A/N: t&a: Not sure how many times we can say this without being totally redundant, but you guys are amaaaazing. We love you.

So, we've got lots of love but no ownership except for, you know, what we do own lol. Hope you enjoy!

A mistake on the part of nature

It's forgive and move on

Won't wear my Sunday suit to walk that street

That would feel Byzantine

Silhouette, tell me a tall tale, go

Shout it out

Silhouette, shout it from the top

Sweet talk, sweet talk

Your sweet talk, sweet talk

Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk- The New Pornographers

x*x

I prefer running in the morning. It's freeing. The way my lungs strain and my feet pound into the pavement- it's an invigorating way to start the day.

I had a doctor appointment this morning though, and the middle of the afternoon with people clogging the streets is too frustrating to try and run in. So I'm running now because if Walt doesn't run, he walks around the apartment knocking shit over with his tail and pissing all over the place.

When I first moved in with my parents, I was all over the place. I was buzzing with anger and sadness and had nowhere to release it. And then my dad forced me out of bed one morning and took me running.

My t-shirt is soaked through by the time I get back to my street. I slip into the bar from the back- it's my night off- and take the stairs up.

And sitting outside my door with that laptop open on her lap and bags surrounding her is Bella. She's so immersed in her little Facebook world that she doesn't notice us until Walt gallops up and laps at her face.

"Hi," she says to him, and pats his head. "You're learning some manners at least. Kisses should always come before groping."

I laugh at her words. I'm happy to see her here. Happy she seems to enjoy my company as much as I do hers. It's funny how you don't realize you're missing something until it's there. I didn't realize how lacking I was in companionship.

"Remind me to make you a key," I tell her and pull her up from the ground.

"Oh," she says and straightens her clothes out. "You don't have to do that. I don't mind waiting for you. It'd be nice but I might lose it."

"I trust you," I say and brush my hand over her braid, tugging it slightly. "Have you been waiting long?"

She shakes her head, eyes wide, and she's just so fucking adorable. I tug a little harder on her braid, tilting her face up, and kiss her. I don't think I've ever enjoyed kissing someone so much before. It's something that I just like to do- like hugging. But the way she responds to me just makes it impossible for me to resist kissing her.

"Is that Doctor Pepper?" I ask when I pull away.

She looks at me in confusion so I lean forward and lick her bottom lip. I hum in approval. "You have Dr. Pepper lips."

"It's my chapstick," she says breathlessly.

"Well, I like it." I tug on her braid again and then slide my hand down her back to her waist. "Let's go inside."

She nods and squats down to pick all of her bags up off the floor.

"What is all of this?"

"I wanted to cook for you," she says. I take 2 bags from her and push the door open. "You know, as a thank you for the other night."

"You're gonna cook for me, B?" I ask and grin because the idea is really cute. "Does that mean I get to perform sexual favors on you in gratitude?"

She rolls her eyes and starts unpacking the bags. "Everything is about sex with you. That's not what it means. But you should go shower while I get this together because your odor is offensive right now."

I laugh and give her ass a little swat. "I like you feisty. It's sexy. Wanna help me shower?"

She blushes and turns away from me. "No. I already took a shower today, thanks."

"Too bad." I put my hand on her stomach and press into her back. "What are you making me?"

She swats at my hand and pushes me away. "It's a surprise. Now go."

I squeeze her hip and start walking away. "If I take long it's because I'm wacking it and probably need a hand. So come find me."

I hear a bunch of shit fall to the ground and laugh all the way to the bathroom.

x*x

When I get out of the shower, the apartment is filled with a strange burnt smell and I can hear Bella speaking to Walt.

I stop outside of the kitchen to listen. Walt's tail is thumping against the floor. "You can't have any of this, Walter," she scolds. "I made just enough for me and Edward. Next time I promise to factor you in though."

I peak around the corner and see her standing, hands on her hips, looking at Walt who's sitting politely and panting at her.

"Really," she huffs out and pats his head. "You'd think that if your dad can teach you to molest girls, he'd have taught you to understand no."

I stroll into the kitchen then. "I barely understand no- you think I can teach it?"

I try not to laugh when she gapes at me.

"Aren't you going to put on a shirt for dinner?" she asks, and her eyes race over my chest frantically.

"I'm still hot from my run. And starving. When you're done staring can we eat?"

Her face turns bright red again and she looks away.

"So, what is this?" I ask.

"Pumpkin pancakes," she says and starts preparing a plate for me.

She looks so pleased and excited that I don't have the heart to tell her that I hate pumpkin. She sits down across from me, folds her hands on the table, and stares at me expectantly.

I cut off a piece and wave my fork in the air with fake enthusiasm before putting it in my mouth. And, honestly, I had fully intended to pretend that I enjoyed it.

But.

I gag. Because it's impossible not to. The taste is just disgusting. Burnt and pumpkin mixed with something pumpkin shouldn't be mixed with ever again. I spit it out into a napkin and then wash the taste down with an entire glass of water before looking at Bella.

She's staring down at her hands which she moved into her lap. Her hair is blocking her face from me entirely. I clear my throat and drum my fingers on the table.

"So," I begin, "how 'bout McDonalds?"

She pushes away from the table with such force that her chair topples over. Her lips part, cheeks flame, and she bends to straighten the chair, mumbling away the entire time.

She starts piling the plates and she still hasn't shown me her face.

"McDonalds," I make out through her incoherent mumbling. "Can't even… McDonalds. So stupid Bella."

It's not until I hear her sniffle that I stand up. I take the dishes from her and put them back down on the table. "Hey," I say and wrap my hands around her forearms. "Bella, look at me."

"Not until you put a shirt on," she says through her sniffles.

I tangle my fingers in her hair and tug until she lifts her head. "Why are you crying?" I keep my voice soft—the way I speak to Finn's friends when they fall down and hurt themselves.

"Because it sucked," she says and tries to look away from me.

Even though I can't stand to see her big watery brown eyes all sad and shit because of me, I tug on her again until she looks back up.

"Don't cry." I wipe the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs.

"I just wanted to do something nice for you."

"Girl, stop crying." I lean in and kiss her nose. "It's one of the nicest things anyone's done for me. Seriously. Even if I hate pumpkin." I kiss her forehead next. "Thank you."

Her arms go around my waist and she presses her face into my chest. I tighten my hold on her and wait. Because this is more than just failed pumpkin pancakes. And it's been a really long time since anyone but Finn's needed me. I like the feeling.

I put my feet on either side of hers, sealing her against me.

"Besides, Walt will love them," I say into her ear. "Give him food and he'll never let your pretty tits out of his paws again."

She lets out a watery laugh and pulls away. "Fine. Let's go to McDonalds. But if you try to force any of that fake meat in me, I'll make pumpkin pancakes for you every day for a month."

x*x

"I can't believe you just ate three meals in there," Bella says when we leave McDonalds to go back to the apartment. I laugh. "Seriously, Edward, that's disgusting."

"I can never decide which one I want." I shrug and take her hand in mine. "Are you staying over tonight?"

I want her answer to be yes so much that it even takes me by surprise.

She looks at me warily. "I don't think—"

"Come on," I whine and drape my arm over her shoulders to pull her against me. "Don't leave me by myself tonight."

"You have Walter."

I laugh at her words. "Yeah, I know, but I get really lonely when Finn's not around." Yeah, I know, I'm a dick for playing the lonely single dad card but whatever. What's that they say about when you want something you have to go and get it? It's my personal motto.

I stop walking and turn to face her with my hands on her shoulders. She looks up at me and I see exactly when she gives in. I smile brightly and kiss her quickly. I'm not a serious relationship type of person. I've got Finn, my parents, and Emmett and that's where any and all long term relationships stop.

But I want this fucking girl around all the time. Literally. It's so bizarre.

"Fine," she sighs and tucks herself back into my side. "Where is Finn anyway?"

"At his moms tonight. She had a family something or other and wanted him for the night."

"Oh." The hand on my waist flexes and unflexes. "What's she like?"

"Savannah? She's great. She's a nurse at the County Hospital. That's where I met her."

"That's good," she says quietly.

"Yeah, we get along really well, thank god."

I let us in through the back entrance and follow her up the stairs. As I'm putting the key in the lock, Bella asks, "So why aren't you still together?"

Her eyes are downcast and she's biting on her fucking thumb again. I wouldn't be surprised if she's chewed it raw. I pull her hand away from her mouth and press my body into hers. She looks up at me in shock when her back hits the wall.

I take her other hand and lift both up above her head.

"Why are we talking about my kid's mom?" I ask and press my body completely against hers, nudging her legs apart so that I can stand in between them. "Hm?" I ask when she doesn't answer.

She shakes her head slightly and her eyes drop to my mouth. "Doesn't seem reasonable," I skim my free hand down her side to her hip, "when we can be doing this."

Her lips part and I dip my head and cover them, immediately slipping my tongue into her mouth. She gasps and shifts against me.

I keep trying to figure out what this is between us. Or, mostly, why she turns me on so much. But every time I kiss her, she bursts to life and it's just so fucking sexy. The awkwardness and innocence disappear entirely.

I roll my hips in a slow grind against hers and she gasps again—probably because she didn't expect me to be hard already. I slide my hand back up over her shirt and palm her tit. When I squeeze it, she groans and her head falls back against the wall.

I drop my lips to her neck and kiss her open mouthed. When I drop my hand to cup her ass, hers tangle in my hair. I squeeze her ass and grind my dick into her.

"Edward," she gasps and tugs on my hair. I ignore her and switch hands so I can take care of her other tit. She groans and arches her back, pushing into my hand. "Edward, we can't do this here."

"Yes we can." I cover her mouth with mine again.

She pulls back. "We're in the hallway," she pants.

"It's my hallway."

She puts her hands on my chest and pushes weakly. "Can we go inside?"

I nod and drop my head to her shoulder. Her arms go around me and we both just stand there, breathing heavily, wrapped up in each other.

"That was too fast." I pull back and put my hands on either side of her head. "I lose control around you."

"You have control?" she asks.

I snort and kiss her again. "What I have are blue balls and a pretty girl standing in front of me."

She rolls her eyes at me and swats my chest. "Walter is about to break through the door."

And he is, I hear his nails ruining the wood on my door right now. "He's jealous."

"Of what?"

"Walt's got issues with sharing," I tell her. "He could sense that I was touching your tits. He thinks they belong to him."

"Oh for god's sake, Edward."

I drop my head back and laugh loudly before pulling her into the apartment.

x*x

"Do you need something to sleep in?"

Bella's sitting awkwardly at the end of my bed with her hands wrung tightly in her lap. As if she hasn't been in it before.

"Um, yes please."

I toss her a white t-shirt. "None of my pants will fit you but the shirt's long."

She blushes and grips the shirt until her knuckles are white.

"Hey," I say and stand directly in front of her. "Chill out. You're acting like we didn't almost just fuck each other in the hallway. Be calm, yeah?"

I run my finger down her really warm cheek and smile when she nods up at me.

"Anyway, I need to go take care of this," I wave my hand over my dick, "so that I don't sleep fuck you. Just get in bed, okay?"

Her eyes widen and she nods quickly. I run my hand down her hair and then drop a kiss on her forehead before turning towards the bathroom.

x*x

When I come back into the bedroom, the lights are dim and Bella's tucked underneath my covers. She's curled up on her side petting and mumbling to Walt who's sitting there with his head on the pillow right in front of her face. It's really sweet. If I didn't feel such an urgency to join her under those covers, I'd go get my camera and take a picture of it.

"Should I leave the two of you alone?" I ask.

She smiles at me through heavy lids. "You want me to snuggle Walter instead of you?" she asks.

"Not a chance." I climb under the covers, wrap my arms around her, and tug until she's flush against me. Walt growls and starts to climb up on the bed. "Down, Walt." He whimpers and walks away.

Bella giggles and rubs her cheek against my hand. "Will you tell me a story?" she asks.

This girl loves her stories. I rub my hand up and down her stomach, opting to stay away from the danger zones above and beneath. "What kind of story?"

"Tell me about the house on your back. Tell me about the little boy who lived there."

"The house on my back," I begin with a sigh, "is the first house that I ever lived in. Until Finn was born, it's where all of my best memories were."

She rolls over to face me and slips her fingers under my shirt and starts scratching my back lightly. "Why?" she whispers. "What happened there?"

I slip my hand into her hair and give her a small smile. She rubs her nose against mine, just twice, and I realize that this may be the most intimate I've ever been with anyone emotionally. "It's where my parents were. I lived there until I was nine."

"And then you moved?" She uses me to pull herself closer, until she's pressed up against me and slips her leg in between mine. Not gonna lie, her initiating physical contact like that is a little shocking.

"I moved, yeah." I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "My parents were killed in a car accident."

The words, over the years, have gotten a lot easier to say.

She inhales sharply and buries her face in my neck. "I can't even imagine how hard that must have been," she says softly and kisses the space where my neck and shoulder meet.

I rub my hand up and down her back. "It was. I was a fucking miserable piece of shit to be around for the next six or seven years. I felt really sorry for myself but the truth is that I got really lucky. I got placed with two fucking amazing people when I was thirteen which is unheard of, you know? Nobody adopts obnoxious angry teenagers. So I really can't complain all that much."

I've never shared this much with anyone, if I'm being honest. This is mostly shit that I worked out on my own over the years. Releasing it, finally, feels fucking amazing. And saying it to her, to this fantastic fucking little girl who's wrapped herself around me in her warmth and her untainted love and innocence feels so right right now.

"That's a little bit of a happy ending, right?" she asks and looks up at me. Her eyes are huge and filled with so much genuine empathy and understanding. "And then Finn? Even more?"

I nod. "I wouldn't change it now. I wish I could share it, you know? With them? But I'd never change any of it now."

"You can share it with Finn. I bet they're so happy for you. So proud of your life."

She leans in and pecks the left side of my mouth, then the right, and then the center. She sticks there, kissing me slowly and lazily and I let her pace it, let her control it because she started it and she should be in charge of it. I pull her closer to me though, and when I feel her tongue probing I part my lips and let her in.

She maintains the slow pace, doing a thorough sweep of my mouth before tangling her tongue with mine. Her fingers press into my spine and slide up and down and it feels so fucking good.

"Bella, baby," I say and pull away. "We're in my bed."

She nods and leans in to kiss me again.

"Let's stop," I tell her and trace her cheek. "Unless you're willing to finish it. Because in about five minutes I'm really going to want to fuck you even more than I do right now, and I'm not gonna be able to stop myself."

She nods and brushes her nose against mine again. "Thanks for telling me your story," she says softly. "It only makes you more to me."

I lean in and kiss her just once. "Thanks for listening to it."

She rubs her cheek against my arm and then her eyes drift shut. And we fall asleep just like that, tangled and dressed and maybe a little lighter than we were before.