Alright, so this MM takes place the day they leave Vegas and go home to the parents (=

Enjoy!

Mini Moments .. Five

Coming Home To The Parents .. Edward

I shoved the last couple things into our suitcase and zipped it shut. Then threw myself down on the bed backwards. I put my hands over my face, sighing and rolled over onto my stomach. They were going to be so mad at us. Would they forgive us? Would they be alright with this? We already knew how Esme felt, but we hadn't actually talked to our dads about any of this yet.

Today was our last day in Vegas and I was nervous about going home. Some part of me kinda just wanted to go right to Seattle, bypass Forks all together and avoid the scrutiny that was sure to come.

Being a legal adult, free to do whatever it is you'd like to do, wasn't as fun when you go and do something like this.

Did I regret asking Bella to marry me? No way!

Did I regret running off with her and not telling our parents? Maybe.

But did I regret anything that happened this weekend? Never in my life.

I knew what I did -what we did- was right for us. It was what we wanted, and it's what we did. Now whether our parents liked it or not, it wasn't something I was going to take back. It wasn't something I was going to forget or back out of. I could almost hear Bella's father speak in my head. He'd say that what she did was wrong, and was a mistake. It's what he had said when we told him we were even getting married. He said that he didn't want her to make the same mistakes he made. But Bella wasn't like Renee, far from it actually, and I wasn't Charlie.

If Bella was anything like her mother and decided one day she wanted to leave me, I would put up one hell of a fight. She wouldn't get away without knowing how I felt about her. She wouldn't be able to leave without me begging her, on my hands and knees, to stay with me. That's how I differ from Charlie. He let Renee go because he knew there was no stopping her. With Bella, it was totally different.

I loved her with every little piece of my heart, and she the same. She loved me. She told me over and over again that she loved me and that she would never leave me. And when it came to us, I knew I didn't even have to ask. I knew she'd never leave me, and in return, I'd never leave her.

You'd think after eighteen years of knowing each other if one of us was going to leave the other at any point, we'd have done it already.

I heard some commotion in the bathroom, but didn't move. I heard the water shut off and the shower door open. Then I heard a bit more commotion and eventually Bella stepped out of the bathroom. I took a deep breath, breathing in the air around me that already smelled like Bella. It was fruity and sweet; all Bella.

I smiled as I laid there, head dug in a pillow. I was exhausted from this weekend. Bella and I didn't get much sleep at all, between all the exciting things to find in Vegas and staying up all night talking and just enjoying the privacy we had.

I faintly heard her footsteps come closer, but figured she was just looking for something to wear.

As soon as I felt the mattress sink down next to me, I knew I was wrong. I smiled and started to roll over to face her, but I felt her move closer to me and finally climb on my back, straddling my lower back and resting her hands on my upper back.

She leaned down and pressed her lips to the back of my neck. "What are you doing just lounging around Cullen?"

I smirked and groaned as her breath hit my neck.

She giggled as I rolled over quickly, throwing her to the bed. I rolled back over to face her and laid on my side. She smiled at me as I raised my hand to brush the wet hair from her face.

She sighed, "I'm not ready to go home." Then her eyes closed and she tilted her face toward my palm, seeking my touch.

I smiled and leaned forward to kiss her. "I'm not ready either."

She took a slow, deep breath and kissed me, with more passion this time. I threw her arm around me and pulled on me, trying to pull me across the bed. I chuckled and moved myself up against her as she rolled me over onto my back and crawled back on top of me. She held our kiss and ran her soft tongue along my bottom lip. I willingly parted my lips and swept my tongue into her mouth as I wrapped my arms around her.

I felt her moan against my lips and about lost my breath. I was pretty sure I'd never get used to hearing her do that.

I was starting to get light headed from lack of proper oxygen, so I knew Bella was too. So I quickly rolled us back over, placing Bella under me as I propped myself up on my elbows. I smiled down at her and brushed my lips across her smoothly.

"Hm, you're making me want to never leave Isabella."

She smiled, "That's half of my objective."

I quirked an eyebrow, "Really?" Then lightly brushed my lips up across her cheek to her earlobe. "And what's the other half?"

She shuttered under me and I felt her fingers tighten their grip on my shirt. "Well," She smiled and moved one of her hands across my back and up to my neck, entwining her fingers in my unruly hair. "If I can't convince you to just stay here, maybe I can convince you to just tell our parents alone?"

I chuckled and shook my head, "I love you Bella. I love the hell out of you, but," I kissed the tip of her nose, then glided my hand across her hip. "I'm not sure I'll survive that alone."

She laughed and shrugged, "Had to try."

I shook my head and lowered myself to kiss her again. When I felt her fingers tighten their grip in my hair, I groaned and moved my hips against hers. She moaned into my mouth and I smiled. I pulled away from her lips and moved down to her neck, kissing and nipping my way all along her collarbone. She threw her head back, continuing to move her hips slowly against mine. Just enough to drive me the tiniest bit crazy.

When I took a moment to look down at what she was wearing, I swallowed hard. I moved my lips down to the silk robe and kissed the peak of flesh right under her throat.

I moved my hand back over her hip and down to her thigh, lightly brushing my finger tips over the silk. "Where did this come from?"

She quietly giggled, "Alice."

God, of all the things I have to thank my sister for.

I smiled and kissed her skin again, looking up to see a small blush creep from her cheeks down to her chest. I lightly kissed my way over her chest and down to the tie.

"You know Bella," I moved back up slowly, making sure to kiss anywhere I could. "I meant everything I said."

She raised her head a bit to look at me, "When?"

"At our wedding love." I let go of her thigh and moved my hand up to grip right above her hip. I felt the goosebumps under the robe as I glided my hand against her warm skin. "When I told you that I'd always love you. That nothing in this world can make me see you any lesser than I always have. That you're my treasure, my sweetheart, my everything." I smiled up at her as I saw her own smile grace her beautiful face. "I'll give you my all for the rest of my life. For the rest of yours."

She nodded, "I know you meant it all. And I meant all of what I said Edward." She gripped my shoulders, pulling on me until I got the hint and moved back up her body and laid down next to her. "I feel like there are never the right words to explain to you how exactly I feel about you. To explain that I'll never be happier with anyone else, or alone. You are my happiness Edward."

I laid my head into the pillow next to her and wrapped my arm around her back, then kissed her forehead. "I believe you love. Always will."

She nodded, "And I believe you Edward." Then she giggled, "Did I ever tell you how perfect I think you are?"

I laughed to myself and shook my head. "I'm far from perfect."

Bella started biting on her bottom lip and shook her head, nuzzling her head into the crook of my neck. "When do we have to leave?"

I shrugged, "When would you like to leave?"

An hour later, we were driving home. We weren't really in any rush to get back to Forks, back to our parents, but we didn't want to take forever and just anger them more. We stopped at a few places, and when we stopped for food and breaks, we took our time. It took us almost twenty-two hours to get to Vegas, but it took us well over that to get home.

When we entered Forks city limits, things started getting a bit tense in the car. Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie all agreed to stay away for a couple hours. To give us time to tell our parents and just get it all over with.

As I drove through town, I felt Bella's hand tighten around my fingers. I looked over at her briefly at a red light and saw her bottom lip between her teeth, and her other fingers drumming on her thigh.

"Bella?"

She looked over at me and blinked a couple times, obviously coming out of some sort of daze. "Yes?"

I tried to give her my best smile and brought her fingers up to my lips and kissed the wedding band on her finger. "Are you alright love?"

She shrugged, "I'm scared."

I nodded and looked up to see the light was green. I took off slowly, and set her hand back down on my leg. "I know Bella. I'm scared too." I took a deep breath and sighed, "But I'm not ashamed of what we did."

I heard her sigh, "I'm not ashamed either Edward. Is that what you thought?"

"No." I quickly shook my head and glanced over at her. "I'm just telling you that I don't regret our weekend. I don't regret spending it with you in Vegas, and I definitely will never regret marrying you love."

She smiled at me and nodded, "This is going to be hard."

I nodded as I saw the hidden street come into view. I pulled onto it and slowly drove down the driveway. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. If I said my heart wasn't pounding in my chest, feeling like it was about to explode. I was nervous for myself, but most importantly, I was nervous for Bella. I knew what her father was going to say to her, and I knew she'd feel awful about lying to him, but I just didn't know how to make that better. I could tell her that it would be alright, because one day it would, but was that enough? What if she felt awful enough to regret doing this? What if Charlie made her feel guilty enough to be mad at me.

"Edward?"

I shook my head, coming back down to reality and realized I was stopped in front of the house. I looked over at Bella and gave her a slight smile. "Yes love?"

She smiled back, "You ready?"

I nodded slowly, "Only if you are."

She took a deep breath and looked forward at the house. She started biting her bottom lip, grating her teeth over her soft lips and taking slow breaths. Then she looked over at me, "I'm scared. I'm an eighteen year old married woman and I'm scared." She chuckled dryly and shrugged, "How much worse could it get?"

I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips. "Bella, love, I'm scared too."

She looked at me and shook her head, "This is ridiculous Edward. Let's just go in there and face them."

I nodded and got out of the car slowly, shutting the door behind me and walking to her side of the car. I tried my best to keep my eyes off of the front window where I was pretty sure at least one of our parents was watching. I opened up Bella's car door and held my hand out for her.

"Now or never Bella."

She smiled up at me and stepped out of the car. She held tight to my hand as I shut the door behind her. We walked up the rest of the drive to the porch, then I stepped in front of her and opened the door, stepping aside to allow her to enter.

She shook her head and waved me first.

"Oh no, ladies first."

She laughed and stepped back, motioning me forward. "Edward, just go."

I shook my head, "I was raised to be a gentleman Bells, you know that. After you beautiful."

"No." She shook her head and smiled, "Edward Anthony Cullen, get in that house."

I smiled down at her, "You first. You're braver than I."

She groaned, "Edward!"

I flinched back a little and sighed, "Bella. Set an example. Walk in the house."

She crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at me. "Listen here Cullen, get your chicken ass in that house right now!"

"Tempting Isabella," I smiled down at her and shook my head, "But no."

She threw her head back just as I heard a throat clearing. I jumped and turned to the side to see my father standing there. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was staring at the both of us. "How about both of you just come on inside."

Bella dropped her arms and nodded, looking up at me. I reached out my hand for her and as she took it, I gently pushed her forward. She fought back as I pushed her inside the house with both hands now.

"Edward!" She hissed back at me and I looked over to see my father rolling his eyes and shutting the door behind us. "Edward! Let me go!"

She spun around and slapped my chest.

"Sorry Bella, but you have to look at it this way." I reached up with one hand to cup her cheek. "You're too beautiful to kill. They won't lay a hand on you." Then I stepped back and pointed back to myself, "Me, on the other hand, they won't hesitate to shoot me. Especially your, uh, father." I raised an eyebrow and she started laughing. "What Bella? I'm serious. They wouldn't ever think of hurting you. They love you more than they love me."

She shook her head and giggled. "You're such a chicken Edward."

Then she took my hand and jerked me into the living room. I didn't know where this new found confidence came from, but she was a lot braver than I was.

Before I knew what to do, we were both standing in the middle of the living room in front of all three parents. Esme had the biggest smile on her face, and Carlisle seemed content enough to not yell at us. But Charlie, Charlie was a different story. I could practically feel the tension and anger rolling off of him. His facial expression said it all. He was pissed. Beyond pissed. And I knew it was all directed at me.

Esme finally got up, unable to hold it in any longer and grabbed Bella up into a tight hug.

"Oh Bella. Welcome to the family." She pulled back and laughed a little. "You've always been part of the family, but you know what I mean." Then she turned to look at Carlisle, "Stop acting like you're not excited and get over here and give her a hug."

Carlisle smiled and stood up, walking to Bella. "Welcome home Bella."

She smiled back at him and let him hug her. But when she pulled away, she looked over and me and took a deep breath. I knew what she was thinking. She was just waiting for her father to blow. He hadn't made one move to get up, or even smile, or say anything to her.

Esme came over and gave me a quick hug, then let go. I smiled down at her, "I'm sorry we didn't wait for you all. We had our reasons, and they seemed important enough to us."

She nodded, "I know. We'll talk about this more later." Then she turned back to Bella. "The only thing I'm upset about is that you both thought you had to run off to make a simple wedding happen. I could have easily helped you put together a simple wedding to your liking."

Bella shrugged, "It was a lot more than that. We not only wanted simple, but we wanted it to just be us. We wish we could have included you all, but. . ."

Esme nodded, "I understand honey." Then she looked over her shoulder at Charlie, who still hadn't moved. "We'll talk about it more later." She reached over and took Carlisle hand, "We should go upstairs for a bit."

He nodded and gave Bella another quick hug before retreating up stairs.

I turned to Bella and smiled, "Told you they loved you more."

She giggled and reached for my hand. But then her face turned serious. "Maybe you should go upstairs too."

I shook my head, "I'm fine down here. With you."

She sighed and nodded, then turned to her father. "Alright dad. You have to say something eventually."

He stood up and looked over at her. Then he slowly walked over toward us. Bella dropped my hand as he stepped right in front of her.

And without a word, he reached forward and pulled her close to him, hugging her to himself as tight as he could. She gasped, but quickly threw her arms around him, hugging him back.

"I'm sorry dad." I could hear her voice cracking and the sobs starting as he just held her to him. He ran his one hand up and down her back, smoothing her hair threw his fingers and then letting his hand rest on the back of her head.

I almost felt like I was intruding on the most personal father-daughter moment, but I didn't know if I should leave, or stay. She told me it was alright to leave the room, but I wasn't going to leave her here alone to explain everything to her dad by herself. That wasn't me.

When he finally pulled away, he held onto her shoulders and looked down at her.

"I'm mad Bella. I'm very mad that I wasn't at my own daughter's wedding. That I wasn't at my only daughter's wedding. You'll never know how much you hurt me."

She looked down, but he quickly lifted her face back up so she was face to face with him.

"I forgive you Bella. Because if I don't, I'll lose you. If I stay stubborn and stay mad at you for what you and Edward did, I'll lose my daughter. And I can't do that." Then he looked over to me, "However, I don't yet know if I forgive you. I trusted you with Bella. I trusted you to do the right thing by my daughter and I trusted that you wouldn't let her make my mistakes. You were there for Bella when Renee took off on us, and you saw how it hurt Bella. You know the story. You know we got married too soon, too quick. So I was trusting you to make the right decision. Clearly, I shouldn't have."

Bella stepped away from her dad and shook her head, "Don't blame Edward for all of this. I agreed to it."

I tried to step in and interrupt her, but she slapped my hand away.

"It was mainly my idea to go to Vegas dad. It's not like he dragged me out of bed one night and threw me in a car. I agreed to it. I agreed to marry him and I was a willing participant in the drive there. Do not blame him for this. I know what mom did, and if you really look at me, can you really compare me to her? Can you really say that I'll be just like her. You know me, or at least you should, and you know Edward. You've known him just as long as you've known me. Now how many fathers can say that dad?"

I could see the tears forming in her eyes and I wanted nothing more than to hold her and wipe them away when they fell, but she shook her head the moment I made a step forward.

"You just don't understand dad. I'm not making your mistakes! I making my own. And I want you to know that me marrying Edward will never be a mistake. Not in my eyes, and not in his. We're going to have problems, it's inevitable. But it's the way we handle those problems that will define our marriage. Renee was not one to talk about her problems, and that's why she left. I talk to Edward. He talks to me, and we're going to be fine." She took a step forward and looked up at her dad. "I won't let you blame him for what we did. And I won't let you be mad at him for no reason. Maybe it was a little juvenile to run away like that, but it was what we wanted! You've made you're decisions in life, now let me make mine."

I was expecting him to say something back. I was really expecting him to be mad and yell at me and completely ignore everything she just said. But as we both looked at Bella and saw the tears just running down her face, all bad thoughts left my mind and the only thing I could think to do was rush over to her and hold her close. So that's what I did.

I pulled her to my chest and just let her cry. And as the sobs wracked through her, I saw her father standing just two feet away, looking completely torn.

"I understand Charlie." I looked his direction, but kept Bella up against me. "If I were a father to an eighteen year old girl and she ran off and got married without my knowing, I'd be upset too. So I don't blame you for being mad at me. But please, please don't be mad at her. Don't take it out on her. I may not see your concerns now, but if Bella and I ever have a daughter, I'm sure I will eventually feel close to what you're feeling now. But what you have to understand is that I love Bella. I'll never love anyone like I love her, and I'll take care of her for the rest of her life. And if it ever comes down to it and we fight, we'll take care of it. That's what we've always done." I saw a small flicker of pain in his eyes, but I knew it was only because he was finally realizing he was losing his daughter to me. I really wish he hadn't thought of it that way, but the reality was, he did.

He saw it as I was taking Bella. In a sense, I guess I was, because now we were going to be starting our own life together. But I really wish he wouldn't have seen it that way.

When Bella finally calmed down, she looked up at me. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head and kissed her forehead, "Don't you ever be sorry Bella. I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled up at me and it was like her dad just disappeared. Like it was only Bella and I.

But then she turned to her dad. "I'm sorry that you're so upset. And I'm sorry that neither of us completely understand why. But dad, I love him, and he loves me too. I know it's hard for you to hear someone so young and niave say that, but it's true. And in ten years, when we're still together, and still happy, I want you to be happy for us."

He nodded, "I will be Isabella. I know that you'll never understand where I'm coming from, and like I said, I forgive you. But please Bella, be careful. I know you say you're making your own misakes, but I'm begging you, don't make your mother's mistake over again."

She nodded, "I won't." Then looked back to me, "I promise."

So? I have to say, I'm a big fan of funny Edward. He doesn't get to come out much, but he's there (=

Also, it was quite difficult writing the Charlie/Bella scene only because I don't know how a father would react to hearing his daughter ran off to get married. I would have asked my dad, but chances are he'd start accusing me of running off and getting married, and it just wasn't worth it! lol.

Anyway, hope you liked it (=