Starlight

He kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, "The show is about to start."

He put one hand under my chin and lifted up. As I looked into the sky, the clouds drifted away and the heavens were suddenly full of stars. "Edward," I breathed, "It's beautiful."

He laughed gently, "It hasn't started yet."

I looked back at his face. I could now see his smile, just barely. His eyes shone brightly in the darkness. "Oh, there you are," I whispered, touching his lips. I leaned forward and kissed him softly. He returned it gladly, then turned me around to hold me against his chest.

"Do you see the North Star?" Edward asked, pointing. His velvety voice was soft and low. It wrapped around me like part of the night.

"The bright one, right?" I asked.

"Right," he said, "I used to think of you as that star. In a lot of ways I still do." He kissed my hair, "But I've come to realize you not a star, really."

A brief stab of disappointment hit me. Then I realized he had to be going somewhere with this. I waited to find out where. But Edward was silent for a long time. I started to get nervous.

"Then what am I, Edward?" I asked quietly. Edward stroked my hair and kissed me again.

"A meteorite," he replied. Just then a shooting star zoomed across the sky. Then there were two, then three, then there were too many to count. They were coming so fast.

"Oh!" I cried softly at the sight.

"You are a bright and beautiful shooting star. A sweet surprise that everyone stops to watch," he paused, "but is sadly gone in an instant. If you blink, you'll miss it." I smiled at his imagery. "I'm not the only one who would miss you when you were gone, Bella. The whole world would be a darker place."

I tilted my head back and kissed his cheek. Then I held his arms tightly around me while we watch the meteor shower. After only a few minutes it was over.

"I'm really the one more like a star," Edward said once the heavens were stationary again.

"The North Star?" I asked.

He chuckled, "No, nothing so bright. I'm that one over there." He gestured off to the side.

"You're the second star to the right?" I teased.

"Fine, sure," I felt him smile into my hair. "The point is. There I am, constant and shining for all of eternity." He paused, "A fairly dreary and lonesome existence."

"Not anymore," I reminded him, squeezing his arms again, "Soon we both get to be stars."

"Ah, but Bella," he whispered, kissing my cheek, "That's the true wonder of it. We won't be stars, two solitary orbs in the night. Together. . .," he paused and looked up again.

I followed his gaze. At the edge of the trees, a bright light came into view, easing its way across the sky.

"Together we become a comet; a bright, shining, light streaking across the heavens for all of time." He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "The kind of miracle men wait a hundred years just to catch a glimpse of."

As we watched the comet fly, tears welled up and started to fall down my cheeks. Edward had waited a hundred years or very close to it. His thoughts were so beautiful, made more so by the fact that neither of us could be much without the other. The comet reached the other side of our view and disappeared. I quickly wiped my face, then turned around to look into Edward's eyes; the windows to his soul. I put a hand tenderly to his cheek. There was so much I wanted to say. I agreed with everything he had said. I wanted him to understand so much. I couldn't find enough words. So I only used three.

Smiling brightly I said, "Marry me, Edward."

Edward's grin widened until it threatened to crack. "I think that could be arranged," he answered. I laughed and kissed his sweet lips. I noticed that while they were still cool, the rest of him had been warmed by the hot spring. I clung to him tightly, revisiting our first time here.

Finally, Edward pulled away. Laughing, he said, "You know, I got you to agree to getting married a while ago. But it wasn't until just now, on the eve of our wedding, that you finally sounded like you actually want to." He shook his head, "I should have used that metaphor in the first place."

I smiled at him, "It wouldn't have been the same without the visual effects." We laughed, "Besides, it wasn't just your beautiful words, although I always enjoy them. I think it had a lot to do with what's happened in the last few weeks; with us and even more with our families. I never hoped to have such a great start." I kissed his cheek, "I only knew it would be worth the ending."

"I know," Edward agreed, nodding his head. "I was prepared to walk you through the whole wedding, reminding you to breathe and relax." He laughed lightly. "Instead tomorrow will really be the start of our 'Happily Ever After'."

I smiled and Edward leaned down, kissing me again. He drew me close and the kiss lingered and deepened. We stayed in the spring for some time. But Edward still had me home in bed before too late. We did, after all, have a very big day planned tomorrow.


AN- Yikes, I really should have just slapped that onto the last chapter, I thought this scene was longer. My bad. I now have sad news and glad news. Sad news is this story is over. It's called practicing and it's about what happens before the wedding! Glad news, due to overwhelming interest and support, I will be doing their wedding in a story called "The Perfect Day"; a sequel to this story which you all love so much. I know it seems like I should just keep going and put it on the end of this one, but trust me; it needs more room than that. It won't be as long as this story, but it's definitely one day that needs several chapters. Of course, I didn't really mean for this story to have so many chapter either. 8P So, don't be sad, the story continues, and I will post the first chapter of "The Perfect Day" very soon. I'll even post a notice as a new chapter on the end of this story so you can all find it nice and easy. Thanks again for reading my story. I can't believe how many of you there are out there reading it! FYI all of my fanfics (excluding The End, The Beginning) are pretty much one long story, and were posted in chrono order. If you get bored, feel free to read the rest of my stuff. If you've already done that, try some of My-Bella's work. It's kinda like mine, only different. (Beware of Lemons, though they are some mighty fine Lemons! 8P) Enough of the ranting. I'll post again soon, I promise. I've got practically the whole wedding day all worked out already, and even an alternate ending! Thanks for everything. –Lefty 8P