Michael was standing in the kitchen, talking to Esme when Jasper rushed inside the house. His hand clasped around Michael's wrist, and he was pulling the brunet out of the room after muttering an apology to Esme.

Michael followed along, curious as to what was happening.

The second they were alone in Alice and Jasper's room --or their room, considering that Michael had been staying in it for a few weeks now-- with the door closed, he knew something was wrong. He had always been good at reading Jasper’s emotions, but he didn’t need to be at this moment. He could feel his emotions. It seemed as if Jasper was accidentally projecting them onto him.

Panic and anxiety were two of the most prominent. Hidden beneath it, though, was pure hunger. Bloodlust. It was strong enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he let out a quiet growl. He was sure his eyes were black as his gaze met Jasper’s head-on.

Inhaling deeply, Michael forced himself to gain more control. Reigning in his emotions to help as much as he could, Michael approached the blond male. He noticed how Jasper’s demeanor changed to cautious as he neared and he knew why. He knew how he looked when he felt like this. He looked feral. All he needed to do was release a snarl and, when paired with his black eyes, he could send most people running.

But as Michael had always known, Jasper wasn’t in any way “most people.” He never had been, and he never would be.

Even then, he could see how tense Jasper was until Michael pulled him into a hug. He didn’t do a single unsettling thing in nature.

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when Jasper melted into him. He felt Jasper’s arms hesitantly snake around his waist and Michael couldn’t help but pull him closer. He simply held the blond male in his embrace for a minute before he spoke in a low tone, his voice raspy as he still felt the burn of thirst in his throat.

“What’s wrong, Jazz? Don’t lie to me, you know that doesn’t work. Please, just tell me.”

He didn’t dare let go of Jasper, relishing the feeling of being this close to him. His grip tightened more as he felt the blond push his face against his shoulder as if he was trying to hide from something.

Jasper remained quiet for a few seconds before he spoke, tightly clutching the material of Mike’s shirt in his hands. “Something’s wrong with me,” he said. “I tried hunting some animals after what happened. The first time since I bit you a couple of days ago. It didn’t work; it just made the burning worse and it tasted horrible. I feel like it’s harder to control myself. It’s like I’m a newborn all over again. The only problem,” he said while pulling back a bit, his gaze meeting Michael’s once more. “Is that what I’m having to control myself from, is you. I can’t get you out of my head anymore. Since the second your blood hit the back of my throat, you’re all I’ve been able to think about.”

Michael didn’t say anything, holding his breath as he waited for him to continue.

“I talked to Alice. I know she knows what’s happening to me, but she won’t say what it is. And it confuses me because we tell each other everything. Do you think she’s upset with me? Because I like you more than I should right now?”

Michael’s breath caught in his throat as Jasper gazed down at him. Before he even realized he was moving, he pulled Jasper down into a passionate kiss. And for a moment, his hopes lifted as he felt the blond start to kiss him too.

But then he was harshly shoved backward, a sharp fang catching his lip in the process. His hand instantly moved to cover his mouth as he felt warm blood run down his chin.

His lip screamed in pain, but he hardly noticed. His mind had gone blank and his heart was ripped apart. He couldn’t believe himself. He just kissed his best friend; something that he had been wanting to do since they were teens. Yet he was pushed--shoved--away in a matter of seconds.

He was humiliated. He was ashamed of himself. Jasper was married to Alice, for god’s sake! Why did he do that?

He didn’t understand. He never gave in to his urges, so why now? Why was this time any different? Why did he think Jasper would let him this time? Why did he think he would want to kiss him? Why would he ever want him? What could ever possibly be desirable about him that Jasper would want? Why did he fall for the guy that wouldn’t want him back?

His gaze flickered up from the ground when the wooden floor creaked under a change in weight.

Jasper froze his movements when he saw the fear in Mike’s sky-blue eyes. He had seen that look before.

It had been so long ago and he had been too naive to understand it. That the fear he was seeing before him, feeling before him, had always been directed toward him.

It became public knowledge in their town growing up that Michael found interest in men as well as women, sort of like his older brother had. Jasper never believed it. He had been so certain that they were lies, merely rumors made up by girls who Michael had rejected. But that was because Mike had always been careful. He wasn’t hiding it from everyone; just his best friend.

Because Michael had been scared. He wasn’t stupid; he wouldn’t allow himself to meet the same fate Mason had. He knew better than to go after the man he wanted. Instead, he went with whichever boy decided they wanted to dip their toes into the water a bit. He knew none of them were Jasper, but he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want them to be.

The last time Jasper was on the receiving end of that fearful look, had been when he caught Mike and one of the farm boys out in one of the run-down buildings near the outskirts of town. He remembered how the boy ran off upon seeing him, leaving Michael half-dressed on the ground. The second Mike had seen him, he got off the floor and made his way toward the exit.

Jasper, being the dumb seventeen-year-old he had been, had decided to grab the fifteen-year-old’s arm and shove him up against the wall.

Bad mistake.

He remembered how Michael had instantly let out a cry of pain as his back hit the wall. With just a brief look, Jasper had been able to see the nails dug deeply into Mike’s shoulder. But the look in his eyes wasn’t caused by physical pain. It never had been. It wasn’t until Michael looked at him like that now again that he realized what it was.

It was fear for what Jasper would do.

Jasper was broken out of his thoughts when Michael spoke. The brunet's voice was low and guarded, but he could still hear the vulnerability hidden behind it. “If you have something to say, Jazz, just get it over with.”

“All I have to say,” Jasper said, once again approaching the brunet. “Is that next time you try to kiss me like that, please warn me first so I don’t shove you away again.”

Michael’s brows furrowed at Jazz’s words, just barely managing to process their meaning before he felt soft lips meet his again. He was hesitant this time, but he returned the kiss. His muscles relaxed the more he realized that Jasper wasn’t pulling back.

He smirked upon feeling his lip burn again, listening as Jasper inhaled sharply. Wrapping a hand in his golden-blond hair, Michael teasingly nipped at his lip as he spoke.

“Careful there, Cowboy. That’s the second time you’ve made my lip bleed already.” He pulled back a bit to look into Jasper’s eyes, lightly cupping his cheek with his free hand.

“If you wanted to sink your teeth into me again, you could have just asked. Since the animals apparently aren't satisfying you enough, I suppose you can use me until we find out why. Just try to refrain from making a mess. I actually like this shirt.”

Jasper looked away bashfully, ducking his head down.

Michael rolled his eyes as he made Jasper look back up. “So now you wanna go all shy on me? You were anything but shy about it last time.”

Jasper sent him a half-hearted glare before shoving him up against the wall, wrapping his hand tightly around Michael’s neck to keep him in place. A smirk made its way onto his face as he heard Mike’s breath hitch before he leaned down.

He bit down slowly this time, letting his fangs leisurely sink into the soft flesh of Michael's neck. Jasper felt him shiver, but he ignored it as a warm, thick liquid began to coat his burning throat. Jasper released a low, growl-like sound in the back of his throat as Mike wrapped his hand tightly into the blond's hair.

They both enjoyed the silence as Jasper continued to feed, both perfectly content with this situation.

Jasper only pulled back when the door busted open. Before he could process it, Michael kissed him one last time. After sucking the blood off of Jazz's lip, Mike stepped away with a small smirk.

"I'm gonna go back to find Renesmee now, I want to say bye before we head to the airport. You two might want to have a little talk, first."

Jasper's eyes widened when he saw Alice standing by the door. She moved to the side as Michael neared, briefly grabbing his hand and squeezing it as he passed. He closed the door behind him as he left.

"Alice, I don't know what to say. I just - ," he was cut off.

"About frickin' frackin' time! Jazz, do you realize how long I've been waiting for either of you to grow a pair and go for it?"

Jasper sat down on the edge of the bed, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Wait, what?" He said, "You aren't mad?

Alice scuffed as she replied, " Of course not! I've been waiting for like two weeks now for it to happen. You guys are so indecisive. You have no idea how many different possibilities I've seen."

Jasper ran his hand through his long hair as he processed her words.

"So, you knew it was going to happen, and you weren't upset? How could you be okay with it?" His tense posture relaxed a bit as he heard his wife giggle.

"Because it is adorable," she said. "I'm only upset that I didn't get here in time to see all of it."

Jasper bit back a smile at Alice's words, but a grin broke out when he heard one of his siblings gag dramatically from inside one of the other rooms.

"Besides, Michael would be a good addition. He practically lives with us, anyway."

Jasper smiled to himself as he leaned back against the wooden headboard.

"Yeah. It'd be nice. I wouldn't mind having him around constantly again. Mike and I used to be so close when we were young. We drifted a bit before we were separated."

Jasper rubbed his exposed neck as his head fell back against the headboard, his eyes fluttering closed.

They sat and talked for a while longer before they headed downstairs to take Michael to the airport.

He knew Michael would only be gone for a few days, but he couldn't help but sulk after Mike said goodbye and boarded his plane.