In Color

by HulaHula

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Twilight universe. Stephenie Meyer does.

Bella found herself tangled in the most embarrassing way, scotch tape wrapped around all five of the marble fingers on her left hand.

A frustrated growl gathered in her dry throat. Really, it didn’t require genius to tape something down.

It would be easy enough to just rip the stuff apart, with a simple twitch of her fingers, except she didn’t wish to obliterate the sticky mess. She just wanted to add another photo to the large scrapbook lying on the table in front of her.

Sighing, she began, as delicately as possible, to peel the mess away. If Edward found her like this, she’d never hear the end of it! Bella… great vampiress, defeated by tape.

Renesmee looked quite angelic, roughly pulling Jacob’s long dark tresses, in the digital photo lying forgotten on top of the book.

Bella had been working tirelessly for a month, taking as many snap-shots as possible of her baby. She wanted to record her sweet girl’s childhood, as any glowing mother would, but this was proving difficult. Both because it required more than just yearly shots to catch Renesmee’s rapid growth and because of Bella had the proficiency of a four year old at cutting and taping.

Suddenly, she let out a cry, watching the long strip she’d carefully peeled off her skin split into two.

“What’s going on in here?” Alice walked into the kitchen of the Cullen household, where Bella stood surrounded by scraps of paper. Newly printed images of yesterday’s picnic on the back lawn lay in a neat pile beside the large scrapbook stationed on the island.

“Oooh, new pictures!”

Bella watched Alice float in and pick up the stack. She looked great, sporting her latest floral summer dress, adding a splash of color to everything around her. Alice could always be counted on for a moral uplift.

“Yeah,” said Bella, cracking a smile, “Check out the one in the back. Jasper found himself in a headlock by none other than his lovable niece.”

Alice let out a shrill giggle upon seeing the surprised look upon her love’s face. He was seated on the soft red blanket they’d dragged outside, while the little girl standing behind him had one thin arm wrapped around his throat.

“Oh!” Alice looked up, remembering, “I still haven’t given you the pictures I took last week.”

She laid the photos back on the table, “I’ll go get them, while you work that mess out.”

She giggled, pointing at Bella’s taped hand, now discreetly hidden beneath the tabletop.

If a vampire could blush, Bella would have been bright red.

“Hmm… I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.”

“I saw before I came down and thought you might need a little assistance.”

Alice giggled again as she waltzed from the room, heading up the stairs to retrieve her box of photographs.

Bella sighed, looking down at the scrap-disaster surrounding her. She was lucky the boys had decided to go for a long hunt today. Renesmee was also gone, enjoying a play-date with Esme in town. There was plenty of time to clean up after she finished… if she finished.

She heard Alice’s footsteps before she reentered the room, carrying what looked like a large brown shoe-box.

“I truly admire you, Bella. Taking the time to organize. I’ve always just kept mine in here.” She plopped the box onto the tabletop, lifting the battered lid. The box looked old, battered around the edges. It seemed odd within this immortal household.

Bella leaned forward, looking inside the open box. Pictures of all different shapes and sizes lay in neat stacks within the box, the largest and most brightly colored ones on top, as if they were taken the most recent.

“I should probably put them in an album or something…” Alice let her soft voice lilt into a whisper. She loved each and every one of her photographs. Not because it showed a physical progression of the people within, but because it marked the amount of time she’d truly been happy. The first photograph she’d ever owned had not even been taken by her, but by Carlisle. At the beginning…

Alice glanced up, shaking her memories away. She reached in to grab a dozen printed pictures resting on top of the newest pile. “Here you are. There are some really good ones of you and Edward in there. Renesmee, too. You are such an adorable family.”

Bella smiled, looking down at Alice’s shots. The majority of them had been taken in the shade, but the little family still seemed to shine.

“I’ll help you put some of them in, if you show me where you want them.” Offered Alice, sliding the scrapbook closer to her. “I’m an excellent taper, promise.”

Bella sighed, thankful for good friends who could make light of such a ridiculous situation. “Have at it.”

Alice busied herself with cutting zigzags along the side of Jacob and Renesmee’s photo, as Bella walked over to stand in front of the photo box.

Curiosity got the better of her. She gently began to lift some of the other photographs from their stacks.

The older ones felt so strange and thick to her, printed on sturdy white parchment. She saw one featuring Edward, Emmett, and Jasper, all in bellbottom jeans, standing in front of an extremely retro looking yellow school bus. Another featured Esme with feathered hair and a belted suit jacket.

Bella knew in her mind that they’d lived a long time, but it still left her a bit breathless to think they had been through every fad, shift, and revolution of the last few decades without aging. Would the photographs Alice had taken last week look just as strange thirty years from now? A hundred? It was mind blowing to truly conceive what living forever would entail.

Alice dropped the scissors, walking over to stand beside Bella. She laughed, seeing herself with Jasper at prom in 1987. Her pink ruffled sleeves were quite nice.

Bella giggled as well, gently placing the stack on the table beside the box.

“You don’t mind, do you?” She suddenly thought to ask.

“Go ahead.” Alice smiled.

Bella reached into the retrieve the smallest ones at the bottom. They were yellowing on the edges, showing grainy black and white images.

“Wow, Alice, how old are these?” Bella carefully lifted them from the box, afraid of ripping them to shreds, as she’d done the tape.

“Not very old.” Alice winked, reaching past Bella’s elbow to take them. “Carlisle bought our first camera in ‘51. The year Jazz and I got married.” Alice felt a soft warm feeling in her chest, remembering.

“1951!” Bella said a little too loudly. “I-I mean, I didn’t know they even had cameras back then.”

Alice’s laugh filled the room. “Of course they did Bella!”

She began to search for her most precious photograph. One she hadn’t taken.

“Carlisle bought one of the first instant Polaroids to come out. They were quite expensive, but he said it was necessary for such an important occasion. I’ll never forget how nice he was to us, making us feel so welcome those first few years.”

Toward the bottom of the stack lay the picture she’d been looking for. It was small and square. The image was black and white, surrounded by a white border. In the middle stood her, beside Jasper, in a simple white dress that fell just above her ankles.

She’d worn a small white cap-veil, clipped to the back of her dark hair. Although the gown had been simple, she’d never felt lovelier than she had that day.

Jasper had been beautiful, blonde hair brushed back, held down with a little grease. His tie had been yellow, to match her bouquet.

Alice heard Bella give a small gasp. “Is this your wedding picture?”

Alice felt the corners of her mouth lift, “Yes… it was a lovely day.”

She remembered how golden Jasper’s eyes had been that day. He had finally mastered the skill of animal hunting, thanks to Edward. His transition into the Cullen’s ways had been a tough one. Alice remembered all of the fear and uncertainty that haunted her love those first few months, while he clung to her every night and she ran her fingers through his yellow hair.

Alice sighed, remembering her excitement and apprehension. Not for being married, for Jasper was her absolute soulmate. Apprehension at the new life they had chosen, and what tomorrow’s vision would bring.

Jaspers lips had held a light shade of pink, just before he was allowed to kiss his bride. She had reached up to gently cup his strong jaw. Her nails had been red, the color of passion. The rose petals Esme had left on the floor of her honeymoon suite had been the same crimson color.

Looking down, at the faded photograph, Alice felt a rush of memories flood her.

Their smiles were almost lost in the grain of the image and it was hard to see the light in their eyes. The love.

“You were beautiful, Alice.” Bella said softly. “And Jasper looks… very happy. I wish I could have been there. It looks wonderful.”

Alice looked up, still holding the photograph. She met Bella’s golden gaze.

Smiling, she let out a breath she didn’t know she’d taken in, “You should have seen it in color.”

A pause fell between them, an understanding.

Bella smiled. “Indeed.”

No photograph would ever truly capture the marvelous joy between two lovers finally united.

Alice gently lowered the small photograph onto the table and began to place the others back into their stacks inside the box.

Bella returned to her book on far side of the island. “You really should make an album. Just make sure no one sees it but us.”

Alice laughed. Her musing coming to an end, as she lovingly placed her wedding photo on top of the stacks, and replaced the worn lid.

“Yes,” she danced over to roll some of the excess tape into a ball, “Or I would have to explain why we keep dressing up for Halloween ever other day.”

A/N: This was inspire by a great song by Jamey Johnson called "In Color."

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This is my first attempt at a Twilight fic!