Roman woke the happiest she had been in the longest time. Cloud nine couldn't compare to what she felt, and as the sunlight hit her face, she brought her hands up to twist and turn them in the sun.

They cast rainbows around her, lining against her skin, and if she spent forever lying there, staring up at them in a daze, then Alice was too kind to mention that as she finally came in, poke me out of the bed insistently with a reminder that it was well past noon and that Bella had made peanut butter cookies for breakfast that were now very cold.

She was infinitely kind, too much so as she fluttered around, cooing at every move I made. She prods teasingly at my neck, pointing out love bites that littered the unblemished skin.

Roman's face was terribly hot and there was no doubt about the brightness of it as Edward and Bella returned to save her. Her fiance was lovely enough to usher his sister from his room.

They packed quickly, Edward having more than enough supplies for the three of them, even with the threat of snow, and Roman was infinitely thankful that Alice had thought to grab her thermal boots from Bella's closet.

Everything passed quickly, the day passing in a blur until they were at the field, waiting by the car with their bags placed at her feet, and Seth was looping towards her, jogging the way with a beaming grin.

Roman meets him with a crush, air knocking from her lungs as she launches herself at him. He knows that somethings up the moment he sees her, the question at the tip of his tongue, and she quick to silence him.

Her fingerless gloves feel like an unnecessary screen against the knowledge that she wanted to share with the world.

It could wait. She could tell him the moment they were alone.

"Right, well, we need you to leave a trail around the clearing and then leading directly into it," Edward says, voice tight. "Seth and Jacob will follow close, leaving their scent so that they don't trail away from yours -- not that they're likely to do so."

Bella heads off eagerly, reaching to touch everything she could in the direction that he pointed in.

She doesn't move just yet, staying with Seth and Edward as Jacob follows close behind.

Swallowing, she says, "I had a, uh, different idea, actually."

Edward looks at her sharply in warning. She lifts her hands defensively.

"Nothing at all against what we agreed! And this is a great plan, it is, but I'm just saying that maybe, it could use a few corrections," she says, moving to her bag. "Based on my experience, and Jasper's, apparently, having us here would really be a great advantage, but we obviously can't do that."

"What?" Seth blurts, gaping at her with impossibly wide eyes. "You were going to sit here?"

"Yeah, but that plan has been shot out the window, don't worry," she says quickly, looking up from the clothes she was pulling out. "This is the next best thing. The outfit that I wore yesterday and last night. Both will smell incredibly like me, what with all the sweating I did yesterday and the, uh, well, last night's activities leaving a distinct smell. They should provide enough of a distraction."

"I like that a lot more than you surrounded by danger," Seth says, completely unfazed by her comments.

Edward takes them from her outstretched hand, placing them back into the back of the car immediately. "I'm not going to leave them here. The scent will fade overnight. I'll have Alice bring them when they come in the morning."

She blinks, considering before she nods her agreeance. It was smart to preserve the smell. It was better than having her wander around leaving a false trail, at least -- something she really didn't want to do but didn't have much of a choice of.

"Also, I feel as though I must mention that I have officially closed all trails that lead to here or pass near her or anywhere near where they'll be coming from. I can't force people not to take them, but they are officially closed. For maintenance, if anyone asks. It's going to leave me with a lot of bogus paperwork, but it'll be worth it, I believe."

Edward places a kiss to the top of her head. "Thank you, Roman. It eases some of the worries from my thoughts."

"You shouldn't be worrying so much. Everything is going to be fine."

"I know," he says. "It doesn't stop me from doing so."

"I know. I won't tell Bella, though. I wouldn't want her getting grey hairs."

Seth laughs and she turns to stick her tongue out at him, teasing with a small warning to not get involved right now because it honestly didn't involve him, but of course, like the annoying little brother he was, he didn't listen.

"What were last night's activities?" he asks, laughter ringing through his words.

"Not what you're thinking, but if you want I can detail everything on our little walk," she says, leaving Edward's hold to grab him by the arm, tugging him along in the general direction. "I won't leave anything out for you if that's what you really want."

He shudders, trying to gently remove his arm from her iron-clad grip. "That's really not necessary, Ro."

"Oh, but insist!" She chirps, patting his shoulder.

"Are you doing this just to keep Jacob at bay?" he whines, pouting.

Roman snorts. "Hardly. I have no reason to chase him away anymore, I can assure you of that."

She can feel his eyes burning a hole in the side of her head, intense as he tries to figure out what she's hinting at.

"Why's that?" He asks, voice low as they step into the trees. She finally gives him room to separate from her as he trails her path from a short distance.

"Now might not be the time for that, Seth. Pack mind and such."

"Aw, come on! That's not fair!" he whines.

"I know. That's the point," she laughs, stopping through the trees in a way that makes her antsy -- loud and obnoxious, blubbering mess sort of incompetent type of newbie hiker that makes her feel silly and stupid. 

They wander around aimlessly, slowly doubling back at her own leisurely pace. Roman listened to all of the updates in his life that she had missed within the last few days and all the pack gossip that he had all the information on because there was no such thing as secrets for the lot of them.

By the time he had shifted and they made their way up the mountain, it was evening and the temperature was getting ready to drop. She was sprawled across his back, taking in his warmth as the wind began to pick up a little, whipping at her cheeks that were exposed to the cold.

Edward had a hat waiting for her when she finally turned up, stuffing it on her head the moment she was within reach before he moved away.

She reached for him, uncaring for the cold as she kissed him soft and gentle. Heat lingered around her still as Seth didn't stray far, no doubt wanting to make sure she stayed warm.

He disappeared from reach as soon as she released him.

Pouting, she sits by the fire he had built, the flames struggling to stay lit. Seth joined her as soon as he shifts, sitting close by her side.

Dark clouds rolled in from the west, the snowstorm Alice had warned about coming in fast, and Roman wondered how long it would take to get here. Experience told her soon and she counted it out, trying to factor in the wind and distance in the only way she was capable of really doing any sort of math.

Half-hour, perhaps, a little less, if they were unlucky, and still, Roman wasn't in any rush to hide away inside the tent.

She was used to the cold. Living in Forks all her life and spending most of it running the forest come hell or high water, it didn't' make much of a difference to her. But snow was a threat, it covered tracks and changed the landscape, turning you upside down and setting you backwards. 

Roman was thankful she could get around better than anything else. The maps seared to the back of her eyes a welcome gift as she thought on the snow.

If it was just her and Bella up here, then she had no doubt that she would be able to find a way down to the others. She could find her way through anything.

"You should really get inside before it's impossible to shake the cold," Seth tells her, bouncing her leg incessantly.

"I will. Are you going to be staying the night up here?" she asks, looking to him expectantly.

"There's no way they can expect me to leave you. I'll be staying here with Jake," he says, glancing back for the other boy. "He gets to leave in the morning while I'm stuck here, though."

She bumps his shoulder. "Don't look at it that way. You have the important position of being my protector up here, Seth. What if something gets by them? What if they find us here?"

His chest puffs. "Then I'll be here to make sure that nothing gets you."

Her laughter is breathy, airy. "My hero."

His shoulders shake, pressing against hers in a way that brings life to her humour, her laugh loud and barking. It brought noise to the mountainside that was quickly carried away on the wind.

"Come along, you, let's get inside the tent before the storm hits. There's no way I'm leaving you out here all night and the tent is big enough for all of us."

The wind shook the tent again and Roman groaned, the howling noise keeping her awake as much as Bella's shaking was.

Her eyes lids were heavy, sticky as she tried to open them. The world was blurry, the small lamp light that Edward brought casting an orange glow.

"Are you sure you don't want to switch places?" she croaks, throat dry from the heat pressed to her side. "Seth won't mind."

"N-no," Bella gasp, teeth chattering jarringly loud. "W-w-w-w-w-what t-t-t-t-time is it?"

"Two," Edward said.

Roman groans, turning over and untucking the sleeping back from around her. Sleep pulled at her, tempting her back to bed, alluringly hypnotizing. She was so warm.

Sluggishly, she slips out of her jacket, dropping it atop Bella before she plants her face into Seth's side with a snorting gasp.

"Maybe..."

"No, I'm f-f-f-f-f-fine, r-r-r-really. I don't w-w-w-want to g-go outside."

"S'not a good idea to go out," Roman smacks her lips, "Just come here."

"I don't w-w-want t-to m-m-m-make y-you c-c-cold."

"What can I do?" he almost begged.

"Just come here," she repeats.

Out in the snow, Jacob whined unhappily.

Roman mimicked the sound and Seth moves unconsciously, sluggish an arm around her.

The heat cast a fog over her mind, drawing her away before she jerks away with the shaking of the tent. Cold wind burst in around them, cold droplets landing against her now bare shoulders because apparently Roman was undressing in her sleep. It was nice, an instant relief to the warmth that she was drowning in.

"Better than anything you've come up with," Jacob answered, his human voice startling her. "Go fetch aspace heater," he grumbled. "I'm not a St. Bernard."

She snorts, not bother to open her eyes as he comes into the tent, or when he begins to awkwardly pull at her and Seth to make more room.

"Hello, pretty doggy," she mutters sleepily, as he adjusts the arm around her again.

He chuckles, patting her head. "You wouldn't be saying that if you were really awake. Go back to sleep, Roman."

Wiggling her fingers, she feels the rings on her hands move from the sweat under the gloves. "I'm trying. Bella's cold."

"I'm going to get her warm. Get some sleep."

Nodding, she flaps her hand about, searching blindly for Edward. He takes her hand, stilling her movement as he settles down closer to her.

The small sensation of his cool, icy touch, was instantly soothing, and the feel of him so close was comforting, dropping her into sleep near instantly.

When she next wakes, she's curled around Bella, her personal space heater and A.C. missing, and she's left only with beautifully perfect human flesh and natural warmth of the girl that clung to her desperately in sleep.

Absentmindedly she presses a kiss to her forehead and Bella moves, lips grazing Roman's jaw in fluttering butterfly kisses.

"You're awake."

Bella nods. "I didn't want to move until you got up."

"You're sweet."

"You've been really tired lately, Roman, I wanted to make sure you got enough sleep."

Her heart burst, hammering against her ribs. "I never get enough sleep, Bells, but thank you for thinking of me like that."

"Always."

She hums, kissing her forehead again. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"A little. Edward and Jacob were talking about some stuff," she admits, speaking as quietly as she could while making sure she was capable of hearing. "He has a list of best and worst days of his life."

"Did he say what they were?"

"Worst day is a tie between when he thought I was dead and when he found where your parents held you in the woods. They had thought you were dead or worse when he couldn't find you."

She swallows thickly, her words coming out thick. "Did he say what the best moments were?"

Bella shakes her head. "No, but I plan to ask him. You ready to get up, now?"

"Ready when you are."

They struggle with the zippers for a moment, but eventually, they come stumbling out of the tent -- Roman stripping the gloves that were miraculously still on as she stepped out onto the fresh snow.

Seth and Jacob were nowhere to be seen and for a moment worry burst through her, searing through her veins when she was unable to catch sight of him. She was only soothed by the reassurance that he wasn't going to be fighting with the others. He'll be back.

Stretching, she knows that Bella is right behind her as she moves undeterred, stomping her way to the small, smokeless fire that burned anew.

Edward stood there, back stiff and still, as he looked out into the distance, seeing details that she could never hope to see.

"How much longer?" Bella asks, pulling a coat around her shoulders as she approached him.

"Not much longer. Alice told Sam another hour or so."

"I wish it was sooner. I can't stand the anticipation," Roman says, greeting Edward with a kiss to his cheek.

"We stay together. No matter what."

"No matter what," he agreed, his eyes tight.

"I know," Bella said. "I'm terrified for them, too."

"They know how to handle themselves," Edward assured her, purposely making his voice light. "I just hate missing the fun."

Roman snorts. "Don't go speaking like that around Seth or he'll never let me hear the end of it."

He puts an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in so she bumped into him gently, and held out the other for Bella to duck under the other side. She does so, pressing her cheek against his thin shirt.

"Do you want me to distract you?" he offers, turning them slightly so they were away from the ridge edge.

"Tell us about your ten best nights?" Bella asks, eyes shooting to look at Roman. "I'm curious."

She nods eagerly, turning her face up to him.

He laughed. "Try to guess."

Roman makes a face. "There are too many nights that we don't know about. You've lived for a century, babe."

"I'll narrow it down for you. All of my best nights have happened since I met Bella."

"Really?" Bella asks softly.

"Yes, really -- and by quite a large margin, too."

"Well, I can only think of mine," she admits.

"Well, maybe they're the same," Edward encouraged.

Roman smiles. "There was that time you read Wuthering Heights to me. It was so peaceful and your voice was so poetic and mesmerizing."

"The night we discussed the damnation of your soul," he murmurs, playing with a strand of her hair between his fingers. "I can't say that conversation was my favourite but I do enjoy the moments afterward."

"Yes, I can see how that wouldn't make the cut," she says dryly, pinching his side pointlessly.

He kissed the top of her head. "I never said that I didn't."

"There was the first night that you stayed," Bella speaks shyly, knowing very well that Roman wasn't there for that part yet.

It didn't bother her, though. Realistically, she understood that there was a time before she was involved and that there were going to be moments that she wasn't there for. Roman felt a million times better after she got everything off her chest after the other night.

Communication was key and now things were going to be much better, much healthier, and really, she wasn't going to let her mind get the best of her causing her to hesitate again.

"Yes, that also makes the list."

"The first time I spent the night at Bella's. The first night she kissed me. The first time you and I were together..." she trails off, eyeing her girlfriend purposely, gaze hooded. "When you each said you love me for the first time, when I drugged Jacob, when Seth imprinted on me -- I'm not sure if all of those count as night, though, they might just be afternoon."

"They count, Roman," Edward tells her.

She shakes her head. "I don't know how you can narrow it down to ten. There are so many moments that I can think of, with both of you and without you."

Edward chuckles. "You'll be able to narrow it down after a century," he says, turning to Bella. "Do you have any particular nights you would like to add?"

"The flight home from Italy," Bella says, eyes closed as she thinks back on the moment.

Hurt cuts through her, slicing like a blade, and she winced. Italy was terrible. The entire thing was terrible and the moments that came after were just as bad. She had thought then that she was going to lose them both permanently, that Bella and Edward were going to use this moment to pull so far away from her that she would only be able to see their shine in the night sky.

She had spent the entire time hidden away, pressed between strangers with sweat coating her skin before she bailed her heart out in a cab ride to the airport.

Edward squeezes her shoulder in comfort. "I'm surprised it's on your list."

"It's not on yours?" she asks.

"It is, but weren't you under the ludicrousimpression I was just acting from a guilty conscience, and I was going to bolt as soon as the plane doorsopened?"

"Yes," she says, a tiny smile playing on her lips. "You were still there, though."

He kissed her hair. "You love me more than I deserve."

Bella laughed at the impossibility of that idea. 'Next would be the night after Italy," she continued.

"Yes, that's on the list. You were so funny."

"Funny?"

"I had no idea your dreams were so vivid. It took me forever to convince you that you were awake."

"I'm still not sure," she muttered. "You've always seemed more like a dream than reality. Tell me one of yours now. Did I guess the top spot?"

Roman reaches her fingers out, tracing the side of Bella's face to bring her to look up. "Isn't it obvious what the first is, love?"

"No — that would be two nights ago, when you finally agreed to marry me."

Warmth floods through her, an uncomparable joy bursting free like rays from the sun -- radiating and glowing and just overwhelmingly incredible. Her knees felt weak, legs unsteady and she leaned in closer to him for support (or maybe she just wanted to feel him closer, have the chance to get closer).

"That doesn't make your list?"

"It definitely makes mine," Roman hums, holding her hands before her so that she could see the way the diamonds glint in the light.

Bella's smile is bitter, strained almost before it morphs and he nods, speaking softly. "Yes... it does, but with reservations. I don't understand why marriage is so important to you."

"I'm explain it to you in a hundred years when you gain more perspective. You'll thank me then."

"In a hundred years."

"I'll thank you now and demand to renew our vows in a hundred years," Roman says, gaining one of his crooked grins for her efforts.

"Are you warm enough?" he suddenly asks.

Roman frowns, nodding.

"Yes, why?" Bella asks.

A howl rips through the air, the pain in the sound making her flinch, insides stirring as the sound ricochet of the mountainside, amplifying as the echoes refused to die out.

Her hand flutters to her chest, pushing against the emotion that sat there. "Was that...?" she trails off, glancing to the trees where every part of her screamed he was fleeing from.

"Because Jacob has reached his limit," Edward speaks quietly. "Truce over."

Growling pierces through her, carving over her skin, stabbing through her, and she stumbles, spinning in the same direction that Jacob had run off to face the towering wolf that approached -- hackles raised and teeth bared as he pawed at the snow, pulling up traces of dirt.

Roman steps towards him, hand reached out. Edward pulls her back immediately.

"I'm sorry, Seth," he apologizes. "Roman wished to tell you herself but not now when everyone would know right away. She wished for it to be special."

It calms his glare a little, enough for Edward to let her move toward him again. She launches at him, throwing her arms as best she could around his large neck. She tugged at his fur, pulling on him so he would move his sight from Edward and step into the tree line to give them some privacy.

"Seth, please?"

He stops resisting immediately, letting her pull him away and she nearly trips the moment he stops fighting.

They don't go too far from the camp, not wanting any risks, and she turns her back as he shifts, the sound of his bones snapping and cracking making her squeeze her eyes shut at how painful it sounds.

She wasn't sure what to make of the situation or what she was supposed to say to him. She was under the impression that he was fine with all of this, that he was alright with her being with him, and shouldn't that have involved marriage at some point -- was it really that surprising when he knew how deeply she felt for them both.

"I should have been the first to know!" he shouts immediately and she can hear him pacing furiously.

"I know. You were going to be the first one that I told."

"But he made it so that Jake knew first and now everyone knows too."

"I'm sorry, Seth, I really wanted you to be the first to know, but it wasn't in my control!"

"Gah- Roman, can you just look at me!" he snaps, pacing stops and she spins back around, meeting his eyes that were darkened with emotions. "I can understand that you couldn't control the situation, but I can't understand why it took you so long to tell me."

She sighs, rubbing the back of her neck. "I didn't think it would be right to just tell you yesterday when you would have shifted and I would lose the chance to tell the others. I wanted to try and tell them myself. I'm so sorry, Seth. I'm so sorry, you shouldn't have found out that way."

He softens, anger fading away bar the stubborn way he clings to pieces that aren't quick enough, holding it in the tenseness of his muscles and the hard set of his shoulders.

"I shouldn't have, Roman, but really, I'm happy for you. Congratulations!" he turns cheery in a snap, his hug crashing her against his chest as he spins her around before dropping her seconds later. "He should have asked me for my blessing or something."

"You aren't my father, Seth," she laughs, shaking her head at him. "He doesn't have to ask you, but I can mention it, if yo want."

"No, I'll talk to him about it myself. I need him to take some seriously."

"He'll take you seriously no matter what, sweetheart, and you know that," she says, patting his cheek lovingly. "But I'm sure he'll appreciate the gesture all the same. You gonna talk to Bella, too?"

"Bella? Why would I—" he gapes at her, grabbing her hands to hold them up before his face— "you have two rings. Two! One from each?"

Roman nods, unable to help her smug little grin.

"And you gave one to Bella?"

"And Edward."

"And Edward? That's not very traditional."

"We aren't very traditional, Seth," she points out, words soft, hesitant. "Do you think it's too much?"

He pats the top of her head, goofy grin easing away some of her irrational nerves. "You're just a little more modern than most people. The world will catch up soon."

"I sure hope so."

His arm is heavy when it lands around her shoulder. "They will, Ro. So, don't worry about what others think when you won't be heading the rules of time very soon."

"You've been thinking about that quite a bit, haven't you?"

"I think about it all the time," he admits, patting her back. "I'm kinda looking forward to spending extra time with you."

The truth strikes her hard. They could spend so much extra time together now if he decided to hang around. "Do the others know that?"

"They're not all that happy about it, but they can't really say anything knowing how important our imprint bond is."

"They won't try to change your mind?"

"They couldn't."

She purses her lips, casting her eyes to the side. "Could I change your mind?"

"Not a chance."

Guilt brushes away knowing that she didn't have to fight him on this. She wanted to have him around. She wanted for him to be here with her in all the greedy and selfish ways that she could.

She was going to be stealing Sue's son, Leah's brother, because she just knew that he wasn't going to stop shifting when he had the chance. He was going to follow her the first opportunity that he had.

And part of her wanted him to despite how much she knew he had to stay here.

Roman can't find the words she wants to say, unable to find a balance between her greed and her guilt.

"We should get back soon before anything happens. You're the eyes, remember?"

He's reluctant as he turns them back in the direction of the camp, hovering around her for a moment before he lets her go.

"Edward wants to talk to me about the plans. You can get back on your own, right?" She asks, worriedly looking around them.

"Don't worry about me. Go do what you need to do. I can get back fine."

Seth looks uncertain. "Jake and Bella are fighting."

She shrugs. "They're always fighting. It'll be fine."

He doesn't follow her as she makes her way to the clearing, knowing that she could make her own way quite easily.

The sound of him shifting behind her only give her the courage to keep moving when he can hear much better than before.

Roman has always felt at home in the woods, always felt like nothing could ever touch her there, and no matter how many times the world tries to prove her wrong, she always find her peace and serenity back here.

Each step is silent but there no doubt he hears her as she steps out into the bright sunlight again, no doh t that he knows she there to bear witness to each—

Roman falls back, silent as she scurries away, a ringing sound in her ears. She covers her mouth with a trembling hand, Grandma Swans ring heavy on her finger.

"Oh God," She breathes, darting back to the cover of the forest as quickly that she could.

How could Bella just... why would Bella ever kiss Jacob like that?

°°°
Vote,
Comment,
& follow me on wattpad

Wow! I updated on a week night! I deserve a pat on the back, if I do say so myself ! Give me validation!!

Also,,, this turned from filler chappie to plot filled real quick so sorry for any awkwardness I guess??

Unedited

2020-02-17