centuries of love
Pairing - Carlisle x mate vampire reader you and Carlisle have been paired for centuries, giving Bella just a peak of your love for each other
The first time you heard the name Carlisle Cullen, it was little more than a whisper carried through the slow, secretive channels vampires used to spread unusual news. You had existed for centuries already, turned sometime in 1570s in a world that still burned people for witchcraft and whispered about monsters lurking in forests. You had survived by instinct and restraint when you could manage it, but restraint had always been a fragile thing for your kind.
So when you heard rumors of a vampire who refused human blood, who lived only on animals, you were certain it was nonsense. A fantasy. A story told by desperate creatures trying to believe they could be something better than what they were.
Still, curiosity had always been one of your greatest flaws.
It took you years to track him down. The world was slower then, information traveled by rumor and chance encounters. But eventually your search led you to England, where the quiet doctor moved like a ghost among humans, gentle and careful, leaving no trace of what he truly was.
The night you finally saw Carlisle, you almost didnβt believe it.
He stood alone in a clearing just beyond a small village, moonlight spilling across his pale hair as he finished feeding from a deer. When he noticed you, he didnβt attack. Didnβt bare his teeth.
He simply stepped back, giving you space.
βYouβve been following me,β he said calmly, his voice carrying the soft accent of centuries past. You tilted your head, studying him with open curiosity. βYouβre the one drinking animal blood.β
His golden eyes flickered with surprise that you knew. βYes.β You had expected arrogance. Or madness, instead, he lookedβ¦ hopeful.
Something strange stirred inside your chest the moment your eyes met. A pull, deep and unexplainable. Like something ancient recognizing its other half after centuries of wandering.
You felt it instantly and judging by the stunned look that crossed Carlisleβs face, he felt it too.
You laughed softly, disbelief coloring your voice.
βWell,β you murmured, stepping closer, βthat explains the strange feeling.β Carlisle blinked. βYou feel it as well?β
You nodded once. βSeems weβre something rather rare,β you said quietly. βMates.β The word lingered between you like a vow neither of you had expected.
Three hundred years later, the feeling had never faded, if anything, it had only grown stronger.
When Bella Swan first arrived in Forks, she noticed it almost immediately. She had already been overwhelmed by meeting the rest of the Cullen family, Edward Cullen, Esme Cullen, and the others, but there was something quietly different about the way you and Carlisle interacted.
It wasnβt obvious at first, just small things.
The way Carlisleβs hand would naturally find yours when you stood near each other. The soft smiles that passed between you across the room. The way you seemed to gravitate toward one another without even thinking.
Bella noticed it most one evening while visiting the Cullen house.
She had been sitting on the couch nervously, watching the strange but warm dynamics of the vampire family around her. Edward sat beside her, explaining something quietly, when her eyes drifted toward the kitchen.
You stood at the counter, flipping through a medical journal Carlisle had left open. A small, amused smile tugged at your lips, a moment later Carlisle entered the room. His eyes found you instantly and his entire expression softened, not dramatically. Anyone else might have missed it, but Bella saw.
He walked over quietly, resting one hand at the small of your back in a gesture so natural it seemed like second nature.
βWhat did you find?β he asked gently. You hummed, pointing at the page. βYour colleagueβs theory here is flawed.β
Carlisle leaned closer to read, your shoulders brushing, for a moment neither of you spoke, just standing with eachother.
Then he chuckled softly. βYouβre right,β he admitted. Bella stared at the scene unfolding Infront of her.
Three hundred years, Edward had told her earlier. You and Carlisle had been together for three hundred years.
And yet the way he looked at youβ¦
It wasnβt tired.
It wasnβt routine.
It was the same look Bella had seen people give each other during the first days of falling in love.
Warm. Devoted. Completely certain.
Later, Bella found herself whispering to Edward, eyes still drifting toward the two of you across the room.
βTheyβve been together for centuries, right?β Edward nodded in agreement. βYes. three give or take a few."
Bella watched as Carlisle brushed a stray strand of hair from your face, the movement so gentle it almost felt sacred. Her lips parted slightly in amazement. βThey still lookβ¦β she struggled for the word.
Edward smiled knowingly.
βHopelessly in love?β
Bella nodded slowly.
Across the room, you laughed softly at something Carlisle said, the sound light and warm. He looked at you the way someone might look at the sun after a long winter, like something he would never take for granted.
Edward leaned back against the couch.
βThatβs what happens,β he said quietly, βwhen you find the person meant for you.β
Bella watched the two of you a moment longer.
Three hundred years.
And somehow the love between you and Carlisle still looked brand new.
Like it had only just begun.
