As always: Everything and anything related to the Twilight saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. This is a work of fiction based on her writings. No harm is meant by it.

Special thanks and much adoration to my beta freakyhazeleyes

"Some emotions don't make a lot of noise. It's hard to hear pride. Caring is real faint - like a heartbeat. And pure love - why, some days it's so quiet, you don't even know it's there."

~Erma Bombeck

Chapter Twelve: Q is for Quiet

Where Edward Cullen was not afraid to voice his opinions, argue back, and be loud in general, his best friend was the complete and utter opposite. Even if her opinion was valid, her argument true, she was always timid and quiet, and kept to herself.

Bella Swan was the suffer in silence kind of person, always had been, and Edward would easily bet that she would always be.

When they were younger, there were so many times that he had gone to visit her at home and found her sitting under a tree in her backyard, just sitting there with her arms wrapped around her knees, her face blank. And whenever he would sit down beside her, she would lay her head on his shoulder, but still remain silent, never so much as uttering a hello to him.

He never pried, though he wanted to. He always wanted to know what Bella was thinking. Never had he ever wanted to know what someone was thinking as much as Bella. She always looked absorbed and pensive, like she was trying to solve a riddle in her head. It always frustrated him to no end because she would never tell him what was wrong, until much later.

Eventually Bella would tell him what was wrong, if it was a personal problem or something as mundane as the fact that she didn't have a date to a school dance.

There were times when he would visit the Swan house and would ask if Bella was home and her father would call out to Bella because he didn't know if she was home. When Bella would answer back and head down to the living room to ask him what he needed, he would always make a remark about how he would never know if she were dead in her room, because she was so quiet. She just locked herself in her room all day, either reading or writing.

Edward knew this. Countless times he had barged in her room to wake her up because Charlie thought she was sleeping, to find her splayed across her bed with a book in hand, thoroughly engrossed in the literature.

He loved that about her, sometimes. He liked how she wouldn't fill their conversations with mindless chatter. He had known so many girls who would talk about the most frivolous things just to keep a conversation going, but Bella never did that. She knew when silence was a good thing.

But there were times where Edward loathed Bella's reticence.

It had been right after the night at Edward's house, the Halloween party, where James had assaulted Bella. The next few days she was quieter than ever, practically mute. She walked around like the living dead almost. Her eyes were sallow and her face pale; she looked as if she hadn't slept in days.

She walked around with her arms tightly around her frame, only a sweater on in the cold November air. It was as if she wanted to feel the biting cold against her.

Edward watched as she walked around school mindlessly, as if someone were controlling her movements, and when he tried to talk to her in class, she just stared at him and would just shrug her shoulder or nod.

It was torture to watch her.

It was when he had come over on a Friday, almost a week since the party, that Chief Swan had stopped him on his way out, asking him if he knew what was wrong with Bella.

Edward shook his head no, because he honestly had no idea what was going on with her. When he had sat upstairs with her, she had remained stoic. She didn't say a single thing to him. Bella remained unfazed by his presence.

Edward had never felt so lost in his life.

Apparently, there was nothing he could do. He told a joke, and teased her like always, and she still remained withdrawn.

It was later that night, at four in the morning that she called him. He had gotten a private line in his room months earlier for his birthday, and he had never been happier for the gift until that moment.

She was crying, sobbing into the receiver. He could almost hear how hard her body was shaking by the way her voice wavered as she talked. She finally broke down and told him what was going on. For an hour, she described the emptiness she had been feeling, the horrific nightmares she had been having every night.

For a week, Edward received the phone call. It was the only time in those two weeks that they talked. At school, she remained taciturn.

After a week of early morning phone calls, Edward started sneaking into Bella's room at night. To this day, he still doesn't know how he managed to climb the tree by her window. The first branch was at least ten feet off the ground; it was no easy feat. Though Edward was an athlete, the trek up to her room was nearly impossible, but for her he tried and succeeded.

It was something he would never forget, one because of the scar on his inner thigh from the jagged bark, but most importantly because of how fragile Bella looked when he had first popped in through the window.

She had been curled up into a tiny form of herself, shaking violently with tears streaming down her face with no signs of stopping. It was a gut wrenching sight. He had never seen his best friend look like this. It was heart breaking.

For weeks, he snuck in through her window and lay with her as she slept, and before Chief Swan could find him, he snuck out just as the sun rose. He lost hours of sleep, days if you tallied it up, but it didn't matter to him then or now. He would do it all again, in a heartbeat if he had to, though this time he would only have to walk across a hall.

Even as they grew older, there were times that Bella would disappear, and he would find her just sitting somewhere, staring off into the distance, as silent as silent can be. All you could hear was the steady breaths she took. Though now, most of those times had to do with Bella contemplating something about work or something to do with her family. And though when he asked what was wrong, and she didn't answer, he knew she would eventually tell him.

So, when he found her Sunday after breakfast, sitting on the bench by the window sill in her room, he said nothing. He merely watched her as she stared out at the Seattle metropolis, her eyes darting as they followed the paths of the moving cars.

=x=

Breakfast on Sunday had been pleasant for Edward. He and Bella had walked down the block to a little coffee shop that had the best French toast sticks and scrambled eggs in a ten mile radius. They used just the right amount of cinnamon and powdered sugar for his and Bella's liking.

They sat at the café and laughed about the young couple across the shop that were practically eating each other's faces off.

"It's ten in the morning. You would think they would have some kind of decency. Some decorum," Bella scoffed as she ate some of her eggs.

"They're young and in love, Bella. You remember what it's like, the burning desire to always want to ravage your partner every chance you got."

"Yeah, but not in public," she argued.

"Especially in public," he teased, as his hand found itself suddenly on her thigh. She brushed it off quickly, holding up her fork in a threatening manner and he merely chuckled.

When they arrived home, he locked himself in his bedroom to work on his new project, and for almost two hours, he stared blankly at the specifications sheet he had received. They wanted a kid friendly commercial that appealed to children as well to adults. That wasn't the hard part, it was the fact that he was trying to sell toothpaste that was the hard part. There was really no way to sell it without boring people with the basic facts about toothpaste, all the fluoride, and plaque bull shit.

It was when he was finally making some headway with the campaign, something resembling a plaque monster and a sliver of toothpaste with a cape, when he realized that he hadn't heard from Bella since their return home.

When he finally emerged from the confines of his room, he found Bella's door closed shut, which was odd because Bella kept the door open, even as she slept. Inside the room, he found her perched along the window.

She was serene, still, and silent.

That was when, that moment right there, when he knew what his letter would entail.

He said nothing to Bella and walked out of her room, and back to his to finish his project.

=x=

The presentation of the project went off without a hitch on Monday afternoon. The toothpaste company loved the idea of the superhero toothpaste fighting the plaque as it explained why it was bad.

It was brilliant because it entertained and informed, or at least that was what the toothpaste company CEO had said as Edward finished.

Edward celebrated the million-dollar contract by leaving work early and cooking a grand dinner for himself and Bella, champagne included.

Still on his victory buzz, Tuesday passed quickly even though he mostly sat in his office doodling on a note pad and emailing funny YouTube videos to Emmett and Bella.

On Wednesday, Emmett came to visit Edward at work and that had proven to be entertaining and very unnerving all at the same time.

Emmett came to take Edward out to lunch as congratulations for his newest client acquisition.

The two had headed over to a local sports bar for some burgers and a beer, something manly as Emmett said careening around a cab, as he drove them over there.

It was during the wait for their food that Emmett brought up something that made Edward's stomach drop.

"Who's Bella dating?" Emmett asked, and Edward felt his face go white. He didn't know that she was dating someone; she hadn't mentioned anything. It wasn't until Emmett elaborated that he relaxed.

"The other day she came in wearing a turtleneck, and when I teased her about it, I saw a horde of hickies. When I asked her about it, she said that you knew the guy very well."

Edward nodded as took a slow sip of his beer, struggling to not just chug the whole thing down as his body relaxed only slightly. He was tempted to tell Emmett what was going on, but there were many reasons why he couldn't.

For starters, the intense rearing he would probably receive about the ramifications of his actions. Then there was the fact that Emmett would probably beat him to a pulp and then tell Rosalie about it, which led to the final and most important reason why he couldn't tell him…Bella. They had never once discussed if they would tell people what was going on.

It was all kept very hush-hush.

"Yeah, he's a great guy. She's perfect for him," Edward answered, his voice low as he said it.

"That's good to hear. Bella deserves someone good. Though I never understood why you two never dated," Emmett commented, chuckling as the waitress brought over their lunches.

"I don't know," Edward replied, wondering the same thing for the first time ever.

Thursday dragged on, but that wasn't anything surprising.

After the success of his previous presentation, he had been given a raise, and there were rumors flying about being promoted. It had all been said before, but after the successful contracting of the toothpaste company, the rumors were running rampant, and they were coming from the mouths of the head honchos themselves.

Edward didn't even realize that Friday had even happened until he woke up and it was Saturday morning.

He had woken up to the sound of pots and pans being banged around in the kitchen.

When he walked out to find out what all the racket was about, he found Bella.

"Did I wake you up?" she asked, her tone apologetic as she took in Edward's staggered footing and the way he kept brushing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Maybe," he groggily responded, looking up at her in an endearing, sleepy eyed manner. Bella shyly smiled and Edward smiled back up at her as he walked into the kitchen to see what she was doing.

"Are you making breakfast?" he asked pulling the orange juice from the refrigerator and taking a big swig of it.

"Yes, and don't drink out of the carton," she scolded him, pulling the juice away from him. "I don't know where your mouth has been."

Edward, who had still been slightly asleep, suddenly felt very awake after hearing that. His eyebrows rose into his hairline and he stalked over Bella, towering right behind her.

"My mouth has been exactly where it should be," he moaned into her ear, his hand snaking down to cup her sex. "Right on those plump, wet lips of your pussy."

Bella gasped, her eyes shutting tight as she struggled to keep from moaning out in pleasure. Her lips trembled as he kept rubbing her, his tongue moving to his favorite spot on her neck.

"Where has your mouth been, Bella?" he asked, seductively as he moved his lips to her neck, sucking gently on the skin, not trying to leave a mark this time. Emmett would get suspicious.

Bella didn't answer; she couldn't. She was too busy laying her body against Edward's and moaning as his lips found that spot she loved so much, right below her ear. She cried in pleasure as his hips began to push into her backside.

"You don't have to answer me. I know where it's been, where it will be very soon," he murmured against her skin.

He rubbed his hardened cock against her, creating a nice rhythm of strokes that Bella matched.

"You want this, don't you? You want to taste me just as much as I want to taste you. You want my cock inside you just as much as I want to be buried inside you," he growled into her ear as he turned her around.

Her back was to the counter top and he stood right before her, no more than an inch away. The two were breathing heavily as they stared at each other. No one said anything. It was just an intense look passing between them, and for the first time since this whole charade had started, Edward had the worst urge to kiss Bella. An overpowering pull was gripping him. He was so tempted to just bend down and do it, and she wasn't making it any better by licking her lips.

He wanted to feel those plumps lips against his so badly, but he stopped himself by stepping further away from Bella.

"So, what's for breakfast?" he asked, his voice not showing any evidence of unease.

Bella on the other hand just stared baffled at him. She blinked rapidly as she stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Seriously? We're not going to do anything right now?" she asked, petulantly. The frustration was evident not only in her body posture but in her voice.

"Yes, I want to eat and then, maybe, we'll do something," he said casually as Bella still stared at him shocked. Her eyes kept traveling to the tent in his sweats and back up to his face.

"So what's for breakfast?" he asked again, sitting down and staring up expectantly at Bella.

"Waffles," she answered as she cleared her throat and got back to cooking. Edward now knew that she had been looking for the waffle iron as he saw it being plugged in.

Edward watched amused, as Bella still looked shaken up by what happened. Her body was still flushed and the hair around her face was sticking to it. He watched as she poured the batter into the iron and closed the lid, holding it down. It wasn't necessary to hold it down, but Edward had a hunch that she didn't want to turn around.

"Do you need help?" he inquired getting up to find some plates. Bella shook her head no and pointed to the plates and utensils she had taken out before Edward's entrance.

"Okay."

He watched with a smile on his face and as she walked toward the other side of the kitchen, Bella kept her back to him.

"You okay, Bella?" he teased, knowing full well that it would only serve to frustrate her more.

"Peachy." Edward laughed.

"Do not laugh at me Edward 'fucking' Cullen," she lashed out at him, finally turning around to look at him. He was wearing a shit eating grin, and he could see how it was grating Bella.

"Well, Isabella Marie Swan, I'll do whatever I damn well please, especially since this is my weekend."

Bella scowled at him as she dropped, quite violently, a couple of waffles onto his plate and her own.

"You're infuriating."

Edward merely scoffed as he took a bite of his waffle, humming his appreciation of them.

"Good waffles."

Bella simply glared at him, fire in her eyes. Edward couldn't get enough of it.

"Are you gonna be pissy all morning?" he asked, staring intently at her.

She gave him the finger.

"I take that back, you're acting rather bitchy instead of pissy."

"Fuck you, Edward. You can't just go about doing what you did and then expect me to be okay with it. You left me high and dry," she argued, practically stabbing her food with her fork.

"I doubt you're dry, Bella. I bet you're dripping wet," he moaned as he leaned across the table to stare right at her.

"Ugh, you can't keep doing that," she groaned.

"Doing what?" Edward asked, playing dumb.

"Don't play stupid with me. You know exactly what you're doing. So get it over with already."

"I don't know what you are talking about it. All I'm doing is eating breakfast and enjoying the company of my very beautiful roommate and best friend."

Edward's eyes widened as he realized what he had said. He had just called Bella beautiful. It wasn't the first time, but it was definitely the first time in a long time that it was said while not in the middle of fucking her.

"What letter did you get?" Bella asked timidly, her face flushed pink.

"Q."

"Is that why we haven't done anything yet? Because you simply couldn't think of anything? Stumped?" she chided, smirking now.

"Wrong. I'm very far from stumped. And just for that we're starting now!" he barked at her, standing up quickly from his chair. He was lying of course. He had wanted to start before and he couldn't control it any longer. Her comment only served as an excuse.

Bella stood up to stand in front of him.

"What are we-" she started to say, but Edward cut her off by placing his finger against her lips.

"Shut up, Bella," he said rudely, which Bella did not appreciate.

"Do not talk to me-" Again, Edward cut her off.

"Shut the fuck up, Bella. With the exception of last week, which in turn, sort of turned into all about you, and the week you pulled out R, you've been the queen of this whole game, well today, I'm the motherfucking queen."

Bella tilted her head at the comment, holding back a snicker as her eyebrows rose.

"Queen?" she asked.

"Motherfucking King! Whatever! And didn't I tell you to keep quiet," he emphasized the last word, hard. It packed a punch that he knew Bella would get. Her eyes widened realizing what was happening, and Edward smirked deviously at the realization splaying across Bella's face.

"Oh god," she mouthed, and he chuckled.

"That's right, Isabella. You can't make a single sound today and if you do without my permission, there will be consequences," he told her sternly as he walked around, smacking her clothed ass.

She squealed, and he did it again, this time she bit her lip to keep the sound from escaping.

"You learn quickly," he commented, pulling her by her hand toward her bedroom.

Once inside, he sat down at the chair near her dresser and kept her standing at the foot of her bed.

"Strip," he ordered and she stared at him, defiantly, giving him a look that he recognized. He had given her the same look when she had asked him to get naked when she had pulled the letter R.

"Do you really want to test me, Bella?" he threatened, cracking his knuckles obscenely.

She shook her head no and removed the flimsy articles of clothing, pleasing Edward.

"God, I wish you walk around naked all day. Your body is a work of art," he commented, standing up to run his hands up and down her arms. His fingers traveled up her spine as if he were playing an instrument.

"Do you want me, Bella?" he asked her, whispering right into her ear, his hand slipping lower down her torso to where he knew she desperately wanted him.

She let out a ragged breath and his hand slipped between the folds of her sex, his forefinger rubbing at her clit, slowly but right on it. It sent electricity though her body.

"Is that a yes, Ms. Swan?" he asked, his hand dipping lower to her entrance. Impulsively her legs spread wider apart as two fingers slipped easily into her.

"So wet," he murmured. "I knew you were dripping wet for me. I knew you wanted it, you little minx."

He pumped his fingers into her, slowly, pushing in and out, slower each time until his fingers were no longer inside her. He lifted the fingers to his mouth and sucked on only one, moaning as her familiar taste met his tongue, making wicked sucking noises with it right by Bella's ear.

He brought his hand back around to where Bella could see it, and let her suck on the other finger. She quickly sucked on it as if it were his dick between her lips, nibbling at his finger tip before he pulled it away.

"You're a filthy girl, Bella Swan," he growled, grabbing her and throwing her onto the bed. He watched as her body bounced slightly and her breasts copied the motion.

He crawled toward, discarding his pants on the journey up the bed toward her. He stopped right above, kissing her navel, before lifting his face to look at her.

"Where are your toys, Bella Swan?"

Her eyes widened and mouth opened to say something, but he sent her a look that stopped her.

"Where are your toys?" he asked again, standing up from the bed. He walked toward the closet.

"Are they in here?" he pointed to the closet. She shook her head and pointed to under her.

"Under your bed? How convenient," he teased pulling out a box.

"Whoa, you have an arsenal here," he said, placing the box onto the bed beside Bella's head. "Who knew my best friend was so kinky? Handcuffs. A whip. Are these nipple clamps? What the fuck? You have your own little sex shop," he continued to tease her, loving how her whole body was flushing red.

"And what do we have here?" he asked pulling out a vibrator. "The Rabbit. Someone has a very expensive power tool here. What do you call it? Do you call it Edward?"

Bella looked mortified but Edward loved it.

"Doesn't matter. We won't be using these…this time. I just wanted to know where they were for next time, even though I'm a little sad that next week it's your letter. What a bummer? I was having so much fun," he said, hiding the box back under her bed, and straddling her waist, sliding up slowly until his hard dick stood proudly before her mouth.

"You're doing so well, Bella. Not a single sound yet. I'm impressed," he groaned as he felt Bella's tongue slipped out of her mouth to tease the head of his cock.

"Oh fuck. Look at you, trying to please me. I love it."

He let his dick slip between her lips as he started to ride her face, feeling himself slide down her throat every time. His knees hurt from being bent on the bed, but he loved this position. He could see himself sliding in as he fucked her mouth.

"Fuck Bella, just like that," he moaned as she tightened her grip, her hands massaging his balls.

He moved his hips faster, panting hard as her teeth did that wonderful grazing shit along the vein.

"Shit! Damn Bella. I love when you do that," he growled as he gyrated his hips. He could feel himself about to come and pulled himself away from her.

"Fuck, I can't take it anymore," he growled as he moved down her pulling her legs to wrap around his waist and pushed himself deep into her. Bella's mouth opened but no sound came out.

Edward thrust into her hard. Over and over again, he pushed himself deeper, and Bella pushed up against him, gripping the bed sheets as she pulled a pillow toward her. She bit at it, trying to keep her noises silent, as Edward kept shoving himself quickly and hard into her.

She bit the pillow hard, Edward could tell by how red her face was. He leveled his face with hers as he continued, lifting her right leg onto his shoulder. Her eyes widened as he went even deeper.

Edward, sensing she was about to come and knew she desperately wanted to scream, put her out of her misery.

"Let me hear you, Bella."

"Edward!" she cried out immediately as his eyes stayed focused on hers as her hips tried frantically to meet his pace.

"Fuck, Edward! So good. God, harder," she pleaded, gripping his forearms as he met her requests.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" he chanted as Bella began to tighten around him. He watched as her toes curled and then subsequently her body shook, his name coming from her mouth like a war cry.

He fucked her through her orgasm as he came, harder than ever before. He rode out her orgasm, using her tightening muscles to milk himself. Bella tightened even more around him.

"Fuck, Bells," he breathed out through deep breaths, pulling himself out of her with a groan. He held himself up above hers.

He leaned on one hand and brushed away the hair sticking to her forehead aside and kissed it; Bella smiled.

"My sentiments exactly," she murmured.

Edward stared down at Bella and felt that unnerving itch to kiss her again, this time so much stronger than before. He leaned down, staring at her lips as Bella stared at him. It was her gasp that stopped him, less than a centimeter away. He kissed the corner of her mouth and moved himself over to lie down next to her.

He had come so close to breaking the rules right there, so close to crossing the line. If Bella hadn't gasped, he would have surely kissed her. He was starting to lose it, starting to break the rules.

He couldn't help it.

Edward was having trouble seeing the line, and he didn't know why.