A/N: Thanks so much for all your wonderful thoughts.

***While this is the final regular chapter to the story, there's an Epilogue posting tomorrow. :)***

Most characters belong to S. Meyer. The rest belong to me. All mistakes are mine.

Stages, Chapter 8 Part II: All Grown-up
(aka Bella and I at the wedding (that wasn't ours))

The very first memory I have from the weekend that determined the rest of my life is the sound of the twigs, rocks, and bracken crunching under the cab's tires as it pulled up in front of the lakeside lodge. It felt like every grind of the undergrowth chafed against my chest. What's more, I'd had a bouncing leg issue throughout the entire drive from Sea-Tac Airport to the Olympic National Park.

Because for one, it was my best friend's wedding.

That fact alone was enough to blow my mind, but not because I thought for a second that Emmett might be making a mistake. No, Rosalie was the perfect match for Emmett. They were both a pair of nuts, who were nuts about each other.

For another, I was the best man, and while I was gratified and honored, for the past couple of weeks, I'd also been simultaneously inundated with all the tasks related to condensing a life in Chicago into something packable and movable to…well, precisely to where was still up in the air.

I was also busy completing my tasks at The Volturi Group and leaving everything in order, something quickly picked up by the next victim- err, junior architect to take my place, regardless of my boss's assholery.

With so much on my plate, I was always worried I'd miss something - whether work-related, or move-related, or a responsibility related to my best man duties beyond ordering the groomsmen suits and planning the bachelor party.

Then, there was the fact that as of that morning, I'd entered a different stage in life - one which I'd honestly never envisioned for myself: the Stage of the Unemployed.

And I wasn't exactly looking forward to breaking the news to my parents, especially not this weekend. But long nights of soul-searching and self-examination had led me to the conclusion that I hadn't been hasty regarding quitting The Volturi Group nor regarding leaving Chicago. Yes, it was a beautiful city, and the fledgling architect in me would be hard-pressed to find a more inspirational skyline.

But I wanted to be closer to the small, one-horse town where timber and mountains ruled, where everyone knew everyone…and where almost everyone who mattered to me resided. Whether that meant searching for a position with another firm or possibly opening my own start-up was yet another item to be determined. It depended on-

Well, it depended on a few things.

Which, of course, led to Bella.

Because the truth was that my entire life had always led to Bella in one form or another - or, should I say, to loving Bella in one form or another. She was part of the fiber that made up my very core - from the name only I called her, to my regrets surrounding her, and to every moment, both good and bad, in between. She was part of every memory that mattered, and all the mixed-up twists and turns hadn't stopped me from falling in love with her.

I loved her – young and smart and beautiful and still figuring herself out and in a relationship – but I loved her.

Whether she could ever love me in return was yet another tick on the long list of items I didn't have an answer for. But it was at the very top of the list of items I had to figure out because not only was I now at the stage of the unemployed, I was at the stage where it was time to be a whole grownup and not merely semi-grown.

In other words, it was time to man up.

OOOOO

While I checked in at the lodge's front desk, someone clapped me on the shoulder. I turned and found Emmett grinning broadly, clad in a tank top, swim trunks and flip-flops.

"Ed, my man, you made it!"

We gave one another a one-armed hug. "Em, sorry to show up a bit late, but the realtor taking care of the condo sale called me last minute and-"

Emmett waved away my apology as well as the rest of my explanation. "No problem, no problem. You haven't missed much, Ed; don't worry. So, how did everything go? Did you tell Volturi to kiss your ass on your last day in the office?"

I chuckled. "Not exactly. I'm still hoping for a decent recommendation."

"Pfft," Emmett smirked. "God knows you deserve that and more after all the shit you put up with from him for over a year."

"Yeah, well. It's done now." I shrugged and sighed.

"Hey," he said, patting my shoulder, "I think this'll be great for you, even better than you may realize right now. Ed, what better time to reprioritize ourselves than when we're still young? I'm excited for you." He genuinely looked excited, almost vibrating with it. Then again, it was his wedding weekend.

"Emmett, you haven't told anyone yet that I'm planning a move back to the area?"

"No, no," Emmett said. "I know it's your news to tell. All I said was that you've got big news of your own to share this weekend."

"Great." I pursed my lips. "Now everyone's going to be expecting me to announce a promotion or something. Talk about setting them all up for disappointment."

"Ed," he snorted, "I don't think anyone here this weekend will be disappointed by having you move back to the area. Now, do you have your cabin key?"

I held up the key. "It's an actual key."

"Yeah," he grinned. "Rosie wanted a rustic, woodland wedding, and that's what my girl is getting. Okay, so, we've got the block of cabins right by the lake. Go find yours, get yourself settled in, and then come meet us. We're having a bonfire."

"Everyone who's here is there?"

Emmett chuckled. "Yeah, man; everyone who's here is there."

OOOOO

Fifteen minutes later, I'd set down my duffle, hung up the garment bag, and changed into a tee-shirt and swim trunks. Then, grabbing a towel, I stepped out.

The cabins were situated in the middle of the Olympic National Park's wilderness. Pathways lined by colorful rocks, pebbles, and old-fashioned lanterns led to the various resort areas. I followed the glow-in-the-dark signs and the unmistakably familiar voices, and when I broke through the trees and arrived at the lake, I stopped in my tracks.

The sun was now setting over the lake in shades of copper and gold, creating a fiery flare in the sky that reflected in the calm water. The Cascade Mountains, which were a rich forest hue in the summers, were now black as ebony in the background.

Emmett and Rosalie's wedding party were all scattered around the lake – some swimming, some seated on purposely smoothed-down logs, and some gathered around the bonfire.

In the middle of it all was Bella.

Now that I think back, she may not have actually been in 'the middle.' She was with the bonfire group, and the flames illuminated her like heralds. The fading sunlight traced her beautiful face and silhouetted the curves and long, strong legs on display in her two-piece swimsuit. Her hair cascaded like waves, swinging from side to side as she threw her head back and laughed at something some lucky individual said. Or maybe I was the lucky one because, for a few seconds, I simply took in the sight of her.

I guess she must've felt eyes on her because she opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, then closing it, her head turned to the side instead. When her eyes met mine, we both stood stock-still. I walked toward her first, but then she picked up a blanket, and wrapping it around herself, she moved toward me.

We met as the sun disappeared into the lake.

"Bella Marie," I breathed. "I'm glad you liked the blanket."

"It keeps me warm on cool evenings. I was beginning to doubt you'd come."

"I don't know why," I said. "The last time we spoke, I told you I was coming."

"Yeah, but I wasn't sure if there'd been a change of plans."

"Things have been…hectic," I grinned nervously, raking a hand through my hair, "but you know I wouldn't miss Emmett's wedding for anything in the world."

"Well, I didn't know if perhaps you had some last-minute football practice come up – but I suppose that's just on twelfth birthdays and when you're a high school senior who doesn't want to be seen driving to and from school with a freshman, huh?"

She smiled through the entire statement, but there was an edge in her tone that took me by surprise.

"I'm just joking, Edward. Come on."

Still wrapped in her blanket, she gestured with her jaw toward the bonfire and turned. I fell in step with her.

"So, no plus one?" she asked.

"Nope." I paused. "Where's your plus one?"

"Not here yet."

She was quiet.

"Bella, I do feel bad about being late."

Chuckling impishly, she bumped me with her shoulder. "I was just kidding, Edward, but I suppose the joke was in bad taste, huh?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that," I disagreed, shaking my head. "I think it was more of a reminder that there are still issues unresolved between you and me."

"Not necessarily, Edward. Time passes, and sometimes, things that were extremely important four, five years ago, no longer matter."

"Well, it depends on what you're talking about." Age differences; age differences no longer matter. "But…hey," – I tugged on her hand to get her to stop and turn toward me. "Everything okay?"

"Sure, why wouldn't it be?"

I frowned. "I don't know. You sound…Bella Marie, do you think we can find a few minutes to talk this weekend, before the wedding? There are a couple of things I'd like to tell you."

For a split second, her eyes narrowed warily. But then she smiled.

"We can try, though I can't promise you we'll find the time. It's going to be a busy weekend."

"I know," I said. "But if there's an opportunity, may we?"

Again, she appeared momentarily flustered. "Sure."

We resumed our walk, and I greeted everyone else. But for the rest of the night, I got the uneasy feeling that something was really bothering Bella.

OOOOO

Unfortunately, just as Bella intimated, for the next twenty-four hours, we had no time alone. Saturday morning canoeing, where Bella quickly paired herself up with Rosalie, led to lawn games in the afternoon, and with no opportunity for a moment alone with Bella.

Soon, it was time for the wedding rehearsal, followed by the rehearsal dinner. Bella looked radiant in a simple, sleeveless yellow summer dress that was fitted to her waist and then widened to her thighs. Unfortunately for me, everyone else seemed determined to let her know just how beautiful she looked. It wasn't until late in the evening when I caught sight of her by the crowded bar in the lodge, and I made my way over, determined to request her time for that talk.

"Well, well, well," Alice said as I approached, "look what the cat dragged in." Her words slurred together.

"Annie," I teased, just as I had since we were kids. "You're so tiny I didn't even see you there. Where's Jasper, by the way?"

"He'll be here tomorrow. How 'bout you? Any girlfriends? Break any young hearts lately? Ouch!"

"Oops! Sorry, Al," Bella said. "Didn't mean to step on you there. Hey, Edward, Alice refuses to buy me a drink with her official I.D."

"Is that true, Aimee?" I asked.

"You're darn right, it's true," Alice said. "She's still underage, and I don't want the chief arresting me now that I'm finally of legal drinking age. Why don't you just use your fake I.D.?"

"Shh! Lower your voice!" Bella hushed, even though the chief was on the other side of the bar. "My dad's too close for me to whip out my fake one."

I laughed. "Bella Marie, do you think the chief doesn't suspect you have a fake I.D.?"

"Suspecting isn't knowing," she smiled.

"Exactly!" Drunk Alice shouted. "Isn't that what I've been telling you all night, B? Suspecting ain't knowing, so just come out and ask- Oof! Quit stepping on me!"

I frowned, but before I could figure out what Alice was going on about, my phone rang. A quick check of the caller I.D. indicated that it was the cleaning service I'd hired for the apartment.

"Excuse me for a minute. I'll be…" Answering the call, I stepped away a few feet from the bar. "Irina? Yeah. Yeah, I left the apartment keys with the super." We spent a couple of minutes going over specifics. When I ended the call and turned back toward Bella and the bar, the sight before me sent a flash of heat racing up my spine.

By this point, unable to think clearly, I stalked back to the bar in a blind rage and stood between Bella and the guy she'd just been laughing it up with.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked Bella.

She looked up at me, startled. "Excuse me?"

"You, of all people, as a cop's daughter," I seethed and snarled those last two words in the direction of the guy, "should know better than to accept a drink from some dumbass you don't even know at a bar."

"Hey, what the hell?" the dumbass in question said.

Without moving a muscle, Bella's eyes trailed to the drink just to the side of her.

"That's not my drink."

At that moment, a woman bumped into me and picked up the drink.

"Excuse me," she giggled and looked up at me, "I think this is mine. Oh! Unless you'd like to buy me an-"

"Please excuse me," Bella said, shoving me aside and stalking out of the lodge.

Taking a quick moment to squeeze my eyes shut in recognition of my boundless stupidity, I followed her.

"Bella!"

She didn't even slow down.

"Bella!"

Athletic and fast, Bella sprinted toward the lake, heels in hand, both impressing me with her speed and pissing me off with her stubbornness in equal measure.

"Come on, Bella Marie. Let me just-"

Past the clearing, where the moonlight now illuminated her fiery gaze, she finally stopped and rounded on me.

"Do you think I'm stupid enough to take a drink from a stranger at a bar?"

"No, I don't, but-"

"But what?" she demanded.

I huffed. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"

Her head jerked back. "What are you doing? Your protecting Jake's property? Really?" she cried.

"The hell with Jake," I spat. "You need to learn to take care of yourself."

If anything, that reply only seemed to fuel her ire all the more.

"Go to hell, Edward. The last thing I want or need is you following me around playing the part of Protective Big Brother – I have one of those already. Nor have I ever been frightened of zombies popping out of the woodwork."

"This isn't about goddamned zombies in the woods-"

"Oh, I know it's not, but again, I don't need your protection. Who the hell was the one who kept you and your dumbass girlfriend out of deep shit when you snuck her into your room for a screw, knowing our parents would be home from Port Angeles at any minute-"

"I'm sorry about that, but-"

"Who was the one who spent her whole damn freshman year of high school knowing she could never," she snarled, "ever count on you for anything? So don't try to play the part of the helpful friend. I didn't need your wise guidance growing up, I sure as hell don't need it now."

For a long while, I simply stared at her. "Bella, I know I hurt you-"

"Hurt me?" She snorted. "Hurt me? Edward, I heard you that day!"

"What? What day?"

"That day in the hallway at Forks High, when you told Jake-"

"What? Bella, I don't know what Jake's been telling you, but he and I were never friends in high school, so what would I have ever told-"

"Did you not hear me? I heard you! Though yeah, Jake enjoyed reminding me, I heard you with my own ears." At what must've been my dumbfounded expression, she snorted. "After I found out I'd made the swim team, do you know you were the first person I wanted to tell?"

Her voice shook, and all my breath left me in a rush as I slowly started to remember what specific day she was talking about.

"So, I searched for you all over those hallways, and when I did find you and tell you, you gave me the coldest shoulder I could've ever imagined receiving from anyone, much less from someone who was supposed to be my friend," she sneered.

"Jesus, Bella," I choked, "I'm so sorry. Let me-"

"And then, as if that wasn't enough, I was around the corner when you told Jake that I was nothing but a pain-in-the-ass who'd made your life miserable since the day you moved to Forks!"

"Bella, I didn't-"

"But what killed me wasn't that you'd called me a pain-in-the-ass. You'd been calling me that to my face our entire lives. It was hearing you say it behind my back…" She shook her head, her beautiful features contorted in pain, "I realized how deeply you must've really felt it beyond just the simple teasing."

"Bella, please let-"

"But guess what, Edward? I'm all grown up now, and I don't tag along where I'm not wanted, nor do I need your stamp of approval nor your begrudging help or guidance. I don't need you to make sure I don't play Jake dirty. I'm not the cheating type."

"Bella, I'm sorry, I never meant to imply-"

"Don't tell me you're sorry, Edward. Don't tell me you're sorry again." When she sighed, all her fury left her in a rush, replaced by a resignation that was somehow worse than the anger. "I know you're sorry, so let's just…drop it."

"No."

"No?"

"No. Let's have it out."

"I'd rather not," she smirked. "There's no point anymore."

When she made to pass me, I reached out and took her arm gently yet firm enough to hold her in place.

"There is a point, Bella Marie."

"What could possibly be the point, Edward?" she asked, sounding more frustrated than curious.

I drew in a deep breath. "I stopped talking to you during my senior year of high school because, at the end of that summer, Tanya told me rumors were going around town that you and I were close…too close, closer than a barely fourteen-year-old girl and an eighteen-year-old guy should be."

"What?" She shook her head. "That had to be bullshit."

"Well, yeah, it was bullshit. There were no such rumors, but at the time, I believed her. Now, in hindsight, I see that Tanya was a bit on the crazy side, and it was all part of her master plan to pull me away from everyone she felt threatened by and get me to marry her."

"Marry her at eighteen? What eighteen-year-olds get married nowadays unless…wait, was she…?"

"No! No, not at all."

"And why would she feel threatened by me?" Bella frowned. "I was fourteen at the time, and still built like a little boy, while she was this gorgeous blond you'd been crazy about ever since I could remember."

For a few seconds, neither of us said anything.

"Bella," I breathed, "I think that as much as what Tanya said was a lie…there was also a hint of truth, or of upcoming truth to it that perhaps she saw…"

"I don't understand what that means," Bella said after I trailed off. "You weren't attracted to me when we were kids."

"No, Bella," I swallowed. "Of course, I wasn't attracted to you when you were fourteen."

She studied me for a few moments before shaking her head.

"No wonder you left town so anxiously, between thinking there were rumors and my being a pain in your ass-"

"You think that's why I left town?" I stepped closer to her and dropped my head to her level, forcing her to hold my gaze. "I left town because I stupidly thought I was missing out on the great big world only to realize…only to realize I'd left behind everything worth missing out on in the best little corner of the world. And that's why I'm moving back."

Her brow furrowed. "You're moving back?"

I nodded. "That's what I've wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you before I told everyone else. I wanted you to be the first to know. I mean, Emmett knows because he's in Chicago with me, and Rosalie knows because Emmett tells her everything. But otherwise…I wanted you to be the first to know."

"So…that was the big news Emmett said you wanted to share?"

"Yeah, Bella. I quit my job, I'm selling my apartment, and I'm moving back."

"You're selling your apartment?" Her frown deepened, then disappeared altogether as her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh. Ohh," she nodded. "That's why you told whoever was on the phone just now that the apartment keys were waiting."

"You heard that?" Now, it was my brow's turn to furrow in confusion. "Wait, what were you thinking?"

She offered me a faint, rueful smile. "I…I thought you were either getting married or shacking up with someone, and she was there to pick up the keys. I mean, it made sense with everything else that I'd been noting over the past few weeks. You were busier than usual, and we spoke less, and Emmett said you had news to share," she shrugged, "I assumed it all meant you'd met someone."

"Bella, I was busy because once I realized there was nowhere else I wanted to be more than back on this side of the country, I've been working hard at getting it done, and that's why we spoke less."

"But why do you all of a sudden want to be back on this side of the country? Chicago was always your dream. What changed?"

"Before I answer that," I said slowly, "can we please go back to what happened that senior year, to why I panicked?"

She inhaled deeply and then exhaled it in one long gust. "Sure."

"Over the past few months, Bella, I've given the matter some serious thought, and I think…I think panicked then because even then…even way back then, there was a foundation being built for now…for what I feel for you now."

"For what you feel for me now." She echoed the words without inflection, making it neither a statement nor a question.

"And it's not an excuse for what I did," I rushed out. "It's not an excuse for handling the entire situation like an immature asshole. It's not an excuse for making you pay for my insecurities nor for spewing words in anger that I did. not. mean, Bella," I said vehemently, stepping closer. "You counted on me when we were kids, and as much as I pretended to complain, I relished it. You weren't a pain in the ass. Or maybe I should say, you were," I smiled, "but on some level, maybe I knew that someday, it would all make sense. I think that's part of the reason why what Tanya said spooked me so badly. Because, on some level, it already made sense. On some level, I knew this four-year age gap wouldn't matter to me one day. It wouldn't stop me from feeling…from feeling everything I feel for you." I raked a hand through my hair. "Does that make any sense at all?"

"Does it make any sense," she parroted in the same flat tone.

I sighed, frustrated with myself for apparently not being able to make her understand. So, I tried again.

"Bella Marie, the reason I was upset when I saw you talking with that guy wasn't because I was trying to be protective, and it had even less to do with giving two shits about Jake beyond wishing like hell that you weren't in love with him."

"I'm not, Edward."

"You're not."

The words came out in the same flat, inflectionless and seemingly unfeeling tone she'd been using for the past few minutes, but now I understood why she'd sounded that way. It wasn't for lack of caring about my confessions. It was because sometimes, when you hear something you want to hear more than anything, it petrifies you to repeat it, to instill the words with hope.

"I'm not in love with Jake. I'm not even with him anymore."

"You're not…I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm not with Jake, Edward. I haven't been with him for a few months."

"A few…since when?"

"Since not long after he gave me a ring for Valentine's."

"But you don't like jewelry," I smirked.

She held my gaze patiently.

"Wait, it was an engagement ring?" I snarled.

She nodded.

I fisted my hair. "And what did you tell him?"

"What do you think I told him?" she retorted. "I told him that I was barely nineteen, that we weren't living in the nineteenth century and I wasn't pregnant, and that I wasn't ready to get married. All of which were true, but beyond that…"

"Beyond that…?" I prompted after a few erratic heartbeats.

"Beyond that, it got to the point where every time I looked at Jake, I wished I was looking at you."

Despite her words, as she finished, she swept her gaze away from me and toward the dark lake. Meanwhile, my heart drummed so powerfully and so loudly, I was sure Bella and everyone else in the national park could hear it.

"Well," I said, hearing the shakiness in my voice. Swallowing, I reached for her chin with my thumb and forefinger and guided her eyes back to mine. "If you wanted to see me, I'm right here," I murmured. "And I've just told you I'm in love with you, but you still won't look at me."

With a deep breath, she swept her gaze back to me, her dark, mesmerizing eyes sparkling in the darkness.

"Is that what you're telling me?"

When I cradled her face in my hands, she rested her palms on my chest and exhaled.

"Bella Marie, it took me leaving both my true hometown and you to see just how much I loved both. I love you, Bella Marie, in case I wasn't clear before. I love you, and I-"

"But Edward, I'm not home. I'm away in school, and I love being away and in school. I'm…I'm not at the going-back-home-to-make-a-home stage yet."

"Are you at the loving me stage?"

She offered me a faint smile. "Edward, I've been at that stage, in one form or another, my entire life."

I drew in a shaky breath. "I'll be clearer. Are you at the in-love-with-me stage?"

"Yes," she grinned. "Yes, Edward, I'm at that stage."

"Then, we're finally at the same stage together."

And with that, I closed all the space between us and crushed my mouth to hers. And I kissed my Bella Marie with all the pent-up passion, desire and…and the love that had always been set aside for her. Our mouths and tongues met with the urgency of two people who'd been heading in the same direction, but through different paths, for a while. Then, we kissed slowly, with the tenderness of two people whose directions had finally converged.

"I won't limit you," I promised when we came up for air, still grinning against her mouth. "I won't be one of those boyfriends."

"Well, the fact that you're calling yourself my boyfriend is already setting a limit," she chuckled impishly, "but that's okay. It's a limit I'm more than okay with."

Laughing, I lifted her up, while she shrieked and giggled and clung to my shoulders. Above her, the glowing moon illuminated her beauty, silhouetted her like a perfect, free goddess.

"Go ahead and spread your wings, my love," I said. "Enjoy every stage of life. I won't ever try to stop you."

Gazing at me, she let go of my shoulders and spread her arms wide.

"But from now on, when you need me, I'll be nearby. You can always count on me, Bella Marie, and when you're ready…"

As I trailed off, she slid down my body, her mouth meeting mine once again, arms wrapped around my shoulders, legs around my thighs, and hearts bound together. And even though I left the phrase incomplete, we both knew now.

Kissing on the beach led to a walk to her cabin, where the moonlight streamed in through the windows and silhouetted her perfect body as she moved rhythmically over me. Her soft moans mixed with the lake's gentle lapping as I kissed and tasted every inch of her body. My groans mingled with the crackling of the fireplace's flames when she did the same. And when we came together, our cries rose up in unison, in a chorus that was incomparable to anything that came before, and set a precedent for all the beautiful stages that came afterward with my Bella Marie.

A/N: Thoughts?

Chapter song rec:

An '80's song I heard the other day that made me think of this story. Give it a listen. I think it's practically perfect:

The Search is Over by Survivor

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***Epilogue tomorrow.*** :)