SM OWNS. NOT BETA'D.

Epilogue

Several years later

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"Gosh, I missed this place so much."

"Yeah, I have to admit, I've been looking forward to coming back here since the last time."

"I wonder why," I reply, peaking up at him and squeezing his hand as we walk through the beautiful gardens.

I really did miss Paris in a bittersweet kind of way. It represents so many things, so many moments in my life. But when I see how the distinctly Parisian sun catches the bronze highlights in Edward's hair, I beam inwardly. This is the Paris I love. The Paris with him in it.

When I returned to New York all those years ago, I'll admit it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Edward took on a full load at medical school and after that, his residency. I earned a teaching certificate and took a job teaching art at a middle while putting myself through my MFA*.

Edward and I hardly saw on another, and it wasn't for lack of trying. We actually had to pencil each other in on a calendar prominently displayed on our fridge. Sometimes, that didn't even work, especially when Edward was always on call.

Yes, we ended up moving in together about a year after my return from Paris. Edward was practically at my place the majority of the time anyway, and we figured with what was coming school and work-wise, our best bet of catching some time together would be if we lived together. So, he broke his lease right when mine was up, and we managed to find a small loft in the Village that was perfect for us.

There was a point where the only time I'd see Edward was in bed at night, and only to kiss each other goodnight and snuggle out of pure exhaustion.

No, nothing's been easy for us.

So when Edward's residency came to an end and I was done with school, he took charge and bought us two plane tickets to Paris.

So here we are.

"Where's your head right now, Angelgirl?" Edward asks, pulling me out of my trip down memory lane. He guides us down a path that leads to one of the many small fountains here and sits us on the edge. It's really like a postcard here.

I breathe in the fresh Spring air and look around before gazing at my favorite pair of green eyes.

"Just, reminiscing about where we've been, how far we've come. You know, the usual," I joke.

He smirks and nods. He does know. He knows me better than I know myself, and vice versa.

"Did you ever think we'd be here in this moment, Edward? Like seriously, life has certainly made things interesting for us, don't you think?"

He takes both my hands in his and brings them to his lips, placing small kisses on both. He still manages to make me light-headed after all these years. I love the way he loves.

"No," he replies, shaking his head slowly. "I never thought that any of this would ever happen. I never imagined you could love me the way you do. I never imagined you'd give me the chance to show you how much I adore you. I never imagined we could be so happy, even with all the crazy shit we've had to tackle," we both chuckle. Crazy shit isn't even the half of it.

"But, I've gotta say, I never, in a million years, ever thought I could be here right now, in Paris with you, about to do what I'm about to do," he said, taking a deep breath and sinking to the ground... one on knee.

My brain isn't processing this fast enough and when he lets go of one of my hands to take something out of his pocket, my eyes widen and I gasp. My hands are covering my mouth and my vision is suddenly blurry with unshed tears.

Edward's eyes are shiny too, and I can't believe what I'm seeing.

"Life has given us many twists and turns, Bella. But every single one has always lead back to you, to us. I love you so, so much. I want you, for the rest of my life. You're my best friend, my partner, my consciense, and the love of my life. Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"

I was nodding furiously before he even got the proposal out.

"Yeah? Yes?" He says. He's giddy like a kid at christmas.

"Yes," I finally blurt out, my cheeks hurting from smiling so hard.

He stands, taking me with him before engulfing me in his embrace and swinging me off the ground. I giggle loudly while passerby congratulate us in French.

As Edward kisses me silly, my heart beats a mile a minute... and only for him.

I'm going to marry my best friend.

THE END.

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A/N: *MFA= Master of Fine Arts

It was a PLEASURE to write this little story without a plan... I think it worked out nicely, don't you think?

I want to thank everyone for reading, reviewing, re-tweeting, pimping on your blogs, to your friends, etc. I can't tell you how it feels to know that people want to read the story you wanna tell. Merci!

Fic rec: if you're not reading High Fidelity by IReen H. by now, IDK what to tell you... I finally bent to peer pressure and read it and am all caught up, now suffering the wait for updates. But it's soooooooo friggin good. (psst... I'll be interviewing IReen H. in the next couple of weeks... watch the blog).

I interviewed Denverpopcorn over at my blog. We discuss everything SOUL. Great interview. Love her to pieces.

I've entered an OS for the FicThisGif contest. Seriously, one of the coolest contests in a while, and everyone's in it... go take a look at all the fabulous entries (mine's in there somewhere ;)) Voting starts the 26th, but you can start reading and reviewing now! ficthisgif. blogspot. com

I'm working on Bella of Victoria again, so keep me on alert :)

PrimaryColors and I are still writing The Whole Package, no, we're not on hiatus ;) Our joint ffn profile is PrimaryDiamonds.

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