Title: Love Bites
Genre: Friendship
Rating: T
Pairing: Bella/Leah (not that way!) ;)
Words: 500 exactly
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Prompt: Love Bites by Def Leppard (the title is pretty much all I used)
AN: Happy Mother's Day to my mommy readers, and if this day is a tough one for you, here's something to read to take your mind off it and I'm sending you my hugs as well!
~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~
Love Bites
"Bella! I'm here!" Leah called up the stairs, unable to stop the slow smile that broke through her constant scowl. She would never admit it to herself, but sometimes Bella was exactly what she needed.
"Be right down!" Bella called back amid the thumps and fumbles that signaled the end of her shower and a clumsy trip to her bedroom to get dressed. Leah sighed and rolled her eyes, wondering what new bruise her friend would be sporting.
The girls had formed a tentative friendship after Jacob imprinted. Leah came over one day for guard duty and found the former leech lover crying miserably on the back porch. Something in her posture triggered a deeply-buried kernel of sympathy and protectiveness in the prickly wolf, and Leah made it her mission to help Bella Swan recover from the pain of rejection, and maybe find some relief from her own heartbreak in the process.
Leah dropped her bag of supplies on the couch, and then turned to carry the ice cream to the freezer. Bella had sounded particularly down when she called earlier, so it was an ice cream and chocolate night. They might even raid Charlie's liquor cabinet later.
She came out of the kitchen just as Bella tripped over the bottom step. Only Leah's quick reflexes kept her from falling flat on her face. "Geez, Swan. What do you do when I'm not around?" she joked.
Bella sniffled and shrugged as she padded toward the couch in her sock feet. The heavy flannel pants and oversized sweatshirt were clear indicators that she was missing her wolf. "I fall."
Leah rolled her eyes and leapt over the back of the couch to settle beside the smaller human. She sniffed the sweatshirt discreetly, relieved to find that it was Embry's and not Jacob's. That wasn't quite as bad. Embry had a serious crush on Bella.
They munched on junk food as the movies played quietly, until Bella turned to Leah with a serious look on her face. "Do you think this will ever get easier?"
Leah smiled tenderly as she leaned closer. "I hope so. You don't want to be old and bitter like me," she finished with a sly smirk.
Bella punched Leah's shoulder, and then squeezed her hand in appreciation. She groaned as she settled into a more comfortable position. "Love bites," she muttered belligerently.
Outside in the woods, Paul and Embry sat silently, keeping watch over their girls. Or the girls they wished were theirs. They'd had to phase out earlier when Jacob dropped in to check on Bella—they didn't feel like that was his place anymore.
Embry nudged Paul as the girls drifted off to sleep with the movie still playing. "Hey, Paul? You ever think about marking?" he murmured, his mind on the petite beauty inside. "I'd mark Bella, you know. If she'd give me a chance."
Paul smirked and shook his head, surprised by the maturity in Embry's voice. "Yeah," he answered thoughtfully. "Love bites."