Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. The characters do not belong to me, but the plot is all mine.

A/N: I honestly had no plan on entering this round. However, I remembered how my Granma, DataByteDL-FangirlinGranma, kept telling me that this contest is perfect for me (since I tend to be stingy with my words) during the Valentine's Edition. So I decided to write for this round as well. I feel Granma would've had a good laugh over this story. So this one's for you, Granma. Hope you've got an iPad in your heavenly home. You're my one, remember? So you have to read all my crazy stories even if no one else does. I love you, Granma, unconditionally.

A shout out to the lovely ladies who organized this contest amidst these crazy times. Thank you!

Closing her eyes, Bella takes a deep breath, hoping it would help her calm down. Of course it doesn't. Snapping her eyes open, she glares at her husband. "You can't possibly be serious!"

Edward, an up-and-coming actor and unfortunately her beloved husband, smiles sheepishly. "It's only till the end of this quarantine."

"Only till the end of quarantine?" Bella repeats through gritted teeth. "Edward, do you understand what's happening here? We're having a global pandemic! We don't know when this quarantine will end! That stupid thing might not even be alive by the time things get better!"

He swallows thickly. "From what I found online, their average life expectancy is 50 to 100 years."

"Great!" Bella shouts, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "Maybe I will die before he does."

And that's how Tony the Tortoise is welcomed in the Cullen household.

It doesn't take long for Edward to realize that Tony is going to make his life more than just a little difficult. The trouble starts when he goes to bed with the small glass case containing Tony in tow.

Bella stares at him like he's grown an additional head. "Please tell me he's not going to sleep in the bed with us!"

Edward pulls a face. "The Director told me to bond with him, Bella. I can't leave him in a separate room. I'll just put him next to the bed."

"Oh! You want to bond with him?" Bella asks, a small smile playing on her lips. "I have just the solution!"

Ten minutes later, Edward finds himself clutching Tony's case in his hands and looking at the guest bed. Apparently, Bella didn't feel comfortable with Tony's beady eyes staring at her while she slept.

"She'll come around," Edward whispers to Tony.

"Edward, you have to focus!" the Director tells him after a week of forced bonding with his co-actor, Tony the Tortoise. He looks at the screen and shakes his head in disappointment. "You and Tony have to be best buds. I thought the quarantine would be an amazing opportunity for you to form a bond! But look at Tony! He's practically running away from you when you say your lines."

"Can't I get a different co-actor?" Edward asks hopefully. "Maybe a dog?"

The director keeps shaking his head. "No way! If you can't even look into Tony's eyes while you say your lines, how do you expect yourself to be able to say your lines when you're cast against someone like Reese Witherspoon or Kristen Stewart? No, Edward, this won't do. Focus and bond with him!"

Before Edward can tell him that he can't look into Tony's eyes because they're so small, he ends the conference call.

Bella watches from just outside the guest room door as her husband struggles to befriend the Tortoise. She wishes she could help him, but her fear for all living beings aside from humans makes her put her guard up whenever the reptile is in her vicinity.

In the past few weeks, she has tried her best to tolerate the thing. Being stuck at home with nothing other than attending her work calls and answering her emails, has made her lonely and … horny.

After banishing Edward to the guest room, she had felt so bad and alone in their big bed that she had gone to climb into his bed after midnight. She had planned on making up in his favorite way when the night light had glinted off the dark little eyes that were observing her every single move. She could feel how judgemental his gaze was as he stared at her. So she had had to abort that mission.

Who would've thought she'd get cockblocked by a freaking Tortoise of all things!?

Two days after overhearing Edward's phone call with his director, Bella sneaks into the guest room while Edward showers. She walks up to the glass case and stares at Tony, trying to see why his eyes looked so menacing in the dark.

She frowns. "You don't look that scary now," she whispers and brings out a small bunch of collard greens. Slowly opening the top of the case, she holds out the leaves like a peace offering.

Tony stares at the bunch for a long moment before extending his neck and taking a bite.

Bella feeds him the entire bunch and smiles when she sees him close his eyes and chomp on the last bit of it as if savoring the taste. "See you're not too mean," she tells him. "Why don't we make a deal? I'll bring you treats if you play nice with Edward."

Tony opens his eyes, stares at her and then slowly … blinks.

Almost a month into the quarantine, Edward finally starts to feel like he's forged some sort of a bond with Tony. At least now he doesn't hide in his shell when Edward recites his lines to him. Maybe there's still hope for him after all. The best thing of all is Bella seems to have grown a tolerance for Tony after all this time. Edward has finally been able to get out of the proverbial dog house with her.

One day, he goes to ask Bella to join him for some netflix and hopefully chill, when he uncovers the secret.

Soft music plays in a low volume as Bella, his beloved wife with an aversion to all animalkind, dances in her jammies while Tony of all people watches her intently. She bops her head and points to the tortoise, smiling like they're old friends.

"Maybe the quarantine has finally gotten to her," Edward whispers to himself, afraid that his wife has lost it completely.

When the quarantine ends, however, Bella vehemently refuses to part with Tony, and after his short-lived career in Hollywood, Tony the tortoise joins the Cullen family as a new member.

A/N: Share your thoughts with me and leave a review.

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Ann