Twilight isn't mine, but this plot is.

Song: Sugar – Maroon 5 (Love the music video for this song too!)

. . . . . . . . . .

We missed our plane, but were able to get on another flight that was two hours later. Thank god, Alice would have had my balls on a platter if I'd cost her one of her bridesmaids.

Said bridesmaid was lost in her own mind, and had been ever since our talk about her script. She spent the first half of the flight staring at her hands in her lap, and the second half tucked under my arm. She probably looked asleep to anyone else, but you'd have to fucking tranquillize her to get her to fall asleep in a public place. I think it was easier for her to deal with her thoughts when she just shut down sometimes. I just held her, silently letting her know that it was okay. Despite how much it hurt to see her struggling so hard just to deal with her own thoughts, I loved that she felt safe enough with me to let herself shut down a little.

It was nice that she wasn't always trying to protect me anymore, searching for a threat around every corner, all the time. I liked that she felt safe enough with me to let me protect her.

Emmett was the one who picked us up from the airport, running over and lifting Bella into a tight hug as soon as he caught sight of us. And though she smiled and hugged him back, and I knew she missed him like crazy, there was something different. I couldn't really put my finger on it though.

We went back to Bella's building, and though it felt wrong without Zeus, it was still nice to be home. Everyone came over and we had Chinese, and discussed the rehearsal dinner tomorrow. Rose was glowing, and looked fabulous even in the end of her second trimester. Everyone seemed so excited to have us back that I don't think they even noticed that Bella's smile never reached her eyes. There was something… missing.

I tried to figure it out, and I watched. I watched Bella like a fucking hawk. I tried to figure out what it was, what had changed, but I didn't figure it out until everyone left.

And then she looked at me.

Then I saw it again, that little piece that was gone when she had looked at everyone else. There was just this way that she smiled at me that was different then the way she smiled around the others. As we got changed for bed, shutting off the lights and climbing under the light summer blankets and sheets, I tried to not only put a name to it, but to find out where it had come from. Why if there had been something wrong with the others I hadn't noticed it earlier.

But I had. I had noticed it before we'd left. At first I had worried that the move might have set back her progress, but it had had a startlingly positive effect on her moods.

It hadn't just been her therapy though... it had been getting away from the others. It was easy to remember now, how she'd seemed kind of off around them, depressed or lost even. I had forgotten all about it in LA when she had seemed so well. I had figured that with Victor's death came a sort of loss of purpose for her, and that had made it a little difficult to cope with what sense of freedom she should have gained from his death.

What I hadn't considered was what that might have meant for her friendships with the others. That them not needing her to protect them from him may have equated to the same thing in her mind as them not needing her.

She looked at me differently than the others, and I knew why. I knew it was because she knew that I needed her, I'd needed her since the moment I first saw her.

The apartment was silent, and I could feel that Bella was still awake beside me, curled into my side in the darkness. My stomach was spinning with the unease of my theory, and I rolled to my side, shimmying down the bed so that my eyes were level with hers. She watched me curiously with her big, dark, lost eyes, and I cupped her cheek with one hand as I kissed her gently on the lips.

"I need you Bella. Always. Without you I don't even exist," I told her truthfully. I was who I was now because of her, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was actually happy with who I was now, on a level that I'd never reached before.

I knew I was right when her eyes watered, and she pulled my lips to hers and kissed me urgently.

"I feel lost without you," she whimpered. "You're the only thing that even feels real anymore."

I knew that feeling well.

"I love you more than anything."

"I love you more than everything."

"You are my everything," I said with a teasing grin.

She laughed, and then just seemed to lose herself in a fit of giggles.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, but I think that was corny even for us!" She gasped.

"We should write a Disney movie together."

She fucking snorted, and I laughed, hard. Bella had tears coming out of her eyes she was laughing so hard. We were still laughing as I kissed her, and trapped both of her wrists in my hands, pinning them above her as I hovered over her.

And my Bella was there again. Smiling, glowing, happy.

Making her face look like that was the most rewarding feeling I'd ever experienced.

I needed her. I needed this, this all-consuming love that had been born when I found her. I couldn't live without it.

And I couldn't let her live another moment thinking that she wasn't needed, because she was.

I got up, surprising her, and walked over to my bag, picking up my wallet, and I gripped the ring in a fist before dropping the leather and walking back over to her.

I smiled, realizing she could have found that ring any time. She could have needed some change and gone into my wallet any time over the past seven months. I know that lots of guys go through an effort to hide this sort of thing… but I'd never once worried about it. Putting a tracking program in my e-mails aside, she just wasn't the type of person to go through my things.

She sat up, watching me in worry and confusion as I sat next to her on the edge of the bed. I watched her for a minute, she was searching my eyes, and I leaned in and kissed her softly.

"I don't care if it's corny, it's true. I do need you. I've never needed anything like I've needed you. I don't know how I managed to live so long without you in my life, and I know without a doubt that I want you in it every day of the rest of forever. I want to know every single thing about you, your every thought, feeling, and desire. I want to fall asleep and wake up every morning with you in my arms. You're the only thing I need."

"Edward-" she practically choked out, but froze when I got up, and knelt down on one knee on the floor.

"Marry me."

She just stared at me in confusion, or maybe shocked disbelief. I opened up my hand, offering her the ring I'd carried with me for over half a year. Her hands clapped over her mouth as her tears spilled over.

I couldn't breathe with my heart lodged in my throat. She had to say yes, but she seemed too stunned to say anything at all.

I asked again, and hated the vulnerability and fear that creeped into my voice as the words left my lips.

"Bella, I swear I'll love you every second of the rest of my life. Please, marry me."

She watched me for another long moment, silently crying, before she nodded.

I smirked, feeling fucking high. "Is that a yes baby?"

"Yes," she whimpered. My smirk grew.

"Yes what?" I teased, and the sweetest sound escaped her lips with her musical laugh.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

"Thank fucking god," I said in a huff, and she was laughing again, and crying, as I took her trembling left hand and slid the ring onto her finger. It was a little too big, and I pouted. "Damn it, I'll need to get this thing sized," I growled, and then looked up at her. I think she was kind of in shock, and she just stared at our hands. I got back up, and cupped her face in my hands. "You're mine now," I said, proudly, maybe a little possessively, and definitely fucking smugly.

"I've always been yours," she whispered back, and those words were music to my ears as I pulled her face to mine and kissed her. Urgently. It was hard and fierce, and her lips were just as fierce as mine as her hands slipped into my hair and her body moulded against mine. We were frantic and urgent in ripping off each other's clothes. Both of us needed the closeness, the feeling of skin on skin, something to ground us in this moment. I couldn't get close enough, touch enough of her. I needed all of her, everywhere, and I knew without a doubt that I always would.

. . . . . . . . . .

I lay back on the bed, propped up against her padded leather headboard with my arms folded behind my head as I watched her step out of the bathroom. My fiancé smirked at me, the tiny seductive curve of her lips already enough to have me hard, before she just dropped her towel and walked to her dresser. She shimmied into a strapless, sexy black bra with matching panties, then walked around the bed to her rack of clothes. I watched hungrily as she slipped into a little black halter dress, then turned her back to me.

"Can you zip me?" she asked sweetly, and I slid to the edge of the bed before slowly doing up the zipper. I was very tempted to just bend her over the bed and have my way with her. That black dress was doing very dirty things to my mind.

I hadn't really been able to take my hands off of her since I put that ring on her finger though.

Christ, she was gorgeous. She didn't need the make-up, but her eyes were entrancing when they were all smoky like that, with her soft, silky hair running smooth and straight over her shoulders.

But catching a glimpse of the ring on her left hand just pushed me over the edge. Fuck, my fiancé was so fucking hot.

I pulled her back against my chest, letting her feel how much I wanted her. She let out a soft moan, leaning into me as my hands ran down her body.

"Edward?" She breathed huskily, and I grinned.

"Hmm?"

"We're going to be late."

"I don't care."

"Yes you do, you know how much of a living hell Alice would make our lives if we showed up late to her rehearsal dinner."

I sighed dramatically, letting her go. "Fine."

She laughed, and then kissed my cheek, and she took her sweet ass time bending over to pick up a pair of black heels.

"Jesus Bella," I hissed.

"What?" She asked too innocently, and I shot her a dark smirk before I walked over and smacked her in the ass. She squeaked in surprise as she shot upright, and her face flushed red. Damn, it drove me nuts how she could be all sexy and taunting me one moment and then just switch into this sweet, innocent little thing.

"Stop taunting me Bella, or I'll bend you back over and fuck you right here."

"Is that a promise?" she said sweetly.

"Jesus, we need to get out of here. You're being fucking evil today."

"Okay, let's go," she said cheerfully, stepping into her shoes, and I let out a sigh before following after her as she walked to the door.

I couldn't take my hands off of her, but she loved it. She was in such a good mood that she even let me drive.

I loved this car. I was distracted today though, watching Bella twist a lock of hair around her finger, looking over every time she uncrossed and crossed her legs, and every time she twisted her ring around her finger.

I noticed immediately when she pouted.

"What's wrong?"

She looked at me nervously. "I'm afraid it's going to fall off," she said worriedly. "I don't want to take it off but I'm afraid I'll lose it." She chewed on her lip nervously as we pulled up to the hotel, but I told the valet to wait a moment.

"You got a knife in that thing?" I asked, nodding to her sparkly silver clutch. She gave me a curious look, but opened it up and handed me a little pocket knife. I grinned, taking it and sliding my seat back, and cut the excess off of one of my laces. I took her hand, facing it palm up, and then tied it around the band of her ring before cutting off the excess. I felt pretty damn proud when she smiled happily. "I'll get it fixed first thing when we get back," I assured her. I'd already made an appointment. I knew a jeweler that could have it done for me within a day back in LA. "But how's that for now?"

"Perfect," she said softly, then pulled my face to hers to kiss me. My hand slid up her leg, starting to dip under that sexy little black dress, and she laughed. "Baby, I don't think you want to do that," she said teasingly.

"Oh, I know I do."

"Hmm, even with that valet watching us? He'd get quite the show," she said lightly, and I stopped immediately to turn and glare at the man by my door. He quickly looked away, but I still wanted to punch him. I huffed angrily and stepped out, shooing away the man that went to get Bella's door so I could get it myself. No one was fucking touching her. She smiled as she wrapped herself around my arm, and we ignored the press that had shown up to try and corner me.

Actually, not me. They were shouting out for Bree, and Bella didn't even acknowledge them.

"Jeeze baby, I think you're more famous than I am," I teased her. She laughed.

"Nah, they're just greedy for details. That home-schooling cover drove them nuts. I was a little tempted to even give in to the interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, but it would have been too risky."

"Shit, Rolling Stone?" I asked with a smile. She blushed, and I kissed her cheek as I wrapped an arm around her.

We weren't the last ones to arrive, but we were very close. Bella and I stuck mostly with my mom, since dad had gotten called into work for an emergency. Bella was better today, she didn't look as… lost. I think she may have missed my mother more than the others. Her smiles were genuine, even though she was obviously uncomfortable in the crowd. She was in work mode, constantly scanning the room and looking over her shoulder. I knew telling her that she was safe would accomplish nothing but making her feel self-conscious. This was just an old habit of hers that I'd come to terms with.

Her edginess put me on edge though. She barely ate anything, too busy looking over her shoulder and tensing whenever someone walked behind her. I kept an arm wrapped around her, just trying to give her a little bit of comfort while we ate. Despite the fanciness of the food, it wasn't that good in my opinion, and I ended up just eating the roasted baby potatoes off of both of our plates.

"We're definitely going to Mc Donald's once we're out of here," I whispered into her ear, and she smiled brightly.

"Can we do Wendy's instead? I could really go for some spicy chicken," she said hopefully, making me laugh.

"Fuck, that sounds delicious."

She giggled, and cupped my cheek with one hand as she kissed me.

Someone screamed. I knew it was my baby sister without looking.

"B! What the hell is on your hand?!" She shouted, glaring, and both of us smiled. We hadn't said anything because Bella didn't want to steal any of Alice's thunder with our news, but my sister just threw that out the window.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Bella asked, her eyes sparkling when she looked at me. I kissed her again, and didn't look away from her as I spoke.

"We're getting married," I said proudly, and Bella's eyes teared up a little.

"What?! When? When did you ask her? Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

We both started laughing.

"He asked me last night," she told her gently. "We were just waiting for the right time to say something."

Alice, Rose, and my mother all started crying. We were congratulated and hugged by our little family, and I could practically feel Bella's guilt rolling off of her as she tried to move everyone's attention back to Alice and Jasper and our reason for being here.

Alice wouldn't have it, she wanted to know everything. How long we were going to wait, where we wanted to have the ceremony, what sort of dress Bella wanted and the colour scheme we planned on using.

We didn't have a single answer for her. We'd been a little too busy to talk much. We'd figure it out eventually, it's not like we had a deadline. We just had to get this film out of the way first.

We finished dessert, some fancy Crème brûlée. I loved it, but it had to be Bella's least favourite desert, so once again I ended up stealing her food. Then we moved over to the ballroom to get on with the rehearsal. It was physically painful to let go of her for those fifteen minutes, even though I was only three meters away from her, which was making me apprehensive on letting her go for the night. I doubted the bachelor party would distract me at all.

And I did not want to let her go to that club, especially looking like that.

I'm not sure what she saw on my face as I watched her, thinking that, but it was enough to make her blush.

Fuck, I loved that blush.

I tried to discreetly adjust myself, and a coy little smile curled the corner of her mouth.

As soon as the priest finished and everyone started to make their way over to the bar, I stalked towards her, my hand wrapping around the back of her neck as I whispered into her ear.

"Go to the bathroom. Now. And wait three minutes," I ordered, motioning to a hallway where there were was a more secluded bathroom. And she fucking blushed again, nodding obediently as she chewed on her lip.

The whole innocent thing was an act, and both of us knew it, but I fucking loved it. She knew that. I watched her hungrily as she walked away, and went to the bar. I talked to Emmett and Jasper for a minute, finding out how much time I had before we were leaving, before excusing myself to the washroom.

I stopped one of the hotel's employees on my way, a janitor, because the last time I'd tried to do this it ended up on TMZ and that was not going to happen to Bella. I told him there was a thousand bucks in it for him if he rented out his out of order sign to me and made sure no one followed me, then slipped into the women's washroom. Bella was there, leaning against the sink and watching me with a smirk.

I locked the bolt on the door.

Neither of us said a word as I stalked over, pulling her against me a little roughly before claiming her mouth with my own. Her fingers snaked into my hair and I held onto her hips firmly, and when she needed to pull back to breathe my lips moved down her jaw, and she flinched at the same time that my brow furrowed, tasting make-up on her chin. I pulled back.

Eye make-up I got, but Bella didn't wear foundation. Ever. Her skin was fucking flawless.

Yes, I know what foundation is. I'm an actor and I've had to wear make-up more times than I could count.

"You're wearing make-up," I stated dumbly. Her eyes were wary when she tried to speak in a teasing tone.

"Obviously, my eyelids aren't naturally a dark grey," she laughed.

"You never wear foundation."

"It's- my skin tone was all weird today, I just wanted to look good for the party-" she lied.

"Bella," I said warningly, and she looked about ready to bolt.

"Edward, it's nothing, I-"

I held her in place with an arm around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides, which really pissed her off because she couldn't get away without actually hurting me, as I leaned over and grabbed one of the hand towels that were stacked neatly on the sink counter. I ran some water over it, and Bella just sagged in defeat as I brought it up and brushed it over her jaw. She winced, but didn't pull away, and I hissed when I revealed the dark bruise she'd been hiding.

"What-"

My question caught in my throat, because I already knew exactly where she'd gotten that bruise. I went over the fight we had yesterday in my head, and quickly let go of her.

"Bella, fuck, I…"

I felt like I was going to be sick. She'd been walking around with that all day, hiding it like it was nothing.

"Edward, I'm fine, really, I-"

"I fucking bruised your face."

"You didn't mean to, I know you didn't, it was-"

"Stop, just… God." Okay, I was freaking out. I felt like my lungs were filled with water as my hands gripped onto my hair.

I marked her.

"Edward, it's okay, really-"

"It is not fucking okay Bella," I hissed.

"It was just an accident, you didn't mean to do it," she said gently. "It's not like you hit me or something, you just held me a little tight, it's fine."

"I'm sorry," I breathed.

"It's okay," she said back gently, and I shuddered as she wrapped her arms around me and hugged my torso. "Please don't freak out, it's okay. I'm fine."

"I'm sorry."

"I know. I love you."

I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her too. Really, it was impossible not to. It just made the chaos in my mind worse though, needing to hold her but not even wanting to touch her.

I shivered when she leaned up on her toes to kiss my neck, and felt some of my tension dissolve as her lips continued to tease my throat.

"Does it hurt?"

"Barely."

"Bella, I…"

"I know you'd never try to hurt me Edward. It was just an accident," she said soothingly, and her nails scraped along my scalp as her fingers slipped into my hair, making me shiver. She pulled my face down to hers and kissed me, and I hissed when she nipped at my bottom lip.

"I feel safe with you, and I like it when you don't treat me like I'm made of glass," she whispered, and my hands slipped down to her hips, holding her. She pulled me down to kiss me again, and it started off sweet but… it did not stay that way. Her lips were hungry, wanting, and her body melted into mine when I kissed her back. My grip on her automatically tightened, but I quickly relaxed. "No, tighter," she pleaded against my lips, and my grip tightened again when her nails dug into my shoulders. "You won't break me Edward. And you'd never hurt me." Her nails dragged down my chest, and I could hear the smile in her voice when she whispered.

"I wouldn't let you. I could stop you if I wanted to."

I shivered, and pulled her tightly against me as I kissed her urgently, my fear and loathing turning into need.

She was right, she could stop me. She had. Easily. She did it with her fucking thumb.

And it was fucking sexy. My girl wasn't a pushover, and she wasn't helpless.

She just loved me.

My fingers dug into her thighs, and she moaned.

"Yes," she breathed, and her breaths were deep and uneven as my lips moved down her throat, and my hands slid under her dress. I pulled down her panties, and her face flushed red when I smirked at her as I stuffed them into my pocket before kissing her again. I parted her legs by pushing out her foot with mine, hiking up her dress, and she let out a breathy sigh as I parted her with my fingers.

"I'll never hurt you like that again, I swear," I swore. I wouldn't lose my temper again. I wouldn't let myself.

"I know."

"I'll never leave a bruise on you again," I promised.

"Don't say that," she pleaded, making me freeze. "I want you to fuck me up against this counter so hard that you bruise my thighs. Not all bruises are bad," she breathed.

Fuck.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I'd stop you if you ever did."

"You promise?"

"Yes."

I kissed her urgently, because I needed it more than anything. It was the only time I ever really felt sane any more. The whole world could burn to ashes, but as long as I still had her, I would be okay.

That, and I trusted her much more than I trusted myself. I'd give her anything in the fucking world she asked for. I leaned her back against the sink, bracing myself with one hand on the counter behind her as my other slipped in between her legs. Our little talk had kind of killed the mood earlier, and I wanted her nice and fucking wet to give her what she wanted.

"Edward," she breathed, pleading.

"I know baby, I'll give you what you want, but you gotta be patient," I purred, and she whimpered as I slid two fingers inside of her slowly, then pulled out to tease her clit again.

Not fucking fast enough.

I dropped down to a knee, lifting one of her legs over my shoulder as I attacked her with my tongue, and she let out a quiet moan as she sank back against the counter, bracing herself with one hand as her other gripped into my hair.

"You gotta be quiet baby, you don't want to get caught, do you?" She whimpered and her leg started trembling as I slipped two fingers back inside of her. We were running short on time, so I was fast. I wasn't gentle because she didn't want me to be, and after about two minutes her muscles clamped down on my fingers and she stifled her cry with her hand. I shot back up to my feet, turning her and bending her over the counter as I undid my slacks. She barely had a second to think before I pushed into her in one swift thrust, covering her mouth with my hand so no one would hear her.

She didn't like that though, and swatted away my hand as she tried to brace herself against something. Her hands went out against the mirror in front of her, and she swallowed down a cry as I pulled out and thrust again, knocking her right into the edge of the counter.

It was a good cry though, I knew the difference in her voice between the two.

So I just went to town, giving her what she asked for, and watching myself fuck her into the counter through the mirror. We looked fucking good together.

"This is what you wanted, right baby?" I asked, speeding up, and she just nodded her head, trying to breathe as her nails scraped down the glass. I grabbed her arms, pulling her against me as I looped an arm through her elbows. "Open your eyes Bella, I want you to watch me fuck you," I growled, and her eyes opened with heavy lids, and she moaned as she met my smirking reflection.

Unfortunately, I couldn't last very long at this pace, not while looking at her in the fucking mirror. I needed her to come though, and released her arms, cupping her and pinching her clit, and she let out a silent scream as she came.

I was so close.

"Edward, I need you to pull out this time," she panted.

"What? Why?" So fucking close.

"Because I don't want your cum dripping down my thighs when I go to the club," she whimpered.

Hearing her say that word threw me over the edge, but I did pull out like she asked me to, grabbing the hand towel off of the counter before I slumped against her. We were both breathing heavily, but neither of us wanted to move. We just took a minute, and we grinned at each other in the mirror before I turned her around and kissed her. She was grinning against my lips as I straightened out her dress, and I pulled away to tuck myself back into my pants and straighten my shirt.

I threw out the hand towel, because it would have been kind of fucked up to leave it for the staff to pick up and clean.

As the high wore off, the fear set in.

"Are you okay?"

Her smile looked a little drunk, making me grin and relax. "Understatement."

I laughed, and kissed her, hard.

The thought of leaving her now and going separate ways felt so wrong though. I pulled my hands through my hair, not knowing what I was supposed to do.

"How about you go out first? I'll come find you in a couple minutes," she said softly, wrapping her arms around my waist. I relaxed a little as I kissed her, and then nodded.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she said with a big, adorable smile, and I chuckled as I kissed her cheek, then checked to make sure the coast was clear. The small hallway was deserted, and I pulled down the sign, walked around the corner, and slipped the janitor his tip as I went and joined the others at the bar.

I don't think we'd been as inconspicuous as I thought. I was gone a bit less than twenty minutes, but my future brother-in-law looked ready to choke me.

Rose just shot me a wink with a knowing smile.

Bella popped up two minutes later, eating a fucking ice cream cone. She had touched up her make-up too, her bruise once again invisible.

Emmett looked at her in jealous disbelief.

"Where the fuck did you get an ice cream cone?" He asked, pouting.

"Down the block," she said with a shrug.

Emmett looked at me, and I could see he doubted himself now, making me relax.

"You left to get ice cream?" My sister asked in shock.

"Yeah. I needed some air, this room was making me cloister phobic. And I really wanted chocolate."

Alice rolled her eyes, and when Bella walked over to me she gave me a wink.

"Where'd you really get it? I thought your brother was going to murder me for a second there."

"Some kid, he was just opening it and I gave him fifty bucks for it. I thought we might have been gone too long."

"God, I love you so fucking much."

"Mmm, I love you too, but you can't have any," she said knowingly.

Damn it.

"Please?"

She laughed and kissed my cheek before giving it to me.

. . . . . . . . . .

He finally did it! Are you glad he didn't wait until they were done filming, or do you think he should have stuck to his plan?

Do you like ice cream? Or any sort of frozen dessert? If so, what's your favourite? Mine is Raspberry frozen yogurt from La Crémière. So good. If I wasn't so damn scared of malls I'd go get some.