Thank you for all of the love on the first futuretake! I'm so glad you all loved it. I loved writing it, but then I adore Arlo and he featured pretty heavily, sooo ;)

Anyway, here's the second futuretake. The next piece of my new WIPs cover has already been revealed over in my reader group if you want to check it out.

Waves of Hope

Moving Day

Edward ~ November 3rd 2023

"Nakey baby on the loose!"

Shoot.

Quickly taping Mackenzie's diaper down, I scoop him up under one arm and step out into the hall just in time to catch the streaker with the other. "Gotcha, Rivs."

"Dada!" He grins toothily, his dark hair curly since it's still wet from his bath. He smells sweet like the baby safe bath bombs Alice sent a couple of weeks ago, his damp skin getting me all wet, not that it matters when I'm not wearing a shirt.

Out of all the babies, Mackenzie is the champion at catching people off guard and peeing mid-diaper change. I've learned my lesson about wearing a shirt when I change him.

"Oh, you got him," Bella breathes, rushing out into the hallway. Her—or should I say my—Gators tee is damp and clings to her curves, her light gray shorts dark from the splashing I can still hear coming from the bathroom along with baby giggles and the big twins' laughter. "I got him out so I could put Caben in and he took off."

"Bye, Mama!" River waves, blowing a kiss for good measure as he wiggles to get down. When we just laugh and I hang onto him, he growls and aims a stink-eye at me.

"Sorry, buddy. It's time for night-night."

"No, Dada," he whines, over-tired after a long day playing over at Jane and CJ's house with Austin.

Shooting a smile at Bella, I tell her I'll handle River so she can head back into the bathroom. The big boys are great at watching the sixers but we never leave them alone in the bathroom for long.

"C'mon, buddy," I murmur, kissing River's head as I carry him and a sleepy Mackenzie downstairs after grabbing River's pajamas and diaper. Rylee and Asher are already down here with Arlo. All three of them, and Max, are lying on the floor in the baby jail. Arlo is toying with Max's ear while the babies guzzle their before-bed milk. They only get bottles first thing in the morning and last thing at night now, the rest of the time drinking from sippy cups, but we still use color-coded hairbands around the bottlenecks to keep them straight so we know who drinks what.

Well, when they don't share the bottles around, anyway. By the time I've got River's diaper and pjs on, put him and Mackenzie in the baby jail, and fetched their bottles from the kitchen, Rylee's almost-empty bottle is in Asher's hands and she has his which is still half-full.

"Buster…" I sigh with a smile, Arlo scrambling to switch them back when I point out Rylee's sneak attack on her brother's milk.

"It's funny that she's a girl and you call her 'Buster,'" Arlo grins as I step over the side of the pen and flop down beside him.

"You think?"

"Yeah. I know it's short for 'ballbuster' which is kinda even funnier. Mom says she's gonna bust whoever's balls she ends up marrying 'cause she's a boss."

"She got part of that right, at least." Hauling Rylee into my lap as she toddles toward me, her bottle hanging from her teeth, I kiss her head. "She's gonna be a boss one day, for sure, but she's never gettin' married."

Or going near anyone's balls, for that matter.

Arlo snorts. "Mom said you'd say that, too."

"Well, it's true. You, Jax, and Finn are gonna have to help me make sure no guy ever breaks our girl's heart. You up for that?"

Serious now, he nods and sits up. "Sure. Does that mean I can never get married either? 'Cause I want a bunch of kids like you and Mom one day."

It makes me smile to think of Arlo with 'a bunch of kids,' but I can't deny that I don't feel a lot different about him getting his heart broken. I'm just as reluctant to let him go as I am Rylee. The mere thought of it guts me.

"Fine, you can, but you've gotta wait until you're at least thirty and Mom has to approve of the girl."

When he shrugs and agrees, I remind myself that no girls will ever be good enough for our boys, not in Bella's eyes or mine, so I'm safe.

A little while later, Jaxson and Finley carry Oakley and Caben downstairs, Bella hot on their trail. Our new after-bath tradition includes piling onto the couches with books, babies, and bottles, so that's what we do. The big boys get their daily reading in by flipping through the babies' books, while Bella and I get to just enjoy the sleepy snuggles.

Waking the babies up is easily my favorite part of the day, but this comes an incredibly close second. I'm almost distracted enough not to notice that the house is in complete disarray around us.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Bella murmurs, stroking Asher's hair as he snuggles into her.

When I purse my lips, she snorts a laugh. "It's going to be chaos."

"Uh-huh, absolutely. Mom is coming over at eight to pick up the sixers so they're out of the way before the movers get here, and Jane is taking the big boys to school."

"That's good," I hum, my mind shifting to the weekend ahead.

I wasn't kidding when I said that it's going to be chaos.

Tomorrow, once we're child-free, we're facing the mammoth task of getting our house packed up and relocated across town. The new house was finally signed off as complete two days ago and we're not wasting any time. We're bursting at the seams and so ready to have some breathing space, which we'll have in spades when we swap our two thousand square feet home for just a shade over five thousand.

Once the babies start getting cranky, we herd them up the stairs like cattle, giving them one last shot at tiring themselves out before the big boys kiss them goodnight and head to the bathroom to get their teeth brushed. Bella and I work like a well-oiled machine, zipping the babies into their sleep sacks and kissing sleepy faces as we lay them in their cribs.

"Night, buddy," I whisper, handing Oakley his stuffed puppy.

One ear goes straight in his mouth as he mumbles, "Night, Dada."

As we step out of the room after flipping on the nightlight, Bella and I stare at each other for a second. "That was the last time we'll tuck them in here," she breathes, shaking her head as her eyes get a little misty.

Pulling her into my arms, I kiss her forehead and breathe her in. My eyes slip shut as I think back to all the times we've walked this hallway with fussy babies in our arms, all the times we've chased streakers or fumbled for the light switch in the middle of the night on the way to do yet another night feed or diaper change.

I remember doing all those things here with Willow, too.

This house is more than just bricks and mortar. It's more than just a shell. It's been a home, a place where we've made so many memories. My eyes slide open, finding the frames lining the staircase. Pictures of Willow still line the wall, but they're interspersed with pictures of the boys and the babies.

Pictures of our impromptu wedding, too.

It's going to be hard leaving this house, but I'm comforted by the knowledge that it won't be lost. After all, it's staying in the family.

~ oOo ~

"I need to go get the boys," Bella calls through the open window, her voice travelling thanks to the big, empty rooms. Wiping sweat from my brow with the hem of my tee, I flash her a smile.

"All right. You bringin' them back here?"

She looks conflicted. "What do you think? We can put them to work with some of the smaller stuff, or I can drop them with Mom and Dad."

Weighing up the options, I tell her to just bring them here. At this point, we've been hauling shit back and forth for hours and we've barely scratched the surface. Having three extra pairs of hands, even little ones, will be helpful. "They can start puttin' their stuff in their rooms."

"Okay. See you in a bit, handsome."

Before she ducks away from the window, her eyes roam over me for a second, my stomach clenching at the look in her eyes. "Don't start anythin' we don't have time to finish, short stuff," I chuckle as she winks, waving before disappearing from view. A minute or so later, as I chug some of the water from the bottle on the counter beside me, I hear Big Blue starting up.

Looking around, it's hard not to feel disheartened. I wanted to get a lot more done today than we've managed so far, even with both of us working flat out and the movers doing all the heavy lifting between the old house and this one.

So far, we've got our new couch set up, the big dining table we had made by the same guy who makes my tables for Burger Co. is in, and the big kitchen appliances have just been delivered.

Deciding to take a short break and walk through the house, I head up to the second floor, unable to stifle a grin as I ascend the stairs. We opted for a slightly wider staircase than standard, white wood fronts topped with a darker hardwood top. They curve around and there's a big enough space underneath that we decided to add a tiny, child-size door so the kids have an extra space to play; Bella had the construction team line one of the short walls with bookshelves.

At the top of the stairs is a sort of loft space we plan to turn into an informal living area. Our old couches are already up here, too small for the new great room downstairs but still too nice to just toss out. Eventually, we'll add a TV up here, maybe a foosball table or something. Glancing down over the railing as I head down the hall toward the kids' rooms, I make a mental note to get the baby gate set up before the babies get here later.

Jaxson and Finley are still going to share, and their room is first. Their new double beds are already assembled, as are their desks and nightstands. They have built-in storage—something we asked for in all of the bedrooms—which they can fill up with the boxes of clothes stacked over by the window.

Next door is Arlo's bedroom. We went for the same kind of style in all of them—light and bright with blues and browns mixed in here and there. Like the big twins, Arlo has one whole wall of beachwood panelling, a double bed, and plenty of storage space.

There's a big bathroom opposite the boys' rooms as well as my study and two guest bedrooms which share a half-bath.

Crossing back over the loft space, I reach Rylee's nursery first. It's a little girl's haven in shades of white and cream with touches of pink here and there—including her ceiling, which has glitter mixed with the pale pink paint. I think Bella called the theme 'boho chic,' whatever that means. There's a pretty lace mobile hanging over the crib and light, gossamer drapes hanging over the windows. In the corner is the glider Bella bought after falling in love with the one in the NICU, and on the wall is a set of empty shelves; the box on the fluffy white rug covering the floor contains the books and knick knacks Bella wants to put on them.

Next door is a bathroom, and opposite is the boys' nursery. We opted to keep them all together for now in the biggest bedroom after the master, but eventually we'll turn one or both of the guest bedrooms into spaces for the boys to split up a bit.

The boys' nursery is one of my favorite rooms in the house, I think. The walls are lined with artificially weathered shiplap and the ceiling is painted ocean-blue. They have the same rug as Rylee but in blue, and their cribs are spread around the room, broken up by a changing table-dresser combo and a rocking blue armchair Renee found in a thrift store. I've still got to put up their artwork, curtains, and mobiles, but it's looking great in here already.

Next up is the master, which so far, is woefully empty. Our bed is in pieces against the wall, the rug is still wrapped up in the plastic it was delivered in, and the rest of our furniture hasn't shipped yet. It's set to arrive sometime next week. All I've managed to accomplish in here so far is putting up the curtains.

"Looks like we'll be on the sofa tonight," I grumble, raking a hand through my sweaty hair.

"Bro?"

Frowning, I spin and jog out to the loft, hanging over the railing to find Sullivan standing in the center of the almost-empty great room, hands on his hips and a smirk on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that how you thank me for comin' to help? Nice."

My eyebrows lift. "You're here to help?"

"Sure," he shrugs, nodding toward the foyer. "And I brought reinforcements."

By the time I shake off my confusion and reach the bottom of the stairs, he's not alone. Benjamin, Emmett, Dale, Garrett, and Brody stroll in carrying our new dining chairs with grins on their faces.

"Surprise, EC," Emmett chuckles, clapping me on the shoulder once he's tucked his two under the table. "You didn't think we were gonna let you handle all this yourself, did you?"

"Well, I…" Sighing, I run my hand through my hair again and shake my head. "This is gonna cost me a fortune in takeout, huh?"

Wearing the same grin as his twin, Dale II slaps me on the back and rubs his hands together. "It sure is, brother. Let's work up an appetite, huh, fellas?"

Cheers of agreement ring out, and despite knowing how much their appetites are going to cost Burger Co., I feel relief flooding me as they march back outside to the moving van I can just about see through the open front door.

Sullivan lopes over, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "We've got mostly downstairs stuff, so just tell us where you want it, aight?"

Blowing out a big breath, I grab him for a proper hug. "Thanks, little brother. What would I do without you?"

He shrugs, cocky smirk in place. "Put your back out, probably. You keep forgettin' that you're an old man."

I don't have it in me to be pissed—plus, he's kind of right—so I just lightly punch his arm before we both head out to help unload the truck somebody must have rented, and I suddenly have hope that we might just have a liveable home at the end of the day after all.

~ oOo ~

"Thanks, short stuff."

Bella sits on my lap, planting a kiss on my cheek as she hands me a cold beer. "You've more than earned it, handsome." She flashes our helpers smiles and raises her beer in the air. "All of you have. Thank y'all for coming out to help us today, guys. We really appreciate it."

Raising our Budweisers in the air, we settle into the cushions lining our new outdoor seating set and enjoy the warm evening. We're running out of them now we're in November, but it's more than comfortable with the fire pit glowing red and orange between us, the sun sinking slowly below the horizon. It won't be long before the temperature drops and our tees and shorts aren't up to scratch, but for now, we're good. By the time winter really sets in, we'll have the basement kitted out as the entertainment area we didn't know we needed until we saw Taylor The Architect's plans coming to life.

Squeezing Bella to me, I let my eyes wander over the new jungle gym. It's technically three parts but they connect up into one huge structure. We never would have been able to afford it so we were stunned stupid when the truck showed up around noon with a note from the manufacturer telling our kids to enjoy it 'on us.' We were still wrapping our heads around the insane generosity by the time the guys had finished putting it together and drove away in their van a little after six.

The boys are going to lose their minds when they get here tomorrow and see it for the first time. Jane and CJ offered to keep them for us tonight, so they're having a sleepover with Lakely and little Austin, and Renee insisted on keeping the babies overnight so we could concentrate on getting the house fully in order. To say we're appreciative of all the help we've been given today is a massive understatement.

And without the guys' surprise arrival, we'd never have gotten as far as we have.

All our furniture is inside and assembled—except the stuff that's still yet to be delivered—so tomorrow, all we need to do is bring over the last of our clothes and the contents of the garage. To know that we'll be able to have our whole family here this time tomorrow night is a relief that almost bowls me over whenever I think about it.

"That was great food, man," Emmett groans a few minutes later, finally done plowing through everyone else's unwanted leftovers—not that there was much. It never gets old seeing people enjoying Burger Co. grub.

"Fuck, yeah," Dale agrees, rubbing his stomach. "I'm gonna have to hit the gym first thing to work it off, though."

"You'd have been at the gym before the sun was up, anyway," Everly teases as she sidles out onto the deck, Max lolloping along behind her. He immediately spots the big pool and launches himself at it, all of us laughing when he pops back up and barks as he swims around, his fluffy tail like a rudder. Turning her attention to me and Bella as Dale halfheartedly grumbles that she's right, Everly flashes us a grin. "Happy new house day! This place is amazing."

"Isn't it?" Bella breathes, her smile as wide as mine. "I can't believe it's all ours."

But it is.

All of it, from the blue siding all the way around to the cosy great room and the careful details that make up the kids' bedrooms.

"I bet you're over moving, huh?" Everly asks, sinking onto the couch between Dale and Sullivan.

"Definitely," Bella and I say at the same time.

"We'll be doing it all over again next weekend," I remind my brother, who rolls his eyes but is still smiling.

"For your dad, right?" Garrett asks.

"Yeah." I shake my head as I remember the look on his face when he came to me a couple of months ago. "He bought our old house from us. He wanted more room for all his grandkids to come over, and so Jasper and Alice will have somewhere to stay with Matty and Marcus if they don't want to stay here."

"Fair enough." Garrett's smile is knowing as he adds, "Big relief, I bet, having the house stay in the family."

I don't even have words to tell him how right he is, so I just nod. Bella presses a light kiss against my temple, because she knows, too. She knows how hard it's been leaving behind the home where I spent five glorious years with Willow, but we needed this, and Willow is still with me, with us. When we get around to hanging them all, pictures of her will sit beside those of her brothers and sister.

Knowing that my dad is going to be keeping her only home in the family, that we'll still be able to visit, fills me with more gratitude than I know how to express.

~ oOo ~

Everly and the guys stick around for a couple more hours of drinking beer and shooting the shit, then they start heading out.

It doesn't escape my notice that Dale jumps out of his seat to offer Everly a ride home when she reminds us that she drove my Jeep over for me.

"I'll take you."

She raises her eyebrows at him but doesn't turn him down. "That'd be great, thanks."

"No sweat." After squeezing my shoulder and kissing Bella's cheek, Dale tells us to give him a call if we need his help tomorrow before following Everly inside.

That leaves just me, Bella, and Max, who crashed on the deck after his mad dash around the pool.

"Well, Mrs. Cullen," I murmur, trailing kisses over her bare shoulder. She shivers, but I definitely don't think she's cold. "What do you say we go christen our new house while we've still got it all to ourselves?"

Bella hums, tipping her head to give me more access to her neck. When I reach the soft skin beneath her ear, she sucks in a breathy gasp that goes straight to my dick. "I say we've got a lot of rooms to christen and only one night to do it. We'd better get started."

Huffing a chuckle through my nose, I lift us both out of the chair, one arm around her back and the other under her legs. "Have I told you lately that I fuckin' love you?"

Her eyes crinkle at the corners, sparkling like the stars in the clear sky above us. The fingers of one hand walk over my jaw, the other cupping the back of my neck and twisting into the hairs at my nape. "Only a few dozen times."

"Hmm. I'm slacking." As my feet carry us toward the bi-folding doors that lead into our open-plan kitchen-dining-living room, I press my lips against hers and mumble another "I love you" to add to the tally.

Our lips move together in a practiced dance that lights me on fire. Heat licks through my veins, my lungs constrict, and my pulse thumps hard enough I can feel it in my ears. We don't make it to the stairs before Bella's tugging my hair and pointing toward the island.

I smirk as I set her down, but it falls from my face as I tug down her shorts, revealing the lace panties underneath. Swallowing hard, I slip my fingers under the fabric, finding her wet and hot. "Fuck."

"Yes, please," she whispers cheekily, tongue sneaking out to lick the pad of my thumb when I cup her chin and brush it over her full lower lip.

"You're indecent."

"You're a fine one to talk," she snorts, squeezing my shoulders before running her hands down over my chest. When she reaches the hem of my tee, she slips underneath and toys with the drawstring holding my sweatshorts up. "I've had to watch you being all manly and flashing your muscles all day."

Snorting, I kiss her forehead and will her to delve into the shorts instead of just toying with the string. "'All manly,' huh? So all I have to do to get you into bed is move some furniture around? I'll bear that in mind."

She smirks. "Do."

With Bella's dark gaze on mine, the sun casting incredible shadows across the room, and a light breeze flowing through the open doors, everything seems to slow down.

Slanting my mouth over hers in a drugging kiss that steals my breath, I grip her hips and step closer until we're lined up, chest to chest and hips to hips. Her legs wrap around me and I'm done, my stomach flipping like a teenager with a crush. Against my lips, she whispers "off" before tugging the string at my waist. My shorts drop, pooling at my feet. I pull away just long enough to step out of them, my hooded eyes on her as she slowly lifts her tee over her head, revealing swaths of honey-toned skin.

With a gentle nudge, she reclines onto her elbows, watching through charcoal eyes as I brush kisses over the swell of one breast, then the other, before moving down. I kiss the little bird tattoo on her ribs, the tiny tree with three unique birds colored in blue to represent our big boys; she's working with a friend to design a new tattoo for the sixers.

When I go lower, I feel the way she tenses slightly. Ignoring it, I continue south until I reach the scar across her abdomen. It's faded a lot in the last year, but it'll never be gone completely, nor will the faint, silvery stripes that catch the light. Reverent, I kiss each of the marks, stroking her hip and glancing up in time to see her close her eyes and drop her head back with a breathy moan.

"Edward…"

"Yes, dear?" I murmur teasingly, sliding my fingers into her panties so I can slide them down.

"You're being a tease," she sighs with a smile on her face.

"You don't seem to be hating it," I point out, kissing the soft spot in the crease of her thigh before trailing kisses all the way to her ankle. My back protests, but I shove that to the back of my mind. Tossing her panties over my shoulder, I rub my way back up her legs until two fingers are buried in her wet heat. She arches her back, demanding more, demanding me, and honestly, I can't deny her any more than I can deny myself. After shoving my briefs down with my free hand, I remove my fingers and swallow her grumbled protest, tugging her over the edge of the counter to slide home.

"Oh," she breathes, eyes wide as she winds her fingers into my hair and rests her forehead against mine. Rocking into her, I groan her name and screw my eyes shut. Too good.

This is a dance we've danced many times, but it's always better, always more than the last.

She surrounds me with her sounds, her touch, her scent. When we're together like this, I'm overwhelmed with the magnitude of what she means to me. The weight of my emotions makes my orgasm barrel toward me at breakneck speed until I'm squeezing her tighter and urging her to come with me.

When we're finally sated, a full-body shudder rushing down my spine, I grab a washcloth from the half bath near the front door and clean her up, making sure to call Max inside and lock the doors before carrying her upstairs to our room.

Giggling, she rests her head against my chest. "We did the whole carrying me over the threshold thing already, handsome. Are you reliving our wedding night?"

I rumble a soft curse, because that's a night I'm more than happy to relive over and over every night of the rest of my life. "Sounds like a great idea to me."

She smiles, kissing my beard. "Me, too."

Spreading her out on our bed, her chestnut hair fanned over the soft gray comforter, I grin and trail the backs of my fingers over her rosy cheek.

Tomorrow, we'll turn this house into a home by filling it with our family.

But for now, we'll make the most of having the place to ourselves.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Cullen," I murmur, dipping down to catch her lips in a kiss.