Leah selected a piece of chocolate out of the box that she had been hiding in her sock drawer, one with both almonds and caramel. She'd been trying to make the box last, but that was easier said than done. Chocolates were just too tempting. That was part of the reason she was keeping the box in her sock drawer (she was also trying to keep certain other people - Seth, Jacob, and even Sue - from eating any of them).

Even though she'd teased Jacob about getting her a present, Leah hadn't really expected anything like this. Jacob had presented her with a full two-pound box of fancy chocolates, the type the Clearwaters got exclusively for Christmas growing up. It was the first time she'd had a box all to herself and though she knew it was enough to share, she didn't want to. For one, she was a werewolf and could eat it all without feeling guilty or sick afterward. And for another, it seemed too special to share. There was still so much of her life that she shared with others, but her relationship with Jake was something she wanted to keep private.

It was mostly private, but it wasn't really hidden. There were no secrets in La Push (minus the giant wolves running around, but even that was hardly a secret anymore, it felt like so many people knew) and Leah and Jacob's relationship was no different.

Even after Jacob had admitted (sheepishly) to Leah that Emily had been the one to suggest the chocolates, they were surprised when no one else asked them about it. All was well until someone – that annoying Rowena girl that Leah had (regrettably) hired – saw them kiss when Jacob picked her up from work one day. And then within hours, the entirety of La Push and half of Forks knew that Leah Clearwater and Jacob Black were dating.

But Leah didn't really have time to think about all that today; it was the first day of the fall semester, and chocolate for breakfast, as delicious as it was, was hardly the breakfast of champions. Leah had never been the type to get dressed up for school, or much for anything really. Who was she trying to impress? She was riding with Jacob and he already knew what she looked like. It wasn't like he cared, in fact, he had made it pretty clear that the way he preferred her without any clothes at all.

Seth had already started school a couple of weeks ago, and Sue was working, so there was no one there to give her any type of send-off as she grabbed her book bag and a protein bar for breakfast and headed out the door. It was a short walk to the Black's house - Jacob had offered to drive and she hadn't said no, there was no reason for both of them to waste gas on the drive - and a rare sunny day. Leah found herself approaching the Rabbit in no time at all.

Jacob must have heard her coming, as he was out the door before she could make it up to the porch, greeting her with a kiss. He pulled way uncharacteristically quickly, but she quickly realized why when she heard Billy rolling out to come to greet her.

"Hello, Leah," Billy said in his booming voice.

"Hello, Billy," Leah returned, holding the screen door open for him as he rolled his way out to the porch, "How are you doing?"

"Never been better. But do me a favor and make sure he actually goes to class," Billy pointed at Jacob, who responded with a simple eye roll and shake of his head.

If Billy and Sue cared at all that Jacob and Leah were dating, they didn't make it known. Sue had just repeated the same thing she'd said when Leah had started dating both Sam and Danny ("if you get pregnant out of wedlock, you can consider yourself disowned"), and Billy had just told Jacob that if Jacob made Billy a grandfather before he could pay his own bills, Billy would make sure it was the last child Jacob ever had. But Leah was sure they were secretly thrilled. If nothing else, Leah had caught the two of them laughing about something multiple times - it felt almost like old times. If only her dad were here. He'd have their wedding planned already.

"I will," Leah promised with a laugh.

"I'm not that bad of a student, Dad," Jacob protested. He held up his little backpack as if that proved his point.

"I'm not saying you're a bad student, son. I'm saying that I'm glad that Leah will be there with you."

"Sure, sure." Leah could tell from Jacob's tone that he didn't believe Billy for even a second. Not that Leah was disagreeing; she just thought that they both had a point. Jacob wasn't a bad student, but it was probably good that there was someone there to make sure he actually showed up to class.

"School is important, Jacob."

"Go back inside, old man. You're letting the mosquitos in. I promise I'll show up to class and maybe I'll even do my homework."

"You will do your homework," Billy corrected, though not harshly, "But you two have a good day. Jacob, I'll see you tonight. And Leah, too, I guess," he added as an acknowledgment before rolling himself back through the screen door, letting it slam behind him.

Jacob turned to Leah and rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. But Jacob jumped off the porch wordlessly and Leah followed him to the Rabbit.

Leah wasn't surprised when Embry and Quil appeared on the little road that the Black's house was on. For as long as she could remember, the three of them had always done everything together, and starting a new school (college!) wouldn't be any different. Embry had a backpack with him, but Quil had nothing but a notebook. Leah doubted he'd even brought a pen.

"Good morning everyone!" Quil approached Jacob and Leah loudly. After exchanging pleasantries, Embry, who was shifting from foot to foot impatiently, mentioned the time and something about "not wanting to be late on the first day," and how fast Jacob would have to drive to get them there on time. As if Jacob had ever been known to drive the speed limit.

Without even thinking about it, Leah went to open the passenger seat door and slid into the seat she always sat in.

"Really, Jake? You're giving your girlfriend shotgun?" Quil complained as he opened the door directly behind her.

"You should just be happy I'm giving you a ride at all," Jacob shot back.

Quil grumbled something lowly in protest but didn't say anything else as he and Embry squeezed into the back seat.

"Think of the gas money we're saving," Embry said cheerily. The reservation was beginning to fly by as Jacob turned onto the main road to Forks and Port Angeles. He was making good on his promise that they wouldn't be late.

"Gas money? I don't know about you, but I could phase and run there a whole lot quicker than driving is going to take - and that doesn't cost anything at all!" Quil grumbled.

"It's a brand new school," Jacob pointed out, "We could at least pretend we're normal here."

He didn't say that the true reason he was driving was that Leah had insisted. She liked driving much better. It made her feel human and it was also easier to carry a whole bag of books and pens and homework without getting werewolf slobber on it. In the beginning, it felt good to be normal. Besides, she had little doubt that by the end of it all three of them would be running to class most of the time, so she might as well take advantage of the carpool while she could.

"Who are we trying to impress?" Quil asked. Leah could almost hear him roll his eyes.

Embry chuckled lowly in response, "You never know who you'll meet there."

"This isn't new to me, and I'm still using a car," Leah answered cooly before Quil could say anything else. In the rearview mirror, Leah saw Quil open his mouth to say something before closing it again.

By now, it was Leah's fourth time starting class at Peninsula Community College, and – if she managed to get through this semester – it would be her last. Even though she hadn't finished the spring semester when her dad died and she'd turned into a giant wolf and learned why her ex left her for her cousin, she had enough credits from high school to graduate with her associate's degree, at least according to the email her advisor had sent her. The idea made her stomach lurch, but she was finally leaving La Push.

It had been an uncomfortable conversation with Jake and while she could tell that he wasn't thrilled with the idea of her leaving, they both agreed it was something she had to do. The plan had always been for her to come back to La Push after college and that hadn't changed. So she would apply to a handful of schools and get an off-campus apartment and Jacob could come to visit whenever he wanted - it wasn't like Billy would mind. Leah had slept over at the Black's place several times, and she was pretty sure that Billy knew about it. If anything, the promise of uninterrupted time together was enough to mitigate any negative feelings about her upcoming transfer.

Jacob had turned on the radio and the boys were as boisterous as ever. Their conversation had moved on to the upcoming football season but Leah was able to mostly tune them out. It wasn't like the old carpool she used to do with Kim, that was for sure. But on the upside, Jake's hand was on her thigh, almost protectively. She placed her hand over his, catching his eye for a second. Jacob beamed at her, that giant smile she'd come to love.

"Gross, you two," Quil complained.

"We didn't even do anything!" But Jacob removed his hand from her leg and put it back on the wheel. Leah sighed. The two morons were just part of the deal, she knew that, but Jacob was lucky that she loved him. They could be a lot to put up with, even now, over a year later. But she enjoyed their banter, even if it meant that Jacob's hands were on the wheel.

In the distance, Port Angeles could be seen. They'd be there before they knew it. It was funny, it felt like a new start in a way, even though she'd been coming here for a while now. Everything was so different from last year.

"Okay, remember guys: we're all perfectly normal." Although Embry tried to sound relaxed, he wasn't convincing.

"And I say again," Quil said, "Who are we trying to impress?"

"We're all perfectly normal," Leah echoed Embry quietly, determined to stop a fight before it could begin. Sure enough, it shut Quil up and he didn't say anything else.

"Sure, sure," Jacob mumbled beside her. He was pulling into a parking space now. The parking lot was crowded with cars and students, but none of them looked familiar.

"Does everyone know where they're going?" Leah asked, suddenly feeling protective over the morons. They were her morons, after all.

"Yes," Jacob and Quil said in unison. Leah had a feeling they were lying, but she didn't challenge them.

"I do," Embry said more convincingly, "I took summer classes, remember?"

"Oh yes, how could we ever forget that Embry took a summer class and met his imprint at Peninsula Community College?" Jacob wondered aloud. Leah punched him lightly.

"You won't, don't worry," Embry said happily.

Leah rolled her eyes at their antics and climbed out of the car. They all said their goodbyes and took off in opposite directions (Jacob and Quil had their first class together, so at least they didn't have to figure it out alone). Their boisterous laughter echoed in her ears as she walked on her own to her class, feeling more ready than ever to learn. It would be a good semester. She could feel it in her bones.


"What are you getting?" Jacob peered over the red leather menu at Leah.

"Dunno. Maybe the ravioli. You?" Leah flipped through the pages again, scanning them quickly, but nothing had changed from the first seven times she'd looked at the offerings.

It wasn't like them to go out to fancy restaurants or even go out much at all, preferring to keep their dates low-key, but Jacob had just sold the latest car he'd flipped and two days ago an oversized envelope arrived at the Clearwater house for Leah from the University of Washington. It was official. Leah was going to Seattle in the spring.

So in celebration, after class one day, Leah had agreed to join him at a restaurant in Port Angeles, forcing the other boys to run home or figure out their own ride for once (it wasn't as mean as it sounded. Quil's classes ended earlier than Jacob's and Leah's so he always ran home on Wednesdays and Embry was with Alex).

"Yeah… I have no idea," Jacob said after a moment, flipping the pages back and forth. He looked up at her.

"They have fish," Leah offered lamely.

"Yeah, but why would I pay that price for it when I can make some of the fish that Billy catches? I should have checked the menu before I suggested this place," he muttered.

Leah laughed. Why was he so cute? His slightly panicked face as he flipped through the menu again and again. It was only two pages - it wasn't going to change.

"We could just get some appetizers and bail," Leah suggested.

"That's not enough food," he said with a certain seriousness that could only be a reflection of the panic he was feeling. Or maybe he didn't want Leah to think he couldn't afford it. It was hard to tell.

"We can pick up some burgers at the diner or something on the way home. C'mon, you know we'll both enjoy it more."

Jacob took one more look at the menu before slamming it shut, "Yeah, let's do that. We can get mozzarella sticks."

"Sounds good to me." Mushroom ravioli was hardly Leah's favorite food anyway. A burger and fries sounded much, much better. And this way she didn't have to worry about the uptight environment.

After they awkwardly ordered nothing but mozzarella sticks and bruschetta and paid their bill, they high-tailed it out of the stuffy restaurant, making their way hand in hand to Leah's small car that they'd left in the parking lot of the school.

"Sorry it was a bust," he said as he climbed into the driver's seat. It was Leah's car, but Jacob was still driving, having agreed that it was probably better not to put too many miles on the Rabbit. Leah tried not to mind as Jacob drove the little thing deftly. He would be the one doing any mechanical repairs, after all.

"Jacob, it's fine," she insisted, "As long as we stop at the diner and get burgers, I'll be happy."

"We will," he promised.

They talked about mindless things on the drive to Forks, like their classes and Jacob's latest conversation with Rebecca, and the upcoming meeting with the Elders. Everything in their life seemed so routine for once, yet Leah found herself interested in every last thing Jacob had to say. He always managed to pull her in like this. She just found his presence endearing. He really had turned her soft.

Their conversation continued as they arrived in Forks and Jacob pulled into the diner. It was almost empty, which wasn't surprising seeing as it was a Wednesday evening. The waitress led Leah and Jacob to a booth in the back and Leah sat down across from Jacob. This time when she flipped through the menu, she saw lots of things she wanted to eat, though true to her word, she ordered a burger and fries. Jacob ordered the same but added bacon and a chocolate milkshake.

"I think Quil seems happier for sure," Jacob said, drumming his fingers against the table. Leah could hear the waitress making his milkshake at the bar. It didn't matter that they had just had appetizers - it was almost an hour ago now, and Leah knew if she was already hungry again, so was Jacob.

The conversation had turned to Claire and Quil. Embry had been right about one thing - there had been people at Peninsula Community College who Quil wanted to impress. Claire still had Quil's whole heart, but the college girls in Port Angeles seemed to provide a type of distraction that Claire did not. One of them had asked Quil on a date and as far as Leah knew, it had gone well. But that didn't mean Leah wasn't worried. If this girl fell for him… well, how would that work? Quil was all caught up in a four-year-old child. Someone was bound to get hurt.

"Well, I guess if it works out for him, then he gets the best of both worlds. An imprint and a chance at a regular relationship." Leah sat back in the booth, "But still… I can't help but worry that someone's going to get hurt."

"Claire's four, Leah. She doesn't know anything about any of this imprinting business. She won't be hurt if her favorite babysitter stops coming around quite as often. And I doubt this girl that Quil's going out with is looking for anything serious. I know Quil isn't."

"I guess," Leah muttered. It wasn't really a conversation she wanted to have.

Before either of them could say anything, their waitress appeared, carrying a tray with all their food. As she served both of them, Leah glanced at Jacob, who looked like he had something to say. But they were both hungry, and the food was too tempting. The next few moments were spent devouring their food, which was much more delicious than the gourmet appetizers from that frilly Italian place.

"You're not still worried about that, are you? Imprinting?" Jacob asked her, after taking several bites of his burger. There was a look of concern in his eyes - it made Leah's heart swell. God, he really had turned her soft.

"I think I'll always worry about it, just a little bit," Leah admitted. She looked down, breaking eye contact with him, "I don't want to hurt you and I don't want to get hurt. I just… I don't want to imprint. I never have. But it's my greatest fear, in many ways."

They'd been in each other's heads - on decent terms - for over a year now. Yet these were still some of her most vulnerable thoughts coming out in a jumbled mess. In the pack mind, they tended to keep things light, using the skills they'd learned from Embry to keep their deepest thoughts hidden away. She knew Jacob inside and out but this wasn't something they'd dare discuss. Not really, anyway.

"I'm not going to imprint," he said confidently.

"You're not?" she raised her eyebrow at him, disbelieving. It was like he was mocking her.

"I don't want to imprint. So I won't," he said it simply as if it was a fact.

"I think you're oversimplifying things, Jacob."

"No, but think about it. You don't want to imprint and you haven't imprinted. I don't want to imprint and I haven't imprinted. Brady and Colin are the same. Everyone else wanted to."

"Sam?" Leah sharply mentioned the first name that came to mind.

"I think he wanted someone to understand what he was going through," Jacob said slowly as if he had picked each word carefully.

"Oh."

It made sense. When Leah thought back to the angsty, frustrating final days of her and Sam's relationship, there had been so much tension and anger that she had never understood. She had felt so distant from him, but she knew that he was hurting and wanting someone to understand. And that someone had been Emily, his imprint.

"Think about it, Leah. Paul only imprinted after Jared and Sam did. They're his best friends did and he saw how happy they were. Quil wanted the whole wolf experience - including imprinting. Embry wanted to imprint to prove that he was normal or whatever. And you know how Jared is."

Leah nodded as she thought about what Jacob said. Finally, she spoke again, barely above a whisper, "What about Seth?"

"You know that Seth was happy about it." Jacob didn't look her in the eyes as he said it.

She did. Her sweet brother rolled with the punches. Imprinting, even on some freak of nature, didn't bother him. He had wanted this and he was happy with his life. Being a wolf hadn't phased him and neither had imprinting.

"I guess so," Leah said finally.

"Are you saying you disagree? You don't think I'm right?"

Leah hesitated, "It makes sense. But we'll never know for sure."

"We won't," Jacob agreed hurriedly. He seemed to sense that he had gone too far, "But I don't think you need to worry so much about it. I'm not going to ditch you for some imprint."

"You say that now…"

"I promise, Leah. The last thing I want is to imprint."

"I know that, Jacob. But I'm just not sure that not wanting to imprint is enough."

"It's better than any other explanation we have."

She had to give him that one. But she wasn't convinced. It was too simple, too easy. As if all she had to was keep living her life and she could avoid the thing she dreaded the most.

"Maybe it doesn't need an explanation. Maybe it's just something that happens."

"Maybe."

Jacob took a sip of his milkshake and, when putting it back on the table, in unwolf-like fashion, the tin slipped, spilling chocolate ice cream all over him. As Jacob swore under his breath, Leah's giggles escaped her, the weight of their heavy conversation flittering away as she watched Jacob try to clean himself up with the flimsy paper napkins on the table. He looked ridiculous covered in chocolate ice cream. Ridiculous but adorable.

Leah took a breath and pushed their earlier conversation out of her mind as she reached over to help him mop up the spill.

"You wanna know the worst part about all this?" Jacob asked her as he managed to get the majority of the ice cream out of his lap.

"What?" She had a wad of soaked napkins in her hands that she could feel getting sticky.

"I had barely had any of it and now I have to pay for another one!"

Leah couldn't help but laugh.


At the beginning of the semester, Leah had sworn that she wouldn't let her boyfriend interrupt her study sessions, but a month and a half in, she wasn't exactly keeping that promise to herself. Multiple times a week, she and Jacob would sit down to study or do homework and end up doing activities that were decidedly… not studying. But despite her (occasional) frustration about it, Leah tried not to let it bother her. As long as she was able to get her work done at some point, spending time with Jacob was always nice.

On one rainy Tuesday in mid-October, Leah had only been studying for a few minutes when Jacob stopped by. He didn't bother to knock; he never did anymore. After kissing her as a greeting, Jacob settled into a seat across the table from her and even took out a textbook. Leah had no classes on Tuesday, and the rainy day made her want to curl up in bed and nap the day away. It would have been justified, seeing as she had patrol that night. But midterms were coming up soon and she was determined not to fail them, so she opted to study now and nap later.

"You better study," she warned him, though she didn't say anything when he managed to stretch and put his feet in her lap, "I don't want a dropout for a boyfriend."

She didn't look up, but Leah could almost feel Jacob roll his eyes as he mumbled, "Sure, sure."

For a couple of hours, Leah managed to actually study. She doubted that Jacob was getting much done, though he was staying silent and letting her work, which is all she could really ask for. But eventually, the spell broke and he lifted his feet out of her lap and stood up.

"Getting a snack," he said by way of explanation when she looked up at him, "Want anything?"

Now that she was thinking about it, she was hungry. It had been a while since she ate. So she stood up too and ventured over to the fridge. But before she made it there, Jacob stopped her in her tracks and kissed her, surprising her. It took her a second to recover, but once she did, her lips moved against his. For a few moments, they did nothing but kiss, Leah standing on her tiptoes to reach Jacob wrapping her arms around his neck. But then Jacob hauled her up onto the counter and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. She let her fingers trace his abs, amazed as always at how sturdy and strong he was.

"Sue's at work?" Jacob asked as he snaked an arm around her, resting his hand on the gap between her shirt and her leggings.

"Uh-huh," she managed. Jacob's fingers were dipping beneath her shirt now, threatening to make their way up her back.

"And Seth's at school?"

"Yeah." His fingers were making their way up her back now, thumbing at her bra.

"Then we should go upstairs," he mumbled against her lips.

Even as he said the words, common sense began to take over and she pulled away from Jake, wiggling out of his arms and jumping down from the counter so that her feet were squarely on the ground again. He scrunched up his nose as soon as she did, a pout coming over his face.

"Jake, we have patrol tonight."

"So? We can still go upstairs."

Leah crossed her arms and faced him. She was determined, "We can go upstairs and we can sleep."

"We can sleep and we can do other things," Jacob countered.

It was a tempting offer. But Leah knew that she'd regret it; she was already tired as is and it would be a long night if she was sleep deprived. Not to mention that they both had class tomorrow and she was really trying not to fall into the habit of skipping just because of patrol the night before.

"We can nap," she said with a note of finality in her voice. They had the night after to get caught up in each other and the night after that. Really, they had all the time in the world. It wouldn't hurt them just to nap this time.

"Fine," Jacob said, "But let me get a snack if I can't eat you out."

"You're disgusting," she shook her head at him as he pulled out some hummus and carrots from the fridge. They ate quietly, the sound of the crunching filling the room. When they finished the container, Leah tossed it in the trash. As soon as she was done, she felt Jacob's strong arms wrap around her and suddenly she was being carried bridal style to her own bed.

"I'm serious Jacob, we're just napping," she said as soon as he had placed down and snuggled right beside her. She reached behind her shirt and took off her bra, tossing it to the side. Comfort over everything else. Jacob gave her a quick kiss, but she pulled away before he could try to deepen it.

He loosened his grip on her, "Sure, sure."

With Jacob's hands resting gently on her side, and the warmth of his body enveloping her, sleep came quickly.

When Leah opened her eyes a few hours later, she could feel that Jacob was no longer curled up beside her. She stretched out and looked up, seeing him at her small desk, a book open. It looked like he was actually reading. From across the hall, she could hear Seth moving around in his bedroom, mumbling to himself about Nessie's birthday party that was coming up this weekend.

"Look, Leah, the sun's coming out." Leah didn't need to look out the window to know that Jacob was right. The light had shifted just subtly - it looked like it might be the first sunny day in nearly a week.

"Leah! Jacob! Seth!" Quil's voice echoed through the entire house far louder than was needed for a houseful of people who had supernatural hearing; Leah didn't have to look to know that he was right outside their window. A quick glance at the clock told Leah that he and Embry must have just gotten back from class.

"Cliff diving?" she guessed, looking at Jacob. They'd been talking about it for a while now, but the rain had been unrelenting.

Jacob stood up immediately, nodded, and grinned wildly, "We're coming!" he yelled back and Leah was glad that Sue was out of the house.

Without waiting, Jacob began to open Leah's window, apparently too excited to be bothered with stairs or front doors.

"Jake, wait, I need to change clothes," Leah hissed. Jacob immediately closed the window.

"Oh, fuck, yeah." From the other side of the door, Leah could hear Seth scrambling to meet the rest of the pack. He apparently understood what doors and stairs were for, unlike Jacob. The front door slammed behind him.

"Go out the front door with Seth," Leah instructed. She was already digging through her dresser for some suitable clothes.

Jacob looked guilty, but at that moment, Quil bellowed again.

"Meet me out there?" Jacob asked.

"Of course."

Jacob turned to cross the room, but before he could, he pressed a quick kiss to her lips, "I love you."

"I love you, too." Leah watched as he rushed out of the room and down the stairs, joining the ruckus of the rest of the pack below. She heard him tell the others that she would meet them there and she listened as their conversation faded as they went further into the forest to the cliffs.

Hurrying, she grabbed a sports bra and some athletic shorts and slipped them on. Unlike the boys, she took the stairs at a normal speed - she knew the cliffs weren't going anywhere. Careful to lock up to prevent the wrath of Sue, Leah made her way to the cliffs through the woods. It was a path she'd gotten to know well by now, one that made her feel at home. This forest was her home. It always had been and always would be, no matter what happened in the future.

As she approached the cliffs, she turned around one last time. Rays of the sun were peeking through the mountains on the horizon. She could hear Seth, Quil, and Embry's yelps of joy as they splashed into the water. Ahead of her, Jacob was waiting by the cliffside, motioning for her to come forward. She ran ahead, grabbed his hand, took a deep breath, and together they leaped into the deep waters below.


A/N: So there it is! I have absolutely loved writing my version of Jacob and Leah's story over the past year or so. Even though I've been fortunate enough to have a "good pandemic" in the sense that I've been lucky not to lose my job or any friends or family to the virus, it still took a really big toll on my mental health and writing this fic, reading fics and being part of the Twilight renaissance in general was something that brought me a lot of joy in this really dark period. I hope that this story brought some of you joy, as well.
Thank you to everyone who read, subscribed, favorited and commented. Your support really made this journey so much better. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this final chapter.