a/n: belzo happy football day!

HAPPY HAPPY!

And in celebration what do we have? another update of course! :)

Duhhhhh. An epic update, if i do say so myself. And I do :D

Yes, yes. I agree. And I'd like to say thank you to youngandmature for pointing out that we hadn't updated in a hundred years and that it was still showing as completed. As some of you may know (and if you don't, you know now), this fic started out as a 1-shot for a contest and we loved it so much we wanted to continue it. But it is most definitely still in-progress (and its status now reflects it)

Tots! You know what else should still be in progress? Midnight Sun. But SMeyer, who owns seems to have lost her mojojo

i disagree. i think she's not finishing it because she's taking out her own stupidity in giving the book to read to her obviously untrustworthy friends, out on her readers. but whatevs. personally i can name about 10 people in fanfic land that could write a better EPOV version of the twi books than she ever could.

lolz, agreed.

anywhoozers... please read and review! we have another 10 chapters and your reviews encourage us to post sooner - because we know people are reading! thnx :)

BPOV

It was heart relief and heartbreak all in one.

He was coming home - for over a month; however, he was also leaving to do dangerous and heroic things for our country.

I was elated and proud but I was also terrified.

Prior to the trip to Chicago, I had been spending a lot of time at the Cullen's. It was important for Rosalie not to feel alone in this, especially knowing as little as she did. Fortunately after the initial few tantrums, she warmed up to me and we'd become fast friends.

She was just as determined as her brother and had the same eyes and lopsided smile. It was adorable.

So when I told my father, after my return, that I was heading over to the Cullen's, he did little more than shrug and tell me to be home for dinner.

It felt like it took forever to get there on my bicycle, even though it always was a bit of a climb - 30 minutes on a good day, since they were deep in the woods.

But unlike every day in the Fall I'd gone to visit, I was greeted by the bright smile of a one Edward Cullen. I let my bike fall onto it's side and ran to him, jumping into his waiting arms. It was still so unbelievable that we could do this; that there was time.

"Hello, Love," he murmured, squeezing his arms around me.

"Hi yourself." I grinned, pulling back and kissing his cheek. "You look refreshed."

He chuckled, kissing the tip of my nose. "You're here and I took a shower. It's amazing."

"So what's the plan for today? I have all day; my dad doesn't expect me home until dinner."

He kissed my lips and I thought I'd melt right there. I missed it so much; the feel of him, the smell, the taste. It was everything. "I was thinking we could...go on a date," He suggested, snapping me out of my dreamy haze and looking at me as if he was unsure of my response.

However I simply nodded, unable to contain my smile. "That'd be swell."

"Yeah? Okay, c'mon in and I'll get the keys." He grinned, setting me down and gesturing for me to come along.

I followed him in and said hello to Mrs. Cullen and Rosalie as he grabbed the keys from his uncle's study. It wasn't long before he was grabbing my hand and walking me out towards the Cullen's second car.

He was a perfect gentleman, opening the door for me and making sure I was tucked in before shutting it and racing around to the driver's side.

We had been driving for a few minutes when I glanced in the mirror and saw a picnic basket in the backseat. "Picnic?" I asked, turning to look at him. He turned briefly to look at me, grinning but not saying a word.

We pulled up to a barely-there dirt road and he stopped abruptly. "We're eating in the forest?" I asked, completely confused as to why we'd stopped.

"Uh huh. I took Rosie for a walk the other day, and we found this place." He replied, hopping out of the car and running around the front of the car to open my door for me. I grinned, mostly to myself; he was such a gentleman. "It's pretty neat."

I stepped out and he reached behind me to grab the basket. We walked for about half an hour before stepping out into a huge clearing, where the sun was shining brightly amongst the clouds.

"Edward.." I breathed, staring up and feeling the warmth on my face.

I could feel his eyes on me, and I peered over at him from the corner of my eye. He was smiling as he murmured, "You're beautiful."

My eyes dropped down to meet his and the blush was instant. "Thank you." I murmured shyly. Even at the age of 17 I was unable to take compliments well. He nodded and kissed my forehead before stepping aside and pulling out a blanket from the basket, laying it down on the damp grass. He motioned for me to sit and I walked over, sitting down on the blanket, careful not to show too much in the dress I was wearing.

"How's school?" He asked, kneeling down and starting to unpack the items from the basket. A couple carefully wrapped sandwiches, a thermos, and some fruit.

"I'm not sure. We're on winter break." I said, laughing a little. "How is it being home?"

"It's good to have a home," He smiled. As he spoke his entire face lit up as if having a steady place to live were a great gift, rather than a human right. "Bella, I have my own room with a bed in it and everything. There's indoor plumbing, and I still can't get over that there's hot water coming out of the faucet. And electric lights," He went on, his smile growing with each statement. "It's amazing what technology is now-a-days."

I nodded in agreement. "Our place still only has cold water. It's an old house. It must be really neat to be able to take hot showers."

He smiled, bobbing his head up and down. "It is. It's amazing. I can't believe...well, at least I get it for a while," He mused, laughing a little and picking up the sandwiches. "There's salami on rye or turkey on white," He offered, stretching them both out in my direction.

"Whichever you don't want." I shrugged, leaning back on my elbows and looked up at the sky again.

He put the sandwiches down and leaned closer to me. His hand ghosted over my kneecap and squeezed. "You okay?"

My head snapped to his and I smiled. "More than okay. I just... this is so... it's like a dream. This place... you.." I blushed. "It's all I want, ever."

"I love you, you know. You're the only girl I'll ever love." He replied, smiling but looking almost melancholy at the same time. Before I could respond, he handed me a sandwich and moved to sit beside me. I took the sandwich, smiling in a silent thank you and put it in my lap, reaching with one hand for him to move closer.

"You're the only boy I'll ever love," I whispered, kissing his cheek then over the bridge of his nose and to his other cheek.

His smile seemed to loose its sadness and he kissed me, fully on the lips; his lips lingered on mine and it felt like heaven. "Makes it easy for us then, eh love?" He murmured, slowly pulling away to unwrap his sandwich. "Eat; you're getting too skinny on me."

I laughed and we ate in peace, talking here and there but never feeling like it was forced. The silence was comforting.

He dropped me off at my house just as the sun was beginning to set, vowing to pick me up the next day so I could get my bike.

"I had a really nice time Edward. Thank you." I said softly, turning to face him in the car.

"My pleasure Bella. I had fun." He grinned, leaning over to kiss me once, then twice. "I'm sorry we're doing everything backwards."

"We're not. This was how it was meant to be." I replied, smiling at him earnestly. "I love you."

"Love you," He sighed, nuzzling his nose against mine and kissing me chastely. "I'll pick you up tomorrow."

I nodded, not wanting this night to end. "Okay." My lips brushed his lightly one last time for the night and I opened the door, racing up the steps knowing tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

But it did, too soon in fact; the next few weeks seemed to just fly by.

Edward and I spent every day together, laughing and talking and being the couple we hadn't had the chance to be. It was amazing.

The Thursday before Edward's last day, we were taking a walk along La Push beach. It was snowing lightly and I was tucked securely inside his coat, my arms wrapped around his waist. I had been mulling over ideas the past couple of weeks and my heart was racing at the conversation I was about to start.

"You know my friend Angela and her boyfriend Ben you met last weekend?" I asked looking up at him.

"Mhm," he hummed pulling me closer and rubbing his hand up and down my side.

"He and a few guys from school are joining the boys abroad." I took a breath, trying to pick the right words before I spoke. "Do you... I mean, I know..." I sighed again. "Do you think we should get married before you go away?"

He stopped abruptly and for a moment I thought he was mad. But once he turned to face me, his face was covered in joy and a shy, almost boyish smile. "Are you proposing to me?"

"No.. no. I wouldn't... No - I'm not that kind of girl." I bit my lip unable to stop my heart from racing. "I guess I'm moreso asking why you haven't proposed to me." I replied, unable to mask the dejected tone of my voice.

He pulled me closer, his arms under my jacket and shielding me from the cold. "There's no reason for you to be sad, love," He muttered against my forehead, pressing his lips against the spot firmly. It was amazing how easily a lingering kiss from him could destroy any and all of my worries. "I haven't proposed because I didn't think you'd want me to."

"Oh." I replied, unsure of what else to say and completely mortified that I thought this would be good to bring up.

His head dropped to my shoulder and his voice was mumbled into my jacket. "Would you want that?"

"I would." I whispered back.

"Then we should do it," He stated decisively, taking a deep breath.

"I didn't mean to push Edward, really." I replied, pulling myself back. "You have enough going on right now. Really, I didn't mean to force you to ask me. If you're ready, then do it. Please don't do it just because I asked about it."

He pulled back, his face expressing sheer happiness as he cupped my face in his hands. "Do you not know how...precious you are to me?" His eyes glimmered in a way I'd never seen before and I was completely entranced. "I'd be proud to call you my wife; proud to make you mine in front of as many people as possible for as long as we've got. I love you more than anything. Anything." He sighed, kissing my forehead once more, his lips moving against my skin as he asked the question I'd dreamed of him asking since before Christmas. "Will you be my wife?"

I smiled. Not exactly how I had pictured being proposed to, and while I still felt like I had a hand in him doing it right then, I couldn't say no. I nodded slowly. "Yes."

EPOV

I smiled down at her, rewrapping my coat around us and kissing her forehead again. "Really? You'd really want to?" It was a lot to ask for and a lot to ask her to give up. We didn't have much of a chance to be wealthy or living comfortably; we'd have to work hard for the rest of our lives, but I was willing to do it for her. I wanted her to have everything I could possibly give her.

"I love you. Yes." She said, her smiling growing wider. "I want to if you want to."

I nodded, kissing her again. "It's been all I could think about since the moment I saw you."

Her blush spread over her cheeks and her eyes drifted down to my shirt collar. "I've been yours since you laughed at my joke about you losing your hair from tugging it too hard."

I smiled down at her. "We'll have to tell your father." Charlie didn't approve of me; everyone knew it and even though he still respected my uncle he couldn't be friendly to me. I had a feeling that Charlie would be the biggest obstacle we'd face in getting this approved.

Her blush quickly faded and she looked ghostly pale. "We do?"

I laughed a little at how scared she looked and gave her a squeeze. "Yeah, he'll have to find out, don't you think?"

"Why?" Her voice was tinged with nerves and suddenly creeped into my own.

"Because...we'll be married?" Was she banking on my demise abroad?

"If we tell my dad beforehand we won't be married and you'll probably be dead." She told me seriously. "My dad is very much against me settling down at all. He'd rather me grow to be an old maid alone, than marry anyone."

"Then what would we do if I came home?" I asked, getting a little angry. "You'd live with him, and I'd stay with my aunt an uncle? That's not a marriage, Bella."

"Not if, when. When you come home. And when you come home I'll be away at college so it won't matter. We can be married and too far away from his overbearing eyes."

I sighed. I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted this with her; I wanted to have a life with her, but at what expense? "Bella...if I don't come home and we've been married, and your father finds out...you'll have alienated yourself from him." I sighed, trying to put my thoughts together coherently. "Bella, I can't watch you push him away. You shouldn't do that."

"You will come home. You.. you have to Edward." She said, her eyes going wide as they filled with tears. "Not coming home isn't an option. You have to come home to me." Her voice was small and cracked and in that moment I felt disgusted with myself.

My heart broke for her and for us and all the things we might never have. "Oh, Bella." I whispered, pulling her closer and rocking us a bit. "Everything will be okay, remember? It'll all work out."

She pushed her face into my chest, her arms wrapped tightly around me. "You can't go. I just... we've just started. You have to come back to me."

"Listen to me." I said, with more courage and more confidence than I was really feeling. "I will come home, and we will have a life together. I love you Bella; I love you so much." I did; she was my whole world and the only girl I'd ever love. She was the reason I'd go and fight this war and the reason I'd fight to come home. I'd have nothing if not for her.

"I'll write you every day. And I'll tell my dad I promise; he'll like you more once he knows you're a soldier - something about law enforcement and military code. And when you get back, we'll figure everything out. No pressure, just love." She reached up, her arms wrapping around my neck. "I'll only ever love you."

"I love you, Bella. I love you forever with all of myself." I whispered into her skin. "We will be okay, Bella, I promise."

She nodded, kissing my temple and we held each other for a while. Maybe we were both trying to remember this moment forever because I knew I was. I wanted to remember every last thing about her because that was what I needed to get myself through this.

I pulled away after a little while and we continued down the beach, attempting to delay the inevitable. Tomorrow would be the last day I'd see her for who knows how long.

I leaned over, snatching her hand from the seat as we drove back. "I think it'll be a good spring."

"Yea. Hopefully it'll be sunny more than once in three months."

"Probably." I said, giving her hand a squeeze. "You wanna stop at my house for a little bit."

"Sure." She said, smiling a little.

"Good." I said, turning up my street and heading for home. "We should make a plate to take back to your dad too."

"Okay. Can I... could we hang out in your room maybe? If that's okay?" She asked, her blush returning again. Something else to make me love her more.

I pulled into the drive way. "Sure we can." I leaned over and kissed her neck, nibbling on her skin. "You will be my wife after all; and I need you. I need all of you."

Her breathing picked up a bit and she turned to face me. "Me too, so much."

I leaned over and kissed her. "Let's go then."

She reached for my hand and we walked side by side into the house. "Where are your relatives? I didn't see the car in the driveway."

I grinned, leading her upstairs. "Aunt Esme takes Rose for ice cream on thursdays and Uncle Carlisle is still at the clinic." I pulled her into my arms at the top of the stairs. "We're all alone, love."

"Oh.. so, what did you want to do?" She asked, wrapping her arms around my neck again.

"You." I laughed, smiling into her neck.

She nodded, "I'm yours."

"i know." I murmured, lifting her up and carrying her to my bedroom. I deposited her onto my bed, then kissed her. "I have something for you."

She looked at me confused, and I didn't blame her. "You do?"

"Yeah," I replied as I went through my drawers to find the old cigar box I'd kept everything important in. "This...this is where I keep everything important to me." I told her, going back toward the bed. "Except you, obviously."

"I could try and fit in there, if you want." She asked grinning.

I laughed a little sitting beside her. "I want you to take this and keep it safe for me while I'm away." I told her, lifting the lid. "But I want you to have this." I said, pulling my mother's ring from it's wrappings. The only nice thing I owned, and it would mean everything to have Bella wearing it.

She gasped as I pulled it out, looking up at me. "Edward..." She exclaimed, looking back down at the ring before kissing me passionately. "It would be an honor to wear this. Was it... your mom's?"

I nodded, picking up her left hand and sliding the ring on her finger. "I'll come back for you, Bella. I promise."

She nodded, her hands moving around to the back of my neck and kissed me again. "I need you to. I wouldn't know what to do if you didn't; you're my life."

I leaned in and kissed her slowly. "I love you Bella; you will be my wife and you will be my forever." I sighed, leaning my forehead to hers. "Nothing will keep me from you. Nothing."

Nothing ever could. I said it as much for her as for me. She was my life, now. She was everything. I wouldn't want it with any one else.

As long as I had Bella to come home to, I could make it.