a/n: And then she took almost a flippin' year on the last. SO SORRY. This year has been a rollercoaster. And I've had this 2/3 done for almost all of it without the ability to even think about finishing. But I finally did. And I hope you enjoy.

Unbetaed. Please excuse any errors.

Epilogue

Pieces of Forever

"And do you, Ethan Eli Powell…" the minister was saying. I couldn't be sure, we were a little bit far away to see clearly, but I swear the bride smirked. The chairs for the audience were spread out on a lawn in front of the lake. The couple was a little way down the dock, using it as the end to the aisle. "…take Juliet Theodora Appleby to be your wedded wife…"

It was really quite beautiful—nearing twilight. A calm, vast sky dimmed denim blue, to green, to the tiniest stretch of yellow left peeking behind the mountains in the distance. Small votive candles floated in the water, bobbing along with the tiny chop.

Ava was crying. She smiled at me and squeezed my hand briefly before reaching for her tissue-filled purse. It had been a tough week for her—the Masked Men had announced they were taking a hiatus without saying how long it would be. This was akin to the apocalypse.

"You okay?" I whispered.

She nodded.

"'Cause it's Ethan and I know its—"

She waved a hand. "I'm happy for them. I mean, we were barely anything. Plus, I should thank my lucky stars I didn't have to marry that hair. Honestly."

The past few months had been a welcome still after the storm. Seth and I spent almost every day together. Though we had to be careful—after my meltdown, my parents watched everything, waiting for me to break down all over again now that I had to face this brand new life. I needed to give the appearance of finding normal and working on my career plans.

I took a job at my dad's office—just an intern position—and he couldn't have been happier. Ava and I found an apartment to share, because it was easier to skip out on her rather than keep making up reasons not to be around at my parents' house. Plus, she understood what Seth and I were.

We eventually made things official with the folks, mostly because we were getting serious—Seth complained almost daily that I didn't live with him, even though it felt like I did. I just couldn't make myself dive in all the way. I kept wondering what my parents would think about it all happening so fast—or, at least, fast in their eyes. What it would look like to everyone in Forks.

So here we were, at Ethan's wedding, finally a couple to everyone. And as wonderful as it was to have him all to myself, there was something about that—something in the fact that everyone finally knew—that made it feel more permanent. Made us real.

"You may kiss the bride," the minister said. And as Ethan did, the crowd stood and cheered. I spent the moment looking up at my own special someone, standing by my side. Seth beamed at the couple.

Ethan and Jules walked back down the aisle, holding hands, with their friends trailing behind them. Will pointed finger guns at us as he passed.

Our little table at the reception was Seth and I, Ava and Will, a couple who had been friends with Ethan and Jules in college, and a cousin of Jules' with her date. Night had arrived in earnest, and this outdoor wedding had continued onto a neighboring lawn. A dance floor and glowing circle of tables had been set up in front of a small stage where a wedding band played all the usual songs.

The night was pretty predictable, though far more enjoyable than any other wedding I had been to. It's amazing how all those silly traditions become fun when you're with someone you care about, someone you love.

And, of course, Ava caught the bouquet. Which was slightly difficult, because as it turned out, the flowers were actually candy, and it was very heavy.

Over the loudspeaker, a glass clinked and we all turned to look at the stage. Ethan stood up there behind the mic, shifting his weight and smiling a little (perhaps drunkenly).

"Um. Hi," he said.

At their table near the center of it all, Jules smiled, shaking her head. She had taken down her now rose-colored hair, a small pile of hair pins on the plate in front of her. She blew him a kiss.

"I just wanted to say something nice, before my courage evaporates. Um." He cleared his throat. "I'm generally kind of an unlucky guy. Always have been. I've had quite a few brushes with death, met some very unsavory characters, and suffered some definitely painful hits over the years. Sorry, Mom."

"Bear attack!" Will shouted.

Ethan chuckled and raised a glass in Will's direction. "This is truth. Anyway, I was thinking about it the other day—how is it that I could be such a danger magnet? Why have I been so doomed? Well, I think I figured it out.

"I spent my luck a long, long time ago—when I met a girl who would be my best friend and partner for all of my days. I am fairly certain that I used up the vast majority of my allotment of luck on the day I met you, Jules. And it was completely worth it. Because I got to have you every day growing up, save for a stupid stint in a rainy town—no offense out there.

"Thing is, none of us get forever. But Jules and I have been given as close to that as humanly possible. And I'm more than happy to settle for that second best.

"Anyway, I just want to say, Jules, I'm so beyond lucky that my piece of forever is with you."

He held up his glass. Jules ran across the empty dance floor to pull him off the stage as the crowd clapped. When he landed, she jumped into his arms and he spun her around while she giggled.

Now that was a toast.

The band picked up again.

"At the risk of causing jealousy," Seth said with a sly smile, "Ava, would you like to dance?"

I nudged him gently with my elbow and rolled my eyes.

"You're the sweetest," Ava said, standing with him.

He planted a kiss on my forehead, whispering, "Just a few minutes. Use them wisely." He led her out to the dance floor.

I watched them for a moment before turning to pounce on Will. "So. Now that I have you here for a significant amount of time, and you're not jet-setting off to whatever new university you've decided to 'attend' or whatever, will you please tell me what the hell is going on with you?"

Will smiled. "You've been patient-er than I expected."

"I've been the patient-est. And you're stalling. And changing the subject." I pinched his nose. "Spill, bucko."

He waved my hand away. "Oh it will all make sense soon."

"No! Not acceptable. I want to know now."

He looked off to the dance floor. "But it'll ruin the surprise."

I put a hand on his arm, half to reassure him, and half because I couldn't let him escape this conversation. I was worried about him. I had not lost the idea in my head that he was somehow living a life of crime, or crime-like activities.

"Listen," I said, "Whatever it is, I don't care. I will still always be your best friend. And maybe I can help you somehow. Maybe I can—"

He started laughing. Laughing!

"Aubree Parson," he said. "Are you trying to save me?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Oh Gracie, you truly are the best in all the world. But you don't need to worry about me. I promise."

"You're still not saying anything."

He took a deep breath. "Okay. Yes. I've managed to get myself tangled with a… gang of sorts."

Oh, God, here we go…

"But," he continued, "I think I've found a way out of it. Or at least part of a way out of it. And yes, I'm sorry, I have to admit that all those times I wasn't there for you, or was taking a silly class, or transferring to yet another far away school—that it was all just a cover for what I was really doing."

"Will," I said, reaching for his hand.

He gave me a tiny, sad smile.

In the background, the wedding band wrapped up their song. We only had a few moments before Seth and Ava returned, and I wasn't sure Will would finish his confession once they had.

"What did they make you do?" I asked, whispering.

Over the loudspeaker, the singer was talking to the audience. Kind of hard to ignore. "Ladies and gents, we have a little surprise for the happy couple. A gift, of sorts."

"Just a tiny bit of patience, okay?" Will stood from his chair, just as Ava and Seth made it back to the table. Damn it. "Hey, Ave, can you do me a favor?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, sitting down next to him.

Will pulled off his green bowtie and tossed it her way. He shrugged off his jacket as well, and hung it over his chair. "Keep an eye on my stuff for a little bit?"

"Okay…"

He took a few steps backward, all of us watching him as he went. On the stage, a crew was making adjustments to the drums, the wedding band was unplugging and walking off.

"You'll have to excuse me," Will called back to us with a flourish and a bow. "Duty calls."

The stage started to fill with a new band, who looked vaguely familiar—and then suddenly very familiar. They plugged in. Beside me, Ava squeaked.

It couldn't be.

Never in a million years.

Will was already a few yards away, almost to the stairs at the side of the stage. He paused next to a woman wearing a headset. She handed him a fancier/grungier jacket, covered with lights of different colors, blinking in and out across the fabric.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled something out.

A black mask.

No.

"Tonight we have a special guest band here to play a few songs," the wedding singer continued. "Please give it up for the Masked Men!"

The crowd went nuts.

Will looked at us briefly before galloping up the stairs at the side of the stage, donning the mask.

Ava was definitely going to faint.

In true Will style, as he picked up a bass guitar stage right, he smiled and waved to us like a kid in a holiday recital.

"Hey out there," the lead singer said into the mic. "We want to say a big congrats to the happy couple. Ethan and Jules, this one's for you." The drummer counted off with his sticks and the song began.

Ava had found her way to her feet, though her knees looked a little wobbly. She was wandering forward, zombie-like.

"Annnnd she's out of here," Seth said, talking as best he could over the music. They were singing about true love, or loving truly, or something like that. "Did you know?"

I broke my stare and turned to look at him. "I thought he was robbing banks."

Seth grinned. "Just stealing hearts."

"Har dee har," I replied.

The crowd on the dance floor grew dense pretty fast. Somewhere in there, Ava made moon eyes at Will. Which was—wrong? No. But really, really weird.

Our table emptied out. I leaned my head against Seth's shoulder and he wrapped an arm around me, keeping me warm in a not-abnormal way. He didn't bother asking me to dance in that insane mob. He knew better than that.

The first song turned into a second, and the crowd screamed the high pitch of a fangirl, even though there were guys in there too. After a bit, Ethan came to join us, sans Jules.

"Hey, so glad you made it. It's great to see you again." he said.

Seth reached to shake his hand. "Thanks. And congrats to you."

"Yeah. Thanks, man." Ethan smiled. "This whole thing is crazy, you know? I'm like a grown up now."

Seth nodded. "Oddly enough, I get that."

"So, um, I actually came over because we've got some friends who wanted to see you guys, and now's probably the best chance."

"Oh?" I asked.

Ethan winked—somewhat clumsily—and gestured for us to follow him.

Seth took my hand and we walked behind Ethan, weaving through the tables, around the pools of light, to a dirt road just outside the reception. We crossed it and stepped into a wooded area. It was very sparse at first, and we could hear the echo of music drifting from the stage. But we continued to walk, tip-toeing through bushes and over logs. I let Seth guide me—even without his preternatural abilities, he was more at home in this landscape than I was.

And it felt so familiar. I was transported back to a time when I wasn't much more than an ever-anxious teenager, lost in the woods, worried about some kind of predator chasing. And then Seth happened upon me, saving the day…

Oh my God.

"You were following me!" I hissed at Seth, stopping short.

"I'm sorry. I think I might have missed the beginning of this argument." He paused in his step. "But I followed you a few times, so I'll just say you're right."

"That night I got lost in the woods, I thought I was being chased by some kind of woodland monster and—"

"Well, I mean, technically you were." He ducked his head. "It was me. Well, we."

Ahead of us, Ethan was waiting in a small clearing. He looked back and Seth held up a "one moment" finger.

"So all that time I was scared out of my mind and thinking I was lost and going to die…" I whisper-shouted.

He brushed his thumb across the side of my hand. "I wasn't lying when I said I was coming home from a friend's house—Trip and I had just been over visiting Edward, and we stumbled across your scent. Seemed weird you would be out there at all. I didn't make myself known until you were already obviously lost. I was trying to just… herd you back in the right direction. But then you took off running, and I had a feeling you were going to get hurt, so I had to change back—I've never gotten dressed faster in my whole life."

"You scared the hell out of me, you know."

"I'm sorry. Though now that I think about it, I think Alice may have nudged my exit. So she should share the blame." He pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it. "I should have told you a long time ago."

It was hard to be angry at him for very long. Not that we didn't have our moments, but he was just too happy, for which he blamed me, and he just made me too happy in return.

I know, so cheesy.

But really, was I going to be mad at the fact that he didn't leave me alone in the woods all night?

And that kiss on my hand left behind tingles.

"Yes. You should have," I said.

We stared at each other, me looking up at him as he slowly drew closer, his voice growing quiet. "I promise I will always alert you in the future if I'm ever planning to chase you through the forest."

"It's the least you could do," I murmured, leaning into him. The world hushed around us as he kissed me.

After some unknown time, he paused. "We can keep, um, talking if you want," he whispered. And then another kiss. "But I'm pretty sure there's an audience listening."

Oh.

Oh.

I blushed and he laughed, not a care in the world. He towed me along. Now that I had realized, I wasn't sure I wanted to visit with these particular guests. It was just too embarrassing.

We entered the clearing, Ethan was standing next to Bella, laughing. Edward, Jake and Rosalie were not far away from them, talking. Emmett seemed to be attempting to give Renesmee a noogie, but failing. Their movements were mostly a blur. Alice and Jasper sat a little more separate from the rest, sharing a quiet moment.

They all looked exactly the same as I remembered. A small huddle of out-of-place teenagers, dressed a little too nicely for their age, and far to beautiful for humanity. When you knew, it was just so damn obvious.

"Seth!" Jake bounded over, leaving the rest behind. "You look like crap."

"Gee, thanks."

"I mean did you shrink?" Jake sized Seth up. "I think you shrunk."

"Oh, grow up," Seth said. "I'm older than you now, you know. So I get to say things like that."

"You wish." Jake shoved him playfully. "I saw you in diapers, kid."

Seth grinned. "Old man."

Edward, Bella, and Alice walked over to join us, along with Ethan. The rest hung back a little ways. Perhaps they sensed my unease.

"We had to say hello," Bella said. "We heard the happy news about the two of you, and we had planned to stop by the wedding on our way through the area. We just wanted you to know we've all been rooting for you guys, for long time now."

"Thanks," I replied.

"I can't tell you how therapeutic it has been," Edward said, "Watching you fight the same fight, and win."

I looked in question to Seth, who said, "Edward wrote the book on self-sacrificing jackassery in the name of love."

"I don't know if I would put it that way—" he replied.

Bella cut in. "I think he's giving you a lot more credit than you're due, actually."

"I guess in the end, all our angst paid off." Seth looked at me. "And that's all that really matters."

"Amen," Edward said. "And now, plans for the future?"

"We're staying in Forks for the time being. It's home for both of us. And work is good there," Seth replied. "But we hope to travel a bit at some point." The two of them continued on, talking about all the boring, wonderful details of our simple life.

Bella nodded an aside to me, and I followed her, walking along the forest's edge. "I just wanted to… thank you, I guess," she said.

"Thank me?"

"Seth has been alone for a very long time. And watching him has been really… strange for me. I won't get into the long history of it all, but finally seeing him with you, happy—not that he wasn't happy before, but it's different—it's really nice."

I smiled. "It's hard to believe he would be anything but happy whether or not I came along. He's kinda perfect, you know?"

"There's certainly no one out there like him," she said. "Anyway, I won't ramble on about it. Honestly, he's always felt like a little brother, and I'm just so glad to see how it all turned out."

"Thank you for whatever part you played in helping him get to me," I said.

"You're welcome." She smiled, looking over at Edward. "Just paying it forward, I guess." We walked for a few moments in silence, and then she said, "Has anyone ever told you that you're the spitting image of your great grandmother?"

"My dad used to mention it sometimes. Most of the pictures we have are from when she was older, though."

"Trust me. You look just like her." Bella smiled. "But I'd say the similarity ends there."

"Oh?"

"We were in the same graduating class, she and I, once upon a time. When I was still… your average schoolgirl. We weren't really friendly."

A weird, squirmy feeling took over my stomach. "Did Seth know her well? Did he, ah… like her?"

She laughed. "I'm sure they crossed paths at some point. He was a bit younger than she was. He's never said two words about her over the years though." And then, answering a question I was too afraid to ask, she said, "I never meant to imply anything about you and Seth."

Still, the feeling remained.

Because there was no good from any of this scenario, now that I thought about it. Either he liked her back then, and our relationship maybe balanced on a far off crush of one of my ancestors, or he didn't give her a second thought, and where did that leave how he saw me, if we were that similar?

Ethan stumbled in, Seth and Edward following just behind. "We should head back before people start to wonder where we went. Or, at least I need to get back to…"

"Your wife," Edward finished for him with a smile.

"Right. Right," Ethan said. "That's gonna be a word to get used to."

Bella put an arm around my shoulders and hugged me gently. "I'm sure we will find ways to keep in touch through the years," she said. "This won't be the last you'll see of us."

"And I'm sure Alice will keep an eye on you," Edward said. In the distance, Alice saluted a confirmation.

The three of us humans waved and made our goodbyes. Seth took my hand and we turned back for the forest, following a stumbling Ethan, pointed at the far-off lights. We let him lead again, trailing a bit behind.

I couldn't help but wonder about the whole Lauren thing.

"Can I ask…" I started, and then caught myself blushing. This whole thing was stupid and I knew it. I mean, I had spent every day with the guy for the last few months. We were happy. We were good.

"You can ask anything," he replied.

"Never mind."

He pulled me to stop. "Ask me."

"Oh it's so dumb," I said. "And embarrassing. And I don't even know what answer I want to hear."

"Well now the mystery is too much, you have to ask." His eyes did the begging for him.

"Fine," I said. "…did you ever have feelings for…my…for Lauren?"

"Why would you even think that?"

"Well Bella mentioned that we looked alike, and I know you met her once, and I just wondered…"

He laughed.

The blush ran crazy across my cheeks, down my neck. "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry." He worked to bring it down to a chuckle, and then just a little smile. "It's just kind of a ridiculous idea."

"Why?"

"Well for one thing, I never looked at any blonde girl twice until I met you."

"Fine. Good. That settles it." I turned away and started walking again.

"No, wait," he said, and I paused. "It's so much more than that, Aub. Come here."

He gestured for me to sit with him on a fallen log. This particular forest was a lot less wet than I was used to, it was a nice change.

It was a nice thing to use to ignore the topic at hand.

"Did Ava ever tell you I wrote her when you guys were away at college?" he asked.

Ava kept secrets? "No."

"Since the theme tonight seems to be admitting things—I hatched my plan to finally fix us a long, long time ago. The day you left Forks, actually. I felt like such an idiot. I mean, I know you had said you wanted to grow up, move on, and I respected that. But I also loved you, and knew there had to be a way to work it out. And then... I wasted all my time, and you were gone.

"When you guys were finally settled down there, I had to find a way to know if it was all a lost cause. To know if I was home pining away, planning and hoping for a whole new life, while you were busy falling for someone else at USC. So I wrote to her. Your sister is…protective, you know? I'm so glad you have her, by the way." He chuckled.

"What did you say?"

"I introduced myself and said that I had loved you for a long time and I wanted her help."

"And she…"

"Thought I was a creepy guy for the most part. I don't blame her."

"And that's it?"

"Well, no, that would have been the end of it. But I explained a little who I was, how we met, and she remembered. And that seemed to change her mind."

It was my turn to smile at a private joke. "I may have admitted a crush on you at some point."

"Ah," he said. "Well, she became our best cheerleader after that. She helped me so much over the years, helped me stay hopeful. And when it was finally all said and done, she knew the best chance we had was to get you home. That was all her."

"And that's why she hired you to do the rebuild."

He put a hand to his heart. "You wound the carpenter in me. But yeah."

I wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"All this is to say, we did our fair share of scheming. She kept my kitchen well-stocked with tea." He smiled. "But the guys, Logan mostly, they kinda thought it was something else. Hoped it was something else, I guess. I remember he said something about how lucky it was that you had a nice twin for me to fall back on. He almost lost a limb that night."

"Wow. I don't know what to say to that."

He took a breath. "Yes, I met Lauren. Sure, she was pretty. I won't deny that. But I was young and didn't care much yet, or didn't know how to really. I didn't think about her at all until I met you. And…

He brushed my hair away from my eyes. "And I fell for you. Sure, I was attached by a silly mythical tether the moment I heard you in the water. That was instinct. But I fell for you when we walked together in the woods, when you brought me those damn boots. Because you cared.

"I love you because of who you are, not because of who you look like. And the real of it is, the only reason Lauren is pretty to me, is because she looks like you."

I sighed, leaning against him. "Okay, you've sold me."

"On?"

I guess it was time to dive in. Since when did Aubree Parson ever care what people thought of her anyway?

I stood up, brushing off my pants. "Let's go break it to Ava that I'm moving out."

"Yes!" He jumped up, a sudden grin on his face that made me chuckle.

"I love you," I said.

"And that's the whole point."

He took my hand, leading me toward a light and the distant music calling us back.

"We kinda lost Ethan," I said.

"That's okay," he replied. "We can find the way."

Fin

a/n: And that's all she wrote. I can't believe I made it. It only took ten years. (?!) Thanks for hanging in there. Thanks for your reviews and encouragement. Thanks for noticing my nods to the series and appreciating my particular brand of humor and angst. Thanks for your dedication and passion for this silly world, for enjoying these people I created who have little to do with the original fandom—I know that's a hard sell in fics. But I fell in love with my gang of misfits, and they've become a part of me. So any appreciation for them really makes me smile. Thanks for not asking for lemons and for reading even though I don't write them. Haha.

Time to go write a real book, I guess, if life will allow me the time and silence to accomplish it. Who knows, maybe if I'm lucky, you'll find me on the store shelves someday.

I still like the idea of my other fic. Should the inspiration strike, I'll continue it. No promises. It's been a limbo in my head for probably way too long, so.

Love you all. Thanks for being awesome.

P.S. Ava/Will…yes, no, maybe, drop dead? Not that I'm going there—best to let it live in our imaginations. Or one of y'all can fic it if you like. ;) Send it my way if you do.

P.P.S. For those interested, I put the playlist (or what I could find of it) up on Apple Music here: profile/sidekick55