There was a strange feeling of mourning and grief that weighed heavily on Roman's chest as she finished work that day.

Sure, it had been long and she had kept busy, but the day had gone slow, dragging for her as she knew that soon she wouldn't be working here after years and plans of staying here in this one job for the rest of her life.

It was what she was good at, and though her shifts were becoming less and less frequent, time growing between them tauntingly, she knew that it was for the best as she slowly began to clear her desk, passing off her duties and sections to others reluctantly -- knowing that they would never care for her forest the way that she always had.

No one would.

She stayed later than needed, texting Edward not to pick her up just yet as she hung around the office speaking to student volunteers and junior rangers that hung off her every word and explanation.

Roman didn't need to teach them how to survive if they found themselves lost in the woods. She knew that it was someone else's job to do so, but she did it anyway because she just knew how much she would miss it in the end.

She would probably never get the chance to teach someone else ever again and if that was the price of true love, then she would give it up gladly.

When she finally left the station, she wasn't as surprised as she should have been to see the car parked outside waiting. Alice wasn't in her fancy Porsche today, but it was still one of the nicer models that they owned -- Carlisle's car, she believed.

Roman worried her lip, tugging it between her teeth and biting down harshly as she cast a sight glance back to her chained up bike not knowing when she would get the chance to actually ride her bike again with everything that was going on.

It was part of her routine exercise, after all, cutting it out as she had wasn't going to be good for her physique. She didn't want to change too much before she became a vampire. She wanted to stay the way that she liked, the way that she remembered.

"What are you doing here?" she grumbles as she closes the door, buckle clicking the moment Alice begins to drive away.

"Someone needed to keep an eye on you."

She gapes. "I'm eighteen. I don't need someone to keep an eye on me."

"You know the situation, Roman. It's nothing personal."

"It's just... it's not fair, you know? I shouldn't have to have a babysitter following me around all the time."

Alice hums sympathetically. "It's not an ideal situation, but it'll be over with soon."

"Not soon enough."

"So impatient," she giggles.

Snorting, she turns to look out the window, absently fiddling with her bag as she does.

"You don't want to stop anywhere before we go home?" Alice asks, a playful lilt to her voice.

Roman shoots her a look. "You know I don't. I ran my errands this morning."

"I know.  Edward hates when you girls separate because he can't be with both of you."

"I hate when we separate too, but that doesn't mean he has to be with us all the time. How am I supposed to surprise them if they're with me?"

"You can never keep secrets from my brother."

"I can certainly try. He won't go digging around my head if he knows what's good for him."

It's silent for a moment, her silly threat hanging between them knowing she couldn't really do anything to him if she tried.

"Well, I would like to be the first to say congratulations."

Roman freezes. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"I wouldn't ask if I did."

"You are a true romantic at heart, Roman, and now that you have what you want within your grasp, I know you won't hesitate," Alice tells her, the slight compliment making her cheeks burn.

"That isn't really true. You know how long it took for me to approach Bella."

"You waited for the right moment.  It wasn't hesitation, but intelligence. You don't hesitate when it comes to the ones that you love."

She remains silent for a moment, thoughtful. She had always thought that she was the kind to hesitate, but looking back to the moments since she had was knocked over that fateful day by Bella, she realized that she had been a lot braver than any other moment before.

Sure, she was brave and confident when out in the woods or in school with her friends, but this was different, this was real and true, and Roman was overjoyed knowing that she had changed for the better.

Maybe Alice was actually right.

"You don't think it's a stupid idea?"

"Hardly. I waited 28 years for Jasper. It's a brilliant idea and they'll love it."

"Did you see that?"

Alice laughs, the chiming sound bringing a smile to her lips. "I haven't seen a thing. I just know Edward and Bella enough to be sure."

"Okay. Okay, that's good, then. Thanks."

It was only after they picked up Bella that she was struck with a reminder of how soon everything was going to happen. Forty-eight hours and everything was going to be over.

And when we had arrived Edward had requested that Bella stay relaxed, that Roman keep a hold on certain emotions once she got the knowledge that they were alone.

She promised to try, but she made no promises, not when Bella wasn't making eye contact and Edward did that enchanting thing with his eyes.

"For this one night, could we try to forget everything besides just us?" he'd pleaded, unleashing the full force of his eyes. "It seems like I can never get enough time like that. I need to be with you. Just the two of you."

Roman agreed, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she wandered idly toward the kitchen. She hadn't eaten yet, and if she waited around long enough for him to find out, then he was going to insist he do it for her. His care was wonderful, but it was a pain that he did that sometimes -- acted that she wasn't capable.

She rustled around the fridge until she had what she needed to make herself a nice, filling fruit salad.

They join her after a few minutes later, soundlessly joining her as she cut her fruit. They finished quickly, and Edward brings out two bowls as Bella finds some yogurt.

It's a light, breakfast sort of dinner, the kind of meal that she'll need to come down later to get something else to eat.

She eats slowly, the long days slowly hitting her, and she drooped tiredly over her food -- wanting nothing more than to take a shower. She felt terrible for being so despondent. She wanted to pull on that liveliness she usually had but work hit different for some reason, probably due to the emotional aspect.

"I have something for you," he said, his tone conversational.

Roman hums in interest, looking up from her bowl with interest.

Bella makes a small noise. "Oh?"

"Your presents, remember? Bella's hand-me-down, and Roman's normal person gift."

Her lips quirk in a grin at the affronted noise Bella makes, her protest instant.

"It's up in my room. Shall I go get it?"

Bella hops up readily, already finished her bowl, but Roman waves them off. "I'm just going to finish this then go take a shower. I'll be there soon."

They don't move right away, but eventually her girlfriend nods and places a kiss to her cheek before she leaves, Edward's kiss much more lingering than her own.

Her human moment is slow to her standards, slower than Bella's ever were, but she comes out feeling like a person again, one that had washed her lingering sorrow at the knowledge that she as going to have to leave the most human thing about herself behind.

It wasn't necessary anymore, not when she knew they would have to leave eventually and that there were better things to define herself by than her actually pretty plain job.

Roman was more than a forest ranger, after all, so she wasn't going to let it bother her all that much anymore.

Her bare feet make tiny padding sounds as she walks to his room, absently pressing the water from her hair with a towel as she tugs at her night shorts. Alice had changed out her clothes again, but it wasn't like she was going to complain with how attractive it always made her feel.

They were seated close together on the bed when she entered, Bella fiddling with her bracelet.

Edward was on his feet when he saw her, eagerly leading her into the room. She casts the other girl a curious glance.

"What?"

He shakes his head with a small chuckle. "Am I not allowed to be happy?"

"Not when you're acting strange. Why are you so excited?"

There's no answer as he pulls a long box from thin air, placing it in her hands. His fingers linger, tracing over her skin before he pulls away to sit next to her.

Roman is aware of Bella pressing against her back as she opens it, her breath catching in her throat at how delicate it looks.

It was a thin, gold chain that felt fragile in her fingers like she would snap it if she wasn't careful. there was a single charm, a moon with jewel dotted stars connected, surrounding the crescent as it swung like a slow pendulum in her hand.

"It's beautiful," she breathes, tears stinging her eyes.

"It was only fitting to have the night presented against your skin because you are the sun. I would gladly be the darkness to your sunshine."

A choked sob strangles from her, and she drops her head against his shoulder, a hand coming to wipe the tears away. Edward holds her to him and she can feel him smile into her hair.

"You're just as pretty as the moon," she tells him honestly. "Just as cold to touch but breathlessly stunning. I would give all my hours to see more of you."

"Now you'll never have to."

She laughs wetly. "Thank you, Edward. Thank you very much. I love it."

"You're very welcome."

Letting the moment last a little while longer, Roman eventually pulls away, tugging her camisole down where it had ridden up when she stands.

"I have things, too, but I think they should wait for now--" she tries very hard to keep her thoughts to herself for obvious reasons-- "but I want to add myself to Bella's bracelet too. It's only fair."

She ignores her girlfriend's protests as she heads for her bag.

It wasn't hard to spot the crystal heart that shimmered on her wrist, it was like a target that caught her attention immediately, and her heart had filled with joy at the sight of it there. There was more than enough room for her to add her piece.

The token felt tiny in her hand, encased in tissue paper instead of proper packaging.

Her hand shook as she held it out. They continued to shake after Bella took it away.

She bit at her lips, picking at the skin so the sting of it would wash through her mind.

Edward's cold fingers tugged it free, grazing soothingly over her harsh nips.

"It's not much," Roman blurts instead, playing with her fingers. "But I just knew that was the one when I saw it and didn't even consider anything else."

"It's wonderful, Roman," Bella whispers.

"Well, it always feels like I am drinking in sunlight when I'm around you, like I was falling into it, but maybe--" her eyes dart to Edward-- "maybe now, I was thinking, maybe I was the sun all along but I was stuck in a gloomy winter until I found you."

"You're the sun, Roman, and Edward's the moon," Bella says, leaving no room for argument.

She grins. "That has to make you the earth or something, Bells, with the gravity threatening to pull us in."

"The earth could never pull in the sun," she counters.

"Ah, but it already has."

"Maybe I'm a black hole, then."

Edward scoffs. "If anyone's a black hole, then it's me."

"Why are you both like this?" Roman whines. "No one is a black hole. Edward's the moon and Bella's the earth, or the stars, or, uh, or... my heart?"

"Cheesy," she mutters, pulling her close.

The kiss is soft, loving, and both are reluctant to pull away, but she does eventually, falling back on the bed with a dreamy sigh.

Edward groans, resting back against the pillows.

"Can we discuss something?" Bella looks to them, fingers tracing lazy circles on Roman's exposed thigh. "I'd appreciate if you could begin to be open-minded."

He hesitates for a moment, no doubt worrying what this was all about. "I'll give my best effort."

"I'm not breaking any rules here. This is strictly about us," Bella reassures. "I was impressed by how well we compromised the other day and wanted to know if we would apply the same principles to a different subject."

"What would you like to negotiate?" he asked, a smile in his voice.

Bella casts a worried look in her direction. "Well, first, I know that you were trying to keep it all a secret from Roman, knowing how romantic she is and how she doesn't have the same views about all of this that you do, but I wanted to speak about how marriage would actually work between three people."

Roman jerks, eyes wide as her heart beats a rabbits thump against her ribs, bruising. This was... this was one of those moments where she felt she wasn't being included again, as if she was just there, hanging about miserably waiting on all of their decisions stupidly.

"Right, I want to negotiate some things too," she says, sitting up so she could face them both. "We are going to have to talk about my placement in all of this because I lot of the time I feel like a second thought in all of your decisions and little moments."

"You aren't a second thought, Roman," Bella gasps, reaching for her hands the minute she finished speaking. "You are in my every thought behind every decision made. I'm so sorry if I ever made you feel that way."

"Then why is it like I'm not invited to the party? I know the dynamics are different now and that I joined into your relationship, but it isn't fair for me to continue like this. I- I'm really starting to feel like I'm not valued as much."

Bella shakes her head violently, bottom lip trembling. "No! No, Roman, you are valued and I'm so sorry that I made you feel like you weren't. There's no excuse for it, but I- part of me wanted to keep you separate from everything like it could keep you safe from all of this. I feel like if I put up this distance then maybe you could stay this pure, untouched thing from all the horror. It was a stupid means to keep you safe, but that isn't an excuse, and I'm so sorry."

She picked at her lips, tears wetting her cheeks, and she swallows back pathetic cries that try to surface. Now wasn't the time.

"You have to promise that I won't be left out of any of the important things anymore. I can't stand being left out of things anymore."

"You won't, Roman, I won't leave you out of anything anymore, I swear -- we swear, right?" She says, looking back to Edward with wide eyes.

"I swear to share everything with you, Roman," he tells her, moving close to her side and she leans against him, seeking his comfort. "It was never my intention to make you feel this way and I swear that I will never let it happen again. You are precious to me. My happiness is dependent on you."

"It's okay. I should have said something sooner."

"We shouldn't have let you feel this way at all."

"Neither of us should have," Bella says, gravitating toward them. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"It's not."

"Bella, it's fine. Apologizing isn't going to change anything now. We spoke about it and now things will be different," Roman says, quite happy to get everything off her chest. "Now, what was this whole marriage thing?"

Her girlfriend blinks, drawing into her thoughts for a moment, gathering her pieces before she reapproached the subject.

"Right, I wanted to talk about the marriage condition. I have been considering it, but I wanted to know how it would work."

"Well, and you'll have to explain this condition to me, of course, but if you're talking about a poly marriage and how that works, then it would, sadly, be purely ceremonial and not legal. It'll be like a civil partnership."

"So how is it going to make much of a difference to anything?"

"It makes a difference to us because we will know," Edward tells her. "The change is that we will be married in every way except legally, and that is enough for someone that doesn't need to be in the eye of the law."

"And people will know. It announces to the world that, uh, we are the ones that you want to spend your life with," Roman continues.

"It's a symbolic gesture of love," Edward says.

Bella flushes a pretty colour. "Okay, yes, but the condition. I want to add to it."

"What is this condition?"

"If I marry him then he will be the one to change me."

"And this wasn't' mentioned before because..."

Edward shifts and she moves so that she could see his face as he speaks. This angle was all sharp jaws and cheekbones, and it was like looking at Adonis himself -- carved beautifully in stone.

"I proposed to Bella shortly after we returned from Italy. I didn't want to be parted from her again."

"Oh."

"By the time you've snuck your way into my heart, I knew that you would not appreciate the same approach as Bella. I knew that if I was to ask, you would not say no, so I wished to wait for the right moment."

Heat flushed through her, heart jumping to her throat as butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

She cleared her throat. "What did you want to negotiate?"

Edward frowned, serious now. "I've already made the largest concession by far and away — I'veagreed to take your life away against my better judgment. And that ought to entitle me to a fewcompromises on your part."

"Am I entitled to the same condition? I'll marry you anyway, but I do want you to change me," Roman adds, raising her hand a little. Edward grabs it quickly, placing a chaste kiss to her fingers.

"Of course, my love."

A happy buzz thrums throw her.

"I don't want to change any of that. It's a done deal," Bella jumps back to the point, "I want to add my own condition."

His lips quirk in that crooked smile of his. "I wasn't aware that you wanted anything other than being transformed into a monster yourself. I'm extremely curious."

The other girl wiggles in her seat and Roman captures her hand, watching as her cheeks grow a dark colour that she was intimately familiar with. Her own curiosity flourished at the sight as she fought against the itch to bring her closer.

"You're blushing?" he asked in surprise. Bella kept her eyes down. "Please, Bella, the suspense is painful."

She bit her lip.

"Bella," she says, pulling her lip from between her teeth.

"I'm a little worried about what will happen afterward," she says, finally looking up to meet his gaze. She doesn't look to Roman.

She has no doubt that this was going to be a little like yesterday, with the manipulation to get what she wanted, though, she understood the worry.

And she wanted Edward. She wanted that experience, with both of them, before it wasn't a human sort of memory any longer.

Roman felt his body tense. "What has you worried?"

"All of you just seem so convinced that the only thing I'm going to be interested in, afterward, isslaughtering everyone in town," Bella confessed, while he winced at the choice of words. "And I'm afraid I'llbe so preoccupied with the mayhem that I won't be me anymore... and that I won't... I won't wantyou the same way I do now."

"Bella, that part doesn't last forever," he assured me.

He was missing the point

She pushed her face into his side, hiding her smile. If Bella could just say what she wanted, if she would just ask -- but then that wasn't Bella's style. She was the shy type and she loved every flustered bit of her.

And if she wanted to fight this fight for them, then so be it, because she was going to get just as much out of this than she was.

"Edward," She said. "There's something I want before I'm not human."

"Me too," Roman chirps, still hiding her face.

"Anything you want," he encourages, anxious and completely clueless.

"You promise?" Bella asks, eager.

"Yes," he agrees. "Ask for anything and it's yours."

"You."

"I'm yours."

Grinning, she pulls back, moving over just enough so there was room for Bella at her side as she moves forward. Roman was sure that she thought it was going to work, but there was no way it was going to be that easy.

She wasn't stupid, though. She moved slowly, leisurely as she made her way to her knees slowly, pressing herself to their side.

A hand moves to the hair at the base of his neck, playing with it as she plants kisses to Bella's smooth skin, her free hand creeping up the back of her shirt. Bella shivers and she smiles against her, shifting her attention to Edward as she provides the same ministrations.

Shaky hands fiddle with his shirt, Bella's nerves getting the best of her and Roman reaches to steady them, helping as she works to lift the clothing from him.

He was gone at once and they were falling together, catching against each other as Bella pants.

"Be reasonable."

"You promised. Whatever I wanted," she reminds him, hopeful.

He jaw clenched hard. "We are not having this discussion."

"I say we are."

"No."

Bella growl, standing to her feet, and Roman falls to the bed with a groan. "So you can ask for any stupid, ridiculous thing you want — like getting married — butI'm not allowedto even discuss what I--"

"No." His face was hard.

Something in her face shifts, an emotion in her eyes crumbling, and she falls back to the bed with a quiet sigh.

Roman moves back into her side, laying her cheek to her shoulder with a soft, comforting hum.

"Why?"

"What?" Bella asks softly. She ignores her.

"Why not? Is there a reason that it isn't reasonable?"

"Because it's dangerous. I could crush you. I could--" he tears his gaze away, a haunting, desperate look flashing in his eyes before it's gone.

"I don't think you would."

"Roman, I could kill you," he stressed, pleading.

"I don't think you would."

He's before them in a flash, kneeling down before them to take one of their hands into one of his own. The other reached over and then he was holding a metal flower from the bedpost before them. He crushed it into a lump between two fingers.

"That's not what she meant," Bella argues.

"I already know how strong you are, babe."

"What did you mean then?" he asked in a dark voice, tossing the handful of iron sand to the corner of theroom. It hit the wall with a sound like rain.

"Obviously you can physically hurt us, that was never in question. What I meant was that you wouldn't be able to hurt us. You would never allow yourself. I trust you not to."

He was tense as he stared at her, eyes pleading. "It might not work like that."

"I think it will. I think you have more control than you give yourself credit for."

"Do you imagine I would ever take that kind of risk?" he whispered, voice tight and controlled.

Please?" Bella whispered. Her words rushing out. "You don't have to make me any guarantees. If itdoesn't work out right, well, then that's that. Just let us try... only try. And you can have whatever you want," she promised rashly. "I'll marry you. I'll let you pay for Dartmouth, and I won't complain about the bribe toget me in. You can even buy me a fast car if that makes you happy! Roman will consider college, she'll... whatever you want I'm sure. Just... please. "

"I'll give you time, if that's what you want. I don't care as much about age as she does. It's not a big issue for me. One or two years are nothing compared to forever," Roman offers, watching the uncertainty fade away to burst of hope and relief.

"Don't refuse," Bella breathes, inching closer so their mouths were barely an inch apart.

He doesn't respond and Bella lurches forward, lips crashing into his with a fervent urgency that knocks the breath from her lungs just from watching. His hands seize her face, holding her to him.

Her tongue swipes over her lips, mouth suddenly dry as she watches the way they mould together. It's electrifying, intense and stupid electrifying, and she can't help but clench her tighs together.

Roman doesn't miss the way Edward groans the moment she does, hand reaching for her easily. The coolness of his skin burns across her skin, striking to her core, and she clings to him, his arm folding around her back.

The moment Bella breaks away, gasping for air, Roman steals her spot, blindly reaching for the other girl to pull her close so that she was cocooned in a dizzying mixture of hot and cold.

Panting in her ear, trembling fingers passing over her skin, made her tremble.

And she pulled back for only a second, breathing harshly, before a mouth slanted over hers again, a tongue diving in fearlessly -- warm and soft, the taste bursting behind her eyes. Edward's mouth didn't leave her skin, moving along her neck, attention fixed to the hammering pulse in her neck.

God, they were going to kill her.

"Bella," he murmured, his voice warm and velvet. "Would you please stoptrying to take your clothes off?"

"Why? Did you want to do that part?" the words are spoken against her lips, tickling with each pant against her mouth.

Roman laughed breathlessly. "Cheeky."

"No, just not now," he said.

Bella drew in a sharp breath. "You said--"

"Not tonight," he amended.

Humming, she drags her nose along the slope of Bella's nose, nip softly at the skin. The girl jumps, gasping softly. "I can wait."

"I'm sure you can," Edward drawls.

"What?" she asks innocently, facing him with an easy smile. "The wait will only make the moment more intense."

His eyes narrow slightly. "And how would you know?"

She bats her eyes innocently. "Well, I've waited this long, haven't I?"

Running a hand through his hair, exhaling heavily. "You're a minx."

"Only for you."

"Why not tonight?"

"If I give you what you want now, what guarantee do I have that you won't run to Carlisle to change you in the morning?"

Bella groans. "I said I would marry you, didn't I?"

"You really should be more open to the idea now that you're engaged," Edward's reprimand is playful, eyes alight with happiness.

Something strikes through her chest, a sharp feeling that demanded to be known, to be recognized, but Roman couldn't make sense of what it meant, of what it was. She was happy now, things were fixed, but it was like she was missing something important, some piece that didn't quite make sense.

"I am," she says, words bland and tasteless.

That mysterious something curls tighter, threatening.

"Would you like to see the ring, now?" His tone is hopeful, light.

"No!"

Edward's face falls.

"Unless you really want to show it to me," Bella quickly corrects.

"That's alright. It can wait."

"Please?" Bella whispers, pleading. "I would really like to see it."

He stares for a hard moment, eyes darting between them. "You're a dangerous creature."

Kneeling beside his bed, he stays there box held lightly in hand. "Just, please give me this?" he asks, voice light. "Keep in mind that you've already said yes? And before you say a word, it is a hand-me-down. The ring my father gave to my mother."

The lid popped open.

Nestled into the black satin, Elizabeth Masen's ring sparkled in the dim light. The face was a long oval, set with slanting rows of glittering round stones. The band was gold — delicate and narrow. The gold made a fragile web around the diamonds.

"Isabella Swan?" He looked up through his impossibly long lashes, his golden eyes soft but,somehow, still scorching. "I promise to love you forever — every single day of forever. Will you marry me?

Slowly, she nods, holding out a shaking hand. "Yes," Bella breathes.

"Thank you," he says, taking her hand and slowly kissing each of her fingers, finally kissing the ring that was now hers.

It's like watching a movie scene through a bubble -- there, but not really there. It made her question everything.

The next moment he was facing her, a new box seated in the palm of his hand as he looked to her with bright, shining eyes.

Roman knew that this was coming, she had some faint idea of it -- and Alice's sorta warning -- but she can't breathe.

It's like slow motion as he opens it.

Tucked within a purple felt, was an antique style silver ring with a diamond glinting up at her. the sterling silver had flecks of gold along the detail, the webbing, knotted sort of art at either side of the diamond intricately specific. She had seen it somewhere before.

"Roman Elders," he said her name so decisively, reverently, "You will have my heart and my love each and every day of forever. Will you marry me?"

Air rushed into her lungs. "Yes!" She squeaks, and then much louder, "Yes! Yes. Yes. Yes, I will!"

He slides it onto her fingers slowly, holding her hand once it's firmly in place. His gaze locked on the ring nestled on her hand. "It fits well. Esme will be pleased."

"Esme?"

"Bella got one mother, it is only fair that you receive the other."

Giggling, she pulls him closer, peppering kisses over his face. "I love you."

Bella laughs, the sound almost a sob before she was standing, darting across the room to her bag. She was sitting back on the bed almost as quickly as she had left, holding her hand out. A small box sitting on her fingers.

"I didn't expect this to happen tonight," she admits softly, laughing to herself. "Open it."

Roman blinks quickly, casting tears from her eyes. She picks off the lid carefully.

It was a gold ring, thin and delicate. There were leaf patterns along the band, separated by tiny diamonds. There was a square cut diamond in the center, held in place simply at the four corners.

"It was Grandma Swan's. It took a lot of convincing to get Charlie to give it to me."

She chokes on silent tears, hastily wiping them away. "A hand-me-down."

Bella chuckles, holding it out with shaking fingers. "I know how you feel about marriage. I know that your opinion is different from mine, but if we're going to do this, I want to do it right. Marry me?"

Digging into her pocket, she feels around carefully until she pulls out a small golden ring with a diamond-encrusted bow with one big stone at the center. "I will if you marry me."

She laughs, nodding her acceptance as she holds out her opposite hand, readily taking her ring compared to how she acted with the other. Roman grins at that.

Bella offers out the ring again, waiting for Roman to hold out her hand, and she does so, biting on her lips to keep from smiling like an idiot. With a ring on each hand, the pieces fall into place, a sense of serenity washing through her.

"What are the chances that we all chose the same night?" she mumbles, looking at both of her hands lovingly.

"I didn't pick tonight. I did it because it was happening," Bella supplied, testing the new weight on her fingers.

At the same time, Edward said, "Matters of the heart are beyond all scientific reason."

She shakes her head, gathering her thoughts, hoping that he was kind enough not to be looking too closely before turning to him. Alice had told her that she wasn't the kind to hesitate. She wasn't going to do so now.

Diving into her pocket once more, she faces him determinedly, mind set.

"I know this is incredibly untraditional and is rarely done, but I want you to keep in mind that we aren't a traditional couple, alright?" she asks, pulling the (hopefully) last ring from her pocket. "I sold a lot of the things that Marnie left behind as well as most of the family heirlooms that Julius left. I didn't want to give either of you something that belonged to them, so I went to the one jeweller we have in Forks and bought this. Lauren was very happy to keep things discrete for me--" she holds out her palm, the ring cold against her skin-- "I'm going to ask, only for my sake of mind. Will you marry me? And wear an engagement ring no matter how untraditional it is?"

The white gold was somehow dark against the ivory of his skin, bright, and the cut of emerald through the band glowing.

"Yes, of course I will."

He slips it onto his hand with a beaming smile.

"Esme told me what size," Roman admits.

"Alice told me yours," he counters.

Bella makes a vague noise. "She told me as well."

"Guess we have to thank your sister."

Edward laughs. "I guess we do."

Bella crawls across there laps, wrapping an arm around each of their waists. "That was so many proposals."

Giggling, she plays with the ends of her hair. "It was worth it, though, no matter how ridiculous it all was."

"It was hardly ridiculous. We've promised each other forever, and now it's set in stone," Edward says, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Roman sighs dreamily, dropping her head to his shoulder. "I can take forever."

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wooow okay so this was really long?? also... really cheesy??? and like, mushy?? and some parts feel a little redundant but i wouldn't change a thing so sorry not sorry :))))

unedited

2020-02-16