1: Skinny Love (Ed. Cullen)

31

Edward raises an eyebrow as Bambi smiles tugging her jacket closer to her, he looks to her.

"Rock climbing?" he asks her, she looks to him.

"You said I could pick" she answers walking towards the building, she turns to walk backwards. "Come on, Edward, a little friendly competition never hurt anyone" he smiles and follows her.

"You've done this before?" he asks catching up to her, wraps his arm around her waist.

"Yes, but....with real rock faces and not plastic ones, but there's bears further into the forest here and I'd rather not get eaten" she then pauses and looks to Edward. "No offence" he smirks and leans down to kiss her.

"A little bit taken" he whispers against her lips and tugs her closer.

"Rock climbing" she reminds him. He pulls back and presses his forehead to hers.

"But..." she smirks and steps.

"I tell you what" she teases touching his jacket. "You win, you beat me....you can kiss me all you want" he raises an eyebrow.

"And if you win?" he asks. "What do you get?"

"The satisfaction of beating you" she answers. "I'm a very sore loser, Edward" he smirks. "But you'll find I'm an even worse winner" she pats his chest and walks away, Edward smirks following her.

.....................

Edward tugs on Bambi's ponytail and smirks as she glares at him. She was right, she is a very sore loser. He pulls her to him, she sighs and tilts her head up to look at him.

"I win" he teases and then kisses her. "I win" he tells her with more feeling, she smirks up at him, he grasps her face and kisses her again.

"I guess you do" she whispers, he strokes her cheek and smiles warmly at her.

"Let me treat you to some ice cream?" he asks, she bites her lip and nods.

"I would love that" she answers. "As long as it's mint choc chip" he chuckles and nods.

"Whatever you want, Bambi" she smiles at him.

"Thank you" she tells him, he frowns. "For today....for letting me be me" he smiles at her. "I usually have to hide some part of myself, even with my family....but I feel like I don't have to hide with you, at all" he strokes her hair and smiles wider.

"Don't" he tells her. "Don't ever hide who you truly are" his strokes her cheek with the back of his hand and down to her neck, pulls her necklace through his fingers. "Because who you are....is pretty amazing" she smiles.

...................

Edward watches Bambi as she sits across from him, one leg folded over the other, a little tub of ice cream in her hand, he smiles, he's pretty sure now, after today, that he is utterly in love with her. In love with the way she smiles. The way she laughs. The way she fidgets with her necklace. The way she's licking that spoon. He smirks and reaches over to brush ice cream from her nose, she blushes and looks down as he chuckles.

"Thanks" she mumbles and then looks to him. "So...you guys don't eat human food?" she asks.

"No" he answers with a smirk.

"But you always have trays of food at school" she explains, he leans closer.

"Would look out of place if we sat there with nothing" he teases, she huffs.

"I suppose" she agrees going back to her ice cream.

"What's your favourite colour?" he asks her. Bambi cocks her head.

"Green" she answers. He raises an eyebrow. "Okay, like an emerald green, what about you?"

"A dark brown, just slightly darker then hazel" he tells her, describing her exact eye colour, she smirks and shakes her head.

"No" she corrects. "A real colour, not an eye colour" he laughs.

"All right" he gives in. "Blue....Prussian blue"

"Nice" she teases, he smirks and takes her hand on the table, she smiles watching him entwine their fingers.

..................

As Bambi starts to walk away a darkness creeps back into Edward, it's heavy and thick and he's hit with it like a wreaking ball. He blinks and leans back against his car. It's.....he's never felt anything like that. He looks across the lot to where Bambi is climbing into her car, she smiles and waves at him, he waves back. It's her. He thinks. It has to be her. Around her there is no cloud of darkness, he still knows what he is, but he doesn't feel so bad about it, he feels.....almost alive again. Without that cloud of darkness he can enjoy her company more, enjoy her more. He smiles and climbs into his own car.