His Butterfly

xlii. snow falls

Mariposa stands in between Jasper and Emmett as they watch Charlie's cruiser drive away, the gravel and dirt screeching underneath the tires before the car disappears at the turn. She smiles at Jasper, the empath already grinning down at her with his arm around her shoulder. Her honey brown eyes turn towards Edward and Bella as her husband speaks up. "Well done, Bella." Jasper praises her with a smirk. "Never seen a newborn show that kind of restraint."

Bella lets out a victorious smile that curls at her pale lips, her eyes full of happiness. Emmett lets out a quiet scoff at his brother's words, amber eyes trailing down Bella's figure with a teasing and playful look. "I'm not sure she is a newborn. She's so tame." He comments, arms crossing as his ego decides to make an appearance.

"And what?" Mariposa smirks, looking at the burly vampire, eyes slightly rolling. "Do you want her to kick your ass? I mean I'm all for it, but can you take it, Emmett?" She tells him, and he waves her off with a click of his tongue.

"Emmett, don't antagonize her. She's the strongest one in the house." Edward speaks up, a warning tone in his voice as he looks directly at Emmett. "Second strongest, after my dear best friend." He adds after reading Mariposa's mind, and he subtly moves to stand behind Bella, a bit scared due to her quite violent words.

Emmett untangles his arms from one another before cracking his knuckles, trying to intimidate Bella, who looks at the vampire with the smallest hint of hesitation but hides it well as she accepts his challenge. "Please." He says, a cocky smirk on his face.

How Emmett had successfully gathered the family to watch him put on a show by attempting to beat Bella in an arm-wrestling match was Mariposa's question. The burly vampire carries a huge rock against his chest with no effort at all as if it doesn't weigh anything but a light feather. He places the heavy rock against another, a thump echoing from how harsh he placed it down. Bella places her elbow on top of the rough surface of the rock, obviously ready to get this down and over with while Emmett has a smug smirk on his face as he places his on the rock.

"Don't hurt yourself, Emmett." Edward chimes in, a chuckle leaving his lips.

Emmett simply gives him a boastful smile before shifting his gaze back at Bella, and clasping his big hand in her much smaller hand. "All right, on three." Jasper announces once the two are settled, elbows placed down on the rock and hands tightly clasped together. Mariposa grins up at him as she stands in front of him, his arms around her. "One, two." He counts down, his arm tightening around his wife's waist in anticipation. "Three."

Immediately after the number rolls off Jasper's tongue, the two vampires begin to apply strong pressure into their arms. Bella purses her lips into a thin line, and so does Emmett with his smug smile on as he grunts, putting as much strength as he can to the newborn's arm. But when he realizes that he has been putting his entire strength into the wrestle without moving Bella's arm even an inch, his cocky smile is completely wiped off his face. Everyone eyes the two intensely, the others grinning largely at the turn of events for Emmett's ego. With Emmett's smile gone completely, Bella smiles triumphantly at the wrinkles of concern on his face, and her smile only gets larger when she successfully pins his arm down against the rock. The harsh contact against the rock causes the edge to break off, little rocks falling off it as Bella laughs loudly, backing away with a wide smile on her face before glancing at her husband. "Did you see that?" She asks happily.