Disclaimer: 100% of this belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Finally, Bella and Edward are back together. Thanks for reading and reviewing. It means a lot!

Chapter 16 - Either way

Maybe the sun will shine today
The clouds will roll away
Maybe I won't be so afraid
I will understand
Everything has its plan either way

(Either Way - Wilco)

Bella Swan

The sunlight turned the ocean into thousands of diamonds. I took a deep breath and let the salty air wash through me. I felt myself smile; finally some peace of mind. Waves crashed against the rock I was standing on. Besides that, the only sound was a distant screeching of gulls. Eyes closed, I couldn't resist the temptation to spread my arms wide, throw back my head and send a radiant smile up to the sky.

Suddenly, the warm feeling on my skin was gone and when I opened my eyes, dark clouds were now blocking the sun. I sighed. Just my luck. I probably should be going anyway.

As I turned around, a guy, dressed in black with no shoes on, was running towards me. Even though he was racing downhill, his long steps were smooth and precise. A storm was approaching and turning his hair into a mess. He got closer and closer until I recognised his face.

What was he doing here?

I shivered, hugging myself, the icy wind nearly knocking me off my feet. The collar of his trench coat was turned up, making his whole appearance from jaw to ankles black.

His eyes were frantic, staring straight into mine. Finally, he was by my side, grabbing my elbow, dragging it. Dragging me with him.

I refused to lift my feet, because I wouldn't let him just take me. He turned around, his forehead deeply wrinkled, his eyes pleading. I looked down, knowing I couldn't think straight when I was lost in those deep green seas. Then I saw it.

A gun, heavy in his hand. It was wrong, that disgusting tool of violence in his delicate fingers. I shuddered at the thought that he might use it; that he might have used it already.

His other hand left my elbow and I instantly stumbled back a bit, looking up, searching his eyes, asking a silent question.

Why the gun?

The guilt in his eyes mixed with sorrow as he stepped closer and lifted his free hand to my cheek. Thunder rolled, and rain started to fall. His lips moved but I was irritated, the words were not spoken by his velvety voice.

"Miss! Miss!" the voice of a woman called and my vision blurred.

I blinked. I was in an air plane and a stewardess was leaning towards me.

"Would you please fasten your seatbelt, we're about to land."

I did as she requested, still shaken.

I tried to grasp the fact that I had dreamt of Edward Cullen.

It was probably just a processing of the events of the last days. I shouldn't put too much meaning into it. The whole crime thing and the trip to Iceland were obviously good enough for my brain to give me some extra action. That, or my brain just liked giving me a hard time forgetting the emotions concerning Edward Cullen.

The plane was sinking, breaking through the clouds. The landscape beneath became clearer and showed the rugged shoreline of Iceland. Every once in a while tiny looking buildings were cuddled into a group, populating the island. Admiring the view, I couldn't help myself thinking about Edward. He was somewhere down there. Maybe my dream wasn't so absurd after all and he did have a gun, considering he was already fugitive. I really hoped he didn't. He was some business guy, not a criminal.

Well, at least not the kind of criminal that kills people. Stealing cars however was another matter altogether. Though I had sworn myself not to, deep down in my heart I worried about him. Here in this plane, far away from home, in another world, I could admit that I missed Edward Cullen. I closed my eyes, sneering to myself – this was the most pathetic feeling I've ever had in my entire life.

The undercarriage hit the ground and I realised we had arrived at Keflavík International Airport. As soon as it was allowed, I stood and grabbed my shoulder bag, relieved to get off the plane - finally some open space. Passport control went uneventfully, baggage claim however not so much. My eyes were already tiring from watching the baggage carousel turn and turn and turn. Eventually it stopped turning and I was still standing there. Without my luggage of course. Great.

A few minutes later the overeagerly smiling clerk of Icelandair explained that it was probably lost and he would go further into the matter. Of course, I had to wait. To pass the time, I turned my mobile on and texted Charlie that I arrived safely. After a toilet visit and another listen to Wonderwall – which was, needless to say, still no better than Live Forever – I was bored enough to face the enemy: I switched the laptop on.

I tried to get used to that thing a little better, since I was supposed to check with Ben regularly. The desktop appeared and with it a little furious blinking thing in the right corner. Whatever, I thought, and was about to move on, as another window demanded my attention.

"You have two new messages."

The first one was from Ben, containing only one line:

"And the adventure of Lois Lane begins."

I chuckled; he could be such a geek sometimes. For him this meant he wished me luck and expected much from me – not that I didn't already know that.

The second one was from the Icelandic Public Registry.

The documents about Fagur Alit!

I held my breath, another piece of the puzzle finally at hand.

'"The requested documents can not be processed. There are no registry entries for your search criterion 'Fagur Alit'. To avoid misunderstandings, we advise you to check if your search term was properly spelled and/or typed.

Please note that your order was therefore free of charge."

So fagur alit was not a registered company?

What could that possibly mean?

That the firm didn't exist - at least for legal purposes, no taxes for example; but there was a bank account. Though I was no expert, I thought a bank would need registration papers to open an account.

So the only way was that someone faked the papers to get the account? I bet the transferred money from Gateshead was always leaving that Fagur Alit account shortly after.

Embezzlement.

Could it be so simple?

Someone was stealing money from Edward and Gateshead Windpower and transferred it to a made up firm in Iceland? That's the reason Claire had to die? I shook my head, disgusted.

Now Edward's last straw to find some proof for his innocence was the account. I bet he would try to get information from the bank - not that that would get him anywhere. But he would try anyway, and for that reason, my first stop in Reykjavik had to be the bank too.

I told the laptop to shut down and tucked it in my bag. To pass the time, I listened to some more music on Edward's iPod; I had gotten quite used to the little white thing. Nonetheless I was going to give it back to him as soon as I found him. I'm not someone who doesn't respect other person's belongings. Suddenly a sign with a rapidly blinking battery appeared on the display and then silence surrounded me. "Great," I muttered sarcastically.

After some more staring into space, the still overeagerly smiling Icelandair guy finally told me that my luggage was indeed lost and on a flight to Rome. Why me? I filled out a form, left my contact information and was handed an "Overnight Kit" with toiletries and underwear. If everything worked out alright I would get my suitcase back within the next 48 hours, I was promised.

Honestly, right now, I didn't care so much. I was anxious about finally getting to Reykjavik.

The taxi ride into the city took me about 35 minutes, and the words to describe the scenery already formed in my head. At first, the road sides were very lonely - almost abandoned, but as we got closer to Reykjavik, population was growing. Reykjavik itself was a fascinating sight. Surrounded by water and majestic mountains, I was instantly drawn to the individuality and charm of the city. A lot of rooftops were of bright colour and mixed surprisingly well with some modern office buildings. Everything was very green and people seemed at ease. It felt more like being in a village instead of a nation's capital.

As asked, the taxi drove me directly to the bank. Since I had no big luggage on me, I didn't want to waste time with checking in at the hotel first.

In the entrance area of the bank there were a few cash machines, but the facilities couldn't grab my attention for long. The bank itself wasn't very crowded, there was only one costumer leaning against a counter, talking to two employees. It took a few seconds until my eyes transferred the information to my brain and I stopped dead in my tracks.

He was standing with his back to me, but I would have recognised him anywhere. His hair was in its usual glory mess, but now his clothes were a mess also. Of course he could wear anything and still look like he was straight out of Vogue magazine. The jeans were a little too long, and his jacket was awfully crinkled.

He seemed physically fine though, and I smiled, relieved. What kind of remarkable coincidence was this? I stepped into the bank and instantly found Edward Cullen? I snorted, maybe years of watching Star Wars had finally given me some Jedi powers.

The giggling of the two girls opposite of Edward brought me back to reality. They were ogling him, pretty much undressing him there and then. Edward didn't seem to notice or care – I couldn't tell.

He was shoving a tiny paper towards one of them and then she trailed off. The other one however, looked like she'd jump over the counter any minute and throw herself at him. Edward looked towards the direction where Blonde Girl #1 had left to and I could finally see his face. His beautiful jaw showed a three-day stubble, his neck was covered with a light-blue scarf and before I could observe anything more, he turned further and I quickly stumbled back so that he wouldn't see me. Of course my shoe got caught in the rug and I landed on the floor, next to a cash machine, which actually was a pretty good hiding place.

I waited a moment and then carefully straightened up again. Edward was now paying attention to a banker in front of him, shaking hands. From my position I couldn't hear anything so I quickly went to a brochure display that was a little behind them, next to a conveniently big green plant. I took one of the brochures out and held it up in front of my face, just to make sure they wouldn't notice me and started listening.

My foot twitched with the need to kick Edward. He was making up the most ridiculous story I had ever heard, about a company regularly transferring money to him and his need for a name and the address to thank them properly. Although – judging by the lame joke he just made about blondes - the banker seemed pretty brainless, he wasn't dumb enough to release the information.

I think Edward watched way too many gangster films. He was asking how much Mr. Newton – the bank clerk – liked holidays and offered him a two weeks journey to the Caribbean with his girlfriend. Wasn't it some unwritten rule to not offer bribery in public? I think he just insulted the bank guy. To cut a long story short: he was ruining it. I needed to interact or we wouldn't get anywhere.

A game plan quickly formed in my head. It was risky, but I couldn't come up with anything else. I shrugged out of my jacket, closed my eyes for a second and undid two more buttons of my blouse. I opened my eyes again and peeked down my neckline. I think everything was still properly covered, but I was way out of my comfort zone. Feeling strangely naked I left my hiding-place and walked over to them.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. Why didn't you wait for me?" I patted Edward's arm in an intimate, familiar gesture. At least I hoped that it looked like that.

Edward's eyes were on my hand, staring, and energy poured through my hand. I stopped the patting; the heat would get to my head very soon.

I was a bad enough liar even without any blush.

He looked at me then and I tried to keep talking. "You know that I don't have any willpower left in a lingerie store. You shouldn't have just left me there!" His eyes grew wide and a response was building up in his throat. I shot him a look, hoping he would understand that I had a plan here. Thankfully Newton was clearing his throat then, remarking he was still present.

I turned towards him, and a smug look was plastered on his face. At least, that was better than the offended look he had shot Edward earlier. Maybe I was getting somewhere with this.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. That was rude, wasn't it?" I leant forward and looked at the name tag of the banker – Michael Newton. "Michael it's nice to meet you. My name is Lois, I'm his sister. I hope he didn't offend you before I arrived – he has a little temper." I smiled and attempted to pat Edward's arm once more. But his hands were now crushed into his pockets, so I clapped him on the shoulder softly.

"Ah, don't mention it, Lois. It is my pleasure."

We shook hands, and he did it a little too eagerly.

I would like to have my hand back in this century, thank you very much, I thought, but shot him a big smile, even patting our entangled hands with my free left hand. That did the trick and he finally let go. Edward was still dangerously quiet, but I couldn't think too much about him or his mental state right now.

"So, Michael, did my dear brother already inform you about the help that we hope you would grant us?" I fluttered my eyelashes a few times and prayed to any almighty figure that might be out there, that I did look a little seductive and not as ridiculous as I felt.

"I already told your brother that I'm not allowed to release that kind of information."

Shit.

What now, Bella? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I searched Edward's eyes, which actually looked a little relieved. He stayed silent though, hands in his pockets. Was I the only one here knowing, that this was his last chance? After all, he should be charming Newton, not me.

I pointedly glanced around the open office area and then back to Newton.

"Michael, would you mind talking to me in private for a second?"

I kept my smile up and ignored the pain that was shooting through my right wrist; Edward had grabbed it.

"Sure, let's talk about this in my office. Go ahead, Lois, this way."

He pointed the direction and I quickly escaped Edward's death grip.

"I'll be right back dear, don't worry. Have a coffee!" I said, looking over my shoulder. Edward had his hands now in fists, working his death grip on himself.

I ignored him as much as I could and concentrated on Newton, who was trailing behind me.

You can do this Bella. You're a strong, independent woman.

His office was close, but out of sight from where Edward was standing. Newton pulled a chair out for me and offered me a drink. Even given the situation, I couldn't resist a decent coffee. He got two cups from the coffee brewer and seated himself behind his desk, towards me.

We both took a sip from our coffee and then, thankfully, Newton wanted to do some small-talk.

"So, Lois," he smiled at me, "I figure you're on holiday in Iceland?" I smiled back, yeah sort of. "How are you and your brother liking it?"

"To be honest, Michael, I haven't gotten around much. We've just arrived yesterday and I've been spending most of my time shopping," I smiled a little stupidly, "but the city seems to be very beautiful, and everyone," I leaned forward and patted his hand, which was resting on the table, a little, "has been treating us very, very nicely."

"Call me Mike, please," he insisted, stood up and walked around the table to my side. He leaned his backside against the table beside my chair, coming closer. "And how could one not treat a beautiful lady like you nicely."

I was panicking inside. Maybe I wasn't made for things like this, I needed to get out of here. Enough of this charade.

My smile felt a little shaky, my voice however came out clear and unaffected.

"Mike, I'm sorry to bring this up again, but we would be really thankful if you helped us out with the account issue."

He looked at me, pensive.

"Of course, it would totally stay between us. Nobody has to know where we got our information from," I continued. It was now or never.

"Well, Lois, how do I know, that I can trust you?" he asked, in a low voice, now supporting himself with both palms behind him on the table. For a second he even looked a little dangerous.

"Oh, I assure you, you can trust me!" I replied quickly and stood up, so I could look him in the eye. I was feeling more and more as a prey, sitting down in that chair.

"Well, I'm sorry, Lois, your assurance is not enough," he said, standing now himself.

We were eyeing each other, much too close for two complete strangers.

My shoulders sank down with my eyes, I had lost. We had lost. I had embarrassed myself for nothing, I thought disgusted. How stupid was my plan anyway?

Plain old Bella just goes and flirts with the guy a little and he willingly delivers everything she wants? Good one, Bella. A really, really good one.

Before my mind could form any more for my sarcastic monologue, Newton spoke up again.

"Well, if you gained my trust--," he trailed off, well aware that I was suddenly all ears. I looked back at him, and he was smiling a winning smile. "How about we spend the evening together? I'll walk you around the city a bit and then we have dinner together?"

This was really not going anywhere I wanted it to go.

Last chance, remember?

"O-O-Okay," I stuttered out, before I could run screaming from his office.

Of all things, Mike had the nerve to be all polite and thoughtful for this pretty much blackmailed date. He told me he looked forward to it and asked where to pick me up. I quickly stammered out the information, offered him another shaky smile and hurried from the office; what I needed now was some fresh air and a drink.

Edward was still in the bank, of course pacing up and down, hands in and out of his hair. I moved as silently as I could, but his eyes instantly met mine. I looked away and walked past him, knowing that my face was getting seriously red. I watched my steps carefully; I was so upset that my feet wouldn't work properly on their own account. Edwards fast steps were behind me and I was barely out of the building when his beautiful voice called for me:

"Bella, wait!"

My gaze was still on my feet, keeping them in motion. Busying my mind.

"Bella, please!" he called again, this time closer.

His hand was on my upper arm and I felt like a robot lifted up from the ground, feet still mechanically moving on their own account. But there weren't any robot powers inside of Bella Swan, dilettante journalist, so my feet and _I came to a dead stop, anchored by Edward Cullen.

Only now I registered the goosebumps on my skin, realising what I was wearing. I shrugged Edwards hand off me and fiddled around with the buttons of my blouse for a little while. Of course without quick success, so I simply put my jacket back on and zipped it up. Edward was silent the whole time and I had nothing left to distract myself from the fact that I was spending the evening with some crude banker for some stupid information that was only of value for the idiot standing in front of me. An idiot worth a good story, but still an idiot. If he hadn't insulted Newton, maybe there would have been an easier way.

"You know it's all your fault!" I pointed at him, turned around and stalked away.

"I'm sorry," Edward announced, walking next to me.

"You don't even know what you're apologising for, do you?" I stopped and looked at him, hands on my hips.

"Well, I'm afraid there have been quite a few misconceptions between the two of us lately," was his wary reply.

"Between the two of us?" I choked every emotion I had inside of me. This was the head speaking, not the heart.

"There is no such thing." I started walking again because I couldn't handle the pensive look on his face. "I'm talking about your ragged attempt at bribery! Seriously Edward, what were you thinking? Now I have to pull the fucking chestnuts out of the fire for you! You really better be innocent, Mister, and this better be worth it." I breathed for a second. "If you will excuse me now, I need to buy something to wear. Call me tomorrow, and then we'll know what Newton spit out."

"Tomorrow? What exactly happened in Newton's office, Bella?" Edward had once again grabbed my upper arm. This was becoming some bad habit of his. My arm, the traitor, however vibrated with his touch. We were now standing face to face. Green eyes staring into brown ones.

"He wants to see if he can trust me first."

"And this is operated how exactly?"

"A date," I mumbled. I didn't want another 'be safe' lecture.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch what you said. For a second it sounded like you said you would date that freak," he spoke with nervous laughter in his voice.

"It sounded like that, because I said it."

His free hand grabbed my other upper arm, both hands now squeezing me. "No! I cannot allow that. You will not date that weasel!"

I was getting stupidly fuzzy inside because of his behaviour. If I didn't already know better, I'd think the infamous Edward Cullen cared about me. Alice also thought I was important to him. I couldn't believe that. It was probably just that he needed me undamaged for further research.

Above all, his commanding words made me angry. Nobody tells me what to do.

"First: I can date whoever I want. Second: Think about it once again, Edward. Think! If you don't get any information about Fagur Alit soon, you're screwed. And with screwed, I mean really, really screwed. It isn't registered, so the bank is the last trace."

His hands left my arms and went straight into his hair. My gaze followed them, remembering how good it had felt under my fingers. His forehead was wrinkled, visualising the battle probably going on inside. As I reached his eyes, he was looking straight at me, which I probably should have noticed a few seconds earlier; that would have stopped my ogling.

"Really, Bella. You don't have to do this. I'll find another way," he assured me, though his voice sounded defeated. I couldn't get past his sad eyes, it wasn't easy for him to let anybody take charge of his things. He couldn't let the police prove his innocence, he came here to do it himself and now he needed me.

If I had faith in me, I would've hugged him. But I had no faith - I wasn't sure I'd let him go again. So instead I laid one hand on his arm, comforting him.

"There isn't any other way right now, Edward, and you know it. It's just a date, I can manage that. You get your information, Newton gets a date and I get my article."

"Your article?" Edward asked in a low voice.

"Yes, my article that will save your sorry ass," I quickly replied, not missing his accusing tone.

There was a moment of silence and Edward's hand was moving up to my face. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and his fingers lingered on my cheek. Blood was rushing through me. I avoided Edwards tender eyes, glimpsed at his chin, his scarf-covered neck, his inviting chest, as my fingers were still holding onto his arm tightly.

Realising what we were doing here, what my hand was doing, what Edward's hand was doing, I withdrew mine and stepped back minimally to ease the tension.

I heard Edward sigh and his hands went to his neck. The colour of his scarf seemed a little odd for his usual style; it reminded me a lot of one of my own that I couldn't find when I was packing my things for this journey.

"You know, I have a scarf the same colour as yours. I didn't know you were much into pastel," I tried to change to a lighter topic, mocking him.

My smile however faded as he hung down his head in shame. He didn't..., did he?

"Edward Cullen! Is that my scarf around your neck?" I crossed my arms.

"Well," he began, "I was on my way to Iceland and I suspected it would be quite chilly this far north. And it wasn't like I had a scarf of my own, you know."

"So you figured, 'oh, why not take one more of Bella's belongings?' It's not like I'm offering self-service here, Edward!"

"God, Bella. Why are you so possessive with all of your things? The scarf could still be in the backseat of your car or it can be here around my neck. What's the difference? Here, you can have it back, if you want." He started taking the scarf off, his last words actually sounding sad and disappointed.

I knew it was only a stupid scarf, not worth much, but as a matter of principle he had to give it back; after all it was mine. He needed to get his head around this.

"The difference is that most people know how to respect each other." I grabbed one end of the scarf, which he was now holding in front of me, careful not to touch his skin, and fumbled for the iPod in my bag with the other hand. "Here, I believe this is yours. Though I didn't ask for it, I thank you for trusting me with it." I handed him the iPod and pulled at the scarf, but he didn't release it.

"No Bella, it's not mine anymore. I gave it to you. It was a gift. Please, keep it. I'm really, really sorry about your car. I do respect you, don't ever doubt that."

"I can't keep it! It was probably very expensive."

My right hand was still between us, palm up, holding the white player towards Edward. This scene had happened before, almost exactly the same. I didn't want it then, and the only way he got me to keep it the first time, was to distract me with that kiss in my hallway. My heart instantly beat faster and my breathing hitched; I really shouldn't think about the kiss, but some things in life were just unavoidable. My eyes searched Edward's, but he was looking down at my hand, then up to me, slightly focussing on my lips.

"I wouldn't take anything back, Bella," he said, not talking about the player anymore, it seemed. "Even though I am sorry for many things, I don't regret all of them."

What was that supposed to mean?

He didn't regret what exactly? Taking the scarf or the car?

Kissing me?

Maybe he didn't regret it, but he was still sorry?

Maybe I should take him to task for running away. But was I ready for the answer?

I guess not. Not here, not now.

After all, I was the one who wanted to keep things professional, wasn't I?

"If I'm keeping it, I want it to be clear that it's only a deposit, until I get my car back. Understood?" Secretly I was glad, that I could use it a while longer, I liked having music with me. Edward's music.

Edward nodded and I took my hand down. He still didn't release the scarf, though. I sighed. I couldn't be responsible if he got a sore throat in this weather.

"Okay, until I get my car and my scarf back," I added and let go of the blue fabric.

The corner of his mouth twitched, and I was dying to see that crooked smile of his once more.

"Oh, you have to tell me where to get batteries for this sophisticated gimmick."

I was pretty sure it was impossible to fit normal batteries into the small thing, but after all it needed to regain power from something, right?

"So you used it quite frequently, didn't you?"

There!

The crooked smile.

I had to smile myself. "It's more like I fell asleep too often while listening. I already told you Wonderwall is boring." Edwards grin widened instantly and I started walking again, ready to face the world.

Edward continued to walk with me, and I was actually happy to have him here by my side. Everything else seemed far away when we were arguing – or doing other things.

"Where are you going?" he asked, glancing sideways at me.

"I need to buy some clothes, my luggage is in Rome."

"I could let you some, if you like!" Edward quickly announced and though it was really a stupid thing to offer, I was tempted to accept. I could only imagine the cosy feeling that wearing his clothes would bring. However, I couldn't let myself do that, I was already in too deep.

"Thanks, Edward. But I guess Mike will be a little upset tonight if I show up in men's clothing."

We argued the whole way to the stores about whether I should buy new clothes or if it was unnecessary as Edward insisted. I had to admit, it was quite funny and way better than giving the date with Newton too much thought.

I went into one of the first stores on our way, with Edward still trailing behind me. I grabbed a pullover, two t-shirts, warm socks and some jeans. I had the underwear from the Overnight Kit, but wasn't really looking forward to wearing those. On the other hand, I also didn't want to buy underwear when Edward was watching my every step.

So, I should be good for the 48 hours without my luggage. Still on the shopping list was tonight's outfit. Tonight. Only the thought made me feel queasy, but I also knew that I had to do it. Determined I stalked towards the more elegant wear, grabbed the next best dress and went towards the fitting rooms. I got out of my clothes and put the dress on, but as I tried to zip it up behind my back, I lost my balance and staggered against the wall. I guess, for now it would be enough with the back slightly open. I just wanted to see how it looked in general, I wanted to be prepared tonight. I turned around in the small cubicle, but there was no mirror.

"Don't Icelandic people look in the mirror?" I complained, muttering to myself. When I usually went shopping, I never left the fitting room. I hated it when the people were looking at what you were trying on, possibly making it even worse with commenting on your choices.

I opened the door a bit to peek out, and thankfully there wasn't anybody near. With my right arm behind my neck I did my best to pretend that the dress was fully zipped and walked towards the mirror a few steps away. Before I could even get a good look at myself the sweet velvet called for me:

"Bella, let me help you with that."

Chapter end notes:

Songs mentioned in this chapter belong to Oasis, as usual.

Judging by mention of Jedi Knights and Lois Lane, Ben isn't the only geek around.