Drabble Fic Request
Requester: firedragon86
Prompt: Emmett and Rose dating.
Title: Courting
Fandom: Twilight
Summary: Emmett should really learn to listen to Alice’s advice.
Characters: Emmett/Rose with cameos from everyone else
Word Count: 4541
Author’s Notes: This takes place before Emmett and Rose go to Africa.
Emmett cringed as another loud crash came from the room he shared with Rose. An electrical buzz filled his ears, and he guessed his new stereo had just met the wall. She was showing amazing restraint considering she could have easily thrown the stereo through the wall. It was a thought that warmed him, because it meant that there was still a way for him to dig himself out of trouble. First things first though: she needed time to vent and cool down, so it was time for him to go hunting.
“Stop thinking about hunting,” Edward insisted with a frustrated edge to his voice. “What did you do?”
“Thirsty?” Emmett questioned with a wicked grin as he kept his thoughts firmly on the black bear he was in desperately need of right now.
“If you don’t want to talk about it-“ Edward started.
“There’s no need,” Emmett claimed confidently.
“Fine.” Edward closed his eyes. After a few moments a small smirk tugged at his lips.
“Stay out of my wife’s mind!”
“It’s a scary place,” Edward admitted as his eyes slipped open. “And boy are you in trouble.”
“It’s not my fault,” Emmett griped.
“That’s debatable-“
“You can go debate the fact with Rose.”
“Are you kidding? She’s vicious when she’s in that mood,” Edward declared.
Emmett frowned as all went quiet on the upper floor. “Do you want to come hunting?”
“Sure,” Edward answered. “So, what are you going to do about Rose?” he asked on their way out of the house.
“What I usually do,” Emmett responded easily.
Edward frowned and groaned loudly. “You’re going to have another wedding?”
“It’s only natural. After all, the courting has to come to an end at some point, so the honeymoon can begin,” Emmett explained.
“You’re going to do the full bit again?”
“Rose enjoys it.”
“You mean it distracts her from what you actually did to earn her wrath,” Edward corrected. “I suppose you’re going to want some closet space as well.”
Emmett beamed brilliantly at his brother. “Good of you to offer.”
Over the decades Emmett and Rose had married many times, but before each wedding they went through a period of courting. This usually involved Emmett moving out of their shared room and ‘bunking’ with Edward for a period of time. While it didn’t bother Edward that much - after all, it’s not like they had to share a bed or anything - he did find it amusing, considering his siblings had been intimate for over seven decades.
“You know you could just buy her something sparkly,” Edward mentioned.
“And miss out on another honeymoon?”
Edward shook his head as vivid thoughts appeared in his brother’s mind. The last thing he wanted to do was explore the intimate workings of Emmett and Rose’s relationship. “Where are we going?”
“I want me some bear.”
“North then?”
“That’ll do,” Emmett agreed as he took off running in the general direction they wanted to travel.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After three days in the wild and away from the house, Edward thought Rose’s rage would have dissipated a little, but as they crossed the clearing he could clearly hear her going over what she planned to do to her husband for disappearing before she was finished tearing him apart for his misdemeanor.
“Well?” Emmett asked.
“Act quickly and stay out of her reach,” Edward whispered as softly as he could manage.
“Thanks!” Emmett bounded up the stairs and into the house without a moment’s hesitation.
Edward followed at a more sedate pace - almost human, actually - because, unlike Emmett, he was in no hurry to enter the dungeon of torture.
“Emmett Cullen, you had better have a good explanation-“
“Miss Hale, I was wondering if you’d honor me with your company this evening?” Emmett said over the top of her rant.
“-or you’re going to wish-“ Rose stopped suddenly and her expression shifted from one of fury to one of mild curiosity. “What did you say?”
“Will you honor me with your company this evening?” Emmett repeated, holding out a single red rose, now that he had her attention.
Rose snatched the flower out of his hand, brought it to her nose and inhaled the scent. “I’ll have to check my diary.”
A smile stretched across Emmett’s face; his focus was firmly on the sway of her hips as she ascended the staircase. “I’ll pick you up at seven o’clock.”
“She’ll be ready,” Alice informed him.
“Good.” Emmett grinned at his small sister. “Where are we going?”
Alice rolled her eyes expressively. “Seattle. ‘West Side Story’ is showing.”
Edward chuckled. “How many times have you seen that?”
“Too many,” Emmett moaned, as he turned to look at the wide screen television on the wall. A colorful advertisement for an event in Port Angeles was currently on the screen.
“You’re not going to the theatre, are you?” Alice sighed heavily. While she’d been picturing her siblings enjoying a night of elegance, Emmett had been busy making other plans. “She won’t like it.”
“My Rose will love it!” Emmett responded confidently.
Edward raised his eyebrows at Alice and smirked. “You’d think after seventy odd years he’d know better.”
“Yes, you would,” Alice agreed. “I’ll go help Rose with her wardrobe, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Why don’t you just taking her hunting somewhere different for a few weeks?” Edward suggested.
“We don’t usually hunt together when we’re dating.”
“Why is that?” Edward asked.
Emmett smirked. His golden eyes were dancing with mischief as he stared at his brother.
A frown crossed Edward’s face, followed by an expression of revulsion. “Come on, enough with the torture.”
“We can’t help it… All that hot blood-“
“I get the picture,” Edward growled.
“Time to get cleaned up and ready for a night of romance,” Emmett announced, mounting the stairs.
“I moved your things into Edward’s room while you were gone,” Alice said as she descended the stairs. “Rose didn’t look pleased about the clothes I laid out for her.”
“Thanks,” Emmett responded gratefully. “Once she’s there she’ll have fun.”
Alice shook her head forlornly.
“I’d better get myself ready then,” Emmett announced enthusiastically.
Edward waited until Emmett was well out of sight before turning to Alice. “Is this going to last long?”
Her eyes slipped closed, and she concentrated for a few minutes. “I’m not sure. She’s still really upset with him, so she hasn’t made the decision to marry him again. I’ve got a feeling tonight isn’t really going to help either.”
“Great,” Edward mumbled under his breath.
“Why are you so upset? You and Emmett always have fun when you’re rooming together.”
“We do, but I have Bella to consider this time.”
“It won’t be an issue,” Alice said confidently. “Emmett loves having Bella around.”
“For comic relief,” Edward muttered.
“He genuinely likes her as well,” Alice assured him. “She’s on her way over, by the way.”
A pleased grin lit up Edward’s face. “Maybe Jasper can-“
“Maybe Jasper can what?” Jasper asked cautiously as he came to stand behind his wife.
“Mess with Emmett and Rose, so they make up quickly?” Edward continued hopefully.
“Not a chance! I am not going anywhere near her when she’s in the mood she’s in right now,” Jasper stated decisively.
Edward knew there was no point arguing his case, because Jasper’s mind was firmly made up, and Alice wasn’t terribly impressed with the request either. “I’m going to wait for Bella,” he muttered.
Outside the day was still bright and sunny. Hence, the reason Bella was coming to the Cullen household. Edward had phoned her on the way home to let her know they’d were back. He was still mulling over the situation with Rose and Emmett when Bella’s truck rumbled into the clearing.
Eager for distraction, Edward bounded toward the ancient truck and opened her door just as she cut the engine. The moment he saw her face he realized just how much he’d missed her over the last three days. It wasn’t that it was a long time in his world, but now that he had found his soul mate an hour out of her presence felt like an eternity.
“Hello, beautiful,” Edward greeted her happily as he scooped her into his arms. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Bella whispered as her heart thumped with increasing speed against her ribs.
His lips met hers briefly, and then he allowed her feet to find the ground. “What did you get up to while I was gone?”
“Not much. I’m up to date on all my homework and my bedroom is spotless,” Bella admitted.
“No accidents, bumps, bruises or trips to the emergency room I should know about?”
Bella rolled her eyes towards the heavens. “Nope.”
“Good. Did I miss much at school?”
“A few assignments, but I brought them with me, so you can get them done.” Bella reached back into the cab of her truck and extracted a bag of books.
“Mmm… I guess I should thank you,” Edward drawled, taking the bag.
“Yes, you should.”
“Let’s go and hide this in my room, so I don’t have to think about it yet,” Edward suggested.
Hand in hand, they walked into the house. It was at times like this that Edward was grateful for his family’s enhanced hearing. They knew he wanted some time alone with Bella, so everyone was suddenly absent from the living room. With his family in mind, Edward headed straight for his room. Bella was busy telling him a few amusing things that had happened in his absence and explaining the assignments she’d gathered for him as he opened the door to his bedroom.
Bella stepped over the threshold only to step back immediately into Edward’s chest with a loud gasp.
“Hi, Bella,” Emmett greeted cheerfully.
Edward’s eyes narrowed a low growl rumbled through his chest. “Put some clothes on.”
“I’m getting to it. I just got out of the shower,” Emmett explained as the towel that had been covering his hips hit the floor.
Edward immediately spun Bella around, so her face was buried in his chest. Not that he needed to, because her eyes were closed so tightly that her face was screwed up into a comical expression. “Emmett!”
Love it when she blushes,, Emmett thought with a chuckle.
“Rose would rip your bits off if she knew you were flaunting them in front of other women,” Edward hissed quickly.
No, she wouldn’t, Emmett disagreed. She loves my bits right where they are.
“We’ll go downstairs, Bella. I’m really sorry you had to see that,” Edward whispered loud enough for her to hear him. “This philistine will take forever to dress if we wait for him.”
“What… Why…” Bella stammered as they reached the staircase. “Why is Emmett in your room?”
“Remember how I told you that Rose and Emmett get married every so often?”
Bella nodded.
“Well, it usually starts with an argument, and that happened just before we left to go hunting. In fact, it’s the reason we went hunting.” Edward sighed heavily as his hand ran through his hair. “They’ll ‘date’ for a while now, and then he’ll propose again.”
“Why is he in-“
“In my room?” Edward jumped in. “Because while they’re dating they don’t share a room or touch each other, so he keeps his things in my room for the duration.”
“Oh,” Bella expressed softly.
“It’s silly, I know, but it’s the way they do things.”
“Well… it is sort of romantic,” Bella mumbled.
Edward looked at Bella incredulously. “It’s irritating and ridiculous.”
“No more ridiculous than you falling for a human,” Rose hissed.
Upon feeling Bella stiffen, Edward swallowed his cutting response and hurried Bella down the stairs. There were drawbacks to his family having overly sensitive hearing as well as benefits.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Emmett paused briefly before knocking on the door that was once his bedroom. He was confident that tonight was going to be perfect. Rose loved being spoiled, so he had the obligatory bunch of red roses in his hand, and in his pocket he had the keys to Edward’s Aston Martin. Though Rose had threatened to destroy her brother’s prized car many times, she was enamored with it, and it was the perfect chariot for such an outing.
“Are you going to stand out there all night congratulating yourself, or are you going to knock?” Rose whispered from the other side of the door.
An amused chuckle shook Emmett’s body as he rapped on the door. Rose did not like to be kept waiting.
The door opened slowly, revealing a coy looking Rosalie Hale dressed in a pair of snug fitting charcoal pants and a sweater that that clung in all the right places.
“Good evening, Miss Hale,” Emmett intoned politely. “If I may… You look breathtaking tonight.”
“Mr. Cullen,” Rose returned haughtily.
“These pale in the face of your beauty,” Emmett whispered, offering her a large bunch of red roses.
“Thank you.”
“Shall we?” Emmett offered his arm.
Rose placed her hand in the crook of Emmett’s arm, as if she were delicate, and allowed him to lead her to the staircase.
Alice was practically bouncing with excitement at the bottom of the stairs. “I’ll put your roses in a vase,” she offered.
“Thank you, Alice,” Rose murmured as she handed over the bouquet.
“Have fun,” Esme called as the couple exited the house.
“Should we have warned him to have her home at a reasonable hour?” Carlisle joked as the door closed.
Laughter from the house followed Emmett and Rose outside to where Edward’s prized car was waiting.
“Is Edward aware that you’re taking his car?” Rose asked as Emmett assisted her into the car.
“It was his idea,” Emmett confessed.
Rose nodded briefly, trying not to look excited as she ran her hand over the soft leather seat.
The trip to Port Angeles was quick, even by Cullen standards. Emmett wasn’t accustomed to driving a sports car, and his heavy foot made short work of the miles. Conversation was kept on a polite level, as it always was when they were going through these special times. They’d done this so often that it almost felt like they were reading lines from a script, but the reward at the end - the honeymoon - was well worth the trouble, in Emmett’s not so humble opinion anyway.
Rose always played her part so well, though Emmett knew it was usually because she was angry with him and was making him pay for his crimes against her. She was a difficult woman to live with, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Without his Rosalie he was nothing and had little to exist for.
As they drew closer to their destination, Emmett could hear the thrilled crowds and the aroma was almost overwhelming. He could feel his own excitement begin to build. This was exactly what they needed: a night of innocent fun and laughter. A quick glance at his passenger revealed her confusion.
Rose’s forehead was creased with a frown that matched the light scowl on the rest of her face. Emmett didn’t need to be a mind reader to know she had no idea where they were headed. Pride surged through him. After so many decades together it truly was difficult to be innovative with their courting rituals, so this evening was already a success on that point alone.
He guided Edward’s pride and joy into the crowded parking lot, which was little more than a vacant field on the outskirts of the tourist town. “We’re here,” Emmett announced.
“Here?” Rose turned to him with a deepening frown. “Where is here?”
“Come and see,” Emmett encouraged as he opened his door and unfolded himself from the confines of the sports car.
“I’m not sure I want to,” Rose muttered to herself.
“We’re going to have fun,” Emmett promised as he held her door open.
Rose screwed up her perfect nose. “What is that awful smell?”
“A mixture of humans, bad food, animals and sawdust, I believe,” Emmett told her with a grin. “We’re at the carnival.”
“Carnival? Emmett-“
“You’re going to love it!” He grabbed her hand and started walking her towards the source of the noise.
“I don’t think-“ Rose tried again.
“Don’t think. Just soak up the atmosphere.”
Emmett glanced at his ‘date’ as they neared the gates that lead into the mayhem that was the carnival. Her face had smoothed out to hold an expression of complete indifference. It was going to be a difficult evening, but rather than dread the challenge ahead, Emmett embraced it. Spice was the variety of life, and this was one way to stem the boredom of such a long existence. They may be eternally devoted to each other, but their personalities wouldn’t allow them to drop into a mundane existence, like others, without a little upheaval every now and then to keep things interesting.
The moment they stepped over the threshold their senses were assaulted by dazzling lights and even stronger odors that belonged solely to carnivals. Throngs of people were moving from one attraction to the next, and before long Emmett and Rose found themselves part of the crowd. Whereas humans would normally avoid contact with them, they found themselves being bumped and jostled in the swarms - something that wasn’t impressing the beautiful blonde vampire.
“These humans are stupid,” Rose hissed quickly.
“They’re just distracted by the excitement,” Emmett returned as he stopped in front of a large roller coaster. “Do you want to go on this?”
“What does it do?”
“Watch.” Emmett directed Rose’s attention to the carriages that were just pulling out from the platform.
They watched the small line of carriages slowly climb the steep tracks, and then plummet down the steep incline. Screams filled the air as the occupants voiced their excitement and terror. Every turn of the carriages brought a new pitch to the shrieking and none was more piercing than when the carriages were midway through the loops.
“What do you think? Should we give it a go?” Emmett asked enthusiastically.
“If you must,” Rose responded flatly.
Rather than be bothered by her lack of interest, Emmett strode over to the ticket box. He returned with two small plastic squares and a large grin. “Come on then.”
As they climbed the narrow metal stairs to the platform breathless passengers were disembarking. Some were laughing, others simply looked grateful to have their feet on solid ground again and a few of the humans looked deathly pale.
Emmett handed the tokens to the ride operator and climbed into the lead carriage, then held his hand out to assist Rose into the brightly colored fiberglass box. Once the carriages were full, and everyone was secured within their carriage they began to move slowly. Up and down, and then around the loops, followed by more up and down steep hills. The screaming started just after the first steep decline and didn’t stop until the ride finished, but neither Rose nor Emmett uttered a sound.
When the carriage drew to a stop Emmett removed the safety harness and assisted Rose onto the platform.
“Well?” Emmett posed.
“I don’t see what all the fuss is about.” Rose sniffed affectedly. “We run faster than that thing can travel.”
“So we’ll have to look for something faster for you,” Emmett said, again not discouraged by her lack of excitement.
They went on ride after ride. Some flung them high into the air, while others remained close to the ground, flinging them in every direction. While Emmett was having a wonderful time watching the humans react, Rose remained unimpressed throughout their adventure.
After they had exhausted all the possible rides they wandered aimlessly through the crowds, watching people win and lose games at various stalls. Carnies called from all sides of them, trying to engage them in whatever game they were controlling.
“Impress the ladies with you strength, men! Win her this huge teddy!”
Emmett glanced to his right and paused as a man started towards him.
“You’re a big boy! Come and give it a go! Just hit the board with the mallet and make the bell ring. It should be easy for a big boy like you. Just five dollars could make your girlfriend’s night!”
With a shrug, Emmett reached into his pocket and pulled out a five-dollar note.
“Stand back, little lady,” the carnie said to Rose as he passed Emmett the mallet. “We wouldn’t want any accidents to spoil the night.”
Rose rolled her eyes, but took a step backwards anyway.
Emmett held the mallet over his head for a few moments before letting it fall onto the board. Bright lights chased the indicator to the top of the pole and the bell rang loudly.
“We have a winner, ladies and gentlemen! See how easy it is!” the carnie announced. “Here you go.”
As the mallet was taken out of Emmett’s hands a teddy bear bigger than Alice was shoved into his arms. The carnie then turned back to attracting more players.
“That was easy,” Emmett muttered.
Rose sighed heavily. “It would be for someone with inhuman strength.”
“The least you could be is suitably impressed with your new teddy,” Emmett grumbled.
“What’s down this way?” Rose asked, her senses picking up on a delicious aroma.
Emmett took a couple of deep breaths in and savored the taste of the air for a few seconds. “My guess is animals.”
“Let’s go look at them,” Rose suggested, suddenly more interested in the carnival.
“Rose, I don’t think we can feed-“
“I just want to look.”
“All right,” Emmett agreed.
They wandered down a dirt road towards some makeshift sheds. The smell that had tempted their senses was quickly catalogued when they came across six large bulls penned in the sheds.
“Rose,” Emmett warned. He didn’t like the way her eyes had lit up as she moved closer to the beasts. “We can’t… Not here.”
“No one would hear anything,” Rose stated.
“These belong to someone,” Emmett countered. “We don’t touch other people’s animals. Besides there’s no fun hunting something that’s tethered.”
“Fine.” Rose sighed.
“If you’re that thirsty we can hunt on the way home,” Emmett offered.
“Maybe,” Rose responded.
The cow Rose was standing behind suddenly swished its tail and Emmett tensed, ready to pull Rose off the beast if the urge became too much. He saw her twitch, but that was all. Her control was second only to Carlisle’s, but this wasn’t a human tempting her, so there was every chance she’d forget where she was if it became too much.
“Come on, let’s get out of here before I change my mind,” Emmett said lightly. “Maybe I can win you another teddy before the carnival closes?”
“You can do that without trying,” Rose answered, unmoved by the offer, as she walked off.
“Yeah, but-“ Emmett started.
A terrified scream followed very quickly by a loud thud interrupted his train of thought.
“Rose! Are you all right? What happened?” Emmett put the teddy on the ground and went to her aid. His graceful partner had never fallen over before, so this was cause for concern.
“There’s something slippery on the floor,” Rose ground out.
“Slippery?” Emmett questioned as he helped her to her feet. A quick glance at the floor told him exactly what she had found slippery.
“What?”
A chuckle began to rumble through his chest. Emmett knew that laughing at her could very well be the death of him, but he couldn’t help it.
“Emmett Cullen, what is so funny about me falling over!”
“You stepped in something.” His chuckle grew to a raucous laugh as Rose’s eyes grew wide with horror.
Besides the mud that was streaked down her side there was evidence that the bulls in the shed were very healthy.
“Take me home now!” Rose demanded after inspecting herself.
“All right, love,” Emmett crooned, bringing himself under control. “I’ll just get something to cover the seat.”
“Damn the seat!”
“Rose, if it were my car I wouldn’t care, but we’ve got Edward’s. Just walk to the car, and I’ll meet you there.”
Before she could argue, Emmett picked the teddy bear up and disappeared into the crowded midway. It didn’t take him long to find a carnie willing to provide him with a large plastic bag allegedly for the bear. By the time he made his way through the crowds to where they’d left the car Rose’s expression was deadly.
“I’ll just get this over the seat,” Emmett murmured as he placed the teddy on the hood of the car and opened the door.
A few minutes later the passenger seat was covered with plastic and Emmett was standing next to the car waiting for Rose to slide into the vehicle.
“Will you hurry up,” Rose protested as Emmett moved around the car at human speed.
“There’s too many people around,” Emmett whispered as he folded himself into the sports car. “I’ll have you home and in a bath in no time.”
The drive back to Forks was silent, except for the few occasions that Emmett dared to glance at Rose. She would snarl at him until his gaze returned to the road ahead. He wanted desperately to make things right between them - perhaps have her see the funny side of what had happened - but he just didn’t know how to make that happen. She was even more upset with him than she’d been three days ago and this incident wasn’t even his fault.
As he brought the car to a stop in front of the garage, Emmett glanced at Rose again and didn’t look away when she snarled.
“Did you at least have a good time until you fell over?” he tried, sounding hopeful.
Rose ignored him and got out of the car.
In desperate need of an answer, hopefully one that would make him feel better, Emmett followed her up to the front porch.
“Rose, please.” He placed a hand on her arm. “We did have some fun.”
“You had fun,” Rose hissed. “I fell in God only knows what!”
“It’ll wash off,” Emmett pointed out weakly.
”Emmett Cullen, if you think tonight earned you any points think again!” Rosalie stormed into the house and up the stairs.
Emmett stood in the doorway with a huge stuffed bear in his arms. “I won you the bear, didn’t I?”
“Told you so,” Alice sang from across the room.
“You’ll learn to listen to Alice one of these days,” Edward added. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Emmett grumbled.
Edward’s eyebrows began to climb higher on his head and a smirk stretched across his mouth. “It’s better than you described,” he said to Alice.
“Does Rose need any help?” Esme asked.
“She’s going to take a bath,” Alice informed her.
“I might just-“ Emmett began.
“No! Stay away from her for a few hours,” Alice advised with a shake of her head.
Emmett nodded dejectedly.
“I’m going to Bella’s,” Edward announced. He patted his brother on the shoulder as he passed. “You should have just bought her something sparkly.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The other drabbles I’ve managed to finish can be found here:
Harry Potter
For Better or Worse
A Fresh Coat
The Beginning
A Show of Appreciation
Twilight
For Esme
First Date
Prompt: Emmett and Rose dating.
Title: Courting
Fandom: Twilight
Summary: Emmett should really learn to listen to Alice’s advice.
Characters: Emmett/Rose with cameos from everyone else
Word Count: 4541
Author’s Notes: This takes place before Emmett and Rose go to Africa.
Emmett cringed as another loud crash came from the room he shared with Rose. An electrical buzz filled his ears, and he guessed his new stereo had just met the wall. She was showing amazing restraint considering she could have easily thrown the stereo through the wall. It was a thought that warmed him, because it meant that there was still a way for him to dig himself out of trouble. First things first though: she needed time to vent and cool down, so it was time for him to go hunting.
“Stop thinking about hunting,” Edward insisted with a frustrated edge to his voice. “What did you do?”
“Thirsty?” Emmett questioned with a wicked grin as he kept his thoughts firmly on the black bear he was in desperately need of right now.
“If you don’t want to talk about it-“ Edward started.
“There’s no need,” Emmett claimed confidently.
“Fine.” Edward closed his eyes. After a few moments a small smirk tugged at his lips.
“Stay out of my wife’s mind!”
“It’s a scary place,” Edward admitted as his eyes slipped open. “And boy are you in trouble.”
“It’s not my fault,” Emmett griped.
“That’s debatable-“
“You can go debate the fact with Rose.”
“Are you kidding? She’s vicious when she’s in that mood,” Edward declared.
Emmett frowned as all went quiet on the upper floor. “Do you want to come hunting?”
“Sure,” Edward answered. “So, what are you going to do about Rose?” he asked on their way out of the house.
“What I usually do,” Emmett responded easily.
Edward frowned and groaned loudly. “You’re going to have another wedding?”
“It’s only natural. After all, the courting has to come to an end at some point, so the honeymoon can begin,” Emmett explained.
“You’re going to do the full bit again?”
“Rose enjoys it.”
“You mean it distracts her from what you actually did to earn her wrath,” Edward corrected. “I suppose you’re going to want some closet space as well.”
Emmett beamed brilliantly at his brother. “Good of you to offer.”
Over the decades Emmett and Rose had married many times, but before each wedding they went through a period of courting. This usually involved Emmett moving out of their shared room and ‘bunking’ with Edward for a period of time. While it didn’t bother Edward that much - after all, it’s not like they had to share a bed or anything - he did find it amusing, considering his siblings had been intimate for over seven decades.
“You know you could just buy her something sparkly,” Edward mentioned.
“And miss out on another honeymoon?”
Edward shook his head as vivid thoughts appeared in his brother’s mind. The last thing he wanted to do was explore the intimate workings of Emmett and Rose’s relationship. “Where are we going?”
“I want me some bear.”
“North then?”
“That’ll do,” Emmett agreed as he took off running in the general direction they wanted to travel.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After three days in the wild and away from the house, Edward thought Rose’s rage would have dissipated a little, but as they crossed the clearing he could clearly hear her going over what she planned to do to her husband for disappearing before she was finished tearing him apart for his misdemeanor.
“Well?” Emmett asked.
“Act quickly and stay out of her reach,” Edward whispered as softly as he could manage.
“Thanks!” Emmett bounded up the stairs and into the house without a moment’s hesitation.
Edward followed at a more sedate pace - almost human, actually - because, unlike Emmett, he was in no hurry to enter the dungeon of torture.
“Emmett Cullen, you had better have a good explanation-“
“Miss Hale, I was wondering if you’d honor me with your company this evening?” Emmett said over the top of her rant.
“-or you’re going to wish-“ Rose stopped suddenly and her expression shifted from one of fury to one of mild curiosity. “What did you say?”
“Will you honor me with your company this evening?” Emmett repeated, holding out a single red rose, now that he had her attention.
Rose snatched the flower out of his hand, brought it to her nose and inhaled the scent. “I’ll have to check my diary.”
A smile stretched across Emmett’s face; his focus was firmly on the sway of her hips as she ascended the staircase. “I’ll pick you up at seven o’clock.”
“She’ll be ready,” Alice informed him.
“Good.” Emmett grinned at his small sister. “Where are we going?”
Alice rolled her eyes expressively. “Seattle. ‘West Side Story’ is showing.”
Edward chuckled. “How many times have you seen that?”
“Too many,” Emmett moaned, as he turned to look at the wide screen television on the wall. A colorful advertisement for an event in Port Angeles was currently on the screen.
“You’re not going to the theatre, are you?” Alice sighed heavily. While she’d been picturing her siblings enjoying a night of elegance, Emmett had been busy making other plans. “She won’t like it.”
“My Rose will love it!” Emmett responded confidently.
Edward raised his eyebrows at Alice and smirked. “You’d think after seventy odd years he’d know better.”
“Yes, you would,” Alice agreed. “I’ll go help Rose with her wardrobe, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Why don’t you just taking her hunting somewhere different for a few weeks?” Edward suggested.
“We don’t usually hunt together when we’re dating.”
“Why is that?” Edward asked.
Emmett smirked. His golden eyes were dancing with mischief as he stared at his brother.
A frown crossed Edward’s face, followed by an expression of revulsion. “Come on, enough with the torture.”
“We can’t help it… All that hot blood-“
“I get the picture,” Edward growled.
“Time to get cleaned up and ready for a night of romance,” Emmett announced, mounting the stairs.
“I moved your things into Edward’s room while you were gone,” Alice said as she descended the stairs. “Rose didn’t look pleased about the clothes I laid out for her.”
“Thanks,” Emmett responded gratefully. “Once she’s there she’ll have fun.”
Alice shook her head forlornly.
“I’d better get myself ready then,” Emmett announced enthusiastically.
Edward waited until Emmett was well out of sight before turning to Alice. “Is this going to last long?”
Her eyes slipped closed, and she concentrated for a few minutes. “I’m not sure. She’s still really upset with him, so she hasn’t made the decision to marry him again. I’ve got a feeling tonight isn’t really going to help either.”
“Great,” Edward mumbled under his breath.
“Why are you so upset? You and Emmett always have fun when you’re rooming together.”
“We do, but I have Bella to consider this time.”
“It won’t be an issue,” Alice said confidently. “Emmett loves having Bella around.”
“For comic relief,” Edward muttered.
“He genuinely likes her as well,” Alice assured him. “She’s on her way over, by the way.”
A pleased grin lit up Edward’s face. “Maybe Jasper can-“
“Maybe Jasper can what?” Jasper asked cautiously as he came to stand behind his wife.
“Mess with Emmett and Rose, so they make up quickly?” Edward continued hopefully.
“Not a chance! I am not going anywhere near her when she’s in the mood she’s in right now,” Jasper stated decisively.
Edward knew there was no point arguing his case, because Jasper’s mind was firmly made up, and Alice wasn’t terribly impressed with the request either. “I’m going to wait for Bella,” he muttered.
Outside the day was still bright and sunny. Hence, the reason Bella was coming to the Cullen household. Edward had phoned her on the way home to let her know they’d were back. He was still mulling over the situation with Rose and Emmett when Bella’s truck rumbled into the clearing.
Eager for distraction, Edward bounded toward the ancient truck and opened her door just as she cut the engine. The moment he saw her face he realized just how much he’d missed her over the last three days. It wasn’t that it was a long time in his world, but now that he had found his soul mate an hour out of her presence felt like an eternity.
“Hello, beautiful,” Edward greeted her happily as he scooped her into his arms. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Bella whispered as her heart thumped with increasing speed against her ribs.
His lips met hers briefly, and then he allowed her feet to find the ground. “What did you get up to while I was gone?”
“Not much. I’m up to date on all my homework and my bedroom is spotless,” Bella admitted.
“No accidents, bumps, bruises or trips to the emergency room I should know about?”
Bella rolled her eyes towards the heavens. “Nope.”
“Good. Did I miss much at school?”
“A few assignments, but I brought them with me, so you can get them done.” Bella reached back into the cab of her truck and extracted a bag of books.
“Mmm… I guess I should thank you,” Edward drawled, taking the bag.
“Yes, you should.”
“Let’s go and hide this in my room, so I don’t have to think about it yet,” Edward suggested.
Hand in hand, they walked into the house. It was at times like this that Edward was grateful for his family’s enhanced hearing. They knew he wanted some time alone with Bella, so everyone was suddenly absent from the living room. With his family in mind, Edward headed straight for his room. Bella was busy telling him a few amusing things that had happened in his absence and explaining the assignments she’d gathered for him as he opened the door to his bedroom.
Bella stepped over the threshold only to step back immediately into Edward’s chest with a loud gasp.
“Hi, Bella,” Emmett greeted cheerfully.
Edward’s eyes narrowed a low growl rumbled through his chest. “Put some clothes on.”
“I’m getting to it. I just got out of the shower,” Emmett explained as the towel that had been covering his hips hit the floor.
Edward immediately spun Bella around, so her face was buried in his chest. Not that he needed to, because her eyes were closed so tightly that her face was screwed up into a comical expression. “Emmett!”
Love it when she blushes,, Emmett thought with a chuckle.
“Rose would rip your bits off if she knew you were flaunting them in front of other women,” Edward hissed quickly.
No, she wouldn’t, Emmett disagreed. She loves my bits right where they are.
“We’ll go downstairs, Bella. I’m really sorry you had to see that,” Edward whispered loud enough for her to hear him. “This philistine will take forever to dress if we wait for him.”
“What… Why…” Bella stammered as they reached the staircase. “Why is Emmett in your room?”
“Remember how I told you that Rose and Emmett get married every so often?”
Bella nodded.
“Well, it usually starts with an argument, and that happened just before we left to go hunting. In fact, it’s the reason we went hunting.” Edward sighed heavily as his hand ran through his hair. “They’ll ‘date’ for a while now, and then he’ll propose again.”
“Why is he in-“
“In my room?” Edward jumped in. “Because while they’re dating they don’t share a room or touch each other, so he keeps his things in my room for the duration.”
“Oh,” Bella expressed softly.
“It’s silly, I know, but it’s the way they do things.”
“Well… it is sort of romantic,” Bella mumbled.
Edward looked at Bella incredulously. “It’s irritating and ridiculous.”
“No more ridiculous than you falling for a human,” Rose hissed.
Upon feeling Bella stiffen, Edward swallowed his cutting response and hurried Bella down the stairs. There were drawbacks to his family having overly sensitive hearing as well as benefits.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Emmett paused briefly before knocking on the door that was once his bedroom. He was confident that tonight was going to be perfect. Rose loved being spoiled, so he had the obligatory bunch of red roses in his hand, and in his pocket he had the keys to Edward’s Aston Martin. Though Rose had threatened to destroy her brother’s prized car many times, she was enamored with it, and it was the perfect chariot for such an outing.
“Are you going to stand out there all night congratulating yourself, or are you going to knock?” Rose whispered from the other side of the door.
An amused chuckle shook Emmett’s body as he rapped on the door. Rose did not like to be kept waiting.
The door opened slowly, revealing a coy looking Rosalie Hale dressed in a pair of snug fitting charcoal pants and a sweater that that clung in all the right places.
“Good evening, Miss Hale,” Emmett intoned politely. “If I may… You look breathtaking tonight.”
“Mr. Cullen,” Rose returned haughtily.
“These pale in the face of your beauty,” Emmett whispered, offering her a large bunch of red roses.
“Thank you.”
“Shall we?” Emmett offered his arm.
Rose placed her hand in the crook of Emmett’s arm, as if she were delicate, and allowed him to lead her to the staircase.
Alice was practically bouncing with excitement at the bottom of the stairs. “I’ll put your roses in a vase,” she offered.
“Thank you, Alice,” Rose murmured as she handed over the bouquet.
“Have fun,” Esme called as the couple exited the house.
“Should we have warned him to have her home at a reasonable hour?” Carlisle joked as the door closed.
Laughter from the house followed Emmett and Rose outside to where Edward’s prized car was waiting.
“Is Edward aware that you’re taking his car?” Rose asked as Emmett assisted her into the car.
“It was his idea,” Emmett confessed.
Rose nodded briefly, trying not to look excited as she ran her hand over the soft leather seat.
The trip to Port Angeles was quick, even by Cullen standards. Emmett wasn’t accustomed to driving a sports car, and his heavy foot made short work of the miles. Conversation was kept on a polite level, as it always was when they were going through these special times. They’d done this so often that it almost felt like they were reading lines from a script, but the reward at the end - the honeymoon - was well worth the trouble, in Emmett’s not so humble opinion anyway.
Rose always played her part so well, though Emmett knew it was usually because she was angry with him and was making him pay for his crimes against her. She was a difficult woman to live with, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. Without his Rosalie he was nothing and had little to exist for.
As they drew closer to their destination, Emmett could hear the thrilled crowds and the aroma was almost overwhelming. He could feel his own excitement begin to build. This was exactly what they needed: a night of innocent fun and laughter. A quick glance at his passenger revealed her confusion.
Rose’s forehead was creased with a frown that matched the light scowl on the rest of her face. Emmett didn’t need to be a mind reader to know she had no idea where they were headed. Pride surged through him. After so many decades together it truly was difficult to be innovative with their courting rituals, so this evening was already a success on that point alone.
He guided Edward’s pride and joy into the crowded parking lot, which was little more than a vacant field on the outskirts of the tourist town. “We’re here,” Emmett announced.
“Here?” Rose turned to him with a deepening frown. “Where is here?”
“Come and see,” Emmett encouraged as he opened his door and unfolded himself from the confines of the sports car.
“I’m not sure I want to,” Rose muttered to herself.
“We’re going to have fun,” Emmett promised as he held her door open.
Rose screwed up her perfect nose. “What is that awful smell?”
“A mixture of humans, bad food, animals and sawdust, I believe,” Emmett told her with a grin. “We’re at the carnival.”
“Carnival? Emmett-“
“You’re going to love it!” He grabbed her hand and started walking her towards the source of the noise.
“I don’t think-“ Rose tried again.
“Don’t think. Just soak up the atmosphere.”
Emmett glanced at his ‘date’ as they neared the gates that lead into the mayhem that was the carnival. Her face had smoothed out to hold an expression of complete indifference. It was going to be a difficult evening, but rather than dread the challenge ahead, Emmett embraced it. Spice was the variety of life, and this was one way to stem the boredom of such a long existence. They may be eternally devoted to each other, but their personalities wouldn’t allow them to drop into a mundane existence, like others, without a little upheaval every now and then to keep things interesting.
The moment they stepped over the threshold their senses were assaulted by dazzling lights and even stronger odors that belonged solely to carnivals. Throngs of people were moving from one attraction to the next, and before long Emmett and Rose found themselves part of the crowd. Whereas humans would normally avoid contact with them, they found themselves being bumped and jostled in the swarms - something that wasn’t impressing the beautiful blonde vampire.
“These humans are stupid,” Rose hissed quickly.
“They’re just distracted by the excitement,” Emmett returned as he stopped in front of a large roller coaster. “Do you want to go on this?”
“What does it do?”
“Watch.” Emmett directed Rose’s attention to the carriages that were just pulling out from the platform.
They watched the small line of carriages slowly climb the steep tracks, and then plummet down the steep incline. Screams filled the air as the occupants voiced their excitement and terror. Every turn of the carriages brought a new pitch to the shrieking and none was more piercing than when the carriages were midway through the loops.
“What do you think? Should we give it a go?” Emmett asked enthusiastically.
“If you must,” Rose responded flatly.
Rather than be bothered by her lack of interest, Emmett strode over to the ticket box. He returned with two small plastic squares and a large grin. “Come on then.”
As they climbed the narrow metal stairs to the platform breathless passengers were disembarking. Some were laughing, others simply looked grateful to have their feet on solid ground again and a few of the humans looked deathly pale.
Emmett handed the tokens to the ride operator and climbed into the lead carriage, then held his hand out to assist Rose into the brightly colored fiberglass box. Once the carriages were full, and everyone was secured within their carriage they began to move slowly. Up and down, and then around the loops, followed by more up and down steep hills. The screaming started just after the first steep decline and didn’t stop until the ride finished, but neither Rose nor Emmett uttered a sound.
When the carriage drew to a stop Emmett removed the safety harness and assisted Rose onto the platform.
“Well?” Emmett posed.
“I don’t see what all the fuss is about.” Rose sniffed affectedly. “We run faster than that thing can travel.”
“So we’ll have to look for something faster for you,” Emmett said, again not discouraged by her lack of excitement.
They went on ride after ride. Some flung them high into the air, while others remained close to the ground, flinging them in every direction. While Emmett was having a wonderful time watching the humans react, Rose remained unimpressed throughout their adventure.
After they had exhausted all the possible rides they wandered aimlessly through the crowds, watching people win and lose games at various stalls. Carnies called from all sides of them, trying to engage them in whatever game they were controlling.
“Impress the ladies with you strength, men! Win her this huge teddy!”
Emmett glanced to his right and paused as a man started towards him.
“You’re a big boy! Come and give it a go! Just hit the board with the mallet and make the bell ring. It should be easy for a big boy like you. Just five dollars could make your girlfriend’s night!”
With a shrug, Emmett reached into his pocket and pulled out a five-dollar note.
“Stand back, little lady,” the carnie said to Rose as he passed Emmett the mallet. “We wouldn’t want any accidents to spoil the night.”
Rose rolled her eyes, but took a step backwards anyway.
Emmett held the mallet over his head for a few moments before letting it fall onto the board. Bright lights chased the indicator to the top of the pole and the bell rang loudly.
“We have a winner, ladies and gentlemen! See how easy it is!” the carnie announced. “Here you go.”
As the mallet was taken out of Emmett’s hands a teddy bear bigger than Alice was shoved into his arms. The carnie then turned back to attracting more players.
“That was easy,” Emmett muttered.
Rose sighed heavily. “It would be for someone with inhuman strength.”
“The least you could be is suitably impressed with your new teddy,” Emmett grumbled.
“What’s down this way?” Rose asked, her senses picking up on a delicious aroma.
Emmett took a couple of deep breaths in and savored the taste of the air for a few seconds. “My guess is animals.”
“Let’s go look at them,” Rose suggested, suddenly more interested in the carnival.
“Rose, I don’t think we can feed-“
“I just want to look.”
“All right,” Emmett agreed.
They wandered down a dirt road towards some makeshift sheds. The smell that had tempted their senses was quickly catalogued when they came across six large bulls penned in the sheds.
“Rose,” Emmett warned. He didn’t like the way her eyes had lit up as she moved closer to the beasts. “We can’t… Not here.”
“No one would hear anything,” Rose stated.
“These belong to someone,” Emmett countered. “We don’t touch other people’s animals. Besides there’s no fun hunting something that’s tethered.”
“Fine.” Rose sighed.
“If you’re that thirsty we can hunt on the way home,” Emmett offered.
“Maybe,” Rose responded.
The cow Rose was standing behind suddenly swished its tail and Emmett tensed, ready to pull Rose off the beast if the urge became too much. He saw her twitch, but that was all. Her control was second only to Carlisle’s, but this wasn’t a human tempting her, so there was every chance she’d forget where she was if it became too much.
“Come on, let’s get out of here before I change my mind,” Emmett said lightly. “Maybe I can win you another teddy before the carnival closes?”
“You can do that without trying,” Rose answered, unmoved by the offer, as she walked off.
“Yeah, but-“ Emmett started.
A terrified scream followed very quickly by a loud thud interrupted his train of thought.
“Rose! Are you all right? What happened?” Emmett put the teddy on the ground and went to her aid. His graceful partner had never fallen over before, so this was cause for concern.
“There’s something slippery on the floor,” Rose ground out.
“Slippery?” Emmett questioned as he helped her to her feet. A quick glance at the floor told him exactly what she had found slippery.
“What?”
A chuckle began to rumble through his chest. Emmett knew that laughing at her could very well be the death of him, but he couldn’t help it.
“Emmett Cullen, what is so funny about me falling over!”
“You stepped in something.” His chuckle grew to a raucous laugh as Rose’s eyes grew wide with horror.
Besides the mud that was streaked down her side there was evidence that the bulls in the shed were very healthy.
“Take me home now!” Rose demanded after inspecting herself.
“All right, love,” Emmett crooned, bringing himself under control. “I’ll just get something to cover the seat.”
“Damn the seat!”
“Rose, if it were my car I wouldn’t care, but we’ve got Edward’s. Just walk to the car, and I’ll meet you there.”
Before she could argue, Emmett picked the teddy bear up and disappeared into the crowded midway. It didn’t take him long to find a carnie willing to provide him with a large plastic bag allegedly for the bear. By the time he made his way through the crowds to where they’d left the car Rose’s expression was deadly.
“I’ll just get this over the seat,” Emmett murmured as he placed the teddy on the hood of the car and opened the door.
A few minutes later the passenger seat was covered with plastic and Emmett was standing next to the car waiting for Rose to slide into the vehicle.
“Will you hurry up,” Rose protested as Emmett moved around the car at human speed.
“There’s too many people around,” Emmett whispered as he folded himself into the sports car. “I’ll have you home and in a bath in no time.”
The drive back to Forks was silent, except for the few occasions that Emmett dared to glance at Rose. She would snarl at him until his gaze returned to the road ahead. He wanted desperately to make things right between them - perhaps have her see the funny side of what had happened - but he just didn’t know how to make that happen. She was even more upset with him than she’d been three days ago and this incident wasn’t even his fault.
As he brought the car to a stop in front of the garage, Emmett glanced at Rose again and didn’t look away when she snarled.
“Did you at least have a good time until you fell over?” he tried, sounding hopeful.
Rose ignored him and got out of the car.
In desperate need of an answer, hopefully one that would make him feel better, Emmett followed her up to the front porch.
“Rose, please.” He placed a hand on her arm. “We did have some fun.”
“You had fun,” Rose hissed. “I fell in God only knows what!”
“It’ll wash off,” Emmett pointed out weakly.
”Emmett Cullen, if you think tonight earned you any points think again!” Rosalie stormed into the house and up the stairs.
Emmett stood in the doorway with a huge stuffed bear in his arms. “I won you the bear, didn’t I?”
“Told you so,” Alice sang from across the room.
“You’ll learn to listen to Alice one of these days,” Edward added. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Emmett grumbled.
Edward’s eyebrows began to climb higher on his head and a smirk stretched across his mouth. “It’s better than you described,” he said to Alice.
“Does Rose need any help?” Esme asked.
“She’s going to take a bath,” Alice informed her.
“I might just-“ Emmett began.
“No! Stay away from her for a few hours,” Alice advised with a shake of her head.
Emmett nodded dejectedly.
“I’m going to Bella’s,” Edward announced. He patted his brother on the shoulder as he passed. “You should have just bought her something sparkly.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The other drabbles I’ve managed to finish can be found here:
Harry Potter
For Better or Worse
A Fresh Coat
The Beginning
A Show of Appreciation
Twilight
For Esme
First Date