"I. Can't."
"Please Edward.. This will really make me happy."
"Bella.."
"It's just for today."
"Must you always be so stubborn?"
"For me?"
"No."
"Come on! Please?"
"I'm not doing it."
"Fine."
"..Augh. Okay okay, I'll do it."
"Wear this first."
"It's looks a little tight."
"No, it'll fit. See?"
"Ugh. Is this supposed to go through here?"
"Um, yeah. Just pull it up a little bit more.. You're almost there."
"I honestly don't see the reason for this."
"Here, let me adjust that. Whoa, be careful."
"Sorry."
"There. That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
Edward glowers at the mirror.
"Just tie this around and you're done. No wait--the hair!"
"No!"
"Edward! It won't be complete without the hair!"
"You can't touch my hair, okay?"
"She won't be as happy. You know how she is."
"You're abusing me you know."
"It has to be slick--"
"No gel!"
"That's impossible. You know how he looked!"
"Five minutes. And then I'll take everything off."
"Just until the party ends."
"We have guests!"
"And they'll love you!"
"Bella."
"What's more important is that she'll be happy. She'll follow you around and she'll never stop looking up at you."
"I'm only doing this for her. And for you," he breathes in deeply and buries his eyes in his hand. After three seconds, he looks up to her, "After this party, no more costumes. And the pictures, I'm sure you'll be taking pictures--they can only be viewed exclusively by our family. Just you, me and Renesmee."
"You're over-reacting. That's fine with me. But I don't think a certain little girl wouldn't want to show off his superdad to everyone. Now twist that strand to your left, and perfect."
"This--is beyond shame."
"You actually look quite convincing."
"Why couldn't Emmett or Jacob--?"
"Well, she wants you. And she is your daughter. Now let's go!"
"She hasn't even begun connecting sentences yet, so how can she make a specific request?"
"There are things that only a mother can understand. And that's based on experience. Hurry up."
She takes a few steps towards the door, but Edward remained motionless.
"Edward." Bella had to literally drag him out of the room and look him in the eye every now and then, just so they could descend the stairs together, much to Edward's dismay.
Downstairs, Renesmee sat on the living room floor, playing with her toy cars and baby dolls while the rest of the family prepared the house and the banquet. Even at her tender age, her beauty was already glowing. She may be dressed in overalls and walking shoes, but her skin looked fair and delicate, her unkempt copper hair soft and basking in radiance, the short strands bouncing at the slightest gesture. And she had the most expressive pupils, one she had inherited from her grandmother, Renée.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who's hard-headed around here. Someone apparently refused to wear the dress which i placed on her bed," Renesemee turns to look at her mother with a scowl, "Where's your hair clip?"
"Papa!" her chocolate eyes bursting with energy, she immediately gets up to run to where Edward is. She reaches her father without so much as a break in her balance, and never faltering, she embraces his father's thigh tightly. Edward forgets about his ridiculous outfit for once and smiles down at his daughter.
*Flash*
She reaches for the red cape and starts jumping up and down, all the while marveling at the man dressed in shiny blue spandex with his red underwear worn on the outside.
*Flash*
Bella fixes the lens of the camera while setting aside Renesmee's toys.
"Well then it's a good thing I love you both." Edward kneels down to his daughter's height, brushes away the strands covering her eyes and plants a kiss on his daughter's forehead, "Happy birthday, little chocolate. Do you like it?"
She nods enthusiastically.
*Flash*
As she continues to watch, Bella recalls the many birthday cakes she's shared with Charlie over the years, and a heavy yearning emanates from her chest. Nothing could replace all the birthdays she's spent with her father, not even the eternal youth she'd acquired.
"Fly! Fly!"
"I don't think your father can do that without being ganged up by groupies. Or be laughed at by your grandpa and his police force."
"Ha. Go on, amuse yourself while you can."
"Fly!"
"No. Papa can't fly in this costume. But I can make you fly if you let me change. Let me change, okay?"
"Knoww."
"Nice try, Clark."
"The name's Edward."
"Wait a minute, is that Superman??" Jacob waltzs in with an exaggerated surprised facial expression, "No way! I thought he had black hair."
"Jake!" Renesme laughs heartily at the sight of Jacob, and she lets go of Edward momentarily to hug the olive-skinned adolescent.
Edward suddenly has an overwhelming urge to tear Jacob apart limb by limb. He stands up abruptly. Thankfully, his wife is right next to him and tries to soothe him down.
Bella closes her eyes hastily to concentrate on her thoughts.
He's just being himself.
Think about your daughter.
Look at the pictures, don't you see how happy Renesmee is to see you?
He softens a bit and starts skimming through the photos which Bella took; but his eyes remain guarded, never letting his daughter out of his sight.
"I have something for you." Jacob takes out from his pocket a small anklet with stars and a single wolf head, and he ties it around Renesmee's left ankle. "These are stars. And this, this is me right here. It'll stay around your ankle so you won't swallow it anytime, okay? Happy birthday Nessy."
"Eynkyoo." She gives another hug to Jacob, and then bites him playfully.
"You're always welcome."
With much curiosity she looks down to admire the gift . She wriggles her toes, and then lifts her foot and puts it back on the floor. She smiles as the bells make a sound every time she moved her foot. She stomps her foot two more times before she grins at the floor and runs back to Edward, who by now is standing behind Bella.
Jacob moves towards them but stops, "Nice undies man. Heyy, you look SO familiar--"
"Jake. Please."
"I'm just saying Bells. Here, smile for eternity."
*flash*
end