Us Against the World

C7: Phoenix Bound

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters

Alice's POV

A few days later we were on the road to Phoenix, both of us now having beautiful rings that we had found after hours of browsing and fitting, and of course lots of money to have them ready the same day. Bella had chosen a pink princess cut diamond for me, and I had chosen a similar styled ruby for her and even now that we were on the road to Phoenix I couldn't help but smile every time the diamond sparkled in the early morning sunlight.

Bella was currently in the backseat with her laptop in her lap, working on her first batch of homework for her online classes. She found that she had put it off long enough and had taken to her English Literature and Creative Writing classes with fervor, although that was something I had expected.

I had to admit she looked absolutely adorable though. Dressed in nothing more than a tanktop and some shorts while the tip of her tongue poked out of her mouth and her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, having not even bothered with a bra this morning. "Are you okay back there love?"

"Just peachy darling. I'm nearly done with my homework for the week. I never thought that college classes of English Literature would be so easy." Bella said without even looking up from her laptop.

I smiled at her. "I'm glad you are enjoying your classes baby, but may I ask why you are working so far ahead?"

"Convenience mostly. I just want to be done with homework so that I have time to spend time with my wife and that I don't have to work as hard when we get to Phoenix so we can spend some quality time with Renee." She said with a soft smile.

"I must admit that I am really looking forward to that. Just a few weeks of uninterrupted time with my wife and mother-in-law." I said with a soft smile.

Bella smiled at me as she closed her laptop before crawling over the center console into the passenger seat, giving me a very nice view of her breasts. "Is there a particular reason you went without a bra today Tigress?"

She smiled at that. "Not really, I just thought it would be easier should we feel the need to get a quickie in on the road, and to be honest I didn't see the need as long as it is just us in a car."

I smiled and kissed her softly. "I like the way you think love, but for the sake of my own sanity and your stamina, we should not push it if we want to be in Phoenix in time."

She smirked at that as she undressed and proceeded to slowly put on some clothes that were not so revealing. "You my love, are a tease, and very lucky that the road is mostly deserted or you might have given someone a show that is clearly meant for my eyes only."

"Perhaps that was my subtle way of telling my darling Pixie that her mate is horny and that she is the one to talk with that tightfitting top and barely there shorts." She said with a teasing smile.

"We'll stop soon enough, my love. Do you think you can hold out for that long, or do you want me to stop at the next available stop and ravage you in the backseat." I asked sultrily, knowing the answer already.

Bella seemed to contemplate it for a moment. "I'll be good. I can wait until tonight."

I smiled and kissed her softly. "You're always good, my love, even when you're a bad girl you are so very, very good."

"That's not fair. If I don't get to tease you, then you don't get to tease me." She said with an adorable pout.

I smiled at her as we pulled into one of the motel parking spots. "Are you sure about that, my love, because we're here."

She huffed and reluctantly accepted a kiss. "You're such a cheater sometimes."

"Don't be like that love. Once you are turned you will be able to see everything I see, even without my visions. Our minds just work a lot faster than that of humans." She said as she crawled into my lap and kissed me over and over.

Bella eventually smiled and pulled me close. "Why can't I ever stay mad at you. You're so adorable that it is just impossible."

"I'm all yours my love, now and forever." I said with a loving smile.

Bella smiled at that as she nuzzled her nose against my neck. "And I am yours, my Pixie. Forever and always.

I smiled and kissed her softly. "Why don't you get a few cases out of the trunk with our essentials, I'll go and check in while you do that. And don't forget The Case, my love. We'll need it tonight." I said with a wink as I opened up the door and hopped off her lap.

I could hear the groan of frustration before I heard her get out, and I couldn't help the giggle that fell from my lips as I walked into the office. "Good evening, are there any rooms available."

The woman behind the desk smiled at me. "Sure are, 50 dollars a night, 20 for a few hours."

"We'll be staying the night, thank you." I said with a smile as I handed her fifty dollars and signed my name in the book.

She merely smiled as she handed me the key to our room. "It's the one in the middle, with the green door. Everything you need will be there."

I nodded as I made my way back outside, where I saw Bella struggle with the two suitcases we needed for tonight and tomorrow.

I took the heaviest one and smiled at her. "Let me help you with that baby. I wouldn't you to hurt that gorgeous face, or any other part of your body for that matter."

She smiled and kissed me as I opened up the room, both of us quirking an eyebrow at somewhat rugged interior. "Well, I suppose it will have to suffice." She said teasingly.

I smiled and nodded. "Thankfully we only need one bed, and one of the two looks comfy enough. Beggars can't be choosers after all."

"I thought you liked it when I beg?" She said with a teasing wink.

I grinned at her. "Only in bed, my love. There isn't a need for you to beg for anything else. I will always look after my mate."

She smiled before kissing me. "And I will always look after my Pixie too, even though I am not a vampire yet."

I smiled and pulled her close as we fell onto the bed, more than content to be close for a few moments.

Bella's POV

When I woke up the following morning, Alice was still spooned into my back, drawing random patterns on my hips. "Good morning Tigress. How did you sleep?" She asked softly.

I smiled and turned around so I could kiss her. "I slept okay, thank you for asking. The company during the night was especially good after all."

Alice smiled and kissed me softly. "As was the shower that preceded our passionate night. It feels like forever ago since we had a proper shower."

I smiled at her over dramatic antics. "You're almost too adorable when you're being dramatic. Another reason why I love you so much."

"As much as I would a repeat of last night, we should get going if want to be at your mother's house in time. It's only a few more hours of driving." She said with a soft smile.

I smiled at that. "Then I suppose we should get dressed in something cute, give her a surprise."

"My thoughts exactly darling. I've seen that it will be sunny for most of our time in Phoenix, so I was thinking we could give your mother a shock by having you wear a dress. It would make any on the road teasing easier as well."

I blushed a little at that. "I think we've teased each other more than enough over the last couple of days. We will need to get used to not being able to do whatever we want when we are staying with Renee. The walls of their home are thin and I have heard enough to have suffered a permanent trauma."

"You'll just have to be quiet baby, because we both know there is no way either of us can keep it chaste for a month." Alice said with a soft smile.

"We'll have to, because I am not going to get teased by my mother for a month because you are so amazing at pleasuring me." I muttered as my blush darkened.

Alice giggled and kissed me. "Thank you love, you know I would do anything for your pleasure, but we really need to get dressed and go, otherwise we'll hit traffic into Phoenix."

"Then stop teasing me with sex. You know I don't have the willpower to resist you." I said with a huff.

She merely smiled as she got dressed faster than I had time to blink, myself following suit at a more human pace, muttering about cheating vampire Pixies.

While I got dressed in a colorful sundress, Alice packed up our luggage and brought the suitcases back to the car, leaving me alone for just a moment. I couldn't help but smile at all the teasing we had done during the past couple of weeks, and all the sex we had because of it.

I never thought I would be okay with something like that in the past, even if it was with Alice, but everything Edward had put me through and the way he tried to control me was a clear sign that I needed to open my eyes and accept the love that I had for Alice, and everything that came with it.

Of course Charlie's abuse still lingered in my mind, but every time I was intimate with Alice, one of the times Charlie used to violate me was pushed out to be replaced by the shining light that was my Pixie of a vampire."

Once I was sure I had everything and I checked if I had remembered to wear a bra today, because most of the times it was easier to not wear a bra or even underwear at all, since we were still so addicted to each other."

As I walked out of the room I smiled at Alice who was already waiting in the car for me, probably to heat it up a little, because even though it was the end of June, the mornings were still quite chilly, and if there was one thing I hated, it was being cold, which I know was very ironic with a vampire wife.

Wife. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I was now Isabella Marie Brandon, something I had insisted on because I didn't want anything to do with the Swan name ever again. It was better this way even though I dreaded the amount of teasing and looks I was going to get from Renee when she found out that we had eloped, even though we technically didn't and I didn't even know we were going to be married by the time we left Seattle.

When I got in Alice smiled at me. "Ready love?"

I nodded and kissed her before she drove off. "As ready as I will ever be, my Pixie. Let's see how disappointed Renee will be with me."

"I think she will be very proud of you for wanting to tie the knot with your soul mate already. I have seen it." Alice said softly.

I smiled and gave her hand a loving squeeze. "Thank you Ali, that really helps."

She only smiled and pressed a kiss to my knuckles before focusing on the road. "Of course, love. You know that I only want to help you feel good, whether that is when we're cuddled up in bed or in settling your nerves."

I smiled and relaxed against the seat, figuring it would be a while before we got to Phoenix, and also because I didn't get as much sleep last night, although that was my own fault.

Alice's POV

By the time we pulled up to Renee's house, it was well past noon and Bella was beyond excited to see her mom again, since she hadn't stopped fidgeting since we had entered the city.

Renee was already waiting for us and seemed to gape a little at the car we drove, which I had expected, and I could see her straining to look inside. "I think your mom is jealous love."

"I don't think she realized exactly how out of the ass rich my wife is. I don't think she expected this." She said with a soft smile.

I smiled and kissed her softly before we got out, Bella making a beeline for Renee. "Hey Mom, it's so good to see you again." Bella said as she hugged Renee tightly.

Renee smiled and pressed a kiss to Bella's cheek. "It's good to see you again too, Bells. I've missed you."

Bella smiled and pulled her towards the car, reminding me a lot of a five year old in that moment. "I've missed you too mom."

Renee smiled at her as she came to shake my hand. "You must be Alice. Bella has told me so much about you."

I smiled and nodded. "I am indeed. It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Dwyer."

"Please, call me Renee. It makes me feel so old when people call me Mrs. Dwyer. Is that your car?" She asked kindly.

I nodded at her. "Yes it is, I have sold a couple of my designs and made a decent sum of money of that, which I invested, the interest alone is plenty to live from for at least a few years, and it will keep growing too."

Renee smiled and hugged me, apparently not even noticing my body temperature. "All of that at nineteen. Your parents must be very proud of you."

"My mom is, but my dad thinks I'm too young to handle those kinds of responsibilities, so we had a bit of a spat over that. I needed the time off and Bella also wanted to take some time off before college, so we thought this was the best option. See the country and build our relationship." I said with a kind smile.

Renee nodded and ushered us inside, stating the suitcases could wait until later.

Once we had taken a seat in the living room Renee smiled at Bella. "I must admit that I almost didn't believe you when you said that your girlfriend had given you the courage to accept your sense of style, but I must say that seeing you in such a colorful dress looks absolutely adorable on you."

Bella blushed a little at that. "Well, Alice has tried for many months to get me to go shopping with her and at least update my wardrobe a little, but when we got together I just couldn't justify looking tacky next to her, so I had to swallow my pride and grow up a little, but before we talk about anything else, there is a confession we need to make, several actually."

"You know I will never judge you sweetie." Renee said with a loving smile to us both.

I smiled and gave Bella's hand a comforting squeeze. "It's okay baby, I'm right here." I whispered in her ear.

Bella took a deep breath and nodded at me. "Well, first things first I suppose. Alice and I eloped and got married a couple of weeks ago, but even though we didn't have a proper ceremony, we plan to have one once things cool down with her father a bit."

I could see a slight look of shock on Renee's face before she gathered us both in a hug. "Oh sweetie, congratulations. I'm so happy that Charlie and I didn't ruin the whole thing for you."

Bella smiled faintly at that. "Yeah, about Charlie, there is something you should know about him, something that in hindsight I should've told you a long time ago. He'd been violating me ever since I was eight, but that you don't have to worry about him anymore. We took care of it all. He won't bother us or anyone else ever again."

Tears sprung to Renee's eyes as she gathered Bella close. "I'm so sorry Bella. I should have known something was up, since you were always so withdrawn those first few weeks after coming back from him. I'm so sorry I didn't notice the signs before."

Bella smiled a teary smile. "It's okay Mom, I never held anything against you. You didn't know he was a child molester. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Renee smiled at her. "Still, I am your mother and I should have payed closer attention to my baby. Is that also the reason why you two got married so sudden?"

"Partly, but the other reason is Edward. He very cruelly broke up with me and left me alone in the woods, but unbeknownst to me Alice was there too and swept me away with loving arms and a shoulder to cry on, right before I confessed to her how much I love her and that I am gay." Bella said softly.

Renee smiled at me for that. "Thank you for taking such good care of my baby girl Alice. Welcome to the family."

I smiled and patted her hand, letting her have a moment with her daughter. "I have loved Bella for a very long time Renee, and I knew there was something inside of her that felt the same for me. My brother is a misogynistic and homophobic control freak that wanted to make Bella no more than a submissive slave to him. I wanted to show her what a true love means."

"You've really found your soul mate I see, Bella. I'm so happy for you." Renee said with a sweet smile.

Bella smiled at her. "Thank you Mom, but I think we got all big announcements out of the way now."

Renee smiled at that. "I hope so, I don't know how much my heart can take, but I do hope you know that we will go shopping at least once while you are here, and that I take you two out to dinner tonight. I want to know everything about your wife."

We both nodded and smiled at her. "Of course, to both, I love going shopping. Bella sometimes says that I enjoy it a little too much." I said with a teasing wink to my wife.

"That's because you do, my Pixie. If we even have a little bit of free time, you suggest we go shopping because you 'need' new shoes." Bella said with a soft smile.

Renee smiled at that. "A woman can never have too much shoes sweetie. I thought I taught you that. Not every woman can go through life on one pair of converse."

Bella blushed a little at that. "There is a difference between having a few pairs of shoes and the sheer amount Alice has in her closet, most of which have come with us on this trip too."

I smiled at her. "But baby, I have to have plenty of heels with me or otherwise every time you hug me my face would be smothered by your breasts."

Her blush darkened heavily at that, muttering something I couldn't even hear. "It seems that your wife is quite witty, sweetie. I like it. You could use a bit more sunshine in your life."

Bella smiled at her despite her annoyance and embarrassment. "I have found my sunshine in Alice, even when I didn't know I was looking for it."

Renee smiled at that. "You always have a way with words sweetie, have you ever thought about writing for a living?"

Bella smiled and nodded. "Actually I was going to tell you this as a surprise, but I've been taking English Literature and Creative Writing college classes online while we are one the road, so I would say I am pretty serious about writing as a career."

"I thought you were done with the surprises, but I am glad that even though you girls have taken some time off, you are still willing to follow college classes." Renee said with a soft smile.

"I always wanted to go to college. The only reason I waited so long is because Edward was being a dick about me going to college. He wanted me to go to Alaska. Can you see that, me in Alaska. I hate the cold." Bella finished with a huff.

Both Renee and I laughed lightly at that. "I honestly couldn't. You have always hated the cold." Renee said with a fond smile.

Bella only smiled as we continued to talk for most of the afternoon, only interrupting our talk to bring the suitcases to our room.

Bella's POV

When we came down the following morning, the first thing I noticed was that Renee was in the kitchen making pancakes, which was a new one for me. In all the years I had lived with her I had seen her in the kitchen only a handful of times.

"Good morning girls. Did you sleep okay?" Renee asked with a smile.

I smiled at the sight of her in an apron and wielding a spatula. "We did mom, thank you for asking. I hope you did too?"

"Of course I did, although I am surprised to hear absolutely nothing from your room last night." Renee said with a teasing smile.

I blushed a little at that. "We are not talking about that, not now, not ever. I thought we had an agreement on that, some things are not for sharing, and what I do in my bedroom with my wife falls into that category."

Alice and Renee both giggled at that. "Sorry sweetie, you're just adorable when you blush. I was merely teasing you." Renee said with a wink.

I smiled at her as we took a seat. "Will you be okay with pancakes Ali?" I asked her softly.

Alice only nodded and gave my hand a squeeze as Renee put a plate of buttered pancakes in front of each of us. "It's been a while since I made these, but please tell me what you think."

I smiled at her as I decided to tease her a bit. "Are you sure you want us to be honest mom, because like me you can't take criticism well."

She smiled at me. "I've learned to take criticism over the years sweetie, and I am sure that Alice will help you with that, it is one of the most important skills a writer needs to have."

I smiled at her as I moaned softly as I took my first bite. "I forgot how good your pancakes are mom. They taste amazing."

Renee smiled brightly as she took her own seat. "I'm glad you still like them Bella. I tried to remember how I used to make them."

"You definitely succeeded mom. They taste amazing." I said honestly.

Renee smiled brightly at me. "So, have you girls decided on something to do today?"

"As much as I would like to go shopping, the drive here was pretty tiring, so a day of lounging around sounds like an excellent plan." Alice said with a smile.

Renee smiled at that. "So a day at the pool then, because I know how much Bella loves this pool."

"Hey, you always say I need to work on my tan because I'm too pale, and the pool is the perfect place for that." I said with a slight huff.

"You are too pale sweetie, and while I don't doubt you had little opportunity to get some color on you back in Forks, we have an entire month to get you a nice tan." Renee said with a soft smile.

Alice smiled beside me. "Oh a pool. It's been a while since I had the opportunity to swim. Neither Forks nor Denali have quite the right conditions to go swimming."

"You'll love the pool, I recently made some additions that makes it feel like you're at the beach." Renee said with a smile.

We both smiled at her, since going to the beach was still one of the things on our bucket list before I was turned.

After breakfast we made our way back to my room to change, although that took a bit longer because we managed to turn it into a little make out session that lasted for nearly half an hour.

In the end Alice chose a black bikini and chose a blue one for me, mostly because I had asked her to. Swimwear was still something I doubted myself on after all.

We spent most of the morning and afternoon relaxing, swimming and tanning by the pool, at least in my and Renee's case, since Alice couldn't get a tan anymore, and I doubted that even when she was still human, because I firmly believed that my Pixie had always been that pale.