It's the Thought That Counts

It's the Thought That Counts

Pairing: Edward/Riley

Rating: Mature/NC-17 – language and sexual content.

Summary: Edward and Riley's first Christmas together doesn't turn out quite as they expected. A snow storm forces an emergency landing and leaves them stranded in an airport. A PWP Christmas story.

Prompted by: TruceOver for the Make the Yuletwi'd Gay fic exchange.


"I hate this," Riley sighed against my shoulder, burying his face deeper into the crook of my neck.

"I know," I said, trying to soothe him by stroking his hair.

"It's Christmas, Edward, we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves, not stuck in some fucking―"

"Shh," I hushed him, trying to both calm him down and keep him from disrupting the other, just as stressed, travelers.

"Where the fuck are we anyway?" he grumbled.

"Lincoln, Nebraska," I replied.

"More like Bumblefuck, Nowhere."

I turned my head into his hair to muffle a chuckle and wrapped my arm around him.

Our flight from Chicago had lifted off fine, but after hitting a storm, we'd had to make an emergency landing here in Bumblefuck, Nowhere―as Riley put it. He wasn't a good flier to begin with so the unexpected landing had shaken him up more than a little bit. Add in a few hours of uncomfortable chairs, terrible coffee, and glaring homophobia, and we were both starting to feel tense.

The unanticipated layover was supposed to be just that, a layover. But it'd been six hours already since our plane had been grounded and the weather just kept getting worse. The snow was coming down in thick white sheets which were only amounting to higher and higher drifts. My hopes for getting out before nightfall were quickly being dashed. What was worse was that I was starting to wonder just how long we'd be stranded here―it didn't seem likely that the morning would even bring good news at the rate the snow was currently falling.

"I bet it's seventy degrees in Phoenix. Everyone is probably in shorts. Shit, they probably still have the pool open. And we're stuck here," Riley rambled irritably, glaring out the windows at the falling snow.

"I know, Ri, I know," I sighed, kissing his hair.

"I just want to be there," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," I whispered back in apology, pressing my face further into his hair.

He raised his head and kissed me softly, slowly, ignoring the rude, angered glowers we were receiving from the people around us.

Neither of us were the type to broadcast our homosexuality to the world, and generally we weren't big on public displays of affection, but it was Christmas. Christmas was, after all, about love; we weren't going to sacrifice ours just because these people didn't like it.

We were supposed to be in Phoenix with his family by now; warm and toasty in his childhood home. This was our first Christmas together, and it would be my first time meeting his mother.

He'd met my mom and dad already, and I had met his sister, Alice, but he apparently had inherited his fear of flying from his mother, who refused to step foot near an airplane.

"I should have listened to Alice," Riley groaned, shifting in his seat and leaning more fully onto me. The armrests on the chairs made it impossible for us to be very close, but we managed to cuddle somewhat comfortably.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She said trying to fly out on Christmas Eve was cutting it too close."

"I couldn't―" I started to say, making my excuses again. I'd had to work straight up to the day before Christmas Eve; they wouldn't give me it off.

"Baby, I know," he cut me off. "It's fine, it's not your fault. Alice just thought we should have spent Christmas at home and waited to fly out until after. I think she was right."

Frowning, I didn't reply. It was too late now. We were stuck here in the snow storm and would likely spend all of Christmas on uncomfortable chairs, being glared at by just-as-stranded, grumpy travelers.

At least we have each other, I thought, once again kissing the top of Riley's head. This would have been unbearable had we been flying out to see each other. I would rather spend a long night stuck in the airport with him than anywhere else away from him.

"I'm hungry," Riley mumbled.

Languidly, I managed to haul myself out of my chair. I wasn't really hungry, but I needed to move around some before we settled in for the longest night of our lives. I grabbed his hand to help him up and he moaned exaggeratedly as he stretched. I couldn't resist pulling his lithe, long body against mine to feel his muscles straining and releasing as he relaxed.

He laughed breathily and wrapped his arms around me, stepping impossibly closer. I kissed his ear noisily just to make him squirm against me. The offended "get a room" and huffs of indignation caused us to separate before we would have liked.

Riley aimed a few well-placed, resentful glares around the room while I took his hand and led him away before something more abusive could happen.

I already knew the food and coffee was shit, but I ordered a sandwich and another sixteen ounces of poor-brewed regardless. Riley scowled disapprovingly at my drink of choice and I smiled sheepishly back.

It might have tasted like shit, but I was stressed and I needed caffeine. I waited silently, holding Riley's hand, as he hemmed and hawed around, pissing the cashier off with his indecision.

"It's not my fault everything on the menu looked terrible," he said, dropping his order down onto a small table near the back.

I sank down into my seat and sipped at my horrible tasting coffee, letting him vent out his irritation. He stabbed angrily at his food, going off about the weather and how it fucked everything up until he ran out of steam and ate like a normal human being.

I didn't blame him, I was frustrated too. Our first fucking Christmas together was going to be spent in a stuffy, poorly run airport packed full of narrow-minded assholes.

I wished we were at home.

The rest of our meal―if you could call it that―was spent in companionable silence. We stayed sitting there, just holding hands and playing footsie until my coffee was cold and more gag-inducing than it'd been before.

Slowly, we made our way back, wandering a bit just to avoid the angered looks we would likely receive upon returning. Everywhere else was either too crowded or too deserted to really take notice of us. But we were both fatigued and in need of some sleep which took us back to the seating area.

Thankfully, there were some freed up chairs in a quiet corner. The only person close enough to bother us was a woman who looked absorbed in the book she was reading. I sank down into a chair and pulled Riley down on top of me without a second thought.

Resting my head back against the wall, I sighed and relaxed with his familiar weight atop me. He reached over and pulled another chair in front of us and leaned completely against me as I put my feet up.

"Love you," he whispered, kissing my neck.

"I love you too, Riley."

I could feel his eyelashes tickling over my skin as he blinked and I wondered what he was thinking about.

A glutton for punishment, I couldn't help comparing our positions to how he'd woken me up this morning. It wasn't a safe train of thought to say the least, but it was a comfort, at least, to think about how the day hadn't been all bad.

Fifteen hours earlier...

"Wake up," I felt more than heard him breathe against my ear, just as soft warmth slid nakedly on top of me.

"Mmm," I hummed tiredly.

He chuckled softly, reaching between us to give my flaccid cock several awakening tugs. "Get up," he whispered.

"Mmup," I mumbled. He was one of those irritatingly chipper morning people. I was not.

Turning my head, I cracked my eyelids for the first time to find that the clock didn't even read seven o'clock yet. I groaned.

"Not up enough for what I want," he teased, grinding his hips.

Sometimes I wondered what went on in his head. He unendingly woke up with a hard-on. I think it had something to do with our opposite morning temperaments. He woke happy and hard, I woke grumpy and, more often than not, at his mercy.

"Go make me coffee," I tried to say firmly. It came out more mumbly and whiny than anything.

"Fuck me first, then coffee."

"Can't fuck without coffee," I replied. My traitor dick disagreed.

He would win and he knew it. But if we were fucking before seven AM, without my morning coffee first, he was doing all the goddamn work.

"We just fucked eight hours ago, coffee first," I tried futilely.

"We have to leave soon, then there will be no fucking. Do you really want to spend the morning sleeping and drinking coffee?"

His hand stopped moving over my cock and I pushed my hips up in response. He chuckled victoriously at my nonverbal answer and wrapped his fingers around me, stroking me until I was achingly hard.

"Riley," I groaned when his hand once again stopped moving.

He grinned down at me in an overconfident type of way and I narrowed my eyes at him. He scooted up until he was straddling my stomach and he leaned forward, presumably reaching for the lube.

The liquid was cool against my fingers, and I rubbed it in until it was warm before reaching between his legs. I looked up at him as I slid my two wet fingers between his cheeks. His eyes fell shut and he bit his lip as I pressed against his tight hole. Pushing just the tip in, I felt him clench around me as his cock bobbed through the air.

I knew what he'd do if I didn't give him any more than just the tip, so I waited, trying to hide my smirk as he chewed on his lip and tilted his hips none too subtly. Like I said, he could do all the damn work for waking me up. This part included.

Impatient as ever, he pushed his hips back, forcing more of my finger inside. He stopped and waited, gasping slightly when I wiggled my finger. I don't know how he hadn't figured out yet that I wasn't going to play nice. He had to know by now that I preferred him fucking himself on me, especially in the mornings. Any other time I could fuck him into oblivion, but I was far too lazy during the mornings.

Groaning, he pushed back on my finger and slid forward again until it was easily gliding in and out. Then he reached back and squeezed my index and middle finger together. I watched the concentration on his face slip to pleasure as he slowly shifted back, feeling him give way to the girth of my two fingers.

He kept his fingers with mine, pressed tightly against where my fingers were buried in his body, sliding along with his movements and feeling himself being stretched.

I twisted my fingers inside of him unexpectedly and he gasped and clenched down on me tightly. He glared for half a second then his eyes rolled back in his head and he moaned when I curled them to hit his sweet spot.

He rocked forward and back, leaking pre-cum onto my stomach, moaning every time I bent my fingers just so. Admittedly, I hadn't been with many men before Riley, but I had never met anyone so keen on getting fucked.

The men that came before him liked switching, and I didn't mind taking a cock, but I couldn't handle a pounding the way Riley could. He bottomed, always, and I liked it that way. Half the time when I came home from work, I'd find him fucking himself with a toy. The first time it'd been completely on accident, but he'd learned how I reacted to that and from there on out, he made it a point to time his playing with when I would arrive home from work.

"God, need you. Edward, fuck me now," he moaned.

He grabbed the condom, and within a couple of moments, he was sinking down on my cock. I'd never get used to how amazing he felt like this; how warm, how soft, how tight. He kept going until he was sitting down as fully as he could, then he leaned forward and kissed me.

He kissed me hard, whimpering as he pressed his tongue as deep as he could. He kissed me until he couldn't anymore, pulling away with a gasp. He sat up slightly and rocked his hips, circling and grinding, but not doing more than that for long, maddening minutes.

My hands instinctively went to his hips, fitting against them like they were made to be there. I clutched, trying to urge him harder, faster... more. He kept his eyes closed but I could see the smile he was trying to fight off on his lips.

I released my hold on one of his hips and brought my hand back, slapping him firmly on the ass. He flinched, clenched, and squeaked, falling forward onto his hands on my chest.

His eyes were wide and dark as I looked up at him. I gripped his ass in my hands and pulled him up, before shoving him back down again, cocking an eyebrow when he shivered and his breath caught.

"Thought you were too tired for fucking," he asked.

"I'm wide awake now and need to fuck," I replied.

"I am fucking you," he countered, rotating his hips.

"Come on, Ri, you can do better than this. Just think: this'll be our last fuck for a week. Do you really want to go a week on this?" I teased.

Apparently I made my point because he immediately gripped onto my shoulders and raised himself up before slamming back down.

"Ugh, yeah, just like that," I grunted, gripping his hips tightly to aid his movements.

There was nothing slow or sweet about the way he pounded down on my cock. His head was tossed back and he moaned long and loud as he bounced on me fast and hard, just like I wanted―just like I knew he wanted, too.

Before long he was panting out, "Edward, please, touch me. Going to― Need to... cum."

I knew he was capable of achieving an orgasm with nothing more than something up his ass and hitting him just right, but I was close too. I wanted to watch him cum, feel it as he clenched down on me and covered me in his release. I wanted to feel like I'd done some part to bring him pleasure, so I gripped his cock and after just a few strokes, his hips started to jerk and his cum spilled over my hand and stomach.

"So. Fucking. Good," he moaned.

I held onto him tightly and arched my hips up, slamming into him in short, quick thrusts as my own pleasure peaked.

We collapsed into a sweaty heap together, laughing dazedly and clinging together. I swept back the bangs sticking to his forehead and kissed his nose.

His eyes widened suddenly and he glanced over my shoulder before launching up out of bed, hissing, "Shit, get up. We need to shower, we're going to be late for our flight."

― ― ―

A combination of odd, yet somehow familiar, buzzing and grumbling woke me up. I shifted uncomfortably, wincing before I even opened my eyes at the stiffness in my neck. And Christ, I felt heavy.

"Hello," I heard Riley mumble gruffly.

"Sorry to wake you, but I wanted to let you know we've been keeping an eye on the weather and your flight should be boarding soon. Within the next couple of hours at least. I think you'll make it here while it's still Christmas," I heard Alice saying over the phone.

Riley was in my lap, and I realized we must have fallen asleep like this. My entire body was killing me―especially my dick, which was hard and trapped under denim and Riley's weight.

Sure, now I have morning wood, I thought crankily.

"Thanks, Ali," Riley said. I heard her start to say something else just before his phone beeped and turned off.

He sighed and groaned, shifting in my lap.

"Are you awake?" he whispered into my ear.

"Yes." I had no idea what time it was, just that it was way too fucking early.

"Merry Christmas, baby," he said, sliding his tongue and lips over the side of my throat, up to my jaw.

"Merry Christmas, Ri."

He shifted again, and I bit back a moan. Riley was skinny; skinny and long, but he had one hell of a bubble butt. And it was a good thing too, because I wouldn't have been able to live with a bony ass rubbing against my morning wood.

"Is that for me?" he asked coyly, grinning against my neck.

"Mm, just for you," I told him.

"It's too bad I can't unwrap it," he simpered.

I chuckled, kissing his cheek. "Well, it's the thought that counts, right?"

He snorted, laughing quietly into my shirt. "Yeah, I suppose. It's what I've always wanted, the best Christmas present ever, really. Edward, your cock truly is the gift that just keeps on giving."

Miscommunication

Miscommunication

Pairing: Jasper/Edward

Rating: Mature/NC-17 – language and sexual content.

Summary: After months of confusion and broken promises, Jasper reaches his limit when Edward isn't home with him for Christmas Eve. After a fight, Christmas morning brings a conclusion.

Prompted by: Robpat for the Make the Yuletwi'd Gay fic exchange.


Headlights shone bright through the kitchen window as he made the turn into the short driveway. There was a time when my heart would have raced at the sight, and I would have jumped up and ran outside barefoot, not caring how cold it was, just needing to be in his arms.

Now, I didn't even flinch.

Edward was home, a day and a half later than he was supposed to be.

I don't know why it even surprised me anymore that he didn't make it home when he said he would. He could swear up and down, left and right that he would be home, but he never was. I don't know why he bothered to promise; I don't know why I continued to bother believing him.

I didn't move an inch when the keys jingled in the lock and the door creaked open. I didn't get up to from the table when I heard his jacket rustling and his shoes thudding to the floor. It was the first time that I didn't go to him when he arrived home.

I'd finally reached my breaking point.

I spent Christmas Eve alone, when he'd promised me I wouldn't. He said he'd be home, and he wasn't.

"Jas," I heard him call, climbing the two stairs onto the landing where he paused. "I'm home," he said softly, likely not knowing I was within hearing distance.

Two years ago, we would have already been naked on the clothes-littered floor, rejoicing our reunion. But two years ago he would have been home at the time he promised. Two years ago I wouldn't have spent Christmas Eve completely alone wondering just what exactly my boyfriend was doing to celebrate the holiday. Two years ago, I would never have questioned if he would be faithful. Two years ago, Edward Cullen was an honest man.

An honest man who loved me.

It wasn't that I doubted whether he still loved me, I really believe he always has. It's just that I'd gotten to the point where I didn't know what to trust anymore. My heart told me that I was his, and only his, but my head wasn't so sure anymore.

It had all started when he got promoted. In the beginning, it was rare that he'd be late, and if he was going to be, he'd call, at the very least to let me know he was okay and not to worry―sometimes to apologize. It's not like I needed to hear him tell me he was sorry for breaking his promise, it's his job after all, he had to do what he had to do. But even after the time that had passed, I still worried. Was a phone call really that hard to make?

It was difficult enough to sleep when he's away, not hearing his voice and knowing he's okay just made it a hundred times worse. Not having his nightly whispered 'I love you'―his lips pressed against the phone or directly to my ear―to reassure me that we were still us made it hard to even shut my eyes at times.

He was hundreds of miles away while I was at home, alone, waiting for him. There was absolutely no way for me to know what he was doing. His layovers in hotel rooms lasted for days at a time occasionally. Hotel rooms in big cities were great for anonymous sex.

The questions, the doubt had been swirling around in my head for a while, it had just finally spiraled out of control. All those times he came home, me running to him and him just shrugging me off, sparing me no more than the barest of kisses before mumbling his exhaustion. It pointed to my greatest fear.

It had been over a year since we'd had sex that I didn't initiate. More than a year since he'd touched me like he meant it, like he wanted to be touching me. It was that that led me to believe he wasn't being monogamous.

We used to be passionate lovers, both of us hardly able to contain the need we felt to be with each other. Now he was always too tired, too busy, too preoccupied with something else.

The only conclusion I could come to was that he was sleeping with someone else.

It was altogether odd trying to comprehend that, because Edward was an honorable man, raised by a family with strong morals. But he'd always been such an avid lover. Now I had to practically beg for it. I'd had to beg for it a month ago and he hadn't touched me since.

He was getting it somewhere else, cheating on me. It was the only thing that made any sense at all―even though the thought of him cheating on me made absolutely no sense at all either.

I could hear him walking around upstairs now, likely searching for me. This was definitely not what he was used to. Normally I would be there to meet him at the door, even knowing he wouldn't be interested in seeing me―not like I was so desperate to see him, even now.

He would have let me kiss him and then listened to me tell him how I missed him. He'd stroke my arm in that annoyingly pacifying way and leave me with his discarded bags to go shower or sleep or eat. Anything that didn't involve me directly.

I was done with that rejection, I couldn't do it anymore. It didn't matter how much I missed him, how much I just needed him to hold me and love me, it was all one-sided.

He loved me in his own way, I guess, but the inexplicable flame that had long burned between us was gone. He didn't need me anymore like I still needed him. And that was the hardest part of it all.

I loved him, so completely and desperately, that it literally hurt not to go to him, even now. The possibility of his infidelity still fresh in my mind, I still wanted him, loved him, couldn't imagine my life without him.

But it's what I had to start imagining, because I couldn't do this anymore.

The muffled sound of his quiet footsteps came closer, and then I heard him whisper my name.

"What are you doing? Why are you sitting in the dark?" he asked cautiously.

I didn't bother answering, and hesitantly he moved closer.

"Jasper?" he tried again. "Baby, did something happen?"

I shook my head in disbelief, and he sighed with relief, not having any idea how bewildered I truly was at that moment.

He leaned down and lightly kissed the side of my neck, causing my teeth to grind together and my breath to come in sharp―neither of which he noticed, or pretended not to.

"I'm tired, please come to bed. Please," he said softly, earnestly. The second 'please' was verging on begging, and that's when I realized that he knew exactly what was wrong, but he was ignoring it so he wouldn't have to deal with it.

I knew he would use one of his excuses if I brought it up―I'm tired, I need a shower, I can't do this now―so I didn't even bother.

When he grabbed my hand and pulled me up, I let him, unfeelingly following him up the stairs and to our bedroom. Thoughtlessly, I shed most of my clothes and slid into our bed, feeling surprisingly cold when wrapped up in his familiar embrace. It wasn't warm like it used to be.

"Goodnight, Jas. Merry Christmas," he whispered, placing a kiss just below my ear.

He didn't bother to tell me he loved me, and I tried not to care, but it was too soon. I did care. I didn't want to care, like he didn't care when I didn't say it either. I always told him, I always wanted him to know, but I wanted to forget. I didn't want to remember that I loved him when he so easily seemed indifferent to me. He didn't care that I hadn't said a word to him or looked at him once all night.

He was out cold in less than five minutes while I lay wide awake and sick to my stomach, mind racing.

Knowing he was sound asleep, I let my eyes wander to him and my throat grew tight, making me immediately regret it. He looked just the same; the same as he did the first time we fell asleep together, the same as he did the first time he told me he loved me, the same as he did the last time he really made love to me. He was the same beautiful man I fell in love with in appearance, and it made me miss the other part of him so much more. I wanted my Edward back.

The Edward that told me he loved me all the time, just because he could; he said he liked the way it made me smile. The Edward that couldn't keep his hands off of me, no matter where we were―he was insatiable then, he knew he could have me whenever he wanted. The Edward that kept his promises. The Edward that I trusted. The Edward that I loved so much that I never thought we'd be here, where we are now, so far apart the distance seemed untraversable. He was right there beside me, yet so far away at the same time.

Silently, I slipped out of bed, not expecting him to stir. He made a small sound and rolled toward where I had just been in bed, making my stomach twist with guilt. Did he miss me subconsciously?

With a sigh, I decided it didn't matter and left the bedroom. I grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and huddled into the corner of the couch, still no closer to sleep than I had been two hours ago when I'd contemplated going to bed without him.

It was difficult to think about what I was going to do, but I forced myself.

I had no where to go. Edward and the Cullens were all that I had left after I came out to my family to be with him. He had his family to support him, I really only had him anymore. His sister Alice and I were close, but she was his sister. If Edward and I were to... separate―as much as I didn't want to think that word, I forced myself to―I wouldn't have her either.

At least Emmett would be happy.

What the hell would I do? I had a decent job, at least, but I had absolutely no one and no where. He was all I had. He was my everything.

My jaw trembled and I fought hard to resist the feeling that was overwhelming me. My chest felt tight and my eyes burned, my hands shook wildly as I fought back the tears.

I really couldn't do this. I couldn't picture myself packing up my things, I couldn't see myself leaving him, I couldn't imagine never seeing him again, I couldn't bear the thought of not being his.

The sob that ripped out of my chest physically hurt and I tried to keep the next one in―because I couldn't do this either for fear that I'd never stop―but the cry came out even more painful and loud than the last.

I couldn't fucking do it. I couldn't leave him. I couldn't. Never seeing him again, kissing him, hearing his voice, feeling his skin against mine―just the thought made my vision swim. Being alone... Being without him would be worse than being partially with him.

"Jasper?"

I froze, sucking in a sharp breath and trying to stop the next heartbroken sob that was building.

"Baby?"

I gritted my teeth down hard and squeezed my eyes shut tight, holding my breath. Thankfully it helped quell the crying a little bit.

Then he flicked on the light and I quickly used my hands to scrub at the wet tear tracks on my cheeks and cover my eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

My hands were still on my face when I curled them into fists, the rage replacing the sadness so quickly it was almost crippling.

I wanted to scream at him, to yell until my throat was raw and my voice was hoarse. I wanted to hit him, pound on his chest so hard that his lungs and heart felt bruised and broken the same way mine did.

But I took a deep breath and I forced my voice to be even, and I asked him, "What is wrong, Edward?"

"What? Nothing," he said back, his face betraying the shock his voice held. He was lying, he knew as well as I did that there was something wrong. If he wasn't going to freely offer it up, I doubted I would be able to pull it out of him―and frankly, I didn't have the energy to even try.

Defeated, I just shook my head and pushed past him up the stairs back into our bedroom. I kept my back to him as he slid in beside me again and he sighed, his hand brushing along my side.

I pushed his hand away. "Jasper," he whispered.

"You're tired," I said flatly.

"Jas," he tried to start again.

"Go to sleep."

"I l―"

"Don't," I cut him off forcefully.

He sat for a moment before finally settling down on the opposite side of the bed. My eyes stayed wide open, staring blindly ahead at the wall, pointedly ignoring the picture of us together on my nightstand.

"Baby, you know I can't sleep without you," he said quietly just a few minutes later.

I didn't acknowledge his words, instead I continued to stare at the wall. The bed shifted as he moved closer to me and he pressed himself up against my rigid body.

"I love you," he whispered against the back of my neck, lips brushing over the sensitive skin. He kissed my neck, then the back of my head, and my breaths only turned that much more harsh.

"Jasper, I love you," he repeated, more loudly and firmly this time. "Please," he begged desperately, wrapping his arm around me and finding my hand, holding it, squeezing it. "I wanted to be here. I'm sorry."

Against my will, another tear slid hotly from the corner of my eye and I closed them tight, not wanting any more to escape.

"I love you too," I finally said back, letting my body go slack against his.

― ― ―

It felt like I'd just fallen asleep when I was waking up again, the buzz-buzz-buzz of a cell phone vibrating pulling me from my fitful slumber.

I knew it was probably Edward's cell, Alice would likely be calling already. I looked left and he was still soundly asleep. I thought about waking him, making him go get his phone, but I didn't have the heart to do it in the end.

He looked like my Edward with his face buried in the space between our two pillows, hair a wild mess, and his shirt bunched up near his shoulders. I sighed quietly and tried to be silent as I rolled out of bed.

Just as I grabbed the phone, the backlight died, signaling the end of the call. I had been right though, it had been Alice.

I took the phone with me as I exited the room, knowing she would call back again.

I wasn't even halfway down the stairs when it started to vibrate again. Without hesitating or pausing to check, I answered the call.

"Yes?" I asked, smiling in spite of myself―Alice could always seem to make me smile, without even trying.

There was a pause, followed by a voice the complete opposite of the one I expected to hear. "Why are you answering Edward's phone?"

At least the voice wasn't unfamiliar, though it was still unwanted. "Because he is sleeping," I answered back curtly.

As close as Alice and I were, Emmett and I remained twice as far apart. We just didn't get along and we never had.

"Wake him up."

It wasn't a question, but I treated it as such anyway. "No, I will not."

"Why?" Emmett asked impatiently.

"Because he is tired. He can call you back later."

"I want to talk to my brother, put him on the fucking phone," Emmett demanded.

"No. He can call you back later," I repeated.

"Fuck you, it's fucking Christmas, I want―"

"You know what, Emmett? You can go fuck yourself. I don't know what the fuck your problem is but your brother is fucking sleeping and I'm not going to wake him up when you can call back later. I'm done with this fucking bullshit. Grow the fuck up."

I had snapped, by every meaning of the word. I couldn't do this anymore. I was done, with all of it. Over. Fuck it.

"Baby?"

Edward's tentative, gruff voice startled me slightly and I hurriedly shoved his phone at him, pushing past him to go back up the stairs.

"Jasper," he called after me. "What the fuck did you do?" he growled lowly into the phone.

I slammed our bedroom door, blocking out the sound of his voice as he talked to his brother.

Emmett had been trying for years to separate us. He finally got his wish. All this time his problem had been that I took his best friend away from him. Emmett really never fully understood that I had never tried to replace him. Edward was my lover and my best friend, I'd never tried to steal him away from his brother, but Emmett turned it into a competition and he was a sore loser―Edward had picked me when Emmett had pushed his hand.

It was over now. Emmett would be thrilled.

Haphazardly, I pulled any scrap of clothing I knew was mine from the dresser and stuffed it into a duffel bag. I hadn't bothered to lock the door so I wasn't surprised when Edward came through it.

He paused for a minute, taking in the sight of me packing my bag.

"Baby, where are you going?" he asked, the fear painfully obvious in his voice.

I guess he didn't expect to spend Christmas alone. Funny how that works, I hadn't expected to spend Christmas Eve alone either.

"Jasper," he choked out.

I quickly reached into the bathroom to grab my toothbrush off the counter and zipped up my bag, trying desperately to ignore him.

"Jasper," he repeated, more forcefully, yet sounding more unsure and afraid at the same time.

"I'm done," I said, the finality so clear that I'm sure even Emmett could hear it through the phone.

"No," was all Edward had to say.

He reached out to grab me as I tried to maneuver past him for the door. It was easy enough to shrug off his one hand, but his phone hit the floor with a clatter and he wrapped both arms around my waist. My fingers dug into his skin as I tried to pry his arms off, but his hold was strong. He wasn't letting go.

"Just fucking let go. Let me go," I told him.

He didn't; he held on tighter and I struggled against him fruitlessly.

"I'm done, Edward. I quit, I give up. Just let me go, I can't do this anymore. It's over."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I was spun around and my back hit the wall painfully and I had no choice but to stay there as Edward held me in place.

He shook his head at me, repeating 'no' over and over, in denial.

It was harder looking at his face and believing the words I had said, the words I wanted to say again to make him understand. But the pain, the terror, the panic clear on his face as his eyes searched mine and my face for a tell made it impossible to speak.

"It's... it's over," I forced myself to say, swallowing down the painful lump in my throat.

"No," he said firmly. "Nothing is over."

"I can't do this anymore," I repeated.

"Why?" he demanded. "Because of Emmett? Fuck Emmett, Jas, you know you're what's most important to me."

"Am I?" I asked, looking him directly in the eye. "Am I really?"

"Yes! Are you really going to let Emmett―"

"I can't even fucking believe you think this has anything to do with Emmett!" I yelled, cutting him off. "This isn't about your idiot brother, this is about you. Where the fuck have you been, Edward? Where have you been?"

"With you, baby. I'm here, I've been here with you."

I laughed humorlessly, shaking my head in incredulity. "Really? When is the last time we fucked, Edward?"

His face blanched and his lips popped open, mouth forming soundless words as he floundered for something to say.

"When is the last you came home and couldn't keep your hands off of me? When is the last time you even really kissed me? When is the last time you really wanted me?"

"I want you now, Jas, I always have," he rushed out.

"It's too fucking late."

"Jasper, don't say that," he begged.

"Have you been cheating on me?" I asked―I didn't really want to know if he had been, but at the same time, I felt like I had to ask.

His reaction surprised me. I'd expected fear and guilt and defensiveness, but instead he just looked blown away by my question. His shock was honest and sincere, raw bewilderment mixed with his own disbelief. At that moment, my resolve to leave began to crumble.

"What?" he gasped in answer. "Jasper, why would you... No! Never. Why would you think that?"

"Is there something wrong with me then?" I asked.

"No!" he responded earnestly. "You're fucking perfect, just like you've always been."

"Is there something wrong with you?" I pressed.

"Obviously! If you think I would cheat on you, I am obviously doing something wrong. But you need to talk to me, Jasper. You can't... You can't just leave me. What did I do?"

"It's not what you did do, Edward, it's what you didn't do," I groaned exasperatedly, leaning hard into the wall and pushing my head back so I wouldn't have to look into his wide, alarmed eyes. "Fuck, it's been months, months, since I've felt at all wanted. You don't even willingly kiss me anymore, let alone touch me." I shook my head, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "Are you sure I'm still what you want?"

"Jas," he rasped. He brought his hands up to my face, cupping my cheeks in his hand, eyes meeting mine firmly. "You're all I want. You're all I've ever wanted. If something's changed between us, it's not you, it's―"

I groaned, pushing his hands off of my face and turned my head away. "Don't you fucking dare use that bullshit 'it's not you, it's me' line to break up with me."

He gripped my face again, more firmly this time, forcing eye contact once again. "I'm not breaking up with you, Jasper," he said surely. "And it's not you, it's me. When I get home, I'm so fucking tired, I just want to sleep. I'm so sorry that I've made you feel unwanted, I had no intention of hurting you. You know I can't sleep without you. I just need to be in our bed, to know you're there."

"Really?" I asked, not hopeful but doubtful still.

"Yes. All I do in those hotel rooms is wander around aimlessly and toss and turn in bed, thinking of you."

"Why don't you call anymore?"

He shook his head. "Who wants to listen to their boyfriend whine every fucking day, Jasper?"

"I do," I insisted. "I want to listen to you whine, Edward, because it's better than not hearing your voice at all. I can't stand not having you telling me you love me before I go to sleep every night. I can't do it anymore."

"Okay. Okay, then I will call you every day, baby. I just didn't want to burden you with all of my shit. I'm sorry."

"And what about when you're here, Edward? You're here for a few days, at least, and you spend them sleeping and avoiding me. How do you expect me to believe you want me, love me, when all you do anymore is try to be away from me?"

"That is not true, Jas. I don't avoid you on purpose."

"I understand you wanting to have some time by yourself to spend with your family and friends and to just do your own thing, but you haven't been sparing me any recently."

"I'm sorry, baby, that'll change," he said, using his thumb to trace the curve of my bottom lip.

I shoved his hand away. "If you don't want to spend time with me, I'm not going to force you to."

"I want to, I just didn't notice I was doing it."

"You didn't notice..."

"I didn't notice it was me who was doing it, but I'll change that now that you've mentioned it."

"What do you mean 'didn't notice it was me'? You think that I've been trying to avoid you?" I asked incredulously.

He sighed. "No, not exactly. But you always used to ask me to do stuff with you and―"

"And you always said no!" I yelled, my temper flaring again.

"I know, but when you stopped asking, I thought maybe you didn't want to spend every minute together anymore. I would have understood that, I mean, people change, you grow up. I thought you didn't need me around all the time anymore so I didn't want to be overbearing," he explained, shrugging.

"Jesus," I groaned, thudding my head against the wall. Had we really been miscommunicating that terribly for so long? "What is your excuse for the lack of interest in sex then?" I asked, utterly defeated.

"There isn't a 'lack of interest,' Jasper. As for my 'excuse,' it's the same, I guess. I thought it had gotten to be too much for you."

"What the fuck gave you that idea? If I could keep up with you when we fucked three times a day, don't you think I'd at least want it once a fucking week? For God's sake, once a month, without having to beg!"

"I'm sorry, Jas. I'm so, so fucking sorry. I'm an idiot, this is all my fault, will you forgive me?" I narrowed my eyes at his slightly patronizing, placating tone and he sighed. "I'll take all the blame, Jasper, but you should have spoken up sooner."

"Because you know how I love confrontation so much."

"It's me, Jasper. Me! You should know by now you can talk to me, about anything."

"I think we just got so far apart, I didn't feel that way anymore," I told him.

His eyes got watery and he had to look up to stop the moisture from escaping. Swallowing loudly, he pushed on. "I'm sorry, Jasper," he said softly. "I'm sorry and I want to change, I want to fix this. Please, please don't go."

I stepped forward away from the wall and waited. His arms uncertainly moved towards me and when they finally wrapped around my shoulders, I stepped completely into him, closing my eyes and just breathing.

"I was only going to go because I thought you were cheating."

He sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry that you thought I would do that to you. I wouldn't, Jas, ever. I couldn't cheat on you, and I would never want to."

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you sooner," I mumbled into his chest.

"It's my fault."

A big part of me wanted to let him shoulder that, wanted him to think it was all his fault, but I couldn't be that selfish or this would continue to not work. I took some of the blame, because I was partially to blame. I should have said something a long time ago.

We barely loosened our embrace to move to the bed, where we stayed twined together for hours just talking. Edward agreed to ask for less hours at work so he wouldn't be gone quite as much, so he'd be less tired. I agreed to talk more, to tell him when something didn't feel right or when I was questioning his motives.

His phone was buzzing away on the floor, drawing our attention back to the outside world. We were both surprised that it was already two in the afternoon. We had to be to his parent's house for dinner, we hadn't even talked to―most―of his family yet like we normally would have by now.

"Merry Christmas," I whispered.

His lips curled slightly, making my own twitch. "Having you is still the best gift I've ever been given."

Just as his phone started another round of buzzing, he rolled on top of me, settling his weight on his forearms while I spread my knees to allow him between.

"Do you want me?" he asked gruffly, his arousal already making itself known between us.

My heart jumped into my throat, excitement so overpowering coursing through my veins, making my heart race. It'd been so long, and God, I wanted him so much, I couldn't even begin to explain.

"Yes," I begged, shaking with need.

He kissed me then, for the first time in far too long and I lost myself in the feeling, my arms and legs wrapping around him in hopes of getting him closer.

"I've missed you so much," he whispered against my open mouth.

"Me too," I sobbed, the tears not coming but the ache was present in my chest; this time it was a different ache, one of hope and healing and my love for him.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry this happened. We're going to fix it, we'll be okay and it's never going to be like that again. I promise."

He kissed me again, hard enough to bruise, but I only tried to get him closer. I whimpered as he pulled away slightly, shifting his weight onto his knees.

"I love you," he said. I opened my eyes and he looked down at me like he wanted to see right into my soul. "I love you," he repeated.

"I love you too," I choked out. "Please don't stop."

"I won't," he promised.

He shifted his arms under me and brought me up, easily pulling my shirt over my head. As I fell back onto the pillows, I pulled him back down to me, kissing him with every ounce of frantic need that I felt. I pulled at his shirt, wanting to feel his skin on mine, and our lips were separated for only the barest of moments before we were kissing again.

Using my feet for leverage, I pushed up and ground my hips hard against his, making us both moan at the friction. He dropped back down to lay between my legs, shoving the remaining clothing down our legs, leaving us both naked and rubbing our hot, hard cocks against each other.

He continued to kiss me, blindly feeling for the nightstand and yanking the drawer open. I kept kissing him, needing breath but not wanting to break our contact. I gasped for air when he finally pulled away to find what we needed.

He came back to kiss me some more after setting our supplies out on the nightstand. At the sound of the lube cap snapping open, my hips bucked up against him, making him chuckle and me blush at my enthusiasm.

His cool, wet fingers made me jump and he mumbled an apology into my mouth, circling his fingers around my opening, making me shudder. He pulled back, sitting back on his heels, and watched as he dipped his finger inside then started to circle again.

"Don't tease me," I chastised.

His lips quirked again and he nodded, carefully pressing one lubed finger inside of me.

"Fuck," I gasped as he started to swirl it.

"I'm sorry it's been so long, baby. I shouldn't have made you wait."

"It's okay, just don't do it again," I requested.

"Never. Never again."

He dropped down over me, kissing me as he added a second finger.

"Fuck, it really has been too long," he whispered, scissoring his fingers apart.

"Yes," I agreed, moaning as he knowingly curled his fingers before withdrawing them, then pushing them in again and repeating the process. "Oh, God, just fuck me," I begged.

I'd rather have had a little bit of pain than the torture. I needed to be closer to him; I needed to feel him.

"Please," I moaned as he added a third finger.

I grabbed the condom off the nightstand and tore it open for him. He kept his finger in me, maddeningly wiggling and curling and stretching me as he rolled the condom on with his other hand.

Finally he moved his fingers, then added a bit more lube and slowly started to push into me. I braced my hands against the headboard and curled my legs around his hips, pushing against him and pulling him towards me at the same time. I groaned loudly and my eyes rolled back in my head as he entered me completely in the one swift movement.

He grabbed my thighs and untangled them from around him, hooking his elbows under my knees and fixing me with a firm glare that meant I was in trouble. I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

Slowly, he eased out, watching me closely for signs of discomfort. He wouldn't find any. It had been too long, and normally I would have needed a few minutes to adjust, but I couldn't wait. I needed him too fucking much. I wanted the slight burn that accompanied his big cock stretching me.

"Fuck me, Edward," I moaned, tilting my hips toward him and trying to use my heels to pull him back into me again.

His eyes met mine while he paused for a moment, then he thrust into me hard and fast. I bit my lip, muffling my shout and he stayed completely still, allowing me to adjust.

"Hard," I growled. "Fuck me hard."

He pulled out, almost completely, and pushed back in again, just as hard and fast. Over and over, his eyes on mine, watching to make sure it didn't get to be too much.

I kept my hands on the headboard, keeping myself in place as he pounded into me relentlessly.

And God, it was so fucking good.

When his hand wrapped around my thigh and he started to stroke my cock in time with his thrusts, I knew it was going to be over soon.

But I wasn't scared. I believed him when he said he hadn't meant for us to get this way. I believed things were going to change. I believed we'd be in bed again tonight after we had dinner with his family, making up for the time we lost.

"More!" I moaned.

He fucked me harder yet, moaning his own pleasure as I tried to hold on for just a bit longer. I couldn't do it, he was angled just right, sending shocks of pleasure from my hairline to my toes with every stroke.

"Fuck," I sobbed, my head pressing back into the bed as my back arched up.

I bit down hard on my lip as I tipped over the edge, every pleasurable shake making it harder not to cry.

It'd been so fucking long, and God, I'd missed it more than I could explain. Being with him like this wasn't something I could willingly go without.

"God, Jasper," I heard Edward call.

I was still so fucking lost in my own orgasm, I hardly noticed when he started to cum. It was when he collapsed on top of me after finishing that I realized he'd cum too.

I groaned a laugh into his ear and he just stretched out more fully on top of me, flattening me against the mattress with his weight.

"We have to shower," I said into his ear, kissing it noisily when he didn't respond. "Come on, up, we have to go to your parents' house."

With an exaggerated groan, he heaved himself up off of me, then pulled me to my feet.

We showered together, taking longer than we rightly should have, but we couldn't stop kissing and touching and just holding each other as we got clean. He washed my hair and I washed his and neither of us could stop smiling, it was so much like old times―how it was supposed to be.

We dried each other and stole kisses the entire time we were getting ready and I wanted to kick myself for not saying anything sooner. It really was my fault; he looked so fucking much happier now than I'd seen him in... Well, the door swung both ways. We had both been unhappy, and now that we knew, I think we both were going to work to keep the other as happy as we were at that moment.

He held my hand as he drove toward his parents' house, and I nearly had forgotten how he used to do that every time we went somewhere. I'd forgotten how happy it made me just to hold his hand.

As he parked the car, I told him that I loved him, and he pulled me in for more kisses.

Usually Edward's father came out to help us carry in gifts, so I was surprised when I got out of the car to see Emmett walking towards us, looking fiercely determined.

I braced myself for whatever he was going to do, standing my ground even though he was at least double my weight and half a foot taller.

I squeaked as he collided with me, arms the size of my legs wrapping around me so tightly I couldn't breathe.

"I'm sorry. I still don't like you but you're right. We need to put this shit behind us for Edward, deal?" he asked, releasing me and stepping back.

I nodded, not knowing what else to do.

"Merry Christmas, Jasper," he said before turning to his brother. He apologized to him and hugged him, then helped us carry all the gifts into the house.

It was a chaotic evening, his family's house was always loud and exuberant, overwhelming at times with their enthusiasm. After dinner, we all sat down in the living room to open gifts. As I tried to take a spot on the floor beside Edward, he pulled me down in his lap, surprising me.

As he kissed my neck, I squirmed in his lap, embarrassed as my dick grew hard in front of his whole fucking family. They were ignoring us, thankfully, because I'm sure my face was tellingly red.

"Merry Christmas, love," he whispered.

I turned my head to repeat the sentiment, but he caught my mouth in a kiss before I could, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

For the first time in so long, I felt everything was truly going to be okay.