" were you guys in love when you were human "

1935

Emilia sat on the porch of her family's estate, an ornate knife used for peeling apples grasped nervously in her hand as a bucket of peeled, browning apples sat beside her. Today was the day her best friend, Emmett McCarty was to come home from his hunting trip, and she was feeling jittery for some reason.

"Emilia, darling, come in and eat your supper. Emmet won't be back for hours," a short, plump woman called from the front door.

Emilia rolled her eyes, not wanting to leave in case Emmett were to come bounding from the woods as he often did. He'd scoop her up into a hug, her feet dangling as the two laughed and ignored Emilia's mother's shouts for him to be careful.

Emilia sighed, standing from her chair and picking up the bucket of apples to take to the kitchen, "He needs to hurry so we can get started on our pie. The apples won't last long now that they're peeled."

"Oh, you and those pies," Emilia's mother said, a smile on her face as she thought back to all the times she'd come into the kitchen finding it an absolute disaster, "You know Emmett cannot bake for the life of him. Why do you insist on making the poor boy try?"

Emilia smiled, "He likes it..."

"Or he likes the girl who goes through the trouble of peeling buckets of apples," her mother said, a grin on her face as she watched Emilia's face redden.

"Mother!"

1936

Hours passed,

Days passed,

Months passed,

And soon Emilia was married off to a wealthy man. She didn't love him, but after Emmett's disappearance she gave up on the notion of marrying for love.

Emilia had searched the woods surrounding Gatlinburg restlessly for weeks, outlasting the group of men led by Emmett's father. Emilia's family had decided to forbid her from entering the woods after she had been found sleeping in a ditch, claiming that no man would be willing to marry her if she became a mindless, wood-wandering woman.

So, she was married three months after Emmett's disappearance. Her husband, Thomas Duke, was a respected man in their small community, and it was well known that he only married Emilia for child bearing. He was a kind man, and he didn't monitor Emilia's activities as a normal husband would.

That's why, when Emilia went missing three weeks after birthing Thomas' first child, he was criticized. Shamed for his young wife's death. Emilia's parents couldn't blame him, though. They knew it was only a matter of time before Emilia joined Emmett.

2006

Emilia sighed, rolling her crimson eyes as she watched an intoxicated man drag a woman by her hair into a dark alley. With a snap of her fingers the man froze, releasing the frantic woman. The woman stumbled out of the alley, confused but thankful that the man had released her.

Emilia stalked towards the still man, her heels clacking against the Boston cobblestone. With a tilt of her head the man was pushed up against the rough brick of the alley's wall. Emilia tsked as she looked into his wide, panicked eyes, "Maybe if you weren't such a dick I'd feel bad," she stated, biting into his neck soon after to feed. Emilia didn't like what she had become. She'd lost her mortality, her child, and after years of living as a vampire she'd lost her spark.

"Ah, Emilia, I can see you're fairing well," a deep, accented voice said, startling her from her feeding.

She immediately dropped the mans body, turning defensively towards the voice before realizing who'd spoke and letting a grin slip on her blood stained face.

"Alistair!" Emilia exclaimed, throwing herself onto the grumpy man. She laughed at his displeased grunt before releasing him, "What are you doing in Massachusetts?"

Alistair shrugged, glancing at the drunkard's limp body at Emilia's feet, "Perhaps we should speak somewhere far from the corpse," he chuckled.

Emilia scoffed, rolling her eyes as she flicked her wrist at the man. His body was tossed haphazardly into a nearby trash bin, and Emilia immediately lit a match and threw it, lighting the bin on fire. "Taken care of," she smirked, "Now tell me why you're here. You never just pop in for a visit."

Alistair hummed in agreement, "An old friend, Carlisle Cullen, has requested witnesses to stand against the Volturi. It's bullocks of a plan, but I am curious," he sent Emilia a challenging look, "Care to tag along?"

Emilia grinned, a mischievous glint in her ruby eyes, "Going against the Volturi? I'd love to!"

2006

Emilia and Alistair arrived in Forks, Washington two days after their encounter in the alley. Alistair was quick to greet who Emilia assumed to be Carlisle before retreating to the attic and leaving her awkwardly with the Cullen family.

"I apologize for Alistair's demeanor. I'm sure you know how he can be, Carlisle," she said in a light tone, a polite smile on her face, "My name is Emilia."

Carlisle smiled, resting a hand on his wife's waist as he took in Emilia's red eyes, "Ah, yes. He was never one for small talk," he said amicably, "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Carlisle, and this is my wife, Esme. Our children have gone out to hunt, and our granddaughter is taking a nap, but I'm sure you'll meet them soon. Please, make yourself at home."

Emilia nodded happily, "Thank you. Alistair has informed me of your eating habits, so I will be feeding from animals as well during my stay. I had hoped you and your family would be kind enough to help me during my transition."

Carlisle's eyes lit up, "Of course! I'm sure my family will be pleased to hear about your transition to our diet."

"Who's becoming a veggie vamp?" A loud voice boomed from the front door, a sharp 'shh' coming soon after.

Emilia turned towards the sound of footsteps, a strange pain in her chest as the loud voice rung in her ears. A sense of nostalgia hit her, a deja vu that she couldn't place.

"It seems my family has returned," Carlisle said amusedly.

That's when he entered the living room, his large frame looming over his family. Emmett McCarty stood beside two other men and three women, a smirk on his face and humor lighting his honey eyes.

"Emmett?" Emilia whispered, her hands shaking and venom pooling in her tear ducts, "Is that you?"

Emmett snapped to her quiet voice, shock on his features as he took in her small frame. She had the same curls in her hair, and the same pouty lips, but her skin was paler, her freckles gone, and her eyes were a deep red color. He couldn't deny it though, it was his Emilia.

"Lia? What," he ran a hand through his short, dark hair, "Why are you a vampire," he sadly muttered.

Emilia ignored his question, breaking into dry sobs and throwing herself into Emmett's willing embrace. "I thought I'd never see you again," she cried, weakly hitting his firm chest, "You left me!"

It was then that Emilia noticed the rest of the Cullens had left the room to give the two their privacy. She was grateful but embarrassed by the impression she had made on them.

She chuckled quietly, "Your family probably thinks that I'm crazy," she mumbled into his shirt. She felt as his chest rumbled with laughter at her words.

"It wouldn't be the first family of mine to think you were crazy," he joked, letting out another round of laughter at her scoff.

2007

Almost a full year had passed since Emilia and Emmett reunited. Emilia gave up her days as a reclusive wanderer in favor of joining the Cullen family in Alaska.

Emilia found that she got along with the family quite well. Carlisle and Esme reminded her of her own parents, Edward and she bonded over their love of reading, Jasper found her gift to be interesting and often questioned her about the logistics of it, Bella and Renesme often asked about Emilia's journeys and the places she had been, and Alice was quick to accept Emilia as a sister, claiming to have seen her coming years ago.

Rosalie had been less than accepting. She was envious of Emilia's ability to swoop in and take all of Emmet's attention, and wasn't afraid to let it show. For weeks, Rosalie would interrupt Emmett and Emilia's time together. It continued until Emilia decided that the two women needed to have a conversation.

Rosalie and Emilia spoke about their lives as humans. Rosalie recounting the events of her death and lamenting about her inability to have a child. Emilia smiled ruefully, telling what she remembered of her own child and how she didn't remember how she had died, only that Alistair had found her as a newborn, scared and afraid. After their conversation, they grew close. They quickly became friends, an outcome that only Alice saw coming.

2010

The Cullens stayed in Alaska for three years before deciding that a change of pace was needed. Carlisle had suggested Boston, Massachusetts and Emilia couldn't help but laugh at his choice.

"What's the deal with Boston, Babe? Why is it so funny that we're moving there?" Emmett asked, a heavy box easily being carried from their shared room to be put in the moving truck.

"That's where I was when Alistair asked me to be a witness of Nessie," she chuckled, an equally as heavy box in her own arms, "It's just funny how full circle it is, y'know?"

Emmett smirked, "Whatever you say, Lia."

2012

Emmett sat on the large couch in the living room of the Cullen's Massachusetts home watching a baseball game. Emilia was curled into his side, quietly humming as she poked his side.

"You're poking me," Emmett stated with a smirk, his eyes not leaving the TV, "Why?"

Emilia hummed, poking him one last time before sitting up, stretching unnecessarily, and throwing herself unceremoniously onto his lap, "You've been watching baseball for over seventy years," she whined, "Aren't you tired of it?"

Emmett chuckled, kissing her hairline affectionately and turning off the TV, "What do you want to do then, Lia?"

She perked up immediately, "Renesme will be back from school soon. Let's make a pie for her!" Emilia exclaimed, quickly getting up and gripping Emmett's arm to pull him into the kitchen.

He groaned, but smiled nonetheless, his dimples showing, "Babe, you know I'm no good at baking. And now I can't even eat it. That was the whole reason I bothered."

Emilia smirked, "Momma thought the reason you bothered was because of your crush on me."

Emmett scoffed, pulling her to stand before him and trapping her between his arms, "Psh, you think I had a crush on you?"

Emilia grinned up at him, her eyes glinting, "No, my momma thought. I know you had a crush on me," she leaned into him, her arms wrapping around his lean torso and her neck craning to keep their eyes locked.

"Ha ha, funny," Emmett grinned, rolling his eyes.

"Funnier than you," she boasted.

Emmett's smile dropped, his expression serious though she could see the mischievous glint in his eyes, "Alright, hey. We're going to have to have a serious talk about those hurtful words."

Emilia erupted into a fit of giggles, Emmett soon following. They leaned into one another as their laughter quieted, the sound of the door opening breaking their peaceful silence.

"Mom! Dad!" Renesme shouted into the house.

Emilia pulled out of Emmett's embrace, leaning against the counter as Emmett moved to stand beside her. "They're not here, Ness. They went hunting an hour ago."

"Oh, okay," Renesme said, entering the kitchen and opening the fridge, "What're you doing, Aunt Emilia?"

Emmett threw an arm over Emilia's shoulder, a lazy smirk on his lips, "We were going to make you a pie, but your aunt got distracted."

Renesme's face screwed up in disgust, "Ew, you guys," she whined, "I eat in here."

Emilia smacked the grinning man upside the head, rolling her eyes, "Ness, we weren't doing anything. We just got caught up remembering our human lives."

Renesme nodded in understanding, a curious expression on her face, "Were you guys in love when you were human?"

Emilia looked towards Emmett, waiting for his response. He gently took her hand and kissed her palm, nodding towards Renesme, "Yeah, Nessie. We were."

Emilia smiled, "I've loved him for eighty years."

"And you're going to love me for eternity," he stated confidently.

"Cocky bastard."

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