A/N: *Clears throat* Yes, well, it's been a while - again - hasn't it. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm really not. It's been a crazy few months and I'm still recovering from moving as well as preparing all of my research for school to start... so yes, this had to take a bit of a back seat. But even though it's taken me a year to write 5 chapters (while my other stories were done in a year) I can assure you that I'll finish all of my stories! You'll just have to wait patiently for them... and isn't that the pot calling the kettle black. I'm horrible at being patient for updates to stories I really like. So while I hate that it took me so long to update this, that's just the way it is. Sorry! I did give you a bit of a reward at the end though... hint, hint. It's almost 50 pages in. Time to get the ball rolling.

I briefly peaked through this to edit, but I figured you would probably prefer having the story with a few incorrect words and commas verses waiting until who knows when. So please, enjoy!

Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and all recognisable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No money is being made and no copyright infringement is intended. Only this rather lame plot is mine.

Chapter Five: Hunting

It had been two weeks. Two full weeks since Jasper had returned Edward's clothes – clothes that sat on his dresser, still neatly folded and retaining Jasper's scent. Two full weeks since Edward had stupidly revealed his feelings to Jasper.

And two weeks since Edward had last seen Jasper.

Edward had tried to distract himself with his sightseeing, but he soon realised that he had begun visiting places he had already been. Even so, he had taken to visiting famous sights two or three times just because it got him out of his hotel room. He tried not to spend too much time in town because after being there almost a month, the residents of the town were becoming suspicious of the visiting Yank who wouldn't leave.

Each day, whenever Edward would see a shock of blond hair, he would hope and pray that it was Jasper, but whenever he turned to inspect the person it was never him.

By the third week, Edward was wondering if waiting around was helping at all. There wasn't a way for him to contact Jasper on his own, but he didn't want to let another week pass without at least catching a glance of Jasper.

Finally in desperation, Edward went back to the forest where they first met. He spent hours looking around, actually moving at a human pace simply to waste time. But, like everything, it was always a dead end.

It didn't stop him from trying though.

Edward went back to the forest every day and waited. He figured that, eventually, Jasper would have to return. If there had been a battle in the forest before, it was inevitable that there would be a battle again. And Edward was just desperate enough to risk getting caught in one of them if it would give him the chance to see him again.

It was on the fourth day of waiting that Edward heard a sound from deep in the forest. He listened intently, trying to discern if it was animal or human. Finally, he heard a whisper of thoughts, though they weren't from Jasper. Curious, Edward got up from his seat in the grass and slowly slinked his way towards the person.

They were several hundred yards away, but eventually he began to clearly hear what the person was thinking.

Fucking Maria and her fucking campaigns. Doesn't care that we're outnumbered, doesn't care that our newborns are depleted. She doesn't care that… he's gone. She doesn't fucking care about anyone else. Not even him. If she doesn't care about him…

Edward froze when he heard the vampire's thoughts. He didn't know who 'he' was, but he did know that Maria relied more on Jasper than on anyone else. And if that 'he' was missing…

It took everything in Edward not to run to that vampire and force him to tell him everything. Images of Jasper heaped in a blazing pile of frozen flesh filled his head and his stomach twisted. He hadn't been sick for decades, but his entire body seemed to rebel and he felt worse than ever before.

If Jasper was… gone, surely he would have felt it, he reasoned. Sure, they hadn't bonded or even recognised their instincts. But Edward had to believe that they were close enough that if something had happened to Jasper, he would know.

That didn't make Edward feel better, though, because even if it wasn't Jasper that had died, someone had. Someone who had influence. Someone people would miss. Even this vampire doubted Maria's ability to lead.

She's running her army into the fucking ground…

Edward took a step closer to try to see this new vampire. When he was thirty yards away, Edward quietly climbed up a tree and peered through the branches. There, in between two fallen trees, sat a vampire that Edward had never seen before with black hair and a darker hue of skin. He was brooding and crushing small rocks into dust then throwing the dust into the wind.

She won't stop 'til we're all dead, The vampire thought as he crushed another rock, glared at the remains, and violently tossed them over his shoulder. Won't risk herself, though. Just us. What has to happen before she realises this won't last?

Edward leaned forward as he listened intently. He had learned more about Maria in the past minute than Jasper had ever told him. Of course, he had figured out some of it. It was obvious that Maria didn't care about anyone but herself. What surprised Edward was the information that her mighty campaign was falling. This both worried and encouraged Edward. On the one hand, it put Jasper in greater danger of being harmed. Leaders on the verge of losing their power would do anything and everything to keep it… even if that meant destroying everything else. And all other leaders around them would wait until the falling empire was weak, and then strike, leaving no survivors. But on the other hand, if Maria was losing her power, it could possibly make it easier to get Jasper out.

Fuck, I need to go, the vampire thought. He threw the rock in his hands away, and then stood and wiped his hands on his trousers. Jasper will cover for me.

That made Edward perk up. This vampire knew Jasper, and clearly Jasper was okay. It was nice to have that confirmed.

The vampire moved away and Edward found himself following without consciously making the choice – it was his instincts. This vampire knew where Jasper was, and he was heading in that direction. That meant Edward was going to follow him as long as he could.

Edward was silent as he followed the vampire for several hours until he was deeper in the forest than he had ever been. Edward stood back at a distance as he watched the vampire slip between two huge boulders. He waited a few moments until he was sure no one was around to catch him, and then he slowly crept to the rocks. He peeked between them and had to suck in his gasp.

There were hundreds of tents set up and he could see thousands of vampires lurking about. Some were fighting each other while others stood around watching the fights. Others seemed more preoccupied with more normal activities such as talking and cleaning. Then, in a back corner, Edward could hear screams coming from a fully enclosed box. There were pools of blood all around the structure, and Edward had to close his eyes as he tried to block it from his memory. The last thing he needed to associate Jasper with was the feeding trough.

Edward knew that he should leave. It was dangerous to be this close to a group of vampires that Edward wasn't a part of. Jasper had even warned Edward to never go that far into the forest and he would be livid if he learned that Edward had been so reckless. So even though Edward wanted to see more, he turned his back on the horrible camp and quickly raced away before someone could spot him.

Though he knew he was just being paranoid, Edward felt like someone was following him the whole way back. The moment he reached the edge of town the feeling stopped, but Edward still bolted his door as soon as he got into his room.

He spent the rest of the day reading, and was so engrossed in his book that the knock on his door in the middle of the night shocked him. There was only one person who knew where he was staying, so without another thought, Edward raced to the door, unbolted the lock, and practically ripped the door off its hinges in an attempt to open it as quickly as possible.

"Jasper," he breathed as soon as he saw who was outside.

"Edward," Jasper greeted, though his tone wasn't pleasant.

Edward blinked at Jasper as he tried to figure out why Jasper was there. "Would you like to come in?" he asked. Edward held open the door and Jasper pushed his way through.

"What did you do today, Edward?" Jasper asked in a dark tone.

"Um, I mostly read. Why?" Edward responded, taken aback by Jasper's question.

Jasper ignored his question as he looked around the room. "Mostly? What else did you do?"

The way Jasper looked at him, Edward felt that he was waiting for him to say something. He felt like Jasper was trying to talk him into a corner and he didn't like it. He squared his shoulders and looked Jasper in the eyes before he responded in a way he knew would piss Jasper off.

"Why? I don't think it's really any of your business what I did with my day."

Jasper's low growl filled the room and Edward felt the tension rise significantly.

"It's my business when you're doing something stupid," he snapped. "So, again, why don't you tell me what the fuck you were doing today?"

"And, again, it's not really any of your business. I haven't seen you for three weeks, so why do you think you can just barge in here and expect me to say anything to you. You're lucky I let you in," Edward snapped.

"Of course you'd let me in. You like me," Jasper snapped back.

Edward froze at Jasper's words. He knew that Jasper was brash and rude, but he never expected that Jasper would throw his affections in his face as something to be manipulated for his own gain. However, Jasper was right. Edward would always let him in, though Jasper didn't know that it was more complicated that Edward just 'liking' him. Edward would never turn away his mate.

"So you think that you can use that to get answers from me?" Edward clarified. "Well let me tell you something, just because I like you, doesn't mean I'm going to bend to your every whim. I'm not weak like some other people you may know, and just because I have emotions it doesn't make me weak, either. So if you think you can barge in here and treat me like this than you just fuck off."

Edward marched to the door and once again wrenched it open for Jasper to leave. Jasper didn't move though. Instead he grabbed Edward's elbow and yanked him back as he slammed the door shut.

"Why were you at the camp today?" Jasper asked.

"I don't think I want to tell you." Even to Edward's ears his response was infantile and sassy, but he was so mad at Jasper that he wanted to do everything he could to make Jasper furious.

"Someone knew you were there. You're just lucky you followed someone I sort-of trust instead of anyone else."

"Why do you care what I do, anyway? We haven't spoken in weeks; obviously you don't care about me. So what does it matter if I was there or not?"

"Do you really not understand how dangerous it was to follow him? He knew you were there the whole time and if it were a worse vampire, you'd have been dead. You should be glad that Peter told me he was followed first and no one else knows."

"I thought I was far enough away," Edward admitted. "Why did he tell you instead of doing anything?"

Jasper backed away and his face dropped into a confused frown. "He said he recognised your scent from me. It was the time you leant me your clothes. So when he smelled the same scent, he came and got me first.

"Oh," Edward could only say. "I didn't think of that."

"Obviously."

"I didn't go looking for your camp, if you're wondering about that. I was… well, just making sure you were okay and I heard thoughts about Maria. I was curious. Then when he thought about you… then he left and I just had to follow him," Edward muttered, trying very hard to minimise the fact that he had gone out into the forest to look for Jasper.

"Why would you do that? Do you have any idea how stupid you are, sometimes?"

"Yes, that's not the first time you've said that."

"I'm hoping that one day it'll kick in."

Edward ignored his comment and went to sit on his bed. "So no one else knows I was there except for you?"

"And Peter, though I had to lie to him to explain why I had been wearing clothes that smelled of you that day. But Peter won't tell anyone. At least, I don't think he will."

"So you just came here to yell at me, then?"

"Of course," Jasper said, a bit too quickly.

Edward cocked an eyebrow and tried to meet Jasper's eyes, which were fervently attempting to look anywhere else but at Edward.

"Of course," Edward replied, smoothly. "So now that you're done yelling at me will it be another three weeks before I see you again?"

"I had hoped you'd be gone by now," Jasper said. "You're only visiting, but you've been here a lot longer than any normal visit."

"I have a local interest that's keeping me here and I'm not leaving until I've been satisfied."

"Well maybe next time I come back I'll find that you've finally wised up and left."

"Next time?"

Jasper's face closed off when he realised what he said and he crossed his arms across his chest defensively. "I just meant that if I ever have to come back here for anything, if you're smart I'll find that you've left."

"Right," Edward said, disbelievingly. He managed to contain his smile at Jasper's unconscious admission, but he knew that Jasper would close off quickly, so he had to change the subject. If he didn't, Jasper would leave and it could very well be another few weeks before he saw him again. "Are you hungry?"

"What?" Jasper blinked out of his mood at Edward's sudden question.

"Are you hungry? Your eyes are getting darker and I know that I haven't eaten in a few days. Do you want to go hunting?"

"You're going to go hunting with me?" Jasper smirked.

"No, I'm offering to show you how I hunt. You're curious about it, I know you are. So come with me. Just try it."

"Why would I want to try something that doesn't taste as good and isn't as fulfilling? It's a bit of a waste of a dinner."

"How about actually having a meal you don't feel guilty about later?" Edward asked, knowing he had just played his winning hand.

Touché, Jasper thought, though he didn't let it reflect on his face. Edward listened in on his thoughts as he vacillated between leaving and spending more time with Edward. Eventually curiosity and a longing to spend time with Edward that Jasper didn't understand won out.

"I'll go once, but I'm only doing this because I want to see how this works."

"Of course," Edward agreed as he attempted to play along with Jasper's need to keep his distance. "We should go now then. It's still dark so we may be able to catch some animals by surprise."

Jasper followed behind as Edward led him to his favourite hunting spot. It was deep in the forest so no humans would ever come across them but still far enough away from Jasper's camp that they wouldn't bump into any other vampires.

"So what do we do?" Jasper asked from their perch in the trees. "And why the hell am I in a tree?"

"We can see everything from here," Edward pointed out. "And it's important to be out of the way in case any animals come past. We don't want to scare them off. From here we can see them coming."

"So we wait here and then pounce?"

Edward chuckled. "Well, yes, sort of. We wait and see if anything happens to come by. If it doesn't, then we start looking. But usually you can find a deer this way. The only rule is no females."

"Why no females?"

"A female could be pregnant, they could have a fawn to care for. Females are vital to the continuation of the species and, as such, vital to my food supply."

"So before I eat it, I have to check between the legs?" Jasper's tone bordered on leering, but Edward found it rather humourous.

"No, nothing so vulgar. Check the horns, of course."

"Oh, yeah." They were quiet for several minutes. "How do you wait this long? There's nothing to do. Can we go look? Please?"

Edward had to stifle a laugh at Jasper's whining, but he didn't feel annoyed. He felt like he was being let into the real Jasper. He was finding that Jasper was very impatient and didn't like waiting for anything. Instead of 'angry Jasper', Edward was finally seeing a side of Jasper that was natural. It reinforced Edward's belief that there was still a lot of good in him and that Jasper could be saved.

"Just be patient a bit longer. Honestly, you're like a child. Just hold on."

"I'm not a child, I just have better things to do than sit in a damned tree until a squirrel comes along."

"If you're waiting for a squirrel you'll be hungry again quickly. If you want the big game you have to wait for it. Anything worth eating is worth waiting for."

"But there's nothing to do," Jasper complained.

"We can talk. We'll have to be quiet and alert, but if we whisper…"

"We're talking now and not whispering," Jasper pointed out.

"Well, yes, but, you know what I mean."

Jasper sighed and looked around them. "So who taught you how to hunt this way?"

"Carlisle did. The moment I woke up, as soon as I was situated and comfortable with my new body he took me out and showed me how to hunt animals."

"And have you ever had human blood before?" Jasper asked, finally looking at Edward with a curious stare.

Edward hesitated before he answered. "Yes, when I first stared this trip I tried it. I wanted to see if I was missing anything. It was good – I'll admit that – but I just couldn't continue having it with my ability. It was too much to be able to hear their thoughts. I imagine you have that problem too, being able to feel emotions."

"How do you know about that? I haven't mentioned it," Jasper snapped, sharply.

"I'm a mind reader. I figured it out from some of your thoughts. I just hadn't mentioned it before now because I know you're a bit touchy about it."

"So you're invading my privacy?"

"It's not invading, I try not to but sometimes I can't help it. But I'm right, aren't I? You don't like drinking from humans because you can feel their fear?"

"Fear, horror, worry, and even arousal. It's all there and it's horrible," Jasper admitted. "For days, I can't… well, I just try to put off eating until I can't take it anymore."

"Jasper, you shouldn't do that. You know how dependent our bodies are on the blood. You're opening yourself up to trouble by weakening yourself."

"I know," Jasper growled. "But it's not like I have any other choice. I'm not like you. I didn't know there was another way to feed before I met you. I just thought this was the way all vampires acted. Until a few years ago I didn't even know that these wars were contained to the South. I thought they were everywhere and I'd have left earlier – before I wasn't so wrapped up in all of this – if I had known. It's too late now."

"It's never too late. That's why I'm still here. Eventually you'll pull your head out of your ass and you'll let me help you. At least you learning how to hunt so you don't starve is a step in the right direction."

Jasper suddenly laughed and Edward felt warmth spread through his body at the wonderful sound. "You know, I don't think I've even heard you swear before, and today you've done it a lot! You try to be a prim and proper, but you've got a bit of an attitude."

"What can I say, you're so annoying and frustrating, you bring it out in me," Edward drawled.

Jasper just laughed harder at that. A wide, bright smile spread across his face and it was as if all the blood, fighting, and pain fell off and he was back to being Jasper Whitlock, Texas Human before the army. Edward clenched his hands together to keep them from reaching out and tracing Jasper's lips just to make sure the smile was real.

Thankfully, right as Edward's control was about to drop, the snap of a twig alerted both vampires. They both fell silent as they waited for their prey to make an appearance. Edward watched Jasper out of the corner of his eye and he saw how Jasper's muscles tensed and pulled against the fabric of his shirt as Jasper readied himself to leap into action.

"Wait for it," Edward said, barely above a whisper.

There was another snap directly below them, and then a large buck emerged from behind a bush. It began leisurely eating some of the plants around it, so Edward knew they would have time to act.

"We'll surround him," he murmured. "You go on one side, I'll go on the other. Avoid the antlers. When fighting animals, your best bet is to always attack from the side. They can't kick you or bite you from there."

"Got it. Which side are you going to take?" Jasper asked, never taking his eyes off the buck. He was a natural fighter and loved strategies and battling nature was right up his alley.

"You stay here. I'll climb across to that limb over there so I'm on the other side of him. Once I'm there, I'll signal to you and we'll drop at the same time so we don't alert him. Ready?"

"Oh yeah," Jasper breathed.

Edward shot him a grin before he gracefully climbed through the tree limbs until he was exactly where he needed to be. As soon as he positioned himself on the limb, he looked over at the waiting Jasper, nodded his head, and leapt to the ground.

It was natural and beautiful, the way they worked together. Just as mates were meant to do. Without needed to say anything further, they both managed to seamlessly perform the act. When the buck darted one day, one vampire would block him and force him back towards the other. When the buck lifted itself on its hind legs and tried to kick Jasper, Edward grabbed it by its waist and forced it back.

Edward had never felt so exhilarated if all of his previous hunts and he knew it was because Jasper was there with him. His Mate was helping him hunt, and that made all the difference. This was how it was supposed to be; they were supposed to work together, to provide for the other. This was natural. And if Jasper didn't feel the emotional call of a mate, surely he would notice this: the physical connection they had and how they moved without communication. It would be difficult to explain away how well they worked together without previous experience.

It was finally Jasper that dealt the fatal blow. The buck reared towards Edward, but before Edward could do anything else, Jasper raced at it from the side and bit into his neck. The buck dropped to the ground, shaking as the poison coursed through its body.

"Ripe the throat out," Edward instructed. "It's cruel to leave it alive and it pain. Put it out of its misery."

Jasper didn't question it as he leaned down and ripped the throat from the body. Just as soon as he sat up to stare at the carcass, he was leaning down again, drinking from the hole in the throat. Edward stood mesmerised for several moments as he stared at the image Jasper made, covered in blood, eyes alight with action and achievement, drinking in animal blood as if he had always been drinking it.

Finally his own hunger snapped him from his thoughts, and he leaned down next to Jasper and drank from the wound. Once they both had their fill, they leaned back on their haunches and smiled at each other.

"Well?" Edward asked. "What do you think about your first hunt?"

"Is it always like that?"

"Well not always. Some are more passive, some more active. You should try bear or mountain lion. If you enjoyed fighting the buck, you'll love trying to out-maneuver a mountain lion."

"I mean I'd have to get used to the taste because that's really not very good. But the hunt! Humans, even if they try to fight back, are no match for us. But this!"

"You were a natural," Edward said. "It was like you had been hunting for your entire life."

"I think I did when I was human. Every once in a while I have a dull memory of being in the forest with my rifle, hunting for food. Maybe that's why I enjoy this so much."

"Maybe. Or maybe you just enjoy the freedom that this gives you."

"Yeah, maybe," Jasper mused.

"If – when – you do it on your own, a lot of the time you have to chase them because there isn't that other person there to help you herd them. But the same method applies. Come at them from the sides, tear out their throats, or incapacitate them in some way. It's always easier if you can trap them against a cliff or something."

"That was, just…" Jasper said, his eyes still shining bright from the chase.

"And maybe next time we can find something a bit fiercer than a buck?" Edward not so subtly suggested.

Jasper didn't catch it in his euphoria. "Maybe a bear? We should definitely do a bear."

"Bears are bigger, but I think you'd enjoy something that requires a bit more strategy. I'll think of something." Edward made sure to keep his tone light so Jasper wouldn't catch on to the fact that they had essentially made a date to go hunting together again.

"God, how did I never know I could do that? And the best thing is, I don't feel guilty at all! I don't feel pain and anger. It hasn't tainted my meal. I'm full and I don't feel guilty for having eaten."

"That's wonderful, Jasper," Edward said, sincerely. "I'm glad you don't feel guilty because you don't deserve to feel guilty."

"Edward, I –"

"You don't have to say anything," Edward assured him.

"I know I don't, but I… I know I'm hard to get along with. And I don't like anything threatening my way of life – even if it's a shitty way of life; it's all I know. So I know I've been an ass to you."

Edward sat down next to Jasper and shrugged. "Like I said before, you're worth it. When you're being nice, you're really great to be around. So sometimes it's worth putting up with your moods."

Jasper snorted. "If you were smarter you'd realise you deserve someone a lot better than me."

"Maybe. But I don't want someone better than you."

Jasper turned to face him and Edward found himself trapped by the look in Jasper's eyes. He was so captivated; he couldn't make his mind work to figure out what Jasper was thinking.

"Do you really want me that much?" Jasper asked.

"Yes."

"But why? I'm horrible. I've killed people. Whenever I talk about what I do, it disgusts you. Why do you want me?"

"Because you feel remorse for your actions. You do things to save your life, not because you want to. And because, whether you're ready to take the step or not, you want out."

The words had barely left Edward's mouth before a pair of rough, chapped lips were covering his own. The taste – distinctly Jasper's – was better than any blood he had ever had. Jasper pressed closer and Edward felt himself lean back as he tried to drag Jasper on top of him. But it was over too quickly. Edward had just opened his mouth to beckon Jasper in before Jasper ripped himself away.

His face was a mask of confusion and lust, and Edward felt sorry for the poor vampire who had no idea what was going on or why he felt the way he did. That said he would never take back the kiss.

"I'm sorry," Jasper rasped. "I don't… I don't know why I did that."

"Jasper –" Edward tried, but Jasper was already on his feet and halfway to the tree line.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I- I need to go."

"No! Wait, Jasper," Edward cried, but before he could shoot to his feet, Jasper tore out of sight.

Edward tried desperately to chase after him, but Jasper knew the forest better than he did so Edward easily lost him.

Edward couldn't regret it though. Jasper would possibly spend a very anxious and confused night, but Edward wouldn't change it for the world.

He drifted back to the motel in a haze, but it was immediately broken when he realised that he would need to do some major planning if he wanted to keep control over the situation. It was a given that Jasper would overreact, though Edward hoped he wouldn't deal with it by spending another three weeks away from him. He had to plan exactly how he would act the next time they met so Jasper would feel comfortable.

Edward spent the rest of the night scheming, daydreaming of Jasper's lips, and figuring out how he could kiss Jasper again.

A/N: Well I hope you thought it was worth the wait. At least they kissed! Right?! Did I get in your good books with a Jasper-initiated kiss? Please review and let me know what you thought. I do hope the next update won't take as long, but, again, no promises. Thanks for reading! ~AJ Kelly