A/N: Hello all! So I'm stranded in London possibly unable to make it home for Christmas because of the chaos at Heathrow, so I thought I'd get a little writing done to lift my spirits. (The bottle of wine didn't hurt though.) I'll be honest though, I didn't read through this a second time to check for errors. I just wasn't feeling it. So hopefully it's still readable, I'm sorry if it isn't. Send all complaints to Heathrow Airport. Thank you all for your reviews and for still reading this story!

Disclaimer: Twilight and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. Only the plot is mine.

Chapter 14

JPov

I tried not to laugh as I watched Edward look at himself in the mirror for the tenth time in 30 minutes. I knew he was nervous about meeting my family, and somehow he got it into his beautiful head that his clothes were immensely important in impressing them. Admittedly, that was true for Rosalie. I loved my sister, but she was a bit of a snob. The better Edward looked, the more she would be willing to accept him.

I knew how she thought: if Edward had nice clothes, then that showed an interest in shopping. No one else in the family cared about fashion as much as Rosalie, and maybe she would see a kindred spirit in Edward. Of course Edward hated shopping, but he would go just to appease my sister.

I heard Edward growl from the bathroom as another shirt was flung onto the floor. He was starting to accumulate a small pile, and I knew that he would regret it later. My evening would be filled with ironing and sorting his currently piled clothes rather than sex. Brilliant.

I lifted myself off the bed and went to the bathroom. Edward looked a wreck, standing only in his boxers and a tie. His stress was evident on his face and clothes were strewn all over the bathroom floor and counter. He looked at me, desperate.

"I don't know what to wear. I don't know if I should be laid back, or if I should look nice. Should I wear trousers and a tie? Jeans and a shirt?" Edward's fingers struggled with undoing the tie around his neck, choking himself when he tried to yank it off his neck. I tried to stifle my laugh as I batted his hands away and removed the tie.

"You can wear whatever you want. They won't care and I won't care. I want you to feel comfortable."

"I can't wear whatever I want, Jasper. I feel perfectly comfortable here in my boxers, but can't wear those. I want to look nice for you. I want people to think that we look good together. I don't want your family wondering why you brought a hobo to your family reunion."

"Trust me Edward, no one will think that. Even your boxers are too nice for a homeless person. And we will look good together, regardless of what you wear. Now, we have ten minutes until we need to leave. If you haven't dressed by that time, I'll pick out what you wear, and I'll make sure it's something you won't like. Now hurry up."

I kissed the pout that graced Edward's face and backed into the bedroom, almost face-planting on the floor when I tripped over the pile of clothes. I muttered and kicked the pile, then cursed myself for making the mess worse and cutting even more into the nighttimes' activities I had planned.

"Are you okay?" Edward, now wearing a shirt, poked his head out from the bathroom. His eyes widened dramatically at the mess on the floor. He began picking the clothes off the floor, wincing at the wrinkles that had formed.

"Don't think about it," I warned. He ignored me, involved as he was in trying to smooth the wrinkles out. I grabbed the shirt from his hands, pointedly ignoring his whimper of distress. "You can do this later. Get back in there because your shirt looks very nice, but you still aren't wearing pants.

Edward took a deep breath and grabbed a pair of jeans, "Is this good? Do I look okay?"

"You look fine, love. Now we can deal with the mess later. But we have to get going. Everyone will be arriving, and it will be easier if they slowly trickle in rather than meeting everyone at once. Don't you think?"

I tried everything I could to keep Edward calm. He had done well last night; I knew my parents loved him. I loved that Edward wanted to impress my family, but it hurt me that he didn't feel confident enough to meet my family. He was amazing and talented, and everyday I found one more thing to love. I just hoped that one day he would see it in himself.

We finally started on our way but he couldn't sit still next to me and try as I might, I couldn't calm him. My attempt to seduce him earned me a slap on my hand. I just thought that maybe if he were aroused he wouldn't focus on what we were about to do. So I selflessly reached over the middle console and placed my hand on his crotch. Edward yelped and slapped my hand.

"That is not what I need right now."

"But I'm just trying to distract you."

"Then talk to me. There isn't enough time for… that, and it will be more mortifying for me to be hard when I meet your family."

"My family has endured worse. My brother-in-law is a horny bastard. He first met my parents when he answered the door buckass naked after they dropped in for a surprise visit at Rosie's dorm. And when they're at family reunions they always sneak off and questionable sounds can be heard from Rosie's old room. Then the rest of the family is left to explain to James and Tenny why mommy and daddy are being loud and playing without them. So, love, you being a little horny won't repel them."

"Shut up," Edward growled through his teeth. I huffed and turned my attention back to the road, continuing, though, to watch him out of the corner of my eye. I loved the man to death, but he could be far too internal with his stress. If it had been me in this situation, one good fuck and I'd be flying high and ready to meet the family. But when I suggested this to Edward early in the morning I received an incredulous look and then I had to explain why I thought I was helping the situation. I kept my mouth shut after that and watched TV until it became obvious that we were going to be late.

"Edward," I finally said, "Whatever happens today won't change my opinion of you. I'll still love you even if you're awkward, if you make a bad impression, and even if my sister doesn't like you. Regardless of what happens this weekend, I'm leaving with you."

I could tell that, even though he wasn't looking at me, I finally had his attention. So I continued trying to reassure him. "And I want to leave with you, never doubt that. My parent's like you and as far as I'm concerned, that's all that matters. I don't give a fuck if my uncle or my aunt twice removed approves of you. As long as my parents love you, that's all that matters.

"So calm down. Relax and breathe. This weekend will change nothing for us. I love you now and I'll love you later tonight. And if anyone in my family says something mean to you, just let me know and I'll kick their ass."

That finally earned a half-hearted chuckle from Edward. He was still tense, but after several minutes he muttered a thank you and he took my right hand into his.

I brought our clasped hands up to my lips for a quick kiss right before I pulled into my parent's driveway. Thankfully it looked like only a few people had beaten us. I prayed to every god past, present and future, that it would be a friendly reception. Hopefully Rosalie was having a good hair day.

I parked the car and got out. Edward followed hesitantly beside me as I led him up the porch. I lifted my hand to knock, but thought better of it and turned to Edward.

"Take a deep breath," I teased, trying to lighten his mood.

"Go to hell," Edward muttered. He glared at my smirk and petulantly knocked on the door. "I'll show you," I thought I heard him mutter under his breath but before I could comment, the door opened.

"Boys!" my mama cried out, engulfing both of us in a hug.

"Hello Diane," Edward said. He gave mama a quick kiss on the cheek and then put his arm around my waist.

"Come in, come in. Rose, Emmett and the boys are already here. Grandma and grandpa are in the backyard, and Uncle Chuck's starting a fire. Don't ask me why, you know he likes his fire. Sometimes I don't understand my brother." Mama led us into the living room. I could hear Emmett's booming voice coming down the hall and it immediately brought a smile to my face.

I took in the people in the living room: my family, that I never got to see as much as I always wished. My beautiful sister was standing next to the couch scolding Emmett as he wrestled with James on the floor.

"Emmett, stop you're going to hurt him. You don't realise how fu-," Rose caught herself when she noticed Tenny watching her from the couch, "fat," she amended, " you don't know how fat you are. Get off him."

"Fat?" Emmett stopped wrestling to look up at his wife with a hurt expression, "baby, you know I'm all muscle. Besides, James has gotta learn if he's gonna be a wrestler."

"Why would he want to be a dumb wrestler?" I asked. Everyone turned around surprised at the new arrivals. Their eyes went to me first, but quickly all eyes were on Edward. I saw Rosalie look him up and down before she leaned down to whisper in Tenny's ear.

"Uncle Jasper!" James yelled, leaping up off the floor and running towards me. I leaned down and caught him in my arms.

"Hey buddy, how are you?"

"Great! Daddy's teaching me how to wrestle and I'm gonna join the wrestling team and I'm gonna win," James exclaimed very loudly in him ear.

"Well, will you invite me to your big win?"

"Yes! You can see me bet Jimmy Thomis. He's a jerk and he always bullies people. But I'm gonna get him."

"James," Rosie said in what I dubbed her "mom voice", "you aren't going to 'get him'. You are far too young for wresting at school anyway, there is not reason to be learning this."

"But dad said—"

"What have I told you about listening to your father?"

James huffed, glared at his mother, and then nicely sat on the couch next to Tenny. I noticed that Tenny was watching Edward very closely.

"How are you sis?" I asked Rose. She smiled widely at me and came over to give me a hug.

"I'm great, bro. But how are you? Aren't you going to introduce us?" She asked, eyeing Edward as she spoke.

I smiled and took Edward's hand pulling him closer to me. "Rose, Emmett, boys, this is my boyfriend Edward. Edward, this is my sister Rosalie, her husband Emmett and their boys James and Tennyson."

"Hello," Edward said. He seemed much calmer now. I didn't know what had changed his mood, but I wasn't going to question it.

"Eddie," Emmett yelled. Edward opened his mouth to respond but his reply was cut short when Emmett rushed Edward and swopped him up in a bear hug. "It's about time our Jasper found someone who could tolerate him." He plopped Edward back down on his feet before leaning in conspiratorially, "Besides," he whispered loudly while eyeing Rose and me, "I need someone else to help me handle the Whitlock's. I don't know if you've noticed, but they're a handful."

Emmett looked ready to say something else, but his comment ended in a yelp when Rose smacked him on the back of the head. "Shut up Emmett. You can't poison him to us before he's met us."

She held her hand out to Edward and shook his hand politely. I could tell that she hadn't completely accepted him yet, but at least she wasn't hostile towards him.

"It's nice to meet you Edward. Jasper's spoken of you and I have to admit, I've been curious about you. No one has made my brother… gush… like you do."

Edward raised an eyebrow and glanced at me, "I make him gush?"

"Like a 14-year old girl. If I wasn't married and hadn't already experienced what he's going through, I'd have thought he'd lost his mind.," Rose smirked at my reddening face.

"Anyway," I broke in, not eager to have Edward know the full extent of my obsession with him. Sure we were in love, but he was still a bit jumpy. "And these are my nephews." I pointed to James, who was smiling as he watched our conversation, and Tenny, who was wearily peering over the top of the couch.

"Hi," Edward smiled at them. James' grin widened in response, and I swore that Tenny's eyes brightened a bit.

"So Eddie," Emmett slapped Edward on the back, "let's go outside and let the Whitlock's gossip. I'm sure they have thing to discuss that our delicate, manly ears can't handle."

"You do realise you just contradicted yourself. How can your ears be delicate and manly at the same time?" Rose asked.

Emmett scoffed, "We're the image of manly virtue, right Eddie?"

"Um… sure." Edward was trying to hold back a grin. At that moment I couldn't think of anything better than Edward smiling and laughing with Emmett. He was accepted by Emmett meaning that it was only a matter of time before Rosie accepted him.

"Come on boys," Emmett yelled over his shoulder to James and Teddy, "I'm gonna show you how men and fire are like peanut butter and jelly." He threw his arm around Edward's shoulder's leading him out the back door. Edward looked at me over his shoulder, silently asking if it was okay. I smiled and nodded, watching him until he was out the door and out of my sight.

"Okay, spill," Rose said. She grabbed my hand and pulled me down onto the couch.

"What do you want to know?"

"First off, you didn't think it important to mention how hot he is."

"No ideas," I teasingly warned, "he's all mine. But yes, he's gorgeous isn't he?"

"Yes. And his clothes are wonderful. Where does he shop? Will he take me?" I saw Rose's attention start to wane as she thought about shopping, so I quickly moved to regain her attention.

"But it's not just how he looks Rose," She turned towards me, and I saw that overprotective Rose was back. Talking about clothes and appearance were fun, but emotions were dangerous and Rose always protected those she cared about.

"He's so much more than that. He's fantastic. He's so amazingly giving, and he doesn't even realise it. Those clothes he's wearing? It took him an hour just to pick them out because he wanted to make the perfect impression on everyone. I honestly can't believe that he would do all this for me."

"He obviously cares about you."

I nodded, unable to say anything. Edward rendering me speechless was becoming a common occurrence. Just the thought of him made me emotional and horny at the same time.

Rosie's chuckle drew my attention to where she was looking out the window. Outside Emmett was throwing whatever he could get his hands on into the fire. James was beside him holding the paper plates and cups. Emmett and Uncle Chuck dropped another log onto the fire and the fire jumped up a foot. Emmett was barely holding himself back from jumping up and down.

But what really drew my attention was Edward. He stood on the sidelines, crouched down and talking with Tenny. This surprised me; Tenny was very quiet and shy, always slow to accept someone. But Edward had him talking. My heart burst with love at the sight of my love talking to my littlest nephew. It took all my control to stop my mind from wondering if Edward and I would ever have a child.

"He's good with him," Rose said, motioning to Edward and Tenny.

"If anyone could talk to Tenny it would be Edward. He's neurotic, yet somehow it's calming being around him. He's a thinker, like Tenny."

"I'm still withholding judgement," Rose warned. I nodded in agreement, but I knew, as I watched her watching Edward and Tenny, that that judgement was only for the benefit of the doubt.

"Okay," she said turning back to me, "tell me all the juicy details."

I smirked and launched into telling Rose about the first time I saw Edward.

The reunion was in full swing and despite Edward's earlier worries he was a hit with my family. The women were wooed by his looks, the men enjoyed introducing the city boy to country ways, and the kids all loved him because he was always willing to play a quick game of tag or basketball. And I loved him because, despite all he was doing, I could tell that he was still nervous and uncomfortable in the situation. But he managed to push past it.

And Tenny wouldn't leave Edward's side.

Wherever Edward went, Tenny would be shyly walking two paces behind. Every once in a while Tenny would tug on Edward's pant leg and Edward would lean over to listen to whatever Tenny said to him. Then Edward would smile and quietly reply always earning a small smile from the little boy.

And Emmett loved to tease Edward. When the kids weren't around Em loudly asked who topped and who bottomed, who was hornier, and if my dick was as large as I always boasted, which I thought was weird. I didn't want to think about why Em would have remembered me saying that. Whenever Edward got through with a conversation with Emmett he always looked slightly scandalised. It didn't help that whenever he caught Edward's eye he always waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Edward was such a hit that I barely saw him until mid-afternoon. I finally caught up with him when he was sitting with my father, grandfather, and several various relatives outside watching the kids play a game of football. I walked up behind him and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "Do you know how hot it is to see you with my family?"

He blushed, but turned and lightly brushed his lips across my jaw. "Maybe you should show me later."

"Oh I will love. But for now, I was wondering if you need a break."

"That'd be nice. Everyone here is really great, but…"

"I know. Everyone loves you. So much so that they won't leave you alone. I need you to myself for a bit and you need a break from being worshiped," I teased.

"I'm not that popular."

"Love, you're the hit of the reunion. I'm so proud of you for doing this."

Edward stood and moved around the chair to stand in front of me, "so where are you whisking me away to?"

I looked around and caught my mama standing with Rose and my aunt Gloria. I took Edward's hand, "Follow me."

I pulled him behind me and went to mama, "Hey mama I'm going to go show Edward the abandoned house, is that okay?"

"That's fine, boys. Just make sure you're back before dark." Trust mama to still be worried about me being out after dark when I'm an adult.

"This way," I said and led Edward into the fields off the side of the house.

"This is the house? The one that got you interested in history?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. I haven't been there in years so I'm excited to see what it looks like now." I took Edward's hand as we walked alongside each other.

"Your family is great, Jasper." Edward said. He leaned into me and my heart swelled at the simple things he did that showed he cared.

"I wasn't kidding when I said you're a hit. They all love you. Even Rosalie, though she's being a bit standoffish. She likes you. And Tenny adores you. He never speaks to anyone, but he's attached himself to you."

"He's sweet. And very intuitive. He found out I play the piano and he wants me to teach him a bit."

"Oh Rose will love that. Free piano lessons? That'll win her in. Well," I smirked and tugged on Edward's shirt, "that and a shopping trip."

Edward stopped walking and his face contorted in horror, "What?"

I felt an embarrassing giggle rising up and the look on his face and I tried to squash it, "She saw your clothes and she wants to know where you shop. She wants to go shopping with you."

"I—I—" Edward stuttered, "Jasper," he begged, "I don't want to go shopping. I hate it. I buy expensive clothes so that they last longer and I can shop less. Please tell me you told her that."

I shrugged and turned around to continue walking.

"Jasper? Damn it, listen to me," Edward ran up behind me and grabbed my arm swinging me around. "Tell me you told her."

"I might have realised that it's funnier this way."

"Fuck you," Edward said. He seemed to be vacillating between kicking me, crying, or nervously laughing.

"Oh I'm counting on it."

"You do realise that if I have to go shopping I'm making you come with me." No. No I hadn't realised that.

"Oh yes," Edward continued gleefully, "and then Rose will drag Emmett along and then Emmett will hate you for proposing the shopping trip. Everyone will be miserable and everyone will blame you."

"That's not funny."

"Do you see me laughing?" Edward retorted.

I thought about it for a bit before relenting. "Fine, you win this one. Just tell me the store and I'll tell Rose ixnay on the shopping."

"Fine," He said haughtily.

I was slowly beginning to realise what my father and Emmett had always bitched about: I was never going to win an argument again. For one, I never wanted Edward to be upset, and even less did I want to be the cause of his upset. And two, Edward was smarter than me. Wiley. He saw the flaws in my arguments before I even realised they were there. And it was true proof of how in love I was, because I didn't even care. He could win every argument we would ever have as long as he stayed by my side.

Soon enough we reached the end of the field and there, sitting amongst wild uncut grass, was the dilapidated house that sparked my interest in history. It was obviously more rundown than I remembered, but it still seemed to be mostly standing.

The porch was still there, and I remembered afternoons sitting on that porch wondering about my life. It was on that porch that I decided to go to college to study history. Years later on that porch I filled out my grad school application. And now I would stand on the porch with Edward. My Future.

"It's amazing," Edward said.

I grinned and spread my arms out, "And this, my love, is my old hideaway."

"Is it how you remembered it?"

"It's a bit more rundown. I'm glad that the teenagers haven't found it yet. I was worried that there would be spray paint all over it."

"Can we go inside?" Edward asked though he was already halfway up the steps.

"I think we should try." I followed him up. We opened the door and peered into the hallway. It was dusty and filled with spider webs, but beautiful all the same. Some old flowered wallpaper still hung on the walls, pealed in long strips.

"Look at these wood floors Jasper," Edward said, "They're in almost perfect shape. All you'd need to do is strip them and some varnish. Natural wood floors." He smiled at me and led the way into the first room.

The floors were sturdy enough that we didn't need to worry about where we walked. In each room Edward would imagine what it used to be. I found myself pretending it was our home and that we were decorating. Our living room, our kitchen, our bedroom… I'm doing too much fanaticising today. But it was wonderful to share something that was so important to me with someone who seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.

"I can see you here you know," Edward said as he was walking up the stairs.

"What do you mean?" I followed him upstairs and we found ourselves in the second bedroom. Edward was inspecting the moulding on the floorboards.

"As a boy, I can see you here. Imagining stories about the people who lived here, wondering what they were like, why they left." Edward stood up and took my hand. He kissed the corner of my mouth, "Is it weird to say that I see the house's personality in you?"

"I don't understand what you mean, but you can say it."

Edward sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "the house is strong, calm, and steady. Like you. I can see how being in this house changed you. A part of you is in this house, just like the house is a part of you."

I had to kiss him. I hadn't felt his lips on mine since this morning and I couldn't let his comment go lightly. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and brought his lips to mine.

I stifled a moan the moment his lips touched mine. It had been too long since I had touched him like this, tasted him. I swiped my tongue along his lips pressing him up against the wall at the same time he parted his lips and gave me entrance. His hands grasped my shirt pulling me closer, as if I would ever want to pull away.

But it was getting dark and we had to get back. I gave his bottom lip a quick nip and buried my face into the side of his neck, breathing in his scent.

"We need to go, but I don't want to leave. I wanna stay here with you."

"Maybe we can come back tomorrow?" Edward suggested. He brushed his hand over my curls and rested it on my neck. I nodded and took one last deep breath of him.

"Okay, let's go back to the chaos." I pulled back and walked downstairs.

"Your family isn't that bad. There're just a lot of them."

"And they're loud."

"Yes there is that."

I shut the door behind me and silently said goodbye to the house. I made it to the top step of the porch before I remembered my resolution.

Edward was already off the porch, staring at the ground.

"Edward, come here." He straightened and cocked his head.

"Why?"

"Just come up on the porch with me." He looked bemused but he listened and joined me on the porch. I took his hand a positioned himself in front of me.

"I just want to do something," I said. I leaned forward and kissed him. It was light and simple, holding none of the passion from earlier in the bedroom, but to me it was the best kiss I had ever had. There, on my porch, I resolved to stay with Edward for as long as he would keep me.

A/N: That's it for this chapter. Hopefully the grammar wasn't too bad, but like I said, it just wasn't in me to care abut grammar today. I won't get another chapter out until after the holidays, I'm afraid. I still have term essays to complete, and a chapter of The Purpose of Life to try to get out before Christmas. Now I'm off to check if there are any flights to the states leaving tomorrow. Happy holidays everyone, and happy new year! ~AJ Kelly