A/N: Hello, my doves. As I pondered what to get you guys for Christmas, I remembered that a lot of people felt there wasn't enough fluff at the end of Cerebral. So! Have some gratuitous fluff.

This is, for the most part, unbetaed. Though Mina, Eleanor, and Packy did catch a few things.

~Spring~

It took Edward a long time to figure out why the sight in front of him was so incredible. Since the moment he'd laid eyes on her, Bella had always struck him breathless. This was different. There was something strange but good about what was happening now.

After months of trying, he and Bella had finally arranged for four days off in a row. He'd brought her to one of his favorite places—his family's cabin. The setting couldn't be beat. Edward had awaken alone in the big master bedroom, but he'd found the love of his life on the private dock. She was sitting on the edge, her feet dangling over the water, her hair hanging long and lovely down her back, out of its severe bun. She wasn't doing anything, just sitting with her hands on her lap staring out at the loveliness and breathing.

She looked peaceful. That was the reason. Bella was so many things, but never peaceful.

Kicking off his slippers, Edward made his way down the dock with careful steps. He didn't want to disturb this pretty picture until the last possible moment.

But then…

He flopped down on the dock beside her in one swift movement. "Good morning, beloved."

She gasped and jumped. He fought a grin, instead putting on a mask of pure innocence. Her lip curled, her features twisted, and she smacked his chest. "What the hell, Edward. I could have died."

He peered over the edge at the water mere inches beneath their dangling feet. He looked back at her and arched an eyebrow. She looked sheepish. He put on a hard face. "I woke up alone."

Her face fell, and she ducked her head. "Oh, no. I didn't think about how that would look. I woke up, and I didn't want to bother you. I didn't mean—"

"Bella." Edward wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tightly against him. "I was kidding."

She blew out a breath. "Bastard." She wrapped an arm around him and rested a head against his shoulder, relaxing. She took his free hand in hers. "Do you want breakfast? Hell. We didn't get anything last night. We were supposed to get groceries when we got into town. That was the plan, remember?"

He smirked and leaned in so his lips were near her ear. "I liked Plan B." He licked the shell of her ear, and she shuddered, tilting her head up to meet his kiss.

Yeah. Plan B had been infinitely preferable to getting groceries.

Bella broke their kiss with a sigh, resting her cheek against his. "So, a restaurant then?" She furrowed her brow. "The nearest place is miles away." Then, she brightened. "Why don't you take it easy? I'll go get us something to go."

He sighed, though for much different reasons than she did, he expected. He knew her well enough to understand how her mind worked. When she got spooked that she'd committed some relationship faux pas—like letting him wake up alone in their bed on their first vacation together—she searched for steps in a procedure. She'd missed waking up with him, the next step was breakfast. She wanted to get back on track.

"Shhhh." Edward tightened his hold on her. "I interrupted your quiet time."

"I wasn't doing anything."

"I know. It was weird to see you so still. I don't think I've ever seen you look like that—peaceful."

She paused a beat. "I used to be still. I like the peace."

He nuzzled the side of her hair. "Why are you never still in front of me?"

There was a long pause. She knew him well too, knew when she shouldn't brush him off. "Truth?" she asked, voice quiet.

"Preferably."

Another beat. "I'm afraid." She scoffed and then laughed at herself. "God. So many years of wishing you would go the hell away. Now, I'm terrified I'll do something wrong, and you will."

"Be careful what you wish for?" he teased, though he knew she wasn't kidding.

She turned her head to look at him, vulnerability written in her features. She raised a hand and cupped his cheek, searching his face. "You're essential to me, Edward Cullen. I don't know how the hell you did that, but it's done. But it's like being thrown into a job you know nothing about with no warning, no time to study. It took me twelve years to become a good surgeon. How long is it going to take me to figure this out, to be as comfortable as I am with a scalpel?"

He smiled and took her hands, bringing them down and winding their fingers together. "Well, aside from the whole referring to our beautiful love as a job..."

"I love my job."

"That's a point." He kissed the tip of her nose. "You do realize you destroyed my life, my plans as thoroughly as I destroyed yours, right? When I was a wee lad, and thought about the future, I always imagined the love of my life would be doting. Maybe not call me an asshole as much."

"Well, if you'd stop being an asshole…"

"That's exactly my point. If I wasn't an asshole, I wouldn't be me. And if you weren't a—" He smirked at her pointed look. "If you weren't a sugar-sweet, persistently positive and complimentary person, you wouldn't be you. And we wouldn't be meant for each other. If you can trust anything, you can trust that." He squeezed her hands, looking into her eyes. "Be still with me."

"The world isn't going to change in an instant?" she asked, not quite kidding.

"Nope. Just relax." He took a deep breath. "Breathe with me. In and out."

She breathed in through her nose and out again, the tension draining from her shoulders. The quiet engulfed them. Birds chirped. The breeze rustled the trees. The water lapped at the shore and the bottom of the dock.

Minutes passed, and then he couldn't help himself. He'd had a plan. This wasn't it, but that didn't seem to be stopping him.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?" She was well and thoroughly spaced out. Of course. The woman never did things part way.

"Bella," he said again.

This time she turned her head to look at him. "Yes?"

"Will you marry me?"

She gaped, her eyes popped wide. Words stuck in her throat. He watched, his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth to keep from laughing. Then, she scowled and slugged him in the shoulder—not hard. "You're such a fucking bastard."

~0~

"Ten minutes. Ten minutes after you convinced me I could relax in this relationship, you want to change it."

To his credit, Edward had let two weeks go by before he reminded Bella he'd proposed to her. Not that she'd been able to forget. He was a smooth bastard. He'd waken her that morning with his tongue between her legs and afterward, he'd spooned against her back, stroking her hair just as she liked until she was really awake.

Only after they'd sat down to a breakfast of his specialty—homemade crepes with all the fixings—did he say, oh so casually, "Have you had time to consider the state of matrimony?"

He smiled at her serenely. "Why would I want to change our relationship? Since we don't have any particular need of the governmental benefits of marriage, it's a symbolic gesture." He winked at her, his grin boyish. "It's a symbol of the idea nothing has to change."

A rush of tenderness calmed her frazzled nerves. She reached out to put her hand over his. She was exasperated, but not angry at him. "You want me to buy that marriage changes nothing?"

"How we file our taxes. Other than that, what has to change? We're together every spare minute we have anyway. I'm committed to you, totally and completely now. A ceremony won't make me more serious about how I feel about you."

"Then what's the point?"

He pursed his lips, the smile there more wistful now. He shrugged. "I like the idea of being able to call you my wife. It sounds better to brag about my accomplished, brilliant, beautiful wife. Maybe it's a childish, boyhood notion, but I always thought I'd be married. Plus, it'd be fun to have three Dr. Cullens wandering around the surgical community."

Bella scoffed, fighting the ridiculous grin he always brought out in her. "What makes you think I'd take your name?"

He raised an eyebrow, and she grimaced. "Jacob pressured me to take his name. I was twenty-one, and I let it happen."

Edward's eyes narrowed. "He pressured you?"

"He wasn't a saint anymore than you or I are. Just because we weren't in love didn't mean he didn't want a traditional marriage. Fidelity and his name." She pressed her lips into thin line, eyeing Edward carefully. "That's one of the things that changed after we got married. He grew a possessive streak a mile wide."

Edward nodded carefully. He knew about Jacob's possessive streak only too well.

But, the man was dead, and it was easy to let his spike of anger go. He grinned. "Compromise then. Marry me, and I won't ask you to change your name."

Bella stared at him. Then, she smiled. She reached out and pressed the back of her knuckles to his cheek. "Edward," she said reverently. "No."

~Summer~

Edward didn't mind Bella's constant refusal. Despite the exasperated act she put on, he knew she didn't really mind him asking. She was a strange creature. She'd worried that she didn't know the rules of a relationship, would scare him away by taking one wrong step, and yet she never feared he would leave her if she didn't marry him.

Not that he wanted her to feel pressured in any way. A proposal shouldn't be an ultimatum. He was reasonably sure he'd get his yes eventually. This was just Bella's way. She never told him to stop, never discouraged him from asking with any degree of seriousness. She just wasn't ready to say yes yet.

"You know, the longer you wait, the more time I have to plan something obnoxious," he teased.

She nodded, not looking up from the medical journal she was reading. "Don't worry, my dear. I have no qualms about saying no to you in front of an audience. How big of an audience is totally up to you."

"What if I did it in front of my mother?"

At that Bella dropped the journal and stared at him. "You wouldn't."

He let her sweat a moment before he smiled. "Of course I wouldn't." Esme and Bella didn't have the easiest relationship. His mother didn't understand their dynamic. It was his own fault. He never should have told his parents that Bella hated him. It was also Bella's fault for pointing out to Esme that her precious baby boy could be a gigantic pain in the ass.

"Okay, compromise," he said.

She rolled her eyes, but looked at him expectantly.

"You don't have to marry me—"

"So generous of you."

"But, you know what I noticed? Your lease and my lease expire within about three months of each other."

She cocked her head. "You want to move in together?"

It amused him to no end that she sounded so shocked. "I asked you to marry me like forty-thousand times. Did you think I wanted us to live separately?"

"Forty thousand, huh?"

"That might be a slight exaggeration."

"No. I think that's the number to shoot for. I can't have my man be a liar. Forty-thousand no's it is."

He opened his mouth to argue but then just sighed. "I'm going to quit while I'm behind. But moving in?"

She reached up, taking his head between her hands and dragging him down to her for a kiss. "That one I can do."

His eyebrows shot up. "Really? A yes? Just like that?"

"You want to push it?"

"No. No. Nope." He straddled her on the couch, pushing her back and kissing her. "I'll take that yes."

~Fall~

They'd been together almost two years. All of the nurses who worked with Edward knew her, and so it was no surprise when they called. A surgery had gone wrong. A young man's life hung in the balance. Edward was on his feet for almost thirty-six hours.

She was waiting for him when he finally stumbled out of the surgery, his patient alive and looking to remain so for many years to come. Edward was still slurring orders about medication, muttering half to himself about how he just needed to close his eyes for twenty minutes before he could go check on the patient again. Bella told him that would be fine even as she pulled him gently away. When she finally got him to the parking garage he slumped, leaning heavily on her.

That was fine. Bella was strong. She guided him into the car and kept him as awake as she could on the drive home. She coaxed him out of the car, letting him lean on her again as they made their way to their bedroom.

"He'll be able to walk," he muttered for the at least the twentieth time.

"No one likes a braggart, Edward," she teased, sitting him down on the edge of the bed. She began to unbutton his shirt. "You did good, babe. So good. I'm so proud of you." She unbuttoned his pants.

He groaned. "I'm too tired for that."

She snorted. "Trying to get you into bed, stud."

"That's what I'm saying. I'm not going to be able to…" He made an upward gesture.

"Lay down, Edward." She pushed lightly on his chest, easing him backward.

"Lay down with me."

It was two o'clock in the afternoon. She lay down with him anyway and stroked his hair. "You really are brilliant," she whispered. "What you did for that man? That was beautiful. I really am proud of you."

His eyes were hooded and glassy, but he pressed the pad of his thumb to her chin, studying her. "I like this," he murmured, words slurred. "To make you proud. That's two accomplishments today. Saving my patient and impressing one of the world's leading neurosurgeons."

Bella scoffed and began to press tiny kisses to his hairline. "You've always impressed me. You know that. Remember? How I wanted to think the worst of you, but damn. Every time I had to hear you speak, see you do what you do, I was in awe." She took his hands and kissed each of his fingertips. "These hands do amazing things." She kissed him sweetly. "And you're an amazing man."

His eyes, as he stared back at her, glassed over with emotion. His breath caught. So did hers. It was one of those moments she'd never been able to explain. What she felt for him consumed her. It burned and it soothed.

She sighed and smirked to herself as he finally let his eyes close. She'd never wanted to make time for this, for love. She'd never wanted to want him. For so much of her life, she'd loved him against her will.

As she'd predicted, love was a distraction. Here she was, doing nothing in the middle of the day. Bella had wanted the freedom to be a workaholic. Love was a compromise. She was still a workaholic, but she could stand to take a day off here and there to be with her man.

A thrill went through her at the thought. This was her man.

A spark of an idea came to her, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

Life was a crazy, crazy thing.

~0~

Edward woke slowly. He could tell he'd been asleep a long time. The taste on his tongue and his thoughts were thick. He was confused—trying to remember where he was and why he'd slept so long.

And what the hell was happening with his feet?

Edward jerked his foot, his eyes coming open. He was befuddled to find the room was dark. People usually woke up in the light, didn't they?

He jerked his foot again, and sat up. Bella grinned at him wickedly. "Wake up, you lazy bum. Lying around all damn day." She sat up on her knees at the foot of the bed, looking down on him. "What good are you to me, huh?"

"Not much." He traced his fingertips over the shape of hers where her hand rested at his hips. "What time is it?"

"A little after one in the morning."

His eyebrows arched. "Almost eleven hours?"

"You needed your beauty sleep. We have that benefit coming up in a few days, remember? I need you looking your best in your role as arm candy."

"Ah, I see." He twined their fingers together and tugged. Following his silent request, she lay down on her side, propped up on her arm. He pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Is that why you're not sleeping? You're already too beautiful for this world?"

Her cheeks flushed pink even though she rolled her eyes. "Smooth, Cullen, but you know your lines don't work on me."

He cupped a hand at the back of her head. "Liar." He brought her down for a kiss.

She hummed against his lips, lingering only for a few seconds before she pulled back with a pinched look on her face. "Your breath is rank." She patted his bare belly. "Go take a shower or at least brush your teeth. I'm going to make you something to eat."

"You and your obsession with feeding me."

Her smile gentled. "I have an excuse this time. I woke you up because your stomach was making monster noises. I know you haven't had much more than coffee and whatever crap they brought you in two days. You need food and hydration."

"Yes, doctor." Edward groaned as he sat upright. As he did, Bella reached over to the nightstand where there was a glass of water and two little pills waiting. Aspirin, he realized. Because she'd known he'd have a headache when he woke.

He took the water from her hand and pressed a quick, closed mouthed kiss to her lips. "You're good to me, Bella."

Ducking her head, she smiled one of her rare, shy smiles, her eyes light with adoration. "Yeah, well. I've been known to make a few questionable decisions in my time." She reached up and ruffled his hair. "Take a shower. You'll feel better."

She was right on that front. He washed the grime of way too many hours on his feet away, soothing his muscles with hot water. He brushed his teeth. He went downstairs to a find a feast of his favorite breakfast foods waiting for him. Only then did he realize he was so hungry, his stomach ached with hallowness.

After he'd devoured his weight in bacon and pancakes, he sat back, hands on his full belly. "Bella, you're the best."

"So no regrets about keeping me, huh?"

It struck Edward as an odd question. He quirked a bemused eyebrow at her. "I mean, every once in a while I'm pretty sure I'm going to wake up with a scalpel imbedded in my gut, but the risk is worth it in general."

"I'm glad you feel that way."

There was something strange about the look in her eyes and the tremble in her voice. Her skin had an odd hue to it, but before he could call her on it, she stood up. "Come on." She took his hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Where are we going?" He ambled along with her like a child, still half asleep and trusting.

"Not too far."

She lead him into the living room, and there, he stopped short. "What the heck is happening here?"

Every inch of their coffee table was covered in cactuses. He stumbled forward and sat down in front of them, then looked to Bella, who was still standing. She smirked, though she still looked somewhat sallow. "This is what happens when you drift off forever. I got bored."

"And bought a forest of succulents?"

"You were asleep forever."

He scoffed and looked back to the table, still perplexed. He let his eyes roam from one to the other. Then, his breath caught.

At the very center of the display was a single cactus in a pot. It was a thin cactus, about the size of a finger. A ring finger.

And there was a ring on it. A thick men's ring, shiny with two small stones, one black, one white, set in it.

A rustle drew his attention, and he looked to the side, shocked for the second time in as many seconds to find Bella dropping to one knee beside him. She took his hand, took a deep breath, and asked. "Edward Cullen, will you marry me?"

He reeled, trying to figure out if this was really happening. A rush of giddy joy went through him, and he felt his lips turn up in a wide grin. A laugh caught in his throat.

Then, he took a deep breath, swallowed, and said, "No."

Her eyes popped wide. "No?"

At that, he did laugh. He tightened his grip on her before she could pull away, instead pulling her up and into his arms. She pushed against his chest, but he held her tight and peppered her face with kisses. "Hell no. How dare you?"

"What is this, some kind of payback?" Bella scowled at him, again attempting to scoot away.

He got his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap and holding her tightly enough that she couldn't get away. He kissed the tip of her nose. "I'm not that petty. But really, how dare you? Woman, of the two of us, I'm the helpless romantic. You're the one who isn't supposed to have a romantic bone in her body, yet here you are, trying to steal my moment."

"You're a horrible person, and I wouldn't marry you if my life depended on it."

She started to pull away again but he caught the back of her head, pulling her back to him. "Liar," he said, his voice low and rough before he claimed her mouth.

She growled against his lips, her hands on his shoulders as though she were about to push him away. She didn't. Instead, she attacked him with her kisses, fighting back with as much urgency as he was.

"I love you," he said breathlessly when their kiss broke. He laid her down on the couch and draped himself over her. He kissed her again, this one slow and serious. "You're the only woman I've ever loved and I will ever love for the rest of my life."

"I hate you." Despite her words, Bella threaded her fingers through his hair, bringing his face back down to hers.

"Liar." He kissed her again, his hands brushing down her body. A deep joy settled at the marrow of his bones.

She was ready to say yes to him.

~Winter~

Bella liked holding Edward's hand. That was a strange revelation to her—this need to be connected to him even when they were just walking along. As they walked, she brushed a thumb over his ring finger.

He'd worn her ring for the last three months since she'd proposed. Still, he insisted his no was firm. When she told him the ring was conditional on a yes, he'd smiled, kissed her, said no again, and slipped the ring on his finger anyway. Except for surgery, he had it on all the time.

A child barreled by, clearly oblivious to where he was going. It forced Bella to let go of Edward's hand so she could dodge. She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked after the kid's retreating form. "You see what I'm saying? Christmas shopping at the mall is dangerous. Let's go home, put on a movie, and scour Amazon."

Edward reached for her again, this time pulling her close enough that he could put an arm around her waist. "That's what you get for procrastinating. Three days before Christmas means nothing will arrive on time."

"Is procrastinating another term for back-to-back shifts at the hospital? I wanted my patients to get home for the holidays. Besides, joke's on you, sucker. I have Amazon Prime. If we order before five, it'll get here."

"This is more fun."

"You and I have very different definitions of fun," she said with a snort.

Edward just chuckled, pulling her forward.

When they got to the middle of the mall, Edward stopped at a kiosk. Bella was perplexed, wondering who the hell he was shopping for. The kiosk sold custom made decals for cars. She couldn't think of a single person on his list who might like something like that. Then again, she didn't know his siblings super well.

There was a crackle as the music from the mall-wide loud speakers cut off. The ever-present Christmas carols stopped in the middle of a holly, jolly refrain. The music started again almost instantly, but it wasn't a Christmas carol that played.

Bella's attention was caught again by a small commotion going on close by. They were, she realized, at the very heart of the mall, where it opened up in the widest space. Santa's Village had been set up there, but it was empty, currently, with a sign saying Santa would be back in the afternoon.

In front of the fenced-off village, a woman was dancing to the music that had come on. She was into it, her moves rhythmic and smooth. The throng of last-minute Christmas shoppers moved to give her space, some looking bemused, some annoyed.

Another woman came out of the crowd and fell into step beside the first woman, joining the dance. Then a man. Then another woman.

"Oh, wow." It was a flash mob, Bella realized as, one by one, others peeled themselves out of the crowd and joined in. The moves were way too choreographed for this to be spontaneous. All around her, people were stopping to watch. "Edward, look at this." Bella took Edward's hand, pulling him away from the kiosk so they could stand at the edge of the crowd.

They watched together for a few seconds. Then, to Bella's shock, Edward pulled his hand from hers and darted forward. She was shocked again as the dancers parted, moving so that Edward could join them at their very center.

It occurred to Bella then that the song playing over the speakers was 'Marry You' by Bruno Mars. Her hand flew to her mouth.

Of course, because Edward Cullen wasn't bad at anything he did, he moved with grace and skill as he danced in perfect time with the music. When the hell had he had time to practice this? He'd been working just as hard as she had.

Bella's heart beat fast, banging hard against her ribcage. Her stomach fluttered, filled with butterflies. The crowd around them had begun to hoot and holler, knowing full well there was only one reason thissong was playing in the middle of the Christmas season, accompanied by a flash mob. At another glance, she spotted Edward's friend Santiago, filming the whole damn thing.

Sure enough, as the lyrics came to an end, the dancers curtained off to the sides. Edward came forward, taking her hand. She was numb as he guided her to the center of the whooping crowd. His shoulders rose and fell, his breath hard, his cheeks red, but his smile wide as he dropped to one knee in front of her. There was, of course, a ring box in his hand.

Bella laughed. It was a bubbly sound, filled with the profound mix of happiness tinged with an adoring exasperation. This man. This impossible man.

"Will you marry me, Bella?"

The crowd hushed to a dull roar, waiting on tenterhooks for her answer.

She tittered, contemplating for only a second saying no again just to get him back for his no several months before.

But no. She—who'd never been one for epic displays of romance—was so completely charmed, she couldn't have formed the denial even if she'd tried. And, frankly, she didn't want to.

"Yes," she said.

The crowd went nuts. Edward stood, his grin blinding. She laughed again as he slid the ring on her finger. Then, she grabbed his face and kissed him in front of everyone, too lost in the magic inevitability of this love she had for this wonderful man to care if she was making a fool of herself.

"Yes," she whispered again near his ear, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Once upon a time, she'd lamented his constant presence, the place he'd occupied in her heart and in her head when she didn't want him there. If left to her own devices, her own plans, she'd have had a good life.

All things considered, though, she couldn't be anything but happy that the fates had something different in store for her. Aggravating though he could be, Edward was perfect for her. A challenge, an enigma, and the greatest love of her life.

"We're going to live happily ever after," she said, her lips to his. She kissed him and then laughed, because this? She never could have predicted their story would end like this.

"It's not an end," Edward said, holding her close. "Baby, we're only just beginning."

A/N: You, my dear readers, bring me much happiness. I love your words. Your encouragement. I love you lots.

Happy Holidays, and thank you for everything.