A/N: Good morning! So. Let's get down to brass tacks.

He was trying not to be that guy.

So she'd kissed him. So what?

So she'd kissed him after spending a long night in the same bed, her pert ass pressed back against his.

So she'd kissed him after spending a long night in the same bed while she called his name in a soft, breathy voice.

Since then, the air between them had been charged. He was distracted; they both were. What else could explain why Bella,the Ever Vigilant, had cut her finger? Or why he, normally so sure-footed, had fallen into a damn river.

And then she'd been there—her hands skimming over him, touching him here and there; her face so close.

And then, she'd kissed him.

But so what? That didn't mean he was free to touch no matter how much he wanted to. No matter what he thought she might want.

Bella continued on, business as usual. She groused that his little accident had cost them valuable time as he changed. She barked orders, keeping them on track. They kept along the river, and when night fell, Bella found them a protected spot, tucked into a rock alcove, to camp. The river was close enough to offer protection from their fourth and final side.

They'd set about the business of the evening. Edward cooked, watching Bella complete her nightly chore of unpacking everything, assessing, and repacking again. Aaron played happily, perfecting his new rock climbing skills on a tiny boulder and giggling his head off when he fell to the grass repeatedly.

Over dinner, their hands brushed sending a spark of wordless fire shooting through his veins. From the way she drew back, Edward could tell Bella felt it too. She looked up. For the first time since their kiss, their eyes met. Bella's breath stuttered.

"We need to be careful as we move through here," she said, her voice scratchy but otherwise even.

"What?" The words were so incongruous to what he felt he couldn't help but be confused.

"Fort Spokane isn't far from here; maybe just a mile or two. I'll bet there's a compound there. Forts are good places to settle. They got built because of their tactical advantages. So we should be careful. Assume there's a settlement."

"Oh." Edward gave his head a subtle shake, trying to get his head back in the game. Clearly, Bella had no intention of acting on this tension building and roiling between them. It was so strong; there was no way he was the only one who could feel it.

No. Because she'd been the one to kiss him.

"There is a settlement," Edward said absently.

Bella started, her eyes going just a tick wide.

"That was the whole reason I was out here in the wild, remember?" Edward's heart gave a pang. The mission to find his sister and her little family had been secondary to the main point. "We've tracked most of the settlements in Washington, I think."

She stared at him a beat, and he quirked an eyebrow, wondering what he'd done now. "Your people have tracked most of the settlements in Washington?" she repeated.

"Yes."

"And you know where they are?"

"I'd have to look at a map, but…" He winced, suddenly catching on. "And I probably should have told you that before so you could take it into consideration when planning our route."

Bella just sighed. "I'll get the baby ready for bed," she said as she stood. Before she left, she dropped the map and a pen at his side.

Still, even as he worked, he watched her. The baby soothed to sleep, she'd taken a moment to herself. She sat with her back to him, brushing the day's dust and debris out of her hair. It couldn't have been too bad, he mused. They hadn't walked for long today after his mishap and their impromptu swim. Regardless, he could appreciate the view. The way she swept her hair up exposed her neck, and the tank she'd stripped down to left much of her upper back bare. So many inches of delicious skin. One taste of her and he was ravenous.

Edward stood and stepped toward her, crossing the small clearing without really knowing what he intended. He stopped short of her and had almost talked himself into retreating when she stood. She turned and gasped, obviously startled to find him so close.

"Sorry," he said, the worth coming out breathless. There was a ringing in his ears, as though the crackling of energy between them was audible. "I was...Er…" He swallowed hard. Neither of them had moved out of each other's personal space, but neither had moved to close the distance either. "Going to get something." He pointed vaguely at his pack. "Over there."

"Oh," she said.

They both blinked. Her cheeks were pink.

"Right." He moved past her and crouched down at his pack, his own cheeks hot. He was disoriented and annoyed with himself. What was he, back in high school? He knew how to seduce a woman. He had plenty of game. He was also a big boy. He could handle it if it wasn't what she wanted. Could he handle it if he let it go without finding out for sure?

A careful glance over his shoulder showed him that she had moved to a piece of the stone wall that jutted out. She'd set several things out there, using it as a table. His eyes slid over her body, her lithe and capable form, slowly, lingering on her ass as long as she couldn't see him ogling.

No. He needed to know.

Resolved, he stood and crossed to her again, steps sure because really, he did know how to do this part.

He didn't touch her at first; just came up and stopped directly behind her. After all, he knew from first hand experience sneaking up on her wouldn't end well for him.

Bella sucked in a sharp breath, her head raised and her shoulders rising and falling in a quick rhythm. She didn't speak, didn't invite him or lean back into him, but she also didn't move away. He stepped closer so his front almost-almost-brushed her back. He waited. She sighed and tilted her neck just the scantest inch.

It was all the invitation he needed. He put his hands at her waist, pausing only one beat before he ducked his head. He kissed her skin, dropping a featherlight trail along her neck to her shoulder.

She sighed again and turned in his arms, catching his face between her hands. For the second time that day, she kissed him. The current of electricity zinging all around them centered, exploding into life right where their lips met. She broke the kiss almost instantly, huffing out a breath, and then put her lips back to his just as quickly.

It took Edward a handful of seconds-blissful though they were with her lips moving with his-to remember he also had hands, and she was wearing so much less than she usually did. He explored. Not skin. No. Not yet. He stayed above her clothes, tracing the lines of her. One hand slid around to the small of her back and up along her spine. He tangled his fingers in her hair.

She broke their kiss, gasping. They breathed each other in with each pant, eyes searching. She licked her lips, and he swallowed a groan. "This is probably just a matter of proximity," she said.

He blinked. "What?" Why did this woman make him feel so stupid?

"You're the first person in years I actually…" She stopped. Bit her lower lip. Closed her eyes and tried again. "The first person I trust even a little. You're my age. Male. And…" She huffed and rolled her eyes skyward. She still hadn't attempted to move from his arms. In fact, her hand splayed wide over his chest as she spoke. "You're attractive."

"Oh." He wondered if he should apologize. "Okay?"

"Basically, you're the only man in the world to me right now."

His lips twitched. He smiled. "Okay," he said again, softer this time. "So?"

Her eyes were still closed, but her other hand had drifted down, tantalizingly close to his ass. "So, it's logical. That this is happening, I mean."

He waited a beat. "So?" he prompted again. He cupped his hand to her face.

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. She looked at him. Searched him. "So… It doesn't bother you? If it isn't about you? If it's just base biology?"

He considered for only a moment. "No. It doesn't bother me."

She huffed and rolled her eyes. He tilted his head down to take her lips again before she could accuse him of thinking with his dick. He could have clarified. Maybe he should have, but he didn't think she'd want to hear it in any case.

Though he thought sex and sex adjacent pastimes were nothing but positive, life affirming, feel-good fun that everyone on this godforsaken planet needed right now, it wasn't the reason why her conclusion didn't bother him. The first reason was simple. For him, what they were doing wasn't an act of mere physical pleasure for the sake of it.

He wanted. He wanted her. He wanted the possibility she might be the one to help him face an entirely unknowable future together. He wanted to hope the potential for permanence in this new world still existed and, right then, his hope looked like her.

So, no. If he could have her, hold her, touch her, he didn't really care about her reasons.

But really… He also didn't believe her. He thought the reason she kissed him-kept kissing him, even now pressing her tongue along the seam of his lips, requesting entrance-was because it was him, specifically him and not the only man in her world, she wanted to kiss.

Hope, after all, was terrifying.

Edward pressed forward, and Bella stepped back in time with him. Her arms were looped around his neck now, her tongue skimming against his, touching. He let his hands travel down the length of her body, caressing, making her shiver, until he cupped her ass. He grunted his appreciation into her mouth, but only allowed himself a few moments with that particular asset before he lifted her onto the ledge of rock. Her legs spread and he stepped between them, bringing her body flush to his.

With a moan, she pulled her head back the slightest bit. She wasn't kissing him anymore, but her forehead rested against his. "We're not having sex," she said in a voice so breathy and gravelly all at once, sex was exactly where his mind went.

"Uhh," he said eloquently.

"After everything, it would be just my luck if I got pregnant out here. It's a death sentence."

If she finally let herself trust someone else, trusted him with her body-such a profound thing after what she'd been through-only to be killed by that trust after all.

Leaning in, he kissed her, sweetly this time. "Presumptuous of you," he murmured, his lips still brushing hers as he spoke. Her breath stuttered, hot on his mouth. "You think I'd jump into bed with someone I barely kissed?"

"I don't…" she started, the sound so soft and uncertain, he was charmed.

He chuckled before he kissed her again, fervent and firm. It gave him a heady rush to have finally found something that made her twisted up and twitterpated. She was tense under his hands, but not unwilling. She returned his kisses with equal fervor, her hands resting on his shoulders, fingers playing with the tendrils of hair at his neck. It took only a minute or two before she relaxed. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer.

Edward breathed in through his nose, forcing the fervor he felt down to a low simmer. He could do slow. He liked slow. He liked to savor, enjoy the small things. As he kissed her, a serious kind of kiss with his tongue lapping languidly with hers, he let his fingers explore. He skimmed along the backs of her legs, grinning when a tickle behind her knees elicited a breathless giggle.

How incredible to watch her layers of defense unfold, leaving behind the young woman she should have been. Like a switch had been flipped, her cold, spiky edges smoothed out. Her wary scowl turned into a smile he felt against his lips. She was so wonderfully responsive to his touch, her body arching into him as he pressed a hand to the small of her back.

They kissed for a long time, her arms and legs wrapped around him, his body pressing against every line of hers. When their kisses grew hard and deep, he wrapped his arms around her, protecting her from the rock even as he bucked his hips against hers. The tiny moans and mewls she made were simultaneously the sweetest and most erotic things he'd ever heard.

Night enveloped the landscape entirely before they pulled away. To his surprise, Bella didn't resist when he lifted her from the rockshelf and carried her with him, closer to where Aaron lay sleeping. She didn't protest when he laid her down and covered her body with his. She took his face between her hands and brought his mouth back to her, picking up where they'd left off.

And some minutes later, when she began to stroke and pinch his ass, he was the one who had to break it off for practical purposes. He rolled off her, throwing his arm over his face as he tried to catch his breath and think of anything but his raging hard on. He'd gotten this far in his life without coming in his pants; he wasn't about to break that trend.

Besides, it was an impractical thing when he didn't have much in the way of fresh clothes on him. Unless he wanted to make the next part of this journey in crusty underwear.

Bella shifted and rolled onto her side. She spread her hand wide over his chest but otherwise didn't try to excite him further. He moved his arm, opened his eyes and had to bite the inside of his cheek. She was lovely. Even in the moonlight, he could see she was as flushed as he felt and her lips were still kissed-plump.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, her voice so much gentler than he was used to.

He huffed. "I was thinking about the settlers on the Oregon Trail. Trying to figure out how they had sex when everyone was wearing the same thing for five months straight. Assuming they still had sex."

"They did." She'd begun to stroke her fingers up and down his chest in an absent way, not trying to lead to anything. "But the fact they were walking around post coital without a shower or even a clean washcloth pat down isn't the worst part."

"No?"

"Bathing wasn't really the norm in those times under the best of circumstances. The settlers sometimes went months between baths even though they walked miles and miles every day. In the heat. And the dust."

Edward wrinkled his nose. He chuckled. The mental image she conjured went a long way to helping with his problem. He sighed and raised a hand to caress her cheek. "I don't know. It probably wouldn't stop me anyway." The fact they'd been walking day after day, even though their bathing habits weren't as bad as three or four months between baths, wouldn't have deterred him when it came down to it.

Bella smiled but didn't answer, instead raising a finger to trace the shape of his lips.

He shivered, enjoying her touch a little too much. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Mmhmm."

Still, Edward pressed his lips together, debating. This was sure to get him into trouble, but he had to know. "You're a totally different person tonight." He brushed her hair back, relieved when he didn't see anger in her eyes. She looked ever so slightly wary instead. "Why now?"

She closed her eyes but leaned into his touch. For a moment, she looked innocent and vulnerable. "Decisions have always been really hard for me. Trying to weigh the consequences of everything, knowing anything you choose could be a total disaster?" She shrugged and opened her eyes. A small smile played at the corner of her mouth. "But once I decide? What else is there to do?" Another shrug. "If I kissed you once, why not everything else?" Her eyes tightened. "Well. Not everything. Not now."

"I know what you mean." He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her down so her head rested on his chest. He nuzzled her hair.

Minutes passed. Sleep began to pull at the edges of his vision. "But you won't stay," he mumbled, not really asking.

She sighed. "No. I trust you. That's all."

Not really expecting anything different, he let sleep take him.

A/N: They're in Washington. The end is in sight.