𝑺𝑶𝑳𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑬 [𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑹𝒀 𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹/𝑻𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻]

𝐴 𝑃𝑅𝐸𝑇𝑇𝑌 𝑃𝐼𝐶𝑇𝑈𝑅𝐸

The raven-haired woman stopped in her tracks, as the air went out of her lungs briefly at the man standing before her. The last time she had seen him when she was not coming back to herself, they were saying goodbye. Even now, her memory was jumbled as and coming back in pieces of the time they were together when she was Eden. But, despite it all, she felt her heart pounding as the two looked at one another.

"I thought you might need some support--"

"I do" Gwen said quietly, as they stepped towards each other.

The vampire and the witch did not drop their gaze from each other, holding it steadily as the familiar magnetic pull inched them closer and closer together.

She felt her mouth slightly curling upwards, as she remembered her first words to him: "I love you" Gwen blurted quietly. "There are things you can put your pride aside for after facing death...And I..I love you Edward. As much as I tried to deny it, as much as I hated you for what you did...I love you. I have loved you. I continued to love you and even when I was Eden, I still loved you. There was a part of me that has always loved you. I--I heard you, in the water. I heard your voice. You brought me back...In some ways it felt as though, when I heard you, that everything was going to be okay. I just can't--I can't deny it any more. I can't run anymore from this. I love you."

With complete ease, Edward moved his hand slowly to secure a piece of her raven hair behind her ear, as both of their eyes continued to linger on each other, as though he were remembering that particular memory as well.

"I'm so sorry I brought you into this" Gwen said quietly, as she felt his cold touch. "I'm sorry for everything. Your family and Tanya's family--"

"We made the decision," Edward replied sincerely. "I want my family to be safe. But I too, made this decision. You don't have to bear this weight alone."

Gwen shook her head slightly, "I...I wasn't sure if I was going to see you again. After Ron told me that they knew, the Volturi knew about how I felt about you, I didn't know if--"

"I know. I felt the same way. What a fleeting moment we got to ourselves, after everything we had been through."

Gwen rested her face on his hand that was still holding onto her, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "I want more than fleeting moments. But I just...I can't help but think you and your family would have been better off without--"

"We got your message on time. Whether they were coming for us because of our involvement with the Wizarding World, it would not have mattered. They still were looking for any excuse to have me and Alice join them. They would have found out about my sham of a marriage anyways. It was inevitable."

Gwen nodded, still feeling as though anything that happened to the Cullens would have been her fault. After all, Ron betrayed them all because of her. It always led back to her.

"How are you feeling?" Edward asked simply, frowning slightly as he examined her face.

"We mourn when the war is over, right?" Gwen said stoically.

"You don't always have to go by those words. We're not in war. And you don't have to keep this on your shoulders. Or at least, you can share some of that weight. We vampires are known to be stronger than humans."

She felt her mouth twitch at his words, "That's a terrible joke."

"I am trying" Edward said quietly, a small smile appearing on his lips. It was fleeting, as his small smile faded and he became serious once more. "This may be a terrible question, but how are you feeling?"

Gwen felt a twinge of surprise being asked how she was again, as she felt a sudden urge to cry as she looked at the being before her and felt a strange sensation of safety. It took her a moment to answer, as Edward waited for her patiently. She knew he would not hold it against her if she didn't answer, but a part of her felt like it was okay.