skin – to show the whole world that Bella was his.
By the time they reached Anchorage, Edward knew exactly how his tattoo would look like. He parked in a mall's parking lot.
"I didn't peg you for the mall type," Bella said, amused.
"It's an emergency, Bella. They have several designer stores, for sure."
"Whatever happened to good old cotton panties? You're likely to rip them anyway."
Edward chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, walking her to the elevator. "Cotton panties don't give me the urge to rip them to pieces."
"Good. I'll get a hundred, then."
Edward sighed. "Let me spoil you, baby. Consider it a Christmas present."
"You don't play fair, Sir," she hissed, elbowing him in the ribs.
Edward pinned her to the cold metal wall of the elevator. "Careful, don't start something you can't finish, baby girl."
Bella walked out of the elevator on wobbly legs. Edward steered her inside La Perla. He stood at her side while she browsed, picking random panties, only to place them back on the rack. Nothing seemed to strike her fancy, until she noticed an area with the word SALE in big, bold letters.
They were five pairs at the price of three. Bella selected a handful of them in every color.
"Fine. Have it your way," he muttered, following her to the cash registers.
As Bella placed her purchases on the counter, Edward slid his card to the clerk.
He couldn't have her win, so he dragged her into Victoria's Secret. This time, he was the one to pick the lingerie.
Edward found a strappy teddy bodysuit that barely covered her breasts and groin, all the pieces connected by thin, satin straps. It would look amazing on Bella's creamy skin during a scene. Next, Edward chose a two-piece, with the party they were going to attend in January, in mind.
Bella had agreed to go to a party with him, after she'd heard Alice talking about it. Bella had insisted to go. She'd been worried Edward was hiding her, when in reality, Edward had only tried to protect her.
"What the hell?" Bella protested, seeing the white corset. "Is this eyelet on lingerie?"
"Fancy," Edward agreed. "For the party," he explained, before Bella could fight him to put it back on the rack. She'd look so fucking gorgeous in it. The lace-up front and eyelet, with the zipper at the back, was the perfect get-up for Bella. The panties were made of the same fabric, but they were something Bella had never worn – thongs.
With their new purchases in tow, they returned to the car.
"Don't go in, just yet," Edward warned her, placing the bags in the back seat. "We have another stop."
"Are there sex toys on sale, too?" she grumbled.
He watched her amused. "If you want to stop by the sex shop, let me know. I only want to visit the tattoo parlor I noticed on the way here."
"You're serious!" she gasped, her eyes widened. "Edward, you don't have to."
"I want to," he insisted, linking their fingers. "Come on."
.
.
.
Inside the tattoo parlor, Edward tried not to cringe at the sight of the man who greeted them. He was covered in ink. There was some even on his face.
"Hello!" Bella greeted him, jovially, as if they'd known each other their whole lives. "Could you get us a catalogue with key designs, please?"
"Hello! Of course." The man smiled widely, as he pulled a catalogue from under his desk.
"There will be no need," Edward said.
"What?" Bella turned to him, worried. "Did you change your mind?"
"No, love. I already know what I want. I could sketch it for you, to get the idea," Edward said, looking at the artist.
"Sure, man." He offered Edward a sketchpad and a pencil.
Edward had no talent when it came to drawing, so he drew the shape of a key but instead of painting a line for the key's body, he wrote ISABELLA, then he wrote the words FOREVER MINE under it.
"The head of the key should match this." Bella peeled off the gauze over her wrist.
The artist nodded, examining her wrist for a minute. "Let me draw up the stencil. In the meantime, please fill in this form."
"It's just standard procedure," Bella whispered, taking the paper and a pen, leading Edward to a set of chairs by the door. "Of course, I haven't filled in such things in a while. Leah does it for me, and I just sign. You could wait until we get home. I trust Leah."
"This guy seems pretty good, too. I bet these are his creations," Edward said, waving to the photos of tattoos on the walls.
"Could be. Come on. Write." She pushed the paper in his hand. "Don't chicken out. I promise to hold your hand."
"I'm not scared."
Bella giggled, as if she was onto some joke.
Of course, she might have been right, because when Edward was called to take a seat on a comfy chair and keep his wrist up on the armrest, nerves threw a party in his body. Edward offered the man his right wrist, resting back against the chair, eyes closed.
"Is it your first?" he asked, understandingly.
"How can you tell?" Edward grunted, jumping out of his skin when the cold stencil touched his skin.
"If you feel like throwing up, give me some heads up."
"I won't," Edward snapped.
"You'll be fine," Bella said soothingly, sitting on the other armrest, stroking his hair. "I love you," she whispered into his ear.
Edward kept his eyes on the needle gun as it approached his wrist. The pinch itched, but not worse than the lick of the whip. It was bearable.
"You're doing great, man!" the artist said impressed, halfway through the tattoo.
"Anything for her," Edward said, shrugging, turning to kiss Bella's mouth.
"Don't move, please. This is a sweet design," he commented. "I like doing original stuff. I'm sick of 'forever his slash forever hers' stuff."
Bella kissed Edward's cheek softly. "We thought it was silly to go for the usual boring stuff."
When the tattoo was ready, the artist ran Edward through the process of taking care of it. Bella promised to make sure it didn't get infected.
How sweet of Edward to get a tattoo for her?
For pictures, check out my facebook group: addict_writer fanfiction
PS: I'll start posting a new story this Friday, so stay tuned. :)