2.
The house was pretty nondescript from the outside, a dark wood structure whose edges blended into the surrounding gloom. He didn't spend much time or effort in scrutinizing it right then, though. There would be plenty of time for that later. Now that he knew where Edward lived—sort of—he would make it a point to come back.
Jasper watched as Edward tapped a code onto a concealed touchpad, unlatched the door and entered. He followed and saw that the door opened directly into a single large room with couches grouped around a fireplace at one end, and an open area with a baby grand piano at the other. Three shallow steps led down into what he assumed was the kitchen. It was sparsely furnished, sparsely decorated.
"This is nice," he commented, kicking off his shoes near the door... he knew how Edward was about these things. Walking into the centre of the room he tipped his head back to look at the exposed wooden beams that held up the roof. "Didn't look like it from the outside, but damn, you've got a lot of space."
"It isn't much," Edward responded, leaning against a wall and watching him take in what little there was to see. "The high ceilings make it look bigger I guess."
"Yeah," Jasper agreed. "And the fact that you have pretty much no clutter. Esme definitely had nothing to do with decorating this place," he chuckled.
Edward didn't say anything, but Jasper felt his faint whisper of anxiety and uncertainty.
"I like it," he said decisively. "It's very... you." He waited, and sure enough, this time he felt a short burst of warmth hit his chest. It wasn't much, barely the hint of fleeting emotions, but Jasper liked that he was getting a read on Edward again. "Be honest, though. Did you really do everything yourself? Choosing the couches? Buying the cushions? Deciding the color of the carpets?"
"Want to see the rest of the place?" Edward asked in response, not waiting for a reply as he started to walk off towards the kitchen.
It was more than Jasper had expected, so he grinned and followed, shadowing Edward so closely that their shoulders bumped together when they both tried to pass through the doorway at the same time, which led to a brief scuffle as both did their best to shoulder the other aside. Subtle elbow jabs were replaced by knee jabs and kicks and outright shoves, till they both landed on the floor with a thump.
"You're so competitive!" Jasper exclaimed in mock-censure, trying to stifle his laughter.
"Sure, it was all me," Edward rolled his eyes. "Get off me, you idiot."
"But it's so comfy like this, we're practically cuddling. Mmmm, I missed this," Jasper clung closer, while Edward lay stiff as a marble statue beneath him. This close, Jasper didn't need to use his ability to know Edward was agitated... despite his lack of apparent reaction, he could feel his heartbeat speeding up. It made him happier than it probably should.
"Anytime you're done being an ass, I'd love to get off the freaking kitchen floor, Jasper," Edward eventually ground out. When Jasper refused to respond, he sighed and stroked his hands gently down the other man's back, before suddenly deviating to his sides.
"Edward!" Jasper howled, practically jumping off in an attempt to get as far as possible from the merciless fingers tickling him. "You can't do that to me! I'm your closest friend!"
"Too close," Edward said with a wicked raised eyebrow that stopped Jasper's protests just like that. "Get up."
"Fine, fine, you don't have to be so mean to me," Jasper grumbled, following him obediently as he pointed out the main points of interest in the kitchen—the refrigerator, stove and the cupboard that held all the snacks. "Why don't you have a microwave? Tell me you at least own a toaster. Does anyone even deliver pizza out here?"
"You know, I don't really get it," Edward said, leading him towards the back of the kitchen, through a short hallway with three doors leading off it. He opened the first and motioned to a small but functional bathroom. "I've never seen you act this juvenile with any of the others. Most people who meet you are actually scared of you."
"That's cause I send out 'stay away' vibes," Jasper said matter-of-factly, peering around Edward's shoulder to look into room he had just opened the door to. "Is this my room?"
"It's... the guest room, so yeah I guess you can stay here." Edward nudged Jasper away and shut the door. "That's my room," he motioned to the last door. "Let's go back to the living room and..."
"Hold on, I want to see."
"It's just a bedroom, Jasper," Edward said with a huff. "There's something more important that you should know about."
"About those guys I saved you from? Yeah, yeah, I know, and we'll get to them in a minute," Jasper agreed, nimbly stepping around the other man. He entered the bedroom and sighed. It was so... Edward. From the soothing colors, to the wall of books, the keyboard, a comfortable reading chair near the windows which probably looked out onto a garden, the soft carpet underfoot... he could practically breathe in the essence of Edward. Ever since they had entered the house, he had been low-key feeding off the constant buzz of restrained emotion he was getting off his friend. But the sense of contentment he got in this room... he just wanted to curl up and never leave.
"Are you done?" If he couldn't feel the energy emanating from Edward... half hopeful, half anxious... he might have believed that he was really as annoyed and impatient as his voice sounded. Of course, Jasper knew better.
"Almost... where's... ah, the bathroom is through here?" Jasper tried hard to hold back his glee at the sudden rush of panicked emotion that surged toward him from Edward. He lived for this feeling.
If the bedroom was spacious, the bathroom was nothing short of lavish. "Edward, you have a freaking indoor garden... and a koi pond... and bookshelves... and a hot tub?" He turned to eye his friend consideringly. "Alright, level with me. Have you been using this place to shoot porn or something? Is that why you haven't been in touch? Ohh, is that why you moved out in the first place?" He ignored Edward's eyeroll. "Ah, you don't need to be shy! 'Sex is perfectly natural, my boy'," he added in awful mimicry of Carlisle's voice.
"Oh God, just stop," Edward groaned. "And get your facts right. That's not an indoor garden, it's a planterior."
Jasper looked at him expectantly, waving him on in an encouraging manner. "That's all? So I'm right about the porn?"
He slowly raked his eyes over Edward, for one moment allowing himself to think of that body unclothed, those deep green eyes hazy with desire, the flex of those abs, and that skin covered with a sheen of sweat. Those lips close to his own… his whole body shivered in response. Jasper was broken out of his thoughts by the realization that he wasn't the only one being affected. Somewhere along the way, Edward had removed his mental shield completely, and had heard every dirty, sexy thought that had just run through his mind. Ricocheting back and forth, the lust in the room amplified till it became hard to breathe.
Jasper gulped and tried to stop himself from folding under the intensity of emotion. He really didn't think he could make it out of here without launching himself at Edward and tasting and feeling and…
Suddenly, it was as if a small gust of air blew in. Jasper tried to steady his breathing, looked up and realized that Edward had his eyes shut tight, fists clenched at his sides. The moment he put up his shield it became a lot easier to breathe.
They both took a few extra seconds to calm down enough so they could pretend that hadn't just happened. Jasper heaved a sigh of relief, because this wasn't a friendship he wanted to ruin because of some kind of awkward sexual tension.
Then Edward went and ruined his hard-won composure by tossing him a lingering look before he walked unhurriedly to the sink and splashed water on his face. Jasper watched with open mouth as Edward shook his head, uncaring of the water droplets splattering all over the pristine counter and—gasp—the mirror, in a most un-Edward-like move. A few drops landed on Jasper's hand and he drew back as if burnt.
Edward's tiny smirk at that reaction was half hidden by the towel he finally decided to dry his face with.
"What the… what was that?" Jasper demanded, trailing after his friend, who apparently thought sultry glances after a lustful near-miss was no big deal.
Edward didn't bother to respond till they were back in the living room. "Nothing that can't wait till later. Sit," he pointed to the couch.
Jasper chose to sit in one of the armchairs instead. "So, the guys tonight?" he asked.
"Volturi's men," Edward said, leaning back into the opposite armchair with a sigh. "This wasn't the first attack either."
"I know," Jasper confessed. "I might have been keeping an eye out the last few weeks."
Edward nodded. "I thought I heard you a few times."
"So what's the deal? Why all the attacks? Why now?"