Cupid's Bow
Chapter 16
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Walking quite-a-bit-but-not-completely naked through an absurd amount of greenery, holding hands with not-quite-but-completely naked, and sparkling, one of Them, I have a bizarre moment of perspective. Stepping outside of myself for a minute, I see myself through third person back on Earth, doing everything the antithesis of this, handing out parcels and delivering holograms, worrying about losing merit points, listening but never really saying anything.
And then I drop myself back here, to wandering through undecided routes, eating and drinking and washing when my body decides, not monitoring, and for once, being the most talkative person around.
Impossible to be quelled, a small, disbelieving laugh bubbles behind my lips, making them tremble before they spill. When Edward looks at me, golden-green swirling with why, one laugh turns into two, and then two into three, until all I can taste is incredulity and… relief?
Why didn't I do this sooner?
The airwaves rattle and the tone deepens when Edward starts laughing, too. Tipping his head down towards me, I tip mine up to see gentle crinkles softening his eyes and, irrespective of his usual glimmering, a glow which encompasses his smile and makes my stomach do tickly little flips.
I realise the same thing I did when I first saw him: he's something more.
But now I also realise that I… I like it.
OoOoOo
OoOoOoOo
OoOoOo
"What is it?"
Stopping dead still in the green, Edward's eyes narrow into slits as his gaze pans from left to right, left, to right. Nervously, my hand beginning to sweat a little in his, I do the same, but see nor hear anything. "Edward?"
After a minute a silence, Edward abruptly releases my hand and tugs me to his side. I fall against him with a squeak, and my hair drips into my eyes, but that still doesn't prevent me from seeing the tightly packed greenery in front of us, and how it suddenly starts to rustle.
I freeze.
Edward mutters something under his breath I don't quite catch, only a moment before something pops out of the green.
Or someone, I should say.
I watch in shock as a tall, slender body steps out into our line of view, flesh curved and sleek, so unlike Edward's, but sort of like mine, only less stumpy. Glancing up, I'm met with ice blue eyes I can see so vividly see even across the distance and a long stretch of colourful hair – probably the most colourful I've ever seen, next to Edward's.
My mind flashes back to the four I'd first seen upon arriving, and I realise that this is, without a doubt, a female one of Them.
"Edward," she murmurs, voice light and airy.
Edward sighs. "Tanya."
I blink quickly, looking up at Edward and then back to Tanya in quick succession, at a loss.
I think I'm still not okay with being outnumbered.
She takes slow but purposeful steps forward, making me shrink into Edward's side. Thankfully, he doesn't push me away, not that I expect him to really, but winds his arm around me a little more and pulls me tighter against him. His skin is hot but not clammy, and his palm is large and covering quite a bit, if not all, of the bare skin at my waist and stomach.
That probably would have freaked me out a couple of hours ago. Now, it just makes me feel relieved.
I watch her watch him, and then I watch him watch her. They're not talking out loud, but by their facial expressions I can tell that they are communicating – just differently to how I would.
The silence, then, feels weighted.
But eventually it's broken.
"Inamorata?" she murmurs again, voice almost hypnotically soft. My eyes widen when she nods her head towards me, her eyes flicking my way for a second.
"No." I can't quite pin-point the tone of Edward's voice, and when I glance up, his face is just as unreadable.
In reply, Tanya's eyebrows lift, and her gaze darts back to me for a second, eyes assessing before they widen just a fraction. "Soul?" she asks, voice somehow both louder and quieter this time.
Edward doesn't reply, but his hold on me tightens to the point where my cheek doesn't have any other choice but to press against his chest.
I have absolutely no idea what's going on.
Inamorata? Soul? What?
"Soul?" she asks again, eyes narrowing.
I don't know why I'm holding my breath.
Underneath my cheek, Edward's chest expands as he breathes in deeply, and his voice is a shuddering-rumble when he murmurs, "No."
Don't know what to make of his tone then, either.
Opposite, Tanya raises a brow in what looks like scepticism, but I couldn't really say. But at any rate, she seems satisfied with his answer, because she nods her head and then smiles, widely.
I want her to leave, but unfortunately, she does the opposite.
She starts coming closer.
Unease churns in my stomach as her eyes once again shift to mine, but this time stay. Her graceful movements seem somehow more purposeful than before as she draws nearer, and I shy into Edward as she stops directly in front of us.
I flinch violently when I feel her hand on my skin, but Edward's already pulling me away before I can do it myself.
My front is plastered to his in a second, my chest against his stomach and my cheek and ear smooshed against his chest; the rumbling coming from him is so loud it almost drowns out the close sound of his fast-beating heart.
My whole body vibrates with his trembling.
In the distance, I hear a tinkling, amused laugh.
"Soul," I think I hear her mutter, before she and her laughter fade away altogether – leaving nothing but confusion and desperate embraces in her wake.
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A/N: I have it on good authority that Edward thinks Tanya is a bit of a shit. And yes, I chose "inamorata" because it sounded fancy. It just means: female lover (in case you didn't know – which I didn't. Thanking you, Mr. Thesaurus).