Many Years Later
Lani easily flipped down from the tree branch onto the brightly lit balcony which remained silent upon impact. A soothing melody was being played from their vintage record player in the next room, she had acquired it from a flea market in Havana two years prior.
Her mate was consumed by the stack of papers littering his desk, both sides of his ebony hair tucked behind his ears, and a deep crease digging into his marble forehead.
"All wrong, completely unacceptable. How much clearer must I be? They never listen!" Aro only took half a second to write a grade on each paper.
"Listen to this my dear, 'The lack of detailed realism in González's Calle de Limache proves he must be a very lazy painter.' Have they no concept of variation?! I said analyze, not give opinion…" Aro paused mid-rant, "Please, mia amore. What did I say about walking around our home with feet covered in sut?"
Technically, her feet weren't dirty, it was the hem of her pants touching the floor.
Aro didn't look up from the assignments despite commenting on her muddy state, so she took it upon herself to tackle him out of his chair onto the wooden ground.
He gripped her waist while she peppered his face in kisses; mostly his cheeks. Their routine always went the same, and as expected the seriousness in his expression slipped away to be replaced with joy, his chest also rising in heartfelt laughter.
Finally, Lani molded their lips together, she would never get enough of his sweet acidic taste.
She rested her face in the crotch of his neck.
Hi.
"Hello."
I missed you.
"And pray tell, who's idea was it to trek the coastline for the duration of this week's end?" Aro squeezed her waist when she imagined him proposing the idea.
"That would be incorrect."
Lani lifted herself to straddle him, the fabric of her wide long legged pants leaving glitter specks on the floor and his dark clothing.
"I offered someone to come with me, but this someone declined because they're a scaredy-cat," she tapped his nose with a playful grin.
"Ah well, I unfortunately didn't have much of an appetite for seals at that moment, my dear."
"You never have an appetite for seals."
"True. There is more satisfying prey that nature has to offer."
Since residing in Chile, Lani's favorite hunt was elephant seals, not the females or juveniles, but the full grown male bulls; they're so big and jiggly. They like to put up a hilarious temper tantrum too.
"What would your companions say if you informed them a five foot woman enjoys wrestling in the sand with a bull five times her size?" Aro inquired.
Aro liked cougars. The felines were his prey of choice, she was convinced it had nothing to do with the taste, but the easy accessibility of the prey compared to her location specific pallet.
Lani laughed, "You're kidding! You should hear Bella talk about her and Emmett's grizzly bear escapades, she's worse than me!"
Bella Swan was a friend from her human life, and the only one to have a place in her immortal life. They spoke on the phone often, the brunette had insisted.
Aro leaned up to kiss her forehead, she closed her eyes as his lips moved against her flesh.
"Let me propose this, in a fortnight we will swim out to sea and indulge in that reptilian one you enjoy so much."
Aye, leopard seals are a good choice. Can we go on land too?
Swimming under Antarctica was the coolest thing she'd ever done, her mate being there only made it a hundred times better.
Aro lied back down underneath her, his honey eyes brilliant with adoration, she went down with him to take them in even closer, her eyes mirroring his honey.
"When the time comes, we'll see, piccola."
You should take a break from work, let's go take a walk or something. Puyehue should still be closed by now.
It would be dawn soon, in a couple hours. The national park had beautiful waterfalls, nothing is more serene than a waterfall in the dead of night.
Aro lovingly caressed her cheek with his knuckles before replying, "A letter came for you right after you left," he murmured.
Oh really?
He nodded.
It's probably just Renata's postcard. Her and Ramona seem to be enjoying Siberia.
He shook his head, "It wasn't sent from them."
Hmm, then it's just another bill, she shrugged, some corporation wants more money.
Plus no one sends letters anymore, thank Whatsapp.
"The craftsmanship is much too elaborate for a simple billing, it's an invitation my dear."
To where?
Aro shrugged.
You didn't open it?
"It was addressed to you."
She stood with anticipation before exiting his office, descending the geometric stairs diagonal to their kitchen which was never used. Right on the counter was this letter sealed with a familiar crest.
To: Mr and Mrs Parrish
"Is this what I think it is?"
Lani gently unsealed the wax with little to no pressure, then slid out a simple paper which. The words filtered through her mind in a second.
"Italy."
"Yes. It appears you have been invited to a ball."
Lani scowled, "It's been decades. Caius should grow up."
"Impossible, I'm afraid."
The first year was difficult, she slipped more than once, and would never forget any of their faces, or her ferocious one reflected in their terrified eyes.
Lani never wanted to hurt people, everyone had some kind of family in their life who would miss them.
If it wasn't for Aro she wouldn't have thought it was possible for her to keep up with the Cullen diet. She never asked him to stop drinking people. He took it upon himself to make the switch after witnessing her own anguish after the slip ups.
They worked through it together, they did everything together, nothing felt more right unless they were together; like now in their obnoxiously modern, yet modest, wooden home in the Chilean Coastal Mountain Range.
By day they stayed out of sight from the humans, exploring the beauty of the rich nature around them. Then at night business set in, Aro taught night classes at a university inside the city while Lani did what she could at the local clinic. Lani had not returned to Forks after becoming a vampire, more for her mother's safety than anything. She only hoped Marleen Parrish was able to move on after losing two loved ones in the span of a decade.
Her shriveled face made him giggle. She put down the invitation to wrap her arms around his neck, whispering below the air. "Admit it, it has a nice ring to it."
"Mister and Misses Volturi would have been much more appropriate."
"My guess is, whoever wrote this invitation was trying to tell us something."
Aro reached for her thighs, then lifted her in the air.
The melody had scratched to a fast, dramatic combination of notes depicting their quick movements in that moment. Lani cradled his smooth face, soft at the touch.
Race you to the Antarctic coast, Mister Parrish.
Before Aro could react, the mountain range touched Lani's feet, he joined, and the invitation laid discarded on their unused kitchen counter.
The End
There it is! Fin! Thank you to all the readers who stuck with this story or have maybe just finish binging—you're all wonderful beings. The Christmas Special should be posted tomorrow morning and it will take place three years after Lani graduated from Forks High. I began writing fics because I wanted to see more POC represented when it came to OC's. This story was written particularly because I've realized how the Volturi side of the Twi fandom is (kinda sorta) dying so this lighthearted fic was my response to that. Any comments after the Special will be replied by PM.
Hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
