Title: Always Drawn
Genre: Romance
Rating: T? I cussed once I think.
Pairing: Bella/Paul
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: Desire by Matthew Mayfield (look it up! This man's voice... *swoon*) ;) Youtube link is on my twitter.
AN: Ok, this is probably gonna be a series of short drabbles that I will eventually cut and paste in the right order. This is the same couple from The Night Before (ch 13), and I have another drabble this week that comes before this. Anyway, here's this one.
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Always Drawn
She decided to walk home from Sam and Emily's house, knowing one of the boys would bring her truck to her before she needed it again. It was just such a beautiful, almost-sunny day.
Her pace slowed and she stepped off the gravel road and into the grass when she heard the music drifting out from the back porch of their picturesque little cottage. Her eyes roamed the front of their house, noting that Paul had used the relatively dry day to touch up the chipped siding and weathered shutters—it looked perfect.
She loved their house. She loved the small porch with the oversized rocking chair, hand-carved out of sturdy wood to support both her and her wolf. She loved the little yellow planter boxes he had built when she decided they needed a bit of color to brighten up their rainy world.
Most of all, she loved the man she could hear on the back deck, strumming on his beat-up guitar. Paul was everything good in her world. He pulled her from the depression she felt after Edward abandoned her in the woods, and he helped rebuild her fragile self-esteem with his love and the pack's support.
She stepped carefully around the house—Paul must be really involved in the song if he hadn't heard her approach yet. She loved to watch him when he was playing. He put just as much passion into his music as he did their lovemaking. It was a beautiful thing to see.
As she rounded the corner, he came into view. He was sitting on the back steps, one long leg bent up to support his guitar, his shirtless torso glistening slightly with the damp air and watery sunlight. His strong fingers strummed each chord unerringly, his head tipped back and eyes closed as he sang.
"Hearts are tethered, spoken forever
I'm always on your side
My am I on fire for you…"
Her brow wrinkled a bit as she listened. She didn't know this song, but her heart instinctively recognized the desire and need that constantly bounced between them. Paul wrote this.
She had tears in her eyes when he strummed the last chord, and he visibly started when she couldn't hold back a sniffle. "Oh! Hey, babe. I didn't– uh– I didn't hear you…" He stuttered a bit as he set the guitar down and started toward her. "When did you get home?"
Bella threw herself into his arms, unable to stay away after the emotional display. "Paul, that was beautiful! Did you write that? I'm sorry, I should have made some noise or something–"
"Shhh, babe. It's ok." She calmed as his deep voice rumbled under her ear, soothing her along with his hand stroking her back.
Paul, however, was nervous. "See, babe. It's kind of a special song," he explained, shifting her so that her legs wrapped firmly around his waist. "I, uh, I wrote it for you. So I could ask you…
"Shit. Bella, marry me?"