Disclaimer: It all belongs to Stephenie M. No harm intended in any way. I am just lucky to dabble with them.

WARNING: This story contains drama, blush-worthy cursing, sex, and lots of mature situations.

NOTE: Since it's the gang's final day in Hawaii, Eternally Addicted and I thought it would fun to give an alternative point of view for part of the story. We'll be hearing from Rosalie today!

Chapter Title: Don't Worry, Be Happy

Chapter Song: "Love Me Tender" by Elvis

Rose's POV:

I smiled as I started to wake up, enjoying the comforting feel of Emmett's arm lying across my waist and his hand gripping my hip. No matter how much I moved in the night, he always found me again and held onto me. If he were a lesser man, his shins would constantly be covered in bruises from my sleep-kicking. But he wasn't; he was my big, strong, cuddly, idiotic Emmett.

I managed to wiggle his fingers from my hip and rolled over, softly kissing the underside of his chin so I wouldn't wake him. He'd had a big day yesterday surfing with Bella and then drinking on the beach so I felt he deserved a little extra sleep this morning. Partners in crime, those two. I smiled at the thought while tangling my fingers in his brown curls. He still didn't believe me whenever I told him how much he would miss Bella and his sister. For a man who was certain he knew it all, he was so often wrong. Still, the making up was always nice.

"That smile better be for me."

I laughed softly at his gravely just-waking-up voice and pressed my lips to his chest. "It's for Gerard Butler. You know he stars in most of my sexual fantasies."

As expected, Emmett growled and flipped me onto my back. He nibbled along my collarbone and up to my ear. "You are my fantasy, Baby."

"Oh, the hell you say," I barked out with a loud laugh. "Em, baby, did you drink so much you forgot we're long past the stage of awkward lines?"

He lifted his head and gave me the smile he thought of as charming and irresistible—I didn't have the heart to tell him it didn't work on me at all. "It's not a line. It was a gen-you-wine compliment, Rosie."

"Yeah, and I'm a fairy fucking princess."

"Leave that shit for Ali. You're my own personal playmate of a lifetime."

I rolled my eyes at him even as I burned with pride on the inside; all these years and he was still hot for me. "I make you one calendar for one birthday and you never let me forget it."

"Forget it? Shit, Baby, I love replaying it way too much." He brought his face closer, softly rubbing his lips against mine. "In fact, why don't you show me April's pose? You know it's one of my favorites."

"You'd have to move away from me," I told him.

He was so busy staring at my lips he didn't answer until I poked him in the shoulder. "I like you right where you are. Beneath me."

I gave him the seductive smile that always left him drooling while arching my back and pressing my breasts into his chest. "Prove it."

He did. Twice.

And then he left me to shower alone, one of my absolute favorite things. For some couples, being in the shower together might be fun and even a little romantic. For Em and me, it was always a course in contortion. He was as wide as he was tall, hardly leaving any room for my long limbs. One of the little ways he'd found over the years to show he cared was to let me have the shower all to myself, giving me room to move and stretch without bumping into him every two seconds.

I felt so content when I got out of that shower; I was washed, shaved, trimmed, and smelling amazing. I knew the feeling wouldn't last once we got outside and started sweating from whatever activity Emmett had planned for us today, but right then I felt great.

I could hear Emmett moving around in the bedroom so I called out to him. "Babe, any thoughts on breakfast?"

He must not have been expecting me out of the shower yet because I heard something drop, followed by his curse, and then a drawer slamming shut. "Uh, what?"

"Breakfast, Em," I said, poking my head through the gap in the bathroom door. "I'm hungry."

He was standing in front of his dresser and aimlessly moving his hands around as if he wasn't sure what to do with them. He finally settled for crossing his arms and stuffing his hands in his armpits. "Breakfast … uh, yeah … I think Alice was planning to cook for everyone this morning. Want me to go see if she's started on it yet?"

"How about you tell me what's wrong with you first? You look like you're trying to find a spot for a body."

"Rosie," he said, shaking his head. I think he tried to throw in a laugh, but the strangled gurgling noise that came out of him reminded me of the sound of a dying giraffe from South Park.

I pulled the bathroom door open and stepped completely into the bedroom. "Emmett Cullen, what have you done? More importantly, will you go to jail for it?"

He took a step toward me, holding his hands palm up. I had no idea why he and Bella thought it was a sign of innocence; all it ever did was make me more convinced the two of them were up to no good.

"I promise I didn't do anything bad, Rosalie," he said. And because he was looking me right in the face—more importantly right in the eyes—I believed him. He hadn't done anything yet.

And I wanted to keep it that way. "Whatever it is that you're plotting, if it will land you in jail or be costly, forget it, Cullen. I don't want a repeat of Dallas or something worse."

"I'm being good. I promise, Baby."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Swear."

"I promise—"

"No, no," I interrupted, shaking a finger at him. "Swear to me."

His shoulders slumped and his expression went from earnest to pouty in a flat second. "Ah, hell, Rosie. You know I hate the swear thing."

I closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my towel covered chest against his. Some women might view it as blatant manipulation but I knew better—I was keeping my big guy out of trouble. "Swear for me, Poppa Bear." Then again, using his favorite private nickname wasn't exactly playing fair.

His lips curled into the sweet, soft smile that was only for me as he bent down and touched his forehead to mine. "I swear I'm not up to anything that will hurt you, cause you embarrassment, or land me in any trouble."

I smiled and tilted my face just enough to bring my lips in contact with his. "You are so much trouble."

He smiled at this very old phrase and replied to it with his usual answer. "And only you can handle me."

After a long, slow kiss, he let go of me and headed downstairs to find out about breakfast while I dressed. I wasn't sure what we would be doing later in the day so for now I threw on a t-shirt and shorts appropriate for breakfast with our family.

I was almost down the stairs when the door to Bella and Edward's room opened and she came running out, laughing like a loon with Edward hot on her heels. I watched him chase her into the living room and tackle her onto the sofa, wrestling something from her hands. He let out a victorious "ha" as he headed back toward their room. I smiled at how silly he was to think she'd given up.

And when she caught up to him near the stairs and jumped onto his back like some kind of spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew, I had no choice but to laugh my ass off. Men were always underestimating the little spitfire.

"You are going down, Cullen," she said before their door closed with a loud bang.

"I'd say I'm surprised but I'm really not," I said to Jasper as I passed him.

"I'm not sure what I just witnessed. I only know I'm glad I wasn't in the line of fire," he said, following me into the kitchen.

"What the hell was all that noise?" Emmett asked. He was stirring what I hoped was a cup of coffee for me.

"From the sound of it, Bella found the trinket Edward picked out for her to give to Bree when we get back," Alice answered.

"Why? What did he pick?" Jasper questioned before I could.

Alice's tinkling laughter filled the kitchen. "It's a shark and a manatee hugging. For some reason, Edward thought it was representative of Bella and Bree's relationship."

"Oh, that's not good," I said. I didn't even try not to laugh. I could just hear the litany of perverted jokes Bella was making about the thing.

And to prove me right, we all caught the tale end of one of her little pearls of wisdom as she came into the kitchen with Edward glaring at the back of her head. "… can't wait to gobble him up and have him as a snack. It'll take some convincing on my part since he has a strict no girls near his peen policy, but once he sees the statue he won't be able to deny fate anymore than I can."

"It's like in Finding Nemo. They're friends. One isn't going to eat the other. And you definitely aren't about to do that type of eating with anyone," Edward pretty much yelled at her.

Bella whirled around on her heel, looking right up into Edward's face. "Oh, so it's not enough to suggest I should have an elicit affair with my gay friend? Now you have to go and ban me from enjoying oral pleasures with you. What the hell did I do to you, Cullen?"

I could tell from the way her brown eyes were dancing around she wasn't the least bit serious, but Edward seemed too unnerved to notice. His lips moved without sound and one of his hands grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled at it. He finally just growled at her and stomped out of the room.

There was a long moment of silence before anyone said anything. "Um … I think that joke went a tiny bit too far," Alice suggested.

Bella's eyes grew impossibly wide and a muttered "fuck" fell from her lips. For a second, she looked as if she might burst into tears. But then her face hardened and she stalked off in the direction Edward had gone.

Emmett sighed loudly. "Those two are going to make me have to beat one of them. And for once, I don't think it's going to be Ed."

Alice set her spatula down and made a move toward the doorway but I quickly slid in front of her. "You better let me get this one. I've been that person pushing too many buttons and not realizing it."

While that was true, it wasn't my entire reasoning for wanting to be the spotter friend this time. As much as Alice loved Bella and as close as they were, I'd noticed a tendency for her to go all Team Edward in situations like this one. Bella had only been being herself and it wasn't her fault Edward hadn't realized she was only teasing. She was still learning where his boundaries were and deserved a break—one that Alice didn't seem to know how to give right now.

The bedroom door wasn't completely closed, making it easy to hear the conversation going on inside. "… really sorry, Edward. I was only joking and if I'd known at all you weren't taking it that way, I would have stopped. Promise."

"I'm sorry too. I was just trying to find a way to show you I understand how important Bree is to you because I know sometimes I'm hesitant to be around him."

Bella snorted. "Let's call a duck a duck and a fuck a fuck, E. You are flat out terrified of Bree at times."

His laugh sounded muffled and I wondered if he was hugging her. If he was, that was an amazing thing for her. She'd always been one to shrink inside of herself whenever something hurt or upset her, hating to be touched and pulled out of her no-feelings zone.

The next words I heard were Bella's and they convinced me everything was fine and there was no need for me to interrupt the moment they were having. "I love you, Edward."

I smiled, feeling full of pride and affection for Bella as I headed back toward the kitchen. She was emotionally closer to Alice than me, but I knew more about her than anyone from having lived beside her for so many years. While Alice was upfront and always took credit for the ways she guided Bella, I'd always been more in the background silently taking care of things. Like when that Newton fucker had screwed Bella over—I'd rounded up a group of the biggest, meanest guys I'd known at the time and had them show him what it was to pick on someone weaker.

"What are you smiling like that for?" Emmett asked. He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me over to him, just barely kissing my cheek so he wouldn't scratch me with his stubble.

I smiled at him for being so considerate and then kissed him on the lips. "There was no need for help. Bella and Edward were already well underway in making up when I got to the door."

"Please tell me you didn't catch them having sex," Alice all but whined.

"Grow up," Emmett told her before I could. "No one is that quick. Besides, so what if they were? They're grown, consenting adults."

Alice turned on him, narrowing her green eyes as her hands flew to her hips. "I'm a grown, consenting adult. Do you want to know that I have sex with Jasper?"

Emmett acted the way any mature twenty-two year old with a younger sister would behave … He waved his arms around as if warding off attack by killer bees while yelling out "Stop" and "Shut up".

Instead of being encouraged to stop, Alice kept on and even smiled as she spoke. "Lots and lots of sex in so very many positions."

"And yet we love them," I said to Jasper as I jerked a thumb toward the big goofball I loved. Emmett had his fingers in his ears and while singing "La-la-la. Can't hear you."

"… find something else to bring home to him," Edward was saying as he came into the kitchen with his arm around Bella.

"No way," Bella said, her eyes and smile only for Edward. "He will love the thought behind it. Of course, he'll also hide it so no one else sees it because it's completely tacky, but he'll love it all the same."

Edward laughed and pressed his lips to her forehead. "If you're sure then."

"Actually, I'll just keep it for me to always remember the day you reached a new extreme for goofy and we'll get Bree something he'll really like."

"Definitely the best plan," Edward replied, showing off a big smile before kissing Bella on the lips.

It was something else to watch the two of them together, to see them growing up and growing into their relationship. Though I had to wonder if Bella realized just how much she was changing with him. She was talking about her feelings and showing them, she had gained better control over her temper, and she was even cursing less. Knowing her, she was probably letting herself notice in small doses to keep from freaking out. She worried more about making old mistakes than she ever let on; I just knew how to read her from years of watching over her.

I couldn't recall the day or the circumstances of when it happened, but long ago Charlie had asked me to keep an eye out for Bella. My first instinct had been to say "no" and that it wasn't my job. But there was just something about Bella even then that couldn't be resisted. She'd been a real handful at first, going out of her way to prove me wrong at every turn. And then I'd figured out that as long as I let her believe the idea was her own, she was much easier to steer in the right direction.

Watching over Bella and learning to guide her had helped me too. It was my first taste of having someone not fall all over me. Because we lived in a small town, everyone knew my family had money so hanging out with me was a sort of status symbol. The fact that I was beautiful only made the line of pretenders longer. Not that I noticed many of them. Once Emmett had moved to Forks, I'd pretty much gone blind to any other man. I'd expected being with him to be as easy as everything else was at the time; I'd just say I wanted him and that would be it. But Emmett wasn't like that. He wanted me, but not just me.

It had taken a long time for that to change and for me to trust it, so I understood very well what Bella was going through with trying to trust both Edward and herself when suddenly presented with a relationship worth fighting for. I just prayed like hell Edward understood it. If she did get to a point where all of the changes freaked her out, she would need him to be the calm one and to be extra patient with her. I remembered all too well what it had been like when Aaron had died. One minute, Bella wanted to be near me and the next, she couldn't stand to even be looked at. There had never been rhyme, reason, or warning—just a daily struggle.

Aaron. It had been hard right after his death to not feel like I'd done something incredibly wrong and stupid by bringing him into Bella's life. My mother and Aaron's mother, Cindy, had been pretty close and when Cindy had mentioned she needed a sitter, I'd lobbied for her to choose Bella. My thinking at the time was not only would it keep Bella out of trouble after school, it would show her how her actions affected other people. She'd been too stubborn to believe her behavior harmed anyone but her at the time and I figured looking out for someone younger than her might help teach her otherwise.

The change in Bella after meeting Aaron was almost instantaneous. Instead of hanging out after school with a bunch of delinquents, she'd race home to put her stuff away and then head over to Aaron's house. It was easy to see she loved him and would do anything he asked of her. At the time, I'd never seen her happier or more at peace with her world.

She didn't get to enjoy that nearly long enough before his health failed and he'd died. She'd taken it so damn hard, walking around like a zombie and not talking or eating for weeks. And then one day, all of a sudden, she'd gotten better. She'd decided her mission was to live her life to the fullest since he couldn't. She'd even gotten to where she could talk about him without crying over him the few times she did bring him up in conversation. From that moment forward, I'd grown to believe they'd truly needed each other. There was so much about the young woman she'd become that had been shaped by him, and without that bond between them I couldn't say for sure that DC Bella would have been let go and buried.

Luckily for all of us—most of all Bella—DC was no more. Instead, we had this charming, funny, perverted, and incredibly loyal young woman in our midst. And that young woman was currently arguing with my guy over whether or not chocolate chips in a pancake made it a breakfast or a dessert while making the others choose sides. Definite partners in crime, I thought as I laughed under my breath.

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Bella's POV:

"One more," I laughed more than said while holding onto the thin shoulder straps of Edward's navy blue a-shirt.

"Bella, stop." He probably meant it as warning; if so, he shouldn't have laughed.

"Your fault."

"How is it possibly my fault? You're the one who's been stealing a kiss every chance she gets."

"You're the one looking all fuckable in your sunglasses and beach attire," I informed him.

Edward had on these dark tinted frameless sunglass that looked as if they easily cost my entire monthly paycheck at the coffeehouse. He was also wearing a navy blue shirt with matching board shorts—the dark color called attention to the tan he'd picked up during our vacation. And all of the sun on his hair was making the natural red and blonde highlights stand out. Just looking at him made me want to kiss him all over again—and do a few other not-so-innocent things to him.

"One more," I mumbled against his lips while stealing another kiss.

He laughed again but not for long—not with the way I was kissing him. His arm hooked around my back, pulling me completely against him, while his tongue was busy finding its way into my mouth. I was pretty damn sure I would never get tired of the taste and feel of his kisses and hoped like hell he felt the same way about me.

"What's that smile for?" he asked, tracing my lower lip with the pad of his thumb.

I laughed as I leaned up on my toes to whisper into his ear. "I'd tell ya, but then I'd have to kill ya and I kind of like you."

Edward turned his head and growled against my earlobe. "You better more than like me, Swan."

"And what if I don't, Cullen?" I asked as I half-heartedly tried to free myself from his grip.

"I'll tell Alice you really, really want to go clothes shopping when we get back home."

A shocked gasp flew from my lips at his threat. And then I was smiling evilly while pinching him in the side. "I'll teach you to threaten me."

He laughed as he swatted my hand away. "What is with you this morning? You're acting like Alice on a sugar high."

I shrugged and then wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. "It's our last day in Hawaii. I figure we need to make the most of it. That includes enjoying the opportunity to be playful with you."

He gave me the sweetest smile while cupping my face in his large hands. "You can be playful with me anytime, Angel."

"Not so," I disagreed. "We are all going to be so busy when we get back that we probably won't even see much of each other until your graduation."

"I won't let that happen. I'll make time for you."

"I know that. We've been making time for each other all along. It's just hard with school and my job and your final projects. Plus, you're going to be gearing up for your business research. You said yourself you'll be checking into things around Portland and Seattle before you ever leave for points farther away from me."

"I also told you I would schedule those first forays around your work schedule to make sure we don't miss out on time together. As for the points farther away, I really don't think it'll be that bad. There will be a few days here and there where you probably only get a text or an email from me, but the rest of the time should be full of phone calls and video chats around your work schedule."

I really wanted to believe it would be as easy as he was making it sound, but it just didn't feel that way to me. "You know, I'm sorry I started down this conversational road. Can we table it and get back to the here and now?"

"We can do whatever you want, Angel. It's your choice today."

I smiled and gave his lips a quick kiss. "Then let's start with my tour of Pearl Harbor. Get busy with the guiding, E."

"Alright," he said with a smile. He took my hand into his and we headed out of the parking lot and toward the museum. "Pearl Harbor was attacked on December seventh in nineteen-forty-one by the Japanese. The first wave had one hundred and eighty-three planes in it, mostly dive bombers called Kamikaze. The second wave had a hundred and seventy planes in it, with most of those being torpedo bombers. Nine U.S. ships were sunk and another twenty-one were severely damaged. The death toll was in the thousands and another thousand were injured, most from the first ship sunk that day, the battleship Arizona."

"Woah! And I'm being serious here. How can you remember all those facts like that?"

"I don't know," Edward answered with a shrug. "I've always been good at retaining factual knowledge like that. I can tell you the batting averages for my favorite Dodgers for the past three years."

"Yeah, no. Don't know enough about baseball to understand that."

"Then I'll teach you."

"Okay, but later. Right now, I want to hear more about what you know of Pearl Harbor," I told him.

"I know that there were warnings in October of that year, but no one took them seriously. They didn't believe Japan had the aircraft capable of getting into a fight with our bombers. It's also been said the Army and Navy were so busy with their individual tasks that both sides overlooked the threats and if the two groups had come together to compare notes, they might have decided the threats were credible. But that's just theory and conjecture and easy to say after all is said and done."

"Yeah, I know all of this stuff from our history books. I kind of thought you would tell me more about the people and how it affected them."

Edward turned his head toward me, allowing me to see myself in the reflection of his sunglasses. "Are you sure? It's not really a nice story."

I watched the reflection of me give a shrug. "I didn't think it would be what with all of those lives lost."

"Alright," he said with a nod. "But let's move to the side. I don't want any kids overhearing anything their parents might not want them to know." He led us away from the museum and toward the grassy area across from a submarine docked near the museum. We found a shady spot to sit in and once we were settled next to each other, Edward started talking again.

"People were scared and panicked. There were rumors that the Japanese were trying to secretly paratroop onto the island to attack citizens and poison the water supply. The islanders locked up their houses and hid behind dark curtains, and ran to shelters whenever a siren went off. People weren't sure who to trust. Every neighbor could now be friend or foe.

"It was a time of war, of panic, and of fear. People walked around in gas masks and had to carry special fingerprint ID cards to prove they belonged on the island. Some were even taken away and put into camps just because they were of Japanese descent.

"But it was also a time for great acts of bravery. There was a young man from Texas stationed on the ship West Virginia. He worked as a Mess Attendant, one of the few positions an African American could hold at that time. He was collecting laundry when the attack happened."

I put my hand on Edward's knee to stop him for a moment. "Laundry? He was just picking up people's dirty clothes and just like that, he's in the middle of a war?"

"Scary how quickly life takes a whole new turn, isn't it?"

"Creepy as all fuck, E. Creepy as all fuck. So this guy's doing laundry?"

"Yes. He's doing laundry and the alarms go off. He races to his assigned station only to find it's been destroyed. So he goes on deck and they tell him to carry the wounded to safety. He does this for awhile until he's told to help load anti-aircraft guns. He does more than load it, though. He takes control of it and starts firing at the planes. It didn't matter that he wasn't trained on how to use the weapon. He just knew he needed to try and protect the people around him. He kept going until he ran out of ammunition and right about that time, the ship was hit by armor-piercing bombs and had to be abandoned. Doris Miller received a Navy Cross for his courage in battle."

"What's a Navy Cross?"

"It's an award given for extreme gallantry and risk of life in combat and going beyond the call of duty."

"Yeah, he totally did that." I cocked my head to the side and took a close look at Edward. "You would be like that guy. You would end up with a Navy Cross if you found yourself in that kind of situation."

"I would hope I would be that brave, but I don't know. I have an easier time seeing Jasper and Emmett acting that way than me."

"Jasper would do it because he felt a sense of duty to his country and to protect the people around him. Emmett would do it from a sense of pride and need to protect fueled by a rush of adrenaline. But you, E … you would do it because you wanted to save lives. You care about people in a way I admire. After everything you've been through with Emmett, you still love him and you still work on having a better relationship with him. If you saw him hurt, you would be the first trying to patch him up."

"That's different, though. Emmett's my brother."

"Okay, then look at me. When you were breaking up with me back in February, you still mentioned us finding a way to be friends. You still cared enough to be in my life even though you wanted to end our romantic relationship."

Edward grimaced and grabbed my hand, linking his fingers with mine. "I wouldn't exactly say I was breaking up with you."

I snorted at him. "Dude, you were so breaking up with me. You were walking away, not even wanting a ride back to your dorm from me."

"Guess that disproves your theory about me sticking around to fight."

"Nope. It just proves you're an idiot when it comes to me."

His forehead creased, filling with lines for a long moment, and then he cracked a small smile. "Yeah, I guess I would have to agree with that. I don't always think very clearly around you."

"So if you're not thinking clearly and I'm damn sure not thinking clearly, how the hell are we staying out of trouble?"

"Luck?" he offered. He had that lopsided grin of his on his face and damn if I didn't want to kiss it.

So I did. And then I hugged him tightly. "I love you."

"I like this random admission of your feelings thing. And also, I love you."

"Come on, E," I said as I got to my feet. "Let's go check out this museum and see what else we can learn about this place."

"Thanks for being up for this. I know it's not really your kind of thing."

"I'm not into the facts too much, but I do like learning about the people."

"So maybe we can visit some more museums and historical sites together?"

I smiled up at him, nearly rolling my eyes at the huge smile reflected back at me in the dark lenses of his sunglasses. "E, anything is possible."

Even with the dark lenses hiding his eyes, I could still tell Edward was stunned from the way his mouth was slightly hanging open. "I think that's the most optimistic thing you've ever said."

"I said it was possible. I never said it was probable," I pointed out.

Edward laughed and slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me against his side. "Now that's the Bella Swan I know and love."

I just smiled and put my own arm around him. This whole loving someone thing was turning out a hell of a lot better than I'd ever thought it could. If I could keep up with locking down my temper and my mouth, I might just have a chance of keeping this relationship going.

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Rose's POV:

"Okay, so what you do is look through the buckets here and you pick the oyster you like best. Bring it over to me and we'll open it up and see what's inside."

I huffed at the guy giving instructions. And then I looked over at Emmett. "An oyster farm? Where in that head of yours did you ever get the idea I would want to visit an oyster farm?"

For a second, Emmett looked as if he couldn't possibly understand why I might not be pleased with the activity he'd picked. But one quick point at the grungy bucket closest to us had all the bells and whistles going off in his head.

"Just bare with me for a second, Babe," he said as he took my hands into his. "This was my thinking … You like pearls. Oysters have pearls. Ergo, Rosalie would like to pick her own pearl right here in Hawaii."

"I'm not touching one of those things," I told him, meaning every word.

"I didn't expect you too, Rosie. I figured we could pick out an oyster together and then I'd grab it from the bucket and after the pearl was cleaned off, you would take it and decide if you wanted it in a ring or a necklace."

"Well, I do like pearls," I admitted, trying not to grimace while looking at the bucket. "So maybe this isn't the worst idea you've ever had."

"I promise you'll like it. Just give it a chance." He looked too darn hopeful for any answer other than a positive one so I just smiled and hugged his arm, silently giving permission for him to go ahead with his plan.

Emmett moved us from bucket to bucket but I honestly couldn't see a difference. I figured he was most probably looking for the biggest oyster he could spot, figuring it would hold the biggest pearl. I smiled at that thought, and then I smiled even wider knowing how much he'd rather be off doing some adrenaline-fueled activity instead of looking for a pearl for me.

I pulled on his arm, dropping his cheek the inch I needed to land a kiss right in the middle of it.

"What's that for?" he asked with a big grin.

I returned his smile and gave him a shrug. "Just because."

He did that stupid thing where he made his eyebrows lift up and down. "If that's for nothing, what do I have to do to get some lovin' for something?"

I gave him the eye-roll his behavior deserved. "Shut up and pick an oyster so you can take me to lunch. I want some shade and a cold drink in my hand."

"Alright, alright. Let's try this one over here by the counter," he said, towing me toward whatever bucket he'd spotted. "I did some research on this stuff and it says to look for the hairiest oyster to get the best pearl."

I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of me. "I can just hear Bella now, talking about a Sasquatch man looking for his complimentary Sasquatch oyster."

Emmett snorted. "I used to think Edward was an idiot for being worried he couldn't keep up with that girl. Now I'm kind of thinking he had a point."

"They're okay for now. They made up quickly this morning and both admitted to what they did wrong. If they can keep that up, they'll be alright. Well, that and if Bella doesn't realize all at once how much she's changing."

"Yeah, even her mouth is cleaning up. It's trippy as all hell."

"I didn't get to ask last night since you were out of it, but did you two have a good day yesterday?"

Emmett pulled his eyes from the bucket and put them on me, showing off a huge grin. "Yeah, we really did. She even let me know she's going to miss me after graduation. I wasn't expecting that. I figured she'd be pretending she couldn't wait for me to leave, acting all tough."

"Hopefully she can keep being open like that."

"Enough about Bells. Let's focus on you and me right now," Emmett called out. He was digging around in one of the buckets and when he stood up, he had the ugliest looking oyster in his hand. "Starting with getting this guy open and seeing what he's hiding inside for you."

"Hopefully nothing gross," I muttered under my breath.

"Want to hold him?" Emmett asked, offering me the oyster.

"About as much as I want to touch feces," I yelled while stepping away from the nasty thing.

"Oh, come on, Rosie. Don't hate it because it's ugly on the outside. It's what's inside that counts."

"Sort of like with you," I teased, poking him in the side with my finger.

His reply was epically Emmett. "I'm a lot of things but ugly ain't one of them."

I laughed and pushed him and his oyster toward the counter with the tools to open the thing. "Just shut up and open the oyster."

Emmett walked up to the counter, giving the guy standing there a head-bob and once over. It must have been written into his genetic code to be the alpha male at all times, though I had no idea what relative had passed it down to him.

"We want this one," Emmett said as he passed over his hairy find.

The guy behind the counter took Emmett's oyster and looked it over. "This is a good one, but I got a better one if you're interested."

Emmett's eyes immediately lit up at the prospect of something better. "How much better?"

Not that it ever should have been possible, but the guy pulled out an oyster twice as hairy and ugly as the once Emmett had found. "This is a good one. This will give your lady something special."

"How about it, Rosalie?" Emmett asked. His brown eyes were full of excitement and his grin was so wide that I had no choice but to smile right back.

"Give it a try, Babe," I told him.

He let out a small laugh while leaning toward me and getting an arm around me. "It's not going to bite you, Rosie. Come on over here with me and see what's inside."

I allowed myself to be towed over and I even mustered up a smile for the clerk guy when he showed me the oyster up close. He then turned the oyster toward himself and started working some kind of tool into the lip of the thing. I wasn't paying that much attention since Emmett had decided to start kissing the back of my shoulder.

"Alright," the guy called out, jerking me right out of a truly wonderful fantasy of the man standing behind me. "Ready to see what your oyster holds?"

"Sure. Does a drum roll come with the reveal?" I asked. Yeah, it was snarky and not all that nice, but he had interrupted.

"Let me," Emmett said, reaching out for the ugly thing with both hands. I laughed at how excited he seemed for this experience and hoped he wouldn't get disappointed. With the run of bad luck he'd been having lately, the thing wouldn't even have a pearl inside of it.

Emmett looked over his shoulder at me and then back at what he had in his hands.

"Are you going to show it to me or not?" I asked.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, Emmett."

"Really ready?"

"Yes," I said, struggling to keep the smile on my face. He was sporting the grin that always led to him teasing too much and annoying me.

"Are you sure? Because you have to be completely ready for this, Rose."

"Babe, I'm so damn ready I'll kick your ass if you don't show me," I promised him.

He must have wanted to get that kind of rise out of me because he laughed and then kissed me on the lips. And then he showed me what he had in his hands.

I'd seen the insides of oysters before—various shades of brown with a soft, squishy looking center. This oyster had obviously been cleaned out long ago and the inside looked like it had been polished with silver. Instead of a squishy center, there was a pad of black velvet and sitting on that pad was a beautiful ring. Five diamonds lined up in a row and set in a way that made them seem like spots on some kind of curvy flower petals. Alice would probably describe it in a way that was poetic and even Bella could spout out if it was white gold or platinum; I only knew it was beautiful. And completely unexpected.

"Emmett?"

He smiled at all the questions he knew were wrapped up in his name. "I'm not proposing to you, Rosalie, because if you don't know by now that I'm going to marry you when I can do it right, no ring is going to get that through your pretty blond head. This is just a promise to you that no matter how awesome and exciting Boston turns out to be, or how much work I get buried under, you'll still come first.

"Now, I may not always be able to get out of an assignment and I'm sure there are going to be nights when I break dates 'cause I have to work late. But I'll always make it up to you. I'll call every time I'm going to be late. I'll even send you texts just so you know I'm thinking about you.

"I know it's a big deal for you to come to Boston. I know what you're leaving behind. And I know I don't even half-way deserve to have a woman as good as you. But I'm not letting go, Rosalie. We're going to be that couple sitting on a porch, heads full of gray hair, and loud, screaming kids running back and forth across the yard. Oh, and we have to have a Great Dane named Grinder 'cause—"

I shut him up with a kiss, not needing to hear anything else from him. I already knew the important stuff: he loved me and he wanted a future with me. Sure, I'd known for a long time that he loved me, but there are degrees to it. There's friendly love, puppy love, romantic love, and forever love. I'd known we had the romantic down pat, but I hadn't been so sure it would ever turn into the forever kind for Emmett. Discussing the future wasn't ever something we did and so it was a wonderful surprise to hear he'd thought enough of us to picture us old and gray together.

"What do you say, Rosie?" he asked, smiling wider than ever. "Wanna wear my promise ring?"

I laughed and hugged him tightly for a moment. "Question first," I said as smiled up at him. "Why Grinder?"

"'Cause I'm gonna tell all the kids that if they misbehave, he'll eat them and grind their bones up."

"Emmett," I cried through my laughter. "You are so much trouble."

"And only you can handle me," he replied before kissing my lips softly. "Now let's see how this thing fits."

He lifted the ring off the velvet, handed the oyster to the clerk guy, and then lifted my hand up. He gave me another big smile before lowering his eyes to my hand and slipping the ring onto my finger. He fiddled with it a little to make sure of the fit and then his happy brown eyes were on my face again.

"What do you think, Rosie?" he asked, lifting my hand so we could both see the ring.

"I think it's your best idea ever, Emmett Cullen. I hope you know how very much I love you."

"Long as you can remember that and not give up on me when I do something stupid, we'll be alright." He pulled me into his arms and then whispered into my ear. "You're my Stella and there's no woman in existence I could love more than you."

I tried really hard to just smile and not let any tears fall, but I couldn't stop them. Nor could I stop the quiet sob of "Poppa Bear" from tumbling off my lips. We weren't the kind to get emotional in public—passionate without a doubt—but not emotional. But considering all of our years together had been leading us to what was quite possibly one of the most perfect and romantic moments of my life, I felt alright with a little show of the stuff.

I wiggled free of his hold and gave him the seductive smile he loved. "Em, take me home, baby."

The man didn't waste words or even thank the clerk guy who'd so obviously helped him. He just held onto my hip and led me out of the place. I'd just received the ultimate swear from Emmett. Now it was time to reward him for his efforts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bella's POV:

"Uncontrollable Urge.

I wanna tell you all about it.

Uncontrollable Urge.

Makes me scream and shout it.

It's got Style. It's got class.

So strong I can't let it pass."

"Stop!" Emmett and Edward yelled out together.

"Don't make me toss your asses out of the moving vehicle," Emmett threatened.

"Girls, please just stop. Or at least find an octave that won't burst our eardrums," Edward told us.

I just laughed and flipped them both off while Alice poked her tongue out. The twin duo had decided to unite against Alice and me for singing Devo's "Uncontrollable Urge". Jasper and Rosalie were busy in the front seat discussing her "promise" ring while the rest of us were in the back of the SUV as we made our way to a place right outside of Waikiki.

In her travels with Jasper today, Alice had stumbled on this place called Waiola's that served shaved ice and bakery goodies. I wasn't concerned with the bakery part at all, but the shaved ice was a totally different monster. I'd had it only once before on a trip I'd taken with Charlie years ago to South Carolina. He'd had some police conference thing and had refused to let me stay home alone, stating thirteen was not a mature age for such things. The only part of the trip I'd enjoyed had been the shaved ice treats we'd gotten every afternoon together. And from what Alice said, this Waiola's place was going to hands down be a hundred times better. Supposedly, they shaved their ice so thin it was like eating fruit-flavored snow. I just hoped no one ordered lemon or pineapple because there would be no stopping Emmett from using his plethora of snow-pee jokes he pulled out each winter.

"Make you a deal, Em-Zilla. Explain to me about this promise ring business and we shall halt our singing for now," I offered. Rosalie had already told us the story in detail, right down to describing the hairy oysters that had freaked her out, but I wanted to see what the big guy had to say about it all.

Emmett's face went from pouting to excited in no time flat. "I made Rose a promise to behave myself in Boston and to show her I really meant it and wasn't just blowing smoke up her fine ass, I backed up my words with platinum and diamonds."

"I want to know how you picked out such a quintessential Rosalie piece without my help," Alice commanded.

Emmett huffed and rolled his eyes at his sister. "I've been with her for like seven—

"Eight!" Rose corrected right away.

"Yeah, eight years," Emmett continued. "I'm pretty familiar with what she likes by this point."

"In the bedroom, no doubt. But you are the same man who attempted to make her cheeseburger soup because you forgot she doesn't eat red meat," I pointed out.

Emmett's grin was not lacking in smugness at all. "Yeah, but food doesn't lead to bedroom activities. Jewelry does."

"Really?" I asked, feigning ignorance. "E, do hear this? Jewelry equals sex. Too bad we didn't know about this when you gave me my boxing gloves."

Edward snorted, Alice giggled, and Emmett let out a loud "damn" while I just batted my lashes and smiled innocently.

"Ooh, ooh!" Alice suddenly yelled out while bouncing in her seat beside me. "We're here! You guys will love it. I promise!"

"Take it down a notch, Half-pint," I warned her as we got out of the SUV. "We don't want to get kicked out before we even get in because you're acting like you downed a six-pack of Red Bull."

"Oh, good idea, Bells. We'll toast with Red Bull and Vodka at the luau tonight," Emmett said.

"There's no 'we', Emmett Cullen," I told him. "At least not a 'we' where I'm involved. We have to get up before the sun to catch our flight out of here tomorrow and no way in hell am I doing that with a bitch of a hangover."

Emmett chuckled while draping his arm over my shoulders. "Ed, this girl can knock back JD like a guy. But give her one tall glass of Grey Goose and Red Bull and that's all she wrote!"

"Hey, no giving away my secrets, numb nuts!" I yelled while punching Em in the shoulder. "Unless you want me revealing a few of yours."

The expression on Emmett's face was absolutely priceless. Wiped the smile right off his face and put fear into his big brown eyes. Teach him to fuck with me.

"Alright, so what kind of snow cones are we getting?" Rose asked.

Alice and I gave out gasps together; mine was fake but I was pretty sure Ali's was very real.

"Blasphemy, Hale," I said, shaking my head at her. "How dare you impugn the shaved ice by calling it the lowly term of snow cone!"

"Bite me," she shot back, smiling and tapping a finger against her butt cheek.

"Love to, but the behemoth you're promised to would probably take offense."

"Don't say that," she cried with a grimace. "It sounds so middle school when you say it like that."

I couldn't help the evil smile that spread across my face; she really should have known better after all of these years. I stood up on the bench near us and shouted as loud as I could. "Rosalie Hale is promised to Emmett Cullen forever and ever on high amen."

Rarely do I ever make what I consider to be a genuine, bona-fide mistake, but that was one of them. I was way too close to the parties behind teased and before I knew what had happened, I was flopped over Emmett's shoulder with Rosalie's hand whacking me on the ass cheek.

"Alright, alright!" I screamed through my laughter. "I'm sorry and I'll stop now."

Emmett set me on my feet and Rosalie got right up in my face. "Just for that, you can be last in line for your precious snow cone, Beelzebub."

"It's not a snow cone!" Alice and I yelled out together.

"A snow cone is chunky and you sometimes have to wait for the ice to melt a little so you can eat it without breaking a tooth," I explained.

"Shaved ice is soft and practically melts on your tongue," Alice added.

"They're completely different," we said together.

"Jeebus! It's like having surround sound," Emmett barked out between laughs.

"No, it's like having a couple of tantrum-throwing toddlers," Rose said.

"You threw a total fit when I called that Mac crap you wear makeup, which it is," I pointed out.

Rose's mouth opened wide and then she narrowed her blue eyes at me. "Mac is not simply make-up. It's a line of beauty products that put the glam in glamorous."

"Ladies, if you could both stop feeling slighted over terms, we could have already ordered our treats and right now be busy enjoying them," Jasper announced.

"Who called for the level-headed voice of reason?" I asked, grinning at Jazz.

"Probably the people eyeing us like a group of circus freaks," Rose said with a laugh.

"Can we order now?" Emmett asked. And because he was Emmett and didn't always know when to stop speaking, he ended up saying something that got him yelled at by the rest of us. "All this mess for some freakin' snow cones."

"Shaved ice!"

Never one to leave anyone mad at him, Emmett did something that only Emmett would ever think to do—he started singing along with the song coming out of Waiola's speakers.

"There is this little song I wrote.

I hope you learn it note for note

Like good little children.

Don't worry, be happy.

Listen to what I say.

In your life expect some trouble,

But when you worry,

You make it double.

Don't worry, be happy."

"You, Sir, are not the next American Idol." Jasper looked around at all of our shocked faces and shrugged. "What? I can be the funny one sometimes."

There couldn't have been a better way to end our arguing if I'd come up with it my own self. Sometimes, this family of mine was just about as perfect as perfect could get.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bella's POV:

With the voices and the music and the clinking of many glasses in happy toasts, it was impossible to hear the waves gently rolling and crashing onto the sand from here. So I just remembered the sound from this morning when it had been only Edward and me on the beach, the sun not quite up in the sky yet. I remembered thinking nothing could be more beautiful than a Hawaiian sunrise, but I wasn't so sure now that I had this moonlit view in front of me.

Back home, the bodies of water were small enough that the moon illuminated all of it, turning them into mirrored surfaces. Here, there was only a path of silvery moonlight between the ebony swatches of water making it seem so exotic. What was it like to be out there on the water right now? Would you be able to paddle into that light? Or would it always be just beyond your reach?

Edward's fingers settled over mine at the same time his velvety whisper tickled my ear. "Dance with me."

A smile curled my lips as I looked up at him from under my lashes. He smiled in return, dipping his head down for a small kiss before rising from his chair.

He brought me out onto the makeshift dance floor, wrapping one arm around my waist and cradling our hands against his chest with the other. His eyes were so dark in the orange glow coming from the fiery torches, but vibrant in a way too—like he was so full of excitement sparks might shoot out at any moment. It wasn't surprising with the day we'd had together. Getting up to see the sunrise, fighting about that stupid ceramic figurine he'd bought for Bree, visiting Pearl Harbor, touring the local flea markets together in search of the perfect Bree-esque item, hearing all about Emmett and Rosalie at the oyster farm, and having shaved ice with everyone. And now here we were, enjoying a luau with our family on our last night in Hawaii.

The feel of the wind ruffling my hair and dress pulled me right out of my musings. Before I could lift a hand to stop the purple fabric from sticking to my body, the wind changed direction and was blowing it away again. Goose bumps prickled up and down my arms and I huddled closer to Edward while scolding myself for forgetting to bring a sweater along. Even though I'd expected the night to be cooler like it had been every other night of our trip, I was still a little shocked by the temperature difference.

Of course, one kiss from Edward changed all of that. He started off slow and sensuous, not even parting his lips. He waited until he felt me kissing back to change to open-mouth kisses. Those seemed to go on forever and right when I was about to pull away and fuss at him for teasing me, his tongue slid over mine tasting of pineapple and coconut from his drink. By the time we came up for air, the wind didn't seem half as cold and the goose bumps had disappeared from my arms.

I smiled and bit at my lip as I laid my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat more than the music playing. The rhythm of the song was so slow that we swayed more than danced and since any excuse to be so close to him was a good one, I was definitely not complaining.

As much as I wanted to focus only on this moment with him, my thoughts wouldn't stop jumping around. For the first time, we were in the same emotional place at the same time and everything about it felt warm and safe somehow. I tried to keep in mind Rose's warning that relationships went through alternating cycles of perfection and upheaval, but it was so hard to believe these feelings would get overshadowed by any other. And with as long as it had taken for us both to reach this point, I didn't want to believe anything could ever eclipse this moment in our lives. But there was something—his summer travels.

Edward promised it wouldn't be bad, Emmett promised Edward wouldn't find anyone else he cared about, and Jasper kept telling me to stop over-thinking and over-analyzing a simple business trip. Problem was I couldn't seem to help myself.

Edward brought his head down to rest against mine and began to softly sing to me.

"Love me tender,

Love me sweet,

Never let me go.

You have my life

Complete

And I love you so.

Love me tender,

Love me true,

All my dreams fulfilled.

For my darlin', I love you,

And I always will."

My heart was thumping and jumping and probably doing a few back flips. Had he known what I was thinking about and was just trying to ease my fears? Or had he felt the words pertained to us enough to sing them to me? Did it matter as I long as I believed he meant them?

I'd never for a second imagined anything like this—I wasn't sure I could have if I'd tried and I had one hell of an imagination. But this … this was beyond words and explanation. It was just what I felt when I looked at him … thought of him … was held by him. And now that I had it, I only wanted to keep it. Even more, for the first time ever in my life, permanence seemed possible even with that stupid trip looming over us.

"Love me tender,

Love me dear,

Tell me you are mine.

I'll be yours through all

The years,

Till the end of time.

Love me tender,

Love me true,

All my dreams fulfilled.

For my darlin', I love you,

And I always will."

I squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. "I love you, Edward."

His smile was so damn big and bright that I couldn't do anything but laugh and draw his lips down to mine for a kiss. Being without him after finally having him wasn't going to be easy, but I was going to do it with a smile on my face and nothing but love in my heart. He deserved it and I wanted to do it for him—for both of us. I still had no idea how his whole crazy ninja mind-fuck thing worked, and I found it increasingly hard to care when each new day with him had me loving him a little more than the one before.

A/N: Bet you guys never saw Emmett's "promise" coming! A picture of the ring is up on my website on the WTB page. And that concludes one very amazing trip to Hawaii. Are you guys as jealous as EA and I are that we didn't get invited along? Big huge thanks to NoelleSeven for her help with info on Hawaii. We hope you liked your "snow cone" scene! We certainly enjoyed touring your lovely home vicariously through these characters.