Strange Desire: Chapter Five

Strange Desire: Chapter Five

AN: I'm so happy many of you liked the last chapter. I wasn't entirely sure you would, it was much more emotional than the other chapters. For some reason, I felt like there should be some more bonding between them.

I'm a little shocked at most of your acceptance of this story. I know many others that have done a slash story like this have been ridiculed for it. It makes me proud that my readers are more open-minded than that.

Okay, I'm insane. I must be. I decided to become OCDJen's beta for her story Healing Heart along with my two stories congruently. You should check it out, it's kind of sad so far though. She's becoming a better writer with each chapter. Anyway, it's on my favorites page. But that's the reason I haven't updated this story as quickly as I wanted to. I have so many more chapters in my head though, I can't wait to get them out.

Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, but not this story as I know she would disapprove.

EPOV

Stirring awake I stretched out on the bed. Mm... Jasper's bed. He wasn't here, so it must be sometime in the middle of the day. Rolling over to look at the alarm clock I saw it was 11:14 AM. Laying my head back down I inhaled deeply, the bed smelled like Jasper and me and sex. Groaning I wished he was home with me and not at work. Yesterday when I asked him to make me forget I had no idea he was going to make love to me like that. I figured he'd fuck me and then leave, letting me fall asleep by myself. He knew just what to do for me and that made me feel fucking high. Perhaps instead of Jasper being the one to freak out about us, it was me. I never thought he'd love me this way or show me this much. Before I might have thought we could just fuck and that's all it would be to him, like an experience he didn't want to miss out on, but not one he wanted to continue doing. I knew this had happened to some of my friends and they had been hurt by it, especially if it was someone to them like Jasper was to me. Fuck, I missed him so much.

Deciding I'd been in bed long enough I got up and took a shower, got dressed and headed for the kitchen. Damn, I was hungry. The only thing I'd eaten in the last two days was a hurriedly scarfed down sandwich. A man needed more sustenance than that. Making myself a large omelet with spinach, mushrooms, and cheese first, then I made a couple of pieces of toast and putting that on a plate grabbed some fruit and a glass of water. Looking around I didn't want to sit at the table alone in silence, so I went to the living room and turned the TV on. I didn't care what was on. The noise reminded me of Jasper. He couldn't stand to be alone if I wasn't there without background noise. Whether it was the TV, radio, or something, there always had to be some sound. He said it freaked him out to feel like he was totally alone. I smiled at that, it was one of his weird quirks that I'd always known.

Polishing off the remains of my food I got up and put everything away debating on what to do next. I had the rest of the afternoon to myself. Hmm... I should probably go to the gym today. The last couple of days really screwed up my workout schedule. Grabbing some water and workout clothes I grabbed my gym bag and headed out the door.

Stepping into the hallway I saw boxes lined up there, but not the owners of them. We must have new neighbors then. Taking the stairs today instead of the elevator I walked out to the cloudy Seattle sky.

Breathing in deeply it felt good to be outside. I chose to walk to the gym today. Both Jasper and I had cars, but if we could walk there instead we usually did. Sometimes I wondered how much of that had to do with Jasper's parents car accident and subsequent death. He never was in a hurry to get a driver's license or a car like most teenage boys. Almost always was walking preferable to him. That was okay though as I ended up doing most of the driving if we were together. I, personally, loved driving.

Finally at the gym I started running on the treadmill first. Some of the other people there stared at me, like always. They did the same to Jasper too whenever he was here. I got hit on by both women and men frequently which was flattering, but most of the time I'd rather be left alone.

Overall I think I worked out about two hours before I decided it was time to quit. I left the gym in my workout clothes and walked back home and up the stairs again. I noticed this time there were new boxes in the hallway, but still no owner. Shrugging I pushed my way into our apartment and stripped the sweaty clothes off almost as soon as I walked in the door.

Taking another shower again today I let the warm water run over me and pound my muscles into relaxation. I wished Jasper was home already and in here with me. He wasn't though, he was at work and about the time he got home today I'd have to leave for work. I actually couldn't wait for summer because I knew he wouldn't be working during it this year and I knew he did his best writing at night when I was at work, so that meant we'd be more on the same schedule. I didn't know how I knew he wouldn't work this summer, but I did. I was grateful, I'd like to come home to someone who wasn't pissed off half the time because of their job.

Personally, I was dreading going back to my own work today after the last time. That had been a nightmare and a half. Seeing all those people dying was something I was used to and yet I wasn't, probably because it was so many at once. The family members got to me the most though. Then I thought about what would happen if something like that happened to me. I didn't have anyone. My parents were... I had no idea where they were. Jasper's parents hadn't actually adopted me even though they might as well have. As for Jasper... it wouldn't matter, in the eyes of the state he wasn't family either and never would be. That was just so fucked up. So, what then? I'd die alone in the hospital if something ever happened? Thinking this through I decided right then and there that Jasper would be my medical power of attorney. I wondered what he'd think about that. He might be completely freaked out that I asked him to do that, I wasn't sure. It was the only way though that I thought my wishes would be carried out if, god forbid, something ever did happen to me. His dad was a doctor so I could have asked him, but he was further away and besides I wanted Jasper to be the one to do it.

Deciding I'd depressed myself enough I got out of the shower and dried off wrapping the towel around me when I was finished. Looking around my bedroom first, I turned, then walked away and back into Jasper's room. I laid down on his bed, on the side he slept on in an attempt to be closer to him since he wasn't here. Shit, I'd never acted like that about anyone before. Although I had a feeling that if we had gotten together when we were younger I would have acted the same as I was now, like a lovesick puppy. I probably would have anyway if I didn't think it would give me away before. Trying to relax I closed my eyes hoping to snatch a couple of hours more sleep before working another night-shift.

Waking up I turned over and thought I heard noise. Jasper must be home then. When I sat up I saw his jacket and tie on the back of his desk chair. So he had been in here then and didn't try to wake me up. I was annoyed at that, he didn't try to wake me up this morning either. Standing up I walked out of the room and into mine to grab some pants to put on. Jasper wasn't in the living room either so he had to be in the kitchen, he seemed to like it there.

Hearing me walk up to him he asked “You finally decided to wake up for me?”

“What do you mean by that? I told you to wake me up before you left in the morning and you could have tried to wake me up when you got home.” I told him, almost in a scolding tone.

Jasper's shoulders shook with laughter and he turned away from what he was doing and looked right at me saying “I did try to wake you. I'm not sure anything could have woken you up, you wouldn't budge at anything I tried. Both times I tried to wake you up I might have thought you were dead if I hadn't seen you breathing.” Hm... that was interesting, I didn't remember sleeping that hard before.

Sitting down at the table so I could watch him I tried to wake up more fully. I had maybe an hour and a half before I had to leave for work. “Jasper, what are you doing?” I asked him.

Still looking at me he rolled his eyes “What does it look like I'm doing? Cooking dinner.” I wanted to smack him for being a smart-ass.

Rolling my eyes just as dramatically back at him I said “What I meant to say is what are you cooking? Is that better?” Stupid, wannabe writer had to be so particular about what words I used. That was really annoying to the rest of the world, I wondered if he knew that.

“What does it look like I'm making?” He asked me sarcastically as he pointed to the stuff on the stove. Ah, spaghetti.

“Spaghetti?” I asked and he nodded at me and turned back to it. I wondered if we were feeding off each others' annoyance or if he'd had a bad day at work. “Jazz, did something bad happen at work today?” I asked.

He sighed and said “No, not really. It's just... well, I'll show you.” Turning the heat down on the stove he went to get his computer and set it on the table in front of me. Logging on to his e-mail he showed me some of the very bigoted e-mails he'd gotten. “The cowards didn't even have the guts to tell me that to my face. They sat in my class today and acted like they always did and tried to get me on their good side. It's like they don't even realize I know exactly who sent those to me, I do have their addresses for a reason.”

My stomach turned and I wondered if he could handle being with me. Those people were just students and some of the other people that had seen us together were strangers. So far no one we knew needed to know yet. “Are you okay, Jazz?” I asked him.

“I will be, eventually. It's not like I didn't know what I was getting myself into.” He answered me with rancor.

Even though I felt like I was going to throw up at the thought I asked him “Jazz... are you sure you still want to be with me?” A look of shock passed across his face.

“What? Of course I do.” He hurried out and my stomach settled. He leaned over and kissed my lips before going back to his e-mail. “I want you to see these too.” Jasper told me as I was shown several other e-mails of students that wished they had the courage to come out. “I'm actually not sure which ones bother me the most.” That I understood all too well. Squeezing my hand he went back to cooking dinner.

“Do you want some help?” I asked him and he shook his head no.

“I'm good.” He told me and continued cooking.

Rarely did I ever cook around here. My schedule was so odd sometimes it almost never allowed me to do it. If I was called in early then I'd be stuck in the middle of it without ever finishing. Almost always did the task fall to Jasper, but he seemed to enjoy it. At least I did know how to cook though, which was shocking considering how my father felt about it.

Standing in the kitchen with my mom one day when I was about ten she was letting me help her make a cake. Of course I wanted to help. I wanted to freaking lick the bowl, like almost all children. When my father came in and saw me there his face turned red in anger and he started yelling at my mother. “What are you doing? Boys and men don't belong in the kitchen. I'm not raising a sissy boy in this house.”

My mom squared her shoulders and said “Edward, please go to your room right now. Your father and I need to have a talk.” I didn't want to leave her there with my father looking so angry, but she pushed me out the door and said “Go, please.”

Running up the stairs crying I hated my father right then. He couldn't have just told me he didn't want me in the kitchen. No, he had to yell at my mother for it. Slamming the door to my room I could still hear the shouting from downstairs. I could only hear my father's loud voice though. My mom, I knew, was trying to talk to him calmly and rationally like she always did when he went off like that.

Later that evening my father had finally left the house and my mom finished the cake that I couldn't even stomach anymore. Finding my mom in her bedroom crying I climbed into bed beside her and told her “I hate dad. We should move far away, just me and you.” She cried harder and pulled me to her.

Eventually she calmed down and said “I wish we could, but we can't.” I wondered what she meant by 'we can't', this was a free country, wasn't it?

“Mom, why did you marry dad? I hate him so much, I can't believe you would marry someone like that.” I asked her truly curious.

She sniffled a few more times before saying “He didn't used to be like he is now. When I first met him he was happy and fun, he wanted to change the world. Now... he's nothing like the person he used to be.” I patted her back and stayed with her until my father came back, sneaking out of the room before he'd have a reason to be mad at me or her for being with my mother.

Coming back to the present I thought I should have known then what would happen when he found out I liked boys too. I looked at Jasper cooking and thought about all the famous male chefs in the world and snorted. My father was an ass. At least Jasper's mom had taught me how to cook. Fuck, if she hadn't taught us both we'd either be starving or living off fast food, neither of which were the healthiest things in the world.

Jasper sat two plates down on the table in front of us and glasses of water. “Edward, where did you go?” He asked me.

I hadn't realized I had been thinking that long and said “Just remembering something.”

“Remembering what?” He asked.

Shrugging I didn't want to get into it, all I said was “My parents.”

“Oh.” He knew me well enough to leave it alone unless I volunteered the information, which I almost always did because he didn't bug me about it.

We ate for a few minutes in silence before I couldn't hold it in anymore. I told him about the memory I'd flashed back to, just like I was sure he knew I would. My father's character didn't surprise him, except maybe me telling him that my mom had said that he didn't used to be that way. He'd seen his temper firsthand. Whenever my father got really bad he'd always arranged it so I could stay at his house no matter what day of the week it was, even back when we were only five. As we got older I'd just show up at his house when it got like that without asking, I had an open invitation. My mom always seemed relieved when I would leave during those times.

“Edward... what exactly did your mom mean?” Jasper asked me.

“Huh?” I asked him confused.

He pressed his lips together as if it should be obvious and asked “What did she mean that you couldn't move away from your dad?”

“I don't know.” I answered him. I'd never actually thought too much about it. Sometimes I thought she stayed because she liked the abuse. No, that's not right. My mom was tough, I did remember that about her. Why did she stay? I wished I knew the answer to that. As I had absolutely no contact with my parents I didn't think I'd ever find out either. Jasper looked like he was thinking hard about it, but couldn't come up with any answers to that either.

Looking at my watch to see how much time I had left, it wasn't much. Finishing my food I washed off my dishes and went back to my room to finish getting dressed and grabbed a pair of scrubs. Jasper had cleaned up the rest of the kitchen while I was getting dressed I noticed.

I groaned remembering the conversation I originally wanted to have, but had forgotten all about. “Jasper, I want to talk to you about something later. I was going to today and I forgot about it.” I told him.

“Okay...” He said.

“Tomorrow, I'll tell you tomorrow.” I said and before leaving stepped closer to him hugging him. Kissing his lips gently I said “I love you” against them.

“I love you too, Edward.” Jasper said, he looked almost sad as I walked out the door.

Back at work I found out a few of my previous patients were still on life-support, some of them were never going to walk away from that or even wake up. That just nailed it home even more that I had to have that talk with Jasper. I hoped nothing did happen to me, but... Fuck, I didn't want to be like that.

This night was slower than the last time I was here, but as it was a Friday night we still got plenty of drunks coming in. They were all there for various stupid, idiotic reasons. I did have one teenager that was there for alcohol poisoning. She was lucky, she nearly died. I doubted she'd ever drink that much again unless she had a death-wish. Her friends that brought her in were crying and her parents thanked me profusely for saving her life. I couldn't promise that there wouldn't be any lasting damage though.

Changing out of my scrubs at the end of my shift I left and went home. When I got there no one was there. It was Saturday and early still. Where the hell was Jasper? Calling his cellphone I waited patiently as it rang. He didn't answer it though. Okay... I couldn't think of where he could possibly be right now. He usually slept in on Saturdays.

My phone started ringing a couple of minutes later though and I picked up. “Jasper, where are you?” I asked him.

“Um...” He actually sounded almost embarrassed and I wondered why. “I'm down at the coffee shop by our apartments.”

“Why? Isn't it a little too early on a Saturday to be there?” I asked him.

“Well... it is early, I've been here since it opened. I brought my laptop with me to give me something to do. I couldn't work with all that silence in the apartment.” He told me.

“Okay, but why aren't you sleeping still?” I asked him curiously.

At that he seemed even more embarrassed and said “I couldn't sleep without you. I've been up almost all night.” My heart did a happy little flip at that.

“Care if I join you?” I asked him.

“No, I don't mind. I missed you.” Jasper said.

“I won't be interrupting anything, will I?” I asked him.

“No, I think I've gotten about as much written as I can at the moment. I need time to think about what else I want to say.” He told me as I walked out the door and down the stairs. No boxes hung out in the hallway anymore.

“I'll see you in a minute then.” I said.

“Okay, see you.” Jasper said and hung up.

Walking into the coffee shop I noticed Jasper sat there with his computer in front of him looking for all the world like a cliché. All except for the bottle of water in front of him instead of coffee. Furrowing my brows at that I wondered why he'd come here then if he wasn't actually going to drink coffee. I bought a bottle of water too and sat down across from him. “Okay, care to tell me why you are drinking water instead of coffee in a coffee shop?” I asked him.

He looked pointedly at my own bottle of water and said “Why are you?”

“I don't really like coffee and I like to sleep.” That was my answer to him.

“Well, I hate black coffee and I distinctly remember you calling the other drinks 'diabetes in a cup'.” He told me. What? I didn't remember saying something like that although it did sound like something I would say. I had taken care of those patients, I personally didn't want to go down that road and would do everything in my power to prevent it.

Him not drinking coffee because of me bugged me though. If he wanted to drink it, who was I to have that much influence over him? Did he stop only because we were together? “Jasper... when exactly did you give up drinking coffee?”

Deep in thought he said “Um... five years ago, I think.” Oh good. At least he didn't try changing just because we were together. Fuck, I was going to have to be more careful about what I said around him though.

“Jasper, let's go home. I'm tired and you've got to be too.” I told him.

“Okay.” He said packing up his stuff. We walked back to our apartment in comfortable silence.

I didn't even bother going to my bedroom, even though my room was bigger, I felt like I could sleep better in Jasper's bed. That probably had to with the fact that it belonged to Jasper and no other reason. Undressing first leaving only our boxers on, we climbed into bed and I put my arm around his waist bringing his back to my chest. Kissing his neck I whispered “Sweet dreams.” I fell into a comfortable sleep with my hand over his stomach and felt the hard planes of his back against my chest.

Waking up sometime later I realized Jasper wasn't in bed with me anymore. Looking at the clock it was about midday. I got up to find Jasper sitting on the couch with his computer in his lap, not typing. He didn't acknowledge me at all, nor did I expect him to. I'd seen that look on his face before. His face was blank and looked far away at the same time. So many people thought he was stupid when he did that. I knew better. He did that often when he had a story going on in his head, which used to be often. His current job was the only thing that had kept him from it. He told me once when I questioned him about it that it felt like stories were dropped into his head without his consent. They were just there and they would never go away until they were written out. It would only continue to interrupt his life if he didn't get it out.

Going to the kitchen I grabbed something to eat and sat down on the couch with him and ate in silence. Eventually I curled up on the couch and fell back asleep. I never even heard the computer keys being pressed as he wrote, I was too tired. When I opened my eyes Jasper was staring at me, the computer had been placed on the coffee table. He must have gotten out what he wanted to say then. Attempting to sit up to give him my full attention he pushed me back down. He straddled either side of my hips and leaned down kissing my lips tugging at them gently before becoming more insistent. Moaning into the kiss I pulled him down to me so his chest was touching mine. “Edward, I want you so much.” Jasper said and looking into my eyes I noticed his had darkened with lust. “I feel like I can never be close enough to you.” He told me and I knew what he meant, that's exactly how I felt. “Please, please fuck me.”

“I plan to.” I said with a wicked grin. Moving my legs so that they were on the outside of us I bent my knees so I could feel his cock brush mine even through our boxers a little bit better. Kissing his neck I sucked the skin there gently and worked down to his shoulder feeling the muscle beneath my lips. Biting his shoulder Jasper growled out. Fuck. Flipping a surprised Jasper over I was now on top. Attacking his chest with my mouth he groaned and writhed underneath me.

“Edward... please.” He said begging, grabbing my ass and pressing me into him.

“Please what?” I teased.

“Fuck, Edward. Please fuck me already. I've already been staring at you for a long time waiting for you to wake up to fuck me. Now get on with it.” Jasper growled out.

Smiling at him I leaned down to kiss his full lips before I said “As you wish.”

Moving so I could take off his boxers I pulled them down. Looking at his cock I wondered if he'd even be able to last long. It was a good thing I was fucking him this time. Leaning down again I licked his nipples before kissing his stomach down and down until I reached his cock. Languidly I licked his cock not wanting him to cum just yet. Jasper put his hands in my hair and grunted wanting more. Sucking two fingers into my mouth first I then pressed them against his anus and pushed inside. Jasper wriggled at the feeling and sighed when I started pumping them into his ass. “Do you like that, Jazz?” I asked him.

Growling at me he said “Fuck, yes.” Hearing knocking on the door we completely ignored it, they'd come back later if they really wanted us.

“Edward, please. I want you inside me now.” Jasper practically shouted. I laughed at his impatience.

“Okay, okay.” I said standing and was about to leave the room to find some lube and a condom when Jasper grabbed my arm.

“It's right there.” Jasper said as he turned his head to the coffee table. Laying on top of it was a condom and a bottle of lube. “I told you I've been thinking about this for a while.”

Grinning at him I dropped my boxers in front of him and heard his sharp intake of breath and a groan. “Jazz, I want you on your knees for me this time. Please.” I begged him, knowing I could get deeper this way. He nodded and knelt on the couch placing one hand on the armrest and one on the back of the couch. Fuck me, he had a nice ass. I couldn't help myself, I had to bite it. Jasper groaned at that. Pushing his ass cheeks apart I licked his hole pushing as deep inside as I could and heard Jasper growl at me again. Fuck, I loved that sound. I could feel his chest vibrate when he did that even all the way down here.

Rolling the condom on I put lube on my hand and stroked my cock a few times before using what was left on my fingers to push inside him. “Fuck.” Jasper breathed. Pulling my fingers out I slid my cock over his ass crack a few times holding his cheeks apart, then I pushed into him filling him. Eventually I heard Jasper sigh in pleasure as he got used to the intrusion and started thrusting in and out. Still holding onto his hips I watched as Jasper bent forward a little before rocking his hips against me. Our breathing was heavy and I couldn't believe how tight he still was around my cock.

Keeping one hand on his hip I placed the other on his stomach holding him closer to me. His hand that had been on the armrest came to rest over the one on his stomach. “Edward...” He breathed and I moved my hand down so it cupped his balls, his hand never leaving the top of mine. Then I moved up his cock and slowly pumped it at first before picking up the pace, using our combined sweat. We were both sweaty and grunting and I was sure I would be unable to hold out much longer. “Edward, I'm about to...” He said loudly.

“I know, I know. Me too. Just let go.” I told him and felt him let go in my hand shooting warm cum onto my hand, his hand, his stomach and the couch. Feeling him tighten around me I let go and shouted “Jasper!” I held still for a few minutes before completely pulling out making sure the condom came with me.

Throwing the condom away quickly I came back and watched as Jasper stood up looking down at the couch frowning. It's a good thing it was leather or it would've been a bitch to clean. “Don't worry about it right now, let me clean you off first.” I said smiling at him devilishly. Kneeling in front of him I licked his stomach first then his cock looking up at him. Standing I picked up his hand and licked and sucked his fingers and skin there. Looking down at his hand curiously he picked mine up when I was done and mirrored the same thing. Once we were cleaned up I went into the bathroom to find a towel to wipe up the cum off the couch before it dried.

Sitting back down on the couch I pulled him down beside me, then I scooted to the end so my legs were straight out on the couch so he could sit between them and lean against my chest. Wrapping my arms around him I kissed his head. I could see his eyes were starting to droop closed as he was relaxed and satiated. Holding him against me I let him fall asleep for a little while enjoying the feel of his naked body against mine, something I never thought I'd ever get. Leaning down I whispered into his ear “I love you, Jasper.”

Jasper mumbled back in his sleep “I love you too, Edward.” Then he pressed his body even closer into mine and settled there.

We still needed to have that conversation, the one I wasn't sure he'd like. The one that didn't have anything to do with telling anyone anything, the one that I asked him to let me go if something bad happened to me. I had to think carefully about what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it.

Jasper stirred awake and sat up blinking sleepily. I smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “Come on, Jasper. Let's go get properly cleaned up.” I really wanted a shower and clothes on before I even brought up what had been weighing on my mind. Leading him to the bathroom I turned the hot water on in the shower first before stepping in bringing him with me. He still looked half asleep. I hoped this shower woke him up. I tilted my head back to wet my hair before I washed it and moved so he could do the same. He still seemed like he was in a daze and I wondered just how tired he was. Washing my body off I proceeded to wash his off too as he still seemed really out of it. He never did wake up well though.

Turning the water off I grabbed two towels and handed one to him. He took it and stared at it, but didn't seem to know what to do with it. He looked completely lost and I wondered for a minute if he was sick or something. “Jasper, are you okay?” I asked him.

He looked at me with wide eyes and nodded, but then I saw him swallow hard. “No, you're not. You can tell me anything.” I said.

Taking a shaky breath he said “I'm terrified.” What?

“Why?” I asked him.

“Because... because I have no idea what you want to talk to me about today and I'm afraid I won't like it.” Jasper said finally looking into my eyes.

Stepping closer to him I said “Jasper, stop worrying. I'm not sure you will like it, but it's nothing bad either.” He only sighed and nodded at me before drying himself off.

Both of us got dressed and I moved to sit down at the table. Jasper sat in the chair next to me. Picking up his hand in reassurance I said “You know how bad my job got the other day?” He nodded and looked away before looking back at me.

“Well... so many of the patient's families wouldn't let them go. They aren't ever going to live without life-support, Jasper. I don't want that, I never have wanted that. I've worked around it, trust me, I really don't want that. I know this isn't an easy subject to talk about, death. So many of my patients in that accident were young though, some even younger than us. Do you understand what I'm saying here?” I asked him.

Sighing he said “Yes, Edward. You want me to let you go, don't you?”

“Only if it has to be done, Jasper. If you aren't sure you can always ask for your father's advice. I hope we never have to worry about it, but you know as well as I do that you don't have any control over when you die.” I told him.

He swallowed hard again and said “Unfortunately, I do know that.”

“Good. Now the reason I'm bringing this up is because I don't have any family.” I said and Jasper shot me a look of surprise.

“What I mean is, in the eyes of the state, I have no family.” I told him and he relaxed. “I want you to have my medical power of attorney. Right now even if I was really sick or had surgery or something you wouldn't be allowed to see me or get updates as you aren't actually family. Jasper, you never will be considered family. This is the only way I could think of to get my wishes played out and be able to see you if anything ever happened.”

I watched him carefully as he processed this information. “Okay, Edward. I'll do it.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Edward... would you be mine?” He asked me.

I was shocked. He still had family, why would he give me that kind of power? “What about your parents?” I asked him.

“My parents would understand, I think. They may not always be around either, but even if they were, according to you they could see me. You, on the other hand, would not be able to otherwise. I know just what I'm asking.” Jasper answered me. “I love you more than anything, I think I always have. So for you not to be there for me if something happened would surely kill me faster.” Standing up I pulled him up with me and hugged him tightly.

Kissing his lips gently I said “Thank you.” I knew that wouldn't be easy, but I also knew it needed to be done. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, one that I hadn't realized was even there. I would look into getting the paperwork for it on Monday.

Leading him back into the living room I sat down on the couch and smiled remembering our earlier activities. He sat down next to me putting his arms around my neck and pulled me close to him. Feeling his soft lips against mine I sighed in contentment. Then I felt his tongue licking my lips and I opened them for him. We kissed with our tongues entwining for quite some time breathing through our noses so we didn't pull apart that often. I was surprised we hadn't gone any further when we heard the door being knocked on again.

“Do we get it this time?” I asked Jasper.

Smiling at me he said “I'll still be here when they're gone.”

Getting up to answer the door I felt Jasper's eyes on my ass the whole way there. I snorted to myself knowing that's exactly why he had wanted me to get up in the first place. Opening the door I saw two very gorgeous people standing in our doorway.

The woman was statuesque and looked like a blonde, blue-eyed Amazon. Her hair and eyes were the exact same color as Jasper's. Fuck, I hoped Jasper wouldn't moon after her. She was a beautiful woman and as far as I knew of I was the only guy Jasper had ever liked. For some odd reason the song Brick House started playing in my head, I think because I thought she looked like an amazon in my head. I bit my cheek hard to keep from laughing out loud. Then my eyes moved over to the guy standing there, he was big and looked like a brick wall. No, not a brick wall, a bear, he looked like a bear. That nearly made me fall to the floor in laughter as when I looked closer I realized in the gay community he would be considered a bear. Not my type, at all. What the fuck was wrong with me? I had to get control over myself before I said something really stupid.

The big guy stepped forward almost shielding the woman and said “Hi, we're your new neighbors. My name's Emmett and this is Rosalie, my girlfriend.”

“Oh, hey.” Thank god, I didn't burst out something completely inappropriate. “I'm Edward.” I could feel Jasper come up behind me and waving my hand in his direction I said “This is Jasper, my...” My what? My roommate? My friend? My boyfriend? It was one thing to save his ass for his job, but after reading those e-mails this morning I wasn't sure how he'd feel about someone knowing that lived that close to us. Then again how the hell would you hide that? As I thought about those things I saw Emmett step even more in front of Rosalie and I realized he felt threatened. Hm... that was interesting.

Jasper had come to stand right behind me, close enough I could feel his chest against my back. “Hi.” Jasper said and wrapping his arms around my waist kissed my neck. Well there goes the answer to my question. I watched as Emmett visibly relaxed and stepped back a little from Rosalie. I saw her scowl and her pushing him away.

“Hi, I'm Rosalie. This is my oaf of a boyfriend, Emmett.” She held her hand out to shake mine and then Jasper's hand before she nudged Emmett reminding him that he had manners somewhere.

Clearing his throat he said “Yeah, sorry.” Then he shook both of our hands.

Behind me I heard Jasper say “You should join us for dinner. We could get to know each other a little better.”

Before anyone had a chance to say anything else Rosalie piped up and said “Sure, we'd love that. We haven't quite settled in yet. I'm not even sure where half our kitchen supplies are.”

“Okay, great.” Jasper said smiling. “How about you meet us here at 7:30? It'll give us time to actually cook something.”

“We'll look forward to it. See you then.” Rosalie said tugging at a stunned Emmett back across the hall. I was sure he wondered how he got roped into eating dinner with what he perceived as two gay men.

Shutting the door behind them I heard Jasper whistle happily. What the fuck was that about? “Uh... Jasper?”

“Yeah?” He said still whistling heading into the kitchen.

“Do you have something to tell me?” I asked him.

“Tell you about what?” He sounded confused.

“Are you attracted to that woman?” I asked him suddenly afraid that he might be.

“No. Are you attracted to either one of them?” He shot back. Point well taken.

“No, it's just you seemed entirely too happy with them.” I said.

Jasper laughed and said “Of course I am. Edward, in case you haven't noticed you are my only friend. Also, they didn't run and they accepted knowing we are together. We won't have any awkward explaining to do with them, it will just be.” That made sense. I had friends, but I'd never introduced Jasper to any of them, nor had I mentioned them. They were all gay or bi friends and as I wasn't ready to come out to him I hadn't wanted any questions. It was just easier.

“Jasper... I have friends.” I said carefully judging his reaction.

“Okay, Edward. I know you have Bella and by extension Jacob. Anyone else?” He asked me.

Nodding I said “Yes, quite a few actually.”

“Okay... why haven't I met any of them before now?” He asked me.

“Um... I didn't want you to meet them. I thought it might give me away. Since you already know about me anyway now, I think it's time you got to meet some of them sometime.” I told him.

“Okay, Edward, but promise me something.” Jasper said.

“What?” I asked.

“Don't hide stuff like that from me anymore.” Jasper said seriously.

Smiling at him I said “I won't. I don't have any reason to.” Then I stepped closer to him kissing his lips before helping him with dinner.

As I helped with dinner that same song was flying through my head. What the fuck? Why the hell would I have that in my head? When the memory came I dropped the bowl in my hand with a crash, it shattered. My parents... they were singing that song in the car together as it was on the radio and they were happy? I was probably four at the time. I had completely blocked out that my father had been happy once, that my parents had been happy together. I was shaken.

“Edward...?” Jasper questioned me. I looked up at him and he carefully stepped around the glass and held me until I stopped shaking.

Stepping away from him I cleaned up the mess I made trying to get my thoughts in order before speaking. Jasper waited patiently and went back to getting things out of the refrigerator. When I was done I finally told him what I remembered. He looked as though he wanted to both laugh and cry at the same time. That's sort of how I felt about it too.

Taking another bowl out of the cabinet I set it carefully down on the counter so as not to break it. Jasper asked “Why do you think you are starting to have all those memories come to the surface now?”

“I don't have a clue. I wish I did.” I said. Jasper squeezed my hand before we got back to work making dinner for our new neighbors. I wondered if we'd even like them or if they would like us.

AN: I had intended for there to be some JPOV in here, but Edward wouldn't shut up. So there it is. Before you guys freak out. No, I don't intend to kill either of them off. I know as I put medical power of attorney that some of you will.