Brothers and Friends
A Twilight fic I started during a rare mood. It's based around the friendship of Jasper and Edward and just little clips of their lives. Never finished it...if it ever had an ending.
No one had ever said the Cullens were normal. Not since they had moved to Forks, Washington, or rather, back to Forks. Of course, the Cullens weren't much bothered by this so long as the general populace didn't find out their largest secret. The public would panic if they found out there were vampires in their midst.
Or werewolves, for that matter, as the pack lived nearby at La Push. Now, while vampires and werewolves were notorious for being enemies, the Cullen coven and the La Push pack had an ongoing treaty. Along with that, the presence of Bella Swan, Edward Cullen's human fiancé, had tempered the strained relationship between the two species, and formed a friendship of sorts.
However, Bella had gone to Florida to visit her mother for the week, and Edward was bored. If he had been human, he would have slept. S he wasn't human, though, he was currently sitting at the piano pressing random keys. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Alice and Emmett had all gone hunting, leaving him and Jasper alone in the house.
Speaking of Jasper, the blond was leaning against the doorframe, looking amused at Edward's latest plight. Edward scowled at him, and Jasper laughed, walking forward and dropping onto the piano bench next to his brother. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "But it's just too amusing."
"You suck," Edward grumbled, turning away from the Texan.
Jasper grinned. "But you still love me," he pointed out. At Edward's stony silence, Jasper fell against his back, wrapping his arms around the taller vampire's neck. "Admit it, I'm your favorite sibling."
Edward rolled his eyes, giving a crooked grin. That was true, actually. Of the five "children" in the Cullen family, Jasper and Edward got along the greatest (minus, of course, the two married couples). They figured it had something to do with their respective abilities. With Edward's mind-reading abilities, Jasper hardly had to say a word to be understood. And being an empath, Jasper could usually pick up Edward's overall answers through his complex emotions. They could practically carry on entire conversations without ever speaking a word, which drove the others nuts at times.
Jasper picked up on Edward's amusement and grinned. Mission complete; he couldn't stand it when his brother was in a broody mood. "Want to play a game?" he asked. "And not chess," he added before Edward could say anything. "You cheat."
Edward rolled his eyes. "I do not," he groused, pushing Jasper off him and sliding off the bench. "I'm merely using all my resources." Which, of course, included mind-reading.
"Uh huh," Jasper grunted, following his brother to the living room. "Which is why even Carlisle refuses to play with you."
The others would return home to find the two wrestling in the middle of the room, laughing their heads off. It was, surprisingly, a sight they were used to.
School sucked. Jasper held to that sentiment very possessively. He wondered why he even bothered torturing himself by placing himself around so many humans every day, and then would remember Alice. Right. He was doing this for her and Esme and Carlisle. And the rest of his family that had welcomed him so easily.
They didn't care that he was older than all of them but Carlisle. They didn't care about his scars or his past. And they were extremely patient with him as he got used to this new diet of animals only. And he was pleased to say that it was getting better since Bella had started hanging around. He hadn't had a close call with a human since Bella's birthday, although that had been close enough.
Edward had forgiven him much faster than Jasper had thought he would. The blond had almost killed his love, after all. But Edward had merely hugged him, exuding 'peace' and 'brotherly love' and stated that he didn't blame him. And neither had Bella. It had been bound to happen eventually, and no one had been hurt in the end.
And being around humans had gotten so much easier since then. Although, Jasper had to admit that it was partly the overwhelming teenage emotion packed into the place that made him dislike it so much.
Egro: school sucked.
He obviously wasn't the only one who thought so. When the five vampires congregated in the cafeteria (Bella had returned from Florida only to fall down the stairs and sprain her ankle, getting her a day off school), Edward slumped against the table with a sigh. Jasper picked up on the 'pain, exasperation, exhaustion' that the other was feeling and frowned. While exasperation was a normal emotion, pain and exhaustion were ones that he hardly felt from his family. Unless, of course, Edward's mind-reading had given him a headache again. Being unable to fully turn off his power, Edward was almost always bombarded by others' thoughts, and at times it would leave him with splitting headaches.
'You okay?' Jasper thought. Edward gave a small groan, falling over so that his head was now resting in his brother's lap. Jasper blinked down at him, ignoring the eyes of the multitude of students, watching in shock as the Cullens actually acted 'normal' for once. "Guess not," he mumbled, looking up at his other concerned siblings.
They continued with their usual lunch ritual, conversing quietly among themselves (minus Edward) and Jasper exuding 'peace, contentment' for Edward, who had yet to move from where he had decided to rest. Jasper frowned down at him near the end of lunch before looking at his girlfriend/wife. "Alice?"
She smiled gently, kissing his cheek. "Take him home. Esme's out at the moment, but that's alright."
Actually getting Edward to stand up was more difficult than the vampires had been expecting. Apparently, Jasper's 'peace/contentment' had put him in a state about as close to sleep as a vampire could get. It took Emmett practically carrying him to get the immortal to the car. Jasper frowned faintly; Edward's headaches hadn't been this bad in almost six years.
When Esme got home from shopping for art supplies, she was fully expecting her children to be at school. So she was somewhat surprised to find Jasper lounging on the couch reading a book with Edward curled up on the cushions nearby. The room was almost filled with an overwhelming sense of 'calm/peace/safe' and Edward blinked sleepily at her from his spot. He looked remarkably like a lazy cat at that moment, and Esme couldn't help but wish she had a camera.
Jasper, tasting her amusement, merely smiled and turned the page of his book.
When Jasper rounded the corner, hand in hand with Alice, he suddenly got a devious plan. Edward was talking to Bella near their car in the parking lot, and therefore was probably blocking the thoughts around him to the best of his ability. Beside him, Alice gave a little giggle, obviously seeing what he was planning. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and began stalking forward.
Edward's back was to him, but Bella could see him coming. He placed a finger to his lips, urging silence, and her own lips quirked slightly as she re-focused on the conversation with her fiancé.
Jasper waited until he was close enough and then pounced on Edward's back. The taller vampire stumbled forward, emitting a startled 'eep' that no-doubt Emmett would be teasing him for later. As it was, nearly everyone, the other vampires included, were laughing. "Hello Edward," Jasper said pleasantly, still clinging to Edward's back like a limpet. He glanced at Bella, who was grinning behind her hand. "Hello Bella."
"Hi Jasper," she answered, her amusement palpable in the air.
"Jazz," Edward grumbled. "Is there a reason you jumped on me?"
Jasper let go, dropping to the ground and giving an innocent look. "It's fun?" he asked. "Besides, you're extremely hard to sneak up on. I'm taking every chance I can get." He dodged the hit Edward aimed at hi, hiding behind Emmett. "Hey! You still love me, right?"
Edward raised an eyebrow, stalking forward. Jasper eyed him for a short moment before turning tail and running off into the woods, Edward close behind him. They were careful to stay at a relatively human speed until they hit the trees, and then they sped off.
Edward caught up to Jasper at the house, tackling him through the open front door. Their laughter merely brought smiles to the faces of Carlisle and Esme, who had been shocked by their ungainly entrance. Honestly, it wasn't that odd a sight around here.
And this is where it ends...