They sat there in the growing dawn each lost in their silent thoughts. Edward held her tightly, occasionally drawing in whiffs of her scent, whether to acclimate himself or simply for the sake of not having been able to do it for so long Bella knew not. It all seemed so surreal to her and yet so beautiful. She could see a hawk circling in the distance and the rays of the elusive sun danced through the dew dotting the nearby leaves of grass. The air was cold and warm at once sending shivers along her skin.

"Do you want to know why I left?" he asked her, neither of them looking at each other but she could hear the sorrow in his voice.

"You already told me."

"I told you the barest of truths, almost a lie in its simplicity."

She waited.

"You are my Persephone." He stated simply.

At this she closed her eyes, a brief pang of sympathy slipped through her followed by a bitter taste on her tongue. She was about to speak when he continued.

"I knew. I knew and I didn't care. I took you to the meadow. I let you confess your feelings because it was what I wanted."

Edward went on, quoting from a poem.

"He built for her a duplicate of earth,

Everything the same, including sunlight,
because it would be hard on a young girl
to go so quickly from bright light to utter darkness

Gradually, he thought, he'd introduce the night,
first as the shadows of fluttering leaves.
Then moon, then stars. Then no moon, no stars.

He wants to say I love you, nothing can hurt you

but he thinks
this is a lie, so he says in the end
you're dead, nothing can hurt you
which seems to him more true."

A little piece of her hidden heart broke but rather than try and argue with him she replied in kind.

"His voice was shy as April

hyacinths, his voice was sorrow

beyond the solace of all seasons.

His eyes were purple with

loss, vineyards of longing,

the thirst of desert roots."

She took Edward's face in her hands and forced him to look down upon her.

"My touch shifted like light

Across his skin.

Thus, like a small terrified beast,

Hades became mine."

She looked at him intently, willing him to understand the meaning behind her words but she was met only with the torture he inflicts upon himself so she ran her hands along his face like a mother comforting a child.

"Edward, you didn't trick me. There was no deceit, no kidnapping, no being held against my will. You condemned me to nothing. I loved you. Not because of what you are. Because of who you are. My love was a gift I chose only for you and you threw it away. From the beginning you've treated this as something one sided, something only in your hands, but I'm here too Edward. I'm part of this. You aren't taking me from anything. I'm offering myself to you."

He leaned his forehead against hers.

"But do you understand love? It's how I felt. How I feel. Like a monster dragging you into the night and damning you."

"I have free will Edward. If I didn't want to be with you I wouldn't be."

"Yes, but…"

She cut him off by placing a finger across his lips. "But nothing. I'm not a child."

"No, you're not" He said after she slid her finger away. "But you are shivering. Let's get you home." He carried her back to the fire pit so she could get dressed and gather her things and then they walked home tentatively holding hands.

It was an awkward path to her door. Edward wanted nothing more than to whisk her up to her bedroom and settle in with her as he had done so many times before but things felt so unsure now.

"Charlie's not home." He stated the obvious, as the cruiser was not in the drive.

"No, he's gone for the weekend."

Edward's lips quirked and he made a step towards the door but Bella blocked his way. She placed a hand on his chest, stopping him.

"I…I don't think I'm ready yet." She stuttered. Internally she was torn. Half of her was afraid that if she turned him away she would never see him again but the other half was so emotionally overwhelmed that she felt about ready to crack. She could see the pain forming in his eyes so she cut in before it took root.

"Edward, I love you. Don't think otherwise for even a second." She said grabbing onto his shirt just in case he did try to flee. "I don't know how to explain it but I think it might make me feel worse to have you lay next to me right now. It'll…remind me too much. Of what we had. I can't lose that again." She whispered that last part, breaking eye contact.

"Oh Bella." He replied, crushing her to him. "I'm so sorry. So sorry." He whispered into her hair.

"I just can't…" and tears started to leak out of her eyes. "I don't…"

"Shh…Bella… shh." He tried to comfort her, rocking her slightly. "Whatever you need." He said and kissed her. "Whatever you need…" he whispered in between kisses, and they were real kisses. Not the kind from before that were cold and calculated but the kind that were born from love and need and desire.

Bella got lost in them, dropping her bag to the ground, her heart racing ahead of her. "This." She whispered. "I need this." Her mind continued with the words her lips could not. I need unadulterated. I need to feel wanted. I need to be made real.

He pushed her back against the door, claiming her mouth with his own in a heady embrace, as though he could finally hear her thoughts. Her body arched into his only to pull away again, breaking the laws of her own universe by removing her lips from his. Her hands gripped the door behind her seeking purchase that would not lead to shed clothing and hasty decisions. Edward's chest rumbled in frustration.

"I want to. I do." She tried to reassure him, leaning back towards him. She pecked him quickly and then receded. His mouth followed hers, his arms creating a cage around her.

"I just want to make sure…" she began.

"…that I'll still be here 'in the morning'." He finished.

"Yeah." She said, biting her lip and looking up at him.

"I will be Bella. I'll be here every morning." He promised and the conviction in his voice and in his eyes was clear.

"I'm holding you to that." She replied, one hand touching his face while the other opened the front door.

In a matter of minutes Bella was nestled into the comfort of her bed. Strange to think of it as a comfort again when for so long it had been torture. She scarcely had time to ponder this as she heard Edward humming her lullaby from just outside and it washed over her like the warmest of blankets soothing her to the first peaceful sleep she'd had in months.

A/N: The poem Edward quotes is The Myth Of Devotion by Louise Gluck and the one Bella quotes is Persephone by B.A. St. Andrews.