Well, Shit

"Jane. I'd say it's nice to see you, but we both know that's a lie."

Jasper, only pretty recently out of Volturi captivity and a survivor of the not-girls terrible power, is understandably pissed off when we both turn around and see her in all her caped glory; I have to fight to keep a level head and not start an a war in the streets. It's pretty difficult considering I'd like to rip her head off as badly as Jazz does.

We need to figure out what she's up to before we tear her apart.

"Belmont. I'm pleased to see you still live," I can tell by her clipped tone she definitely is not happy to see me alive, "as we need your assistance. Could we have a word - privately?"

I'm instantly on alert at her words; they've already asked me to deal with John, what else could there be? Suddenly full of nerves I take a smoke out of the crushed cardboard pack in my back pocket.

"How private we talking?" I ask as I fish around for my lighter.

"Privately. You and I need to -"

"She's not going anywhere without me." Jasper's statement next to me screams finality. Jane casts him a wary glance, eyes trained on the few scars currently visible, and sighs.

"You and Mr. Whitlock, if he's going to press the issue. No one else." Her eyes are trained on a silent and on-edge Edward, who at some point during our brief exchange had stepped in front of Madeline in an effort to shield her. I have no doubt she's has been noticed and noted – even if she is part to the occult world, the Volturi still consider her human. And I know what they think of vampires who keep humans around.

But hey, if they make the first move it would make this potential blood bath thing a lot easier to swallow.

I exhale my first, lovely puff of smoke and flick the ashes at her feet, "You look awfully out of place in Seattle, Jane. Why are you here?"

Seriously, capes. I can't get over it. It's like she hasn't left Volterra in centuries. Compared to her presence on the sidewalk, I look normal, even covered in grime and gore.

"Amory," crap, now we're on first name basis – I hate being on first name basis with the Volturi – "I don't need a reminder that I'm on this...archaic continent. Please, follow me. There's much to discuss."

The young woman moves, almost floated, a few yards away from us before Maddie speaks, "She's wearing a cape and we're archaic, sure."

I'm too caught up in my thoughts, eyes trained on the girls retreating figure to offer my own comment. When she hits the end of the street she turns to face us – for the first time since I've known Jane, she looks absolutely , utterly fragile. I hate it; that look almost makes me feel bad for what we're planning.

Almost.

"This could be a trap," Maddie chimes in again, "most likely is a trap, I mean."

"Any useful information in her head Professor?" I flick the half-dead cigarette in my hand into the gutter, littering be damned at the moment. At least if it's a trap we wont be totally in the dark. And, luckily, I wont be alone.

"...Alec is close, along with Dimitri and Felix. Something happened...nothing good. She's a hard one to read; I can't pick out anything specific."

"Well, shit," I turn my attention to Jasper and incline my head towards Jane, "let's see what happened to have the Volturi so shaken."

Without waiting I start off down the sidewalk. He catches up in two long strides and grabs me by the elbow.

"Don't think this means I'm forgetting what happened tonight."

"Ditto."

"Seriously Rory, we need to –"

"What we need to do is deal with this and get the fuck out of , hopefully, we can go home and I can...make this whole night up to you." I drop my voice to as sexy a purr as I can manage, and he finally cracks that sexy damned smirk.

"As you command." He's half joking, but when he says it...my focus shifts; I don't know if its from the stress of the day, the possibility of being ambushed, or the way his voice and thoughts wash over me, but he laces his fingers in mine and a dark shock of lust makes me tremble. I'll make it up to him, oh yes; with pleasure.

I don't know what I was expecting when I agreed to this. A secret lair tucked away in unassuming Seattle? A swanky hotel room fit for Volturi 'royalty'? A million possibilities to prepare for during our walk, each one introducing a new plan of counter attack to a possible ambush.

Maybe it'll be the climax of an action flick, like a warehouse with a vat of acid or lava or...

I'm pretty goddamn dissapointed when we end up in a park. A normal, every day, run of the mill park. It's dark, but that's hardly creepy. There's even a kid's play structure not too far from us. Not at all macabre or mysterious.

And, just as Professor X said, Alec is awaiting our arrival flanked by Dimitri and Felix. Jane greets them with the same terse tone she had used with me earlier. Felix narrows his eyes when they land on me.

"Belmont. You look like hell."

I'd rather there was lava and acid.

Before I get a chance to open my mouth to respond, Jazz puts himself between us. His stance is all aggression but he doesn't say a thing; he doesn't need to. Felix looks ready to roll his eyes, but then I see the recognition of the scars marring Jasper's flesh. He's not the type to get scared, but he does lose his smart mouth and looks to the young woman currently leading them.

"Seeing you all is always so fucking pleasant. Why am I here? Last I checked, we had a very, very tenuous truce. If the 'delicate matter' you mentioned is insulting me, I'm going to walk – and you can deal with your problems alone. All of them."

"Amory," Alec begins - he looks just as out of place as his sister - and I note his usual charm is dampened by the same strain his twin is under, "the situation has become...difficult. As much as it pains me to admit it, under the current circumstances we...need to hire you for your exceptional services once again."

"Don't flatter her," Dimitri chimes in.

"Jesus Christ, what is the big problem? What are you talking about?" Exasperation overrides everything as I throw my hands in the air, "Seriously, I don't have all night. If you want to keep dicking me around by not saying a fucki-"

"John Belmont has divided the Volturi.

He's started a war within our ranks."

Well, shit.

"What did he do?" Jazz asks Jane before I get the chance; I don't even know what to say beyond cursing.

"His break in attempt was not to steal the tome you sought from us," she continues, "but rather to leave a detailed letter for Marcus."

"Marcus? A letter? What? Must've been a hell of a read to start a war." Finally I find my voice again, though now I sound as apprehensive as twins do.

Alec narrows his eyes at Jasper and I, "The contents of the letter don't concern -"

"Considering you came here begging for our help, I think the contents do concern us." Jasper's voice is even as he addresses the assembled Volturi, but I can feel his patience close to cracking; the tense feeling in the air is stifling.

"Yeah, what he said."

The two siblings exchange a look before Jane speaks again, "Very well. Amory, you're fairly familiar with our organization -"

"Unfortunately."

"- so I trust that you remember that while the wife's of Aro and Caius's are still alive, Marcus long ago lost his. Didyme."

"That's ancient history. Literally."

"...For him I warrant it will always be a fresh wound. What he didn't know – what no one but those trusted knew – about her passing..."

She exchanges another look with her brother and the air seems to now sizzle with tension. In the middle of what should be a cool Seattle night I'm sweating bullets – anxiety has my stomach flipping and my skin ablaze.

"Aro killed her. Marcus never knew. Corin has kept him...comfortable with her power."

"Complacent, you mean. Shit...his own sister? Why?"

"She was a threat; Marcus wouldn't have stayed with the Volturi if she hadn't -"

"Hadn't been murdered?" Jasper supplies.

"She wasn't a threat – he would have left with her and you would have lost an edge," Aro and John would be best friends, I know it.

"Aro and Caius did what they thought best for the Volturi. Unfortunately, time has not dulled Didyme's loss at all; when he learned the truth, Corin was unable to keep him under control and he fled. He is either on the way to Washington or here already."

"I'm not liking where this is going, Jane. Why is he here?"

"Your current quarry, the leader of the Mexican coven? She's joined power with a woman named Victoria. I trust you've discovered that they have been creating newborns for an army?"

"We're very aware." Jasper grows more anxious with each word Jane says; it's finally leaking through in his voice.

"Well, they're becoming quite the force. Large enough to pose us a threat if they were so inclined. Marcus did manage to get a handful of defectors from within ranks. From what we can imagine, he will approach your targets for aid in destroying us – of course, this is after they come for you."

"So you see, hunting down Marcus and his defectors is in your best interest as well, Belmont." The slight smirk Alec punctuates this comment with makes me want to smack his head off his shoulders.

I go quiet, opting to spark up another cigarette instead of replying. What can I say? That does sound like the probable outcome of the situation. Though...it doesn't work against us. In fact, the more divided the Volturi are we are guaranteed the upper hand.

'...I've got a plan.'

That makes one of us.

'If Marcus is looking for a force to avenge his wife, he's going to need more than a patchwork army. He's going to need us.'

Two birds with one stone. I don't like the idea of letting Marcus continue his unlife, but of the three head honchos in Volterra he's the most sane. Not to mention, he has inside knowledge that might help us in our struggle against their...tyranny? Madness?

Their asshole ways?

Plus, he tries anything and he's dead. It really is win-win.

I'm not one hundred percent sure what John's motives are in this; maybe he just wants to see the Volturi out of power, like I do. I highly doubt that, though. Something tells me he's just looking for another way to fuck me over, as if doing what he did to Swan wasn't enough.

"...I need a drink."

"Be that as it may, we do need an answer. You agreed to help with John, we would like to hire you to deal with Marcus. Just like old times." Jane smiles and looks more than happy with her slight dig at me.

"...Looks like I don't have much of a choice," I admit, "they'll be coming for us either way. Any useful info on our dear Maria and Red?"

From under his coat, Alec pulls out a simple black folder and extends it to us. I grab the documents and fight the urge to tear through them, instead I let them hang at my side securely in my grip.

"Are we done here?" Because I was really serious about that drink.

"For the moment. We'll be in touch Amory – we'd extend our thanks, but -"

"But I don't give a damn. I'll contact you when it's all settled," I interrupt Jane with a smile, "now get the fuck out of my part of the world."

"Too close for comfort?" She sneers back, her doll-like features mutating into pure malicious mischief. That's the face I know and hate.

I flick the remains of my burnt down smoke at her feet and bare a humorless smile; I'd like to tell her what I've got in store for her, but I decide on simplicity, "Screw you."

Jasper has no more words for them and neither do I – we leave the dimly lit park as he texts Edward to meet us nearby.

The ride home is no less tense than our meeting with the Volturi guard. Jasper is blocking his thoughts from me, but I can guess he's still pretty heated about me rushing off to Seattle alone, though I'm hoping that's taken a backseat to the whole 'John-starting-war-before-us' thing. I'm pissed because the only thing I got out of it was an unsettling meeting with a bunch of pricks. Edward is obviously caught between both of our thoughts; good thing he doesn't have to concentrate to drive well.

Madeline is visibly struggling with how quiet it is. She opens her mouth to speak and then shuts it so quickly the snap is audible. The Professor looks at the woman from the corner of his eye with a ghost of a smile.

It'd be cute if I wasn't so caught up in a torrential flood of bullshit, most of it caused by...me.

"...What do we do now?" Edward finally breaches the silence, undoubtedly to put Witchie at ease.

"Can I smoke in here?"

Instead of Ed answering me, Maddie groans, "Do you have to?"

"...No." The pack stays in my hands, slightly crushed and shaking.

Jasper is still pissed – maybe not specifically at me, but at my antics. Really though, it was stupid. Really, really idiotic. My one stable place in this fucked up world and I almost go and blow it.

And with what's to come, I'm going to need stability.

"We'll figure out exactly where Maria and Red are – quickly – and hopefully get there before Marcus. It'll be easier to get him on our side if his plans are null and void."

"And John?" Her question is innocent enough, but it sets my mind into a flurry.

The more I hear his name the more I feel like a scared little kid. Only back then it was just my life at stake. Now I've got a family to worry about. And Jasper...if John does anything to him...

I'll completely lose what little sanity I have left. I let the question hang in the air until it dies – I have no response that would satisfy it. What else can I do but try to stop him?

Try. That sends another thrill of fear down the back of my spine.

We're plunged into silence for the remaining hour of the drive.

I want to go home. I want to see Hulk, Widow and Marvel; I want to sleep in my own bed; I want to be alone with Jasper even if it means having to explain myself and face my anxieties.

Honestly, I'm just looking forward to the make-up sex.

As we roll into Forks, I know that it's not possible yet. Swan needs to be checked on, the Chief needs to be informed of the crazy shit happening in town, the rest of the family needs to be briefed on our meeting, and I have no doubt something has gone wrong while we were away. Which is crap. Even the parts of me that were dreading having to face Jasper are now screaming at me that none of that is as important as jumping his bones.

It's all way too much to think about and by the time we pull into a familiar garage filled with fancy cars, I'm lost in my mind. My brain hurts. It's not until Jazz opens my door and offers his hand that I know we've arrived.

Before I can think better of it I get out of the car and wrap my arms tightly around him and bury my face into his chest, never mind I'm getting him filthy. The fabric is soft and his scent surrounds me – I feel instantly better, or at least more calm.

"I still love you. I always will." His chest rumbles comfortingly against my cheek.

"I don't know why. I'm the worlds biggest idiot."

"...Only sometimes."

I push his shoulder playfully and raise my eyes to meet his, "You are terrible. I love you too."

His stony, cool fingertips trace my cheekbone before he drops a kiss on my lips; there's so much emotion behind it it leaves my thoughts blissfully blank. No more worries about him changing his mind, or whether this is putting people in danger, or anything that spells doubt. When I finally open my eyes again he's smirking – it sends my mind into a flurry of sinful possibilities.

"...Do we have to do this right now?"

He nods halfheartedly, just as dispirited that we aren't home yet, "They're waiting."

As soon as I'm in the door I'm wrapped in a pair of cold arms that aren't Jasper's. Alice easily lifts me off the ground, squeezes me so hard she nearly crushes my lungs, and squeals loudly in my ear.

"Thank you thank you thank you! I don't know why I was ever mad at you; you're the best!"

"Al, still human, still have to breathe," I gasp out, and she releases me instantaneously. She grins, wide and wild and all Alice, before she gestures behind her.

Swan. A should be bald Swan, only her hair looks so similar to what it was that the only way I know I didn't dream the previous day is the new red lines that stand out stark against her pale skin. Her grin is nearly as wide as Al's, and that's rare for Swan. Relief floods my being – at least neither of them hate me for what happened. Tears start to build behind my eyes as I look at the now more-or-less immortal young woman, but I fight against them and keep it light.

"I knew you'd wear a wig."

She looks at me in disbelief, "Seriously? The last time you saw me I was dying, and that's what you lead with?"

I cross the gap between us with a smile on my face before I stop in front of her with a broad grin, "Nice to see you alive again, Swan; I was really going to miss you. How's immortality been?"

Her tough girl facade cracks – after all, she hasn't had as many years of practice as I have – and I know by the way she hangs her head and wipes quickly at her face that she's failing at pushing back tears. Alice quickly wraps an arm around her and the exchange of feelings in the air is almost tangible. I wonder if that's how it feels for everyone when Jasper and I are conversing in our heads, or if it's just because we're similarly bound. For all we know about the Crown of Anathema, twice as much is still unknown.

"Fine, great...Any news about Maria? Or Victoria?" Swan pushes away from the emotional situation, as usual, and delves right into the real problem.

It's not such a touchy-feely reunion, but Swan and I have never really operated like that; especially not in front of a room full of people. Too awkward.

"Kind of," I turn to go get a glass of whiskey – screw the fact that it's dawn – but Jasper is already like there like a goddamn knight in shining armor with a glass in hand that I take eagerly, "a file. That I got from...well, we ran into Jane, Alec, and my two least favorite members of the Volturi guard. I haven't looked at the file yet; I wanted more eyes on it than just mine."

"What? It's odd for them to leave Volterra...are they after those two as well?"

"Not exactly," I take a burning, nerve calming gulp before responding to Carlisle, " but Marcus left; he found out that Aro is a sneaky fuck and deserted the Volturi."

Edward perches anxiously on the end of the couch, still on edge from all our thoughts, "The rest of them are convinced that he's on his way to meet up with Maria and Victoria; they confirmed that the two of them are breeding a newborn army. If Marcus joins them -"

"We're gonna have a hell of a fight on our hands." Emmett looks more than excited at the prospect.

"Not if our plan works." Jasper supplies as he gracefully collapses into a chair across from me. The sexual energy from earlier hasn't dissipated, and the vermillion ring around his irises glows in the light. I take another hit of whiskey and hope no one else notices.

He catches me staring; he doesn't even need to use our connection to send me into a flurry of lust. It's embarrassing in front of the whole family, though, but fighting it is getting increasingly tougher.

"Look, we're not going to be getting anything done right now. I need to go home and take a shower, we have to get ready for Harry's funeral," I turn to Swan who is still wrapped in Al's arms, "and we have to talk to the chief. You, Al, and I."

"You aren't going anywhere without me."

With a roll of my eyes I assent to Jasper's request, "My bodyguard too, then."

I wasn't sure that Swan could get paler, but she does; clearly she hadn't thought of telling her father yet, "Shit."

"Rory, I remember why I'm mad at you now. The mouth on Bella!"

I finish my drink and flash Alice a mischievous grin, "Oh, I'm sure you don't mind her mouth."

Swan's face lights up red, Colossus howls laughter, and Jazz finally loses his saintly patience.

"We're going; we'll meet you at Bella's in a few hours."

"Jasper, I think we should..." Esme is clearly trying to find out more information about our run in with the Volturi, but something grabs her attention.

"...Are your eyes red? Have you been drinking blood?"

Oh goddamn it. I fight to keep from groaning out loud as I prepare myself for the unpleasant round of twenty-questions that's sure to follow. I'm just hoping we can explain it and be done.

"Jasper, what have you done?" Carlisle is way less than pleased. Jasper clears his throat, struggles for words, but stays quiet.

"...I'm a consenting adult," I try to sound nonchalant but fail miserably, so I add an unconvincing shrug of my shoulders, "it's not that big of a deal -"

"Amory, this is rather serious. Jasper has always...struggled with our lifestyle. This could -"

"He stood in the middle of a crowded street in Seattle tonight and didn't have a problem. He's been around people since...you know, we tried this. And it's not a bad thing. You know he's going to be more powerful if he's drinking human blood. We're going to need any advantage we can get."

I'm not about to give it up, either. Maybe it's a little twisted, and more than a bit kinky, but goddamn it feels amazing.

'They had to notice now. I just want to get you home and -'

Knock it off, Trouble. I throw him a look and he feigns innocence.

"Couldn't control yourself, huh?" Rosa smirks at Jasper, but it doesn't seem like she's disapproving or surprised. I'm starting to get defensive, though.

"It doesn't have anything to do with him not having control. He's perfectly, wonderfully in control."

"If he's drinking blood, we -"

"For fucks sake, what we do in the privacy of our home isn't anyone's fucking business, is it? I like it, he likes it, we're not hurting anyone. He's not suddenly going to go off the rails! It's not going to stop, so...I don't know what you want us to do about it."

Everyone falls silent. I don't blame anyone for being at a loss for words; their expressions range from sheer disapproval to amusement.

"...Drinking her blood. You've been drinking her blood?"

All the life feels like it leaves my body as I turn to the kitchen door; Brynjar is expressionless as he stares at the both of us.

"Jasper, we need to go now." I know the expression on Bryn's face, not to mention the dangerous undertone to his words; he's going to tear Jazz's head off.

He grabs my hand and leads me through the garage and towards Betty – in the shiny black paint job I can see my terrified reflection. Bryn was already against this before Jasper started drinking my blood. What the hell is he going to think now? When I look at Jazz I can tell he's a bit shaken now that the whole sucking my blood thing has been brought to light. I can also tell that it won't be the last we hear of it.

"It's not a big deal Trouble." After a few minutes of silence I breach the subject.

"What if Carlisle is right?" He sounds sullen.

"You know he isn't, not about this. Think about it; since the first time you...have you thought of killing anyone just to drink some blood?"

One of his hands drops from the steering wheel and ensnares mine, "No. This is more than enough."

"But you feel like this is kind of a failure on your part." I can feel it clearly in his emotions.

"I just don't want you to feel that way, to think I'm a failure."

"Ha! Yeah," I slump against the leather seats and let the sarcasm sink in, "right. If anything I feel like the failure. I know we didn't get much of a chance to talk earlier, but I – shit, I don't know. I'm so bad at this."

"I know how you're feeling Rory. That's why I didn't say anything and didn't want you to know what I had planned. I didn't want you to feel anymore pressure than you already do. Especially not after what happened with Bella; you shouldn't feel like our relationship is putting people at risk."

"Panic. I panicked. These past few months...really fucked me up. I fell back into my old routine, and she was the only one there that gave me a connection to the world. And it just brought everything back – I don't want to be alone again, and if John gets the chance he'll kill everyone I love before he kills me. If I could stop everything before it got here...it was a stupid idea. Selfish and stupid."

He looks pained as he drives, eyes trained dutifully on the road ahead of us. The next few minutes we spend in silence and I know he's still beating himself up for being gone; as guilty as I feel for running from my problems, he's got it worse. For a moment his eyes stray to my lap, where my right hand is - my remaining fingers curl around the remaining digits and he winces. As his eyes return to the road he comes back from those sad memories flooding his mind.

"It was stupid, but not selfish. This isn't just your fight; you know I'm always here for you, whatever you need."

"Even when you're that pissed at me?"

"Of course. Just because I'm mad doesn't mean I feel any differently about you." He sounds a bit incredulous that I even had to ask the question.

"I know. I know!" I throw my free hand into the air, "Now I feel like I ruined what should have been a good night for Swan and Al and a proposal."

"A retracted proposal." His tone is playfully clipped, but the words send my heart sinking.

I knew he wouldn't want to marry me anymore, damn it.

"I do. I want to spend forever with you - literally. But what happened doesn't really count...so I'm taking it back." He smiles cheekily.

"Thanks jerk."

"You're very welcome."

"Bite me."

"Oh I intend to." His expression softens and he brings my fingertips to his mouth. It's an innocent enough kiss, but warmth pools in the pit of my stomach and every shift of my legs sends a jolt of pleasure through me.

"Are we home yet?"

He looks relieved as he pulls into the small driveway, "We are."

As soon as he kills the engine I climb over the gearshift, straddle his hips, and crush my lips to his; after all, we've only got a few hours. I intend to make them count.

Been gone too long - it's nice to be back! Thank you so much to anyone reading/reviewing/favoriting/following! Sorry for the hiatus; I just lost direction and wasn't happy with how this was going. Then I remembered it's supposed to be fun, so fuck it. That being said, I have rough outlines done and I'm feeling that creative spark again! Yet again, I can't say it enough, thank you all so much for the support!

(Also, for those of you crying out for more smut...it is by no means my specialty, but I'll do my best!)