This was written for a Livejournal challenge. We had to write Tanya as we thought of her before Breaking Dawn was released. Since I know that she and her coven inspired the Succubus legends, I though she might be less evil (as in, "Edward and I slept together, he lied to Bella, and I want him back NOW" kind of evil) than fandom tends to portray her.

Additional note: This was finished exactly 2 hours 48 minutes before Breaking Dawn's release.

Tanya was coming.

Bella fiddled with a stray lock of brown hair as she waited. It made sense, she knew, for the Cullen's old friends to visit and meet their newest family member. However, her heart rarely listened to sense, especially where vampires were concerned.

Edward took one look at his fiancée, sighed softly, and joined Bella on the living room couch to stare at the television neither was really watching.

There wasn't much to do; Alice was dancing from one wedding preparation to the next and required no help from anyone, least of all the bride and groom. Emmett followed Rosalie, who avoided Bella either because she was entirely unhappy with the recent events, or because Edward's eyes followed Rosalie anytime she was within fifty feet of his beloved, glaring, daring her to do anythingto upset the already-nervous girl. Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme had been relegated to be part of the welcoming committee as well, but conversed in the dining room, too distant and too quiet for Bella to notice.

.oOo.

It had been two hours—four programs neither watched—when Edward stood up. "Alice said they would be here about now," he said, helping Bella stand up and then catching her when her numb legs wouldn't hold steady. "We don't have to meet them, you know," he told her. "Not if it makes you nervous, silly girl. Carlisle and Esme will still be here."

"No," Bella said, more to herself than Edward, then repeated herself when she saw that he was genuinely worried about her. "No, I'm fine. It's just wedding nerves, everything is making me jumpy now." She hoped her smile looked convincing.

Edward refused to put her down until they were outside on the porch, all the while thinking that his bride was a terrible liar, although what she had to worry about he didn't know.

A car pulled up before Bella could reply. As far as she could tell, it was shiny red, small, and probably expensive. She had no clue what it was, the small logo on the front looked like a coat-of-arms with a silver circle around it. It was a convertible, but the top was up and she couldn't see the people inside.

The first girl Bella saw was tall. As she unfolded herself from the passenger's side, it looked like she was even taller than Edward's 6'2", with the thin body of a model. Or maybe it was her hair—long, straight down to her waist, and midnight black—that made her look so tall. Bella blushed when she turned toward her, unconsciously stepping closer to Edward.

"That's Kate," he whispered so softly she could barely hear him. "She's—"

Then the driver's door opened.

Tanya.

This was the girl she worried about? Her?

Tanya was short, about the same height as Bella, very round, and looked almost absurd next to her tall, skinny sister. Her round face had an equally round halo of strawberry-blonde curls in every direction. It looked like she had tried to tame them with a headband, but it had almost gotten lost in the mass of curls. Maybe barbed wire would do better, Bella thought.

Tanya was smiling as she skipped forward to meet them, despite the large, plastic banana-shaped earrings and a necklace that bounced around and smacked her in the face. "Ah, Edward, I've missed you," she declared when she reached them. "I haven't missed you, though, since I never met you. You must be Bella. Hi, I'm Tanya."

Bella shook the proffered hand, hoping her surprise didn't show on her face. Beside her, Edward chuckled and moved to greet Kate, who had quietly followed Tanya.

Once introductions were done, they went inside where Carlisle and Esme waited—Jasper had disappeared sometime in the last two hours—and made small talk—Bella had to stifle her giggles when she realized this felt more like a Christmas party with Charlie at the police station than anything else. She stayed with Edward, listening.

"Carmen and Eleazar wanted to come," Tanya told Carlisle earnestly, "but they're both in Russia at the moment. Irina refused to come. She's still sulking about Laurent."

Bella flinched and Edward smirked. Evidently, diplomacy was not Tanya's strong suite.

.oOo.

It wasn't until later that Tanya got a chance to talk to Bella again. The human had been quiet but unable to keep from staring at Tanya—so different from what she had expected!—but when niceties were out of the way, Tanya made a beeline for the inseparable couple, leaving Kate, Carlisle, and Esme deep in conversation about a topic she deemed boring.

Bella blushed when she was caught staring again at Tanya's wild mane; Tanya giggled. "I was struck by lightning right before I as turned," she said with an impish wink. "So, what lies has he told you about me?" she asked playfully before turning to Edward. Apparently, it wasn't a rhetorical question.

Edward returned her gaze coolly. "Only the truth, that you…showed interest, once, and— that I let you know I did not reciprocate."

Bella's hand found Edward's as she moved a bit closer. Did Tanya still…?

Tanya looked from one face to the other, then rolled her eyes. "I show interest in every male that ever walked the Earth," she told him frankly. "Don't let it go to your head. And now there are no more Cullens left to woo," she continued in melodramatic angst, "Life will be boring; I might as well up and burn myself."

Edward's mouth twitched into a grin. "Go kiss a werewolf. Easy suicide."

Bella elbowed him, resulting in a bruise for her, but Tanya looked thoughtful. "At least I'll go out with a kiss…No, I'm teasing. Teasing," she hastened to reassure Bella.

Bella gave a wane smile and willed the blood back into her paler-than-normal face. She hadn't really thought Tanya would try, but then again, the vampire seemed like she might try anything.

.oOo.

Kate and Tanya didn't stay long. They were staying in a hotel, they explained, and wanted to explore town. Tanya winked at Bella when she said that, explaining that she didn't leave Alaska much, and maybe the Cullens had the right idea, moving around as they did.

When they were gone, Bella looked at Edward in silence. Tanya was sort of like a miniature-whirlwind that spun in circles around your messy room and left it semi-organized when she left but you still couldn't do anything but stand there in bewilderment wondering what just happened.

Edward caught her eye. "After a thousand years, they're not going to slip up," he murmured, mistaking her silence for apprehension. "Tanya just wants to find someone to flirt with. It's how she passes time," he explained with a shrug.

Bella nodded, then remembered something. "People are going to think they're related to you, with their skin."

Arms like steel pulled her closer to Edward. "But of course. The groom gets to invite some 'family,' doesn't he? So we have our two cousins in from Alaska. And maybe," he pulled her even closer, "they'll distract everyone enough that I can spirit you away after the reception. I feel I should warn you, though, about Tanya."

Bella's old fear came roaring back to the surface. "What?"

"She's worse than Alice. You may want to rethink going to college in Alaska after all, unless you feel like playing dress-up everyday."

.oOo.

"Tanya?" Kate looked at her sister. She was uncharacteristically quiet as she drove them to Forks.

"I've been thinking…" Tanya said slowly, choosing each individual word carefully.

Kate eyed her warily. Tanya had liked Edward, but Tanya liked most males. It was impossible to know if she had liked this one more than usual. "About what?"

"Do you think I really could kiss a werewolf?"