For the first time that week Jacob finally got some sound sleep. Edward was apparently the only vampire who had a bed in his room despite their aversion to sleep, and Jacob cringed at the thought of why he had acquired it. The reason was undoubtedly Bella.

Carlisle had insisted he get a good night's rest before seeing Bella, and despite his hesitancy of sleeping in Bella's bed, once the sun rose the next morning Jacob couldn't remember ever feeling so rested. The faint smell of something cooking was also making his stomach rumble for the food that had previously appalled him.

It was unimaginable how different he felt now that he was this close to… his mate… To Edward. The worries and queasiness he had about Edward being a man, being a vampire, didn't seem to shatter his whole world anymore. It was still unsettling if he focused on it too long, but when he let himself drift by on only his instincts, it felt natural.

Walking around Edwards room, he tried to learn as much about the man as he could. At first glance it was unmistakable that Edward was an avid reader and deeply into music. His table was scattered with old books and journals and his walls were covered with shelf after shelf of vinyls and CDs. Jacob felt a strong desire to take a look inside one of Edward's journals, but that would be an invasion of privacy that he could never do to his… to Edward.

When he explored the room further he noticed that most of the music was rather old but spread across a wide range of genres from jazz to punk rock, and there was also an extensive collection of classical music. Jacob pulled out a CD, staring intently at the cover. Wasn't this–

"Done snooping yet?" Edward suddenly asked from behind him, startling Jacob. And as the sunlight shone through the large bedroom window, it was hitting Edward just right so that his skin lit up into a radiant sparkle. He was breathtaking. He was so close Jacob could reach out and touch him. How he craved touching him. He ached to know what it would feel like to slide his hands across Edwa–

"Didn't take you for a Vivaldi-fan," Edward interrupted in a derisive tone while glancing over at the CD in Jacob's hand. Right, the CD.

Jacob shifted uncomfortably on his feet, "My mom used to listen to this," he started, "She used to spend a lot of her time painting, and she'd always have some sort of classical music playing in the background." It was one of Jacob's only memories of her. "She left a bunch of old CDs when she… died… and this was one of them." For a moment he kicked himself for sharing such a personal story, but at the same time he felt an existential need for Edward to know him.

Edward's expression was hard to read, "I didn't mean to…" he trailed off, "Your mother had good taste," he finished. It was unusual to see Edward look unsure of himself, but Jacob could swear he felt a little flustered.

"Yeah," Jacob said solemnly. Now that he took a closer look, his mom had owned a lot of these same CDs, some of which Jacob still listened to when he was having a hard time. It made him feel like his mother was still with him when he needed her. Made him feel less alone with all the feelings he couldn't talk to his father about. He could have really needed his mother right about now…

All of a sudden Edward grabbed the CD out of Jacob's hand. "Sorry for touching your stuff," Jacob blurted out, but Edward simply walked over to the corner of the room where his CD player was installed and inserted the disc. The sweet resonance of The Four Seasons started enveloping the room, and Jacob's gaze locked with Edward's for a stretched out moment. Jacob saw a flicker of something in his topaz eyes, but he couldn't quite place what it was, was it bloodthirst? Hunger?

Their gaze abruptly broke as Edward walked towards the hallway. "You should change clothing," he said.

Now that he mentioned it, Jacob did feel rather filthy.

"You smell even worse than you normally do." Jacob winced, he hadn't really pondered the fact that his own smell hadn't changed to Edward, even though Edward's had changed to him. Could he do anything to fix it? Maybe if he didn't phase ever again, he would stop smelling like a wolf…

"You can borrow clothes from Emmett, he's…" Edward paused and looked Jacob up and down, making Jacob feel uneasy under his judging eyes, "almost your size." Not many people were 6'7. His height had been a source of pride for him since he changed into a werewolf, but now all he could think about was how being big and manly made him unable to be with Edward.

"I could use a shower," Jacob said hesitantly, he needed to get rid of the smell. He didn't want Edward to be uncomfortable around him. He could at least make it more bearable.

In the blink of an eye Edward stood in front of him with a t-shirt and a pair of white sweatpants. Who wore white sweatpants anyways?

"Take what you can get," Edward snarled, throwing the clothes into Jacob's arms, "or you can keep smelling like a wet dog… The bathroom is at the end of the hall." Jacob felt dejected, but before he could muster up a response Edward was gone just as abruptly as he had arrived, and Jacob was left dazed, listening to his mother's favorite melody.

He sat down on Edward's black leather couch for a second and took in the fair vibrations of the violin. Edward had put this song on. Jacob had wanted to listen to it, and Edward accommodated him. Had Edward taken pity on him because of his mom? Did he even concern himself with Jacob's feelings enough to care?

Once the first movement of Spring died down, Jacob decided to hit the shower. As he turned the water on cold and stepped into the pouring stream, he felt rejuvenated. The dark hole he had been in the past few days felt like a lifetime ago now that Edward was close. He never wanted to leave his side again, but he knew Edward would only need him as long as Bella wanted to be his friend. His life's mission from now on would be to make Bella happy so that Edward was happy. Nothing else mattered.

He rubbed a bar of soap across his chest. Did he really smell that bad to Edward? He'd never considered himself an unclean person, but then again, that was to people with human senses. It seemed logical that vampires had a pungent odor, they were animated corpses after all, but when Jacob was in his human form he didn't know why he wouldn't smell like any other human.

Suddenly a pain burned across his chest, and he realized he'd been rubbing the soap over the same spot until the water was running red down the drain. Why couldn't he just smell like a normal human? Would Edward have liked him if he was? No, he would still be repulsed. Edward was traditional. Conservative. It was pretty clear how he would feel about a man having romantic thoughts about him, no matter who that man was. It didn't even matter how good or bad he smelled.

Jacob's werewolf healing abilities stopped the bleeding before he'd even finished up his shower, and once he got into Emmett's slightly tight white shit he was as good as new. It felt good to be clean, and to some degree he finally felt like a normal person again.

The very second he got out of the bathroom he heard someone call his name. On his way down the stairs he could smell the sweet but bitter smell of burning pancakes, making him aware once again of how insanely hungry he had gotten.

"Jacob!" a joyous little woman said once he reached the kitchen, "I tried cooking pancakes, but I'm afraid my cooking skills are a bit out of practice," she sulked, still handing him an overflowing plate. She must be Esme, Jacob thought, Bella had talked a lot about the Cullens, and even though he didn't always listen too closely he had gotten the gist of it. Esme was Carlisle's wife, his mate, he was what Bella would be to Edward once she got her way and was turned. Killed.

Esme kept him company as he ate, giving him seconds, and thirds, until he was unable to fit even a single more bite. She seemed kind for a bloodsucker; motherly, like his own mom had been when she was alive. "I really can't eat any more now," Jacob chuckled, "but it was delicious."

"Oh, no need for flattery," Esme smiled with kindness in her eyes, "but please do come back so I have a reason to work on my culinary skills again. It's not often we have humans over with such a good appetite."

Jacob chuckled again, "I guess my appetite is a bit more animalistic than Bella's?"

"She doesn't eat much," Esme laughed with him, "which is a pity, because I really do enjoy cooking."

Jacob felt the hairs in his neck rise, "Time to go?" he asked, as he turned to see Edward standing in the doorway. Edward had snuck up on him before, but now that he was well rested and had a full stomach Edward's presence was hard to miss. He could sense him, smell him, feel the waves of energy that radiated from him through the air.

"Bella's waiting," Edward said in a flat tone, "I called her earlier and told her we were coming, and she almost drove straight over here herself."

"Typically Bella," Jacob chuckled, but Edward simply turned his back and headed for the car.