I so very dearly love how Edward isn’t described as having been exceptionally lonely before meeting Bella. Vampirism and telepathy present their own challenges in creating and maintaining connections in general, but he cared about his family deeply, and that was always enough for him. Yes he was bored and bemoaning the monotony of his existence, but there was nothing missing. These things weren’t connected to him being single.
That’s a fun and refreshing thing to see in an mc in a romance story, and also hilarious considering the wrench Bella throws into his life. I think it’s great when fic authors take into consideration how hard is must have been living as a bachelor among three ~perfectly matched~ couples for decades. But that is, at the end of the day, an extrapolation. According to Edward, he was pretty much chilling. Content. Yeah he was broody but he wasn’t pining for anything, including romance. He wasn’t desperate for any additional intimacy in his life. He wasn’t actually ‘waiting’ for Bella.
Then fate went “mmm, no. Time for chaos” and proceeded to bonk him with the Bella bat. And yeah the whole concept of finding something he didn’t know he was missing was sweet, but also… all the turmoil incident to the emotional wrench hurled at him isn’t exactly a “careful what you wish for” situation. Instead, it makes the story feel like something that happens to him, not as a result of any of his choices. And that’s fucking hilarious.
