Summary: It's two days before the wedding, and Edward and Bella decide to spend a private afternoon in their meadow. This brings about the talk of the wedding. R&R! This is my favorite story by far… There will be another, far more exciting chapter, which I promise will bring it all together. Bear with me please.
Written in BPOV
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does, as she does all associated characters. Not that I wouldn't mind owning Edward… Oh what fun! Hehe…
The Present
I grazed my eyes over his whole body, lying perfectly in the sun, and smiled to myself. I truly couldn't have asked for anyone more perfect.
His bronze hair was ruffled in the slight breeze, and his angelic face had a look of absolute contentment: his eyes were closed, and a soft smile played on his lips as though he could feel my stare. His head, cradled in the grass, slowly turned towards me, and his topaz eyes returned my gaze. He chuckled when he saw my expression.
"What are you thinking?" he murmured softly, turning to his side so he could rest on his elbow. "You look dazed," he chuckled again.
I stared at him a second before answering, trying to gather my jumbled thoughts. I spoke softly, the silence of the meadow intimidated me, and I didn't want to break it. "Well," I said, "I was remembering the first time you took me here." I gestured around the meadow with my hand. "You showed me all the finer points of being a vampire." I laughed shyly, not sure how he would react to that particular word. It was something we talked about often, yet never really said.
But he just nodded, his beautiful face serious as his eyes followed my hand. "I remember," he smiled crookedly, and I could feel my heart jump.
"But," he whispered, "There are some things I wished I had shown you sooner." His face was filled with slight remorse, but his eyes still held his humor. He smiled again, looking at my face.
I couldn't help the overwhelming curiosity that I felt. "Like what?" I asked, confused. I moved over to where he was sitting, and curled up against his side, my face still looking at his expectantly.
He smiled appreciatively down at me, and wrapped his stone arms around me, pressing his face into my hair. The sudden coolness was a nice contrast to the sun, which was beating down steadily.
"Well," He whispered, his lips trailing down my hair and onto my jaw line, "I wish I would have done this sooner." He cool lips found their way to my lips, and he kissed me gently, sighing as he felt me relax under him. I brought both hands up and wrapped my fingers in his hair, trying to keep his face locked to mine for just a second longer.
But my hands were no match for his iron strength, and he pulled away all too soon, his head playfully cocked to the side as he shook his head. "You're impossible," he sighed, leaning forward to softly kiss the top of my nose.
His hands then reached up and brought mine down to my lap, where he held them gently. Another smile danced across his lips.
"The wedding's only in two days," he teased, bringing my arms around his back. I snuggled my face closer to his chest.
"I know," I answered. I tried to keep all the worry and sadness out of my voice when I spoke, but a little still got through. My tone surprised him and he looked down, his eyebrows raised in confusion.
I immediately tried to make up for my words, and rushed to fix what I had said. "No!" I said quickly, "Not like that! It's just…I…" But I was at a lost for words, and stared at him, wrinkling my forehead, searching for the right thing to say.
He looked at me solemnly, before hugging me close to his chest. "I'm sorry." He whispered, and the sad note in his voice made me want to cry. "I know this isn't exactly the wedding you had in mind."
I feverishly shook my head into his chest. "No, it is." I whispered back. The firmness in my voice was evident even to me. "I'm marrying you. That's all I need." I just hoped my words could convince him.
I pressed my face into his shirt, trying to hide my expression. He would know I wasn't telling the truth when he saw my face. Not that I was lying, exactly, but the thought of walking down the aisle, with everyone's eyes on me, terrified me. And I was afraid of what that would translate into on my face.
Edward was quiet for a moment. "Bella," he spoke lowly, his finger lifting my chin up so my eyes met his. His golden eyes smoldered, turning a much darker shade. They seemed to bore into me. "I need you to answer something for me. Honestly." I nodded immediately, willing to do anything to bring his smile back. I looked back in earnest.
"Why are you marrying me?" He whispered. His tone was carefully smooth, with no hint of emotion.
I stared at him, surprised, and without thinking told him the first thing that came to my mind.
"To make you happy." I whispered back. As soon as I had spoken, I regretted what I had said. His eyes turned even darker ocher, and any remaining hint of humor in his eyes vanished. He nodded thoughtfully, and without thinking he hugged me closer to his body. I could feel every rise and fall of his breath now, and it made my heart thud even faster. I'm sure he could feel it beneath my skin.
He looked at me thoughtfully, and once more pressed his face into my hair. His cool breath tickled my skin as he traced patterns across my face. "Then love," he murmured in my ear, "What would your perfect wedding be?"
I stared at him uncertainly before answering. Surprisingly enough, I hadn't really given it much thought. I had just planned to go along with whatever Alice had planned.
"I don't exactly know," I admitted, my voice unsure. He didn't answer, so I tried to elaborate. I took a deep breath and continued.
"When I was little," I began, "I always wanted my wedding to be blue." I looked at his impassive face shyly before continuing. "I wanted a white satin dress, with my bouquet to be blue and white roses." I paused abruptly, wanting to see what his reaction would be. But his angelic face remained statue-like, and I started again, frustrated. "It would be simple," I closed my eyes, trying to bring back bits and pieces of the memory. "With barely any people." I sighed softly, laughing to myself. "But it changed. Sometimes my family and friends were there, and sometimes it was just you and me. I changed my mind quite a bit," I chuckled, trying to lighten the serious mood. "I remember thinking I would walk down the aisle, and for once I wouldn't care that everyone was watching me, because I wouldn't notice them." I hung my head. This was where I got a little embarrassed. "I wouldn't care because I would only be looking at you." I whispered.
I kept my eyes away from his face as I spoke. It was the first time I had mentioned the fact that I actually had wanted to have my wedding a certain way. I felt guilty, remembering everything Alice had done for me.
When I looked up, Edward's statue-like expression had melted into surprise, and I realized he didn't know I had given the wedding that much thought.
I stayed quiet, waiting for him to speak. But he remained silent, and I feared what he was thinking. His expression conveyed that he was somewhere completely different, and he remained still even when tiny raindrops began to fall.
I looked up in surprise. I didn't even notice that it had clouded over.
I then brought my worried eyes back to his, and cupped his face in my hands. This seemed to jolt him back to reality.
He glanced up, and then at the raindrops in my hair. He gave me a sad smile, but it had nowhere near the volume that his previous one had. My heart turned to lead.
"Come on," He said, picking me up gently and slinging me onto his back, "We should get going."
I just nodded, afraid to speak. What had I done?
But Edward remained silent the entire trip back to his house.
A/N: Sorry for lack of updates, but I had a hectic week. I graduated! Yeah me! So there were rehearsals, dinners, and all that jazz. You wouldn't believe how hard standing and sitting is! Lol! Anyway, I'll put the ending chapter up tomorrow and will have completed ATOHOM by Sunday. Cause I want to try another lemon… they're so much fun to write! Actually, now that I think of it, one might fit in well in this one… Ok. So I lied. There may be a third chapter. Depends how fast I can type! Lol.