Hello again! I do not own the Twilight Characters!
Song: Angie – The Rolling Stones
. . . . . . . . . .
She believed it.
She didn't have to say it aloud, I could just see it. The difference in one week was staggering, really.
She was either smiling, or she was pissed off. Most of the time though, she was just smiling. She fucking glowed. She laughed more, and there was just this… lightness, a sparkle in her eyes. It made it even harder than usual not to just stare at her.
The reporters didn't bother her at all anymore, didn't faze her. She'd taunt them with a wave every now and then, but didn't go so far as to talk to them. She had no desire to share our personal life with them, but without that guilt, they didn't get to her like they once had.
And even her bad moods, when her anger and frustration got to be too much for her… I would never admit it aloud, because I knew it was a little fucked up, but I liked them.
Bella liked to use physical outlets to deal with her frustrations.
Most of the time that meant pulling me into deserted rooms, locking us in our hotel room or my changing room. I really liked just going to the gym with her too, I'd never dated someone that could keep pace with me on foot, let alone pass or push me. When we'd come to LA, I'd been fairly faster than her, what with my extra training and her lack thereof for a prolonged period. But now… well, I now knew what she'd been doing in her spare time over the past few months. We were pretty evenly matched when it came to cardio, which is nice since she couldn't spot me.
We both missed home though. The park, our gym. Being able to get out of our home without there being a mob outside. And we had a gorgeous house, and yard in LA… but it was the apartment I thought of when I thought of the word 'home.' It was cozier than that big house that we barely used half of.
Now that Bella was done… I did not like the idea of her being in that big house alone all day. I knew what my schedule was going to be like when we got back.
But this was so close to over.
. . . . .
"Edward," she whispered, kissing my neck.
"Hmm?" I rolled towards her, not opening my eyes as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me.
"Baby, wake up," another kiss, this one on my jaw.
"I am awake," I half mumbled, half croaked. She laughed.
"Come for a run with me? Please?"
Even mostly asleep I could hear her hopeful excitement. I didn't even need to look at her. I yawned.
"Mm'kay. Just give me a few minutes," I mumbled, grinning when she gave me an exited kiss, wiggled out of my hold, and ran away. I sighed, forced myself to sit up, and then to pry open my eyes before using the washroom then getting dressed. I walked out to find Bella in a pair of tight black shorts, and a dark blue- cut-off tee, stretching.
I doubted her beauty would ever cease to stun me. I walked over, and pulled her in for a real kiss before grinning at her.
"Good morning." She smiled, but there was a little mischievous glint in her eyes that I didn't trust in the slightest. "What?" I asked suspiciously.
"I wanted to try something this morning." Damn, that smile was trouble. "Want to have some fun with the press?"
That did sound like fun, I loved messing with them. And I loved just seeing her so damn happy, her energy was contagious.
"Sure," I said easily, because really, I'd give her anything in the world she asked for. Most things that Bella wanted didn't even cost anything though. "What do we need?"
"Water, our key card, and one of our phones just in case."
We took Bella's phone, because it was smaller, and she just stuck it in her bra, which made me laugh. As soon as we were ready, she called our car and the three of us took the elevator out, and ignored them as usual as we walked out.
"Were to?"
"Umm… one block up should do it," she said, and I laughed. It was obvious that he was a little confused, but did as she instructed anyways. This was awesome, because we had both wanted to be able to walk around the area, just look around like normal tourists would. This was the first time Bella had ever travelled out of America and she'd only been able to go to the park, and to her work locations. And I think a grocery store.
While we still couldn't do that, play tourist on foot, this was a nice substitute. I did know the area a little, and gave him the name of a little park that I knew of, knowing we wouldn't be able to just walk up to and into the hotel when we got back.
He pulled over, and I got the door for Zeus and Bella. The car pulled away, and we barely had to wait a minute before they noticed. Someone shouted, then they were all shouting as they started to surge towards us. Fucking lemmings. We gave them a minute, Zeus doing his business, and then we took off.
I don't think it had been three miles, but that had been a fucking fun run. We lost the majority of them within the first mile, but there had been a few runners in the crowd. I think after a while too, they stuck with us just for fun, enjoying the run in the cool, early-morning air. By the time we got to our finishing point, we had three guys with us, and we all stopped by the fountain with them while they got a drink. Bella gave her water to Zeus, and I split mine with her while we talked to them for a couple minutes. They thanked us for an awesome morning workout, and we gave them a quote, saying that we were enjoying our work in London, though we were very busy. Filming was going well. We let them take a couple pictures with us, and Zeus let them pet him happily, before hopping into the car again to go get ready for work.
. . . . .
I woke up before her, having set my own alarm and having turned hers off.
She thought I was working today, but I'd gotten Marcus to lie with my schedule just to make it looked like I was. But I wasn't. She probably thought I'd forgotten, but I hadn't.
She took her sleeping pills late last night, I may have purposely distracted her, so I knew I had a few hours. I called down to the front desk, telling them they could bring my order up, and they came in with cart after cart of flowers.
I may have bought out the store.
I had them leave the carts in the foyer, and was running back and forth to the bedroom, covering every surface there was in vase after vase of flowers. When I ran out of room, I filled the tables in the living room, and then the balcony.
It looked pretty fucking cool.
Yes, I felt proud of myself.
When I finished, I crawled back into bed with one white rose, and hovered over her.
Fuck, she was especially pretty like this. Her hair all tousled from her sleep, a small, sleepy half-smile on her face, pink cheeks.
The fact that she was naked worked in her favour too.
I trailed the rose from her temple, down her throat, collar bone, in between her breasts, leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake. She hummed as I gently kissed her lips, making me smile before I kissed her jaw, then just below her ear.
"Happy birthday to you," I sang quietly, just into her ear, grinning when a smile curled her lips. "Happy birthday to you…"She squeaked as my fingertips trailed down her stomach, tickling her a little. "Happy birthday dear Beellaaaa~"She started giggling, and I kissed her lips again, trailing the rose down her jaw. "Happy birthday to you."
"Mmm, you should sing more often," she mumbled, still grinning, but having trouble opening her eyes.
That was okay.
I started kissing my way down her throat, her chest, and traced my tongue around a nipple, making her sigh.
"How old are you today baby?" I asked, kissing my way down her stomach, already knowing the answer of course.
"Twenty-two," she whispered.
"Hmm, twenty-two." I was up for a challenge. "Remember that number."
I nudged her legs apart as I slid down the bed, and hiked one of her legs over my shoulder. A choked sound escaped her as I parted her with my fingers, and slowly dragged the flat of my tongue up her center. I took my time working her up, and she came on my fingers with a silent cry.
And then a second time on my cock.
She gushed, and cried a little bit, over all the flowers. She asked what types they were, but I had no fucking clue. They were just flowers to me.
Number three took place in the shower, then four on the balcony as we had breakfast outside and watched the sunrise. She was a trembling mess, and I needed a nap.
I wasn't getting old or anything, I'd just been up early. She'd been happy to take a nap with me though, and was ecstatic and surprised that I had the day off. As if I'd work on her fucking birthday.
We woke up again at eleven to her phone going off, and she answered it with a groan.
"Hello?" She mumbled, then shot upright, juggling a screaming phone in her hands before it fell to the floor.
I just stared with a smile as she got up, and bent over to pick it up off of the floor.
"Jesus Alice, it's my birthday, you're not supposed to yell at me," she whined, crawling back into bed and curling into my side. I wrapped and arm around her, kissing her temple. "Why are you freaking out? I can just wear a bikini or something, it's on the bea-" She pulled the phone away from her ear again as Alice's angry, high-pitched voice started yelling. "Jesus. Here, she's your sister, you deal with her," she mumbled, shoving the phone into my hand and burrowing into my side.
"Hey little sister, is there a reason you're reaming out my fiancé on her birthday?"
"YOU! This is your fault too, how am I supposed to make a dress in six weeks?! You guys are killing me!"
"No one said you had to make a dress Alice, I'm sure-"
"If you even say the words married and bathing suit in the same sentence, I'm calling mom."
"Jesus, calm down," I said, waking up a bit more. I tried a different tactic. "You're the most talented designer I know Alice, we're sorry for giving you such a short deadline, but I'm sure you can come up with something." Bella was trying to stifle her giggle against my side, and started squealing with laughter as I started tickling her. "You're the one who's wearing a dress, why am I doing this?" I complained in a whisper, holding the phone away as Alice gushed at my praise and started talking to me about suit colours and types of materials that meant shit-all to me.
"Because you love me, and she was yelling at me," she said with an adorable pout. I rolled my eyes, but we were both grinning as I kissed her.
"Edward? Have you listened to a work I've said?" Alice inquired irritably.
"Honestly, no. I love you like crazy, but you're interrupting."
"Eww, God, didn't need to know. Put Bella back on."
"Only if you keep the volume to a minimum," I negotiated.
"Fine."
I grinned as Bella eyed the phone warily, but took it. "Hey." She looked at me, and rolled her eyes as Alice started talking away. I tried to distract her, and grabbed her wrist before she could smack me in the back of the head. She tried to squirm away from me, but I wasn't having it. I had both of her wrists trapped in one of my hands, and she hurried through her conversation with Alice with my face buried in between her thighs.
That was five, and six was in the shower again before we got dressed. I told her to dress for a night out, and she didn't disappoint, coming out in an oyster-grey silk cocktail dress that clung to her in a way that should have been illegal, her hair straight and smooth as water, and these little black strappy shoes. She was a little put off that I wouldn't tell her where we were going though.
We were leaving in a few days, and it bothered me that I hadn't gotten to show her the sights here. I didn't feel safe with the press yet, though I think they may have been settling down a little. I had hired a limo and a security escort for the rest of the day, and he picked us up just after two. Our driver was enthusiastic to help us and gave us a personal tour of the city while we drank champagne, drove around, and enjoyed the sights.
We stopped twice before the restaurant, the first time being when I saw Bella's interest perk when we passed a little red-painted shop. It was a violin shop, Guivier's, so of course I got the driver to go back around. She smiled excitedly as I got out and took her hand, and we ducked into the store before anyone could notice us, though we did attract a few sets of eyes dressed as we were.
It was engrossing to watch, the smile on her face, and the serene yet concentrated expression her face shifted to each time she tried a new instrument. The man working there was practically shoving them at her to try with a brilliant smile on his face. I think she was just having fun, but I saw it the instant she tried one that she wanted. The shiver that rolled through her as she slid the bow along the strings. She played on that one the longest, and as soon as she finished I plucked it from her fingers.
"We'll take this one," I said with a smile. And Bella started shaking her head quickly.
"Edward, no," she said, sounding panicked. "That violin is over a hundred years old-"
"So?" I asked in confusion. "You like it."
"Well, yeah, but-"
"Then I'm getting it," I said logically, walking away with it before she could argue any more. The man was already setting up the cash, and I pulled her along to find a case for it too. It was a bit over ten grand, but her smile was worth a hundred times that.
The second place we stopped at was another music store that the driver recommended when we came back out, to see if we were interested. We decided to check it out, and my God, that place was a guitarist's dream. Wunjo I think it was called. They had an impressive collection of vintage Gibsons, and Bella was watching me with a smile as I inspected them.
"They have a really nice selection," she mused, wrapping herself around my arm. I wasn't quite sure if she was trying to hide behind me a little bit, we were still working on her getting used to the looks, and once again, our attire drew a bit of notice. She looked fucking hot.
"They do." None of them felt quite right though, though I admired each of them.
And then a true beauty caught my eye. I'd played on an ES-355TD once before, but it hadn't been for sale. And it had been white. White guitars bothered me. This was a gorgeous, deep red though.
"Are you just going to keep picking them up, or are you going to do something with one of them?" She teased, bumping her hip against me. I raised an eyebrow at her, slid on the shoulder strap and sat down in the bench I was standing by. I shivered as I gave it a gentle strum. I loved the semi acoustics, they were so much softer.
I already had a song in my mind, and I started plucking the soft intro. Bella recognized the song of course, and she smiled. Until I smirked, and her eyes went wide before she quickly started shaking her head, but it was too late.
"Angie, Angie, when will those clouds all disappear?
Angie, Angie, where will it lead us from here?
"With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats
You can't say we're satisfied
"But Angie, Angie, you can't say we never tried
"Angie, you're beautiful, but ain't it time we said good-bye?
"Angie, I still love you, remember all those nights we cried?
"All the dreams we held so close seemed to all go up in smoke
Let me whisper in your ear:"
I stood up, and leaned in to her ear, improvising a little.
"Bella, Bella, where will it lead us from here?"
"Edward-"
"Oh Bella don't you weep, all your kisses still taste sweet
I hate that sadness in your eyes
"But Bella, Bella, I won't ever say goodbye."
"Edward!" She hissed, her face glowing as red as a tomato, and I shook my head as I went on.
"We've got this pull in our souls, I could never let you go
You couldn't make me if you tried
"But Bella, you know I love you baby
Everywhere I look I see your eyes
There ain't a woman that comes close to you
Come on baby, dry your eyes
"Oh Bella, Bella, ain't it good to be alive?
Bella, Bella, they can't say we never tried."
Her eyes were a little watery, though slightly annoyed. I just grinned, moving the guitar away so I could yank her towards me with an arm around her waist.
"Come on baby, I've always wanted to serenade someone," I said with a smile, and her anger just dissolved before she yanked my face down to hers and kissed me. "And you said I should sing more."
"Thank you," she said with a smile.
Yeah, I bought that guitar. It was even more expensive then Bella's violin, but it was awesome.
"I'm not quite sure if you're an impulsive buyer, or a good procurer," Bella mused with a teasing grin.
"Maybe I'm a bit of both," I said with a wink, making her laugh.
We had a nice, romantic dinner, where Bella was almost too intimidated by the food to eat it. She didn't know what half of the stuff on the menu even was, and just let me order for her. We ended up having steak. Then I took her to a showing of Wicked, and found out that she'd never been to the theatre before. She'd been beaming the entire time though, and seemed to love it.
The photos were a little annoying, but didn't really bother either of us.
I was probably going to end up looking for some of the photos online to be honest, just because she looked fucking stunning tonight, and I wanted a picture to remember the night. Who needs selfies when you're constantly followed by a hoard of photographers?
She was a little drunk by the time we got back to the hotel, she wasn't working tomorrow and decided to skip her sleeping pills, not that I minded having such a gorgeous woman hanging off of my arm and laughing. I gave the press a bit of a show when we stepped out of the limo and I kissed the hell out of her, getting a few cheers before I dragged her back inside, laughing.
Zeus was bouncing around excitedly when we got back, I'd had him scheduled to be walked twice while we were out, but he'd still been lonely.
It wasn't possible to top the birthday that she had given me last year, but hearing her happy, excited squeal and laughter when I gave her the package for ski-diving lessons with me for when we got to the states was all I needed. She'd loved that stunt so much that I thought she might like it, and I was pleased to find out I was right.
And I only made it to eight, but I had to stop because she begged me to, a little over-sensitive from the long day. She fell asleep easily, curled against me with a big, content smile stretching across her face after a nice long soak with me in the Jacuzzi. Candles, bubbles, flowers and all. It was kind of girly but she loved it.
. . . . .
We weren't really sad to leave London, just happy to be home. Even if it wasn't the home that we wanted. After a two-day break I went back to filming.
It was killing me, and it was near-impossible to concentrate on my work. Bella had come in with me on my first day back, to keep me company, but I was just too busy to get to talk to her much. I assured her that I still enjoyed having her around, multiple times, but I could tell that she just felt like she was in the way.
So she started staying at home while I worked, but I think that was even worse. Without her job to focus on and keep herself busy, she seemed to get a little depressed. Or maybe just lonely. My hours were long and exhausting, and by the time I finished and got home it was straight to bed, then up at the crack of dawn to start it all over. I tried to do as much as I could for her, but there just wasn't enough time in the day as we got closer to the end of shooting.
Six days after we got back though, she had to start packing again. She was going to LA on her own for a week.
Rose had her baby, a little girl that they named Renee, after Bella's mother.
God, I wanted to go with her so badly. Not just to meet my new soon-to-be-niece, but I knew that it was going to be hard on her. Emmett's the only one that I'd mentioned her stress to, and I just had to hope that he'd be able to keep an eye on her.
Zeus would be staying with me. Though I knew it would be hard for her without him, she didn't want to put him through the stress of the flights.
I was so uneasy that I felt nauseous as I drove her to the airport. We managed to get there without being followed, and I made sure to keep a bright smile on my face as I walked her in, carrying her suitcase for her. She didn't need the extra stress of worrying about me as well.
It wasn't easy to let her go, and the kiss I gave her before she had to go through security wasn't really appropriate for public, but she assured me that she'd call me as soon as she got to the apartment, and that Emmett was picking her up. After watching her walk away, I drove over to the studio for a long day of recording voice-overs.
. . . . .
It was weird, being alone. It's not like I was helpless on my own, or depressed, I just felt her absence like a hole in my chest. Even when she hadn't been speaking to me, I still drove in with her. This was by far better than that though, she called me every night before she went to bed, which was three hours before I would, so I was usually still on the set. No one fucked with me when I was on the phone though.
Bella sounded like she was doing pretty well with everything, though I don't think I'd fully believe it until I saw her again. It was easier for me to read her eyes than her voice over the phone.
I was a little proud of myself, because really, I was okay. I remembered how hard it had been being away from her before we came here, that constant fear that something was going to happen to her had been almost crippling.
Bella could take care of herself though, I knew that, and the fear had faded over time. There wasn't anything that we couldn't handle together. I could take care of myself too, but we were just better, stronger, when we were together.
And I think being able to be apart from each other like this too would just make us even stronger.
. . . . .
She ran through the terminal and jumped into my arms when she saw me, and I clutched onto her tightly. The relief was immediate and intoxicating, and as soon as her hold loosened my lips were on hers, urgent and hungry.
"God, I missed you so fucking much," I whispered, trying to suppress my irritation at all the fucking pictures and flashes.
"I missed you too," she said with watery eyes and a glowing smile. We quickly got her bag from luggage before fleeing out to the truck, then had to leave quickly before we could get boxed in.
I think their numbers were starting to go down a bit. We both relaxed once we were out on the road again.
"How was your flight?" I asked, smiling as I took her hand and brought the back of it up to my lips.
"Um… it was okay," she said uneasily.
"What happened?" I asked knowingly.
"Nothing happened, I just didn't care for my neighbour," she said quietly.
"Why?" I tried not to let my voice come out sharp, but the easiest way for someone to piss me off was to make my girl frown like that.
"He wouldn't stop asking me questions. I think he was trying to record me or something, and then he just kind of made me feel like a bitch for not wanting to talk to him. You were right, I should have just bought out the seat next to me."
"I'm sorry baby." I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she gave me a small smile. I wasn't going to say I told you so, because it wasn't like I liked upsetting her. It was over and done with now. Next time she had a flight somewhere, I'd be taking the seat next to her, she wouldn't have to worry about it again.
"How's work going?"
"Exhausting," I said with a sigh. "Only two more weeks though, and all these crazy hours will be done with." Bella smiled brightly at that, as did I.
"So… speaking of the end of all this… did you have any costume ideas for the wrap-up party?" She asked, worrying her bottom lip. I shrugged. I didn't care for cast parties, or Halloween parties. It's not like I hated them, not when I knew she'd be there with me, I just didn't really care either way.
"Not really, I'm fine with anything," I said easily. I didn't even want to go, but I'd look like a huge ass if I bailed, being the star and all. Bella sighed in relief.
"Good, because I got you a costume." She looked a little nervous, but I smiled easily. She was saving me the effort of looking myself, and I was kind of relieved.
"Cool, thank you." She smiled when I placed a kiss on the back of her hand again. "Did you get one for yourself too?"
"Mhmm. Alice is mailing them over. They'll be here sometime this week."
We grabbed some take-out on the way home, and sat out in the backyard together after Zeus calmed down. He'd completely flipped out seeing his mommy again.
"So, how's your brother handling everything?" I asked hesitantly. I really wasn't sure how she'd react talking about her niece. She gave me a small smile.
"They're good, though a little overwhelmed. Emmett had shit on his face when he picked me up. I didn't say anything. Took him two hours to notice." I laughed loudly at that. "They're… they're doing great though. They're really happy."
There was the slightest shake in her voice, and I moved closer to her before brushing a hand back through her hair, cupping the back of her neck so I could hold her gaze.
"And how are you doing?" I asked gently.
"I'm okay," she said softly, but saw that I obviously didn't believe her. "Really, I am. I'm happy for them," she said with a watery smile.
She didn't have to say the rest, I saw it plain and clear in her eyes.
She was happy for them, but she was envious. She wanted what they had, she just wanted the possibility of what they had.
But she didn't. We didn't.
And I hated the fear in her eyes. Her worry that I wouldn't want her because of that, that someday I might want more, that this wouldn't be enough.
She couldn't have been more wrong.
"Bella, it's going to be okay," I assured her, cupping her face as her eyes watered.
"But… what if someday-"
"No," I said quietly.
"But with Tanya, you said-"
"I know I said that but… baby, with Tanya, I was just trying to do what I thought was the right thing. Yeah, I was excited, but it was because of the idea of having someone to love. I have that with you in spades. I love you so fucking much it hurts. You are all I need, you're all I want. I'm not marrying you because I want babies and some big family. I'm not trying to fill some emotional hole. I'm marrying you because you're everything to me. I don't need anything else, just you. That is not going to change, I can promise you that."
"Really?" She breathed, her tears slowly trickling over her cheeks.
"I swear. I know what I want Bella. I've had plenty of time to think about it. I'd been carrying that fucking ring with me everywhere since January. I'm completely sure about you, this, us, and it isn't going to change. Okay?"
"January?" She asked in surprise. I smiled.
"I picked it up in Italy when we were on tour. I've always been sure about you Bella. I wouldn't trade you for anything in the fucking world. Okay?"
She nodded, and I swiped away her tears before leaning in and kissing her, and tried to reassure her with my body what I'm not sure she completely believed in my words.
. . . . .
Things are winding down, next chapter is the last regular chapter, and then there is one short epilogue afterwards.
What do you think Edward will do to try to cheer up his Bella? He's not good at sitting idly by while she's suffering. What did you think of his birthday present for her?
What do you like to do to cheer yourself up on a bad day? Me, I like to do this. I take my laptop to the beach and write until my battery dies. Reading your reviews puts a pretty damn big smile on my face too.