Chapter Text
Norway had always been a breathtaking country; with vast spans of forest and towering mountains around the cities - like the undeniably beautiful capital city of Oslo. Those vast mountain ranges surrounding the bustling city that had risen from a small market town in the 1000s truly accentuated the power of the country and its people at large. It seemed to mean nothing to them, and even when harsh winters bore down upon even the most northern members of the country, they did not flinch. They simply continued on with their lives as their ancestors had done before them, living productive and fruitful lives in harsh climates that many couldn't withstand.
Being able to take the modern cityscape in its full glory under the beautiful early morning sunrises and evening sunsets - especially after so long having to stick to the cloudy and almost morose areas - was something that the Cullen Coven were all incredibly thankful for.
With so many modern advancements in technology and make-up, it was easier to disguise what they were than it ever had been before. As vampires that sparkled in direct sunlight, no matter how much they hated the fact, they had been relegated to dark and dreary communities. But now, they were free to enjoy the feeling of the sun on their skin for the first time without the fear of exposing themselves as supernatural beings. Especially since they had last actively interacted with humanity.
Regretfully, that had been the last time that Rosalie Hale had felt truly whole as well.
After leaving Forks, Washington, and her true mate behind seventeen years ago, Rosalie had been a figurative shell of herself. While Emmett, her chosen mate, helped immensely to dull the pain that spread the longer she spent without her mate, sometimes his presence just brought guilt. They had been together for nearly seventy years prior to Isabella Swan coming into the coven's lives, and Rosalie loved Emmett more than anything she could have imagined.
But the moment the bumbling and clumsy human stumbled into her life, everything changed. It was as if she couldn't bear to be near him without feeling as if she was betraying the brunette. That feeling just compounded into a feeling of betraying Emmett, who she had chosen and had chosen her equally in return. The problem wasn't helped any by Bella choosing to be with Edward instead of even entertaining Rosalie's presence in any capacity.
Thankfully, things had steadily gotten better in recent years.
After a brief visit from Alice and Emmett several years following their departure, as they were the only two willing to go near the town, the family learned that Bella had left Forks after her graduation and hadn't returned since. Apparently, Charlie and any of her friends from the area visited her instead.
The pair had placed a recording device into his office during the night before perching themselves high in the trees nearby. It was a measure they had gone to so that the others could hear everything from Charlie Swan himself.
He was proudly regaling stories within the Police Station from his recent visit to Bella, going on about how happy she seemed and how proud he was of her for building a successful life for herself after leaving. That alone echoed through their ears long after they left - though they never told anyone about the visibly recent picture of Bella and himself in front of the entry into the Viking Museum Haithabu that sat on the Chief's desk. They could barely stand hearing about her new life, but seeing the picture of an older and distinctly happier Bella was almost too much.
Somehow though, hearing from Charlie himself that Bella had moved on and was happy didn't quite bring the relief they expected.
While a heavy weight lifted off the family's shoulders, something didn't sit right with them. None of them, besides Edward, enjoyed watching Rosalie curl in on herself as they listened to the recording from the device that Alice had planted inside the Chief's office.
There was no surprise when Edward sulked the moment he learned that Bella didn't have any modern social platforms that they could find. He waited for Emmett to produce anything he could find, the family as a whole hopeful to at least catch a glimpse of Bella as she was now. To at least see that she was alright.
Nothing ever came up under her name, and while it wasn't comforting, they knew from Charlie himself that she was okay. So they couldn't be angry that she didn't have them.
However, for Rosalie, that was one of the biggest reliefs.
She couldn't imagine seeing Bella's ever-passing human life through nothing but quick snapshots posted across various platforms. The idea of never truly seeing her, but seeing pictures of her, again and happy with someone else, was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach.
"Babe." Emmett nudges her gently with his elbow, pulling her from her thoughts as she stares down at the untouched mug of espresso in front of her. It was something that she regularly enjoyed after learning that adding a bit of animal blood made it easily consumable, bringing her just a touch of peace in her existence as she continued on. "You okay?"
Rosalie smiles tightly, trying to ease his worry as she leans into his side. The feeling of him pressing a kiss to her temple soothes the ache only slightly, but she knows that he's doing his best to help. "Just… a hard time of the year."
Understanding seems to wash over him instantly at the realization, his arm wrapping around her shoulders to squeeze gently as even Jasper reaches around Alice to squeeze her shoulder consolingly. It had come as a surprise to her that, after leaving, Jasper had come to her to apologize for nearly attacking the brunette at the birthday party after they had left.
Not Edward.
Surprisingly, Jasper had known about the bond between them all along, but respected Rosalie enough to let things play out and hope for the best. He regretted not involving himself more so that Rosalie had both of her mates to this day, and was often her biggest comfort outside of Emmett. To this day, he still felt an immense amount of guilt over what happened that day and the family leaving due to his loss of control, especially because they left because of Edward's resolute decision and Carlisle's belief that Bella was his mate - which he most assuredly didn't believe such now that Edward was entirely unaffected by the distance from the human. Jasper felt that if he'd gotten involved sooner, none of it would have happened. Maybe he could have talked some sense into Rosalie, gotten her to woo Bella and sweep the girl off of her feet. He wasn't sure. But they all knew he often blamed himself.
Even if he shouldn't.
"Whatever you need, I'm here," Emmett whispers against her hair, knowing that the immediate months leading to and following Bella's birthday were always the worst for her. "Just tell me, okay?"
"I'll try. I just-"
The sound of gleeful, melodic laughter cuts her short, striking a chord deeply within every member of the family. The pitch alone is almost reminiscent of one they all know rather intimately, though they had never heard it so freely echo off of buildings. A niggling in their minds at the sound causes them all to turn so they can look in the direction of it, just hoping for some kind of reassurance that it was nothing important.
Just outside of a small bookstore just down the way across from their cafe - and over the rather surprisingly calm Saturday afternoon streets - to their shock, they see a tall figure lifting a smaller one off of the ground from behind.
It hits them quickly from the noticeable features that the smaller figure is an undeniably familiar-looking woman. Her heart-shaped face and high cheekbones are accentuated by short, finger-combed chestnut brown curls. A snug dark-green sweater hugs the soft curve of her shoulders, the sleeves pushed up toward elbows to show off several swirling tattoos patterning their way across the tanned skin below. Tight dark-wash jeans that highlight the soft curve to her slim hips, the ankles rolled up onto her calves to show her ankles above the dirty low-top white converse that look almost out of place with how put together she is. But they seem to be incredibly well-worn and loved as if they’re a favored pair.
So perhaps they can't fault her.
She's horrifyingly familiar somehow, but they can't quite understand what it is about her that seems to strike them.
"Ollie stop it!" The woman giggles, curling back into the figure holding them aloft, their combined laughter intensifying as a smattering of kisses are spread across her face. "Baby come on!"
Ollie, as the woman had called them, places the small woman back onto her feet, leaning back to smile as the brunette turns in their arms to beam up at them.
They're taller by a significant margin, practically towering over the brunette as their astonishingly bright sea-green eyes glow with nothing but absolute devotion. There's a softness to their rather sculpted features, the strong jaw leading up to full, pierced, lips and high cheek cheekbones. A mass of short untamed toffee brown locks frame everything perfectly, a few hairs curling down to fall across their forehead so that they brush just across sculpted brows. That, and the massive dimples on either side of their smile, are by far the only soft thing about them.
Otherwise, they're broad and incredibly well-muscled from the shoulders to the calves and even their forearms. Their upper body is emphasized significantly by a tailored black button-up, the sleeves rolled to show off intricately tattooed forearms and hands; four buttons were undone to show off their equally inked and chiseled chest. Even the slim-fit black jeans that hug visibly toned thighs, accompanied by heavy-looking boots, work to make them look tougher.
Even as a human with such a soft smile, they're downright intimidating.
Yet, as intimidating as they seem, Ollie tugs the smiler woman up onto her toes as the pair lean toward one another in shocking synchronization. Their lips press together three consecutive times before they nuzzle their noses together with incredibly content-sounding sighs.
Easily lowering the small woman to her feet, Ollie curls downward to brush her lips across her forehead with a crooked sort of grin lifting them upward at one corner. "Am I not allowed to be proud of you, Mrs. Daly?"
The woman scoffs, leaning back to swat Ollie on the chest before winding her arms around their neck with an amused grin aimed upward. "I hate that you made me promise to be unapologetically proud of myself and that you would do the same when we got married. You were very rude for that surprise."
"Was I really though?" Ollie rocks them back and forth, a teasing curl to their husky tenor that is matched wonderfully by their cocky smirk. "Because, as I remember, you have quite the problem with being proud of and celebrating your accomplishments. Which means that as the - very proudly I might add - legally bound wife of one Isabella Marie Swan Daly, it is my sworn duty to ensure that you know how proud of you that everyone around you is. More so, I need to make sure you always remember to be proud of yourself. So I don't think I'm really all that out of line."
They were right in thinking the woman looked familiar.
It was Bella, their Bella, the very same they’d known so long ago.
Several shocked gasps echo around the table as the features and matured voice of this woman in Oslo suddenly align with the teenager they once knew so well. Rosalie can practically feel the world begin to spin beneath her at the words echoing through her mind.
Isabella Marie Swan Daly. Mrs. Daly.
Bella was married to this other woman that was holding her and smiling at her. This woman got to hold her and kiss her in public without a single fear or hesitation. To see her smile and laugh every day.
To call Bella her wife.
Yet even as her world tilts and twists and she struggles to comprehend that this grown woman they see before them, is Isabella Swan? She can't help but take in every visible feature that she can with her vampiric eyes. It's difficult, with Bella's wife mostly in the way now, but Rosalie can make out deep smile lines along the side and some around her eyes that most definitely weren't there before. The maturity to her face that came along with aging as any human would in seventeen years, that last bit of her baby fat having fallen away to show the breathtaking woman Rosalie always knew was there beneath it all. Especially as Bella allows her wife to sway them back and forth as they gaze at one another so adoringly.
"You're a menace to society, Oliver Íomhar Swan Daly." Bella slides her arms down so that her hands can rest on her wife's chest, thumbs rubbing across it in slow sweeping motions. "I honestly don't know why I love you, but I really, really do. And I'm so thankful that you're my person."
Oliver swoops forward to eagerly capture her lips just as she finishes speaking, Bella's fingers winding into the collar of her wife's black button-down to pull her closer so that she can pour herself into the kiss.
It's the kind of kiss that all but Edward know well. The deep, soul-reaching kind that leaves you breathless and off-kilter from the intensity. Something so full of passion and love that would make you dizzy with the need for more .
It seems like the most instinctual thing in the world for them, kissing like that. While Rosalie isn't sure how long they've been together, knowing that they're married, it has to be something they've done a million times before. This has to be normal for them.
But just knowing that someone other than herself gets to kiss Bella that way, and for it to be reciprocated so eagerly, sends Rosalie into a rapid tailspin of " What if's " with wishes it could be her. She knows that she can't blame anyone but herself, but it doesn't make it any better.
"I can't believe it," Edward whispers brokenly, breaking through her thoughts and causing her head to snap up in his direction in disbelief. "I left her, gave up my happiness with her, and this is what she chose. I wanted her to have a husband and children, yet she-"
"It's her life, Edward," Rosalie snarls darkly, a wave of calm washing over her from Jasper as fury rapidly builds in her chest. She understands that he’s trying to avoid a fight, and she appreciates that, but she has a right to be furious over this. Edward glares at her, obviously wanting to say something demeaning in return as he always did, but she isn’t anywhere near finished with him yet. "It's been seventeen years. What? Did you expect her to just sit around and wait for you to go back for her?"
Contact-green eyes dart away at the accusation, focusing down on the table as Edward stays disturbingly silent. That alone is all the confirmation that Rosalie needs.
Bella waiting for him, alone and unhappy, feeling as if she weren’t worthy of another’s love due to how special he was being a supernaturally beautiful vampire. It was exactly what Edward wanted. No matter how much it was stressed to him that Bella was Rosalie's mate, her true and destined soulmate, he never respected it.
He didn't care.
He had wanted Bella for himself the moment he learned that he couldn't read her, and no one could change his mind. Even knowing that she was his singer and that anything he felt for her would never be true until after she was turned. No feelings could be. Anything he felt was for her blood.
Regardless of that, if Bella had been turned, she would've learned of her bond with Rosalie. So the likelihood of their relationship working to any degree was nigh impossible.
Unless Bella rejected her, of course.
"You're such a self-righteous prick." She sneers, not wavering when his now dark contact-green eyes focus on her. "You seriously expected her to wait for you all this time? She isn't yours, Edward. She never was. Why would she wait for you-"
"Oh, and she waited for you?" He scoffs, jutting his chin toward where the couple are sharing soft words, Bella's fingers now playing with the short hairs along the base of Oliver's neck. "You're just as immoral and sick as she is if-"
"Edward!" Esme hisses sharply, her tone causing all of them to tense, Edward scowling down at his clenched fists on the tabletop. "I don't care which of you she was mated to, but this needs to stop. Regardless of the matter, can we not just be happy for her? For the life that she has clearly built herself?"
"The ladies are right, as usual, dude." Emmett rubs at Rosalie's bicep as he narrows his dark blue eyes on Edward. He knows this isn't easy for her right now, and that Edward's unnecessarily cruel words are just causing her more pain, so he's doing whatever he can to help. She cannot find the words to express how much it means to her that he is. "It is Bella Bear's life and this is what she chose. We left her a long time ago, and she probably moved on a while ago by the sounds of it. I can't say I'm upset about it dude. She looks super happy."
"But that woman is not what I wanted for her." Edward shakes his head, anger and disappointment that Bella couldn't follow such simple instructions obvious in his tone. "I wanted her to have a husband and children. To have a family. Yet she chose this sick and immoral lifestyle-"
"Edward that's enough," Carlisle interjects suddenly, his tone allowing no room for argument. "I understand that you cared for her, I do, but this behavior is out of line."
"Carlisle-"
"I said enough." Carlisle holds up a hand to silence his eldest changeling, bright blue eyes hard as he stares him down. "Just because you don't agree with how she lives now does not mean it's incorrect. Truthfully, with how genuinely happy Isabella seems? I would argue that this is the right way for her. And who are we to argue what is the correct and incorrect path for her? Especially after so long."
"We aren't," Jasper adds as he continues his watch of the couple. He is the only one who hasn't looked away from the couple since realizing who Bella was. "Look at them together. Truly look and listen to how they interact."
Everyone turns to look back at the couple, their eyes finding Oliver crouching more than enough for Bella to jump onto her back. There is an ease to the way Bella drapes her arms around Oliver’s shoulders and locks her legs around her hips. An almost intrinsic flow to the way Oliver just smiles when Bella leans to kiss her neck and then rests her cheek against her shoulder as she begins walking along the path.
It truly is a series of events that seems so normal to them. So natural that it makes Rosalie almost sick to her stomach. Yet somehow, she can't help the little smile on her lips at the sight of Bella so happy. She may not be with her mate, but Bella is happy.
That, in the grand scheme of things, matters more to Rosalie than she could ever express.
"So, you planned a party with our family did you?" Bella grins at her wife as Oliver moves down the cobblestone streets, both uncaring for the eyes on them.
"That I did, yes!" Oliver announces proudly, large hands curling under Bella's knees to help with keeping her in place. "You deserve to celebrate the extension on your book deal, Mrs. Daly. Let me, and our very large family, be proud of you."
"You really are too sweet to me, Mrs. Daly. I have no idea what I did to deserve you, but I'll continue to thank the universe for shoving you into my life so chaotically." Bella twists her head to press a tender kiss to Oliver's neck, fingers drumming out a happy little beat on her chest. "You're my entire soul."
"As you're mine, my love." Oliver turns her head to kiss Bella's temple, her stride never breaking as she does so. "But if I do remember correctly, you were the one shoved toward me. Not the other way around. I was just the rescuer who swept you off your feet to keep you from getting hurt."
"Quite literally," Bella chuckles. "But I remember. Honestly, it'd be impossible to forget. You stuck out in that crowd like a beacon, and the moment I got pushed toward you, your attention shifted from looking at medieval swords to not allowing me to hit the ground. I was rather smitten before I saw your eyes and smile. After I saw them and you chased down the guy that shoved me?” She scoffs, “Completely done for."
"The dimples with green eyes always have worked wonders with the ladies." Oliver teases her playfully, laughing boisterously when Bella pinches her shoulder. "Are you gonna look at me and tell me that I'm wrong?"
"Oh my god, shut the fuck up," Bella groans, forehead dropping onto Oliver's shoulder just as they pass by the table the Cullens occupy across the street. Oliver just laughs as they continue along, peaking back when she feels Bella shift and look up at her. "I walked right into that, didn't I?"
"Aye." Oliver squeezes her thighs gently with a seemingly consoling kind of nod. "Could've been worse, but this is what you get for marrying someone near ten years your junior, my love. You get the culture that comes with it."
"I married my bully, ask me anything," Bella replies almost instantly, squeaking when one of Oliver's hand's shifts to pinch at the crease of her thigh and buttocks. "I said what I said!"
"I'm not denying it!" Oliver defends, stopping a bit away from a small restaurant to allow Bella to climb off of her back. As they dust themselves off to look presentable, Oliver adjusting the rolled sleeves of their shirt as Bella fixes the wrinkles in her sweater, the Cullens all notice that it’s a Poke restaurant. "But you bully me too, old lady."
"You married this old lady," Bella reminds, leaning up to kiss Oliver quickly before reaching up to try and tame their hair slightly. "Then again, you make me act like such a child so-"
"We can grow old, but growing up is never required." Oliver smiles tenderly as they lean closer to allow Bella better access to the wild mess. The action earns her a soft scoff, but Bella seems to happily continue on with her task until she deems her wife's hair acceptable. "I cherish every moment you act so young with me, baby, and I always will. You deserve that freedom and happiness you didn't get growing up."
"You continue to show me that every day, sweetheart." Bella accepts a kiss with a happy-sounding hum. "Now, shall we go enjoy our little treat? I quite remember my Dad’s flight getting in soon, so I’d like to eat something reasonable before dinner with our family to hopefully survive this party you've put together for me. If that’s alright with you, of course."
Oliver, grinning in a way so eerily similar to the way Emmett does when he’s being cheeky, offers her arm to Bella as she opens the door with the little handle for her foot. "I believe we shall, my love. May I escort you?"
"Always such a gentleman, aren't you?" Bella slips her fingers around the offered elbow, and giggles when a messy kiss is pressed to her cheek. "God I love you."
"I love you most, baby girl." Oliver motions her inside. "Now let me spoil you for a bit before our family gets ahold of you and I'm not allowed to do so until we get home."
"Oh, that means I won't be-"
"Say it and I'm kicking your ass," Oliver threatens playfully as they disappear inside, the sound of Bella's resounding laughter at the tease echoing in Rosalie's mind for several moments. Even as the pair settle and discuss their order with the woman working behind the counter, who knows the couple by name, inside the little shop. Everyone, sans Edward, turns to stare at her as she swallows heavily.
They have to know something is wrong with everything she just learned.
Seeing her mate after so long with happiness at her continued aging was painful enough, but to see her with someone else… To see Isabella happy and married to another person was enough to drag her into the depths, the waves slamming into her without mercy so they could drag her further out to sea. For the first time since being turned, it didn’t matter if she didn’t need to breathe. The phantom hands squeezing at her lungs as she tried to take in gasping breaths were enough to make spots appear along the edges of her vision.
It was too much.
"I'm sorry," she whispers with a shake of her head. "I just need a moment."
Pulling from under Emmett's arm, Rosalie pushes out of her chair and rushes inside the café so she can lock herself in the bathroom. Just as she flicks the lock and presses her back against the door, agonized sobs wrench their way up her throat and past her lips, her mind picturing Bella and Oliver together as she tries in vain to block out their voices from the little restaurant.
She left. It's her own fault that she doesn't have her mate now.
Of course, she can't help but wish things had been different.
That maybe, just maybe, she was the one Bella looked at so adoringly and told that she loved instead of the woman she'd married.
Unfortunately, she only had herself to blame. So now, she would have to endure the pain of knowing that Bella had not only embraced her humanity but seemed unendingly happy with someone who loved her so much.
Bella was happier than Rosalie could ever make her, and she knew how true that was now.
If only it didn't hurt so badly for that reality to finally cement itself in her mind.
She never had been good enough for her mate, and she never would be.