A/N: Oh, god. How is time passing like this? I protest. I apologize. I've been trying to get my ofic book ready for editing and… just. Sorry. Here's the update!

Here was the thing-Bella made amazing cookies. Baked goods in general. She made a Mountain Dew cupcake with dorito crumbs in the frosting that tasted way better than it should have. But the cookies. Oh man.

Here was the other thing. We lived with Jasper and Emmett. They were bottomless pits. Well, I supposed if I was being honest, I didn't exactly eat like a bird, but their habits could be a bit nauseating.

So when Bella baked, the food disappeared Tasmanian Devil style. Naturally, I was forced to take drastic measures. I liked to draw out my enjoyment, so I resorted to hiding food.

I was in the living room when I heard the telltale crinkle of foil coming not from the kitchen but from the hallway linen closet. "Oh, hell no." I ditched my laptop and went running.

It wasn't my brother or Jasper I found getting into my secret stash but my girlfriend. Even better. This was a fight I was sure I could win.

I grabbed her wrist just as she got her hands on a cookie. "Hands off, Swan. That doesn't belong to you."

"Excuse me?" She turned in my arms, effectively hiding the cookies from me. "Did you make these?"

I tried to grab around her, but she feinted to the side, blocking me. "Of course I didn't make them. There's only one person on this planet who would think of making a cookie called Unicorn Poop."

"First of all, seeing as I got the recipe from someone on Twitter, I'm pretty sure there are more people on the planet who've made it, specifically those the ones who created it."

"Sick minds." I grabbed her around the waist and tickled without mercy. She shrieked and giggled, but she got her hands on the cookies and ducked away. "It has Poop in the name."

Unicorn Poop cookies were made of sugar cookie dough dyed into a rainbow of colors, twisted together into a poop formation, and sprinkled with all sorts of colorful, edible bits.

"Which brings me to my second point." She danced backward, out of my reach again. "If you think it's so wrong and gross, why the hell are you trying to get at them?' And I'm going to assume you're the one who hid them in the closet in the first place."

"You know how insecure a man's masculinity is. I see something with sparkles, I have to destroy it."

"The sparkles are sugar crystals, genius." She yelped, darting around me when I lunged at her.

"Dammit, Bella. Give me my cookies. I've been looking forward to eating one all day."

"Finders keepers, and they weren't yours to take."

Grab, dodge. Grab, dodge. I considered tackling her, but then all we'd have was rainbow cookie crumbs all over the place. "I worked hard on those cookies."

"Uh, hello? I baked them, asshat."

"Give me some credit. Emmett is like a bloodhound, and I managed to keep them hidden from him. I've earned them."

"They weren't yours. I put them out for everyone."

"Give me. Those. Cookies." This time, I did tackle her. She squealed and almost got away. Off balance, we toppled right over the back of the couch, bounced off the cushions and landed in a heap of laughter on the floor.

"Ugh, you brute. I'm going to have bruises." She'd lost the cookies along the way and started smacking me-not for reals-about my face and chest. "No one's going to believe I'm not a victim of domestic abuse."

I grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the floor above her head. "Says you with the sharp elbows."

She was wiggling beneath me. It was distracting. What the heck were we fighting about?

I remembered this. I remembered running into her in the hallway, her panties flying everywhere and her wet, naked body on top of mine. It wasn't that long ago this woman was an off-kilter stranger. My home was my only peaceful place, and I'd been so sure she would ruin that.

She had, in a way. My home wasn't peaceful anymore. But God. Good God.

I leaned in to kiss her-a slow kiss as I rolled my hips into hers, pinning her flat. She huffed into my mouth-I was probably squishing her-but she kissed me back. She tilted her head up, her lips and tongue moving with mine.

Her arms had long ago gone pliant under my grip, but I didn't dare let go. She was a tricky one. She could sense weakness. I shifted her hands until I could grip both wrists in one of my hands, and I snaked the other down her body, along her thigh, encouraging her to wrap her leg around my waist.

She did, and that, of course, was when I heard my brother's, "Holy shit, man. Come on."

I lifted my head to glare at Emmett. He held his hands up. "Really? Jasper and I are both in the house, and you are in the living room on top of your girlfriend, and you're giving me the how-dare-you-cock-block look. I don't…. are those cookies?"

By that time, I'd gotten to my feet. I helped Bella to her knees, and then lifted her right off her feet, throwing her over my shoulder. "Edward!"

"Hey, hey. Again with the caveman business? Is that the only move you know?"

"He's a brute, Emmett," Bella shouted as I headed toward my room. "He was beating me up a minute ago."

"You cruising for a bruising, little brother?"

"Eat shit," I said. I'd have flipped him the bird, but my hands were full of wiggling, giggling female.

Emmett lifted his Unicorn Poop cookie in salute. "I'm working on it."

I kicked my door shut behind me and tossed Bella on the bed. I crawled over her and kissed her. Once. Twice. Again. "You made me cookies once, remember? Me. Just for me." I dragged my teeth down her neck, nipping so she squeaked.

"Because you were being an asshole." She threaded her fingers through my hair, tugging when I bit her.

"I'm not being an asshole now."

"Hey, you're the one who left the cookies out there. You could have fought for them. I was going to let you win."

Propping myself on one arm, I cupped her cheek with my free hand. "Sweetheart, I'm already there."

Maybe an hour later we were covered in hickeys, and I was tired. Beside me, Bella was sprawled on her back, fast asleep; the picture of a well and truly satisfied woman. I done right by her and then some. Her hair was as rumpled as my bedding, her lips well and thoroughly kissed, and there were reddened bite marks around her breasts.

Well, I had been hungry.

Since it was almost time for work, I had to force myself into an upright position. Bella didn't stir as I went about the room, and she still hadn't awakened when I came back from a shower.

I sat on the edge of the bed and looked down on her.

I was happy.

The thought struck me out of nowhere, and it knocked the breath from my body.

Yes, of course I knew she made me happy. She made me stupid, too, but this was different from all that. It wasn't just a momentary thing, it was a state of being, and one I hadn't experienced since my freshman year of college. That was before I disappointed my father. Before James. Before Alice.

I was so happy. With Bella. With life in general. It wasn't perfect, of course. I was still worried about Alice, and there were a lot of things I had to figure out. But even that was a revelation. It had been a long time since I'd thought about the future.

When had I started again?

Happy and hopeful. It was…

Well, it was a little scary.

Bella gave a soft snort in her sleep and nuzzled into my hand.

Well. For her, I'd figure myself out.

A/N: SO. The end is in sight. Idk how many chapters coz, you know, these kids are unpredictable, and Bella (EveryDayBella) is unpredictable and me? My brain is weird. SO WHATEVER (can we tell I'm hyper today?)

So both the desserts mention do exist and are google-able. I did actually get the unicorn poop cookies from Twitter. From Cris to be precise. Idk who told me about Mountain dew cupcakes and frosting but … I mean, I'm so curious.

Thanks to songster and barburella and all y'all for being so patient! Much heart.