Standard disclaimer, I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. This is a one shot it takes place after Bella has first met the rest of the Cullens but before the baseball game.
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Rose
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"Rose, dear, may I come in?" Esme asks as she stands outside Rosalie's and Emmett's room. She keeps her voice low and quiet enough that she could have a private conversation with her daughter and best friend. Even in a house full of vampires, no one would be able to hear them. Rosalie had basically shut herself in her room all day now and she was beginning to get worried, she wouldn't even speak to Emmett right now so she hoped that maybe she would open up to her. Rosalie and she had, in her opinion, one of the more interesting and complex relationships in the family.
She loved all of her children, and she loved them all equally, but Rosalie held a special place in her heart. Rose was her eldest daughter and the past experiences that they both shared and the desires that they both had meant that they understood each other in a way that even their mates couldn't comprehend.
Carlisle was the love of her existence, what she felt for him was all encompassing, and he knew her better than anyone else in the world, and she knew that Rosalie felt the same way about Emmett. But neither of them had actually gone through the abuse, the rape that Rosalie and she had, they didn't have the sense of loss that she and Rosalie did over the fact that they could never have children. Their husbands could empathize, they could sympathize, but they couldn't comprehend. There was no way to understand that kind of pain, that kind of violation, that kind of loss, unless you experienced it.
But it wasn't just their pain that connected them either. While Rosalie was more blunt about it, more confrontational, nobody else worried about the family as a whole like she and Rosalie did. This family was everything to them and they wanted to do everything they could to protect it.
They also liked to go out and do things together. While Rosalie was more mechanically inclined her daughter was the one who often took an interest in what she, Esme, was doing. In every house she designed Rosalie was always there to help her pick things out, offer suggestions, or just provide her with some company. And she did the same, she honestly to this day, and despite Rosalie's best efforts, couldn't tell you the difference between a carburetor and a muffler, but she enjoyed sitting out in the garage with Rose and watching her as she worked on the cars. Rosalie had a gift with mechanics and she could do things with cars the same way Edward could do things with music. She was so passionate about it and it was great to watch. She wasn't much help, but Rosalie seemed to appreciate and enjoy the company.
They loved the same kinds of books, but couldn't agree on a movie to save their lives, and they loved to tease each other about it. Esme, while wanting to look nice didn't care for fashion the same way that Rosalie did, and certainly nowhere near the degree that Alice did. Rosalie had a bit of a darker and more biting sense of humor than she did, but she was also so much more outgoing than Esme ever was. She knew that it grated on Rosalie to be so reserved in the human world while Esme had always been a bit more of a homebody.
Rosalie was her daughter and her best friend and right now she was hurting, and she knew exactly what the cause of that hurt was. Bella Swan. Esme was so happy that Edward had finally found someone, he had been alone for so long that it was good to see him finally connect with someone. And she seemed like a… nice girl. She was a little twitchy, but she seemed sweet enough and it was obvious that she was smitten by her son. Esme was excited to get to know her.
Rosalie, however, was not. And she had brought up some very valid concerns. Edward was very adamant about not changing her, he wouldn't even discuss it, and that alone was a huge problem. One that could potentially get them all killed, but that wasn't Rose's only objection. The girl was still human, that meant her mere presence was painful for them to endure. Going to school was one thing, but if she was going to be coming over that would be a problem. This house was supposed to be their safe haven, a place for them to escape the temptation of human blood.
Edward had also divulged everything to the girl, all of their secrets were known to this new human. She wanted to support Edward and she was happy that he was finding love but even she hadn't been particularly thrilled with that bit of news. The girl seemed nice enough but they didn't know her. Carlisle and Emmett had been concerned as well and she had never seen Rosalie and Jasper that angry before. Alice had been able to calm Jasper down, barely, but it had taken the combined efforts of Emmett and herself to stop Rosalie from throwing Edward's piano at him.
Edward and Alice were both sure, completely positive, that they could trust Bella, that she was trustworthy which did provide some assurances. Alice swore up and down that she had no visions of Bella telling anyone anything, that Bella would keep their secret.
"Unless she changes her mind, you're accurate, rarely ever wrong I'll admit. But we all know that you're not infallible, and that when you are wrong, you're really wrong." Rosalie had challenged. Alice hadn't appreciated that and now the two of them weren't speaking to each other. Rosalie was more confrontational about it than Esme would have been, but she did have a point. Alice was rarely wrong but the last time she had been, three humans had died.
As all of this is passing through Esme's mind, Rosalie still hadn't answered her yet so she tries calling out again. "Rosalie, please, may I come in?"
This time Esme doesn't wait for an answer she slowly opens the door and steps inside to see Rosalie standing by her window and staring out into the forest.
"I didn't say you could come in." She says, but there is no real bite in her voice, just quiet resignation.
"You also didn't tell me to go away." Esme replies with a smile as she moves to stand by Rosalie, and she can see a tiny smile pulling at Rosalie's lips.
It's silent between the two of them for a few minutes before Rosalie speaks up. "I don't want Edward to be alone, I do want him to find love. I want for him to have what Emmett and I have. I want for him to have what you and Carlisle, and Jasper and Alice all have. I do want that for him."
"I know that dear and so does everyone else."
"But he's doing this wrong, he's putting us all at risk and her as well. I know my brother, he's going to try and hide the darker side of what we are from her. Oh he'll tease her with it to be sure, I'm a monster, you shouldn't trust me, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But he won't actually tell her what it means to be what we are, he won't show her the truth. She's going to think that this kind of existence is a blessing, something to aspire to." Rosalie shakes her head in disgust.
"She deserves the chance to have a normal, mortal, life and with all things considered and if Edward gets his way, I don't see how this can end in anything but heart break. Edward won't change her, and eventually she'll grow old and she'll die and with what to show for it? So that she and Edward can spend the last few years of her life pretending he's her grandson, and what do you suppose is going to happen to Edward after she's gone? He may be a pretentious ass-hole-"
"Language." Esme reprimands, but there's no real force behind it.
Rosalie's features soften, and she feel's guilty for swearing in front of Esme. Esme had been raised to not swear and so she had always been sensitive to it. Charles, her ex-husband had loved to curse up a storm in front of her just to see her flinch, so they all tried to avoid doing it for her sake. Sometimes they slipped but Esme appreciated the effort.
"Right sorry, but you know what I mean, he's moody, he's judgmental, he drives me up the wall and there are days, weeks even, when I can't stand to be within a hundred miles of him and I know he feels the same way about me, but still… he's my brother and I may not always like him, but I do love him. If this girl is it for him, and I'm not convinced she is, but if she is, and he never plans to change her, what do you think he's going to do once she's gone?"
Esme looks down, because she knows exactly what Rosalie is talking about. Edward was dramatic, more so than anyone else in the family, and he often had a… twisted wasn't the word she wanted to use but it was close at times, view of life, love, and religion. She loved him like he was her son but she wasn't blind to his flaws. She knew that if this Bella girl was it for him, and she were to die, Edward would soon follow and a part of her wondered if he didn't ultimately hope for that outcome.
Edward despised what they were and made no secret of the fact that he believed they had no souls, that they were all eternally damned to hell. Esme didn't believe that, not for a single second, she believed that it was their actions that they would be judged by, the fact that they fought against their natures was what would count in the end, if and when that time came. A part of Edward wished for death, to face that final judgment, but another part of him craved life, wished to be proven wrong, but if that Bella girl was it, was who he was going to give his heart to and she were to die, she knew that any will to live would leave Edward.
"I just want to protect this family… it's all I have." Rosalie finishes softly.
Esme reaches over and places her hand on Rosalie's, squeezing it affectionately. "I have to believe that it will all work out, that this girl will love him and help him work through these issues that he has. That he has finally found his soul mate. I know what's at stake here and believe me I share all of your concerns but… he needs us to support him, now more than ever. We don't know what the future will hold, we have a good guess, but we don't know. I want him to be happy, I want all of you to be happy, and since he has decided to be with this Swan girl I've seen a spark of life in him that I have never seen before. It gives me hope that everything will work out in the end. I think for the first time he has a shot at happiness and I think this will change him and for the better, we just have to have faith, and we need to support him, now more than ever."
Rosalie lets out a sigh. "I can't support this, I know you can see a happy ending in this but all I can see is devastation. This human girl is going to destroy our family-"
"Rose-"
"Please Esme, let me finish. I can't support what I believe is going to be the end of my brother. I don't see how he can possibly love her, I think he's intrigued by her, he can't hear her thoughts and she's his singer, I think he finds it interesting but I don't think its love. I also think that this is all going to end really badly for all of us, but… you're right Edward does need our support. So…"
Rosalie lets out another sigh, "I guess the best I can do in this situation is back off, I won't fight him on this, but… I can't support it. I'm not convinced it's real and I think it's just going to end badly for him."
Esme moves her hand and wraps it around Rosalie's shoulder and brings her in for a hug, and Rosalie allows it happen and she rests her head on Esme's shoulder.
"I hope I'm wrong." Rosalie says softly after a moment.
"Me too." Esme says, kissing Rosalie on the forehead.
After a couple minutes of silence pass Rosalie speaks up again, this time in a wistful, kind of hopeful but teasing voice. "Why couldn't he have fallen for Tanya? Tanya's a sweetheart, she's beautiful, smart, fun, she's strong willed, she could keep Edward in line-"
Esme chuckles at that, she liked Tanya as well and had been rather hopeful when the woman had first shown an interest in Edward.
"Plus if he got together with her then he could live up in Denali and we wouldn't have to put up with him as much." Rosalie finishes.
"Rosalie." She reprimands.
"What? We'd visit… occasionally."
Esme just arches a brow and looks at her.
"Fine… your right, I'm sorry… plus I like Tanya, I wouldn't really wish that on her."
Esme rolls her eyes before she begins to move, taking Rosalie's arm in her own and leading them out of the blonde's room. "Come on, your eyes are looking dark and you're just a little too snarky right now, I think you need to feed. Let's go see if Emmett and Carlisle are up for a hunt."
S
So I have this head canon that Rosalie and Esme are really close. They just really connected over the years and next to Emmett, Esme is Rosalie's strongest connection to the Cullen family and vice versa and that their relationship is similar to Carlisle's and Edward's. I don't know, I just like the idea that they're really close. I have nothing to back these thoughts up with, I've only seen each movie once, and I've only read the books once, and I don't recall there being anything in them to suggest that this is right… or wrong, mind you. The books and movies are all about Bella and Edward, which is fine, if not a little boring to me. I love Twilight fics that explore the rest of the Cullen's with Rosalie being my favorite character and so I thought I would do a little one shot. And I'll readily admit that most of my Twilight knowledge comes from fan fiction, so I have no idea how close to canon either of these characters are here, if at all. Although if I cared about canon I wouldn't be on this site lol.