Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise, I just use their creations to have my wicked way with them. No copyright infringement is intended.

LadySharkey1 rocks my world by being the most amazing, kick-ass beta I could ever imagine.

36.

They talked for hours that night.

As the moon rose over the treetops of Central Park, they discussed every single aspect of the lives they'd lived in each other's absence and the things that had led them to it. Some of the stuff they'd already discussed during their earlier talks but then, in the softer light of their reconciliation, they both dared to go further. Each of them said the things they had been too afraid to say before, asked questions that had seemed too harsh or invasive a couple of weeks ago.

They touched, too. Tentatively; a hand brushed along an arm…a head rested against a shoulder. Neither dared to go further than that. It was as if the understanding they had come to so shortly before was still too new and fragile to test its limit.

In the end, long after they'd retreated to Edward's mattress—which had indeed been large enough to warrant its own map—and Bella had showed him how to make a bed, her eyes had started to flutter as she slowly drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.

A sleep that a part of Edward had craved after the long and hectic day behind him, but fought against with all his might because it meant he had to close his eyes and lose sight of her.

He dozed on and off that night; his eyes lost the battle against sleep only to shoot open again a few moment later as his mind restlessly ping-ponged between the normal nightmares that had tormented him ever since his parents had died to the new ones which revolved around the tour that would start in only a couple of hours.

It was only the sight of her—his Bella—that soothed his worries.

For her, he would stay the course.

For her, he would make it work.

To her, he would return.

Lying there, it all seemed to make sense again; his life having gained a new purpose the moment she had agreed to give them another try. He saw their future: one that was weird and full of the challenges that a union between a musician and a law student would bring, but it was more than he had ever been able to see for himself. She gave him the axis he needed to spin his world around.

With her help, he could do it.

Smiling, he brushed away a lock of her hair as the early morning rays of sunlight started to creep through the window and fell on their bed before stopping on the overstuffed duffle bag in the far corner of his bedroom. He sighed, knowing that even with his newfound peace of mind, he still feared the moment he would have to leave his home and board that tour bus.

Leaning against the cold headboard behind him, he closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, practicing a few of the tips his therapist had given him to both keep anxiety at bay and quenched the thirst for alcohol or other stuff he no longer wanted to rely on. It was a hell of a lot harder to 'work through it' as she had called it, than to take a little pill or drown himself in a bottle of Jack—but in the end, as far as he was concerned, the good still outweighed the bad.

The morning after was a hell of a lot easier to stomach without a hangover.

And to live the life they both deserved, there was no other option than to stay sober.

As the light grew in force, Bella started to stir; the process of her first, sleepy movements to the soft flutter of her eyes before they opened was so fascinating that it made Edward's worries vanish like snow before the sun.

"Hey." She finally breathed sleepily, a lazy grin tugging at the corners of her mouth as she lifted her head up from the pillow.

"Hey," he mimicked with a matching grin. "Did you sleep well?"

She nodded, stretching languidly as she rolled from her stomach onto her side. "You?"

He shrugged, rubbing eyes that still longed to droop shut. "I had a lot on my mind."

"With the tour and stuff?" Sitting up, her hand found his knee, squeezing gently. "What time do you have to leave?"

"The bus leaves at three." Sighing, he let his head fall in the direction of his luggage.

"Hey." A soft hand closed around his cheek, pulling his face back in her direction as her eyes forced their way behind the worry. "Listen to me, Edward: you are going to make this work. You love this, remember? You live for your music and you're going to have so much fun playing all those amazing songs for everyone who stood by you through the past couple of months. This is going to work."

"Yes, ma'am," Edward joked, though there was little conviction in his voice.

"Believe in yourself," she ordered, the sheets rustling as she straddled his legs. "You have to, Edward, because I believe in you and…and I need you to take care of yourself." Her tears glued their faces together as Bella crushed her lips to his in a desperate gesture that let him know just how much she needed him to be strong.

"I will," he finally whispered against her lips, their breaths panting but not breathless enough to stop them from connecting again in a desperate need to possess and communicate.

I love you.

I need you.

I want you.

Tearing at her clothes, Edward growled as buttons flew in every direction. Neither cared whose clothes they belonged to as hands grabbed, caressed, and possessed until they were both completely bare and naked in more ways than one.

"I never thought I'd have you in my bed again," he whispered against her chest, the back of his hand drawing a trail of goosebumps as it traveled through the valley of her breasts. "I nearly forgot how fucking gorgeous you are."

She blushed, much to his delight, pulling at his shoulders until they were level again, her lips capturing his as her hands too started to wander, familiarizing themselves with his skin once more as their bodies tangled together in search of friction and bliss.

"Can I have you?" he groaned, his cock harder than it had ever been and right there.

She groaned, her body slick and welcoming as he slipped between her lips. "God, yes."

It was all he needed, a deep, needy groan falling from his lips as he pushed forward, her body welcomed him in a warm embrace as her walls closed around his cock while her nails dug into his shoulders, urging him to get even closer…deeper.

"Oh," she spoke again, her legs cradling his hips, squeezing him, pulling him a she started to move, his eyes rolled backwards as he could already feel the mounting pressure of release. She seemed to be right there with him as well, her hips moving along with his as he sped up; their bodies were slick with sweat as their moans filled the room.

"Fuck!" he gasped, his arms trembling as he held himself above her. "I'm so fucking close, baby. Are you with me?"

The pressure of her grip intensified as she panted, "Almost there...just… Fuck!" And like that she shattered around him, pulling him over the edge along with her. "I…"

"I know, baby," he breathed, his voice a breathless whisper as he leaned his sweaty forehead tenderly against her. "I know it's too fucking soon and shit but, what the hell: I fucking love you, Bella. I always have….never stopped…never will. I was too afraid to say it before…but I'll say it now, as often as you want to hear it. That's…if you want to…"

Her smile was enough to make his heart burst, and that was even before she spoke the liberating words he'd never thought he'd hear again. "I love you, too, Edward. But please…be more careful with my heart this time."

He smiled as his lips brushed her cheek. "I will, sweetheart. I'm not going to fuck up this time."

"Good." She nodded, rising up from the bed. "Now, I don't want to be the voice of reason all the time, but if you want to make your pick-up time, and I want to have any hope of retaining my scholarship next year, both of us need to get out asses in gear because the day isn't getting any younger!"

Edward groaned. He really wanted nothing more than to hide out under the covers and bury himself inside her again and again, but he knew there was definitely some truth to her words. "You're no fun!"

"Life's not all fun and games! You'd better get used to it, lover boy!" Bella snickered, swatting his hands away when they tried to pull her under the covers again as she sat up, grabbing the bra that had landed somewhere near the bed as her eyes searched out for other pieces of clothing, trying to remain strong, though she could feel her bravery faltering.

Bella's resolve finally crumbled as her shoulders suddenly dropped. Her face turned away from him, and her voice became thick with tears as she spoke, "I'm going to miss you."

Hugging her from behind, he rested his head on her shoulders. "I'm going to miss you, too, kitten. Like crazy."

Leaning into his hold she sighed. "Is it always going to be like this? Me, stuck in the city doing what I'm supposed to do while you're away doing what you're supposed to do?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly, "but for the sake of both our dreams I hope it will, even if it sucks to spend so much time apart. It will be our 'normal', though, so we'll have to make it work."

Bella smiled as she twisted her neck to capture his lips with her own. "So I guess this is our first chance to come to grips with it, huh?"

Wrapping his arms tightly around her he nodded. "And we'll always have FaceTime and What's App to keep in touch. It'll be like I never left."

"Are you planning on stalking me?" Bella joked, though there wasn't enough humor in her voice to pull it off. "Because my daddy's all connected and stuff. He'll have your ass locked up before you can call your lawyer!"

"I wouldn't dare!" He chuckled, his hands loosened their hold as he scooted next to her. "All joking aside, though, I'd love for you to have a key to this place and maybe even stay here instead of at my sister's while you're interning at Carlisle's office?" He shrugged, his fingers playing with the edges of the sheet. "I know there's not a lot of furniture and stuff, but you could decorate? I mean, I don't know about any of that kind of shit, so I'd probably fuck the whole place up anyway if I tied and…and I'd really like if you put your mark on my home because...well…maybe in time you might like to live here with me and…"

Bella cut him off with a deep kiss. "Of course, I'll do it, you silly, beautiful man!" She snickered, looking around the place. "If you tell me what kind of style you want it to be, I'll make sure the place looks presentable when you get back."

"Just nothing too frilly or girly and I'll be a happy man," Edward assured her. "I want it to feel like a home instead of just a place to live in between tours, which is why I'm serious about you living here for the summer. I want my sheets to smell like you, and all of your books to litter my tables. Hell, if you want, you can even spring for a cat to lounge on the windowsill, though I'm sure the fucker's going to hate me within five minutes when I step on its tail or do something else to piss it off."

"How's a girl to refuse when the offer of a cat is made?" Her laughter was the best sound he'd heard in months, though the words falling from her lips when she turned serious again were a close second. "If you really want me to, then I'd love to live here. I wasn't sure how things were going to work out anyway, with my dorm being closed and Esme and the kids back in the Hamptons."

"See?" Edward reasoned, "We're only doing each other a favor. I'll just leave my keys and my credit card here, then."

Bella groaned, just as he knew she would. Growing up in quite different circumstances to his opulent childhood, she had a whole different perception of spending money than he did. Chuckling he added, "Just ask Alice. She seems like the kind of girl who knows where to go and how to spend some money."

"There'll be no stopping her!" Bella grumbled, sighing as she finally got up to continue the search for discarded pieces of her clothing.

Crazy enough, their light mood continued throughout their goodbye. It was like since they'd spoken the words out loud, both of them knew they were going to do absolutely everything they could to make it work. They were committed and, as Edward had said before, if they were going to make things work between the two of them, it wouldn't be the last time they'd have to be separated.

So as Edward boarded the bus with his bandmates later that day, his heart was heavy with longing for his girl but his mind was more at ease than it had been in a long, long time.

Because he knew he was going to return to her.

To them.

Thoughts?