I'm sorry this is delayed, I had a touch of writer's block. Hopefully the next few chapters will be up a tad quicker.

Naked Kids- Grouplove

Under Cover of Darkness- The Strokes

"Bella?" Edward asked, his voice muffled so it sounded like he was underwater.

"Hmm?" I wasn't entirely paying attention to him. At least, not in that way. I was having one of those moments again, when I became so wrapped up in Edward that the whole world seemed to fade away.

The last time, I had almost taken Edward in the school parking lot. Right now, though, I knew what I was experiencing, and found I could push down the baser instinct of mating and just be. It was an odd phenomenon, though, like a slow growing burn that at least gave me time to realize what was coming and I was able to warn Esme, just in case.

The morning and early afternoon had been spent in Port Angeles for Edward's first therapy session in over a week, since he had only just recovered from his cold. Even still, he still had a pervasive cough, though he kept telling me it didn't hurt and he barely noticed when he coughed.

While waiting, I took Alice to an art store to buy an easel and a smock for her art class while we waited for Edward, and she spent almost the entire hour trying to figure out how to alter the unflattering material.

"Is there a point?" I asked, "It's just going to get covered in paint anyways." Alice's jaw dropped and she held a hand over her heart, making it clear that she was completely offended. I threw my hands up in defeat and helped her wrap a sash around her waist- her main complaint being how shapeless the smocks are. Alice had spent most of the morning- most of the week, actually- bouncing around in excitement over her upcoming art classes, the trip to Seattle next month, and picking up her brand new old truck tomorrow.

As nice as it was to spend quality time with Alice again, I felt heated and jittery leaving Edward alone, not even within earshot. I could feel the pull back to him in my chest, like some inner force guiding me back to where I belonged, and the moment he got back in the car I couldn't let him go. Even when shifting gears, I took my left hand off the wheel and steered with my knee so I could keep my fingers threaded through his.

We were sitting on the piano bench as if it was a normal afternoon during a weekday summer. At her own request, I left Alice with Charlie at the police station, and Esme had deposited a tray of snacks next to the music stand before retiring to her studio upstairs. Edward had been practicing the piece he had composed for Alice, periodically jotting down notes in the new book I had gotten him for his birthday. I pressed myself to his side, one hand weaved through his hair and the other on his bicep as he played.

He was so beautiful, it was nearly painful. There was just too much of him to focus on at once, the sensations were threatening to be overwhelming. His hair had gotten incredibly long, but I couldn't bear to think of it cut. I could feel each individual strand beneath my fingers, silky and tantalizing, the color so complex I didn't understand how it could naturally exist. The flexing of his bicep under my hand as he played was alluring, and I longed to dig my fingers into is flesh and claim him for myself.

His face while he played was seraphic in its beauty, like the subject of a long-lost Hellenistic sculpture. He was intense, his jaw clenching periodically when he missed a note or tried to work through a new idea in the song. And then his fingers, so long and elegant as they moved over the ivories. He was so deft there, I wondered… and I couldn't stop the fantasies. Not in the state I was in, so overcome with my love for him. I could almost feel his fingers caressing me, oh so soft as he played me expertly.

"Bella, are y-you okay?" Edward asked, and I only then noticed he had stopped playing. I was still looking at his hands, graceful and slender, and I wanted to dip my tongue in the dimples of the definition of his knuckles at the base of his fingers, then slide my tongue up and take his index finger in my mouth, sucking the sweet nectar of his skin.

I made a sound that, to my ears, sounded like a whimper, but I wasn't conscious of it. I was just desperate for him. I swallowed back the venom in my mouth, a shallow pooling that I forced back along with the desire to bite… to claim… to mate.

I could feel the heat from his body on mine as I pressed ever-closer to him. I wanted to lose myself in the fire, to be absorbed into him and let us consume each other until the cool death of my skin could come alive again, reborn from the burning of our flesh like a phoenix from the ashes.

"Edward, dear, why don't you come into the kitchen and help me with these cookies?" Esme's voice was gentle, and she placed a hand on my shoulder. The warmth of her skin on mine was such a contrast to the stark heat of Edward's that my attention was divided, and I knew she was right. While I was in control of myself and Edward was in no danger from me, it would be best, for his sake and mine, for me to cool off.

"That sounds like a good idea," I whispered, still staring at Edward's hands.

"Bella?" Esme prompted, trying to coax Edward from my grip. It took me a minute, but I loosened my hold on him, letting my hand fall away from where I was still stroking his hair. My hand felt stiff without his soft locks between my fingers, and I stood awkwardly, keeping my arms at my sides.

"I'm fine." I was beginning to see the world around me again, the disconcerting phenomenon of being completely focused on just Edward falling away and giving way to the more complex thoughts of my vampire mind. The grays faded and the vibrant and lush verdant forest outside seeped back into my vision. "Let's make cookies."

I kept my hands to myself in the kitchen, crossing my arms and balling my fists with the effort it took to stop myself from touching him. Edward was helping Esme roll the cold dough into balls on a baking sheet, both hands messy and occupied, but he kept looking over his shoulder at me. The concern was clear- his brows were furrowed and the corners of his lips turned down, causing his bottom lip to pout. I longed to lean over and suck on it, but instead I sat back against the counter.

Once the rancid smell of baking cookies permeated the air, my head felt clearer and the deep desire I felt seemed to be easier to compartmentalize now that I wasn't touching him, and the smell of sunshine and honey wasn't clouding my mind. Edward washed his hands, and I could feel Esme's stare boring a hole in the back of my head as she tried to discern my state of mind.

"I'm completely fine," I whispered so that Edward wouldn't be able to hear, "He was never in any danger."

"It's not Edward I'm worried about," Esme responded, patting my cheek gently before leaving the room.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked, wiping his hands dry on his pants as he leaned against the sink. I smiled, completely enamored with his concern for me. How silly for him to worry himself over someone virtually indestructible.

"I'm just insanely in love with you," I grinned, closing the distance between us to sink into his arms, my cheek against his chest and my ear just over his heart beat.

"I know th-the feeling," he laughed, arms encircling me as he pressed his lips to the crown of my head in a tender kiss that made me fly.

"Where's my brother?" Emmett shouted from the foyer, his voice boomingly loud throughout the house and interrupting the first sane moment I had alone with Edward in a week. I groaned and buried myself further into his chest, and Edward softly chuckled into my hair, holding me as tightly as he could.

"Emmett, go away," I mumbled, trying to hide my smile from him as he lumbered into the kitchen. Esme was right behind him, coming in to take the cookie sheet out of the oven.

"Hey, you've had the kid to yourself for a week. I want in."

"He was sick, Em. It's not like we were on vacation," I complained, but I loosened my hold on him and slipped from his front to his side.

"Yeah, well he looks well enough now. Can he come play video games, or are you gonna chain him up in the basement or something?" Emmett joked, but it planted a distinct visual of Edward, prostrate on a bed with his hands bound to the headboard. And unfortunately, Emmett knew exactly what I was thinking about, because his brows widened in surprise before he broke out into an ever-wider smile, the dimples in his cheeks impossibly deep and making him look like an impish little boy. If I could have blushed, I would have, and I was just grateful that Edward didn't seem to notice the exchange. He already knew I was having untoward thoughts about him, I didn't need him to know the details or extent of my fantasies.

"What g-games d-do you have?" Edward asked, and we walked behind Emmett to the living room still pressed together, Edward's arm over my shoulder and mine around his waist.

"I got a beta of Halo3that's supposed to be amazing."

"Can't we just play Mario Kart?" I asked.

"We're not gonna play Mario Kart, Bella," Emmett said with disgust, sneering at me as he handed Edward and I Xbox controllers. "Jesus, Edward, can you believe she just said that? I don't know why you keep her around."

"Hey!" I objected, tempted to throw the controller at him but stopping because Edward was right between us.

"You can't fight the truth. You really bring down the group average."

"Yeah, and the group average IQ drops ten points every time you walk in the room. At least Edward can pass Gym. And he's a human," I taunted, reaching around Edward to pinch Emmett's arm tightly. He winced when I gathered his unmoving flesh with force.

"Wait, you f-failed Gym?" Edward asked, turning on the couch to face Emmett. Emmett looked stricken, and I fought the instinct to insert myself between them. They were just so close to each other with the three of us all on the couch, and Emmett had far less experience with being close to humans.

"I didn't fail," Emmett defended.

"You got a D," I corrected, unable to hold back my laugh. Though she was out in her outer garage, I could hear Rose giggling at the memory as well.

"I c-can't believe Coach Clapp g-gave you a D," Edward said, incredulity clear in his voice.

"It wasn't in Forks! It was like twenty years ago!"

"You're still the only vampire in the world who's ever not passed a class, though."

"There are only three vampires in the world insane enough to go to high school over and over again, and you're one on them."

"Wait," Edward interjected, "How d-did you f-fail?"

"I didn't fail!" Emmett objected, his voice climbing an octave.

"The boys did a unit on wrestling while girls did ballet, and Emmett, for obvious reasons, couldn't participate," Esme called from the kitchen, cooking some terrible smelling dinner but trying her best to diffuse any argument.

"He ditched for like two months. He could've run a thirty second mile and still wouldn't have passed."

"I would've kicked every ass in that place," Emmett bragged, standing up and puffing his broad chest out with pride.

"Oh, please. As if that would've been some great accomplishment when you lose to both Rose and me regularly."

"'Regularly'?" Emmett screeched, and I hid a laugh by tucking my face into Edward's shoulder.

"Didn't I just beat you up like two weeks ago?" I taunted, smiling up at my outraged brother.

"Edward, dear, dinner's ready," Esme peered around the corner into the living room to call Edward away, and I knew she was trying to prevent the inevitable.

"You didn't beat me! That was a draw!"

"Oh, if Rose didn't interrupt…"

"If Rose didn't interrupt, you wouldn't be getting to see me drink a gallon of milk."

"What?" Edward laughed, and I pulled him off the couch and pushed him behind me towards the kitchen, keeping Emmett in front of me so I was between the two.

"Emmett and I made a bet, and he lost."

"We both lost! Besides, I totally had you when Rose ruined everything. Edward, man, you should've seen her. I had her pinned and pressed so deep in the ground there's probably still a crater in Oregon in her exact outline."

"Yeah, and I was two seconds away from launching you straight off of me," I sneered, and dropped my weight as I bent my knees slightly, ready for Emmett's obvious attack.

"Wanna bet?"

"No more bets!" Esme chastised, and I could see her place her hand on Edward's shoulder in my periphery, effectively placing him under her protection.

"You don't have anything I want," I told him.

"An IOU, then. On both sides." Emmett dropped his weight too, and I braced myself for what was to come.

"Please, just not in the house," Esme begged.

"Don't worry, Esme. If we're gonna have a rematch, it's gotta be outside," I promised, skirting backwards to open the expansive sliding glass door and step out on the balcony, Emmett matching me step for step as he stepped around the couch and towards me. I kept stepping backwards until I jumped up on the thin metal railing on the balcony, balancing the bar on the arch of my feet. Emmett was in front of me grinning, and I could hear Edward's heart pounding from inside as Esme assured him that we were just playing around.

I knew they would be watching from the kitchen window, or maybe even come out on the balcony, so I decided to give Edward a show. I stretched my arms out so they ran parallel to the railing, and I knew it must have been a sight. Behind me, the sun was set, casting a fuchsia glow on the grey blanket of clouds that stretched across the sky. The Sol Duc River in our backyard was heavy and rushing with water melted down from the mountains, and the breeze of a brewing storm stirred the forest around us.

And amidst it all, I stretched myself out and, smiling and, narrowing my eyes at Emmett in challenge, I fell backwards off the balcony.

It was a quick drop, only one story, and I easily could have landed on my feet, but Emmett had seemed honestly convinced that he was about to beat me on our wrestling trip, and he only acquiesced to a draw because of Rose and her interruption. Instead of landing on my feet, I remained supine and the weight of my body had me creating a crater in Esme's perfectly manicured lawn when I landed on my back.

Emmett was on top of me in a second, hands encircling my wrists and his body pressed against mine so we were in the exact same position we had been in two weeks ago. He was forcing me further down, grinding me into the ground with most of the strength he could exert without seriously hurting me, and even then, it wasn't exactly comfortable.

But he made the same mistake he had made before, and the lower half of my body was still free. After decades upon decades of wrestling and playing around, I couldn't believe that Emmett still hadn't learned that he had to completely pin me to keep me down.

Exactly as I had been planning before, I pressed my back so far down I would have thought I was almost in the Earth's mantle, giving myself the leverage to create some distance between my body and Emmett's. He was still pressing me down and still holding my arms, but I was able to bring my knees up to my chest, planting my feet on Emmett's chest and launching him upward and off of me.

He had been surprised by the move, which I found completely hilarious. Before he could even think of what to do next, I had both of his arms behind his back. I pushed him down so he fell face forward, and I held his hands to the small of his back and stomped my foot between his shoulder blades, keeping him in the dirt.

"You're too easy," I teased as he wriggled beneath me, trying to gain leverage to flip around to no avail. "I wonder what I'll make you do… The human food dares are always fun, but you already have milk to drink. Should I have you antagonize Rose? Oh, or maybe Esme? And that time you streaked across the Cornell campus was pretty funny."

Emmett groaned into the soil at the memory, and I laughed aloud. I had somehow talked him into rushing at a fraternity then, and one of the hazing rituals involved getting naked and running across campus in the dead of night. Never one to do anything half-assed, Emmett ripped his clothes off and jogged at quite the slow human pace through the middle of the quad during the lunch rush. Rose had been so angry that she broke his television in half with her bare hands and knocked him over the head with it the second he got home. She said it was because she didn't want to risk exposure, but I was pretty sure it was mostly possessiveness and jealousy that others had seen Emmett in the nude.

"Or maybe," I continued, relishing in my power over him, "Maybe I should just let you stew, and cash it in later, when you're not expecting."

"Let him stew! He deserves it!" Rose encouraged, darting over from the garage to stand beside us, arms crossed as she looked down at her hulking husband, buried in the ground as he had all but given up on resisting.

"Rose," Emmett groaned, his voice muffled in the ground.

"Don't 'Rose' me. Bella was having a perfectly fine afternoon with Edward before you barged in on it. You could've stayed and held up the M3 for me, but you always need to insert yourself, so it looks to me like you're getting what you deserve."

I laughed, and pressed my foot deeper into his back, and I could hear the soft screech of his bones beginning to give way under the pressure. "Are you going to give up?"

"Fine!" Emmett groaned again. I lingered a moment, enjoying the power I had over him. Even centuries later, I still delighted in the equality of the sexes vampires enjoyed and, though Emmett was one of the strongest vampires in the world, strength was often not a match for strategy. He occasionally got the better of me when he remembered to pin down every part of my body and keep me still, but more often than not, I was able to do exactly what I was doing now.

"Bella, can you let my husband up? He's going to swallow so much dirt he won't have room for any milk."

I released his hands and took my foot off his back, and Emmett immediately pushed himself up and spun around to stand directly in front of me, tucking his chin in to stare down at me.

"Are you full?" I joked, grinning up at him, and I saw the corner of his mouth twitch and his dimple deepen as he tried to hide his returning smile. As massive and powerful as Emmett is, his male ego is almost as indestructible as he is, and he always rebounded quickly after each defeat.

"I guess I'm drinking the milk today, huh?"

"I think Edward would enjoy seeing this!"

Emmett groaned and began to trudge into the house, dragging his feet so the toes of his shoes scraped and kicked up even more of the damaged grass.

"I doubt he wants to see that while he's eating! Go clean yourself up before Esme rips your arm off for ruining the lawn and getting dirt inside," I urged, punching him on the arm before I jumped up and back onto the second floor balcony.

Edward had been leaning over the balcony with Esme, watching our antics with a racing pulse and worry clear on his face. Esme rolled her eyes, but began to quickly brush the grass off my back as Edward cupped my face in his hands, tilting my head up to meet his.

"Emmett was just being an oaf, so I had to set him straight," I promised, kissing his soft lips gently. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have instigated that in front of you." I immediately felt terrible. I knew it was in Edward's nature to worry incessantly, and to over-think. And his protective instincts had been ingrained in him since he was a little kid. I couldn't expect his human mind to understand the full capacity of my near-indestructibility, and I should have been more mindful of it.

"No, no," he shushed me, brushing his thumb across my bottom lip. "I like th-that you all c-can be yourselves around m-me. I need to s-start adjusting to the world around m-me, you c-can't k-keep trying to p-protect me from everything."

From behind me, Esme hummed in agreement, but I couldn't pull my gaze away from his burning green eyes. "I don't… I mean, I don't mean to-"

"You're n-not s-stronger than Emmett, are y-you?" Edward interrupted, his brows furrowed.

"She wishes!" Emmett shouted from his room, loud enough for Edward to hear. Edward grinned his crooked smile and rolled his eyes at my brother, letting me finally tug him inside to eat his long-since finished dinner.

"Bella's just a better fighter," Esme explained, pushing the plate towards Edward and giving him unnecessary encouragement to eat before shooting me a maternal glare. "And she's constantly antagonizing him, too."

"He started it, and I finished it," I said insistently, trying to contain a grimace as Edward began shoveling down the meat dish. Whatever I had been feeling earlier, that intense need for him and singular focus on one part of him, it had faded. But Emmett's quick wrestling rematch had been but a quick distraction, and I was starting to feel impossibly cold from the separation. I touched just two fingers to the soft inside of his wrist, tracing his steady pulse and the puckered scars of his heated skin under I felt warm again.

Edward quickly finished his dinner, keeping his left hand mostly still for me to continue my ministrations on his skin as he and Esme talked about how she would have to fix the lawn. Edward was just politely nodding and listening to her describe a passing idea for a new deck, though he occasionally interjected a comment about laying grass or new flowers between bites.

"I don't know why I'm bothering," Esme sighed, clearing Edward's plate before he could even make a move to do it himself. "You two are just going to tear it up again. Emmett will say something stupid, and you'll feel the need to put him in his place. Why couldn't you talk it out? Or play chess? Or literally anything less destructive?"

"It's not like we've damaged anything inside the house since that glass table in the eighties!"

"That was Murano glass, and it took hours to clean up."

"We apologized, and Emmett even went to design school with you."

Esme smiled at the reminder, reminiscing about their very enjoyable two years together while they received a master's degree.

"And I can conceptualize the shit out of the spirit of interior design to this day," Emmett boasted, striding into the kitchen and throwing his arm around Esme when she tutted about his vulgar language.

"What d-does that even m-mean?" Edward asked, grinning as he picked his way through the cookies. I noticed that he selected the ones with the most browned edges, and I very much appreciated the way he liked the crumbles of cookie from the corners of his full lips.

"You know, lighting and furniture and architecture and stuff."

"Specific," Edward pointed out teasingly.

"Well, Emmett," I said, interrupting him before he could defend his design skills, "Edward's done with dinner, and we need to get going soon. So it seems that now is the perfect time for you to drink up."

Emmett turned impossibly pale and stone-still, his knuckles balled at his side. Edward chuckled at him, and even Esme couldn't help but laugh. I skirted around Emmett, standing in the middle of the kitchen, and pulled the unopened gallon of milk from the top shelf. I twisted off the blue cap and tossed it into the trash bin when Rose appeared in the kitchen as well, folding her arms and smirking at her husband in wait.

"This isn't fair. You didn't technically win when we made this bet."

"Not only are you getting what you wanted out of the bet, but I just won an IOU from you not forty minutes ago," I pointed out. Emmett's bottom lip jutted out even further as he stared at the cold white jug, condensation forming and dripping along the plastic.

"Just drink and get it over with," Rose said, sounding bored but cocking her dark brow expectantly. Emmett turned to her and looked offended, as if she had ever come to his defense. "Oh please, don't look at me like that. You get what you deserve. You can't keep antagonizing Bella and expect to get off easy, especially since you rarely ever win."

"I win!" Emmett objected, followed by a mumbled, "Sometimes." But he sighed and plucked up the container. I could feel Edward squeezing my hand, and when I looked up at him he was staring intently at Emmett.

I felt a little bad about it, especially when the first drop of milk passed his lips. Milk not only smelled disgusting, but it has a particularly offensive taste. Out of all human foods, dairy products are definitely the worst to have to consume, which is why we often excuse ourselves from eating it by saying we're vegans. I was almost regretful, because eating apples or some other produce would have been just as uncomfortable but without the absolutely horrible taste.

My regret disappeared at the utter hilarity of Emmett's expression while chugging the milk, though. He had his head tilted back and his lips wrapped around the opening of the jug, letting the milk pour down his throat and being very good by not letting a drop escape out of his mouth. His eyes were scrunched closed and his nose completely wrinkled backward as he stopped breathing, trying to disconnect himself from the rancid smell to dampen the taste.

I didn't know if his technique worked, but he certainly downed the entire gallon like a champion. The whole experience took maybe thirty seconds, since vampires are not only quicker, but also don't suffer from the delay of a gag reflex, but it was a very long half a minute until Emmett pounded the jug on the counter triumphantly, the plastic crinkling upon impact.

"That w-was impressive," Edward said, nodding in amazement. "You c-could really clean up on the c-competitive eating circuit."

"Not for all the money in the world," Emmett said, grimacing as the milk sloshed in his stomach. Rose hid a smile as she shook her head in mock-embarrassment, turning around to leave the kitchen. Emmett took a step forward to catch up to her, but stopped in his tracks and stilled, frowning deeply. I understood what he was likely feeling, that immensely uncomfortable feeling of fullness and being able to feel every ounce of liquid slapping against the lining of his stomach.

"I have to do this for a whole day?" Emmett confirmed, his voice soft as he tried unsuccessfully to keep the groan from his tone.

I nodded. "Seven o'clock tomorrow, you can throw it up. Until then…"

"Wanna r-race?" Edward teased, shrinking to my side when Emmett playfully glared at him.

"I don't think the playing field is that even, even full of milk," Esme said gently, tucking a container of cookies into Edward's hand for him to share with Charlie and Alice. I pulled Edward out of the kitchen with me, saying goodbye to Esme and letting Emmett trail behind us to the car.

"We never got to play Halo," Emmett complained, pouting as I opened the car door for Edward.

"Yeah, who's fault was that?"

"C-can I c-come over tomorrow?" Edward asked, and Emmett's face lit up like a kid on Christmas.

"Don't act so flattered, Em. He probably just wants to watch you squirm all day until you can throw the milk up," Rose taunted, and Emmett spun around and growled in that familiar low pitch that he had just for her. Rose laughed and tried to run across the yard to her garage, but Emmett caught up with her and gathered her in his arms.

Emmett had her by the waist and picked her up, her golden hair swirling like stars shooting across a dark sky as he spun her around, their laughter so loud it echoed through the surrounding forest. I kept watching them in the rearview mirror, unable to contain my smile at their antics. I was honestly impressed by how nimble Emmett seemed.

"You s-said that Emmett and Rose g-go away t-together on honeymoons often?"

"Usually for a few years every decade or so," I confirmed, playing with the fingers on his left hand, gently running my fingers up and down his slender digits, memorizing the indentation of each knuckle.

"D-Do Carlisle and Esme ever d-do th-that also?"

"Oh, sure, every so often. Not nearly as frequently as Emmett and Rose, but every couple needs time alone together."

"What were n-nights l-like at your home? B-Before we m-met, I m-mean?" he changed the subject abruptly. I moved down from his fingers to massage the palm of his hand, pressing into the pressure points that caused his fingers to twitch.

"Oh, reading, mostly. And then hunting, running, exploring and such, but mostly I spent the time reading. I usually worked my way through genres. When we met, I was catching up on new analysis of Renaissance art."

"The Michelangelo v-versus da Vinci d-debate," Edward smiled his crooked grin at the memory of my frustrated outburst at our first dinner together.

"Exactly," I laughed, pressing down at the pressure point in the very center of his palm so he jumped a bit at the feeling. I pulled into the driveway and Edward followed me up the stairs, where we curled up together on the couch. As I figured, Charlie and Alice had gone to the diner for dinner, so we had at least a few minutes completely to ourselves- a rare occurrence.

"But what d-did everyone else d-do?" Edward said, as I continued playing with his hands. I gently massaged at each knuckle, softly releasing the gas in the joints so they didn't make the pop sound, but still provided pressure relief.

"What?" I asked, not understanding his question.

"At night. You s-spent all this t-time r-reading, but what w-were Emmett, Rose, Carlisle, and Esme d-doing?"

"Edward," I cautioned, pulling my gaze from his hand to his face. He was staring intently at me, brows furrowed and verdant eyes serious. "What brought this on?"

"I just… the s-story you t-told me about the other d-day, with Rose and Emmett g-going to p-prom, made me th-think. About how… alone y-you w-were." He placed his unoccupied hand on the side of my face, his touch so feather-light I could barely feel as he brushed his thumb along the apple of my cheek.

"I'm not alone anymore," I smiled, returning the gesture so we were mirror images on Charlie Swan's shabby couch.

"I just c-can't help but th-think about all th-those years you were b-by yourself. Even w-with your f-family, you were s-still alone. And b-before you m-met Carlise, you were a-alone."

"I didn't even know what I was missing, though. They all tried to explain it to me, the feeling of completion and overwhelming elation, but I never realized I wasn't whole."

"So y-you weren't… sad?"

"No!" I cried, brushing his hair from his face and tracing my fingers along the soft lines of concern in his forehead. "No, it wasn't like that! Of course, looking back, it was as if I was just floating by, passing time until I found you, but it certainly wasn't some dark and crippling loneliness."

"Oh."

"What brought this on?"

"I was j-just thinking…"

"About me being alone?" I asked, trying to understand his thought process in this. I could understand his curiosity about what I was doing during the years I spent without him, but worry and concern seemed out of place, especially when I had no idea what I was missing.

"Well, yes."

"I wouldn't have traded a minute of it."

"What?"

"I wouldn't change one single second, because it led me to you."

"Really?"

"Of course. It's like the butterfly effect. Doing one thing differently four hundred years ago, and I could have ended up wandering around Antarctica instead of here." At the mere thought of never meeting Edward, I felt my heart ache, and I had to physically shake my head to dispel the dark feelings that lingered.

"I j-just c-can't imagine living so l-long without you," he said as I brushed the beginnings of tears from the crease of his eyes.

"You'll never have to."

"But you are g-going away."

I sighed and leaned into him, trying to push away the weight of the thought of not being near him for any significant period of time. "But I'll be back here as soon as I can be. And we have months before I need to leave."

"Only two," he reminded me of such a quick time frame. Two months. To me, two months were a blink of the eye. Indeed, they were even quicker than that. I had nothing to say as the surge to be closer to him rose with the reminder of my impending travels. But the touch of his soft lips on mine were enough to cast aside the darker thoughts, at least for the moment.