A/N: Hello, friends! Let's see what our kids are up to.

Pulled from sleep by the delicious thrill of skin sliding against skin, Carlisle only barely caught the groan before it escaped. He realized quickly what was happening. That was Bella touching him oh so carefully. He could feel the movement of the bed as she shifted. She was tracing the lines of his shoulders, and he was suddenly glad he worked out.

It was strange how self-conscious he was. He was desperate to roll over, and ask her what she was thinking as she touched him. But at the same time, he was enjoying it too much. It took all his concentration to keep from shivering, to keep his breathing steady and even.

Her questing fingers brushed over a spot low on his back, tracing the shapes he almost never saw but knew were there. And though he would have gladly played possum if it meant he could enjoy the thrill of her touch for a while longer, he sucked in a breath before he could help it.

Her hands stilled, and Carlisle sighed, knowing the gig was up. He rolled his head to one side and opened his eyes, finding a sight that made him both extraordinarily happy and, well, horny. How could he help it? He had yet to believe this was all real, that his precious Bella was there in his bed, kneeling at his side, looking down on him. She was gorgeous, her hair rumpled from sleep, all hectic and shiny. The shy but tender look on her face as their eyes met, coupled with the light red flush of her cheeks, gave her a heartbreaking innocence. In stark contrast, she was also quite obviously still nude, her body only hidden from him by the sheet she'd wrapped around her torso.

She bit her lower lip, ducking her head, but her fingers resumed tracing the tattoo on his lower back. "You made yourself a human cello." Her voice was all gravel and sex, and he was glad he was lying face down so his cock twitched only against the cool sheets.

The tattoo were two f-holes, the sound holes on cellos and violins, one on either side of his lower back. "Works better on a woman," he mused. The flair of a woman's hips pulled off the idea better than his own more straight shape.

Though there was no tattoo at the center of his back, where the strings of the instrument would be, Bella strummed her fingers there anyway. "Why did you get it?"

Carlisle rolled onto his back and raised a hand to cup her pretty face. He stroked a thumb over her cheek, considering for a few long moments. She had no idea how intimately she'd touched him when she put her hands on his tattoos. He'd never really had the words. That was why he marked what he felt on his body.

"Music is important to me." This was a severe understatement. "It's why I try to protect the people who bring such beautiful things into our lives. Music with lyrics lend themselves to tattoos more easily. The few I have were all hard decisions." He gestured to the smattering of tattoos on his front, smirking when her eyes dropped down to the one low on his waist, below his bellybutton.

He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. "But as much as I like lyrics, there's something about the power of music. A good piece of music can really hit you." His eyes flicked up to hers, that odd, self-conscious feeling rising in his gut. She didn't look like she thought he was crazy, though. Her attention was rapt. "It's the music you feel in your blood. Especially live. I suppose that's what I was going for. Something about the music inside."

"Wow," she murmured, so softly he wasn't sure he'd heard right.

"Wow?"

He couldn't read the look that came over her then. It sent a rush of warmth through him, and the tiny smile at the corner of her mouth tugged at his heart. Oh, that tug. The one he'd felt so many times over the last four years, whenever he realized for the millionth time that he simply adored her.

"I was just thinking. If we're, um…" Her expression got shy again, and she ducked her head, stammering. "If we're a...We're a…"

That was when Carlisle realized where his own self-conscious streak had come from, and he felt a little bit like a prick. What was he, some horny frat boy? He'd told her a little of what he felt for her, but only in terms of wanting her. To be fair, she had come to his home specifically to seduce him. She'd promised him "time" but hadn't specified if her attraction to him was only physical.

Sitting up, Carlisle smoothed her hair back. "If we're an us?" he asked softly. "Is that what you're trying to say?"

She pressed her lips together in a thin line and blushed scarlet, but she nodded.

Crooking a finger under her chin, he looked directly into her eyes. His heart seemed lodged in his throat where it was threatening to choke him with every beat. He'd kept this secret for so long, the words were incredibly difficult, even if he was ninety-eight percent certain he was about to get everything.

He licked his lips, searching her eyes and finding such heartbreaking vulnerability there, he told himself he could at least be as brave as she was. "You think the only fantasies I have are ones where you're naked?" He smiled at the way her eyebrows shot up, and that eased some of the tension in his throat. "Not that being able to show you what I feel for you isn't incredible, but I want all of you." He raised her chin so she couldn't help but look at him. "I love you, Bella." He had to laugh. Rather than being terrifying, saying the words was liberating.

Well, it was also terrifying.

He took her face between his hands. "I love you, and if you want me, I'm yours."

A beautiful smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She fought it for a moment, but then she beamed, a little titter escaping before she smothered it against his lips. "Now you've done it. You're stuck with me."

"Oh no," he deadpanned, returning her kisses. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her down onto the bed with him. "What can I say? I'm good at making bad decisions."

She scoffed, still kissing him. "Yes, well. What I was going to say before was that I've been thinking." She lifted her head, her smile gentle as she looked down on him. "I'm going to love learning all the things about you I don't know."

"The not so straight-laced things?" he teased, remembering her reaction to finding out he had tattoos.

She leaned in, brushing the tip of her nose against his. "Everything. I want everything." And she kissed him. A lingering kiss, long and slow and heated.

Carlisle faced a conundrum then. He thought he would gladly spend the rest of his life kissing her just like this. This was what he felt for her. Fire and sweetness with a dash of teasing. That was what she was doing with her tongue—teasing him, slipping the tip of it between his lips and pulling back.

But she was also still naked. The sheet had fallen away, and he could feel her—all of her—pressing up against his skin. He'd had plans to wake up before her, make her breakfast in bed. The minx. Now, all his plans were X-rated, and she was the only thing on the menu.

Before he could tell her as much, a grating vibration startled them both right out of the delicious bubble they'd been in. Bella sat straight up on her knees—a beautiful sight because, hello, perky tits. The pinched look on her face as she glared at her phone on the nightstand got his attention. "What is it?"

She sighed, running a hand through her rumpled hair, still staring at her phone as though it was going to explode. "I guarantee that's your brother texting me for the millionth time."

That had the effect of a bucket of cold water thrown over his head. "Oh, my brother."

"He figured out I never came home last night." She shook her head. "My dad never asked so many questions. He's trying to play it off like he's just being the girlfriend looking for gossip, but he's pretty damn obvious."

Carlisle hid a grimace behind his palm. He and Edward had reminded themselves more than once that Bella was a grown woman who could and would make her own decisions about whom she dated. It wasn't as though the boys—men—she picked were horrible people. James had been a little scary, but mostly, they were just obnoxious. She deserved better, that was all.

Thing was, Carlisle wasn't altogether certain Edward would consider him in the better category. A few times, especially over the last year or so, when Carlisle thought he'd go crazy if he couldn't tell Bella how he felt, he talked himself out of it by thinking of what his brother would say.

They were in two very different places in their lives. It couldn't end well, and then what? Edward might lose his best friend.

There was a terrifying thought. Starting something with her meant that it could end badly, and then she'd be gone from his life.

"Have you told him?" Carlisle asked, pleased when his voice remained steady despite his nerves. Bella told Edward everything. Had she told him when she realized she was attracted to Carlisle? When her switch had been flipped, so to speak.

Bella grabbed at her phone and lay beside him, tucking herself against his side. "I couldn't tell him. I wanted to. That's why he's getting kinda pissy. A guy so much as flirts with me, and I talk to him about it, so he's a little miffed at my sudden disappearance." She groaned. "He's going to be so mad."

Carlisle's heartbeat picked up again. "He is?" He'd been trying to figure out how Edward would react. It was awkward. Awkward defined his relationship with his brother in a lot of ways. He'd always felt more fatherly toward him if anything, especially after having raised him on his own for a few years. So, yeah. The idea of a father dating his son's best friend might raise some conflicting feelings, but anger?

"He's going to flip when he hears I let Alice talk me through this. He thinks she gives crappy dating advice."

"Oh." Carlisle had to press his tongue to the roof of his mouth to keep from laughing. "Alice."

"Yeah." Bella looked up from her phone and grinned at him. "She's the one who convinced me to buy that panty and bra set." She rolled her eyes. "Believe me, it was a compromise."

Carlisle groaned, his cock stirring at the memory. He brushed his fingers over the skin of her belly. "Not that I needed convincing, but that was one of the sexiest things I've ever seen in my life." The idea still made him crazy. That she'd planned to seduce him. Had dressed up just for him. "I had wondered. I didn't think you were the sexy underthings type."

Bella rolled onto her side so she was half draped over him. She rested her chin on his chest. "The other guys weren't worth it."

His heart seemed to expand so much it ached. He smiled, caressing her cheek and running a fingertip around the shell of her ear.

Again, before he could speak, her phone vibrated. They both made faces. Bella rested her head on his chest, reaching for it. "So, I guess we should talk about how to tell him."

Carlisle considered this as he ran his hand up and down her back. After a moment, he snorted. "How do you feel about the ripping off the bandaid method?"

"You just want me to text him the truth?"

"No. That's not nearly traumatizing enough." He took the phone from her hand and flipped until he found the camera icon. He flipped that to selfie-mode and held it aloft.

Bella cackled. "You're evil." But she was already pulling the sheet up again so it covered her body except for her bare shoulder. She sucked in a breath. "Damn. We're really pretty."

He grinned. He'd been thinking the same thing. They looked good like this, with her tucked up under his chin, both of them mussed and glowing. They looked good together. "So, yes?"

"Do it."

Carlisle snapped the picture. Bella took her phone back and sent the text. As soon as she did, she made an adorable little squeaking noise and hid her face against his skin as she chortled. "I can see his face in my head. I wish I had a camera."

Not five seconds later, her phone rang. By then, they were both chortling so hard, she only barely got to the phone on time. She had to clear her throat before she put the phone to her ear. "Hey, Edward. What's up?"

Carlisle could hear his brother's response clearly. "What. The. Fuck?!"

A/N: Mina says I have to do a mini outtake of Edward's reaction. Heheh