Happier one today. :) Wasn't sure I would get this one in on time with massive internet fail today. But it's behaving for now, so here you are. Hopefully this one is a little better. :)

Penname: kyla713
Creative Original or Derivative Fiction: Derivative Fiction
Rating/Warning(s): M
Notes:
Disclaimer: All copyrighted, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

Prompt: Phrase Catch: What does "a stirring below" instantly make you think of? Write it.

I had been waiting for what seemed like forever for this moment. From the instant I caught his eye from the end of the runway, I knew I had made the right decision.

Never had I imagined that one seemingly insignificant letter could change the entire course of my life.

Sitting at our local Starbucks one Saturday, Alice, Rose, and I spotted a box standing by the corner of the counter, with a sign over it that read "Brighten a Soldier's Holiday". As I glanced inside the box, it was already halfway filled with Christmas cards and letters.

The next day, I returned with a card with a letter inside for one of the soldiers, hoping it would at least bring someone a smile. If anyone deserved it, it was them.

What I hadn't expected when I trudged through knee-deep snow to my mailbox three weeks later was an envelope, littered in postmarks… from Afghanistan.

Someone had actually replied to my letter.

Dear Bella,

Thank you so much for the card and your letter. It really meant a lot to hear from back home. Sometimes, it's hard to remember it's still there from over here. Hope your holidays are good as well.

PFC Edward Cullen

USMC

And the rest you could say was history.

I immediately replied to that letter, and over the passing months, it escalated. I'd learned that he'd been deployed for approximately two months upon receiving my first letter, he had no one back home; both of his parents had died in a car accident earlier in the year, prompting him to join the military instead of finishing college, having no other reason to stay. No wife or girlfriend, no kids, no ties.

Gradually over time, the letters became more and more friendly, to the point of almost intimate, and I could feel my connection to him growing.

The first time I spoke to him on the phone, six months into his deployment, even though it was only for five minutes, everything inside of me that had been churning over the passing weeks was sealed.

I was, without a doubt, in love with Edward Cullen.

Two months before, a letter arrived in the mail, and as always brought a smile to my face. However, when I opened it, my face dropped in shock.

Dearest Bella,

I don't know how else to say this, so I might as well just come out with it. My tour is almost over, and I'm not entirely sure of what I'm coming home to. Maybe you'll think I'm crazy, but the only thing I am really looking forward to coming home to is you.

This may rank as one of the lamest proposals ever, but I don't want to waste a single minute once I get home.

Will you marry me the moment I land in WA to come see you?

Love

Edward.

I had to wait two whole days for his next call before I could give him his answer. The rush of air hitting the receiver indicated that he was finally breathing, and he told me how agonizing it'd been since the day he sent the letter.

The moment I caught a glimpse of his beautiful face, not even the long, white gown that Alice had specially ordered for me, or the elderly Justice of the Peace standing beside me, or my father squeezing my hand, wanting to meet the man who had swept his little girl away, kept me from running to him.

He gathered me tightly in his arms and we shared our first kiss just moments before we were bonded together forever.

And now I stood here, in the bathroom of our hotel suite, anxiously anticipating the moment I would open the door and be face to face with my husband. To make love to him for not just the first time as man and wife, but the first time ever.

"Bella, are you alright?" I heard his soft voice filter through the door after a light knock.

"Uh huh," was all I managed to replied, and I brought my hand to my face in embarrassment at what an idiot I sounded like.

The door cracked open slowly until he was fully in my view, in a loose pair of night pants… and that was all. I had to bite my lip to keep my jaw from dropping.

God bless the Marine Corps for keeping their boys in shape.

All my nervousness began to dissipate, replaced by equal amounts of desire coursing through me, aching for him.

"You know, we don't have to do anything. This isn't exactly a commonplace situation," he chuckled, trying to calm me.

I shook my head, closing the distance between us and running my hands up his well-defined chest and neck until they cupped his face. Rising up on my toes, I brushed my lips over his, feeling his hands come to my waist.

"I've been waiting for months for you to come home. To touch me and kiss me, to feel you here with me. And it's my wedding night, I want to make love to my husband," I whispered against his lips, staring up into his eyes.

I felt a stirring of fabric below my knees, as my legs were swept out from under me and into his arms, my long satin robe billowing around my ankles.

My fingers traced the contours of his angular face, taking him in and finally committing him to memory. Setting me down on the bed, he laid down beside me, kissing me gently before running the backs of his fingers down my throat, between my breasts, and to the tie of my robe. He gently loosened it, and the soft fabric grazed across my breasts as the two sides were slowly parted, revealing my body to him completely. His fingertips ghosted over my skin momentarily before his eyes raised to mine.

"God, you're so fucking beautiful. How did I get so lucky?" he murmured against my lips as my fingers slid inside the waistband of his night pants, tugging them gently down.

"Well, you do write a mean letter," I smirked, nipping lightly at his bottom lip with my teeth. "How could I resist?"

Kicking off his pants, he growled as he rolled me on top of him, sliding the robe from my shoulders and pulling me down to him into a passionate kiss. My breasts pressing against his warm muscular chest was invigorating, and I felt his hardened length sliding along my clit and I groaned loudly. He felt so fucking good.

Lowering myself onto him, we both let out simultaneous moans as he filled me. I didn't want to move, or breathe, or think of anything but the feeling of us finally being together after all this time.

"I love you," I whispered against his lips.

Rolling me onto my back, his hips settled against mine and caused me to breathe out heavily in ecstasy as he hit deeper inside. "I love you too."

The movements of his body, the feel of his breath and his kisses on my skin, the look of complete adoration in his eyes as he gazed down into mine as he made love to me, was overwhelming, intoxicating.

We'd both found home. In each other.

The perv in me couldn't quit completely. While my initial reaction to "a stirring below" was pretty obvious, I couldn't let that take over… for the most part. Second thing that came to my mind, (attempting to block out the perv), was the movement of her robe around her feet when he lifted her. Didn't have a lot of time for a full indepth lemon, and already went over my 20 minutes today just to do this. But now I'm tired, and didn't want to ruin it my droning on lol.

Hope you liked it regardless. :) MWAH to all!