EPOV
"Had, I wanted to talk to you about something," I say while she eats her breakfast.
It was one of the rare mornings that it was just the two of us. Bella went to a Yankees game with Em last night and they were out pretty late so she decided to stay at her place.
I missed her after only one night apart, which leads me to what I need to talk to Hadley about.
Rose is coming home next week and I knew things were about to change for all of us.
For me, I had to come to terms that at some point we'd have to discuss our custody agreement. Not looking forward to it.
For Hadley, she'd be going back to our previous arrangement but will have to adjust to weekends with her now sober mother.
For Rose, she has to rejoin the world around her while being sober. She'll be back in her apartment and working full-time at the restaurant along with attending NA meetings and developing a new routine outside of her doctor's watchful eye.
I will remain on high alert when it comes to her. I don't like the idea of her working around Bella while I'm not there, but Bella has reminded me that I need to back off.
I can't control everything.
"So what would you think if I asked Bella to move in with us?" I finally ask my kid.
It's always been me and her in this house but I can't think of Bella not living here with us. I'm a sappy mess without her here after one night apart. She does go back to her apartment but that mostly happens during the day.
"What do you think Bella will think about that, Dad?" Hadley counters my own question back at me.
I blink.
"You think she'll say no," I mumble.
"Not now, but I think she'll give you a hard time about it because you're nervous," she says with a giggle.
Fair.
I take a seat beside her at the island and she turns toward me and smiles.
"You should talk to her about the idea of it, but not ask her out right," she advises. "Bella spooks easily but she really loves you Dad even when you drive her nuts."
I know she meant how I behaved after we got back from Rose's Family Weekend. Bella was still hesitant when it came to Rose's intentions, but she also was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt for Hadley's sake.
The few arguments that we've had were Rose-oriented and about how I needed to chill out. Her words.
Hadley was just as much a priority to Bella as she was to me.
That's how I knew moving our relationship forward was the next step for us, and I can't sleep without her beside me. She has become a part of our family whether she intended to or not.
I nod.
"If Bella wants to live with us, are you going to ask her to marry you?" Hadley asks curiously, but I can see the excitement in her eyes.
"I think we need to do one thing at a time," I tell her. "Bella needs to see if she can handle living with us first. You can be a demanding roommate."
She rolls her eyes at my teasing.
I place my hand on her head and kiss her temple.
"Let's wrap up breakfast and head out to the bus stop," I tell her before I take her bowl after her last bite of cereal.
When we get to the bus stop Irina and her now very small group of moms stand further down from us since Bella's reckoning.
Hadley finds this funny while she giggles and looks up at me.
After I get Hadley on the bus, I walk in the direction of Bella's apartment. I had no meetings and knew that my workload could be done from home today.
I wasn't wasting any time.
I make sure to stop for Gatorade at the bodega on her corner before my visit. I knew she'd be hurting once I got there.
I use my key to get into her building and when I enter her apartment I am met with silence. Em's door is still closed as is Bella's. They both must be dead to the world.
I catch sight of Jacob face down on the couch and frown.
Bella hadn't said he was going but then again he has a habit of benefiting from Em's generosity. Bella tries to steer clear of him if she can since she thinks he's a snitch.
I quietly open and close Bella's door to find her lying face down on her bed, over the covers in her bra and her jeans halfway down her legs.
A smile pulls on my lips.
I gently take her shoes off and remove her pants.
I kiss the middle of her back.
"That better be you, Edward," she mumbles into her pillow.
"Do Em and I need to have a chat?" I ask, hovering over her.
She snorts as she rolls carefully onto her back.
"I feel like ass," she groans.
"Need Gatorade," she croaks as I brush her hair out of her face.
I grab her Gatorade out of the bag and open the cap before handing it to her.
She takes a hefty gulp and hands the bottle back to me.
"No work today?" she asks with a yawn.
"I missed you," I confess.
"Aw, are you here to confess your undying love for me?" she teases, nudging my arm with her knee.
"Something like that," I shrug before leaning down to cup her face.
It might be the hangover but her dazed eyes soften as she leans into my touch.
"I have something I want to talk to you about," I murmur even though I want to outright ask her but I remember Hadley's advice.
"I hope you're not going to ask me to marry you while I'm hungover in a bra and panties—" she trails off as her eyes search mine.
"You got a proposal from me asking to talk to you?"
"You look serious," she defends.
I roll my eyes.
"I wanted to talk to you about possibly moving into the brownstone with me and Hadley," I say, gauging her reaction.
"You want us to live together?" she asks softly like she's touched.
This reaction throws me off. I was expecting her to get flustered and possibly throw something at me, so her looking at me like she's confessing her undying love is a little bit of a surprise.
"I would," I say carefully.
Her hand comes up to rest on top of my hand that's still cupping her cheek.
"Is this because of Rose coming back home?" she asks skeptically now.
I shake my head.
"No, this has to do with me missing you when you're not with us," I say vehemently.
She's nodding but staying quiet.
"This is just a conversation to see where you're at in this relationship. I'd love it if you'll move in with us, but if you're not ready I understand," I tell her.
She snorts.
"You want me in your bed and personal space at all times, don't lie. If I said no, I know you'll be bummed," she explains while teasing me.
"Bell—"
"If I were to say yes, I need to give Em enough notice to find a new roommate…" she says trailing off.
She sits up and reaches her hand out to me for more Gatorade. I hand it to her while I watch her look around her room.
"There isn't much to move," she says gesturing to her bookshelf and dresser she got from Goodwill.
"We can get you anything you'll need," I tell her.
She rubs her chin.
"Maybe," she says before her eyes shine with mischief. "I live like a nomad. Maybe I shouldn't get too much stuff so if I need to make a hasty exit I can."
"Haven't even moved in and already thinking about leaving us," I joke.
Her face softens again.
"Is Hadley on board with this?" she asks nervously.
"She actually advised me to discuss this with you before asking," I tell her honestly.
She laughs.
"Smart kid."
"The smartest."
"Well, I suppose we can give it a shot," she muses.
I pull her into my arms.
"I love you," I murmur into her ear while giving her a squeeze.
She kisses my neck and starts to fiddle with the buttons of my shirt. I unhook her bra and throw it across the room.
"Can you do all the work?" she asks while lying spread out underneath me.
I let out a laugh pulling her panties down her legs.
My mouth sucks on her clit as an answer.
She moans, grabbing a handful of my hair.
"So good," she mumbles as my tongue works her over and I pump two fingers into her. When I curl my fingers toward me she yanks my hair and my mouth leaves her.
"Easy," I pant.
"Sorry," she breathes and I go back to sucking.
She's screaming my name out when she comes.
"Good fucking lord, Edward," she whispers flinging her arm over her eyes.
I smirk.
"Felt good, huh?" I ask.
"You're a smug bastard, but yes that felt good," she says as she sits up. "I probably woke up the guys."
"Not that I want to talk about Jacob after that, but he stayed here last night—"
"Not my idea, Emily, the girl he's been seeing broke up with him so he decided to get blitzed," she explains. "I think even Emmett was pissed at him for his behavior but he was too drunk for us to send him home on his own."
I nod.
Emmett and Bella were good people like that. Bella was nurturing with Hadley and Em has shown Rose so much empathy through her own situation.
"If I'm moving in, just think, we won't be seeing Jake," she adds.
"I like that silver lining," I tell her.
"Thought you would," she grins, pulling me down for a kiss. "Your turn."
"I thought you needed me to do the work?"
"I'm getting my second wind," she tells me while unbuckling my belt.
We spend most of the morning in her bed until she decides it's time for us to get out of bed. I watch her throw on a t-shirt and sweatpants while I get dressed.
Em and Jake are at the kitchen island eating cereal once we emerge from Bella's room.
"You guys are loud," Em grumbles when Bella takes a seat next to him.
"You shouldn't be talking," she warns.
I know that Em likes to entertain from the tales Bella has told me. She said since he's become friendly with Rose that she hasn't had many awkward bathroom run-ins with random girls.
"Hey, I need to tell ya something," Bella says suddenly.
Em looks between us for a moment before he nods.
"Shoot."
"I'm going to be moving out," she says, puffing out a breath.
"Your dad isn't going to be happy about that," Jake says and I want to throw the kid out.
"Well, good thing it's my life and not his," Bella snaps back.
"Don't you think it's a little soon?" he throws out.
"C'mon man," Em groans.
"Six months is soon to you?" Bella counters.
He shrugs.
"I think it doesn't matter what you have to say about this, but you need to let Bella discuss this with her father," I tell Jacob.
Bella and her father were in a good place at the moment and this little punk doesn't need to be stirring shit up.
"Edward's right you don't need to be sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong," she tells him.
"Bells, I'll miss you but you'll be two blocks away," Em says easily while he tries to defuse the tension. "I can handle finding a new roommate."
"Thanks, Em," Bella says relieved before giving him a bear hug.
This went surprisingly better than what I thought it would this morning but now Bella and I are making this step forward in our relationship.
A/N: These two kids... We are winding down. The good news is that I have the first four chapters of the next fic written so it will be a possible two chapter a week posting schedule. Thanks to CoppertopJ for her edits and to those who are still following this story! Mistakes are my own.