Author's Note: I haven't forgotten this one! I've just been focusing more on Home lately. I'm really attached to it, but it's definitely past due for a small update here as well. As always, thanks for reading!
Though I was angry about the Quileute situation, I was incredibly grateful for a week where I had Bella almost all to myself, at least once school was over. Truthfully, they had no business in Forks, but our treaty said we would never bite a human. It didn't specify a location, like don't bite a human in La Push. I would just have to (gladly) live with the consequences of their action while Charlie took a week to investigate and add extra security to their house, though nothing human would keep out a supernatural being like myself.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm debating if I should be angry with the wolves for attempting to invade your privacy or not."
"Why would you not be?"
"Because I get alone time with you." I answered honestly, pulling her closer to me and purring quietly in her ear.
"I can never argue with that."
"Me neither." I said, kissing the side of her neck. The unique bouquet of her blood still sang to me but there was no temptation to harm her anymore.
"I'm still afraid you'll get bored of me one day."
"The most impossible thing in the universe. You utterly fascinate me. I love you more than you can possibly imagine. I can't be bored with you." I promised, kissing a slow trail down her neck. She had no idea the hold she still had on me. I could never get enough of her in any way she wanted to share herself with me.
"At least my dad seems to have accepted you more, letting me stay the week."
"It was his idea even." I agreed, happy that her father had finally accepted me and trusted me to take care of her. I would never betray that trust.
"How much longer until graduation?" she asked with a grin.
"How much longer until I can call you my wife?" I returned.
"Are you disappointed?"
"How so?" I asked.
"That we didn't wait until marriage to be intimate. I know how important that was to you before."
"Nonsense. It was important. I wouldn't trade how we are now for anything. The time we've spent together. The happiness. The closeness. There are sensations I never imagined existed even after hearing them in the thoughts and memories of others that I've found with you. You make me such a better man with everything you do."
"The teasing?"
"Especially the teasing. You've changed me for the better by showing me how ridiculous I'm being sometimes. You've really changed my life in the best possible way."
"I'll tell you what's ridiculous."
"What?"
"That you're clothed."
"Am I?" I asked, playfully removing all of my clothing faster than her eyes could see. We had taken to locking my bedroom door and using the privacy devices whenever we were upstairs now just in case. It was nice to tune out the background noise of the house and enjoy being with her and even better to know that we weren't being heard, even with innocent conversations about books and music. She admired me, her pupils dilating and her breath becoming shallower. I admired how her eyes darkened almost imperceptibly as she gazed at me. "Because now it's ridiculous that you're clothed."
"Fix it, then."
"It would be my pleasure." I said, kissing her cheek as I carefully and slowly undressed her. "I think it's ridiculous that you ever have to wear a thing, though I definitely don't want to share you with anyone else."
"We can make a no clothes rule for when we're alone together."
"We would never get anything done."
"We never do anyways…except each other." she said with a blush and a nervous, yet thrilled giggle that made me smile and pounce her.
"I don't see the problem."
"There isn't one." she agreed. And thus, most of our evenings were spent blissfully together enjoying life's physical pleasures. She feared I would grow tired of her and of making love. I assured her me getting tired of her was as impossible as her getting tired of me. She finally believed me.
Though they were mostly well-behaved for Bella, the family couldn't resist teasing me with their thoughts any time we emerged from my room, especially when they knew we had to go to school or something where we couldn't just retreat back in there away from them, shutting off the outside world.
A regular sex addict now, are you brother? Good to know everything is still functioning properly. Oh, no, wait, don't tell me! You two spend all your time up there 'reading' or 'listening to music' right? Emmett thought. Eddie would never dare do such a thing with a lady, or touch his penis, let alone let her touch it. "OW!" he shouted when I punched him in the arm. "What did you do a thing like that for?"
"If I had to guess, you were teasing him and making him embarrassed." Bella said, barely looking up from her homework.
I smiled at her. A mind-reader wasn't always necessary with our family. Emmett's mind especially was usually focused on just one thing, either sex or bear hunting. "Of course, I was." Emmett admitted. "I'm surprised you haven't tried to give me a good smack for teasing him so much."
"I'm not looking to break any more bones right now, thank you."
"But when you can't break them anymore?"
"I look forward to smacking the hell out of you."
"That a girl!" he grinned. "You still won't be a match for me, even with newborn strength."
"We'll see about that." I said. "Jasper, with his newborn experience, assures me that Bella is going to be the strongest of all of us, at least for a while."
Bella smiled at me, happy to hear me talking about her change without flinching, I was sure. I still had my reservations, but I wasn't going to deny anything I could do to make her happy anymore. It was her choice.
"Charlie is coming over." Alice announced, hopping over the back of the couch to gracefully sit beside Bella. "Emmett, behave and go get some snacks and stuff to spread on the table to make it look like we've been eating."
"Easy enough." he said, immediately returning with his arms full of potato chip bags and a 6 pack of soda. He handed one drink to Bella before popping the tab on each of the other 5 and taking a big sip of each one.
"Why do you do that if you just have to go spit it up?!" Bella asked, disgusted, but amused.
He ran into the kitchen, spit it all into the sink and started running the water to wash it down the drain. "Because I didn't swallow any of it!" he said.
"That's what she said!" Jasper insisted, coming down the stairs laughing.
"How do you know she doesn't swallow?" Emmett asked.
"Oh no." Bella said, hiding her face against Alice's shoulder.
"They are going to do this for approximately three minutes then they'll take their fight outside." Alice said with a giggle.
"Who is this she we're referring to, Jasper? Do I need to have a talk with your wife?" Emmett asked.
"My wife can hear you."
"So, your wife is the she?"
"No!"
"So, there's another woman?"
"I didn't say that, you big dork! Quit trying to pick a fight."
"Is dork really the best you can come up with?" Emmett crossed his arms, staring at Jasper with a daring expression.
"If there was another woman, don't you think she'd see that as closely as she watches my future, you empty-headed nincompoop?"
"Not this again." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. "They're joking." I whispered in Bella's ear so she wouldn't worry that they were really fighting.
"They're never serious." she said with a roll of her eyes, but I saw her small smile. She loved them so much.
It was Emmett's turn to annoy Jasper. "Empty-headed? There's lots of thoughts up here! I've been teasing Eddie all morning. And I'm thinking about a nice, juicy bear."
"Ew, juicy." Bella said with a disgusted face.
"Just wait your turn, sweetheart." Emmett said with a grin, showing all of his teeth. "You're gonna be a member of team bear soon enough. They're delicious."
She wrinkled her nose up at him and pretended to be really interested in her homework all of a sudden. I wasn't sure whether to amusedly laugh at her adorable face or be concerned that our diet didn't sound appealing to her, though to be fair, her current diet sounded terrible to me. And bear wasn't my favorite by far either.
Emmett pranced around the room, showing his hands like claws, and making growling noises, badly imitating a bear. Jasper looked at Emmett. "No thoughts, head empty, only sex and bears."
"That's what I thought about him earlier! You aren't far from the truth." I insisted, regretting getting involved as soon as I said it.
"You wanna take this outside, brother?" Emmett said, flexing his arms at me.
"No. I do not."
"I do!" Jasper answered, racing outside the door, and tossing a slew of insults behind him. "Pervert! Nitwit! Moron! Birdbrain! Asshat!" He was just trying to make Bella laugh again, and he succeeded with asshat, though she tried to hide it.
"If you wanted to fight, you just had to ask." Emmett said with a smile, running after him.
"Charlie will be here in five minutes." Alice announced. "Don't destroy too much."
"Don't destroy anything!" Esme said, coming down the stairs from her study. "Is Charlie alright?"
"He just wants to check up on Bella and see her for a few minutes. Everything is fine."
"Is he trying to make sure no one has used me as some kind of ritual sacrifice or something yet?" she asked with a grin.
"Usually, only virgins are used for sacrifices." Esme said without thinking about it. She loved cultural studies. Bella blushed. "Oops! Sorry dear, I didn't mean-"
"It's alright." Bella said, laughing and taking it in stride. "I guess we deserve that. Edward did spare me from most of Emmett and Jasper's initial teasing."
"Esme loves anthropology." I said, helping her out. "She is fascinated by rituals and religious beliefs."
"And design. I just love all of the different art forms around the world."
"And fashion!" Alice added.
"It's cool." Bella agreed.
"May I make you some dinner? I can make sure it's ready right when your dad wants to leave and send some home with him too."
"That would be great. Thank you."
"It's no trouble." Esme said, happily humming to herself as she went into the kitchen. She was a wonderful mother. She loved children, even though we were all "grown." In her human time, she loved teaching, cooking, and baking. She had always dreamed of having a family. It delighted her when we needed her for advice or any sort of help. Cooking for Bella and sometimes Charlie gave her great fulfillment, especially when she knew they enjoyed the meal.
"Should we be doing anything in particular when Charlie gets here?" Bella asked Alice.
"Homework is good." she said and Bella continued what she was doing. I got up long enough to grab a book for myself and Alice to read for "book reports" and sat back down beside Bella.
"That's one of my favorites." Bella said, smiling at my copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
"It isn't my usual reading but I like this one on occasion as well. I find something a little different each time I read it."
"I've always preferred the book to the movie versions of it."
"You should see some of the plays. I'm sure there are good ones. It doesn't always translate well though. I've seen entire characters left out."
"Like who?"
"The Mad Hatter or the Cheshire Cat."
"They are the best ones!"
"I know." I agreed.
"What are you reading Alice?"
"The Grapes of Wrath."
"How is it?"
"Boring. I've had to do so many book reports on it over the years."
"I'm sure. Carlisle said this might be everyone's last time through high school though now that the times are changing. Online college or 'homeschooling' sound fun."
"Finally." she agreed. "While I like staying current on pop culture and fashion, there are much better ways to do that than high school."
"We can't graduate fast enough." I said.
"You're only saying that so you can have completely alone time with me." Bella insisted.
"And?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing." she giggled. Esme heard Charlie's car approaching and went to get the door for him.
"Hi dad!" "Hey Charlie!" "Hi Charlie!"
"Hi kids." Charlie said, walking in with a smile right at the exact second there was a loud crash in the backyard. "What was that?"
"My brothers." I answered. "I'll handle it." I got up and went outside. "Charlie is here!" I hissed too quietly for any human to hear. "Behave!"
The two of them emerged from the woods with huge grins and leaves all in their hair. Jasper had mud all over his jeans. Emmett smelled of stagnant water. I threw my hands up and went inside.
"Everything alright?" Bella asked. I just shook my head and took a seat beside her.
"Did you two fall in the pond or something?" Charlie asked with a laugh when they walked in.
"He pushed me." Emmett said.
"I did not. You pushed me."
"I pushed you into a patch of mud. You pushed me into the pond!"
"My koi!" Esme shouted.
"Are fine, mom." Emmett said. "It's me you should be worried about."
"Emmett Cullen! You boys don't bother my poor fish."
"I said Jasper did it!"
"Both of you go shower. Then, you can come help me clean in the kitchen. After dinner, you will both go apologize to my koi."
"Yes, mom." they said in unison, though Emmett shoved Jasper aside and ran up the stairs at a human seeming speed.
"Be grateful you don't have teenage boys to deal with." Esme said with a smile she tried to hide.
"You love us, mom!" Jasper shouted from upstairs.
"You know I do, but you're a handful!"
Charlie laughed. "Are they keeping you busy, Esme?"
"Always." she agreed.
"Bella hasn't been any trouble, has she?"
"Of course not. She could teach my group a thing or two about behaving."
"Thanks for the faith in me, dad." she said with a smile.
"Just asking." he answered. "I figured out what happened at the house." He nervously rubbed his neck. "It was a false alarm. Jacob was trying to let himself in to apologize to you."
"I don't call trying to break into my bedroom a false alarm."
"Me neither. I told him to stay away and that if he comes near the house again uninvited, I'll press charges. I also got a better lock put on your window and on the doors."
"I think I'd still feel better staying here the rest of the week just in case he tries to come back."
"Me too." Charlie agreed, much to my relief. I was really looking forward to the extra time with her. "I don't know what's gotten in to those two. Jacob says he's sorry and that he still wants to be your friend." Bella rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. That's up to you. Poor kid has had a lot going on though what with losing his mom, his sisters moving away, his dad needing his help all the time…"
"Fine, I forgive him but I still don't want to see him, certainly not if he's been trying to break into my room."
"Yeah, that kind of seals the deal for him to stay away from you for me too. He could have just knocked on the door. Or called. Or sent a letter. Or even let himself in with his dad's key and waited for us to get home if it was that important. I changed the locks on the doors too. Billy doesn't have one anymore." I could see in Charlie's mind that while he still resented Jacob, him and Billy were no longer fighting. They had been friends for a really long time. Charlie did make Billy promise to not speak ill of me or my family to him ever again. If only he had any idea of what they were trying to warn him of.
"What have you kids been up to?"
"Homework." Alice answered with a sigh.
"Book reports." I agreed, grateful that I couldn't blush. My body would surely betray me with the real truth.
"Watching Emmett and Jasper keep having to clean house. Especially Emmett." Bella said.
"They are that much trouble, huh?"
"Just mischievous teenagers." Esme answered, walking in the room to offer the humans some freshly baked cookies. "Edward, care to go see what your brothers are up to? They are taking way too long. Alice, would you be a dear and find Rosalie for dinner?"
She wanted to allow Bella and Charlie some alone time and avoid us needing to pretend to eat. We gladly agreed, though I kept an ear on Bella to make sure she was alright.
"I've been having lots of fun. It's entertaining having everyone around."
"I know it gets awfully boring for you at home."
"Not really. You and I are both introverts." Bella said, trying to make him feel better.
"We should do more together before you graduate. I know our time is limited before you go off to college."
"Yeah."
He had no idea just how limited it truly was. "Is Alice driving you nuts with the wedding planning yet?"
"Always. She might be more excited than we are."
"I have no doubt." Charlie agreed. "School going alright?"
"As boring as ever."
He laughed quietly then. "Good. Boring means there hasn't been any trouble. I'll let you be then. When you get home this weekend let's go see a movie or something. Your choice."
"That sounds nice, dad. Thank you. And thank you for letting me spend time with Edward and his family. They've been great to me."
"I'm glad."
Esme entered the room then with a plate fixed up for Charlie. He shyly accepted it with a huge smile. "You didn't have to."
"I cook enough to feed a small army anyhow." she replied, following him outside to see him off safely.
"He loves you." I told Bella, taking my spot back beside her.
"I know. He's really trying."
"I'm glad vampires can't blush. When he asked what we'd been up to I hesitated. Glad Alice answered first."
"Yeah, I'm sure the full truth would not have been a good answer there."
"No." I said. Definitely not. "I can't believe the excuse they are using to make up for trying to break into your house."
"I know. I'm really upset about that."
"Me too. Carlisle said he'd call the elders today and try to make the terms of the treaty clearer to them about their territory and what they can and can't do. I just hope they listen. We'll be moving away soon enough anyhow."
"I'm going to miss my father but I'm really excited to properly start our lives together."
"Me too." I agreed. Me too. There were so many reasons I couldn't wait, the least of all was making sure that she was always happy and safe without the risk of discovery or potential violence from rogue newborns. I would see that she was always happy.
"Are you two ever anything besides horny?" Jasper asked, exasperated as he looked from one of us to the other.
"No." Bella answered. I laughed harder than I think I ever have. What a future I was in for.
