The Lucky Ones

by Leni

AH. Canon pairings. They were strangers, then sweethearts, then man and wife, then...Then what? Of course. Then came the Chihuahua from next door.

TITLE: The Lucky Ones
AUTHOR: Leni
DISCLAIMER: Twilight is in no way, shape, or form mine. Please believe me.
SUMMARY: AH. Canon pairings. They were strangers, then sweethearts, then man and wife, then... Then what? Of course. Then came the chihuahua from next door.
THANK YOU: To Nicia for the amazing beta work + making this work better with the prompts. To Ashes for the amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing banner (visit my LJ site to see it!). To Maggie for the pre-read and the encouragement.
WORDCOUNT:~4500

Written for Crystal at FAGEtastic Four.

If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.
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After the longest day at work; five irate clients - and only one of them somewhat justified, a family party of twelve that hadn't bothered to leave a decent tip, and Victoria's last-minute call to announce she'd miss yet another shift that week, it made sense that Bella's day would be capped with a downpour as she made her way home. It was the kind of day where tornado warnings seemed to be the perfect complement to one's life.

At last, she gathered her groceries into both arms, cursed the fact that they had outdoors parking at her building, and braced herself before sprinting into the rain.

Home, sweet home.

The thought had helped Bella calm down on many evenings such as this. It didn't matter how awful, busy, or plainly irritating her day had been, as soon as she had the front door to their apartment in view, it seemed as though all her strength came back to her. She tried to find that feeling inside of herself now, and though she had her key in hand, she couldn't bring herself to open the door before she'd recovered some of her more positive attitude.

Once, she'd had nothing but positive thoughts.

Her friends had teased her for it, her father had rolled his eyes when he thought she wasn't looking, and her mother swore that Bella had gotten it from her.

Once, Bella had been happy to ignore all the admonishments about rose-colored glasses and couldn't think of a reason to take them off.

Now she would run out of fingers and toes were she to count them. When she'd thought of life as a wife and mother, some rude guy screaming in her face because he'd found a bug in his food had notbeen in the picture. In fact, she hadn't pictured working full-time in a diner at all.

With a sigh, she pocketed the key and fingered the crayola drawing taped to the door. It hung a little below her breast, right where a four-year-old on her toes would manage to place it if she stretched up as high as she could. Bella smiled as she took in her daughter's newest piece of art. This week it was purple for Renesmee: both Bella's dress and Edward's hair were violet, and his suit bore bold indigo and magenta stripes.

She couldn't think of any other father who'd allow such a picture into the public view.

Was it any wonder she'd fallen in love with him at first sight?

"Isabella Cullen. Whatever are you doing?"

Bella jumped a little at the unexpected voice. "Mrs. Dunbar!" Too late, she realized that in her distraction she'd ended up resting her forehead against the door. With half a dozen shopping bags around her, a damp coat thrown on top of them, and her hair in obvious disarray, she must have been quite a sight for her neighbor. "You scared me."

"Scare you, indeed!" The elderly lady squinted at her through thick glasses, clearly unappreciative of the break of her nightly routine. "Poor Thomas got a fright, seeing you there. All quiet in the hallway, like some ghost amid all the thunder and lightning."

Everybody in the building new that Mrs. Dunbar valued her routines, especially when they involved her nervous chihuahua - obviously, not even the wrath of nature would deter the older lady. Everybody also knew that the late Mr. Dunbar's given name had been Thomas. Bella tried hard not to shudder when she considered that piece of information; it was why she'd never corrected Mrs. Dunbar's use of her full name. Should she ever be (dubiously) honored by having some pet named after her, it was easier to sacrifice the use of 'Isabella'.

She'd still have to change apartments, though.

Seconds ticked by. Neither Mrs. Dunbar nor little Thomas showed any desire to continue on their way to the park. Perhaps she should have given them fair warning about the near-flood outside, that the thin rainproof coat her neighbor was wearing would not fare better than her own, but that just might convince Mrs. Dunbar to stick around. "I needed a moment," Bella mumbled at last.

Mrs. Dunbar seemed to expect a more detailed explanation.

"A moment to myself."

Mrs. Dunbar's eyes blinked owlishly as the dismissal set in. "Well, really!" She tugged on the leash she'd been holding, and woman and dog strode past Bella without another word.

Bella let out a groan. She'd pay for her cheek, she just knew it.

But at least there would be no future lap dogs bearing her name. That had to be the best thing that had happened to her since she left home that morning.

A slow grin broke in. Well, maybe she could still remember how to stay positive.

Now, before she lost her smile, she collected her bags and...

The door opened just as she was holding the key out.

"Hey."

"Hey." Edward took a look at her and picked up her discarded coat, disappearing for a moment behind the door as he hung it from the hook. "Thought I sensed you," he said as he opened the door further for her, before he interrupted her entrance with his own body and leaned in for a quick kiss. It landed mostly on the side of her nose rather than her mouth, but the sentiment was nice.

His choice of words lifted her spirits a little higher. Edward never told her that he'd heard or seen her, even when it was obvious that he had. In the very beginning, she'd laughed off the earnestness in his face when he said such things, sure that it was a line to seem mysterious and all-knowing to the girls. It was not. Edward did mean what he said; as far as he was concerned, eyes and ears were not enough to capture her presence. He sensedBella, and after all these years, Bella's knees still melted a little in response.

Melted knees did poorly with weight, though, so she passed the two heaviest bags to him. The coldest, too. Most men loved to keep a six pack of their favorite beer in the fridge, ready for a midnight snack or to accompany dinner. Thanks to countless hunting expeditions with his father and his brothers, Edward had a taste for thick cuts of meat ready to be fried, barbecued, and most often, thrown in a sizzling buttered pan for under two minutes before he sank his teeth into it. When it came to beef (or venison, or pork, or even poultry), 'rare' was the norm at the Cullen household, and they were such enthusiasts that Bella was still shocked that they hadn't grown sharper canines to accommodate their diet.

She had gotten over her queasiness at the dinner table relatively quickly. It helped that she hadn't been the first girlfriend to be invited to share the Cullens' meals. Alice had reminded her that there were worse faults in the other boys at school, what was a little blood running over the plates? Rosalie had quirked an eyebrow and smirked a little, but the fact that she didn't bat an eyelash when her boyfriend tore through his meal had emboldened Bella. If Rosalie Hale, the haughtiest, pickiest girl in Forks could get over it, so could she.

It shouldn't have been a surprise when Rosalie's portions of meat were served rarer and rarer as months passed. She was the kind of person for whom the term 'bloodthirsty' had been created.

Alice, on the other hand, had converted to vegetarianism. When she'd gotten back together with Jasper last year, their most important argument had not been about how they'd fit back together after their years away at different colleges, but how to reach a common ground on the definition of 'medium rare'.

Needless to say, Jasper was a frequent guest at their apartment, always ready to share a fresh steak with Edward.

"Your brother better start chipping in for your 'snacks'," she said as she gave a meaningful poke at one of the bags Edward was carrying. "This is supposed to last a week, at least." She managed to catch the bottom of his chin with her lips as she passed him on the way to the cabinets. He needed a bit of a shave. "I'd hate to see you get up in the middle of the night to discover you had to eat" - she stuck her hand in the nearest bag and held up a can of peas - "legumes!"

Edward chuckled, but didn't turn around. "The horror."

"You laugh now, but I've seen you when your father cancels a hunting excursion," Bella reminded him, tucking the groceries in their place. "You weren't half as befuddled when Mike asked me out in the middle of the school cafeteria."

"Newton's an idiot."

Mike Newton was actually quite an easygoing fellow with better taste than most guys, but Bella didn't feel the need to point that out. "Still. A girl likes to believe her boyfriend would make more of a fuss at the possibility of losing her than at missing out on shooting some helpless deer."

"You like the meat well enough," Edward observed. He shut the freezer and closed the three steps between them; ah, the advantages of a tiny apartment: closeness was an end easily achieved. "Besides, I knew I'd never lose you."

The last of her bad mood crumbled under his easy smile.

Even awful days and an hour driving through heavy rain had nothing on his charm.

The best part? He wasn't even trying to be charming. That was something that had struck her when they were seventeen, and endeared him to her more and more as the years passed. While the other guys were busy trying out new ways to impress the prettiest girls, Edward had treated them all - from the pouty-lipped head cheerleader to quiet Angela - to the same gentle smile. No wonder Bella had so little success making female friends once she'd arrived at Forks High. Everyone but her had known that change was in the air the moment Edward Cullen went out of his way to ignore the new student.

The first few weeks of sitting together in Biology had been a study in awkwardness. Seven years later, Bella still remembered believing that he, one of the most popular guys in town, must be peeved at having to share breathing space with her, and all the time Edward had been trying not to break into impromptu poetry at the color of her eyes, the smell of her skin, or the calm beat of her heart.

His words, not hers.

Bella still couldn't decide whether it was stranger that he'd fixed on her smell or her heartbeat. She was glad he'd confessed to it long after they'd been an established couple; she wasn't sure she wouldn't have broken into a run in the opposite direction if she'd realized how consumed with thoughts of her he'd been.

Or maybe she'd have thrown herself into his arms even sooner. What seventeen-year-old girl didn't dream of having someone completely captivated by her? Especially when she'd been convinced that he couldn't have cared less about her?

"Was this before or after you started answering my greetings?" Bella teased, letting a bag of flour hit the closest surface before her hands went to his shoulders. "Your first 'good morning' was quite a shock, you know."

"Didn't I apologize for that?"

"A couple hundred times that first year," she acknowledged. "However, I did warn you that I'd never let it go."

His arms closed around her waist. "It wouldbe unlike you to go back on your word."

This time, lips encountered lips before she could manage an answer.

It was nice to come home when Edward was there.

It was even nicer that he seemed to miss her even more than she did him.

Bella pushed the last thoughts of her day away, telling her body to relax into his. Her eyes closed, and she tried not to giggle at the taste of bubblegum toothpaste. Renesmee must have sweet-talked her daddy into brushing their teeth together.

The kiss ended in slow stages, until it dissolved into lazy pecks to the corners of their lips.

"I missed you," Edward whispered after a few minutes, rubbing along her spine softly with one of his hands. The caress warmed her up, a welcome change after her evening so far. He brought her even closer against him, with his other hand still holding onto her waist while his chin rested on her hair. "Sometimes I'm amazed that you still come home to me every night - even when I'm not here to welcome you." His next sentence was a soft whisper: "Thank you, Bella. I know this is not what we planned on."

Now what they'd planned? Bella barely avoided chuckling against the skin above his shirt. She thought of leaning back enough to look at him in the face and tell him what an understatement that was, but there was little chance of movement while he held her like this, and really, he already knew that their dreams had taken a sharp turn left shortly after their marriage, and they'd never been able to veer their course back straight. "Are you happy?" she asked instead.

Many nights, especially when Edward's practice forced him to spend the night in the hospital, she wondered that herself.

His answer was not as swift as it had been six years ago, or even two, but when it came, his voice had the same determination as when he'd proposed and promised that he'd take care of her. "Of course." Then, with evident hesitation, "Are you?"

She rested her cheek against his chest. The appropriate answer came to her tongue, as quick as when Alice, Esme, and her father had asked. But this was not a friend, worried at the dark rings under Bella's eyes, or a loving parent waiting for a cue to launch into well-meaning advice. This was Edward, the boy she'd married straight out of high school and for whose child she'd endangered her own life and never regretted her choice. They had sworn to each other to grow up together, and even if they'd done it with the secret conviction that they were full-grown adults already, six years living together had made that promise reality.

"I love you," she started, "and I love Renesmee above all things. I don't... I don't care for a lot of things that have happened to us - to me, and sometimes..." Her hand searched for one of his, and she squeezed as hard as she had during their wedding, when she couldn't imagine ever letting him go. "...and sometimes I'd like nothing more than to tell off my boss, smash a cream pie into Victoria's face" - she heard a small chuckle, then realized it was her own - "and burn this stupid uniform. But then... Then I come back home, and my little girl's done up a drawing of me with bright lilac hair - which, sure, is a strange choice, but as long as it doesn't mean there's something wrong with her eyes..."

"She found that Halloween yearbook picture. The one where Alice -"

Bella laughed. "God. I remember." They'd even won a prize that night, the Cullen boys and their girlfriends. Next time she visited Alice she'd ask which anime they'd represented; she couldn't remember anything other than it had been one of Alice's old favorites. "For a moment I worried about Renesmee."

"Our girl is fine."

"Our girl is the best," Bella agreed with the simple pride that she'd learned was a mother's right. "Youare the best. And maybe... maybe sometimes I wonder what would have happened if we'd been more patient. If we'd waited like everybody advised us to do."

Not that she could imagine anything changing her mind in those months leading up to their marriage. Were she asked about it, Bella wasn't sure she could put into words what she'd felt during that time. She'd wanted so badly to be with Edward, to never have to leave his side again. She hadn't cared about the gossip about him, or even when he'd confirmed some of it. She'd been deaf to her father's misgivings and Edward's own resistance to become something more serious than high school sweethearts. When he'd broken up with her and moved to Italy for a whole semester, she'd barely found the will to get up from bed and move along with life (never move on, the very idea had been blasphemy to her mind), and when he'd returned, shocked into action by news of her death, she had taken him back before he needed to ask.

Eventually he'd forgiven Alice for the deception.

Two years later, their Macchiavellian friend had been Bella's first choice for Renesmee's godmother.

Life had continued, and with Edward back at her side, Bella had wanted nothing more than to belong to him, and for him to belong to her. She'd been so enthusiastic when he'd eventually caved in and had been swept into her daydreams for their future together: a small wedding ceremony after graduation, sharing an apartment close to college, coming back to Forks to start a family and raise their children close to their grandparents.

Carlisle and Esme had welcomed her with open arms. Renée had taken the chance to take Bella to the modiste and play at being the mother's bride for a whole week. Charlie had taken Edward on a fishing trip. If Edward had returned with a paler cast to his skin than usual, and Charlie took to patting his regulated firearm when they crossed ways, neither of them would discuss the specifics of their time together.

When Bella found out she was pregnant not three months later, she'd begged her doctor to call Charlie and give professional confirmation that the baby had been conceived after the wedding. It had been one of the most embarrassing moments of her life, but she still swore it had saved her new husband a world of pain.

"A child changes everything," Charlie had told her in private. "From now on, your life will not be what you expected."

Six years later, Edward was echoing her father: "Nothing worked out like we expected, did it?"

"I do love you," she whispered, terrified that he'd think her regret outweighed the joys of their life together. "I wouldn't change what we have, not at all."

"I know, Bella." He eased his hold on her, and leaned back enough that their eyes met. "Sometimes I wonder, too."

Bella stared at him. "Oh."

"I wouldn't trade our life for any other, either. You have to know that." When she nodded, he shrugged his shoulders a little. "But it's not easy to look around and see that everybody our age is on a completely different chapter of their lives. Nobody else I know has visited five different daycare centers until they settled on one their daughter liked, or fretted about which school their kid will attend next year -"

"There's one primary school in Forks, Edward."

He gave her a look. "I still fret."

Bella kept her silence. She'd started quizzing parents at the diner about the current teachers for first grade, more than a couple of them had congratulated her for showing such an interest in her little sibling.

"But then I picture a life where we waited to marry, and you know what? I've decided we'd be in this same spot." He grinned. "Well, maybe with you pregnant before I got you to the altar."

Bella smiled back. He had a point there. "You mean we wouldn't be playing the on-and-off game like Jasper and Alice?"

"Nope."

"Or dragging our feet and pushing off a wedding date further and further like Em and Rosalie?"

"God, no." Edward shook his head. "Don't tell Esme because it would break her heart, but my brothers are utter morons."

"No objection." Bella snickered. "My best friends aren't much better," she admitted. "Not that knowing I died in the delivery room has made the marriage-and-babies experience seem any brighter to them." Edward's grasp tightened. He hated it when Renesmee's birth was mentioned. Seeing how he'd faced life as a widower father at the age of nineteen for three full minutes, Bella understood his reluctance to touch the subject. Much like she had when they were younger, she took his face between her hands and rose on her toes to kiss his mouth. Her Edward was given to dark musings in the same manner other men contemplated football scores; it came too easily to him. "It's okay. If that's the worst that ever happens to us, we'll be blessed."

He rested his forehead on hers. "You blessed me, my love. You were everything I needed, and you've given me everything I could ever want."

Lucky for her, her Edward was also given to poetic words that touched her soul. "Edward..."

knock!

knock! knock! knock!

"Isabella Cullen, open this door at once!"

Both of their heads snapped towards the front door.

Edward was the first to move forward. "What the hell?" He turned toward her. "You've made friends with the old bat?"

Her eyebrows rose. "Does it soundas if I'm her new buddy?"

At the same time, Mrs. Dunbar called her name again, followed by a shrill "I know you're there, Isabella! I can see the light under the door!"

Edward gritted his teeth. "She'll wake up the baby."

Bella could have pointed out that their daughter was no baby anymore, but she gave up before even raising the subject. She was a twenty-four year woman, and she still had to remind Charlie of the fact that his little girl had grown up. Fathers just weren't rational on that point. "I'll go see what she wants," she capitulated. If their cranky neighbor had decided to berate her over her behavior earlier that evening, Bella would rather weather it now, at her own doorstep and with her husband watching over her, than - God forbid! - stuck in the elevator with the older woman.

"Yes, Mrs. Dunbar?" But Mrs. Dunbar didn't look ready to berate anyone. Her eyes were wide, and from the knees down, her long skirt was wet and muddy. The rainproof coat was nowhere to be seen. "Goodness, what happened?"

The woman's hand clamped on Bella's wrist and tugged. "Come, Isabella. Hurry!"

Their neighbor might be an overbearing, nosy witch, but Bella would have gone with her anyway. Nobody should have that terrified look on their face. Edward's voice stopped her: "What. Happened?"

Mrs. Dunbar sniffled. "Thomas got loose. I tried to follow him, but..."

So the little dog had made his bid for freedom. Bella couldn't blame little Thomas for the attempt, but the truth was that strays had even worse time than dogs whose every action and breath were watched by their owner. "I'll help you look."

"Of course you will," Mrs. Dunbar declared, letting go of Bella's wrist to put her hands on her hips. "If your vile manners hadn't upset me so, I wouldn't have been distracted into letting go of the leash."

Bella groaned. Right. Forget the noise and low visibility outside. It had been a few ill-chosen words which had made her neighbor lose sight of her pet. It wasone of those days; at this rate, she'd happily welcome the tornado warning.

Her groan grew louder when Edward stepped forward and started with, "Excuse me, Mrs. Dunbar..." A discreet smashing of his foot under her heel took care of the rest of the sentence. "Bella?"

"I'll help her look," she told him. "It's what good neighbors do. Like looking in on a little girl when her parents need to run a quick errand outside." She smiled at the older woman, but didn't bother with a pointed look. The woman might be a sour old witch, but she was clever enough.

Mrs. Dunbar huffed right back. "I supposeI could keep an eye on Renée. After all, someone has to make sure you don't spoil your daughter as you must have been."

Bella made a mental note to introduce Charlie to her neighbor at the first chance she saw. She may owe Mrs. Dunbar respect due to her age, but Charlie would have a ball skewering her snotty little comments. "Her name is Renesmee."

A silver eyebrow went up. "I thought that was some tasteless inside joke."

Since it wasn't the first time their daughter's name had been called into question, neither Bella nor Edward bothered to defend their choice. It had seemed a sweet compromise five years ago, but as time passed and Reneesme's name kept being greeted with half-smiles and cocked eyebrows, Bella had grown the certainty that Renesmee would one day throw a tantrum and demand her parents legally changed her name.

What a fine family story that would make.

"Well, then." Bella turned around and headed back to the kitchen.

"Isabella! You said -"

"And I will." She headed straight towards the kitchen. "Give me a minute. I have an idea to make things faster."

Edward understood her meaning the moment her eyes went to her target. "Bella, don't!"

But Bella was already opening the freezer, taking out the bag of meat. "It'll be faster this way."

"But..."

"And I'm sure our nice neighbor will be much obliged to reimburse us."

Mrs. Dunbar's sniff was the haughtiest Bella had ever heard, and she'd had Rosalie as a houseguest for a whole week that one time she'd refused to return to her and Emmett's house and Emmett had refused to beg her to go home.

"I guess Thomas might be hungry enough to fall for such an obvious trick," his owner allowed. It was well-known that Mrs. Dunbar prized her dog's intelligence above that of most of her acquaintances.

"Let's hope," Bella muttered, putting the juiciest bit on a plastic bowl. From serving ungrateful patrons all day to serving ungrateful neighbors' dogs at night, an overworked waitress's work was never done. "Ready?"

Edward stepped in next to her, gave a last mournful look to the steak, and nodded. "If we must."

Bella shook her head. "You don't need to..."

"I believe Isabella and I are most capable..."

"I'm sure you are," Edward interrupted Mrs. Dunbar's objection, impatience riding every word. Then he looked down at Bella and his expression softened. "But I very much need to."

Bella blushed. It was silly, really; they'd been together for years and she should be used to his ways. In fact, Bella knew that most women would be protesting that they were perfectly fine with walking out on their own to look for a silly dog, and that no overprotective males were needed.

Except she likedthis overprotective male. "Sure, Edward." As she smiled, her hand came to rest on his arm.

His eyes darkened as they always did the moment before he kissed her. "Bella..."

Mrs. Dunbar didn't waste time with a discreet cough. "Enough, you two!" She stalked into their apartment and whisked the bowl into her hands. Then she gave the couple an indignant look. "Coming?"

The End
22/05/12