Disclaimer: I do not own…yada yada…

~oOo~

Cullen vs. Swan

EPOV

"Hell yeah. You boys ready for some baseball?"

What the hell?

Emmett was standing in the doorway of his house looking like the god damn mascot for the Mariners. Shaking my head, I shut the passenger door of the car and slipped my sunglasses into the front of my shirt. Grabbing a case of beer, I followed Jasper up the driveway. Emmett waited for us, leaning against the doorframe. He pushed himself up and held his fist out to Jasper in greeting. Jasper laughed and bumped fists with my brother.

"Welcome, bro." Emmett turned to me his fist still held out. I cocked my eyebrow. Emmett rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand which hung loosely at my side. I watched with amusement as he one-handedly closed my hand into a fist and bumped it against his own.

"Much better. Now get your asses inside." He said happily. I cracked a smile as I followed them into the house. Emmett led us into the kitchen where we were able to deposit the beer we brought.

I took this time to look around the house. I couldn't help the chuckles that fell from my lips as I noticed every inch was covered in something Mariners, pennant flags were strung around the room mixed in with streamers and balloons. I noticed the door to the back patio was open and I could see the grill all set up ready to go. I left Emmett and Jasper in the kitchen while I walked out back. The patio tables were covered in Mariner green and teal table cloths, each chair supplied with a Mariner seat cushion, well, all except one. It had to be hers, I thought to myself. Each table had a bowl of foam baseballs with the team logos in the center. I heard voices approaching and turned to see the guys walking out.

"Geez Emmett, do you get royalties for all this advertizing?" I asked.

Emmett gave me a look like I was crazy, "Dude, it's the Mariners." I stared blankly at him. "And it's a fucking party!" he grinned.

"You do know that it's not even a real game, right? This shit doesn't even count."

"Oh boy." Jasper whispered behind me.

"Doesn't count?" Emmett's eyes went wide as he ran over and threw his hands over the ears of the Ken Griffey Jr. standee that was set next to the open patio door. How I had missed that I had no idea. "Don't say that around Kenny. Everything counts in baseball, Edward."

My mouth fell open as I watched my older brother began stroking the cardboard cut-out while whispering quietly in its ear. "Don't listen to him Kenny" and "He just doesn't understand" were just a few of things that drifted back to my ears. I blinked and turned to face Jasper who was practically doubled over in silent laughter. His eyes met mine and I couldn't contain it any more as the laughter burst from lips. I gripped the edge of the table to hold myself up while trying to get control but every time I came close to stopping one look at Jasper or Emmett and I was lost again.

"Don't ever say things like that in front of Kenny again. He's sensitive, you know?" Emmett's face was serious as he walked over to us.

I took a gulp of air. "Oh what, are you done molesting the standee or should Jasper and I give you two a moment?"

Jaspers laughter was no longer silent as he collapsed into the chair next to him. His response only fueled mine on as I fell against Jasper's chair wrapping my arms around my waist. I felt wetness on my face and was surprised to find that there were tears sliding down my cheeks. I was crying? From laughter?

Emmett stood in front of the two of us, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for us to calm down. Our laughter turned into silent intakes of breath as Jasper and I came off of our high. As I tried to push myself up I noticed that my stomach had cramped up making the muscles pull as I tried to straighten out. I let out a groan.

"Are you assholes done laughing now?" Emmett asked sounding unamused.

Jasper stood up, "Well that depends, are you done whispering sweet nothings to Kenny?"

I clutched my side as I felt the laughter resurfacing. Swallowing enough air to allow me to speak, I walked over to my brother and placed my hand on his shoulder. Trying to keep a straight face I joked, "I think that I may need to inform Rosalie that her devoted husband has eyes for another."

Emmett slapped my hand away, "You wouldn't dare."

"Yeah Edward, that would mean that you have to actually talk to Rose." Jasper threw in with a grin.

I brought my hand up and stroked my chin pretending to be deep in thought. "Hmmm, you're right, Jasper. Good point. Only one would make it out alive."

"You're right." Emmett nodded. "My bet's on Rose."

"Some fucking brother you are." I picked up one of the foam baseballs from the table and threw it at him. Emmett easily caught it and threw it back at me.

"She would kick your ass and you know it, pansy boy."

"Pansy boy?" I asked, feigning outrage. "I ain't no fucking pansy."

"You know, I think Edward's right. I mean, look at all those bar room brawls he got into back in Chicago?" Jasper teased. I felt my body tense up at the reminder of my old life. I felt Emmett's posture stiffen slightly next to me. I squared my shoulders waiting for the blanket of hatred to cover me. After a few seconds I felt the familiar wave of anger creeping up, but not as strong as expected. When I looked up and met Jasper's eyes I saw the laughter slip, worry slowly replacing the teasing glint. He was preparing for my tirade to begin I realized. I got an unfamiliar churning in my stomach as I watched Jasper shifted uncomfortably in front of me, wondering if he's said the wrong thing. I felt….guilt. Guilty. This was new and I didn't like it. I wanted to get back to that carefree laughter that had surrounded me before. With a deep breath, I threw the ball at Jasper. He looked stunned for a moment but still caught the ball.

"Damn straight. I'm a badass mother fucker and don't you forget it." I slipped my sunglasses on and walked into the kitchen. Behind me I could hear Emmett and Jasper's laughter. And as I made my way to the fridge a smile crossed my face.

~oOo~

"Where the hell are the women?" Emmett grumbled from his corner on the couch.

It was getting close to 12:30 with the game due to start at 1:05. Rosalie had left early this morning to drop the kids off at my parents' house and then she was going to meet up with Alice and Bella to discuss some major wedding "crisis" before driving the girls back up here with her. They were also supposed to bring the meat for the barbeque with them which was why Emmett was currently pouting.

Jasper glanced at his watch, "They should be here any minute. I talked to Alice about an hour ago and they were about to get on the ferry."

As if on cue a car door slammed out front. Emmett jumped to his feet and ran towards the door. Jasper rolled his eyes at me and followed my brother. I stayed on the couch in no hurry to see the three women who just arrived. As I took a swig of my beer I heard Bella's laughter filter through the marble hallway. My muscles immediately prepared for battle, tensing slightly, my back stiffening. I sucked in some air as I remembered our agreement from yesterday. The truce. To be honest, I was shocked as hell when she suggested it. I mean, the bitch did throw water in my face and then mocked me for opening a checking account. And now she wanted a truce? A gold fucking star my ass. If I got through this wedding I deserved a god damn medal.

"Oh hell no!" I heard Emmett scream from the hallway. "You can't come in here looking like that."

"You invited me, Emmett." Bella answered, her voice coming closer.

"Yeah, I invited you, not those traitor colors you're wearing." Emmett responded walking back into the room carrying grocery bags. Bella was behind him and I had to give her credit for showing up in that outfit. She was wearing a Giants home jersey with only the bottom three buttons snapped underneath was a long sleeved black shirt that had the Giants logo on the collar. The jersey had to have been a man's size because it hung almost to her knees over her black pants. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and looped through the back of her Giants baseball cap. I couldn't be sure from this distance but I think even her earrings were logos. She looked….cute.

Cute?

What the fuck, Cullen?

I couldn't remember the last time I called a girl cute, but I'm pretty sure it was before I hit puberty.

"Well, these traitor colors are going to wipe the floor with your teams' ass." Bella bit back. Oh, she definitely had balls.

"Care to make a little wager there, Swan?"

Swan? Was that her last name? Why the hell did that sound familiar?

"No!" Rose shouted. "There will be no more wagers between the two of you."

"Aww, babe." Emmett whined. I couldn't see Rosalie's face from my angle but whatever Emmett saw there shut him right up.

"So….food?" Jasper mentioned as he began unloading food from the bags.

At the mention of food Emmett jumped up yelling something about a half an hour until game time. He ran outside to the barbeque to get everything ready while Jasper prepared the meat. Alice and Rose flitted around the kitchen trying to throw together what I assumed was a salad. I watched as Bella grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down in one of the armchairs. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw me but she said nothing, taking a drink of her beer instead. We sat in awkward silence while everyone busied themselves around us. The silence was nerve-racking and I began to fidget. I could handle her smart ass remarks, hell, I could handle her pissed off at me, but silence…this I didn't know how to do. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, watched as she drank her beer, watched as she took her lower lip into her mouth, watched as she looked over at me.

Shit.

I was fucking literally watching her watch me while I watched her. I quickly adverted my gaze, shifting slightly so that I was facing away from her.

"So, how did the account opening go?" Bella asked coyly.

I turned my head towards her, "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

She shook her head slowly from side to side, "Well, I didn't hear about any homicides on the news that night, so I'm assuming good."

I bit the inside of my cheek. I couldn't figure out her intentions. Was she purposely baiting me? She was the one to suggest the truce. I glanced back to see Alice chopping up a tomato. "What? You too fucking good to help in the kitchen?" I retorted.

She let out a harsh laugh, "Hey, just because I have breasts doesn't mean I belong that in the kitchen." She spat out, leaning towards me. Her eyes flickered to the left and following her gaze I found Alice watching us. I watched as my sisters face broke out into a huge smile at the both of us before she turned back to her tomato. Bella sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I actually suck at cooking. Now baking, that I can do."

I stared at her slightly shocked that she seemed to be trying to have a conversation with me. Maybe we could do this, but then she opened her mouth again. "What about you, Eddie boy? Do you have any skills in the kitchen? Hmm…probably not. I picture you more as the Hot Pocket type…wait, do you even know how to operate a microwave?"

"First off, it's Edward." I growled as she smirked. She was playing with me again. Fuck, get a hold of yourself. I scooted myself until I was on the edge of the sofa, my knee barely touching hers. I dropped my voice down to almost a whisper. "Second, you don't need to worry about my kitchen skills. I can promise you that I know how to work everything in the kitchen and I have never had any complaints about my, ah, performance in that area."

I heard her breath hitch as my finger began tracing circles on her knee. It was my turn to smirk.

"You're a pig." She hissed, slapping my hand away.

My eyes widened innocently, "Now Bella, I was talking about cooking. What on earth did you think I was talking about?" I smiled and leaned back against the couch.

Her eyes narrowed and she looked like she was about to respond when Emmett appeared. Thank God I didn't have any liquids in my mouth cause the sight of my brother standing in front of me wearing a Mariners apron and chef's hat would have had me dying.

"Emmett, really? There isn't enough alcohol in the world to deal with you right now."

Emmett looked down at his outfit and then back up at me, a confused expression on his face. "What's wrong with it?"

My eyes met Bella's, which were practically alight with laughter, and that was all it took. Laughter burst out from both of us causing me to fall sideways on the couch, my head hitting the arm. I was gasping for breath, eyes closed practically to slits. I heard Emmett mumble something about history of mental illness in the family before I saw his feet disappear from my line of vision.

"Glad to see you two getting along." I turned my head slightly, still resting it on the arm and saw Alice sitting next on the edge of Bella's chair. She had an amused expression on her face as she looked back and forth between the two of us. Bella pushed herself out of the chair patting Alice's leg as she walked over and sat next to me. I instinctively sat back up putting our shoulders touching.

Bella grinned at me, "Haven't you heard, Alice?" she asked in a sugary voice throwing her arm around my shoulder. "Eddie and I are BFF's."

I tried to scoot out of her reach but then she did the unthinkable. She leaned over and kissed my cheek.

I froze.

My entire body felt paralyzed when her lips touched my skin. It was the briefest of touches; it shouldn't have even registered in my mind. But because it was Bella and something in this woman affected me like none other, my body responded. Her lips were like silk, heated silk that warmed me when I didn't even realize I was cold. When she pulled back the heat receded, sucked back out of my core and I wanted it back. I slowly turned my head until I was facing her. Her eyes were full of surprise, surprise over what she had done. I was pretty sure my expression mirrored hers.

"I got hoes, I've got hoes in different area codes (area, area codes, area codes), hoes, hoes, in different area codes"

Bella and I both jumped when my phone went off. I quickly grabbed it out of my pocket, silencing it. I didn't really want to deal with James right now.

"Nice ring tone." Rosalie sneered coming up behind me.

"Jealous?" I asked sliding my phone back in my pocket.

She waved her hand dismissively in front of her. "Emmett wants you outside. Something about helping with the grill and male bonding."

I jumped up from my seat, shifting my pants slightly. Without a backwards glance I made my way outside, grabbing a beer from the kitchen. Emmett was standing at the grill. Jasper was next to him rubbing some sort of marinade over the steaks. I sat at one of the tables and popped the top off of my beer.

"Did you need me to do anything?"

Emmett shook his head, "Nah, not really. I just didn't think you wanted to be stuck in there with the chicks." I tipped my head in his direction in thanks and tried to relax as I watched my brother work his grill magic.

~oOo~

"Oh come on, Zitto! Get it together!" Bella shouted at the TV.

Emmett rubbed his hands together, "You getting worried over there, Swan?"

"You wish, Cullen."

This kind of banter had been going on for the past five innings now. Beginning outside on the patio during dinner and continuing into the living room. The Giants were currently down by one run and this Zitto guy was starting to throw wild much to Bella's annoyance. She had no qualms about going up against my brother. They shot down each other's teams at every opportunity, Emmett even tried to bring in the your mama jokes before he was silenced by his wife. A commercial break came on and everyone readjusted themselves. Jasper grabbed one of the rice crispy treats Bella brought. She had made them into baseballs, each one with a team logo. I was starting to think that she was as crazy as my brother.

"So, what do you think of Zitto? Was he a good catch?" Jasper asked Bella.

Bella shook her head causing her ponytail to slide over her shoulder. "I think that deal was bogus. There's no way a pitcher is worth that kind of money. Especially one as over-rated as Zitto."

"Okay, so I'm confused." Alice cut-in. "Baseball season hasn't even started yet, right?" Bella and Emmett nodded. "So then what's the deal with this game? It doesn't count, right?"

"Thank you, Alice." I raised my beer up to her. She smiled at me and tipped hers back. Emmett scowled at me.

"Technically, it doesn't count." Bella answered.

"Ha!" I shouted. Everyone turned to look at me. "Sorry." I muttered.

Bella looked at me for a moment before continuing, "None of these stats will be recorded for the overall season. This isn't even an MLB game, it's an exhibition game."

Alice looked confused, "What does that mean?"

Emmett jumped in here, "It's kinda of like preseason, you know. A bunch of teams get together and play, sizing each other up for the coming season and such. It's also good practice for the players."

"Oh, so this is the spring training you and Jazz went to in Arizona last year?" Alice asked.

Jasper leaned over and kissed her cheek, "That's right, baby."

I looked over at Bella who was adjusting her cap.

"So Bella." She looked over at me confused. "You do know that you're in Washington right?"

"Yes." She answered slowly.

"Did you live in California at some point in your life?"

"No, I've never been there." Emmett chortled figuring out where I was going with this.

"So if you live in Washington and you've never been to California, why in hell are you a Giants fan?"

A knowing smile spread across her face, "Have you seen the ass on JT Snow?" Rose and Alice giggled.

"His ass? You like a team because of one player's ass?" I furrowed my brows in confusion, "He's not even a Giant anymore."

"True, but when he was…God was he nice to look at." She sighed leaning back in the chair and fanning herself with her napkin.

"Amen." Rose agreed.

"I did not just hear you saying that." Emmett shouted shaking his finger at his wife. "You better not be checking out any other teams' asses but the Mariners."

"Did you just give your wife permission to ogle other men's asses?" Jasper asked smiling.

"Hell yeah, those are some mighty fine tushies on display." Emmett exclaimed.

Laughter filled the room as I picked up one of the rice crispy balls and hurled it my brother. He caught it with one hand against his chest.

"Thanks man, I was just gonna ask for one." He took a giant bite out of the ball. "Who knew balls could taste so good?"

~oOo~

The Mariners beat the Giants 6-4, which resulted in Emmett sitting on Bella until she agreed that the Mariners were better. Since she never conceded Emmett was currently sitting on her lap drinking a beer and watching the post game wrap-up. Bella was doing a good job of ignoring him while talking to Alice about the floral arrangement they decided on. Emmett kept shifting every few seconds trying to make her uncomfortable, but Bella always adjusted and continued talking. I watched as she tried to straighten out her leg and Emmett casually threw his over hers so that she couldn't. She scowled at the back of his head. Chuckling to myself, I finished my beer and stood up stretching my arms over my head. I caught sight of Bella watching me and I pulled my arms up even higher. Yeah, I was enjoying the fact that she was checking me out. Sue me.

Rosalie was gathering up all the empty plates with Jasper helping. I considered helping but pushed that thought to the side when I saw Rose scowl at me. Grabbing the empty beer bottle I began walking to the kitchen. As I passed Emmett, I pushed hard on his shoulder and seeing as he was slightly off balance, he went careening to the floor splashing his beer on his shirt.

"Dick!" he shouted.

"Didn't Esme teach you to respect women?" I winked at Bella as I walked into the kitchen, chuckling to myself at the surprised look on her face. I tossed the bottle in the recycling and grabbed another. Hell, I wasn't driving.

Casually leaning against the doorframe I surveyed the scene in front of me. Emmett was still sprawled on the floor furiously wiping the front of his shirt. Rosalie was standing over him throwing napkins down. Alice and Bella were huddled together, huge grins displayed while Jasper stood behind my sister rubbing her shoulders. They all looked so….happy. Not wanting to disturb them I walked out to the patio and leaned against the rail looking out over the Seattle skyline. This had to be my favorite part of Emmett's house. The view was magnificent, serene almost.

I fished my phone out of my pocket. One new voicemail. Sighing, I braced myself to listen to James.

"Yo cuz, where the hell are you? I haven't talked to you in weeks. Dude, you have missed one hell of a week. Caius is back in town and you know he's always packing the good shit. He brought his niece Victoria, and damn is she fine! You would be all up in her if you had the chance, and let me just say she's a fucking good lay. Oh shit, gotta go. We're hitting up Romero's tonight. Time to get fucked up. Late!"

"Fucking James." I spat.

"You're fucking a guy named James?"

I spun around to see Bella standing in the doorway, a smirk on her lips. She had taken off her hat and her hair was blowing in the soft breeze. I smirked back.

"How do you know James is a man?"

Her smirk turned into a smile. "Touché." She walked up next to me and leaned against the rail.

"You know, when people leave a room and come outside, most see that as a sign that said person wants to be alone."

She scrunched up her nose, "Maybe, but when said person might be suicidal, letting him go outside where there's a good chance he may jump off the balcony doesn't seem very smart, now does it?"

"Who the fuck told you I was suicidal?" I was outraged. Never once had I thought about killing myself. I mean, yeah, my life had hit a down point these past weeks…but come on.

Bella just shrugged nonchalantly.

"It was Alice, wasn't it?" I demanded. Bella stayed silent. "Damn pixie of a sister. I will have you know that I am NOT nor have I ever been suicidal!" Bella's shoulders began shaking. She was fucking laughing. She-ah, damn it.

"You're fucking with me aren't you?" I asked getting annoyed.

She threw her hands up in front of her, "I'm sorry. It's just so easy. You're just always wound so freaking tight." She laughed. For the first time I just listened to her laughing and it was infectious. I found myself trying to control my smile. It was hard to imagine that this was the same girl from the past month.

"So I'm suicidal?" I asked now highly amused. "And you thought, what? That I would take a running dive off of this cliff?"

She laughed harder and my smile widening in response.

"Well, it seemed like a very dramatic way to go and with you being such a drama queen and all…" she trailed off.

I scoffed, "I have no idea what you're talking about." I pulled my sunglasses out and made a show of putting them on. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bella shake her head still laughing.

We both were quiet for awhile, just staring out at as the sun was setting. However this time the silence wasn't awkward like it had been in the living room, it was more like a calm settled over me. A very disjointed calm. We were so close that every time one of us shifted, even slightly, our elbows would brush against each other sending little shockwaves through my body. I was very thankful that the front of my body was hidden from her, pressed up against the railing. A small sigh escaped Bella's lips as she leaned over and bumped her shoulder against mine.

"Thanks for getting your brother off of me."

I feigned shock, "What? Did you just…thank me?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but don't get used to it. This won't be a reoccurring theme. I blame the beer." She tossed her hair over her shoulders and looked back out over the city.

"Well, I didn't do it for you. I just figured Alice would be pretty upset if her best friend died by Emmett's fat ass."

Bella laughed, "Death by Emmett's ass. Can that go on my tombstone please?"

"Of course. Wouldn't have it any other way."

Our joint laughter filled the patio. I could hear the sounds trickling out from the house but they seemed so far away as if they existed outside of Bella and I. Where the fuck did that come from? Before I could dwell on it any longer Bella spoke.

"Wow, did we just have a semi-conversation and not kill each other?"

I blinked, "I think we did."

She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "You know, this truce might actually work out." She looked up at me and smiled.

I felt the unfamiliar clenching of my stomach as I stared at her. I shook my head.

"Nah, I blame the beer."

Her laughter joined mine as the sun finally went down.

~oOo~

The ride home with Jasper was quiet but I didn't mind. I kept thinking back on the events of today. I realized that I had laughed more today than I had in…god, I couldn't even remember when. And then it hit, like a punch straight to gut. I had fun today.

~oOo~

AN: I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone who has been reading this story. I am blown away by the response. Please stop by the thread on Twilighted, I have decided that I will start to post teasers there along with answering any questions you may have. Link is on my profile.

On a side note, I wrote a one-shot for the Exploration of Senses contest titled A Touch and I Fall Apart. It's my first one-shot. I would love for you guys to take a look at it and if you like it, please vote. Voting just opened for the contest. Information on how to vote is posted after the story. Thanks so much.

And be sure to let me know what you think of this chapter!