safe and sound. twilight

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴇɴ

She nudged me playfully. "But then again, you don't have that problem."

"Oh, hush," I said, not being able to help the smile that pulled at my lips. "We should go travelling. Like what Rose and Emmett did when they went to South Africa."

Alice's smooth brow rose as she listened to me, her smile widening. For a moment, I wondered if that expression could have been disbelief. "What, why are you looking at me like that? We could! There are lots to see during the night, and I'm sure we could suffer through at least one day of bundling up in wide hats and beach covers," I said, quickly being cut off by her lips pressing against my own.

"You're amazing," she whispered.

Then I kissed her again, lips crashing messily, hands finding their favourite places. It could have been mere minutes or hours, spent embracing intermittently and simply laying down close, before we spoke again.

"How long until the peace is killed?"

"Let's not think of that now. We're safe," Alice muttered, hushing me with a finger.

I watched her arms spread out across the grass a flower landing on her shoulder from where I'd helped her position it on her ear. We were safe, I realised, and we were happy. That tranquillity was so soothing, so reassuring, that it brought up the knowledge- that knowledge which I'd been so sure of for a long while. I wanted nothing more than to voice those words, to shout them out. I lifted my body, my hands trailing her outline until they sat on either side of her face.

"Alice, I-"

I love you.

Her lips were on mine again before I could even utter the words.

"I love you," she said swiftly, as she pulled away.

I grinned. "I love you too," I said, kissing her again.

"I wanted to be the first to say it," Alice said, and hearing her say it so confidently gave me more pleasure than I ever could have imagined.

☾

Alice pulled me along by the hand as the sound of a car door slamming shut echoed through the open house. She practically skipped toward the porch, stopping smugly by the entrance.

"Thank you, Bella!"

Bella stopped as if debating whether to follow after Edward or to sit back in the car. "Hold it, Alice," she said, finally sighing as she walked toward us. "I've got a few limitations for you."

"I know, I know. I've only got until August thirteenth at the latest, you have veto power on the guest list, and if I go overboard on anything, you'll never speak to me again," she said, rolling her eyes and waving a hand dismissively.

"Oh, okay. Yeah. You know the rules then."

"Don't worry, Bella. It will be perfect. Do you want to see your dress?"

"Sure," Bella said slowly. "But Alice, when did you get me a dress?"

"These things take time Bella. I mean, I wasn't sure things were going to turn out this way, but there was a distinct possibility."

"Which is code for four months," I said, knowing how truly invested Alice had been in the wedding process.

"Perrine Bruyere has a waiting list, you know," she said, shrugging it off. "Fabric masterpieces don't happen overnight. If I hadn't thought ahead, you'd be wearing something off the rack!"

"Per- who?"

"He's not a major designer, Bella, so there's no need to throw a hissy fit. He's got promise, though, and he specializes in what I needed."

"I'm not throwing a fit."

Alice tilted her head and folded her arms as if the fact had surprised her. "No, you're not." Then she turned sharply to Edward. "You - out."

"Why?"

"Bella, you know the rules. He's not supposed to see the dress until the day," Alice complained.

"It doesn't matter to me. And you know he's already seen it in your head. But if that's how you want it..."

"Yes, that's how I want it," she said and then turned her sights on me. "You out too."

"What's got Alice so hyper?"

"Weddings do in general. But there's a little something else spurring her mind," Edward said, and to my surprise, he sent a grin my way.

"Why me?" I asked.

"I'm trying on my bridesmaid dress."

"I'm not the groom-"

She was whisking Bella toward her dressing room before I could even say another word in complaint. I sighed, turning to find Edward already walking toward the empty living room. He smiled again.

"So you saw all that? In your mind?" I asked. There was no other reason for him to hint toward our morning activities.

"Kind of hard not to when her thoughts are like shouts," he said. "Yours aren't exactly quiet either."

I would have blushed in embarrassment if I could. "You can't exactly blame me."

"No, I can't," Edward said, and my brow was raised instinctively. "You're good for her. You balance her out. And that means a lot when we're talking about Alice."

I didn't know what to say. Edward and I had never been so... civil, warm. "Thank you," I said softly, then tilted my head toward the direction of Alice's room. "How does she look?"

"Beautiful. Perfectly Bella."

It was only a few more minutes before Bella appeared in the doorway again, dressed in spare clothes. "Alice told me to ask you to go through to her dressing room. Pretty sure she's getting you all to try on the bridesmaids dresses too," she said, nodding to me as she moved to wrap an arm around Edward.

"That's Alice for you," he said as I left the room. I was halfway toward the stairs before I heard him speak again. "Welcome to the family."

☾