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The needle bent and warped, destroying itself on his granite skin. Alice’s hand kept pushing, pressing against his wrist intently. Her eyes were blank and so he gently took her arm in her free hand to save the fabric she was tailoring from the inadvertent affects of his visions.
“Bella’s mom won’t come to graduation,” she said as her eyes cleared. “Her new husband hurt himself.” She was disappointed. It was hard not to be—what kind of mom wouldn’t come to their only child’s graduation for anything less than life and death? Not that she knew about Bella’s imminent death but it still showed of the shocking lack of care that shone through in Bella’s emotions often.
“Her mother doesn’t seem to care much,” Jasper said, replacing Alice’s needle so she could continue her meticulous work.
“You’re right, he is an adult. It’s such a shame. No wonder Bella is so particular about being fussed over.” Alice answered his next sentence before he said it. They lapsed into silence, Jasper obediently moving his arms and necessary for her to ensure the suit she was working on was perfect. His last suit had met an unfortunate accident from Emmett and Alice would never allow him to wear a suit twice for a wedding even if it had not. The latest had gorgeous details, tiny purple flowers swirling in among the subtle colors. No plain black suits for the men of the family, Alice ensured they had attire fit for the last first marriage there would ever be in their family.
Technically, Bella had not yet agreed to the wedding but nothing so petty as the lineal flow of time would stop the force of wedding planning that was his love. He hoped he got to be in the room when Bella realized her entire wedding was already planned. She had quite the temper when she felt like it and he’d bet a few hundred thousand that she’d be a wild newborn.
In all likelihood, this was the last bit of peace they’d know for a while. Graduation was only in a few days, the newborn army well on their way, and afterwards there was a wedding to arrange, preparations to be made for Bella’s death, the handling of a newborn who had to be acclimated to people once more and watched ever so carefully. Their lives were a lot quieter before this year and he found himself longing for the contentment of a peaceful life without the Volturi’s attention. It would be nice when all was settled, when Bella was changed and Edward no longer moped about constantly. When he could merely wade in the joy of four soulmate pairs in a house.
They may not have a peaceful life these days but the night still brought such joy. Modeling for Alice’s sewing for hours on end, watching the minute changes on her face as she transformed suits into pieces of art, feeling her contentment. The activities of late could always pause for a small moment of quiet domestic bliss, for shirt sleeves to be mended, the soft touch of her fingers on his arms, and the happy easy love she had. This was all he had ever wanted. This was all he had ever needed. It was all he could do to keep himself from clutching desperately at the happiness, as though filling these peaceful moments with anxiety and anguish would prevent what he so desperately wanted to avoid.
It was hard not to think of the imminent storm. Of the newborn army pushing him back to times much worse than even his brother’s misfortunes could drag him into. There was nothing he dreaded more than a return to the fight he had known for so long except for Alice experiencing it firsthand for the first time. She had never known the feeling of killing an innocent vampire, their only crime being lied to by their creator.
They stayed together the whole night, Alice caught up in her preparations for the wedding that had not yet been decided upon, Jasper caught up in her own happy bliss. Nothing truly needed to be done of course but by the time the morning sun rose behind its blanket of clouds Alice had covered his entire suit in embroidery work so fine the humans would not even be able to spy half of the swirls and eddies she had so carefully sewn. An entire garden bursting to life in tasteful muted purple. Weddings, after all, were about new life. What could be more fitting than new life only the vampires could see?
As the dawn went on Alice found her way into his arms. It was his favorite habit, these sunrises spent in each others arms. The press of her skin against his, the contentment swirling round him, it was the closest he ever felt to true peace. In a few short hours there would be final days of school to attend, fight training to arrange, humans to protect but for now there was only bright happy Alice gazing at him with eyes that seemed to reach into his soul and soothe all the worry he had ever known. He would stop at nothing to keep those eyes in his life.
No matter who he had to kill.