Disclaimers: I am not (and thank goodness for it) Stephanie Meyer.
2) I will not claim to like Twilight, the series, or its characters, but I will not bash them. I am using this fandom for the template it provides, and I hope you enjoy this story. I tried to make it fun.
3) Bella isn't my favorite character, and neither is Edward. I only read the series once through, a year ago. So I apologize beforehand for any mischaracterizations that may occur, and you are entitled to correct me in reviews.
4) With no further ado, I really hope you enjoy the show.
What to do with Eternity?
by Loonynamelass
Bella was having a blast as a vampire. Although it slightly begrudged her that, when it came down to it, her powers were more defensive than fun or useful in this time of relative of peace… finally in a state that Edward wouldn't have to treat her like a precious piece of wet tissue paper, she couldn't bring herself to bemoan her circumstances.
Nestling herself on Edward's chest as usual as he read an orange paperback novel, she sighed. Picking up on it immediately, Edward's head swiveled and his mouth moved faster than sound- "IseverythingalrightBella?"
Never tiring of his face or voice, she waited a moment- tense for him, bliss for her- before answering. "Oh, no, it's just… I mean, must you read right now?"
"Anything else I should be doing?" he asked, sounding amused as he watched her, as though she was a petulant toddler.
Willing to use such a perspective to her advantage, she pressed, "Can't we do something exciting? I mean, you have an eternity to read…"
Slightly bewildered by her ennui, the hundred and ten and going husband responded, "Well, we have an eternity to do anything, even to learn patience."
Bella pouted. "Let's do that later, then."
"How about you check on Renesmee?"
"She's napping- and the best-behaved baby ever born," Bella said promptly, and added, "I don't even need to read any of those baby-books, because she transcends the limitations of human babies." The couple listened to the soft snores of their child in the other room. "And she's not even a baby anymore. More like five years old, and still not difficult at all… And finally, Jacob made me promise him to tell him when she awoke because he wants to take care of every single moment of her youth."
"You almost sound disappointed," Edward noticed with a small frown.
"Well, I don't know, I just… I feel like we there should be something to do that's important, or fun, and there just doesn't seem to be anything…"
"It's daytime and Renesmee's in the house, so we can't really have too much vampire 'fun.' We could hunt?"
"Not hungry. Hm… What's the Volturi up to?"
"It doesn't matter. You're not allowed to endanger yourself by affiliating yourself with them." Bella rolled her eyes at her controlling husband, but she nodded her acquiescence- after all, Edward's appeals far outweighed this annoyance. "Probably just eating and regulating the vampire clans, to make sure nothing's risking the code of secrecy."
"Oh, those poor people!" Bella exclaimed, sitting up. "They're just innocent tourists, and… You know, we could help them!"
Edward, not the fondest of such a strange idea but ready for anything (as long as it was safe) to occupy Bella, limited his preliminary objections to "Why?"
"Well, I was a human once, too. Imagine if, before we met, I went on a tour of Europe, and decided to visit Volterra, Italy…" she trailed off meaningfully.
He winced, finally getting an idea of empathy. "We can't unseat the Volturi in one afternoon," he reasoned, understanding her urgency but still able to be reasonable about the whole affair. "Sure, those people need help, but surely there are other humans in need who you can help without killing the Cullen coven… And again, remember what I just told you. No liaising with the Volturi. I'm not going to see you get hurt, because then I'll have to kill myself again, and honestly, that seems like a waste when you're happy right here, sans ennui."
"I don't appreciate your joke," she scowled, seeking another venue for to exhaust her boredom in her suddenly charitable mood. "Maybe I could spend a few million dollars on food and zip over to Africa, running on water, and unload it there for malnourished children?"
"That sounds complicated and conspicuous, and I don't want you overtiring yourself."
"Vampires can't even get tired!"
"They can become uncomfortable, or encounter enemy clans, or reveal themselves to humans, and I don't want to risk either of it with you. You are not to leave the country at your own whim without my permission, okay? I care too much about you," he said, curling in to kiss her forehead. "Just the idea of you being in the remotest danger…"
At that point, Jacob entered. "Renesmee's waking up," he said as way of explanation.
"Hey, Jacob?" Jacob could always be counted on to oppose Edward when needed. "I really feel like being philanthropic today, but Edward won't let me out of the house!"
"No one puts Bella in the corner," the werewolf shrugged.
"No, you can't say that; in this romance, if she's Jennifer Gray, I'm Patrick Swayze."
"You sound more like Jake Houseman, to me."
"Ew!" A pillow was thrown like fluffy lightning at Jacob, but werewolf reflexes deftly caught it. "That'd be like sleeping with my dad!"
"Hey, Bells, keep your priorities straight. You're mad at him for not letting you out of the house, remember?"
"Bella? Are you really upset with me?"
She fidgeted restlessly in his cool grasp. "No, I just feel sort of dissatisfied with being content. And you won't let me do anything useful. I mean, gosh, vampires are given superb memory, speed, strength, and reflexes, and yet you won't let me use any of it for good!"
"Bells, chill. That whine makes you sound like Renesmee. Who I love," Jacob added quickly at Bella's glare. "Look, I've got an idea. What you said about super memory and speed..."
She shot up- if Edward hadn't felt her tense, his arm would probably be ripped off by her semi-newborn strength. "You have an idea?"
That's what I said, Einstein. "It's pretty simple, but… there's this website called freerice dot com, and you can play it, you know, challenge yourself on the levels until you beat every single game… and every time you get a right answer, you give a baby-sized handful of rice to starving people. It's a pretty tight deal."
In a flash, Bella had zipped into Best Buy, charmed the cashier, paid a pittance of the Cullen fortune, and flipped open her new Mac. After a few dizzying moments, she'd figured out how to use it and started typing away. Meanwhile, Jacob played with Renesmee, teaching her to memorize the Gettysburg Address for the sake of cuteness, and then relaxing with hide-and-go-seek. When they decided to leave for the park, Jacob was astonished to find the couple in almost exactly the same position, albeit Edward with a new book by now. "Uh, guys, I'm going to take your daughter to the park, okay? We'll be back by three."
"Sounds great," Edward replied from behind his book. Meanwhile, Bella's eyes were fixed on the computer screen, which flashed at every instance in response to the rapid-fire hum of mouse-clicking. Jacob left. "Hey, Bella, I know we have extremely good focus and all, but…"
"Keep reading- I want to get to Level 60; this game is a way funner than I thought it'd be… Come on, vampiric memory… 'moider' means work hard…"
She's playing a vocabulary game but still says funner, Edward mused, shaking his head quizzically. Oh, how he loved her.
That said, Bella's not the only one who can help! You don't have to battle the Volturi to save the world, and here's how:
This is Loonynamelass speaking on behalf of Fanfictioners Against World Hunger. This fanfiction account runs it all, and if you're interested in joining, just message the group or review this story.
Have you heard of freerice dot com?
To donate, all you have to do is play the site to earn donated rice. What does fanfiction have to do with all of this, you may wonder? Well, it's simple. As a Fanfictioner Against World Hunger, every time you review a story, you pledge to donate a certain amount of rice. Then you try to spread the word about the group, through the reviews you submit, your profile, and your own stories. When you're part of this group, donating isn't something you can forget, because it's tied to the simple act of reading fanfiction. This simple commitment makes a world of difference.
It's an easy way to allow your hobby of reading fanfiction benefit countries in need of sustenance and promote free education! Please, consider joining today!
If you don't want to join, but still want to help, just play the game for a while and then note how much you donated in a review. Any contribution is appreciated by not only us Fanfictioners, but the malnourished populations in third world countries that directly benefit from your simple effort.