Title: A Hint of Normality (1/1)
Author: Nytel
Rating: PG
Pairing: Edward/Bella (ZOMG, Twilight, I know!)
Genre: Romance, Fluff
Summary: Written for the prompt 'finally something Edward isn't perfect at'. Written for
nebakanezer who challenged me to write Twilight fluff, since I'm always saying how much I loved New Moon because of the angst.
Word Count: 1,399
Beta: None. Any mistakes are mine.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I am merely borrowing them. :)
A/N: Not set at any specific time. Also, this is my first foray into Twilight fic. Yay!
A Hint of Normality
“I’m sorry,” Bella blurted out as she raced in the front door and up the stairs, heading for her room. She hadn’t yet reached the top step, but she knew that Edward would already be in her room, waiting for her.
When she shoved open the door she found him lounging on her bed, propped up against her pillows with his hands interlocked casually behind his head. He looked completely at ease, and for a brief moment she envied him. For Edward everything was simple.
He smiled at her and the envy was quickly replaced by warmth.
“What are you apologizing for?” He asked curiously as he gracefully sat up and hopped off the bed, before closing the distance between them in a time that would make an Olympic sprinter jealous. He bent his head to kiss her softly, pulling away and giving her an exasperated look when she tried to prolong the kiss. Oh well, you can’t blame a girl for trying…
“I’m late,” she said, answering his previous question.
“Ah,” he said quietly. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Bella laughed quietly. “I guess when you’ve been alive for over a hundred years, a few minutes don’t make much of a difference.”
Edward grinned down at her. “Not really,” he admitted as he gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. His finger brushed lightly against her cheek and she savored the cool feeling. What had once been strange was now familiar and comforting.
She caught his hand in hers before he could pull it away, and leaned her cheek against his palm. Bella didn’t know how long they stayed like that before she remembered that they had planned to go out for the evening. She smiled at Edward as she reluctantly released his hand, letting it fall back to his side. It wasn’t until she touched the fingers of her other hand with the one that had just been holding onto Edward, that she realized how cool her skin had become. Nice, just like his.
“Where are we going?” Bella asked Edward as she broke free of her trance, not without difficulty, and began searching her room for her towel. Wherever they were headed she would need a shower first. She’d been cleaning off shelves in the storeroom at work, and she could practically feel the dirt taking root deep in her pores.
When she turned around to face Edward again, all she could see was lots of green, hanging less than an inch from her nose. Bella smiled, taking her no longer missing towel from Edward’s outstretched hand, and tucking it under her arm.
“Wherever you would like to go, my love.” Edward said as he took a seat perched on the end of her bed while she ravaged her closet for something decent to wear.
“I thought you wanted to go see a movie,” she said as she pulled out a pair of jeans and her favorite blue sweater.
When she turned around again, Edward smiled at her and shrugged, somehow managing to make the awkward gesture seem elegant. “It was only a suggestion, Bella. Tell me what you want to do tonight and we will do it.”
Bella’s face lit up. “Anything I want?” she questioned.
Edward sighed and shook his head. She knew she was testing his patience, but sometimes it was too much fun to resist. “Not that,” he said slowly. “But anything else, yes.”
“Well, a movie sounds great,” Bella said enthusiastically. It had been a long time since she’d gone to see a movie. There were a few she’d seen ads for over the past couple of weeks that had caught her attention, though she couldn’t remember their names off the top of her head.
“A movie it is then.”
Bella smiled. “Why don’t you look up what’s playing,” she said, inclining her head towards the computer in the corner of her room. “And I’ll shower.”
Edward shifted on the bed, subtly enough that she barely caught the motion. “Why don’t we just see what’s playing when we get there?” He asked.
“Well, if you look it up now, then we can decide in the car on the way there. Of course, with the way you drive it still only gives us about five minutes, ten tops.” She grinned at him and headed out of her room. “I’ll be quick!” She called over her shoulder.
Not much longer Bella was freshly showered, changed, and almost ready to go. Stepping back into her room she tossed her towel in the general direction of the bed, and turned to find Edward still at the computer.
“Is it being slow?” she asked him as she walked over to where he was sitting in the flimsy little chair she had paired with the computer. “Every once and a while it’s not as fast as it should be.”
“No, it isn’t being slow,” Edward answered. His voice seemed almost tense.
“Okay,” Bella replied. “Well, what’s playing?”
She was surprised to hear Edward sigh in frustration. He typed something in on the keyboard, very carefully hitting one key at a time, with more force than was likely necessary. In fact, she wasn’t sure the keyboard would hold up if he pressed any harder. “Edward?” She asked unsurely.
“I don’t know,” he responded, speaking each word carefully, like he was trying to keep his temper in check.
Just then Bella looked past Edward and at the computer screen, noticing a large flashing error message. “What did you do?” She asked, sure that her voice sounded horrified.
“I didn’t do anything,” Edward defended in a low voice. “This, thing, is broken.”
Bella couldn’t help it, she began to smile. Edward, her Edward, the most perfect specimen to ever walk the earth couldn’t figure out how to use her computer. She’d never realized it before now, but she’d never seen Edward use a computer. Obviously there was a reason why.
“It’s not broken,” Bella said, trying very hard not to laugh at him. “Just let me do it.”
The next thing she knew Edward was no longer sitting in the chair, but was leaning against the wall by the door, tapping his foot against the carpet impatiently. Bella had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as she took a seat at the computer, disabled whatever error had been occurring, and found the list of movies. In less than two minutes she had them printed out and was shutting off the machine.
When she stood up and walked over to the door, Edward had regained his normal impeccable calm demeanor. “Ready?” He asked her.
She nodded and handed him the list, unable to refrain from laughing at the small scowl she saw on his face when he took the sheet from her hand. He looked utterly offended, and Bella sobered immediately. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, suddenly fearful that he would be mad at her.
Even though he couldn’t read her mind, he obviously knew her well enough that he could tell what she was thinking anyway. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the forehead, whisking all her worries away. “That’s okay,” he said slowly. “I’m just… not very good with… computers.” It was a tremendous struggle just for him to get the words out, and although she tried not to, she smiled.
“I don’t see what’s so funny, Bella.” He wasn’t angry with her, but neither was he pleased.
She went back to biting the inside of her lip, trying to force the smile to stay off her face. “It’s not that you can’t use a computer,” she said, trying to explain.
“I can use a computer,” Edward replied defensively.
“Okay,” Bella assented, trying again. “It’s not that you had trouble with the computer, it’s just that…”
“It’s just that what?”
The grin was back; it was impossible to keep it off her face. “It’s just that I finally know what it’s like to have a boyfriend who isn’t perfect.”
Edward sighed, but she saw a glimpse of a smile playing at his features. “Bella, I am not-”
She laughed. “Well, I know that now.”
Still smiling, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss Edward lightly on the cheek. “Come on,” she said, threading her fingers through his before pulling him out the door. “We’re going to be late.”
The End