Fandom Fights The Floods
Title: Yours And Mine
Author: luluvee (luluvee)
Fandom: Twilight
Pairing: Carlisle/Bella
Rating: M
Disclaimer: Any and all publicly recognizable characters, settings, lyrics, writings, etc. are the property of their respective owners/creators. Any and all original content is property of the author, LuluVee
Summary: Navigating through life is hard. Doing it as a single parent is even harder. Snapshots of life as two single parents find each other and build a family all their own.
Author's Note: So I wrote this back in the beginning of the year for the Fandom Fights the Floods cause. Thanks to everyone who donated!
"Ty, sweetie?"
"Yeah, Momma?"
"Are you all right?"
The little boy let out a sigh, his hands folded beneath his chin as he stared forlornly out the living room window. It was grey and dreary outside, the rain sloughing down in sheets that distorted the view of the street.
"I know you're sad that Quinn had to move, buddy," Bella said as she climbed on the couch and sat beside him, her hand stroking his short, silky black hair. "But sometimes you can't help the things that happen in life."
"But he was my best friend, Momma," Ty sniffled softly, further burying his face in his arms. "We can't be best friends if he lives all the way in Topeka."
"Who says!" she exclaimed, though Bella knew better. Her son was four; odds were that by the second week of school Ty would be going, 'Quinn who?' "You never know, baby. You two might just keep in touch and he might move back and you two could still be best friends."
Ty said nothing, his face still sullen but his tears beginning to dry. Somewhere in the house an old fashioned cuckoo clock chirped.
"All right, buddy," Bella said, lifting herself off the couch. "C'mon, no more wallowing. We've got to go pick up your sisters from piano."
"Mom! Mommy, come look!"
The excited shouts from the living room were followed by thunderous footsteps and giggled chatter. Sasha and Sydney burst through the doorway, the identical girls bouncing on their toes.
"Mommy, Ty, come see! There are people moving into the Newton's old house!" Sasha exclaimed, her tight curls dancing wildly around her face like a dark halo.
Ty, who was sitting on the kitchen counter wearing a flour speckled apron, scowled at the news, flinging the spoonful of cookie dough in his hand forcefully at the sheet pan below him. Bella watched her youngest with a sad smile. She hoped that these people had a son around his age with whom he could interact with.
"Want to come and welcome the new neighbors to the neighborhood, sweetie?" she asked him, moving in front of him and tilting his chin up towards her. Ty's scowl deepened, the gap in his bottom row of teeth peeking through the angry pout.
"No."
"Oh, Ty, stop being such a baby!" Sydney called as she raced back and forth between the living room window and the kitchen.
"I am not a baby!" he shouted in retort, his arms crossing over his chest and his lower lip showing the slightest tremor.
Oh, boy, Bella thought. "Sydney, don't call your brother a baby! And will you stay still for just a minute? Sasha, can you grab one of the Tupperware containers from the cupboard? The two of you, pack up these cookies and we'll bring them to the new neighbors."
Sliding the tray of unbaked oatmeal cookies aside, Bella grabbed a kitchen towel and began to wipe down the counters with one hand as she held her son's hand in the other.
"Sweetie, I know you're still sad about Quinn and the Newtons leaving but that doesn't mean you're allowed to be rude to our new neighbors. Maybe they have a boy your age you'll be able to play with."
"No, they won't," Ty replied sullenly, the earlier threat of tears gone, as well as the sunny little boy who was happily laughing as he helped his mother bake.
Tossing the rag into the empty side of the sink, Bella rinsed her hands before tapping Ty on the nose. "You never know."
After cleaning up a little, the four trooped out of the house and into the bright July sunshine, a Tupperware container of assorted baked good in each of the girls' hands and Ty holding tightly to the belt loop of Bella's jeans, his face pressed into her side.
"Ty, sweetie, can you come hold my hand?" She felt his little head shake no against her hip and the movement jostled her enough to shake the balance of the frozen lasagna she held in her arms. "Oh, shi- shoes," she muttered as she barely managed to save the food and bite her tongue. "Maybe could you at least go hold your sister's hand?"
He shook his head again and Bella gave up, instead calling ahead to the girls to look both ways before they crossed the street.
There were a bunch of men directing furniture dollies and carting boxes from the backs of several trucks lined up on the street outside the house and Bella called out a warning to her girls to wait for her before they got caught up and hurt in the melee in front of them.
"You, with those boxes!" a little voice squeaked above the fray. "Those go up to the fourth floor."
"Little dude, you don't have a fourth floor," a booming voice laughed.
"Oh. I forgot." There was a pause then the authoritative little voice sounded once again. "You, never mind what I just said. Those boxes go down to the basement!"
A chorus of laughter sounded from the men in moving company coveralls and the tiny commandant began shouting more orders. Bella couldn't suppress the grin blooming on her face.
"C'mon, guys," Bella said to her kids. "Stick close."
She marched up the flagstone walk and immediately spotted the tiny Napoleon, perched on the back of a mammoth of a man. Both man and boy wore the navy colored company coveralls and matching hats that bore the logo 'McCarty Moving Co.' in gold stitching. Her grin widened; the little boy seemed to be around Ty's age and was obviously outspoken enough to combat her son's initial shyness.
Bella led her brood over to the pair in charge and swallowed her initial nerves. "Um, hey."
The activity continued around them and Sydney nudged her mother with her foot. "Louder, Mom!"
She let out an unamused huff before calling out again. "Hello? Hey!"
"No, that goes-" Mini-Custer stopped mid-instruction and his head whirled around so fast Bella feared for the boy's poor neck. "Oh, Uncle Em, look- new people."
Bella watched as the little Mussolini tugged on the giant man's ears, directing him to look her way. She waved and moved closer, her kids barely a half step behind her.
"Oh, hey, there!" the man boomed, his voice seeming to echo in the open air. He was a mass of a man, his height and build making him look like a brick wall of a human being. Dimples deep enough to drink out of shocked Bella, along with the man's bright blue eyes.
"Hello," Bella repeated, mentally shaking herself out of her awe. "I'm Bella Swan and these are my kids: Sasha, Sydney, and Ty. We live across the street."
"Awesome!" the man bellowed. "Look, Eddie! Neighbors! Your first visitors!"
The little boy looked from Bella to Sasha to Sydney then to Ty, skepticism and apprehension written all over his face. Bella could see shaggy red hair curling out from underneath his dark blue hat and, though his features were that of a boy, looking into his bottle green eyes Bella could see that the child was more like an adult just waiting to grow taller.
"Aw, come on, little dude! Say hi. It looks like they even brought you food!" Before Bella could add anything, the Andre the Giant wannabe called out over his other shoulder and into the house. "Carlisle! Get out here! The neighbors've come a-knockin'!"
He turned back to Bella and waved a meaty paw. "Hey, I'm Emmett McCarty. This dude here," he jostled his shoulders causing his passenger to bounce, "is my nephew Edward."
"We have cookies!" Sydney chimed, holding up the covered tin in her hands. "And my mom brought you guys lasagna. She said that you would probably need food since you were just moving in. It's frozen in case you don't want to eat it now and..."
Bella shot a wry grin at Emmett, who was trying - and failing - to suppress his laughter as Sydney spouted off on a random tangent. "That's my Sydney; never the shy one."
"Jesus, Em! If you start complaining that your sciatica's acting up again, it'll be your own damn fault! Edward, come on down, buddy, and give Uncle Em's back a break."
"Will you calm down?" Emmett rolled his eyes and Bella looked around his hulking figure to see a tall blonde man jogging down the porch steps and up the walk towards them. "Bella, this is my brother-in-law Carlisle."
"Edward, kiddo, c'mon, let's try not to kill Uncle Em today, okay?"
As the man tried to wrangle his son away from Emmett, Bella took the opportunity to study him. He was tall and lean, with golden blonde hair longer than most men, but it was too short and neat to be considered shaggy. With his son in his arms, he turned to look at her and Bella felt her breath leave her as if she had been physically punched: his eyes were the color of her favorite jeans, a warm, dark blue denim.
A tugging at her side pulled her out of her awe and a blush rose to her cheeks as it occurred to her that the gorgeous man had been speaking to her while she did nothing but gape unattractively. Ty, it seemed, was trying to burrow his way into his mother's side and Bella looked to see why.
"He's shy?"
"Hmm?"
"Your son." The gorgeous blonde gestured to her side.
Looking down, Bella saw Ty burying his face into the fabric of her t-shirt. "Oh, yeah," she replied intelligently. "Around new people."
She got down on one knee and balanced the Pyrex dish of lasagna on her knee as she brought one arm around her boy's shoulders. "Ty, honey, you don't need to be shy. This is Mr. Carlisle and Mr. Emmett and Edward. Can you say hi for me, sweetie?"
"No." Ty launched himself into her shoulder.
She let out a small chuckle and tried to stand, balancing both Ty and the food. Just as she felt the Pyrex slip from her grasp, a soft laugh sounded in her ear. Glancing up, she saw Carlisle holding the dish.
"Oh, yeah, that's, um, for you guys," she said, gesturing to the lasagna in his hands. She nudged the girls forward. "And these, too. I figured you guys would be hungry after your move."
"Thank you, Bella." She blushed, his lips forming her name and making it sound so silky and sensual as it rolled off his tongue.
"Oh, it's no problem at all."
"You guys should join us for dinner. Emmett has to go home to his wife and Edward and I couldn't possibly eat all of this ourselves."
"Mom! Can we?" Sydney and Sasha began to bounce, narrowly missing movers in their excitement.
"Girls, I think Mr. Carlisle and Edward are going to be tired-"
"I insist," Carlisle cajoled, a crookedly dimpled grin appearing on his sharp, Patrician face. "Please, we'd love to have you." He turned to his son. "Isn't that right, kiddo?"
"No," she faintly heard the little redheaded boy answer his father. The next sentiment was echoed by her son as well.
"Don't wanna."
"Dudes! Emmett in da hizz-ouse!"
"Uncle Em!"
"Uncle Mets!"
"Uncle Metty!"
"Uncle E!"
Bella laughed, applying a coat of mascara to her lashes as she finished getting ready for her date with Carlisle. Emmett had offered to babysit Edward and Ty while Rose, his wife and Carlisle's sister, had offered to spend the evening entertaining Sydney and Sasha. A knock on her bedroom door sounded and she bid her visitor to enter.
"Hey," Rose greeted, peering around the door before entering the room. She gave Bella an appraising look from head to toe. "Wow, Bell. You're gonna knock his socks off tonight."
She relayed her thanks and accepted the hug from the haughty looking blonde. Rose and Carlisle were obviously brother and sister, their matching sharp facial features and blonde hair making them seem more like twins. The only difference could be seen in their eyes: where Carlisle's were a deep ocean navy, Rose's were a rare and vivid violet.
It had been four months since Carlisle and Edward had moved into the house across the street and Bella couldn't deny the fact that those two Cullen men had made her family feel complete since day one. And even though she had fought against her initial attraction, Carlisle had broken down her intricately enforced walls just enough to secure a first date, something that she knew he hoped would blossom into a full relationship.
And it didn't hurt that Ty and Edward were now practically inseparable.
Thank God for Transformers.
"So, you want to tell me where he's stealing me off to for the night?" Bella asked Rose as she gathered her things and placed them into the clutch that matched her deep red dress.
"Oh, no you don't. Tonight is going to be a surprise and you're going to like it!"
They laughed together and exited the bedroom, Bella's heels clicking on the hardwood as they took the stairs down to the main floor. The sound of Just Dance coming from the Wii in the living room was accompanied by cheers and heckling.
"So…" Rose began, lagging back in the foyer, causing Bella to stumble as she tried to double back. "Em and I figured we'd stay here with the kids tonight… y'know, leave the other place… available."
Bella groaned. "Rose. I'm not going to just jump into bed with him!"
"And why the hell not? You both need it!"
"It's our first date, that's why!"
"First official, kid-free, adults only date," the blonde pointed out with a wry look.
"It's our first date, Rose." She started walking forward but looked over her shoulder cheekily. "And I don't put out on the first date."
Walking into the family room, Bella was almost instantly bombarded by two little bodies, their faces squishing into her stomach.
"Momma, you look really pretty," Ty told her, his chin resting on her hip and his gap-toothed smile melting her heart.
"Uh-huh, you really do," Edward agreed, his crooked grin so reminiscent of his father that Bella felt her heart practically liquefy. "Red's my favorite color, but it's my favoritest when you're wearing it."
"Look at you two little charmers!" she teased, hugging them both to her body as she battled the threat of tears. "So you guys will be good for Uncle Emmett and Auntie Rose, right?"
A chorus of agreements came from the four kids in the room just as the doorbell rang.
"Really, he's ringing the doorbell?" Bella asked, not even bothering to mask the incredulity in her voice. "He practically lives here and he's ringing the doorbell?"
"Just go and open it," Emmett replied, shoving her playfully out of the room. "You look absolutely smokin' by the way."
She laughed, kissed the kids each on the forehead and walked out to the front hall, grabbing her cardigan as she navigated around sandals and sneakers and mismatched Crocs. When she got to the door, a jolt of nerves kicked in and her hand rattled the doorknob slightly. Taking a deep breath and reminding herself that this was Carlisle, she opened the door. The sight that met her almost brought her to her knees.
Carlisle was standing on her porch, one hand grasping something at his side as the other combed messily though his hair. His deep blue eyes were darting to and fro and Bella found the slightest comfort in his nerves.
"Hi," she said quietly, the chaos in the living room almost entirely drowning her out.
"Hi," he replied in a relieved sigh, his breath traveling the short distance between them and bathing her in minty sweetness. His hand made another pass through his hair before his eyes went wide and he thrust a single flower at her. A crimson red calla lily.
"It's beautiful," Bella replied, her eyes lighting up and a blush heating through her cheeks as she took it from him. As her fingers brushed his, a sense of serenity washed through her, broken only when they were no longer touching. "But you didn't have to."
"I wanted to."
Ducking her head before the strength of her blush could match the color of her dress, Bella called out behind her. "Okay, guys, we're going! Be good for Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett, all right!"
A chorus of sloppy goodbyes answered her and she shrugged over at Carlisle who chuckled and took her by the hand as she closed her front door.
"I want to say thank you again." Bella walked off the porch with him, silent as she waited for him to continue. He led her all the way to his car and to the passenger side before speaking again. "For letting me…"
Leaning lightly against the car door so she could look up at him, Bella grasped his hand when she saw the hesitation on his face.
"Letting you…?"
"Letting me do this," he answered vaguely, his free hand waving in the air. "Letting me take you out tonight. Letting me be a part of your life. Anything. All of it."
Tears sprang to her eyes and Bella scolded herself, threatening some sort of internal mutiny or insanity if any of the traitorous drops fell.
"No, no, no, don't cry," Carlisle rushed, his warm palms cupping her face, long fingers caressing her jaw. "I didn't mean to make you cry."
"I know, I know," she replied, blinking as she rolled her eyes upwards to try and smother the tears. "And I want to thank you, too. For all of it. The same things."
So damn eloquent, she thought with an inner eye roll as they laughed off the tender moment and got into the car.
"Carlisle?"
The purr of the Mercedes was barely heard under his acknowledging 'yes'.
"Did you back your car up from your driveway across the street to mine?"
Though the day was melting into twilight and the vehicle's windows were tinted, Bella could still detect the faintest trace of a blush as Carlisle stared straight ahead of him.
"Where are they tonight?" Carlisle asked breathlessly, his knuckles white on the steering wheel as Bella's teeth nibbled on his earlobe. One of her hands was tangled in his hair and the other was stroking firmly across the prominent bulge in his lap.
"They're at our house," she replied distractedly, concentrating more on what she was doing to him rather than her words. "Be careful, pay attention to the road."
"Easy to say when you're not the one driving," he griped in reply. "And which house? You said 'our'. We have two houses between the two of us."
Pulling back slightly, Bella smiled into the dim night. Our house. She had said it unconsciously but it had felt so right. A little over a year had passed since Carlisle had picked her up on that first date and since then their families had merged, the lines blurring so much that even she was mistaking just where she stood.
"Your house," she replied after a minute of contemplation, resting her cheek on his shoulder, her previous zeal calmed but no less passionate. "They're at my house, so let's go to yours."
The first rays of dawn were warming her skin delightfully and Bella smiled, curling her body into the golden warmth. A slow beat played along the ridges of her spine, the alternating of slow sweeping motions and light, staccato tapping helping alert her consciousness to reality as it fought to stay in the realm of sleep. She squirmed as a lazy dragging motion passed along one of her ticklish spots.
"Wake up, sunshine," she heard whispered in her ear. The voice was smooth, warm, honeyed silk against her sleep-sensitized skin. "Open up your sleepy eyes for me. I can't have you hiding."
Bella smirked. "Really? You can't come up with anything original so you're quoting Chicago to me?"
Carlisle laughed, the motion jostling the bed and the sound warming her heart further. "It was a hell of a lot more romantic than, 'Woman, wake up and make me some pancakes.'"
She unfurled her body and turned her face upwards where his lips were waiting for a kiss. His lips were always so soft and supple against her own, so enticing. She felt like a fly drawn to a Venus Flytrap, just waiting to be consumed whole by him.
"See, that was much better than, 'Woman, make me a sandwich,'" he said, pulling away so he could situate his body over her own.
Bella revelled in the feeling of him, still amazed that his body could fit so seamlessly into her own. Her thighs cradled his body as if he were a puzzle piece meant to fit only into her and a serene sense of completion washed over her.
"If you're quiet, maybe we can have breakfast in bed," he whispered, running his nose up her neck before planting lazy kisses behind her ear.
"Mmmm, I'll be quiet, I promise."
"Hmmkay, good." And he kissed her soundly to prove it.
Carlisle's fingers tripped along her skin, detouring along specific contours of her body: her breasts, her nipples, her belly button, down her thighs to her knees and back up again. When they met with her warm wetness, Bella welcomed them with a quiet sigh. It was followed by a sharp inhale as the fingers deftly stroked against her clit.
"No teasing," she half demanded, half begged and reached down to caress his cock between their stomachs. After a few strokes she moved him and he sunk himself into her with a soft groan.
"Perfect," he sighed, pulling his hips back before sinking in again. "Abso-fucking-lutely perfect."
"FAMILY MEETING!"
The sounds of eight feet pounding down various sets of stairs and across floor sounded and soon three heads of black hair and one of coppery red were fighting to squeeze on to the living room couch. Edward and Ty, realizing they wouldn't get the prime spots on the sectional, both dove for the ottoman, laughing as they tussled over who would get the seat. Edward won and Ty good naturedly sat on the floor near him.
Bella looked over from her perch on the arm of the short end of the sectional at Carlisle as the children looked to them expectantly. He nodded at her and she made the conscious decision to not hide her left hand as she rested her palms in her lap.
"So, we have some news," she stated, looking at each of her children individually, starting with Edward, then moving on to the girls and lastly Ty.
"Bella and I were talking last night," Carlisle continued, wrapping an arm around her waist, "and we wanted to ask you guys a couple of things."
Another pause as Bella and Carlisle shared a look and the kids looked puzzledly amongst themselves.
"One at a time, I want you guys to answer this question." Bella waited briefly for their quiet nods before going on. "If you had to choose, would you want to live in this house or the house across the street? Sydney?"
"Here. All our stuff is here." She paused for a moment, quirking her head as she thought. "And Edward and Carlisle spend all their time here anyway."
"Sash?"
The little girl shrugged, her personality the exact opposite of her identical sister. "It doesn't matter to me."
"Why, sweetie?" Carlisle prompted.
"Because stuff is just stuff. We can move it if we need to. As long as we're all together then I don't really care where we live."
Bella beamed at her daughter, tears blurring the edge of her vision. She blinked to clear them and moved on. "Edward?"
"I like it here," he answered quietly. Always somewhat reserved, especially when put on the spot, Bella urged him to continue with an encouraging, 'Go on.'
"You're here and Dad's here with you and Ty's here and Sydney and Sasha are here. The other house isn't home. This one is."
Brimming with pride, Bella squeezed Carlisle's shoulder as she then turned to Ty and posed her question.
"I like it here. Like Edward said, this is home."
"Okay," Carlisle said. "So I have another question for you guys now. What would you say if Bella and I got married?"
Bella braced herself, though she didn't know whether she was expecting some sort of outburst or the crickets to chime in with their opinions.
"Finally!"
All eyes immediately swung around to Sydney, who was giving everyone an incredulous look as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"What?" She looked accusingly over at her sister. "You already call Edward your brother." Then over to Edward. "You know in your heart that we're your sisters." Then up to Bella and Carlisle. "We were all just waiting for you to make it official!"
Bella couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh as Carlisle chuckled beside her at the pre-teen's forthright manner. But when they both opened their eyes, they spotted the pensive looks on Sasha and Ty's faces. Carlisle was up and settling himself in between the twin on the couch in an instant, the boys being tugged along behind him and settled into Carlisle's lap. All was quiet, then Ty spoke up.
"Does that mean I get to call you 'Dad'?"
"That's right." He pulled the twins closer to him, one on each side, and placed his arm around their shoulders. "Your dad loves you very much and I'm not trying to replace him. But I'm going to try my best to be another dad to you. That is, if you guys will have me."
Bella's eyes welled up in tears as she watched her girls hug Carlisle tightly, both on the verge of tears themselves but with happy smiles on their faces.
"So that means I have two dads, then!" Ty exclaimed. "Dad from before and a Dad now! Wow!"
There was a chorus of soft laughter sounded before being broken by Edward. He slipped off Carlisle's lap and stood in front of Bella, an apprehensive look on his face.
"And you're gonna be my new mom, right?" he whispered, his toe digging into the carpet and a hand tugging on the ends of his hair. "Because I really miss mine and I want you to be my new one, too."
Falling to her knees, Bella pulled Edward into her arms and embraced him, tears of joy pouring down her cheeks. "Of course I want to be your new mom, Edward. I know I'll never replace your first mom but I love you so much and in my heart you're already my son."
She heard sniffling coming from her shoulder and she hugged him tighter.
"I love you, Momma."
"I love you, too, Edward."
"Remind me why, exactly, we decided to turn our honeymoon into a family vacation?" Carlisle asked, trudging into their bedroom in the villa they had rented. He rolled his shoulder and winced when an audible pop! sounded.
"I don't know," Bella laughed, dropping her body on to the bed with a groan. "I think we're insane."
She felt the bed dip and a warm hand rested on her stomach, the familiar weight of his touch sending goosebumps racing across her skin.
"Well, I don't know about insane, but I can say with absolute certainty that I'm crazy about you."
Bella burst out laughing, taking a pillow from her side and smacking Carlisle in the face. "That was horrible!"
"I know." He laughed with her, rolling his body over hers and settling comfortably on top of her. "And I make no apologies for my corniness."
"And your horniness," she snarked in reply, pushing her hips up against his where she was met with the delicious feel of his hardness.
"Sooo…" He leaned down, capturing her lips with his own, and swallowed the moan she released as he ground against her. "The kids are asleep, they're on the top floor of the house…"
"Just stop talking and take off your pants," Bella laughed, tugging at the strings of her bikini top.
"Slow down there, Mrs. Cullen," he said, stilling her hands as placing them on his chest before undoing the knots himself and tossing the scrap of fabric to the floor.
"That's Swan-Cullento you, Mister."
"Oh, keep calling me Mister and I'll call you anything you want me to." He waggled his eyebrows at her before burying his face in the valley of soft, sweet skin between her breasts. "Better yet, call me Doctor."
"I'll call you something else entirely if you're not having sex with me in about ten seconds!" she replied, pushing down his shorts with her feet and tugging at his cock when it sprang out to meet her.
"The art of foreplay is totally lost on you, isn't it, baby," Carlisle snickered into her skin before capturing a nipple between his teeth and thrusting himself roughly into her dripping warmth.
Her witty retort was lost as he began moving, short and quick thrusts that hit the spot inside her that made her want to scream out in pleasure. Exclamations to God and her new husband were made with the sparse breaths she was able to take and she found her hands travelling up to her nipples and down the defined lines of his torso.
"Love you… so much," Carlisle breathed, hooking her knees over his elbows and decreasing his pace down to an almost excruciating slowness. He held himself above her with one arm and kissed every inch of skin he could reach as he pushed in and out, deep and purposefully.
Darkness began to crowd her vision, like a camera set to vignette, and she knew that she was close to her orgasm.
"Come," she begged, capturing his bottom lip between her teeth. "Come with me."
And he did just that, the two of them reaching completion together as the warm Caribbean breeze floated through the window.
"FAMILY MEETING!"
As the kids assembled in the living room, much in the same fashion as the last major family meeting, Bella couldn't help but smile. Unconsciously stroking her still flat stomach, she wondered what family meetings would look like in a few years.
"So how do you guys feel about a little brother or sister?"
FIN.