A/N: Trying something different this time around, so it'll be a bit shorter than my usual chapters. Hopefully this will allay some of the fears I read in the reviews.
I own nothing.
Somewhere high in the skies above Washington…
EPOV
As I reclined further back into my rather uncomfortable airplane chair, I couldn't help but curse the weather for delaying my reunion with Jasper. We hadn't been apart for very long, but if it wasn't for this snow, I could have been wrapped in his arms by now.
From the seat in front of me, I could hear the excited whispers of a man talking to his parents about his upcoming wedding. His parents continued to congratulate him and tell him what a fine woman his wife was.
Their discussion reminded me of the warm reception my parents gave to Jasper, and the rather cold one we received from his parents. The day we met them was not an easy one for me, but it was even more trying for Jasper.
I closed my eyes and let my mind drift back into the memories of that time.
~~~~~Begin Flashback – Edward's PoV~~~~~
Sean looked at the sky once more as he asked, "Do you think this world will ever be a place where everyone is accepted for who they are? Where people can live freely without fear of being judged?"
I felt Jasper shift to look up and I did the same.
"I don't know," Jasper finally answered, "I'd like to hope so, but who can really say what the future will be like? For now, I'm happy to be among the people that do accept me for who I am."
I hugged Jasper even tighter then, knowing that I was now his only source of support, along with Sean.
The three of us stood quietly in the rain for a few more minutes before I suggested that we start heading back to campus.
Jasper remained quiet for the duration of the trip. He held my hand, but continued to stare out the window. I knew that he needed some time to process the day's events, so I didn't try to engage him in pointless conversation. He would talk to me when he was ready.
When we reached the campus, I walked with Jasper back to his room. Sean said he had some errands to run and that he would join us later. I absolutely adored the man for knowing Jasper well enough to give him the space he needed.
Jasper remained quiet but kept my hand firmly in his as we walked to his room. He opened the door and sat down on his couch, motioning for me to join him.
A few moments later, he pulled out his laptop and started typing furiously.
"Man, they work fast," he murmured a few moments later.
I looked at him questioningly and in response, he gave me his laptop.
I stared at the screen, confused for a moment, but realization dawned on me when I looked over the numbers on the screen. He had opened his bank account balance and transaction history. The most recent transaction was completed just under an hour ago, and transferred almost all of the money out of this account and into another one.
"That was the account that I used to pay for any and all college related expenses," he explained to me. "I wasn't dumb enough to think that my parents would keep supporting me after what just happened, but I didn't know they would act this fast."
I continued to stare at the screen, slowly letting the meaning of this action sink in.
"So that means…" I trailed off, not wanting to bring up the implications.
"After this semester, I won't be able to continue to go to school," he whispered, a single tear trailing down his face.
I set down his laptop and took his hands in mine.
"Jasper, you can't let your parents' bigotry hinder your education. You can take out a student loan for the next semester, I'm sure you'll qualify," I calmly explained.
He shook his head. "The deadline for student loans for next semester passed last month. I'll have to skip the next semester at the very least. And my parents' wealth will undoubtedly be used to question why I need the loan in the first place."
My heart was breaking for him. Not only had he essentially lost his parents, he was also losing the chance at an education because of it. I wasn't going to let that happen.
"Jasper, will you listen to me for a moment?" I asked.
He looked at me and nodded.
"You know my parents are well off. I can easily take care of your expenses until you're on your own feet again. If you won't just take the money, you can think of it as a loan," I told him sincerely. Money was not an issue in my family, and I didn't think my parents would have an issue with me helping him out if I explained the situation to them.
"I can't do that, Edward. I can't possibly take money from you."
"Yes you can Jasper, you're my… partner," I hesitated with the last word, not knowing how he'd react to the word. He didn't seem to mind at all.
"It just wouldn't feel right," he explained, "If I owed money to you, it wouldn't feel like a relationship of equals, and I'm not about to let money mess up the best thing that has ever happened to me."
Before I could respond, he stood up and walked toward the door before turning to look at me.
"I'm sorry Edward, I don't really want to ask you to go, but I need to be alone for a while to think."
It hurt a little that he was asking me to leave, but I completely understood where he was coming from. I gathered my things and gave him a quick kiss before heading to the door.
"Edward?" he called before I had closed the door.
"Yes?"
"Will you come back later?" he asked. I hated to hear the pleading tone in his voice, as if he thought I might say no.
"Of course," I told him. I smiled once more before closing the door.
I wasn't about to waste this time. I had plans to make.
I reached my dorm and quickly pulled out my phone. It rang twice before I heard the voice on the other end pick up.
"Edward? How are you?" my mother asked excitedly.
"Hi mom, I'm fine, but…" I trailed off, not knowing how to start this conversation.
"What's wrong dear?"
I sighed and told her all about the trip to his parents' house, not leaving out a single detail.
"That's absolutely awful! How is Jasper doing? Is he with you now?" she asked worriedly.
"I'm not really sure," I told her. "He asked if I could leave him alone to think for a while, and he wanted me to go see him again later tonight."
"You'll have to help him through this Edward," my mom said. "You're truly his biggest source of support now. And make sure he knows that your father and I will be here to help with anything that he might need."
"Yeah, about that," I began.
"What is it sweetheart? You know you can talk to me about anything."
My parents had set up a bank account for me when I was just a child and had made it clear that the money in there was for me to do with as I pleased. I had never taken advantage of that and remained rather frugal in my spending. But even though they had explained that the money in there was mine, I felt as though I should ask before loaning such a large amount to a friend, even if that friend was Jasper.
I explained Jasper's financial situation and then asked if my parents would be okay with me loaning him the money. I told her that I had already offered to help and that Edward had refused.
My mother's response was slightly unexpected.
"Edward, your father and I are driving up there right this instant. Of course we're okay with you helping him out, you needn't have even asked such a thing! If he won't accept help from you, then maybe he'll listen to your father. We'll be there soon."
Before I could even protest, she hung up the phone. Even if I did think she was overreacting a little bit, I couldn't deny that I was glad to have such understanding parents. Jasper might not be happy about this, but I wasn't going to let him sacrifice his education because of his pride.
My parents arrived half an hour later and we sat in my room discussing Jasper's options for a while. After agreeing on our course of action, I called Jasper to ask if it would be okay to come over now.
"Yeah, please," he replied, and I could hear how strained his voice was.
"I'm gonna bring a couple of people over with me," I told him, intentionally leaving out the identities of the guests.
"Who?" he asked.
"Don't worry, you know them. I'll be there in a few minutes."
I hung up before he could argue and my parents and I left my dorm room. I chuckled to myself when I realized I picked up the habit of hanging up on people before they could respond from my mother.
When he opened to door to let me in, he was absolutely shocked to see my parents there with me. My mom rushed past me and embraced Jasper, a gesture that I was happy to see he responded to in kind.
"Hello, Mrs. Cullen," he murmured.
My mother was already in tears as she led him to the couch. I closed the door behind me as my father and I walked over to where they were sitting. Jasper looked up at me questioningly and I just smiled at him in return.
"Jasper, we just want you to know that no matter what happens now, you will always have a family in us," my mother told him as she gestured between the three of us.
"Thank you Mrs. Cullen," he whispered before a single tear slipped out and he started sobbing in my mother's embrace. I sat on his nearby bed and my heart swelled as I watched my mother welcome Jasper into our family with open arms.
After Jasper had calmed down a bit, my father asked if he could speak to him privately.
Jasper looked confused but quickly agreed, and I took that as my cue to give the two of them some privacy.
"I'll go get us some snacks," I announced, and took my mother to the nearby convenience store.
My mom and I spoke a bit more about our trip to Jasper's parents' house. We lingered much longer than necessary in the store, as we both knew why my father needed to speak to Jasper without me there.
When we finally returned, Jasper's mood had noticeably improved. He greeted me in a tight embrace that indicated everything was finally going to be okay.
Shortly after our return my parents explained that they needed to leave as my father had to be at work the next morning. I will never understand his decision to take up a career that required working on the weekends.
Jasper and I saw them off and returned to his room. I closed the door and turned around to see him standing in front of me with his arms folded over his chest a smirk on his face.
"Why do I have a feeling you know what your dad and I talked about while you were gone?" he asked.
I shrugged and walked past him to sit on his bed. "Tell me anyway."
He told me that his dad had explained to him that money was not something that should get in the way of the kind of relationship he had with me. As Jasper put it, "he talked some sense into me with this 'dad' voice."
I was glad to see that my dad was able to convince Jasper to accept the money from me. And I may have also been glad because that meant that he would be staying with me here at school.
He sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. "Thank you… for everything," he murmured into my neck.
I reached up to ruffle his hair, "You don't need to thank me."
"I want to," he said, pulling away so that he could look at me. His eyes were still bloodshot from the day's events.
"Your family accepted me when my own parents immediately disowned me. I can never thank you enough for everything you've done, for staying by my side through all of this," he told me in a strained voice. I could tell that he was once again fighting back the tears that threatened to fall.
"Jasper," I said as I looked directly into his eyes, "You are already a part of this family. My parents love you and already see you as their second son. And as for me… I love you, more than anything or anyone else in the world. You don't ever need to thank for me staying with you, and you never have to worry that I'll ever leave you, because I won't. I love you Jasper."
He buried his face in my neck as he started sobbing quietly again.
"I love you too, Edward."
~~~~~End Flashback~~~~~
I realized that a single tear had escaped my eyes and I smiled softly at the memory that still caused me to become emotional.
Since that day, Jasper had always been considered part of our family, and we never let him feel alone. Even during the times that he ached for his parents, he knew that he always had a family in us.
Now, my home was wherever he was, and I didn't have a single doubt that he felt the same way about me.
