A/N:

Ugh, I almost forgot again! I am literally in bed with my laptop on my stomach typing this AN in the dark because I just remembered it's Friday which is my new LiS updating day. Oi vey!

I loved your response on the last chapter and I do hope you'll enjoy this equally. Most of you are now on board with Bella and Edward both having matured now and being adults. I'm glad you don't judge them after their stupidity as teenagers. You're just doing yourself a disservice if you continue to look at this story through that microscope ;-)

Title: Love is Strange

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Alice's White Rabbit

Pre-reader: LunaEclipse

Genre: Friendship/Romance/Drama

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Bella Swan and Edward Cullen live in the small town of Ligonier in Pennsylvania. They've been best friends since they were six years old, and not much can keep them apart. Bella wants to leave small-town life behind, while Edward is fine with whatever, but that's not the only complication in their relationship. What happens when they fall in love … with each other?

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 26

GOING BACK HOME

"Here you go, Bella," Rosalie said and handed her the steaming mug of chamomile tea she claimed would help an elephant go to sleep.

"Thank you," Bella said appreciatively and blew on the hot brew. "And thank you for letting me stay here."

"As if there was a chance in hell we wouldn't offer our guest room to you," Emmett said from his place next to Bella on the bed, lounging on his side as relaxed as a man without any worries. "You're practically family, Belly, and Rose and I protect our family."

Bella stared deep into the mug. "Even when it might be against your actual family?"

Rose sighed and folded her legs underneath her to sit at the foot of the bed. "I still don't want to believe my brother would be capable of leaving you those flowers, but if he did, he's crossed a line you simply don't cross, and as much as I love him, I could never back him up after that." She put a comforting hand on Bella's leg. "Don't worry about pitting me against George. I'll handle that, if the time comes."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment as they pondered the possibility of the threat coming from someone so close to them all, but then, as Bella took a sip of the tea and put it on the nightstand, she noticed something about Rosalie she was uncertain on how to approach, in case she was wrong.

The change was small—barely even there—but being such close friends, Bella was confident she knew exactly how Rosalie's body looked. She'd seen her in a bikini on several occasions and the girl was toned and followed her own workout regimen as if it was a religion.

Whenever Bella asked her about the reason why she was so adamant about working out as hard as she did, she said it made her feel more confident being on TV that way.

But sitting in front of her now, Bella could clearly see there was a little bump protruding from Rosalie's stomach, and when she directed her eyes to Emmett, he'd obviously noticed her surprise because he was grinning wider than she'd ever seen him do before.

"Babe," he said to Rosalie, who was rather oblivious to what Bella had detected because she'd been lost in her own thoughts. "I think Belly just noticed something."

"Hm?" Rosalie said and turned to Emmett, who not so subtly nodded toward her stomach, which caused her to look down. "Oh!" She smiled and gently stroke the bump. "Well, this wasn't how we planned on telling you, but I guess the cat's out of the bag now."

With wide eyes, Bella looked between Rosalie, her stomach, and Emmett. "Are you ..."

Rosalie nodded, and the excitement on her face built up. "About four months."

Bella felt surprised and happy beyond belief for her friends since she knew they'd been trying for quite some time. She couldn't find the words needed to show them that, so all she did was get up on her knees to hug Rosalie, and then Emmett. "That's so amazing, you guys. Congratulations!"

"We've been very quiet about it since we didn't want to tell anyone in the first trimester," Rosalie explained, and Emmett sat up and grabbed her hand in support. "It's taken us so long, so we didn't want to get our hopes up in case complications would occur."

"Of course." Bella nodded in understanding.

"We've told our parents, and we were going to tell George next, but he disappeared, and now you know."

Not able to control herself, Bella hugged her friends again. "I am so happy for you. I'm certain you'll make awesome parents."

"Actually, now that we're already on the topic," Emmett said and exchanged a look with Rosalie. "We want to ask you if you want to be the baby's godmother. We know it's still very early, but we didn't even have to discuss it."

Bella gaped at them. "For real?"

"Of course!" Rosalie exclaimed. "You'll already be like an aunt to him or her. We'd love it if you'd accept."

Her eyes teared up, touched by the trust they had in her. "I don't know what to say. It would be my honor."

Emmett smiled and kissed Rosalie's temple before giving Bella a very serious look. "But just so you know, I'm not naming my boy Isabella," he said and they both broke out into laughter as they remembered that conversation from so many years ago.

~~LiS~~

Bella gestured for Edward to quit his snickering from the driver's seat as she talked to her dad on the phone, doing her best to keep up the ruse that she was still in New York and that they hadn't just taken the exit off I-76 and were a mere hour away from Ligonier.

"Are you sure you're okay by yourself at home?" she asked him, laying on the fake concern thickly. "It's still not too late for you to celebrate with me in New York, you know."

"I'll be fine, honey! You shouldn't worry about me. It should be the other way around," he insisted.

She snorted softly. "I'm not exactly living a lonely life in New York, Dad."

"No, I know," he said, and then paused for a short moment. "So when were you going to tell me you chose Edward?"

Bella almost choked when he revealed he already knew what she'd planned on telling him face to face. "Who told you?"

"Esme. And Alice told her." It was quiet for a minute, and then Charlie continued. "I'm not mad at you, honey. I'm happy you and Edward found each other again. I guess I just expected you to tell me after your mini vacation in Vermont. And you never told me what happened with George."

There were so many things that had occurred since she and Edward had chosen to take a second chance. Bella hadn't told her dad about George being suspected for sending threatening messages with dead flowers and his disastrous proposal because she didn't want him to worry about her.

It had also sounded better in her head if she told him in person instead of over the phone where he couldn't make sure she was truly okay and unharmed. That would have only stressed him out.

Bella looked over at Edward, who could only hear her end of the conversation. "I was going to tell you. Edward and I are taking it rather slowly right now, you know. Rediscovering everything and learning all the new things about each other."

Edward reached over for Bella's free hand and held it in his own, silently communicating with her and saying he didn't mind the pace of their rekindled relationship.

"Of course," Charlie agreed. "As I said, I'm not mad. I just don't want you to forget about your old man."

"I could never forget about you, Dad!" she insisted, but she did feel guilty knowing that her stubbornness toward visiting home had caused her to neglect her family. She silently made a promise to herself and her dad to change that in the future, starting with this Christmas visit.

Charlie let out a chuckle. "That's good to know, Bells. I have to hang up now, but I'll talk to you on Christmas morning, okay?"

"Absolutely. I'll talk to you then. I love you, Dad!"

"Love you, too, honey. Stay safe."

"Always." Bella sighed as she hung up the phone, but Edward immediately squeezed their still connected hands, and she opened up to him instead of bottling it up inside. "I feel like such a horrible daughter. I'm the only living family he's got, and my stupid irrational fears caused me to practically abandon him."

"Didn't you tell me he encouraged you to move out of Ligonier when he understood you couldn't achieve your dreams there?" Edward asked, his expression a little confused while he remained focused on the road.

"Yeah, but I could have made the effort to visit him," she continued, determined to not forgive her own neglect so easily.

"Bella, love, you wanted to get out of that town pretty much your entire life. No one blames you for staying away once you finally succeeded," he said, but Bella's lips stretched into a smile not because of his understanding of her reasons.

"Love?" she asked because Edward had never used that term of endearment before.

Realizing he might have made the mistake of going too fast by referring to her as his "love" out loud and not just in his head, he swallowed hard and fumbled for an explanation. "Uh, well, I … uhm ..."

While he stuttered, Bella leaned over and planted a light kiss on his cheek. "I like it," she reassured him, and the relief he felt was almost palpable in the confined space of the car.

When they weren't far from crossing the town limits, Edward carefully broached a subject he'd wanted to bring up before they started driving. "So, uhm, I'm assuming you'll stay at your dad's place, but I wanted you to know that I'm not going to stay with my parents."

"You're not?"

"No, they actually remade Alice's and my old bedrooms into a craft room for Mom and a home gym, so there's only one guest bedroom now. Alice and I usually alternate when we visit, and this year, it's Alice's turn to stay with them, so I have a room at Thistledown*."

"At Thistledown? Don't their rooms cost over one-fifty per night?" Bella asked, shocked Edward would stay at a hotel and not in his childhood home.

"Actually, do you remember Shelly? The waitress at the tavern?"

"Yeah," she said, dragging out the word as she didn't understand the sudden change of subject.

"She's Mrs. Cope now, and she and her husband took over Thistledown a few years back. They've given me a discount, so it's not too bad."

Bella still hadn't gotten an answer as to why Edward was checking in at a hotel, though. "Great, but why aren't you just sleeping on your parents pull-out couch in the living room?" The Cullens had always had a pull-out in case they'd ever need an extra bed for a guest.

And if there was one thing Bella was certain about when it came to Esme Cullen, it was that she would never force her children to stay at a hotel.

"Normally, I would," he admitted, and with the way he was going in circles around the subject and avoiding giving her a straight answer, Bella understood he was nervous over her reaction toward whatever it was.

That's why she didn't push.

Then, finally, Edward took the plunge. "But I was thinking that it would be nice to have the option of privacy for, you know, you and me." He quickly glanced at her sideways, but before she got the chance to say anything or even react, he continued. "And that doesn't mean I'm expecting anything. We've both agreed to take this slowly, and I don't want you to think I can't wait to get you into bed, but it would give us an opportunity to get away, just the two of us. You know Mom will hound us with questions, and there are a couple of Dad's colleagues invited to the party who know our history and it might be a little tense and a little awkward so ..."

Bella listened to everything Edward said, but her mind did wander as she considered his suggestion. She hadn't even thought of the possibility of being alone with Edward while they were at home because she'd been so preoccupied with the joy of surprising her dad with her visit. But the more she thought of it, the more she realized she quite liked the idea.

Barely three weeks had passed since she woke up in Edward's guest bedroom, and she could distinctly remember her face burning hot when a certain dream she'd had during the night pushed its way to the forefront of her consciousness. It had mostly been snippets of memories she'd locked away in a box in the farthest corner of her mind, but spending the night at Edward's house had unlocked that box and released those memories into her dreams.

Memories of a touch that always awakened her body, of kisses on her skin so lovingly placed on her most sensitive areas, and of the utter bliss she'd felt when they connected on that most intimate and physical level.

Her body yearned for Edward. It missed the moments it had shared with his body because not one of the men she'd been with after him had come close to making her feel the same. Because they had learned together, and both had been eager to find out what the other enjoyed, Bella was convinced there wasn't another man in the world who knew her body like Edward did.

She wasn't going to deny she wanted to move forward with Edward, but she was worried about going about everything too fast, and she wondered to herself if three weeks was long enough, considering the history they had.

Then, she snapped out of her musings as she came to the conclusion that while they were back home, she'd allow everything concerning Edward come naturally to her. Sharing a bed at a hotel didn't have to result in sex, but if it did, than that was okay, too.

All she knew was that she wanted that privacy Edward offered. She wanted that chance to be with him at a place that wasn't either of their homes in New York where there were so many outer influences and stress factors that made everything feel different.

Edward was still rambling on, and she found it so adorable that he wanted to do something nice for the two of them but then got all nervous because he didn't want her to get the wrong idea of his motivations.

"Edward," she said softly to stop him, and he did mid-sentence. "That's really sweet of you, and I appreciate it. I don't think you had any ulterior motives, so don't worry about that. And you're right. Some privacy would be really nice."

He smiled widely at her, so happy that Bella could see his gestures for what they were now and not twisting them in her mind into something negative. It showed Edward that she had truly grown into a woman he knew he could love for the rest of his life. And she could very possibly allow herself to love him with the same capacity.

"Dad will probably want me to stay at least one night with him," she said, and Edward had already understood that much. He wouldn't dream of stealing Bella away from Charlie for the entirety of their stay. It would have made the entire point of their visit moot. "But other than that, I'd love to stay at the hotel with you."

He didn't have any real words to say to show how grateful he was that she reacted the way he'd hoped, so all he did was bring her hand up to his lips so he could kiss the back of it. Then he smiled, and Bella responded with her own.

With a wonderful feeling growing inside him, Edward had never been more optimistic about their future together.

A/N:

*Thistledown is a real hotel in Ligonier, but naturally, my characters are fake!

They're almost back home in Ligonier! The place where everything started. Thoughts?

If something happens at the hotel, and remember it's a big IF, do you think they're moving too fast?

How about Rosalie and Emmett having a baby? Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?

I love all your feedback and honestly, with everything going on right now, it's the only thing keeping me going, so thank you!

Until next time,

Stay Awesome!