Rating/Warning(s)/Note(s): T, Shadows
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Prompt: Boy, coy, toy
Sue met us at the airport, pulling first me, then surprisingly Edward, into a hug. It didn't escape the notice of either of us that she shuddered a little when she hugged him, but her heart was in the right place.
"Thank you for accepting me," she whispered in my ear.
"I just want my dad to be happy," I whispered back, taking her hand as we walked from the airport. Edward's were filled with the luggage. "Charlie sounds like he's dropped twenty years when I talk to him. He actually giggled on the phone the other day."
"He did? What were you talking about?" she asked, pointing the way to the car. Thankfully it was a typically cloudy day so Edward didn't have any problems with the sun.
"Where you were going on your honeymoon." Sue blushed and gave a little cough. "Don't worry, I didn't ask anything personal."
We chatted about wedding preparations, where everyone was sleeping, what was happening with their houses and the arguments that happened over Charlie's recliner. "I don't get it. We've got plenty of money left over from selling both of our houses and buying the new one that we can buy him a new recliner. Instead he insists he keep that old, dirty, beat-up thing. Would you talk to him?" she ranted, waving the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel around. "Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but he said Leah could have your new bed, since you two only slept in it a couple times. I told her we had to ask you first since it was yours."
She continued to prattle on, seemingly nervous as we got to know one another better. I could tell that Edward was wishing she would drive a little faster, at least the speed limit, by the way he shifted in his seat. There was no way he was uncomfortable, at least not physically.
It took us almost an hour and a half to drive the short distance from Port Angeles airport to the Cullen home. Maybe I was spoiled by Edward making the drive in only twenty minutes, but it didn't mean I wasn't more than ready to get out of the car. Edward was so fast he blurred as he retrieved the luggage from the trunk, making Sue jump in the front seat where she waited. It was another fifteen minutes to my father's house; it should have taken five.
Leah and Seth were making dinner with Charlie when we got there. Or rather, Leah and Seth were cooking while Charlie followed directions. Sue pulled me into the kitchen. "I want you to meet my daughter, Leah," she said. We gave each other a tentative wave. Then she pulled over a guy that was the same size as Jacob. "This is my boy, Seth."
Seth wasn't nearly as reserved as Leah. "Hey sis!" he exclaimed, coming and wrapping his arms around me to lift me off my feet in a hug. "Isn't great, we get to be siblings now?" He then turned to Edward, giving him a man-hug as soon as I was steady on my feet. "And I have a brother now. I know, step-brother-in-law, and a vampire, which is totally ironic." One look at Charlie, Sue and Leah and it was difficult not to laugh at the look of shock on their faces.
"And I have a dog for a brother," Edward said, grinning ear to ear as he patted Seth on the back. "Just be sure to not kill the good vampires."
Charlie narrowed his eyes at Edward when he said that. "You'll want to explain that one over dinner." The smile slipped from Edward's face as he nodded.
Seth wasn't to be deterred, though. As soon as we were all eating he started to tell us about what was going on in Forks. "There's been a ton of your kind coming round, all red-eyes, but they're abiding by the treaty." He glanced at Charlie for a second before continuing. "I don't think they hunt in the state at all. The come and stand on the treaty line, waiting for one of us to show up."
"Why are they coming?" Edward asked, then listened to Seth's answer in his thoughts. "I see." He looked at me, then my father. "How much do you know Charlie?"
It was all the opening he needed. Pointing his fork at me he started in. "I know my daughter married a vampire. A vampire! What were you thinking? I know Seth said you guys don't feed on humans, but vampires? And if that's not enough, there's a pack of werewolves around too? And more vampires are coming? I want to know what is going on. I have a responsibility to protect these people!"
"Dad, I don't know why they're coming…"
"Don't play coy with me, young lady. I can tell you have an idea." Charlie's face was bright red as he shouted.
As I stammered, Edward calmly answered him. "Do you remember the family men at our wedding, the ones from Italy?" Charlie nodded. "They are in control of our society. They do this by…collecting…vampires with special talents and adding them to their guard. They want Alice and Bella and me."
"But Bella's not a vam…" Charlie's face turned white as his voice trailed off. "Are you planning on becoming one of them?"
I nodded and Edward answered. "It's our law. We can't let humans know about us. If they find out we have to turn them, or…" He couldn't finish the statement, but Charlie had no trouble understanding his meaning.
"Or kill them." Edward nodded. "So what about me? Sue? What about Seth and Leah?"
"We hope that because Seth and Leah are wolves, and Sue is their mother, that their need for secrecy is sufficient to placate the Volturri. We hope your marriage to Sue will protect you."
"And if it doesn't?" Charlie asked, then paused. "Wait, Leah is a wolf, too?"
"Then we fight to protect you," Edward said.
Seth gave him a fist to bump. "Yeah man. Vamps we can kill."
"You're talking about murder," Charlie said, his face growing red again. I began to worry if he had blood pressure problems.
"Nah, it's self-defense," Seth countered. "They're coming here to kill. We stop them. No big deal for us, it's just like having a life-size chew toy to rip apart." He turned to Edward. "Man, that's what all the visiting vamps are doing, asking to join with us. I don't know how word of us got out, but apparently everyone knows. We send them on to Alaska, tell them not to hunt anything except animals here, and that we'll welcome them into the treaty."
"Who speaks for the tribe?" Edward asked. "I thought Jacob was the chief."
"He is, but he appointed me as his second and gave me direction on what to do." Seth beamed with pride as Leah rolled her eyes. "Anyway, they want to fight the bad guys with you."
"Why do they want you guys? What's special about you, and why are they after Bella?" Charlie asked, cringing from the talk of wolves and vampires.
Edward hesitated before he explained. He reached over to take my hand and said, "They want Alice because she can see the future, at least a path a person is on while they're on it. They want me because I can read minds from a distance. They want Bella because they think she's a shield and can use her to protect themselves."
"A shield? A shield from what?" Charlie asked but immediately held up his hands in surrender. "Don't tell me, I don't want to know." He put down his fork and got up from the table. "I have a headache."
Have a great day, lovelies!
