(Thomas POV)
The drive up to the Cullen house felt longer than usual, not because of the distance, but because of what I was planning to say once I got there. The forest slid by in a blur of green and gray, the air heavy with the scent of moss and wet cedar. By the time I pulled into the clearing, the familiar house rose from the mist like something half-remembered.
Carlisle's Mercedes was parked beside Esme's Escalade. The others were still at school, and the quiet that came with their absence made the place feel almost sacred — like stepping into a cathedral built from glass and rain.
I found Carlisle in his study, surrounded by open books and soft light filtering through the high windows. He looked up from his desk the moment I knocked on the doorframe.
"Thomas," he greeted warmly, his smile genuine. "It's good to see you. I didn't expect you until this evening."
I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me. "Yeah, well… I had something on my mind. Figured you were the best person to talk to."
He gestured to the chair opposite his desk. "That sounds serious."
I sat, elbows resting loosely on my knees. For a moment, the words caught in my throat. Everything I'd rehearsed in the truck sounded too formal now, too small.
Carlisle waited with that endless patience of his, the kind that made silence feel like an invitation instead of a weight.
Finally, I exhaled. "I wanted to talk to you about Edythe."
His smile deepened slightly, faint amusement flickering in his eyes. "I suspected as much."
I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck. "I'm not here to ask your permission. She's already said yes, if I ask, that is."
"Ah." Carlisle leaned back, folding his hands together, his tone thoughtful. "Then you're here for something more meaningful."
I nodded. "You're blessing. Not because I think I need it, but because… she's your daughter. In every way that counts. And I want to do this the right way."
For a long moment, Carlisle said nothing. His eyes softened, and the faintest smile touched the corners of his mouth.
"You remind me of myself, in a way," he said at last. "When I realized what Esme meant to me, what she already was to me, I felt the same need. Not for permission, but for grounding. For something to make that love real in the world."
He rose from behind the desk and came around to stand beside me. "Thomas, you've already proven more than once that you'd walk through fire for her. I can't think of a stronger foundation than that. You have my blessing, wholeheartedly."
I stood too, the tension I hadn't realized I'd been carrying easing out of my shoulders. "Thank you, Carlisle. That means more than you probably know."
He placed a hand on my shoulder, his expression both kind and solemn. "Then take my advice, when you ask her, don't make it about the past or the future. Make it about the moment. Immortality is long, but moments like that are what give it meaning."
I smiled faintly. "I'll remember that."
Carlisle's eyes glinted with quiet humor. "Now, if I were to guess, I'd say Emmett and Jasper are already slated for a shopping trip they haven't agreed to yet."
I chuckled. "You'd guess right."
He laughed softly, returning to his desk. "Go on then, before Alice decides to 'accidentally' see the proposal in a vision and ruin the surprise."
"On my way," I said, heading for the door, but not before glancing back at him once more.
Carlisle met my eyes, his voice steady. "She's lucky, you know."
I smiled. "So am I."
Next stop, I told myself, Emmett, Jasper, and a ring worth forever.
Finding Emmett and Jasper wasn't hard, they were exactly where I expected them to be: the garage.
The soft hum of music filtered through the open door, something low and rhythmic, the kind of background noise Emmett claimed made engines "purr better." The smell of oil, steel, and polish hit me the moment I stepped inside.
Jasper was leaning against the workbench, calm and unbothered, while Emmett was half-buried under the hood of his Jeep, muttering to himself about torque ratios and "human limits of endurance."
"You know," I said, leaning against the doorframe, "most people don't try to arm-wrestle their cars into submission."
Emmett's head popped up, grinning. "When you can lift an engine block with one hand, you stop worrying about the manual."
Jasper smirked, arms folded. "Translation: he stripped another bolt."
"Did not," Emmett said, too fast, too defensive.
I couldn't help laughing. "You two busy? I need a little help."
Emmett raised a brow. "Help or backup?"
"Depends on how you define the word 'shopping,'" I said.
That earned me a long, knowing look from Jasper and a slow grin from Emmett.
"Oh no," Emmett said, wiping his hands on a rag. "You're not dragging me through a jewelry store, are you?"
"Wouldn't dream of it," I said, though my tone probably betrayed me.
"Hell no," he groaned. "I can fight bears, I can rebuild an engine, I can even survive Alice's wardrobe interventions, but jewelry stores? That's a war zone, man."
Jasper pushed off the bench, that quiet southern drawl slipping into his words. "Don't listen to him. He's just mad cause Rosalie made him sit through a two-hour lecture on diamond clarity when he picked her ring."
"That was trauma," Emmett said, pointing at him. "Not education."
I laughed, shaking my head. "Relax. I just need a second opinion. And, well…" I shrugged. "I'd rather have her brothers help me than anyone else."
That shut them both up for a second.
Jasper's expression softened into something like respect. "You're serious about this."
"Dead serious," I said.
Emmett let out a low whistle. "Damn. The kid's growing up." Then he slapped my shoulder, hard enough to make me stagger half a step. "Alright, fine. Let's go find the rock that's gonna make Edythe swoon."
"Edythe doesn't swoon," Jasper said mildly. "She calculates."
"Then let's get her something that'll mess with her perfect logic," Emmett said with a grin. "C'mon, lover boy, we're taking the Jeep."
Forks didn't exactly have a thriving jewelry district, so we had to drive to Port Angeles. The trip was loud, mostly Emmett trying to convince Jasper that a proposal without fireworks or a choreographed entrance wasn't a real proposal.
"Dude, you've got to make it cinematic," Emmett said, looking back from the driver's seat. "Like, take her somewhere dramatic. The cliffs. The meadow. Hell, even the school parking lot if you have to, she'll never see it coming."
"I'm not proposing in a parking lot," I said flatly.
Jasper chuckled. "Good call. Rosalie would've set the car on fire if Emmett had tried that."
Emmett muttered, "It was raining," like that explained everything.
We hit the third jeweler just after three. The clerk looked like she didn't know whether to be impressed or terrified when three guys built like MMA fighters walked in and started studying engagement rings with unnerving focus.
Jasper was methodical, inspecting details with surgical precision. Emmett, meanwhile, kept pointing at rings that could double as small weapons.
"This one," he said, holding up something that sparkled enough to blind a small town. "It screams commitment."
"It screams bankruptcy," Jasper said dryly.
"Details," Emmett shot back.
I eventually found one that stopped me cold — a simple design: platinum, with a single diamond set low into the band. Elegant, understated, timeless. It wasn't about flash or size; it was something that would look right on her forever.
"That's it?" Jasper asked quietly, catching my expression.
Emmett squinted. "That little thing? C'mon, man, you can do better than that."
I smiled. "No, I can't. This is her."
Emmett studied me for a moment, then smirked. "Yeah… okay. I can see it."
We paid, or rather I did, though Emmett tried to slip the clerk extra cash "for the romance fund." Jasper smacked him before he could.
The drive back was quieter. The ring sat in a small velvet box in my jacket pocket, heavy in a way no metal should be.
Emmett leaned back in the passenger seat, hands behind his head. "You gonna ask her tonight?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. Not until it's the right moment."
Jasper nodded, his tone thoughtful. "You'll know when it is. People like you don't stumble into moments, you make them."
I smiled faintly at that. "Here's hoping."
The trees began to thicken as Forks came back into view, the gray light of afternoon filtering through the mist.
Edythe didn't know it yet, but one day soon, when I held her hand, she'd have something new shining between her fingers.
Something that meant forever.