The Twilight Twenty-Five (thetwilight25 dot com)
Prompt: #9 (Hope)
Pen Name: Maddie-the-Muse
Pairing/Character(s): Jacob/Bella
Rating: K
Word Count: 395
Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts
They had been sitting quietly together in the forest so long that his knees were starting to ache from being crossed and motionless. They hadn't said anything to each other in a while. That was part of what he liked so much about being with Bella—apart from falling head over heels in love with her, that is—was that they didn't need to be talking all the time. It was never uncomfortable; just quiet. Just being with her made him feel better; it let him forget for just a little while that his whole world had been turned upside down and that he'd never really get it back. He liked to think that spending time with him helped her too, he was sure it did.
She shifted next to him, stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned back against the big pine tree at their back. He had been afraid that she was getting up, signalling that it was time to start heading back down; back to reality and the responsibility that had been thrust upon him. Instead, she stretched her arm out to where his hand rested on his thigh, and wove her fingers with his. It was such a simple gesture, one that wasn't new at all—he'd held her hand a thousand times before—but, still one that made his heart feel like it was going to burst out of his chest and take flight all on its own.
He chanced a glance over his shoulder to see the tiniest hint of a shy smile turning the corners of her mouth up. He knew there was no point in trying to hide the hopeful look on his face in response. She had taken his hand, not the other way around. She was smiling at him with a clear look of uncertainty. It breathed hope into his lungs that felt like they'd given up on breathing ever again. He'd thought that he'd lost her forever; had thought that he'd never get his heart back since he'd given it to her when she'd said she didn't want it.
He knew better than to read too far into it. It could mean nothing to her at all, after all, but it could be the first step in the direction he'd hoped they would go for so long, and he'd take that.