OUTTAKE #2 - The Dip

Outtake - The Dip
Timeframe: Hadward and Bella's trip to the beach. 
(written by Belladonnacullen & TheFictionFreak)

 
Bella POV


"And nachos?" I asked, scanning the menu. "And do they make a fresh juice this late at night? Something with apples, cucumber, and kale? Oooh, and the Mediterranean platter?"
I felt like I'd run a marathon. I felt like I should have stretched first, or done some jumping jacks to warm up. My arms could hardly hold the room service menu without shaking, my thighs ached, and I felt a little lightheaded.
"They'll prepare whatever you ask," Edward said, picking up the hotel phone.
He seemed so confident, but I doubted it. That wasn't how room service worked.
"Good evening, Mr. Cullen," I heard on the other end of the line.
"Don't forget the kale," I whispered.
Edward put his hand over the phone. "I'm not having them make the hellish brimstone concoction you like to drink."
"I'm not asking for the horseradish. Just kale." I batted my eyes and slid my hand underneath the covers. "And cucumbers, and apple," I whispered, my lips against his ear, my hand running up his thigh, right in the direction of —
Edward shuddered. A little. And placed his hand over mine, stilling me. "Isabella, unless you want me to hang up this phone and have sex with you for the remainder of the evening instead of feeding you..."
It was tempting. But then my stomach growled, and I removed my hand and tried to focus. "Don't forget the nachos."
"Do you have any taramasalata?" he asked whoever was on the other end of the phone.
"I'm sure we could whip up some... Hey, Jim, I've got Mr. Cullen in the penthouse on the line. Pull up, what did you want, Mr. Cullen?"
"Taramasalata. And have them prepare some moussaka as well. And courgette balls."
I shook my head at his last request. "That's where I draw the line, Edward. I'm not putting anyone's balls in my mouth tonight but yours."
He cocked an eyebrow at me, then looked between my lips and peeked under the covers in the general direction of, well... his balls. He was hot when he acted ridiculous. It was enough to make me want to do just what I'd suggested. Right then and there.
"Scratch the balls," he told the guy on the phone, who I was pretty sure I could distinctly hear laughing on the other end of the line. Although Edward seemed oblivious to it. "Bring some baklava instead."
"Hey, don't forget the nachos," I said, sliding the room service menu under his nose, kissing his cheek.
Edward ordered the nachos, and also proceeded to list off about half of everything else they had to offer.
"And Isabella would like a fresh squeezed green juice concoction made with—" He handed the phone off to me.
"Kale, cucumber, green apple, and do you have fresh horseradish?" I asked the guy on the other end.
Edward peered at me disapprovingly. I shrugged my shoulders and giggled. Before I knew what was happening, I was on my back with Edward on top of me, wrestling the phone from my hands.
"And an ice cream sundae?" I asked. "With whipped cream?"
"And add a canister of whipped cream," Edward said over the receiver, peeling the sheet away and gazing at my chest.
"Hey, that's not what I —"
"You don't mind having your body coated with sand, but you object to having your beautiful, perky nipples covered in whipped cream?" he asked.
"Uh..."
"There's a large shower in the other room where you could wash off afterward, but if whipped cream is a hard no, I can have them remove it from the list."
"You can have them, um, keep it on," I mumbled, my face suddenly burning.
"Isabella's game for the whipped cream. No need to remove it from the order," he said to the freakin' room service people.
"Very good, Mr. Cullen."
I felt the blush rising in my face, and he told them, "Better make it two canisters."
"Oh my god."
"You're right, Isabella. I'm yours."
"What?"
Edward chuckled - a low, melodious sound that made the little hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. He held the phone out of my reach as I tried to grab for it, and as he fell backwards, I leaned into him. My naked body pressed against his was enough to make me think, maybe I could put off eating.
"Anything else?" the server asked.
"I can think of several other things I'd like to try this evening, but I have everything I need for those pursuits right here."
"Okay, then, um, we'll have this up to you as soon as possible, Mr. Cullen," the server on the other end of the receiver told him. And then, Edward's face became a bit more serious as he pulled the sheet away from my body.
"Take your time," he said as he hung up the phone.
"But Edward, I'm hungry."
"So am I," he said, climbing over me and peering into my eyes.
I bit my lip a little, as Edward stared down at me. Everything about him made me nervous and comfortable at once. Everything about him made me feel like I was in danger and completely safe, like I needed to fling myself at him and also over the edge of the balcony, all at the same time.
Everything about Edward Cullen made me feel totally, completely alive.
"I had some plans about how we might pass the time before they bring our food," he murmured, nipping at my ear.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"But perhaps you also had plans."
"I did?"
"I believe you just made me remove courgette from our menu. I'm curious."

xXxXx

When the soft knock on our door came, I hadn't dreamed I'd need to explain to Edward the appropriate way to answer the door for room service. Not until he slipped out of the bed. Completely and unapologetically naked.
"Edward," I called out to him, but he was already at the door.
As he pulled it open, I covered my eyes.
"Yes?" I heard him ask the poor delivery person. It was only then I decided to peek between my fingers. And holy angels in heaven, Edward's ass was sheer perfection.
The hotel worker's eyes were wide with wonder as he took in the god-like physique that suddenly materialized before him. Apparently, he thought the front of Edward wasn't so bad either. I had to agree. From a distance, and also up close and personal.
"Umm," the young man couldn't stop staring as he held the bill out for Edward. Finally, he shook his head and worked very diligently to keep his eyes looking above the waist.
"Is this everything?" Edward asked, inspecting two entire carts piled with platters and dishes. And two canisters of whipped cream. Just like he'd asked.
"Absolutely," the boy answered. "It's a lot."
"We've worked up quite an appetite."
"No doubt," the guy said, looking everywhere but at Edward. And that's when he spotted me in bed with sheets clutched up to my neck. I gasped and pulled the covers over my head.
"Her beauty rivals Aphrodite's, does it not?" I heard Edward ask.
"I'm sure," came the boy's reply.
"Yet she's quite modest," Edward said, and then… "Isabella, come here and show this delivery person your full beauty."
"I don't think so, Edward," I called from underneath the bedding. My voice cracking with nerves. My skin prickling with embarrassment.
"It's okay, sir. I'm sure she's really pretty."
I pulled the sheets down a little, enough to see how Edward stood there, almost proud. It was the server who was blushing. For just a second, I was tempted to slip out of the bed, like Edward had asked. If he could do it, I probably could too. But then I caught the nervous, yet eager look in server's eyes, and no, I definitely could not.
"Pretty is an insult," Edward advised him with obvious annoyance. "She's beyond perfection."
"I mean, I'm sorry, sir. If you want me to look at your, um, Aphrodite naked, I totally will. I guess. Whatever you want, really. The customer's always right. Right?"
"Really not necessary!" I tried to call out to him as loud as my voice would allow. "All good here. Edward, pay the man and let him go, please?"
"Of course. Wait here. I have plenty of money."
Edward casually walked across the room, took his time finding his jeans behind the couch, then pulled out a roll of bills. "Three hundred should cover it. Yes?"
"Oh, no, it's —" Our delivery person tried not to take it, but I really needed him to go.
"It's perfect," I told him. "Please just take the money and go."
"Well… um, thanks!" The boy finally took the money and practically ran away before Edward could realize what he'd given him. Only Edward always realized what he was giving people.
"You really should celebrate the beauty you are more often, Isabella. The poor boy will go through life thinking absolutely mundane things are completely acceptable because you haven't set the bar properly," Edward said, pulling away the blanket, then the sheet, until I was just as naked as he was.
"Are you a nudist?"
He gave me a strange, confused look. Like he didn't know what I was asking. "I'm a realist."
"Realists walk around in the nude?"
"I'm sure they do. At least some of the time." He took my hand and pulled me out of the bed. And as I stood before him, he caressed my breasts, my cheek, my lips… blatantly watching my reaction to every touch, every look.
And I liked it.
I couldn't help noticing his body's reaction. I was pretty certain he liked it too.
"You're glorious when you're aroused, Isabella."
"If I'm glorious, you're a thousand times more."
He cupped my cheek then and dipped his head until our lips were touching. So softly I thought I would explode into a million tiny pieces if he didn't give me more.
More of him.
More of us.
More of everything.
"You should eat," he whispered, leaving a trail of kisses from my lips to just behind my ear.
"What?" I asked, practically panting.
He picked me up in his arms effortlessly, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Eating could wait.
At least I thought it could. Until my stomach growled again.
Edward heard it too, and he sat me down into one of the chairs at our small hotel table. Then he rolled the carts over to me and began pulling the lids off the plates like it was perfectly normal to just sit in the nude and have dinner. Or a midnight snack.
What time was it again?
"Where's the juice?" I asked.
Edward wrinkled his nose as he passed me a large glass of glorious, green liquid. "Smells like the Styx," he said.
"Really?" I asked, holding the glass toward him.
Edward sniffed and nodded.
"Well, then I think the Styx smells amazing," I said, and gratefully took a big sip, nearly missing the huge grin plastered on Edward's face as he watched me intently.
I folded a hand across my chest, trying to muster some kind of modesty.
"What did I just tell you?" he asked. "You're magnificent, Isabella. There's no need to hide yourself."
I kept sipping the juice as I lowered a shaky hand.
"Much better."
He helped himself to a piece of the bread that came on its own plate, then dipped it into some sort of a spread he'd ordered. He hummed as he bit into it. And I nearly spilled juice down my naked, magnificent body.
"I don't believe I've had taramasalata in a millennia," Edward murmured.
I giggled. "I feel that way sometimes about Mom's chile rellenos."
"When was the last time you had taramasalata?" he wondered.
"Um, never?" Nor could I pronounce it.
"We must remedy that situation immediately."
He took another piece of bread and scooped the tara...whatever it was onto it. Then reached across the table and waited for me to take a bite.
"What is it? Exactly?" I asked, hesitant to try it at first.
"It's what your taste buds have been waiting for their whole life, Isabella. Close your eyes and concentrate on the balance of sour, salt, and savory flavors, the contrasting textures. Part those plump lips for me?"
And I did. But not so much because I was ready to try something new. More because of the way Edward's eyes seem to entrance me when he looked at me the way he did.
"Mmm… it's not bad. What is it again?"
"Salted, cured carp roe."
"What?" I asked, jumping from the table, sputtering.
Edward laughed. "You don't like it?"
"I don't like any of those words you just said. They sound a million times worse than it tastes."
"Do you like it, then?" he asked, pulling me closer. "You like my food?"
"I'm pretty sure this is the hotel's food. I mean, sure you bought it, and so I guess it's technically yours, but…" But then I caught the look in Edward's eyes and bit my bottom lip. "I do, Edward. I like your food. I think I like everything about you."
He tugged at my hand and I was on his lap.
He licked his lips and I was lost in them. Lost in this whole thing. Him. Me. Us. I could stay here forever, watching the moon, and the stars, listening to the sounds of the beach town we were in. Watching people stroll and laugh together. Strolling and laughing with Edward.
The waves crashed outside against the sand down below, and suddenly, I felt a surge of desire rising up inside me. I had an idea. A very bad, terrific, wonderful idea. Since we were already naked after all. And I couldn't believe I was about to ask Edward to do it. But I was pretty sure this time of night, we wouldn't have an audience. Not that Edward would have cared if we did.
"You ever try skinny dipping?" I asked.
"Is it a vegetarian dish? Like baba ganoush? I can pick up the telephone and order it if you'd like. They'll prepare whatever you ask."
I couldn't help laughing; and I couldn't help but notice how it felt to laugh naked in Edward's lap.
Good.
It felt really… really good.
Despite that, I slid off him and took his hand, pulling him up with me. "Come on."
"You haven't finished eating."
I looked down at the food. Suddenly, my stomach wasn't growling anymore. "It'll keep."
As we crossed the room, completely nude, I remembered one more thing. "But first," I told Edward as I grabbed the bathrobes we hadn't worn yet and handed one to him. "Not everyone is a realist around here."

xXxXx

In the elevator ride down to the first floor, Edward's eyes never left me. It was almost like he was afraid of me, or that he was still hungry and wanted to eat me, but neither of those things could have been right. It must have been the idea of skinny dipping, or more likely his fear of sand. I took his hand in mine.
"You trust me?" I asked.
"With my kingdom."
"Good, because I trusted you enough to let you feed me fermented fish eggs. Believe me, skinny dipping is going to be way better."
"Than taramasalata?" he asked dubiously. "Are you certain?"
I slid my arms around Edward's waist and gazed up at him. "As certain as I am that we're not putting on anything more than a bathrobe until we check out of this hotel."
Edward pulled the tie on my robe, and I stood back as it gaped open. He didn't look frightened anymore.
"Take it off," he murmured.
I checked the corners for security cameras, considering his request. Command? But then the elevator dinged, and the doors started to open, and I pulled the robe closed.
Downstairs, we found an exit that wouldn't force us to cross the lobby while basically unclothed. Outside, there was a light breeze bringing with it the fresh, briny smell of the ocean. The beach was quiet. Serene. The moon shone down on the water like a spotlight, and the waves moved with perfect, song-like synchronicity.
The best part was, there wasn't a soul in sight. I breathed a little easier knowing that bit of information.
Edward hesitated before stepping onto the sand.
"I promise the end result of this trip across the dunes will be worth it."
"I trust you, Isabella," he said, and then cautiously placed a foot on the beach and let me guide him to the waves.
At the edge of the water, I took one last glance around. When I was satisfied no one was lurking anywhere around us, I steeled myself, and I dropped my robe.
"Gorgeous," Edward whispered in a low voice, letting his robe fall as well. "Finally owning your beauty for all the gods to see."
I shook my head at him and rolled my eyes. And as I went to dip a toe into the water, he took my arm and held me back.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going in."
"Why?"
"We're going to skinny dip."
"In there?" He pointed.
"Um, that's generally how you skinny dip, Edward. It's the dip part of skinny dipping."
His mouth turned down and he took a small step backwards. "I'm not going in there."
"You're not afraid of the water, are you?" I'd pretty much decided there wasn't anything Edward was afraid of. Besides sand. "Because there's nothing to be scared of. Watch."
I went in a few feet and stopped short to catch my breath. "Oh my god, it's cold."
"Isabella," Edward called out, a tad panicked. He tried to grab for me again, but he missed this time.
"It'll warm up. I'll get used to it," I said, dodging away from him and jumping a little, wading up to my knees. "You've really never done this before? I figured this would be old hat for a nudi… I mean a realist like you," I said, looking him over. Naked, in the moonlight, Edward was breathtaking. The moonbeams accentuated the long lines of his muscles, and made him stand out against the rippling, black water around him. For a second, I considered giving up, and just running back and pulling him down onto the sand.
But then, as though he'd had some sort of inner pep talk with himself, Edward took a first, tentative step toward me.
The cold water didn't seem to affect him at all, as he waded out to meet me. He didn't flinch; he didn't shiver. But he still seemed suspicious in general. He searched the waves, and he narrowed his eyes a few times, but finally, he became a little more comfortable.
"Not much of a swimmer?" I asked, wading in deeper, coaxing him farther. Lazy waves lapped higher, over my tummy, over my breasts. I watched Edward's body slowly slipping beneath the water.
"This doesn't resemble the waters where I'm from."
"Freshwater kind of guy, huh?"
"I wouldn't call it that," he said, again, frowning at the waves.
"What? Were you raised near The Dead Sea, or something?" I asked.
"Something."
"Are you trying to sound mysterious?"
He moved closer to me. "I'm trying to understand what your fascination is with this skinny dipping, to be truthful."
"Hmm… Let me show you," I said, finally letting Edward catch up with me, then wrapping my arms around his shoulders. "You know, in the water, we're weightless," I explained, wrapping my legs around his waist.
"To me, you're always weightless," he told me quietly, while he slipped a hand around me. "But I suppose I understand why you would like it here." He peeked around at the vastness of the ocean. "It's quite breathtaking, truthfully." He found my eyes again. "Much like you."
"Like every minute with you," I said. "I can't believe I'm doing this."
"You've never stood naked in the ocean before?"
I shook my head. "I never ran away with a stalker. I never lined up twelve Jonas Brothers beach towels. I never got room service naked. I never left a hotel room without my clothes. I've never done any of this, and I'm so glad I did. I'm so glad I'm doing it with you."
Edward pushed some wet hair away from where it stuck to my neck. "I'm quite glad you did as well." And he peered down at my collarbone as though determined about something. And then very slowly, he lowered his head and kissed me there. His lips were hot like fire and a low murmur escaped his mouth as he pressed a bit more.
Or maybe it was me.
As he moved along my jaw, so cautiously, I thought the sky above me would open up and swallow me whole. He paused, only momentarily, and yet, it seemed like forever before he finally found my lips. When he did, I parted them, letting our tongues touch and our bodies explode with need.
His hands moved deliberately as he pulled and pinched. Kneaded and stroked. My breathing quickened.
I took a few steps deeper into the waters, and Edward moved with me fluidly.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked.
"I've never been more sure of anything. Follow me."
"Anywhere."
I giggled. "Okay, sure. For now, just follow me in a little deeper."
I stepped out farther into the water, until I almost couldn't touch the bottom anymore. Edward followed. But when he caught up to me this time, he seemed to be back to being nervous about the ocean. "Isabella—"
"Shhh." I slipped a hand around his neck and put a finger to his lips, then I kissed him. "I don't think you quite understand the allure of skinny dipping. Let me show you?"
"Up until tonight I thought only a siren could tempt men into dark water. Are you a siren, Isabella?"
"Edward?"
"Yes?"
"Stop talking."
And with that, our mouths closed in on each other and I slipped a hand down between us, stroking him into a hum I could have sworn was more of a growl. A hum, which seemed to make the water vibrate around us and seemed to make the stars shake in the sky. I climbed into his arms so I could rain kisses along his neck, behind his ear.
"Do you know what you're asking?" he murmured.
"Absolutely," I said, lowering myself as he held me in his arms. And there, with him inside me, and the moon overhead, and all of the Pacific Ocean around us, I was sure I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
"Bella," he whispered. Murmured. Hummed. As we moved together. I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him as close as humanly possible. "Bella," he moaned.
"Yes," I cried. Damn near cried at the perfect way it felt for him to be inside me.
"Fuck."
He pushed harder. And I welcomed every thrust. But I wanted more. The sounds coming from his lips were desperate. And so was I. And for a second, I wanted gravity back, I wanted my full weight, so I could drive him inside, so I could feel the force when our bodies came together. And it was as if Edward knew, or heard me, or was maybe inside my mind because in one sleek, fluid motion, he pulled me against him and I felt it. I felt all of it. All of him.
As I came, the world around us disappeared. The ocean stilled, waves suspended. I saw Edward's eyes, lit with fire. I felt flames burning underneath my skin. I heard stars singing and the wind howling. I wanted it to last forever. And I held onto the white-hot ecstasy for as long as I could as Edward held me firmly in his grasp.
We stayed like that for a while. Just breathing, wading, holding, kissing… I mentioned breathing, right? Because sometimes I thought, it seemed like I'd forgotten how.
I rested my head on Edward's shoulder for a bit and watched the sky, wondering how it could dance and celebrate the way it does when I'm with him.
I'm sure it had never done that before. Not until the two of us came together. The universe reveled in our own, private magic.
But then again, nothing had been the same since I met him.

xXxXx

"I think I like this skinny dipping, Isabella. We should visit the beach more often," Edward said, picking our robes up off the sand and shaking them out. Neither of us bothered to put them on.
"I agree. I could get used to this." I imagined the two of us, old and gray, still here every year. Still skinny dipping. And I held his hand as we strolled over the dunes.
"You didn't answer me when I asked if you were a siren," he said, spinning me like we were on a dance floor.
"Have you been with many sirens?" I asked. The world spun. Stars glittered.
He shook his head. "Not a one."
"I was about to get jealous."
"You have nothing to be jealous of, Isabella," he said, his eyes raking over my body. I resisted the urge to cover my chest and hold my hands over myself, and instead, I let my body bathe in the moonlight. I let him see me.
"You may not be a siren, but I could swear you were a goddess," he murmured, reaching for the tip of a breast. A hip. Between my thighs.
I felt my cheeks go warm, despite the chilly night air.
"Ahem," a voice said, and I jumped. I hadn't realized we were already back by door we'd snuck out of, out behind the hotel. I spun around to find our server leaning against the wall, a cigarette in his hand.
My first instinct was to hide behind Edward, but instead, I took a deep breath and stood tall and proud, all the while gazing into Edward's eyes. He wrapped an arm securely around my waist.
"Mr. Cullen, Aphrodite," the server said, with a nod of his head.
"I told you she was beautiful," Edward said to the man. "More exquisite than any divinity in existence. Don't you think?"
And he took me into his arms and kissed me.
When Edward finally let me go, the server was gone. I half wondered if I'd imagined the whole thing. Edward smiled down at me. "Skinny dipping was a fabulous idea, Isabella. Thank you."
"We should get back inside so you can wash off this sand," I said, brushing at the little grains that had dried to Edward's forearms.
"What sand?" he asked, continuing into the hotel, our robes in his hand, as though we were two realists who hadn't a care in the world.
I smiled.
There was hope for Edward yet.
For both of us.

OUTTAKE #1 - The Flick

The Flick ~ an outtake about Rose and Emmett… and Poseidon. 
(written by Belladonnacullen & FictionFreak95)


Emmett POV


"How do you wanna play this?" Blondie wastes no time getting to it after Edward leaves with Bella for their 'car ride'.
"Listen, I know you probably meant well when you offered to help, but…" I laugh because I mean come on. She's human.
"Excuse me…" Awesome. She's offended. "I happen to have five years of tae kwon do under my belt, asshole. What are you laughing at?"
I can't even hide it. So I don't try. "You're kinda cute."
"Cute?" Her hands fly to her hips. "Seriously?"
"Well, I mean, in an annoying kind of way."
I crack my knuckles and size up the asshole Edward wants me to take care of. He's all attitude and no muscle. I can take this guy. Easy. Then maybe buy the blonde a drink to lighten her up, with time to spare.
"Stay here," I tell her, but she grabs my arm, and when she does, something weird happens.
I stop.
"Don't you think you should plan this out a little better?" she asks. It damn near seems like she's concerned but… that's ridiculous. Regardless though, I assure her it's all good.
"Unnecessary."
"Plans are always necessary."
I think about it. About everything Edward, Jasper, and I have been through over the years. Jasper's always been the one with the plans… and most of those failed. Miserably. "Mmm. Not really."
"But you—"
"Blondie..." I take a deep breath for dramatic effect—because you know - vampire—and let it out. Trying not to lose patience with her. "I'll be right back."
Before she can grab at me again, I'm off. And I step right up to the big guy who's apparently stalking the boss man—then tap him on the shoulder.
I'm polite about it. For now.
He takes a break from glaring at all our customers and peeks over at me with a confused sort of scowl on his face.
"Dude, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," I tell him with my aficionado voice.
He huffs. Irritated. At me. And then goes back to searching the bar. My bar.
Really? I don't think so.
Dick.
So I tap him again. This time, with my bouncer mode on.
"Hey."
And this time, he ignores me. So I take him by the arm.
"Dude, I said—"
And then… I'm not exactly sure what happens next. It's all kind of a blur, to be honest. He waves at me. I think. Or - flicks his wrist maybe? And the next thing I know, I'm flying through the air. Hurtling. I'm watching patron's surprised looks as I pass them by. My head clangs into one of the overhead chandeliers and then... I'm crashing into the back wall.
I bounce off of it like a rubber ball and hit the floor like a tractor-trailer.
Holy shit that hurt.
It really fucking hurt.
"Ow."
What the fuck?
When I land, a couple of bricks fall on top of me, but no one really seems to have noticed. It's almost like it didn't happen, except for the Emmett McCarty-sized indentation in the brick wall and the fact I'm writhing in pain and… someone did notice. Just one person.
Blondie.
Only she's not so much concerned anymore as she is amused. She saunters over to me with a pretty little smirk on her face. I squint up at her, standing over me like an overlord from the dark ages. Her blonde hair falling all around her like a halo. She puts her hands on her hips and cocks an eyebrow.
"You done?"
I cough out some of the dust from the wall.
"Because while you were over there, playing tough guy, I've been over here… planning."
I roll over and try to push myself up off the damned floor. I think I might have cracked a rib. And my ribs… they don't generally crack. Ever.
"Good," she says before I can stop her. "My turn."
"Blondie," I choke out, but she's already halfway to the douchebag. Not that I care. Much. But it wouldn't be good for business if a human got injured. All I need is for Ed to come back to low sales and a destroyed bar.
Yeah. I need to stop her. Before he hurts her. Because he's not gonna hurt me again. Fool me once, and all that.
"The fuck?"
Not only is he not causing her physical pain, but when she taps him on the shoulder, she gets a curious look. A smile even. At least I think it's a smile. It's more of a smirk? I guess. He kind of looks like he doesn't know how to do it properly. Not half as well as Blondie smirked at me.
Regardless. That's some sexist shit right there.
Blondie doesn't seem the type to put up with it. This should be good.
I force myself to a standing position, despite the pain in my back, and I wait for the show to begin. Only it doesn't.
"Hi," she says as she approaches him.
I mean. Really? Hi? Like, she may as well have asked him how the fucking weather is.
"I saw what you did over there." She nods back toward me. Then she eyes him up and down. "You must really work out."
Ha!
The fuck is this shit?
No way is he falling for it.
Only. He is, apparently.
"Strong and silent type, huh?" she gushes when he doesn't answer her right away. "I can deal."
I guess I should be happy I don't have to step in for the time being, since my chest feels a little bruised. With luck, it's just bruised, anyway. And one of my eyes might be swelling shut. So I grab a chair and find a quiet spot at one of the tables. And I watch to see how this is gonna play out.

xXxXx

"You from around here?" she asks, stepping to block my view of the big guy. Maybe trying to give herself a little privacy, as well. I can still hear them, though.
"No."
"Northern California then?" She's moves closer.
"No," he says again. And I shake my head. Is this the only word the guy knows? Or….
"Las Vegas?" She is literally right next to him now.
He sighs. Bored. This is great.
Blondie nods. Like she just cracked a code of some sort. Proud of herself.
"I see. Wanna drink?"
She sways to the side and I can see—he won't look at her now, he's busy. Scanning the club again—for Edward. "No."
Yep. It's pretty much the only word he knows I'm guessing.
"On the clock, huh?" Blondie grins. He gives her a look like he has no idea what she just said, but she rolls with it.
"I know your type. There must be something really important to bring you out here and get you all riled up like this. You have better places to be, don't you? Better things to be doing than taking care of some silly bouncer at some silly bar."
He nods. "Yes."
Wow. Yes. We're branching out now. I'm impressed.
"I knew it. I could tell from the first time I laid eyes on you."
This gets his attention. "The first time?"
Holy shit, he knows how to put more than one word together.
Rose ducks her head. "Yeah, the first time. I may have looked... a couple times." She lets her long, blonde hair fall over her eyes and peeks up at him. "So, um, what brings you here?" she asks, then bites her bottom lip.
The big guy looks from Blondie, to me, then back to Blondie. He probably used all his words when he strung three together a minute ago.
"Cat got your tongue?"
"Cat?" he asks.
My entire body shakes as I chuckle at this idiot. I'm embarrassed for him to be honest. Does he not know what a feline is?
Blondie giggles and the big guy cannot look away. Truthfully, neither can I. Her hair bounces. Her cheeks are pink. Her lips… so plump.
She waves a hand at one of the bartenders while she watches him closely. And in a domino-type effect, the bartender eyes me. I nod, and they pour a couple of drinks for her. Some runner takes it over to her and she hands it to the big guy with a smile I haven't seen yet. She saved this shit just for him. It doesn't bother me at all.
I'm convinced he's gonna grunt or something similarly caveman-esque. But no… instead, he takes the drink, and swallows it down in one fell swoop. And he smiles at her. Full-on this time.
It kind of resembles the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. If the Cheshire Cat had a beard. And biceps. Anyway...
"So, about your work," she says. "What gets a man like you all hot and bothered?"
He crosses his arms. "It's family business."
Blondie nudges his shoulder. "I thought so."
His eyes go wide. "You did?"
"You probably have the kind of family an insignificant little bouncer wouldn't want to make angry."
Who is she calling little? The guy looks in my direction and glowers. "Not if he knows what's good for him."
Blondie shakes her head as she glances at me over her shoulder. "I don't think he knows much. He doesn't even make plans."
I glare in her general direction. She turns her back to me and giggles. I notice their arms are touching as she waves a hand at the bartender for another round of shots.
Did I mention their arms are touching?
Why does it even bother me? I decide it doesn't… really. I just don't want to have to swoop in and save her. Not while my head's pounding like it might explode.
"He does seem quite stupid, even for his species."
"Am I right?" Blondie says. "I mean guys are so predictable… not you of course. You're… unique. I could watch you brood like this all night long."
When she flips her hair to get it out of her face, something in the big guy's expression changes. Softens maybe.
"You remind me of someone."
He reaches out and touches her arm in a creepy sort of attempt at being affectionate, and dare I say, it appears to make Blondie, uncomfortable?
It's like the air changed between them. I've seen the same look on Ed's face when something's gone wrong with his interactions with people. A long time ago, obviously but still, it's fresh in my memory.
Yeah, this guy wants to devour Blondie. "Tell me, who is your father?" he whispers in her ear.
"What?"
"Did Zeus put you in my path to taunt me?"
"Um…" She glances in my direction. You can plan all day, but plans don't generally cover crazy.
"Is he your mob boss?" she asks, and I have to grin. Nice recovery.
"I wouldn't call him my boss, exactly."
"And what would you call him?" she asks. Her arm's still brushing against his. He's definitely leaning in toward her. She sips her drink, as he seems to consider whoever this Zeus guy is to him.
"He's my brother."
She hums. "Family drama. I get it."
"You do seem quite intuitive," he notices, taking a hand and stroking the side of her face.
Now I'm angry. Because he's right, and because he said it to her first. Fucker. Plus. Why does he have to touch her like that?
"Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere and explore your thoughts a bit more on the subject."
I don't think so.
"Um," she laughs, nervous for the first time since I've met the woman.
I start to get up, despite the ache in my ribs, but then I hear Blondie and it seems to me, she's got this.
"It's not necessary." She takes his hand and lowers it. "But… I think you might be onto something."
He's barely paying attention. He's too busy being entranced by Blondie's charms. "Mmmm?"
"You know. Edward's not going anywhere."
"Edward," he murmurs, trapped by her stare. Bewildered by her lips. Overwhelmed by her everything.
I feel ya, pal.
"He'll be back," she tells him. "And when he is, you could confront him… elsewhere… You know, because there's really no need for you to involve all of these people in your problems with him, right?"
He takes a look around the bar slowly. Maybe counting?
"Perhaps you're correct."
"I'm sure your family wouldn't want to bring all this attention to their business. What would Zeus think?"
This Zeus guy must be a sore spot. The big guy looks like he might be afraid of him when she says his name.
Maybe not afraid, but at the very least, he doesn't seem to want the guy to get wind of what's happening here.
I can't help but wonder what Ed's gotten himself involved in. Maybe Blondie's right. Maybe it is the Mob.
"There's no need to involve Zeus in this," he says, pointing between the two of them.
"Exactly." She bites her bottom lip again, and I know I'm a vampire; I know I don't breathe—but she takes my breath away.
"Yes, yes, you're right. Of course. I don't know why it didn't cross my mind to begin with."
"It happens to the best of us." Blondie smiles as the big guy moves away from their table.
"Shall we?" he offers his arm.
She looks at his arm, then into his eyes. It's like she sees something behind them.
Something disturbing. She shudders, but tries to play it off like it's a good kind of shiver. It's not. At all. "Oh, no, you go ahead. I have some very important things to take care of."
"Nothing is as important as matters of the heart," he tells her without any hint of emotion behind his words. It's more like a business proposition.
I can't help but agree with his sentiment, though. And I can't help but think I would have said it differently. Sincerely. Which is strange. I mean, I don't even know her.
"It's got nothing to do with the heart but… it is something I'm going to have to take a rain check on," she tells him, hoping he'll take the hint. And when he doesn't, she adds, "Besides, we wouldn't want to make Zeus any more upset than he already is, would we?"
Wow.
Genius.
She is pure genius.
Big ugly jackass douchebag guy pulls away at the mere thought of this Zeus dude and nods, like reality just clocked him upside the head. If it all wasn't enough, Blondie sprinkles a little, "And I'm very persuasive you know. I think I can talk some sense into Edward for you. Make him see the light."
"You would do this for me?" he asks like a confused puppy dog.
I roll my eyes.
"Of course," she says. "I look out for my friends." And he seems satisfied. Somehow knowing… or hoping, at the very least, maybe he'll see her again. Since now they're friends and all.
Doubtful, though. Blondie's too smart to hook up with a guy like him. Now me, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure I'm just her type. But as I run a hand over my swollen, misshapen face, I'm not too sure she'd think the same.

xXxXx

As soon as he's out the door and out of sight, Blondie turns and breathes. She walks over to me with wide eyes and a damn near excited expression on her face.
"Did you see that?!"
"Did I? You were fucking brilliant."
"What WAS it even?"
She's shaking a little. She needs another drink. I wave at the bartender for two.
Okay, four.
As soon as they're set down, she takes one and chugs it. I think I'm in love.
Wait.
What?
"Careful there, Blondie, it's… tequila." Never mind. It's gone.
"I don't even know what I was saying, I just…"
"Dude, was I imagining things or were you impersonating Jessica Rabbit over there?"
Blondie playfully puts a hand on her hip, purses her lips, and winks at me.
"Works every time," she murmurs in an exaggerated, husky voice. "I mean, you were hanging on my every word."
She finishes the second drink, and starts on the third. I might need to order a few more.
"I certainly was, Blondie."
"The name's Rose, by the way. I'm more than a hair color."
Damn right she is. "And I'm not a little bouncer... FYI." I don't flex my muscles. Not right this moment, anyway.
"Duly noted." She looks me up and down. If I were human, I would have broken out in a sweat.
"So, Rose." I take a drink for myself, enjoying the sound of her name when I say it. "What's next? Take down the Las Vegas mob network? Steal some gems from a vault maybe?"
She laughs.
"I think I've had enough dangerous liaisons for one night, thank you very much."
Damn.
The disappointment must show on my face because she's biting her lip again and it's making my very non-existent heartbeat race like a motherfucker.
"It's not to say I wouldn't enjoy something a little less Neanderthal, and a little more comfortable—like vegging out to Netflix? Maybe?"
Wait. Did she just ask me to Netflix and chill?
"Are you inviting me into your home, Rose?"
"It depends. Are you saying yes?"
Holy shit.
Am I saying yes?
To a night alone… with a human?
Suddenly, I'm starting to understand why this shit makes Ed so edgy. I'm pretty sure I can handle the bloodlust. But the other kind of lust? Blondie's beautiful, and I sure wouldn't want to accidentally break her in two.
"Hello? It's not very polite to hesitate when a girl asks you out, Emmett."
"No," I tell her. And she looks confused. Disappointed. Maybe?
I shake my head. "I mean yes."
Her brow shoots up. "Um, which is it going to be?"
"I mean, no. I'm not hesitating… and yes, I'm definitely saying yes. To Netflix. And … chilling."
Way to play it cool, McCarty. Why can't I stop smiling?
"Oh my God, you're such a dork." Rose laughs, and I can't look away. "I can get you some Ibuprofen and I think I have a steak in the freezer."
"What for?"
"For your eye. It's somewhere between green, purple, and black."
I don't need either of those things, but the idea of playing doctor with Rose at her place does things to me.
Abnormal, exciting, dangerous things.
"Sounds great," I tell her. "Let's go."
I step away from Rose for just a couple of minutes while I leave instructions with the bar and the front door. I hand the keys over to Jasper on the way out. And make him promise not to have any raves after hours again like last time he was supposed to lock up.
He swears he won't. I'm not sure I believe him, but hey, you only live once right?
For hundreds of years, apparently. But still.

xXxXx

"Sooo… this is… nice."
This is nice? Really? I mean, her apartment is nice, but you're not supposed to say those things out loud. I should say something smart and funny about the paint color, or her curtains, maybe.
"Oh my God, relax." Rose hangs her keys on a hook next to the door as we enter the apartment. She slips her shoes off and places them meticulously on a shoe rack sitting on the floor, just under the key hook.
"Have a seat," she tells me as she disappears behind a bedroom door, then her voice floats out to me like a dare. "Make yourself comfortable."
Yeah, like that's gonna happen. Also, what does she mean? I look between my shoes and the shoe rack, but decide against taking them off. I sit on the couch, and I feel stiff. My chest still hurts, I can only see out of one eye, and my neck needs to be stretched out for about a week, but I have to admit, being here, with Rose, helps somehow.
When she comes back out into the living room, she's in sweat pants and a tank top, and I am definitely not comfortable.
I mean, I am comfortable. But I'm not comfortable. Not with her looking so… comfortable. I mean, I don't think she's even wearing a bra. Not that I'm looking.
Jesus. Stop looking.
"You okay?" she asks as she passes me by to get to the kitchen. Her chest is eye level. It's not my fault, really.
"Breasts."
"What?"
"I mean rest. It's nice to… rest." I clear my throat. "I'm fine."
Fuck.
"Well, you don't look fine."
"What?"
"Let me get you something for your eye. The douche really did a number on you."
"I could have taken him."
"Ohhhh kay." Her side eye is killer. She comes back to the couch with a bag of frozen vegetables and a glass of water. "No steak." She shrugs and hands me the veggies.
"What?" I ask.
Rose rolls her eyes and leans over, then presses the bag of veggies gently over my swollen eye. I can't help but sigh. It feels amazing. And the view from my other eye? Also amazing.
I take over holding the frozen veggies, freeing her up to pick up the remote and turn the TV on. She pulls up a Netflix watch list and clicks the first one there.
"Have you ever seen this one? The lead guy kills me in such a good way." Rose does this throaty kinda hum and bites her bottom lip… And I'm jealous of the actor on the screen. And the mob boss from earlier. And the remote she's pressing between her fingertips, if I'm being honest. She plops down onto the couch, tucks her feet under her, and leans up against me.
Definitely no bra.
Dammit. Just two little straps and some cotton between me and the twins. I could tear it off her before she even blinks. But I won't do it. Because I'm supposed to be human. And nice. I mean, I am nice. I think. Would a nice guy think like this?
No.
Yes.
Shit.
How am I supposed to watch anything with her sitting next to me like this?
"Why do I get the impression you literally never unwind? It can't possibly be your full-time job to serve and protect Edward Cullen." She hands me a couple Tylenol, and even though I don't need them, I take them from her. Then she hands me the glass of water to wash them down.
They taste like shit.
I place the glass down onto her coffee table and she picks it back up, puts a coaster down, then sets the glass onto the coaster.
Weird human.
"What were you, raised in a barn?" she asks with a little laugh. One that shakes her chest. Not that I'm looking.
She seems to wait for an answer, but I'm not sure what to say. It's been so long, I don't really remember where I was raised.
"I'm not just there to protect him you know. He's my friend."
"And Bella is mine," she reminds me.
"I know."
"I don't want her getting hurt by getting caught in the crosshairs of your friend and the… guy… or guys…The mob, of all things."
"Listen, Ed wouldn't hurt a fly if he could help it."
"He better not let anything happen to Bella, or I'll have his ass."
"He won't. And anyway, I wouldn't let him. I like Bella."
Rose smiles. "Well, it makes me feel a little better. Knowing she's got you in her corner."
"Only if I can, um, be in your corner too."
Way to sound corny, McCarty. Did I even make any sense?
"My corner. My couch. Either or," she says as she grabs my knee. "As long as we're there together." And I swear to fucking hell, the sultry sound in her voice right now is making me forget where we are. Who I am. What was I saying?
"I'm pretty sure you could ask me to be anywhere right now and I'd do you."
She lifts an eyebrow.
"It. I'd do it. Anything you wanted."
Fuck.
"Anything, Emmett?" she asks. She bites her bottom lip, and that's when it hits me. She's Jessica Rabbiting me. This is seduction. Shit.
This was not smart on my behalf. I have to say.
Coming here. Being here. Alone. With a human.
No. Not a human. I couldn't care less about most of them. It's her. It's Rose. Since the moment she burst her way across the damn bar looking for Bella with that fiery look in her eyes, like she'd legit murder anyone who told her she couldn't.
The exact way she looked at me when I did tell her she couldn't.
It doesn't matter, I decide. None of it does. Because Jessica Rabbit or not, I'm in.
"Anything," I assure her.
She smiles. "Then… kiss me?"
Well, she's starting on the easy side of anything. Because, if I'm being honest, it's what I've wanted since I watched her touching the dickwad's arm back in the bar.
"Emmett?" she asks.
Oh, right.
I turn my body so I'm fully facing her. I find the rest of the coasters, line them up on the coffee table, and put the frozen vegetables on top. She's waiting. She's smirking. And I want nothing more than to kiss the smirk right off her face, only I'm completely lost on how this should work. I don't know how Edward does it with Bella. I don't know why I'm wondering how Edward does it with Bella.
That's weird.
So I focus back on Rose and take a deep breath I don't need.
What? It steadies me.
And I lean in.
I remind myself to be gentle as I cradle the back of her head in my hand. Her hair's like strands of silk, probably. I don't know the last time I touched silk, but it's super soft. She sighs, and with the rise and fall of her chest, I remind myself for the millionth time to look in her eyes. I'm not a letch.
"It's okay. You can look," she says, and thank god. But I really need to kiss her. Because I could literally gaze at her chest forever, and it would get us nowhere.
"In a minute," I tell her, and as I close the space between us and our lips touch, it's like an atom bomb explosion of thirst, and hunger, and want, and need. But especially need. How could I possibly need something so badly, but have never known it until just this second?
Our lips part like we're sync'd, and if I thought her lips were soft, it's nothing compared to the way her tongue feels against mine. Her hands slip around my shoulders, then she fists my hair. With her breasts pressed against me, I can feel her nipples against my chest, and I want nothing more than to rip away both our shirts so we're skin on skin. I try not to growl, because humans generally don't growl, but she's climbing onto my lap, and I'm letting her because it feels so good. Better than I could have imagined.
My heart drops when she pulls away, but then her lips slide along my neck, leaving a trail of kisses lingering like fire, and her hands work their way under the edge of my shirt.
"You're so cold," she whispers, as she kisses behind my ear. One hand slips lower, beneath the waist of my jeans.
"You're warmer than I thought you'd be," I mutter back. Breathless.
"Is that your way of saying I'm hot?" she asks with a low chuckle. And having Rose shake on my lap, it's impossible to string words together to answer. She looks into my eyes and I'm lost in the deepest blue ocean, in the sunniest skies. "I'll take that as a yes," she says.
"What?" I ask.
"You're cute, you know that?"
"And you're so fucking beautiful."
Her cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink I've ever seen, and the thirst, hunger, want, and need is back, times about a million.
I'm so completely and unapologetically lost in everything she is, I'm not paying attention to where this is going. And I'm certainly not prepared for her to slide her hand down between us like she is.
When said hand reaches my dick, her eyes get a little bigger and her mouth falls open. Just a tad. Her plump lips glisten.
"Big boy," she murmurs. And this is about to turn ugly if she's doing what I think she's doing.
She's definitely doing what I think she's doing. My head falls against the back of the couch as her hand runs over the length of me. I hear a strangled sound. It may or may not have come from my mouth. I need to stop this. Fingers graze purposefully along my fly.
I'm a dumb ass.
I am such a dumb ass.
Because where exactly did I think this was gonna go?
Church?
I mean, a confessional, maybe. But—
"Emmett," she rasps. "I think we should move this to the bedroom."
And I shake my head. "That's… not a good idea, Rose." Which is impressive, because a very big part of my brain thinks this is the best idea I've ever heard. And some other parts of me too.
"I disagree," she tells me under no uncertain terms. Something I really fucking like about her. Love about her even. Love? Fuck. "You don't have to be a gentleman. I'm a grown woman. I know what I'm—"
"No." I take her by the hips and stop her despite every nerve in my body telling me I'm a fucking idiot for doing it. "You don't." I shift and move her hand off my dick.
"What's the matter?"
I swallow down a mouthful of venom and the urge to say fuck it, and whisk her up and take her exactly where she wants to go. And make a couple stops along the way. The kitchen counter. The wall. The floor in front of us.
"You know, my head is really killing me. I think maybe I should go home."
Jesus. Could I be more crushed by the look on her face right now?
Welcome to the Emmett McCarty show everyone. Lame ass excuses for not having sex with the hottie who's invited me back to her apartment for the night.
Why you ask?
Oh, just a little thing called vampire thirst and …the murderous aftermath which tends to follow.
She sits up a little. Taken aback, I think.
"Seriously?"
"And, um, well I really like you," I try. It's the truth. "I don't know about you, but I don't want this to be a one-time kind of thing." Also the truth. If I kill her back in her bedroom, this isn't likely to happen twice.
"Wow. You like me. That's…" She blinks a few times, processing what's going on. And she doesn't like it. I'm guessing she doesn't usually get turned down.
"Rose. I want to see you again. Often. I'm just... This is a lot."
She slides off my lap. "Okay, well I'll let you get yourself together."
Fuck. That look. I can't take it.
I definitely blew it. But hey, at least she'll live to see another day. You've got to take the good with the bad sometimes.
She's quiet as I get up and straighten myself.
She's quiet as I make my way back over to the door.
She's even quiet as she pulls the door open to let me leave her.
But I can't leave it like this.
In the hallway, I turn around and face her. And hopefully, without sounding like I'm begging too much, I make a request.
"I get it. You're mad. And I really am sorry about…" I nod to the couch. Then I meet her eyes again. "Just… don't be mad forever. Okay?"
Fuck it. I beg. I admit it.
I can't remember the last time I begged for anything.
She leans against the door jamb and lets out a sigh. "I don't understand you one bit, Emmett."
"Welcome to the club, Rose."
She gives me a disappointed look and only a half-smile as she steps back into her apartment to close the door, and I take my time getting down to the street.
I've never once wished I were human again since getting turned. Especially once I found my place with Ed and Jasper. It's been too much fun having no concerns or fears, or to worry over stupid things like feelings and … least of all, commitments.
Tonight. For the first time in nearly a century, I wish for it.
And it kills me—because I know it'll never happen. Seriously, what I wouldn't give to take her hand and take her back to the bedroom. To slide her thin little tank top over her head, to pull her down onto the bed with me, and to take her with full fucking abandon. Then do the same tomorrow night, and the night after that. Without killing her.
In this moment, I'd give just about anything. I'd give up never needing sleep. I'd give up the money that came with Ed's business savvy. I'd give up the muscle—I mean, what good did it do me tonight? I'd give it all away if it meant I could kiss her again. If she could gaze into my eyes again, with all the want, all the need. Like she felt it too. Like she wanted it too. And maybe, maybe she did. And I'll never know.
Unless.
If I were human, I'd be out of breath when I made it back to her door. I'm not, but I might as well be. Because my chest is rising and falling with anxiety, and I'm more nervous than I can remember. I shift from foot to foot as I bring my hand up to knock on her door. But just as I'm about to knock, the door opens, and there she is.
She looks as surprised as I am, but she regains her composure quickly.
Then she holds a piece of paper out for me.
"What's this?" I ask her as I take it.
"You should call me when you get your head squared away," she says, and goes up on tiptoe and kisses my cheek.
"You sure?" I ask.
"You want me to take it back?" she asks, reaching for the paper. But it's in my pocket before she has time to blink, let alone get it from me.
"Hell no."
"Good to hear," she says, biting that bottom lip. I'm sure it's just for me. Seduction. Nice. Game on. I just have to figure out how to play. No problemo.
I grin. "See you around, Rose."
"See you around, Emmett."
And yeah, I look. Because she said I could. Sue me.

Chapter 20: Hades

Chapter 20. Hades

All was well.
The final words of The Deathly Hallows weigh on my mind as I close the book. I've read this one many times by now, yet the thought still haunts me the same as it did the first.
A bit of sadness lingers. It doesn't quite bring the satisfaction one would think to the close of the wizard child's story. Not when there was so much loss throughout the series.
I place the book on the shelf next to the rest of Harry's young life and let out a heavy sigh as I turn and walk away from the novels. Then I begin my regimen for the day.
Minutes, years, centuries. They're all the same in the underworld.
Before my hiatus, which may have been eons ago for all I know, there were stretches of time where the tediousness of my life filled me up and swallowed me whole. After all, aside from ensuring the souls that arrive in my domain are where they're supposed to be and properly restraining ones it's deemed necessary to, what else is there to do?
Now, though, I often find myself settling in to read for days at a time to break up the monotony. Or listening to music from an old favorite. Or painting murals as the mood strikes me, wherever I happen to be.
And then, sometimes, when I allow myself an indulgence, I think about her.
Isabella.
And how for a very brief moment in my miserable existence, I felt quite content. Happy.
Loved.
I submerge myself in thoughts of the first time we met and how she danced with me to the voice of a musician that would forever remind me of her smile.
The first time our lips touched. And the second.
Talk to me?
I'd much rather kiss you again.
The days just after as I watched her from afar, learning her habits, her preferences, her movements. And then I take extra care to recount every moment of time during our weekend at the beach, even the tiny miniscule grains of sand that I will forever despise.
The kiss on our balcony.
I said no expectations this weekend, Isabella.
But I didn't.
The way she taught me the truest meaning of the word love that night. How it felt to be inside her. The warmth, the gentleness. The not so gentleness.
Kiss me again.
The gift of the universe that she gave me at the planetarium. And how she allowed me to take her under the stars there.
Tell me about Cassiopeia?
She was a goddess, like you.
I try not to tarry too long on what followed when we arrived back home.
I don't enjoy dwelling on the pain I felt leaving her. The pain I still feel, to this day.
I suppose I'm glad, mostly, that she was able to find her way to Edward. And that he kept good on his promise of loving her while making the most of his second chance at life.
Mostly.
Still, there's a small part of me that wishes there had been a way to keep her for myself; to give her sunlight and darkness somehow.
Practically all of me.
Every fiber of my being, actually.
But only when I allow myself an indulgence.
It happens more and more since Edward Cullen passed through my realm, years ago.
It turns out, one of the many downsides to being human is cancer.
When he arrived, I nearly expected Isabella would be with him. Imagine my disappointment when I realized he was alone.
Although his memories of being a vampire had faded once I returned his soul to his body, they returned upon his introduction to the underworld. And it was good to see him, if I'm being honest. I've never had anyone anywhere close to a friend before. I assume sharing a body and will with someone, understanding him on infinite levels, constitutes a thing such as friendship.
Never mind the fact that once upon a time he stood up to Poseidon in my defense.
We spoke of sailing and music, his paintings and our favorite books. How he got out of the nightclub business long ago, about Earthly matters of the rich and poor alike. Sickness. Disease.
I didn't dare ask about Isabella. I wouldn't have been able to bear the void of not being a part of her life all these decades, or be forced to imagine what might have been, had I chosen a different path.
Edward spent much of his time in the Elysian Fields for quite a while. He was taken aback by the fact that he was allowed there, but I wasn't surprised at all. Even in his vampiric state, at his core, he was good. As a human, he was more than exceptional. He was extraordinary.
There came a time, though, that due to the innate integrity of his soul, and the tremendous work he'd done on earth, fate had him sent back reincarnated, once she found the perfect role for him to play.
And so, once again, I was alone.
And Edward Cullen, the once vampire, was to become a priest.
Ironic.
I'll see him again someday, but not for many many years. And this time around, he won't know me as anything other than the god who rules his afterlife.
Yet another loss for me to tuck away into the recesses of my memories.
"Same as any other day, Cerberus." I scratch the hound behind his ear and he follows me as I glide throughout the underworld, taking note of the new souls and where they settle.
We stroll next to the Acheron river, appropriately, and I embrace the sorrow and pain I feel.
I stare out at its vastness for a moment, imagining it as a different body of water. One with a sun lit sky and blue green waves, where I sat next to a women with a soul lifting gaze, a beautiful laugh, and soft lips.
A woman who cared very deeply for me once.
I move on with focused thoughtfulness and, as we pass the Cocytus river, I attempt to drown out the wailing of the dead there with recollections of constellations and long drives, holding hands while the clean air blew through our vehicle, Prince's lyrics filling the car.
I avoid the Lethe today - the river of oblivion and forgetfulness. I don't wish to allow my thoughts to slip from my mind.
Not yet, anyway.
A ripple rolls through the ground and Cerberus begins howling, then he runs off, quite abruptly. Although I wish just once he would ignore his duties to give me the company I so desperately seek, I know he'll be back eventually.
A hound's got to do what a hound's got to do, I suppose.
As I make my way through the Fields of Mourning, the Asphodel Meadows, the Elysian Fields, and even Tartarus, I sense the beginnings of a familiar boredom of this routine. The same tasks day after day, year after year… the one thing that drove me away so long ago.
Then I remind myself of the chaos that trip above ground caused. The people it hurt. The torment I still endure because of it.
And I force myself to move along.
As I near the end of my rounds, I find myself at the Styx. I'm not quite sure why, really. I generally don't bother with the boat captain. While I'm here, however, I'm sure it couldn't hurt to ensure he's doing his job properly.
It only takes a moment and Charon barely recognizes that I'm there, but when I start to leave something very odd occurs.
There's a shift in the ground. A soft breeze. The faint scent of sunshine.
It surrounds me from out of nowhere, warm and inviting. Captivating even. Such a strange and non-existent occurrence in the underworld.
And then a familiar chill and the sudden knowledge of a soul that's only just arrived.
One I've been waiting on for an eternity it seems, and yet, the blink of an eye.
I smile and breathe her name as easily as the day I met her.
"Isabella."
I turn slowly. My heart races. My pulse quickens. My spirits lift.
I'm nearly unwilling to believe it at first, but when I face her I find - yes. And I smile because she's indeed here.
Finally.
She's as beautiful as the day I met her. Goddess-like as ever, with no thick layers of clothes to speak of anymore. Just a simple white dress that drapes her body, revealing curves and skin, causing a familiar desire to bubble up within me.
Her breath catches when our eyes meet. Her bottom lip is pulled between her teeth. Her legs brush against each other then her body relaxes and her chest moves in such a way that begs me to watch. And she speaks with the smallest of voices.
"Hi."
The hound circles her, playfully, sniffing at her feet and nudging her affectionately before licking her hand. She in turn kneels to pet him. "Hello boy." She laughs as he cheerfully leaps and yips around her, and when she stands again, she meets my inquisitive gaze.
"He literally likes no one, and yet here he is with you, as though you've raised him from a pup."
She shrugs and raises a single brow at me. "Canines like me." Then she steps a bit closer, taking in her surroundings, seemingly for the first time since arriving.
"It's beautiful here."
I laugh. "That's not the word most would use."
"That's because they don't know how to appreciate what's been given to them."
I narrow my eyes. "And you do."
She thinks on what she's going to say for a few moments. "Let's just say I've read up a bit on what to expect in the afterlife. And this is much more wonderful than I had imagined."
Then she appears a bit concerned. "But I'm not really sure how I ended up here and not… you know… I mean, Tartarus."
I shake my head because I, for one, am certain. "The judges know your heart, Isabella. Much like I do."
Hesitantly, she accepts my answer, knowing I'm right and probably feeling as though it's a waste of time to dwell on things like guilt. It has no place here. Her past was long ago, practically forgotten. It was before shades of what could be construed as good and bad were blurred, and the underworld no longer reprimanded humans for evil deeds committed for the purest of reasons.
And then, almost afraid to do so, she takes my hand. She looks up at me with a wonder and an intimacy I haven't known in what seems like forever. "Show me your world?"
I take a breath I feel has been trapped for eternity as I stare down at her, making sure I don't take my eyes off of her for a second. "I've waited an endless amount of time to hear you say that."

xXxXx

The first place I take Isabella is somewhere I've ached to be able to let her see - a secret room where I've done a little creating of my own - without Zeus's knowledge.
For now.
"This is Nyx," I tell her. As she takes it in, she gasps and pulls her hand away from mine to cover her mouth, the full impact of it affecting her just as I had hoped. Tears well up in her eyes but they are not sad tears today.
"What is this?" she asks, taking in every brilliantly shining spec above. They light up the room like her presence. They glimmer as brightly as her eyes.
And why shouldn't they?
"They're your stars, Isabella. I'd create entire galaxies. For you."
Her eyes dart from the cluster of illumination to me. And she tries to say something but can't quite finish her thought as blush rises to her cheeks, perfectly matching some of the colors that hang above us.
She looks up at them again in awe and her emotions overtake and overwhelm her as the tears fall.
"They haven't reached Earth yet," I tell her, watching every move she makes . "But they will, when they're ready." Just north of Andromeda.
We may have stayed there for an hour. It could have also been a day. I'm not sure, nor do I care. I simply bask in the beauty of the woman I am with, once again.
Eventually, we leave the room and close the door behind us. And with her hand in mine, I lead her through the same path I took just before she arrived. This time, it doesn't seem boring or tedious. It doesn't leave me with the same heavy burden it has for an infinite amount of time.
This time, I'm not inspecting the souls that inhabit my domain.
I'm gazing at the beauty of Isabella while she walks beside me as though she was born to this world.
At some point during her visit, we end up back in my private room of solitude.
"I'm calling it Sylphium Isabella." My heart.
And I can't help but grin proudly at her reaction to the wall of shelving that lines the back of the room now.
"You've been busy," she says, impressed.
And then she sees them - the complete set of Harry Potter novels I obtained long ago.
She strides over to them, happy that she hasn't lost the ability to surround herself with an archive of stories here.
My copies are worn around the edges and there are place marks for certain passages I found particularly interesting.
She reaches for one and picks it up, leafing through it with an interesting look.
Then she glances over at me with a cock of her brow.
She tries to hide the amused grin she wears now, but quickly decides to hell with it.
"Obsessed much?"
I shrug it off. "There were a few moments I wanted to revisit from time to time."
Her eyes widen and her brow rises even further. "A few?" She holds book five up for me to see. "There's an entire pad of sticky notes used up in this one alone."
She shakes her head but she's smiling as she rifles through to see where I've marked.
"Really, Hades."
My breath catches and my grin is shameless. But I'm no longer frozen with the fear of what her knowledge of me might do to us. What it might to do her understanding of who I am.
She knows me.
She knows where we are. What it means. And she's not running away.
She's embracing it.
"What?" she asks, unsure of why I'm so pleased.
"Say it again," I tell her, lust and want speckling each word.
She tilts her head just so, and the V between her eyes makes me want to take her, right here. Right now.
"My name," I tell her, beaming with anticipation. And with that, she places the book down onto the shelf and steps closer, a knowing smile playing at her lips.
"Hades," she says with a lifetime of love behind it.
I remember once, I was so afraid of her. Letting her get too close. Wanting to drain her body of its life force. But now…
"Hades," she says again, closer. More seductively this time.
And when she's within reach, about to allow my name to float freely from her lips again, I pull her to me and kiss her fully with every moment of every hour of every century I've endured without her.
Immediately, bits and pieces of the life she's lived flash inside my mind.
I see her, with Edward Cullen, laughing easily with one another.
Then eventually, a marriage proposal.
Friendly gatherings.
Her husband smiling down on her with tears in his eyes, as their first child enters the world.
Diana.
She has Isabella's smile.
I see the girl, happily chasing a younger brother, Adrien, through a bookstore laced with first editions and rare collections, who then knocks over an entire stack of them, just for fun.
I can't help but grin. The little devil.
I see a life learning about ancient histories.
And stars, brilliantly shining in the night as she points and teaches others about them. About one cluster in particular that makes her absolutely glow with pride, and … happy memories perhaps.
I break away from our kiss, dumbfounded, peering down at her with curiosity. "You shared my stories."
The sides of her mouth lift and her eyes gleam. "I did."
"But how did you-"
"I thought I'd dreamt you at first." She looks down, breaking eye contact for a brief moment. "Then for a while, I thought I might have lost my mind." She laughs a bit. "But eventually-" she finds my fixed stare again-"I pieced it together. You were real."
I can't bring myself to react. I'm not sure how she could have made this realization. How she could have possibly understood it while still alive, but… somehow. She did.
"There was always something lingering on the outskirts of my heart," she admits freely as I watch her, dumbfounded at the brilliance of her mind. "Something telling me where I truly belonged, despite the great life I had. Despite Edward… the kids… everything that was given to me."
My breathing quickens. My blood pulses so swiftly I believe my heart may just burst out of my chest.
"I've been here," I tell her breathlessly. "Thinking perhaps I'd lost my mind as well from time to time."
"Like Orpheus."
The joy of hearing her know exactly what Greek ancestor to reference is beyond explanation. "Yes." Then I laugh. "Just like Orpheus."
"After I read about him, I found his lyra in the sky one night," she tells me effortlessly. "Such a simple constellation. But it also said so much."
"Agreed," I confess. The story of the musician and the way he'd lost the love of his life – twice - has always been a sad one. Particularly since I played a part in the latter.
And then, Isabella's entire body moves as though she's getting ready to hand me a gift of some sort that she's excited to share.
"I named a new one, you know?" she tells me, proud of her accomplishment. "It was the first time in history it's been done since the eighteenth century."
I'm quite proud of her as well. "You what?"
She thinks on it purposefully as she holds my stare, and I can see it there, behind her eyes.
Five brilliant lights among the vastness of the universe. It nearly resembles a broken heart.
I find it difficult to react, or speak for that matter. I'm overwhelmed with the significance of what she's done.
"I named them Aidoneus," she divulges. "Otherwise known as-"
"Hades," I finish quietly.
I'm scarcely able to speak beyond that.
"You deserve to be up there more than any of them," she whispers to me with a touch of her hand to my cheek.
My eyes close at the warmth of her touch and I say her name that way I know she wants me to. "Bella. I-"
"I've missed you," she murmurs. There's desperation in her words, the same desperation I felt the moment we met. And every moment thereafter.
I place a hand over hers, slipping the other around her waist. I tug her as close as possible to me, and I can barely seem to utter the words, but still, they are said.
Softly, sincerely, wholeheartedly.
"I love you."
She nods and her eyes become pools of glass. "I never stopped loving you."
With those simple words, ones I've barely allowed myself to hope I'd hear again, I slide a hand around to the crook of her neck, holding her carefully, as the precious creature she is, and kiss her slowly, deliberately.
This room once replicated the office of the Brick and Mortar - a place I considered my home for a short while. I found solace in its familiarity for a time, but eventually, it simply reminded me of the pain of losing Isabella. Now it's scarcely the same. Except for one item - a large white rug, covering most of the floor.
I lower the two of us down onto the thick, velvety carpet and rid Isabella of the intrusive thin piece of material she arrived in. She glows with the flames of my desire for her, restored at full force as I take the entirety of her goddess-like figure. She pulls at my clothing, and in an instant, as though she's willed it away, it's gone as well, leaving me naked before her.
My fingers trail her arms, her breasts, her legs, leaving goosebumps in their wake. Touching her reminds me she's truly here. Her countenance tells me it's where she wants to be.
Isabella lets her eyes close for a bit, and when she opens them again, there's a craving in her expression that says she's been waiting for this moment almost as long as I have.
Almost.
When she slides her hands up, along my torso, urging me backwards to lie down before her - I do it. Quite easily. Because truth be told, I would kneel before her for a millennia if only she requested it.
As she swings her leg over to straddle me, Isabella braces herself against my chest, wasting no time in connecting us once again. She gasps as she allows me to enter her fully. Even after such a long absence of her skin against mine, I find we fit together quite perfectly - as seamlessly as ever.
I'm no longer simply the god of Hell. I am but a man in love with this woman, surrounded by her warmth.
Precisely where I belong.
Where I've always belonged.
Long before we met.
My entire body shakes with the emotions I strive to keep at bay. No matter how far I search in the realms of my mind, there are no words that seem to do my adoration for her justice. As Isabella moves and rocks, whimpers and moans, I can't help but take her by the hips and express my feelings in a more physical way.
I sit upright. I pull and push. I place not so tender kisses along her neck, her breasts, her jaw, her lips. Everywhere. Her fingers are tangled in my hair, her legs are wrapped around me, tight. Her voice whispers a raspy, "Fuck," as I push harder, deeper.
A cyclone of passion wrapped up in my overwhelming love for her grows somewhere inside me, expanding and flourishing from an infinitesimal point to everywhere, all at once. And when I reach the point of climax, the intensity of it all causes me to lose each and every sense of reality… whatever that may be.
The air around us thins, the room evaporates, the heavens are abruptly upon us, and the stars explode in celebration of their queen returning home to them.
I cry out her name and hold on to her for dear life, unable to let go even as I come down from the high of loving Isabella.
And then, as we gather our wits again, there we lay, entwined in each other for moments after. It could be years, for all I care.
Kissing. Touching. Tugging. Pulling.
I worship her body in ways I've dreamt of a thousand times since leaving her.
And when we're completely spent, we stake our claim on that rug and we simply exist.
Blissful and content with just being here with her, I listen to her heartbeat as it quietly thumps away. I feel the rise and fall of her chest. And I take great pleasure in the fact that there is no longer an urge to kill her.
"What happens now?" she asks wistfully, disrupting my thoughts.
Her absence is not something I've been looking forward to, intermittent as it may be. It's a necessity, however, that I cannot say I didn't expect.
Still, I can keep her here, with me, for a while longer.
"You have the entirety of this domain to choose from, Isabella," I tell her as I blindly skim my fingers along her arm. "You need only pick a realm and it's yours. Or if you wish it, I'll create a new one. And I'll take you there myself."
"Do I have to?" she questions.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, couldn't I just stay… here? With you?"
Her inquiry is enough to stop me from thinking clearly. About anything. "You would choose the dankness of this place over the Elysian Fields? Even the Asphodel Meadows are better than-"
"Neither of which is where you are," she says without another thought, lifting her head to look thoughtfully into my eyes with the same acceptance I remember from my time with her on Earth.
"I would see you still." Thank Satan. "I visit every corner of this world daily, Isabella. I have to, it's what I-"
"I don't want to see you every so often," she tells me adamantly. "I've waited too long for this. I don't want time and space to keep me from you ever again."
"But-"
"No." She pushes away from me and sits up. "Hades. Aren't you tired of doing what you think is the right thing? You said I could choose. I've chosen before and you didn't believe me, but I'm telling you right here. Right now. Believe me this time. I choose you."
As she stares down at me with determination and love, I don't know why I didn't see it before.
Why I'd assumed she didn't understand what she was asking that last night.
But I see it now.
In her eyes, her lips, her entire body as it sits before me, open. Willing.
"I'm so sorry, Isabella," I tell her. For everything I put her through. For not hearing her when I should have. For assuming the worst.
But she shakes her head and leans in to me, placing a kiss against my lips. "You sacrificed, Hades. And you gave me a life I never thought I could have, something I didn't think I ever deserved. You showed me a good man who loved me, children I wouldn't trade for the world. And you have nothing to be sorry for."
And once again, she's rendered me speechless.
"But now, you don't get to sacrifice anymore, okay? I'm here. And I'm staying."
I'm stunned silent for a bit. Unable to fully comprehend how I, Hades, Ruler of the Underworld, protector of the dead, could ever deserve such a beautiful, perfect, selfless creature as Isabella. And yet, here she is.
Choosing me.
So I will myself the nerve to ask the question I've wanted to ask her for an eternity.
"Forever?"
And then she smiles and takes my face in her hands, happy that I've finally accepted what she did so long ago.
"Forever."
My heart is consumed with absolute acceptance when she says it. It's so full of everything I've always desired that I fear it might burst as I realize, holding Isabella here, with me, in Hell… for the first time… I am Hades, but I am also truly loved - and irrevocably.
It seems as though the child wizard was right after all.
In the end, all truly was well.

 

 

Chapter 19 - Human

Hades


Saying my brother's name hasn't had quite the effect I was expecting. Instead of pulling him to me, I've been taken to him. And given where he is, this is not a good thing.
"Don't," I beg the dark Arizona sky. "Don't be here."
I glance around at the shadowed landscape, buzzed on tequila and bourbon. I still sense him, lurking somewhere.
It's quiet except for the baying of a hound somewhere nearby. Even that ceases as I step carefully, closer to Isabella's mother's home.
So dark and desolate compared to my visit with the vampire.
There are no lights now. There is no more music playing. No discussions about Edward's behavior over the past few days. No Isabella staring up at the stars.
I walk softly toward the backyard, listening for anything that might give me a clue as to where Poseidon is and what he's up to. Not that I need much thought on that one.
It's not until I pass a window, cracked open only slightly, that I hear a murmuring coming from inside the home.
"He doesn't love you," I hear my brother whisper.
"He did though," Isabella's soft voice responds.
"No, child. Never."
I hiss. "Liar." And with a bat of an eye, I am inside, behind my brother. He hovers over Isabella like a common thief as she sleeps. He is nothing but a coward, using the cover of night to manipulate her mind.
She's restless, yes, but no doubt dreaming. Poseidon has pulled the sheets away to give him a better view of her body. His eyes rake over her as though he wants to devour her and I growl viscerally in response.
"Poseidon. You do not belong here, brother."
Isabella stirs. Poseidon's head jerks and when he sees me, a mischievous smile spreads across his face.
"Do not fucking touch her," I order him.
He stands and faces me full on with a bit of a dare in his expression. "Or what, brother? You took my other play toy. We could have left it at that.." He narrows his eyes. "Perhaps he's more important than the girl."
Not even close.
As he reaches for the purpose of my existence, I muster every bit of power I have and with a silent wave of my hand, send the scoundrel back to the first place that comes to mind.
The parking lot of the Brick and Mortar.
No sooner are we there then he begins manipulating the world around us.
Lightning strikes. Clouds surge. Rain begins to pour.
He knows I hate the fucking rain.
"You're not going to hurt anyone else, brother," I tell him as every muscle in me tightens, readying to end this once and for all.
"Is that so?" he asks, circling me at a slow pace. As though I could be intimidated by him. As though I have reason to be intimidated by him.
And as far as the weather goes, I have my own tricks to use against him.
I jerk my head a bit, toward a nearby cluster of trees. One of them splits in two, falling directly toward him. It misses by inches. So I throw another at him while he's busy gloating, and this one side swipes him. It's enough to knock him off balance.
I take his distraction as an opportunity to charge, full force.
Poseidon and I haven't fought for centuries. There's been no need. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing him in as many years. Why bother?
We're making up for it now.
As I slam into him, thunder crashes somewhere close by. As we hit the ground, lightning strikes a lamppost and shards of broken glass spray in a deadly display of illumination. It is bound to attract the attention of local humans, if not their law enforcement.
Poseidon throws me off of him, but I find my footing and attack again.
"You can't beat me, Hades. You know that," he tells me with a smug expression as he pushes himself up off of the wet grass.
"Can't I?"
I stomp on the back of his knee. He crumples back down to the ground, groaning in pain, but he's swift to heal. As he stands this time, he flicks his hand and a wave of wind and rain pelts me backward. I can no longer see him. But I hear him. In my head.
"This won't end well for you, Hades," his voice echoes loudly. "I warned you not to open Pandora's box."
I'm not quite sure what he's talking about at first. Bella is safe in Gila Bend. But then I see them - three vampires exiting the Brick and Mortar. Edward is in front with Emmett beside him. Jasper is slightly behind the two of them, talking quietly. Giving… instructions?
Perhaps they've come to witness the altercation between my brother and I.
It's possible, I suppose. Only why would they appear to be in some sort of battle stance?
They can't seriously be considering...
That doesn't make any sense. Why would they-
Poseidon throws lightning their way and they scatter, blurs of movement in the nighttime, as though preparing to corner the god of the sea in a triangle of death.
Idiots.
As Poseidon readies to snap them each in two, I wave a hand at them, sending them back inside their bar, where he cannot harm them. For now.
"This has nothing to do with them, brother!" I yell at the storm that's headed for me once again.
"Tell them that, Hades," he says inside my mind - and I see them… coming for him again.
Frustration takes over, and I let out a heavy sigh as I shake my head at the vampires who think they can take on a god.
Poseidon throws a wall of water at Emmett, trapping him like an insect in jello.
Then he blows a bit of wind toward Edward, sending him hurtling through the air. He collides with the building, then crashes to the ground.
Movement catches my attention and I see Jasper just as he's about to pounce on my brother from behind. Poseidon flicks him away like a flea, and he is thrown against parked cars, landing somewhere in between them.
When I see the three of them gather their wits and ready to make another attempt at an attack, I clap my hands, sending them to Edward's penthouse this time. Then I rush Poseidon again while I still have him in my sights.
He swings for my head as I am upon him but I duck and slide, swiping his feet out from under him. I think of what he may have done to Isabella had I not found him in time as he falls.
I twist and stand, facing him once more. With just a few purposeful strides I am on him, and I strike a fist against his jaw several times.
As I ready for another blow, I see them… again. And I hang my head in irritation.
The three owners of Brick and Mortar stalk toward us from the road. Stubborn vampires, ready for round two with the god of the seas.
I am extremely irked… and also baffled by their tenacity.
And then suddenly, I'm hit with a deep, dark, dreaded sense of defeat as logic floods over me while I watch them come back for yet another try.
When I look down on my brother, I realize he knows it too.
I cannot kill Poseidon, not even with three vampires at my side. To do that would mean destroying the Earth's seas altogether which would ultimately destroy all humans.
More specifically, Isabella.
I could disable him, yes, maim him even, perhaps. Stop him tonight, surely. But even that would take the efforts of more than just one god and still he would eventually be back. It would only be a matter of time.
I was naive to think I was enough. That this was enough.
Poseidon will never cease his efforts until he's destroyed me - by destroying Isabella.
There's only one thing that will end this.
I glance over at the vampires and I hold Edward Cullen's stare for what could have been moments or days, before waving an arm at the three of them again, sending them a bit further away than before. It should give me enough time to iron things out with my brother.
I hold my hands up in surrender as he stands and starts for me.
"You win, Poseidon," I tell him loud enough that I know he's heard me over the turmoil swirling around us. He comes to a cautious halt.
There we stand, quietly facing one another. Both angry. Both filled with a sibling rivalry that's lasted eons. Perhaps both even tiring of it all.
"What are you playing at, Hades?" he asks me, annoyed. Maybe because he thinks I'm tricking him. Or because he doesn't get to hurt me. Or try to at least.
Either way...
My breathing is a bit labored, as is his. Mine is not from any sort of exhaustion, however. It's from the fear of losing the one being that's made me feel worthy of love.
For the first time in a very long time, I am not searching for a loophole. I'm simply trying to keep that one being safe.
"No ploys, Poseidon," I tell him as studies me. "I'll go home."
He raises an eyebrow in disbelief. "You'll leave this place and give up on your preposterous dream of being with a human?"
I nod. "I will."
He narrows his eyes. "And you won't try this again?"
"No."
Then he warns me. "You're giving me your word, Hades. You know the consequences of breaking it."
I take a deep breath in and close my eyes. I breathe in all of the moments I've been able to spend with Isabella. I focus my thoughts on how her eyes sparkle in the sun. The way her lips glisten when I'm about to kiss her. How her heart quickens the closer we are. How it felt to be inside her.
But especially, I think of the three words I was able to hear fall from her lips before I had to leave her.
I love you.
I open my eyes and tell him earnestly, "I do."
He grins, triumphant.
"But you must promise me something as well, brother," I add.
He's offended I would even suggest it.
"What?"
But at least he's willing to hear me out.
"You forget Isabella exists. And you never step foot near her again. Not here, not in your own domain. Ever."
He thinks on it. He purses his lips a bit. Then he shrugs almost immediately. "She's nothing to me as long as you know your place, Hades. It's all I've ever asked for. Aside from that, there's no need for me to interfere with the likes of these humans."
I know he's being truthful. He'd much rather play beneath the sea, with his own things, than interact with the likes of humans ever again. He learned his lesson long ago.
I stand a bit taller. "Then I'm ready to leave."
"Intelligent choice." He nods and waves at the storm, breaking the clouds apart and sending the rain back toward the sky.
He's extremely satisfied with himself. So nothing's changed. "I'll be checking in on you, Hades," he advises. "If you're still here next time, all promises are null and void."
He doesn't wait for an agreement. He doesn't need to. He simply vanishes.
I'm left with a sense of irony that he's turned into everything he always hated about Zeus.
As for me, I find myself walking the streets of LA for a bit. I tend to remain close to Isabella's apartment building though. And after a time, I sit on the curb across the street from it. I watch the darkened window I know is hers. She's not there. She'll be in Gila Bend with her mother for some time, but somehow I feel comforted that I'm here, where the memory of her smile still resides.
As I think on all the things we still had yet to do, the places I desire to take her, the things we still had to see… I wonder.
How will I do this?
How will I go home?
How will I go home without Isabella?
It's only when I ask myself the question that I'm struck with the very blatant, very vivid answer.
As I sit staring at this building, where just a short while ago, a madman wanted to end her life, it's plain as day.
I told Poseidon I would leave. I didn't tell him I'd go alone.
Why couldn't I simply take her with me? She loves me, after all. She's said as much in the office at the Brick and Mortar, on the rug. And many other places.
I could take her with me and she would go.
Yes.
I'll confess everything. And she'll have what she's always wanted from me after all - the truth. And I'll tell her how the vampire is a fraud. That he's not the one who shared the stars and made her feel the universe coming together and gave her mother back to her. He's not the one who loves her like I can.
Like I do.
Like I always will.
It's not as though she has much holding her here. She's practically admitted that time and time again. She needs a home, a place where I can protect her and keep her safe from the likes of Poseidon, and heartbreak, and the pain of losing loved ones.
The only thing she'd feel is worshipped, day in and day out.
She'd never need of anything again. Never want of anything again. She'd never be hungry or tired. She'd live forever. She'd be young and beautiful… forever.
And she would be mine.
Yes, it's the perfect answer to each of our problems.
I love you, I hear her tell me with the mere thought of her hand against my skin.
I love you, I hear again, as I remember placing thoughtful kisses against her body.
I love you, she would say as I enter her and make her see the stars.
As the sun comes up, I'm hopeful for the first time in days. I'm smiling and thinking of how satisfying it will be to finally get what I want for a change. And I imagine Isabella getting it too. I imagine the sunshine, as it is now, and how it glows against her skin, the same way it did that first morning I caught her at the park, walking her hounds. And in the sand at the beach, as she lay blissfully soaking in its rays.
And then my smile fades as I envision her in my world. With me. Where there is no sun. No laughter. No music for her to sing along to.
And then.
And then.
And then.
I know what I need to do.

xXxXx

Once I return to Brick and Mortar, I slip inside unnoticed and quietly make my way down the back hallway. I stand in front of the door that I know Edward Cullen is behind, back from the trip I sent him and his friends on a short while ago.
I wonder what went through their minds when they returned and saw no gods fighting in their parking lot. I wonder if he's spoken with Isabella since we left Gila Bend. I wonder if he has any idea what befalls him in just a few short seconds.
And then I knock.
When the door swings open, I'm greeted with curious eyes.
"Hello, vampire."
Edward Cullen's brow dips and he narrows his eyes, suspicious of my intentions.
"Hades? What are you doing here? What h-"
"You need to come with me," I tell him as I grab his arm and take him to Hell

xXxXx

This trip below is not spent crossing the Styx. It isn't entertained by The Furies or Hecate this time. They're all gone from here, off to do their bidding elsewhere.
This time, I take the vampire directly to my sanctuary. No need to alert any other creatures of his presence, it would only confuse them. And Edward, most likely.
Once we've arrived, he pulls away from me. He immediately and frantically searches for a way out. "Hell no. I'm not doing this again, I won't let you do this to me again."
But there is no way out.
Not yet.
I watch him, amused, for a few minutes before I let him off the hook.
"I didn't bring you here to lock you away, Edward." For the love of Satan. Does he think I'm that evil?
He stops and turns to me. "You didn't?" He searches my stare the same way Poseidon did when I told him he'd won. It stings a little, I won't lie.
"No," I assure him. "I simply needed you where we could speak alone. With some privacy."
He cocks an eyebrow, still a bit put off. "You couldn't have chosen… I don't know… the fucking library?"
"I assume that's sarcasm."
"Yes. Fuck." He rakes a hand through his hair. "It's sarcasm." Then he throws both arms up, flustered in a way only someone who's used to being the one in charge could be. "What is it you want, Hades? What can I possibly give you that you haven't already taken?"
"Like I said-" I take a seat and cross my legs, relaxing a bit in my own familiar surroundings. "We need to talk."
"Talk about what?"
I pause before telling him because this isn't something I take lightly.
"Getting you your soul back."
Edward stretches his neck toward me a little. "I'm sorry, did you just say-"
"Yes."
His brow rises in disbelief. "My soul?"
"That's correct."
"As in…"
"You'd be human again," I advise him matter of factly. "Fully human."
He falls into a couch beside him and stares at the floor, flabbergasted.
"I don't understand."
"It's the only way, Edward. For Isabella."
And then he looks to me as he tries to work his way through my intentions. "Why wouldn't you just take it for yourself? You said it. You love her. I assume that means something considering-"
"I wasn't born with a soul, Edward," I tell him with a heaviness that weighs on me more and more with each passing moment. I am only able to grin half-heartedly for him. "You were. I was born with… this." I wave a hand around us.
And he knows.
At least part of it.
"What about…" he swallows. This next bit is difficult even for him to comprehend. "I mean, she loves you too, right?"
The word alone creates an ache inside my chest.
"How can you just abandon her like this?" he asks, as though I hadn't already thought of it.
As though I don't still think about it.
"She loves all the parts of me that were born from you, Edward. She loves your eyes, your smile, your gentleness, your understanding, your wit, your touch. Your stars."
He shakes his head. "Yeah, but it wasn't me touching her or understanding her though. It wasn't me that was telling her stories about ancient beings and-"
"It was. But even if it wasn't-" I cannot hide the pain now- "It doesn't matter. I am darkness, Edward. Despair. I torture souls. I-"
"You showed her someone who accepts her for who she is, despite the baggage she carries around."
Something I feel the vampire may need as well. This vampire who already seems to have a soul.
Once again, I make my case to him. "I believe every good thing I did, every right decision I made along the way - including loving her - was yours."
"Why?"
I don't even try to smile this time. "Because I am Hades."
After a few very long moments of thought, Edward realizes, as I have, that Isabella deserves better than the god of Hell. Or a vampire.
"Okay."

xXxXx

"Once it's done, vampire, it cannot be undone. And like it or not, you won't remember much about your past life. Not the way you do now. It's irrelevant going forward. Your only responsibility is making the best of this offered opportunity."
"Wait."
I rub my eyes. I literally have never met one single being that has hesitated in gaining their soul back. "What is it now?"
"What about Emmett? and-"
His inquiry doesn't surprise me. I've thought about it myself, honestly. The fact that they were willing to put themselves at risk to assist me this evening makes them worthy of a gift as well.
"Tell me something, Edward. Why did the three of you choose to fight Poseidon?" I need to see if he believes it as well.
He shrugs and says without a second thought, "It was the right thing to do."
"Why?"
He hesitates, but only for a moment before he says, "Who is he to decide what you do with your life?"
"Even though you might have died?"
He almost laughs. "We're already dead, Hades."
I don't know or pretend to understand where a species of vampire such as these three originates. It was always my understanding that creatures such as these were driven by blood lust - unthinking, unempathetic, unwilling or unwanting to change.
Since my time on Earth with Isabella, however, I've also come to understand that not all beings are as they seem from afar.
That alone is enough to cinch my decision.
The next silent moments we share are of mutual respect and, at least on my part, admiration. Then there's really nothing left to say except...
"Consider it done."
He smiles and nods. He closes his eyes and I send him back to Earth, reborn.

xXxXx

"How are you feeling?" After a bit of time has passed, enough to let my will settle, I've come to visit the v-... Edward one last time at his place of business before permanently descending home again. And to give him one last gift.
"Okay." He breathes out as he bookmarks and closes The Order of the Phoenix then pushes himself away from his desk. "I lose snippets of things by the minute it seems."
I nod. That's to be expected.
He holds the book up for me to see the cover. "This is genius."
This again. I give him a solemn look. "Phoenixes don't give orders, they-"
"It's not literal, Hades," he informs me with a bit of a roll of his eyes and a chuckle to accompany it. "You really need to study modern languages more."
"Perhaps." If only I had more time.
I glance down at some papers and happen to notice a receipt and paperwork for a bookstore… here in Los Angeles. In the name of Isabella Swan.
And I smile, tapping the contract with a slight feeling of pride and approval welling up inside me. "Very good call, Edward." Very good indeed.
He gives me a bashful smirk and tells me, unable to fully make eye contact, "It's the least I could do." And when I look at him now, I don't see the arrogance I thought I did the night we met. I see a man ready to take advantage of a life he'd thought he lost.
A man ready to love a woman he only met in a dream.
Jealousy still remains, but it's slowly being replaced with some form of gratitude. Gratitude to this world and the humans that reside in it. To all the things it's taught me while I was here.
To Isabella.
"That is it." I reach inside my coat pocket and pull out something I found for him.
"I thought you might need this." I hand him the book.
He takes it and stares at the title with one-fourth appreciation, three-fourths amusement.
"The Mythology of the Night Sky: An Amateur Astronomer's Guide to the Ancient Greek and Roman Legends." His brow rises. "Wow, that sounds… interesting to say the least."
"Ignore the bits about the Romans. It's all made up children's stories."
Edward laughs. "Really."
"I thought it would make a good addition to your collection."
"It um… sure will." He starts to set it down.
"It will teach you about constellations and the Greek gods they were named after."
"I know, but I told you-"
For the love of Satan. "She enjoys the stars, Edward," I insist rather aggressively. "Learn about them on a different level than where they can take you in a sailboat and how far away from Earth they dwell."
And now he gets it. "Ah. Gotcha." And he smiles genuinely. "Will do."
Convinced my work here is done, I give him a nod. "Goodbye, Edward. Please don't make me return because you've screwed something up."
That something being Isabella of course.
"Promise," he says, and stops me before I turn to go. "Hey."
"Yes?"
"Thanks," he says. It's not something the god of Hell hears very often, to be honest. I'm not sure how I feel about hearing now, but regardless, I respond, "You're quite welcome."
And I leave the office behind me with a sullen heart.
I cross the bar to leave quietly and undetected this evening. Humans are always so busy with self-indulgence, they don't pay attention to the monsters that lurk just feet away.
I glance around and think on the time I've spent here. The connections I've made. What it's meant. And I cannot regret it, even as I leave it all behind.
I know now that life and death, the afterlife… It's not all black and white.
The good and the bad are made up of blues and greens. Smiles and tears. Sunshine and moonlight. All of the hues in between.
And stars.
And speaking of things that have lit up my world, I wonder, for a small moment, where Isabella is hiding herself away. I know I will constantly and forever feel a pull toward her. Although no good could ever come from it, I sense her here but am not convinced I will be afforded one last glimpse of her as I take a final look around at the establishment where I started my journey…
Then finally, hesitantly, begrudgingly even, I turn to go. And I nearly run into the same small framed, beautiful, perfect creature I began my time here on earth with.
I swallow, feeling the little bit of life left in me drain, and all I can seem to do is release her name into the room.
"Isabella."
She nearly smiles when she sees me. "Aidoneus."
And the name she's called me. As though she knows me.
But she couldn't. Surely I misheard her.
"I'm… just dropping something off," I tell her, hoping she doesn't jump to any conclusions about Edward and the mafia once again. "A thank you gift for the v- for Edward. I wasn't-"
"No, I know," she says with a slight awkwardness, shaking her head. Then she looks up at me again with a knowing stare. "I'm glad I ran into you."
"Yes, well." If I stay much longer, peering into her eyes, I know I will never leave. "I'm quite glad too. It was very nice to see you again, Isabella, I must be going though, so…"
"Aiden. Please wait." I hear the desperation in her voice as she grabs me. Her hand is cold and trembling. Her face seems crumpled with heartbreak. But why? I've given her everything she deserves - to be loved by someone who will never hurt her.
I tug my arm away from her grasp, disgusted with myself for not being that someone. "I - can't. I truly have to leave. Now. I'm sorry."
"Did you kill my step-brother?" she blurts out. And although I'm able to mask the shock I feel from her realizing it was me, I have to forcibly swallow down the disgrace of losing control like I did that night.
"Sorry," she says. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that exactly."
By all accounts, answering this question is probably not a good idea.
I want to, however. I want to tell her everything.
"I-"
"No more half-truths, okay?" she pleads. "It was you, right? Who Angela saw in the street that night?"
I shake my head a bit, struggling to keep my voice even. "It could have been a version of just about anyone, really. Me included. Quite easily, in fact."
"Are you saying-"
"We all have a monster living inside us somewhere, Isabella."
And the look she gives me - it allows me a glimpse into what I may have experienced had I been able to get to her first that evening. Before finding the vampire. Before Poseidon. Before she fell in love with Edward Cullen.
I don't exactly see disappointment there. Or fear. But I'm not sure there is acceptance either.
"He was going to hurt me, wasn't he?" She seems to already know the answer though.
"I really must go, Isabella. Please." My desperation is beginning to show along with my deep desire to be with her, always. I try to escape her orbit, but she's determined to hold me there.
"Hades."
I stop. My jaw clenches tight. Hearing my name called out by the one person who holds power over me sends a shiver down my spine.
I'm unable to respond, however. I'm a statue, unsure of what turning to face her might bring.
"That brother?" she says. "The Greek god? The one who doesn't have any stars?"
I put great effort into breathing normally before turning around. I know I should leave. I simply can't bring myself to.
I do attempt to shake away the pain it causes to be this close to her again, unable to take her in my arms and show her how much I love her.
How much I will eternally love her.
"Um." She swallows as I gaze down at her with the frustration of not being strong enough to leave her behind. "I just - can't really discuss it with Edward, you know, he's not very-" she takes a shaky breath- "Greek god savvy."
I'm not sure where she's going with this. Or what good she thinks will come of it.
"Anyway, Hades…"
Another stab to the heart. Why does she torture me so?
"What about him?"
"I wondered. I mean, I was reading something… and… well, suppose those stories about the gods are real? Suppose they slip away every so often and mingle with…" She pauses before saying it. "Humans."
Her words seem more than just a mere curiosity. I cannot seem to speak at the moment to tell her it's prosperous though.
Perhaps part of me wants her to believe it.
Regardless, I remain silent as she continues with her theory.
"Suppose he stole the love of someone he never had any business being with in the first place?" she asks. Or says. I'm not sure which. "Suppose he broke her heart?"
And now it's my breath that's unstable. But I steel myself into responding with what I've known to be true all along.
"I suppose that would make him a very selfish god, wouldn't it?"
She purses her lips before answering. "Yeah. I guess it would."
"Unforgivable, one might say."
"Aren't we all?" She shrugs.
But I can't agree with her on that one. "Not all of us."
Isabella's expression seems tormented by something. She's having some sort of inner debate with herself. I can only imagine what she's about to say. And I have no choice but to stop her from saying it out loud.
"I-"
"Don't," I beg her.
I don't know if I will be able to continue to be the good guy if I hear her say the words. Or don't hear her say them.
I know if she does, though, I will steal her away.
My head moves, slowly, side to side. There's a part of me, a very large part that wants her to speak the words… that is desperate for her to say it.
"Why?" she asks instead.
"Because." I smile only part of the way. "Some of us simply aren't worthy of it."
Her face falls with the pain of the truth of it all. "Maybe not," she admits. "That doesn't change anything that's happened. Or how I feel. How I know you made me feel..."
I close my eyes. I urge myself to breathe. When I open my lids again to see her staring up at me, it takes everything I have to make this right. Finally.
"You deserve the sun, Isabella, not darkness. Not the cold. Not monsters or horrifying creatures pulling at your will day after day for an eternity. Besides-m" I actually grin, thinking back on the first time we met- "There are no novels to steal where I'm going. And no citrus for you to collect."
She laughs through tears that fall from her eyes now and they are like knives to my gut.
"Please don't make this any more difficult than it already is."
She swallows her sobs. "I'm not making it difficult, you are."
"I have to go." I eye the hallway that leads to Edward Cullen's office. "You'll be alright."
"Is alright good enough?"
"It has to be."
I turn to leave this Satan cursed world and try to breathe, then I hear it again. Only this time, she's not saying it in a hypothetical way that one might when they're talking about ancient stories and constellations.
"Hades."
She's calling out to me.
My name.
Mine.
Hades. Ruler of the Underworld. Deceiver of souls.
Believe the rumors.
It causes a chill throughout my entire body to hear my name fall from her lips, knowing who I am. What I've done. It's enough to make me turn to face her one last time.
I am elated. And I am also full of anguish.
She holds my stare for just a moment before taking a few steps. Then in one fluid motion, she's up onto her tiptoes, sliding both hands around my neck, pulling me into her, and kissing me softly.
And I let her.
I fucking let her.
How could I not?
It's enough to remind me of all the times I nearly ended her life and to appreciate that I no longer feel that urge. I can just enjoy the absoluteness of her.
It's all the perfect amount of agony and more agony.
Feeling her touch again and her lips against mine, I can't help but let myself wonder what may have happened between us had I not had a vampire's will driving me. Or a brother determined to stop it from being so.
I know she won't let me go. Not easily. She's a stubborn creature, after all.
So I take the opportunity of this embrace, and I force her memories of me to be gone.
With a slip of my tongue, I take away our dance together here at the Brick and Mortar, the first night we met.
As I slide my hands around her waist and feel how soft and warm and inviting she is, I erase our kiss in the office.
I pull her into me, letting her body press against mine as I let our weekend at the beach fade from her memory.
Every touch, every look, every word spoken, and every moment of time spent together… by the time I finally end the kiss, is gone.
I love you.
And the certainty of it stings like fire.
She'll remember meeting Edward Cullen, of course, and how he insinuated himself into her life. How she fell in love with him. She'll remember him coming for her in Gila Bend. She'll know of all the small and big moments we shared.
She won't know that it was me she shared them with.
As far as the vam- human goes, he can fend for himself. Fill in the blanks. Figure it out.
And if he doesn't, I will snap his neck and send him to Tartarus myself.
I release Isabella from my arms one final time and she sways a bit, as though her balance has been thrown off.
I catch her by the arm and she stares up at me with the smile I've grown to love.
"Thanks, I-" She fumbles with her words. She wants to finish her earlier thought but can't quite remember what she was going to say. Then she takes in a deep breath and meets my gaze again.
"Thank you," she says. "Not really sure what just happened there."
"Not a problem," I say as I let go of her arm, wanting nothing more than to hold her again. Forever.
She turns to go and I want to grab ahold of the humanity she's thrust upon me these past weeks and strangle the life out of it.
Self-hatred stops me.
Instead, I stand in the shadows of the bar for a while and observe the humans I've grown fond of for a bit longer.
Emmett is guarding the front door with Rose by his side. They share an easy laughter together.
Jasper sits in his corner but he's no longer alone. Alice is there to make him smile. The real Alice. Not a machine.
And the now human Edward Cullen appears from the hallway that leads to his office, on his way to a second chance at life. He sees Isabella at the bar and smiles like a man in love. He takes a few tentative steps in her direction. He changes directions a few times, second guessing what exactly he should do or say.
I cock an eyebrow and shake my head.
"Idiot."
Then finally, he makes his way to her.
He waits behind her, watching nervously for a few seconds. And as though she senses his presence, she turns around.
At first she smiles but then she realizes something. The space between her eyebrows dips into the V I've come to know and appreciate, then she takes a look around as though she's searching for someone.
Perhaps me.
Perhaps she doesn't know who anymore.
The urge to go to her is overwhelming, but I force myself to remain still. Then I flick my hand at the air to give her a nudge in the right direction.
Watching them struggle, knowing their insecurities and anxieties, it should all be enough to make me grateful to be a god. But I would give it up in a millisecond if it meant I could be insecure and full of anxiety myself for the rest of time with Isabella.
As she tries to make conversation with Edward, it's awkward between them for a few moments. Then he says something undoubtedly ridiculous as he grasps at his hair and waves a hand and it makes her smile. Laugh even. He grins down at her with a fascination I know well. And then it's clear.
I've done the correct thing.
I know it now.
He will care for her, he will love her, he will keep her in the sun.
And she will be happy.
As for me, it's time to go home.
My descent into the underworld is not without pain.
I arrive at the Styx and the sting of Isabella's grin is there, waiting for me.
As I walk beyond the Fields of Mourning, her laughter is like a knife to my heart.
And as I sit upon my throne and listen to the despair of the souls lost to Tartarus, her voice sings inside my mind. It's a Prince song, of course, and she's a horrible singer, but I close my eyes and I imagine what it would have been like to hear her say the words I stopped her from saying one last time.
I love you.
And I realize Isabella was correct all along when she said I have a soul. Because now and forever, it will be crushed under the memory of her kiss against my lips.