Authors Note: I really wanted to write just some romance between Edward and Bella. All my other stories have a more structured idea or outline, but for this I simply had the idea 'anniversary'.
Summary: Edward and Bella are celebrating their 100th wedding anniversary together, but they soon ignore the 'plan' that they originally had. What is Edward's gift to Bella? How do they spend their anniversary? And what do the next 100 years have in store for them?
This is just a one-shot and I hope you like it. It is in Edward's Point of View - I think I prefer this as it if different from the whole of Twilight which we all know is from Bella's Point of View. It gives us a little more insight to Edward's mind (at least if I do it well enough, haha.)
Please review at the end with your thoughts and comments - I accept all feedback and it makes me so happy.
Of course, I do not own Twilight; Stephenie Meyer does.
The room around me was filled with a wonderful aroma, a mixture of freesia, honey and almonds. It reminded me subtly of the scent around me when I married, one hundred years ago exactly to the day. From the giant stereo system, gentle classic music was being poured around us quietly. I only realised now that they were my songs, recorded for a birthday present for Bella with all of my composed pieces on it, containing her own lullaby, a piece I wrote for Renesmee's and another song inspired by Bella.
Bella sat across from me; her slender brown hair flowing over her pale shoulders, touching the rim of her dress that clung to her chest. She was beautiful.
Alice had arranged this for us – who else? We wanted something romantic, but a restaurant seemed out of place seeing as neither of us ate. We had debated whether to return to Isle Esme, where our new life had began, but we had left there hurriedly out of shock and with an unpleasant memory (despite how wonderful it had ended up) that we decided against it. So Alice had set up her own little dining room – a table for two with a small candle and confetti sprinkled on the table – especially for us. We didn't have food; we just sat and talked... Oh, how I loved Bella – words couldn't describe how much. One hundred years had passed yet I loved her no less. If possible, my love for her had increased.
Bella wrinkled her nose, and with one hand, swept the falling hair from her golden eyes.
"You look so beautiful tonight." I whispered, knowing she would hear. I stroked the bone of her hand delicately, tracing the flawless skin.
"Thank you." She muttered; always shy when it came to her beauty, even though she knew it now. Whilst human, she had taken a lot more encouraging. "You are too. You make me speechless." She said, smiling.
"God, I deserve a medal!" I said dramatically which made her laugh.
"What for?" She asked curiously.
"For spending one hundred years with you!" I said, flashing my charming wink at her which she always laughed at – she told me it wasn't my kind of style and it was too cheesy.
"Oh, why thank you." She smiled sarcastically.
"Well I do. I don't know how I coped with your beautiful smile that makes me feel faint every time I look at it, the eyes that I drown in every time I stare into them and the hands that make me tremble to touch."
"Oh, how dreadful for you!" She smiled, batting her eyelashes seductively. "It sounds torturous. And you forgot my stubbornness, my mood swings, my demanding for your attention, and how I keep you up all night." She added jokingly.
"Well, I'm not complaining about that part." I smiled when she started looking down at the table in disgrace pouting moodily. "What on earth is that face for?" I asked a little shocked at the sudden theatrics.
"I cannot believe that Alice separated us with a table!" she whined, banging her fists lightly on the table. She mesmerised me with her complex mind and how simple things amused her.
"Well, I'm not gonna argue with that," I murmured, taking her hand and pulling her round to stand beside the table. "Can you believe," I whispered into her ear as I took both of her hands in mine, "that in one hundred years, I still haven't taught you how to dance?" She laughed quietly, throwing her head backwards and letting her hair fall off her shoulders, leaving her neck exposed. Even though the blood did not run through the veins anymore, it drove me wild.
I lifted her and placed her feet on mine and we danced gently to the music, moving in time as she held her body tightly against mine.
"I can dance forever like this." Bella mumbled. "I don't need to learn; I prefer it this way."
"Hmmm, I doubt many would think its appropriate."
"No-one is here." She reasoned, kissing my neck. She made me feel so warm and wanted... I loved her, so god damn much it hurt! She smelt wonderful, different. Bella usually smelt similar to the room, but today she had a different smell: lavender mixed perfectly with sandalwood. It smelt brilliant on her.
"Do you think we'll always be this happy?" She asked after a moment of silence.
"I hope so," was the only answer I could give, curious as to why she'd asked. Bella was always a mystery to me; that's what made me love her so much – that she loved me and not just my looks and my natural attraction.
"I can't believe we've been living like this for one hundred years!" Bella breathed, a giggle nearly escaping. "Can you?"
I nodded slightly. I'd lived like this for one hundred, but I'd had a previous one hundred years to adjust to the lifestyle and the surrealism of being a vampire.
"So much has changed." She observed.
"Tell me about it." I paused. "What do you miss most?" I asked. We'd discussed being human as that was what made me fall in love with her; those first years meant so much to be, even if Bella's memory was a little blurred around them.
"Charlie and Renée." She answered instantly. "I miss being irresistible to you, although I agree this is safer." She laughed.
"You have always been irresistible to me." I sighed. She still didn't quite understand how much she meant to me and how beautiful she was.
"What do you miss most?" She asked looking up to stare into my eyes.
I thought a moment – what did I miss? The fact I worried endlessly that she would kill herself out of her magnet for danger or her clumsiness? The way my throat burned when she kissed me and I had to pull away despite my yearning for her? Or the way I thought that, in the end, she would either die of old age or be deprived of all the joyous things in life, like a child? We were lucky, so lucky, that we had Renesmee. It was something that we never thought possible and it still amazed me that it had.
"Your blush." I answered finally. "You always used to blush when you were embarrassed, and that's what I miss."
She laughed: "I don't!"
I went back to thinking about Renesmee. She was a miracle, a complete blessing and words couldn't describe how grateful I was. Me? A one hundred year old vampire with a biological child! It sounded absurd, but it was so true.
"What are you thinking about?" Bella whispered compassionately.
"Renesmee."
"She's so grown up." Bella laughed. "I can't believe she's real sometimes."
"I know. A miracle." We continued to dance to the soft notes that escaped the music system, as we rocked from side to side, around the room, holding each other close.
Renesmee had married Jake like we all had expected, but she had waited until she was eighteen years old like Bella. Not physically eighteen, but mentally too. She had matured at seven like Nahuel had told us she would, but she and Jake were patient, waiting longer than I thought they would. I thanked him for that.
On her wedding day, I had been so proud of her as I walked her down the aisle in her pretty white dress - and him, despite all that he'd put us all through. Renesmee knew the truth about everything and all of our history. We couldn't keep the secrets of our past from her in case they came to haunt us sometime in the future and a tragedy happen. It wouldn't be the first time that lies had torn the family apart.
Jake phased every time Renesmee wanted to hunt, a perfect excuse and a perfect routine to ensure that he would never age. Unfortunately, we found Renesmee couldn't have children. I really did feel sorry for her as I knew what the feeling felt like before I'd been blessed enough to have her, but she'd done the 'deed' after she'd stopped ageing – something I had been thankful for at the time, but also regretted now as I had been the one encouraging her to respect herself and be patient. Her body had stopped, so no child could grow inside of her, like any other female vampire.
"Can we stop now?" Bella asked after minutes had passed. She took her feet off mine and pulled me to the couch. We were living in Canada now, not too far from Forks, but further enough away to keep our cover.
"I love you." I muttered as she put her feet on my lap and I took off her shoes. I played with her toes, but she squealed and pulled them towards her.
"Get off!" she squealed, shifting her body so her head was next to mine and her feet further down the couch. "Kiss me." She requested simply, and I did.
It started off gently and passionately, but then it progressed into something of desperation and desire. She pulled my head closer to hers with her hand in my messy hair as I cupped her face in my hands, pressing her closer to me as my tongue explored her lips. She tasted so good. But then I remembered.
"Bella, wait." I gasped, pulling away.
"What? Why?" She whined.
"I have something for you." I said getting excited. "Don't even start – you're going to love it! I've been so excited and Rose helped me pick it out." I could see her reaction to the name: why would Rosalie help? It was usually Alice or Esme who had such insight to a person's character that they picked the perfect gift.
"Close your eyes." I whispered and she did reluctantly. I picked her up, cradling her in my arms, and carried her out of the house.
"It's outside?" She questioned, noticing the change in atmosphere and the smell of nature.
"Sshh!" I snapped playfully. I put her down on the floor, her feet still bare.
"Open your eyes," I said, pulling back the cover to her new Chevy.
"Oh my goodness, Edward! Really? For me?" She gasped in disbelief, pulling open the seat and sitting inside, playing with the steering wheel and gear stick like a child.
"It's old, but Rose helped me find one that was decent enough, and then fixed it up for me. Jake helped too, to be fair. We thought you'd like it – I wasn't too keen, but I know how much you loved the old one you used to have!"
"Oh, Edward, it's wonderful! It's great!" She gasped, almost fighting for breath at the shock of such a great present. Her face was actually shining with happiness, and I realised it was pretty much the first gift she'd accepted off me that she'd not complained about.
"Oh, I have an idea!" She gasped. "Let's go." She said, getting out of the car and pulling my hand.
"Where are we going?" I asked, completely confused to her sudden change of mind and why she'd left the car she apparently loved so much sitting on the driveway un-attended.
"You'll see." She teased, running through the trees that were near our house. I kept up with her as she squealed happily, jumping around and dancing as the moon light reflected off her silky shampooed hair. Her bare feet made marks in the grass as we ran, and there was something oddly arousing about the fact she was running through the forest with no shoes on.
"Bella, we're going too far!" I protested, unsure about where she was taking me and not liking this metaphoric blindfold she'd placed over my eyes.
"Be spontaneous!" She encouraged, pulling me and I continued to run, not taking my eyes off this beautiful girl running beside me. Her hair flew as she sprinted through the trees, dodging them perfectly. It amazed me how graceful she had become instead of the clumsy girl she used to be, even though she still had her moments. It was nice that I could relax sometimes.
"Seriously, Bella. Where are you taking me?" I asked and slowed her pace. But then the trees became familiar, the scent was oddly welcoming but I did not fully know where I was. Until I saw the meadow.
"Surprise." Bella whispered softly from behind and we looked at the place where our love had been announced. The trees had not withered and the grass swayed as the wind sang a welcoming song. The perfection that I had felt during our visits before had only multiplied and intensified now and Bella lay herself amongst the grass as the moonlight penetrated the tree canopy, enlightening the grassy meadow with a gentle glow.
"Aren't you going to lie down?" She asked looking up at me, plucking grass from the ground. I lowered myself carefully, scared that any rash movement would make this image disappear. I shuffled next to her and we lay on our backs with our index fingers linked.
"Do you like it here?" Bella said her voice peaceful. I turned on my side to face her.
"I love it here," I said, kissing her cheek. "Do you remember when you told me you knew what I was?" I'd never known what she really thought – never because I had not asked her before. It frustrated me so much to know that she could be lying to me, despite the fact she couldn't lie to save her life... literally.
"Yes, I think so." She said, scrunching her face up in concentration as she tried to straighten out the blurred image. "Most of it," she added frustrated.
"Honestly, tell me. Were you scared?" I muttered hesitantly. I remembered it well – driving back from Port Angeles after I'd rescued her from the rapists. My anger levels rose instantly, just thinking about the men who wanted to hurt Bella.
"No." She whispered quietly but firmly. "Never scared of you." I watched her eyes, so focused on mine that I almost cowered at the certainty in them. She was not lying.
"You have never fail to amaze me, Bella." I smiled.
"That must be why you love me." She joked, laughing, but I nodded my head in agreement. Of course that was why I loved her but it was only part of it. I loved her because she had looked past the monster I believed I was and saw the me that I wanted so desperately to be. She helped me, she let me live as humanly as possible, she gave me a reason to live, she took my heart and treasured it with such delicacy that I knew it was safe, and she gave me hers in return. To top it all off, she kept me fascinated. After one hundred years, I still did not know what she was thinking or how she would react. And her beauty – she never saw it which only emphasised it. She was my modest angel.
"You said it didn't matter what I was – that it was too late." I remembered, quoting her words deep in the memory.
"It didn't. It was. Obviously." She said, looking at our present situation. "I loved you. I love you. I will always love you." She brought her mouth closer to my ear as she said it, but drew away just before contact was made. "Why do you find that so hard to believe?" she asked, pouting, at my expression.
"I just can't believe how lucky I am." I breathed.
"Then believe it. I have." She smiled and lay her head on my chest. "You do know that Alice cleared the whole house for us and we ended up here?" She laughed, trying to distract me from the trance that I fell into. She didn't like it when I fell deep into my thoughts, thinking that she'd done or said something wrong, when all I was simply doing was thinking, mainly about her.
"She'll be furious!" I laughed, imagining a little annoying Alice stamping her foot when she saw the empty room which she'd so elegantly prepared.
"Will we ever move back to Forks?" Bella asked, eyeing the forest with a grin and wide eyes.
"I'm not sure – maybe. Probably." I reasoned. We liked to move a lot now, maybe staying a place between five and ten years. We had taken time to visit friends, or go to a unpopulated place where we could simply be ourselves. Before, we liked to stay in a place for as long as possible because it allowed us to feel more human. But then Bella came along, and she had changed us so permanently and there was never any need to any more. We found company in our partners and in our family.
"I like Forks." She said simply.
I chuckled. "You hated it at first! The rain, and the wet and the cold, you hated it all."
"But, I hadn't met you then, had I?" She said rolling her eyes, "and I can't feel the cold anymore." She smiled stroking my chest with her finger.
"I could lie here forever." I whispered, pulling her in for a kiss. She happily agreed, moving her hand from my chest to my head, holding me into her. My head was suddenly filled with desire for myself, and thoughts about how perfect my lips were, my body was and the urgency in which I was wanted.
I pulled back.
"What's the matter?" Bella asked worriedly.
"Bella... uhm... did you just think how perfect my lips were?" I asked, thinking that was the only way.
Her eyes circled the surroundings and a small guilty smile appeared on her face. "How did you know?" She giggled.
"You let your shield down." I replied. How didn't she know she'd let her shield down? Surely she should be the one to control it?
"I did?" She asked, confused.
"I heard you." She shrugged and pulled me in again, and once again when her hand touched my head and the kiss deepened I heard her love for me.
"I heard it again." I mumbled when our lips were still touching. She pulled away.
"But why?" She asked a little worried, pushing herself so she was sitting. I mirrored her change in posture.
"I... don't know." I admitted. "Maybe, because you weren't... concentrating on it."
"I don't usually have to concentrate on it!" She snapped a little harshly, but I could see that she was just worried to why the sudden 'leakage'.
"What I'm saying, love," I said, embracing her to comfort her, "is that instead of forcing the shield out, like you do when you've shown me before, you sub-consciously allowed it to wander whilst you were... enjoying yourself." I coughed awkwardly at the latter part, smirking a little but also deeply satisfied with her thoughts.
"Maybe." She agreed, nodding her head slowly.
"You see? You know that me hearing your thoughts makes me happy." I continued. "It's a sign of strength, I think, that you don't have to put pressure for it to be released, that it comes more naturally now." I soothed. I would have to check with Carlisle to see if my theory seemed appropriate – even though Bella and I re-wrote most of his assurances during our life with the honeymoon, and the pregnancy and our love in general.
"Yeah – that sounds okay." She said, taking in my assumption with a nod of the head.
I kissed her hair which quickly escalated to the mouth again, Bella laying on top of me now. I held her close and we stopped the kiss, just lying in each other's embrace, breathing in the crisp air.
"I love you." I whispered again.
"As I love you." She smiled; it was our 'thing'.
Immeasurable time passed as we lay there in the moonlight silently, simply being. There was no way of knowing how long we'd lay there, but as the sun began to poke its head through the tree canopy, embedding Bella's skin with precious jewels, I knew we had been there a while.
"Should we go?" Bella whispered after a while, her voice cracked slightly as she had not talked for so long.
"Only if you want to." I smiled and she moaned.
"Mmm, maybe a little bit longer." The sun had now completely broke through and the flowers that were scattered around did a joyous dance as they lapped up the sunlight.
"Edward, you know if something ever happened to me." She began. My alarm siren started ringing and I jumped up so fast that she fell off of me.
"What are you talking about? Don't." I said, pushing my finger against her lips to quieten her.
"Please, Edward. I was just thinking how much you love me." She continued.
"Of course I love you!" I cried, wondering why she took so much convincing.
"Exactly," she tried again, holding up her hand so I would let her finish. "I'm just say, if anything was to happen to me, then what would you do?"
"Die." I answered quietly as soon as the question had been asked.
"You see, that's why I brought it up. You must not." Her eyes were shining as the sun found its way too those, her skin still sparkled. Before, it was the look of a monster, but Bella could never be such a thing. She wore the sparkles like a piece of jewellery. "You should never do that."
"But why? I want to be with you for always." I said, kissing her hand.
"Edward, if we were both to die, then who would care for our daughter?" I could see why she had brought it up – I knew her love to Renesmee was overwhelming, just like my own. I could see now that the decision would not be as easy.
"Live to look after her, even if I am gone." She said again.
"You're going nowhere." I snapped stubbornly, pulling her on top of me again. Her words had sent my mind on over-time, thinking of all the possibilities that could still go wrong, that could still happen.
"Don't worry about it Edward," she said, sensing my sudden mood change, "I was just making sure you knew." She smiled at me and kissed me. "Let's got back now."
We both stood, Bella's feet still bare, her dress a little muddy from the damp grass. As we began to run back home, the sun was hidden behind the clouds and the tree bank and I just realised that Forks was having its only sunny day of the year – especially for us.
Bella suddenly came to a stop at the bottom of a tree. She looked all the way up at it, and eyed it up and down sceptically.
"Let's climb it!" she suggested, hitching up her dress and jumping up to the first branch, yanking herself upwards. "Edward, come on!" She squealed like a child, letting her hair flap as a breeze ticked her.
"Bella, love, climbing a tree isn't very good for the un-coordinated!" I reminded her but she laughed.
"I'm not going to get hurt!" She promised me, climbing a little higher. Against my wishes, I jumped too, joining her on the second branch upwards – at least if I was with her she wouldn't have a chance to fall.
"Higher!" She smiled widely, pulling herself further and further up the leafy tree until out heads poked out of the canopy. All around us were trees and more trees, a leafy surface that looked just like the grassy ground. The sun was hidden to us, behind the cloud back after all, and it amazed me how free I felt. The wind was higher up here, gusting past us trying to make us fall but we clung to each other and to the tree and looked out ahead of us.
"It's so beautiful." Bella breathed, stunned by the simplistic beauty of it all.
"I know." I agreed, enjoying the view as much as she was.
"Do you reckon we can jump down?" Bella smirked, measuring up the distance between the top of the tree and the floor.
"Bella, you'll hurt yourself." I warned.
"Then all you'll have to do is put me back together." She smiled jokingly, her eyes widened as she pounced. I watched, in shock and horror, as she bounced on the ground, bending her knees and straightening out, looking up and me encouraging me to do the same. I didn't know what had gotten into Bell at all – she was usually quiet and refined, or as close as she could be, but today she was wild.
Jumping, I landed next to her, adrenaline pumping through me as the air had gushed past me, flying through my hair and pushing against my clothing.
"What's gotten in to you?" I gasped to my beautiful wife who was smiling at me, biting her bottom lip.
"You?" she joked, but then shook her head. "I realised that I should enjoy it." She said, breathing quickly more out of habit that need.
"Enjoy what?" I asked, my head cocked in confusion.
"Enjoy this, you, Nessie. Enjoy the life you created me to have. Let's live, Edward."
"Bella, we do." I stressed, not sure what she wanted to do, and scared too. The last time she'd been an adrenaline junkie, she nearly killed us both.
"Not crazy things, just enjoyable. I can honestly say that it won't kill us. You know it won't." She smiled.
"Okay..."
"It's like a new year's resolution – so this time in one hundred years, when we're even older we will have done more things. I want to pull out of school – I'm sick of it now. I've done it over and over eight times now!" She laughed heartedly, and this sudden streak of enthusiasm was inspiring; she had a good idea. "Let's travel, move every year to a new place, a new destination with different cultures and different ways of life. We can do it, we have to money." I could see what she was picturing easily; the way her eyes were playing it for me, I could see it all.
I saw the deserted desserts of Egypt that no-one could survive crossing, but we could. We could do it all, and not worry that someone would see us. We could do exotic things; buy another island, especially for us. I saw that, and I knew that would be her birthday present. Carlisle had done it, and now I was going to buy one for her, for us.
"Shhh, Bella, calm down." I said, holding up a finger for her to stop talking so hurriedly. We have forever to do all of that, let's go home. Oh, and did I tell you?" I whispered, "Happy Anniversary."
She grinned and kissed me, pulling me back home. By now, her dress was completely dirty, with rips and tears and woodsy marks all over it from her tree-climbing idea. Her feet were muddy, but she still looked absolutely stunning – she made me speechless.
"What have you done to the dress?" Alice whined as soon as we were even close to the house. She had her arms crossed and glanced back into the house where Bella's shoes lay forgotten on the floor and the candle-light table had been abandoned.
"Sorry, Alice." Bella said with no sincerity in her voice at all. She pulled my hand with her newly found energy.
"Where are you going?" Alice asked, as I was dragged into the house and half way up the flights of stairs.
"To bed." Bella answered, turning around to see Alice's narrowed eyes.
"Your anniversary is over now." Alice reminded her. I looked from my sister to my wife as they had their playful argument – neither of them meant any harm.
"The anniversary of my wedding day is over, yes, but I've still got to relive my honeymoon." Bella grinned, bit her lip out of embarrassment but then tugged for me to follow.
I had a feeling that the next one hundred years were going to be a very action-packed.
So what did you think? Bella's mind if all over the place in this, and I didn't think it was out of character, do you?
What do you think? I wanted it just to be a one-shot, but I wanted to include bits of the past 100 years in there too, and some ideas that they could do for the future now that they are all paired up.
Please review with all your thoughts and comments; all feedback is welcome as I encourage criticism :) Also, if I have made any mistakes, please tell me.
I hope you enjoyed it - I enjoyed writing it. It's a little different to what I usually do.
Thanks for reading.
Big-Blue-Eyes 18
xxx