oOo
Bella was rather nervous on the plane, which made Edward glad the flight only took eighty minutes. She was clinging to his hand during takeoff.
"Why does travelling make you so anxious, love?"
He kissed her brow. Bella was biting her lower lip.
"I don't know." She shrugged apologetically. "I always worry that I might have forgotten something… Or we could get into a turbulence."
"We'll be okay," he whispered in her ear.
He had never seen anyone watch the flight attendants' demonstrations that eagerly. It was endearing. She relaxed a bit once they were up in the air, and Edward took the chance to ask about her plans for the evening – he wasn't expected at the museum before the following day.
"Oh, I don't know. We can do some sightseeing, I guess. There's a big park near the hotel, and the Brandenburger Tor. Have you seen it?"
Edward nodded his head. He wasn't going to tell Bella that, when he'd last been to Berlin more than two years ago, his time had been devoted to bar-hopping, getting drunk.
"I can't wait for you to show me around," he murmured against her temple, deeply inhaling her familiar scent. Roses and Bella.
They landed on time, temperatures a mild and sunny twenty degrees Celsius. A cab transported them to the city after they'd collected their luggage. They looked out the windows during the drive, chatting with the driver. Well, Bella did the chatting. Edward's knowledge of German began with Guten Tag and ended with Danke schön.
Bella, on the other hand, was fluent, and he was trying hard to understand everything that was being said whenever she wasn't translating for him. The cabbie was a chatty guy, too, and Edward was watching with a smile on his face as they were being recommended places to go and shows to see.
By the time they got out in front of the hotel, Bella informed him that her German felt "rusty," and he laughed at her. They checked in and were accompanied to their room by a bellboy. Edward handed him a generous tip and thanked him while Bella wandered around the room, inspecting the complimentary fruit basket and champagne.
"Wow," she breathed once they were alone. She was gazing out the window overlooking Tiergarten, the city's largest park. Edward stepped behind her and wrapped her in his arms.
"Like it?"
"It's beautiful." She sighed happily, relaxing against him.
Edward kissed her temple.
"Just like you," he whispered. She always felt so small in his arms, making him want to protect her, wrap her in cotton wool.
They kept gazing at the budding trees and fresh greens in the park for a while, enjoying their closeness – until Bella's rumbling stomach pulled them out of their dreamy state.
"Come on," Edward said. "Let's go and have dinner somewhere nice, okay?"
They ended up in a small restaurant off Friedrichstrasse, sharing a plate of appetizers. Edward ordered the lamb and Bella had a salad, and when they were finished, Edward coerced Bella into trying the Kaiserschmarrn – a devilishly delicious kind of pancake with plum sauce and ice cream.
Bella moaned with delight, which put a happy sparkle in Edward's eye.
Forty-five minutes later, she was moaning for completely different reasons.
oOo
Translation: Guten Tag = How do you do/Good morning/evening. Danke schön = Thank you.
Thank YOU for reviewing and for supporting me!
Some of you may be wondering how long this story is going to be, and I think I can finally give you a landmark. Presently, I am writing chapter 155, and there will be about 170/175 in all.
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