Bella's curiosity does not wane. In fact, with every meeting, her eyes gravitate more and more to Jacob. Edward can see the way her eyes linger on him as if she's trying to figure him out. The confusion is understandable. Edward had never really explained anything about his sexuality beyond his attachment to Bella herself, so seeing him with a man might be a shock.
Though, Edward thinks it goes deeper than that. The way she's sizing him up, really taking in his features while Carlisle rattles off statistics next to her, tells Edward that somethings caught her attention. About ten minutes into their sixth call, her eyes become comically wide and Edward can feel his stomach sink despite not knowing why.
Carlisle, as he does every meeting, stands up from his seat to go and get the ultrasound machine so that Edward can see the baby in real time. Usually, Edward would spend the time in between talking to Jacob or doing something for Bear. Though, Jacob's downstairs with his team and Bear's fallen asleep on Edward's pillow, so there aren't any distractions or excuses not to talk to her.
"You've moved on." she somberly surmises.
The observation is one an infant could've made, but it still makes him uncomfortable hearing her acknowledge it aloud. He gets it. He'd spent years almost obsessively watching over, caring, and loving her. It was quite strange to see he was the one who'd moved on first, but his priorities had significantly shifted after the split. He didn't want a tumultuous relationship where he felt like a constant threat to his partner. He was tired of feeling like a monster.
"Yeah," he mumbles, eyes casted down to Bear's blanket.
"To a werewolf," she points out, eyes squinting,"someone who puts you in constant danger."
She's clearly trying to make a point as her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline at his lack of objection. He understands the parallels, but there's a difference between being weaker and being weak. There's a difference between being wounded and dead. As much as she wanted to poke holes in their relationship and shine light on what she believes to be hypocrisy, he and Bella were nothing alike.
"I'll survive." He says, eyes scanning over Bella.
She'll be dead in a couple of months.
"Mm, yes, with your partner and his baby," There's clearly a question there as she tries to get more answers out of him.
She wants to get him riled up, get him yelling. She wants to get him passionate, defensive even, so that he can start to question himself. She knows how much he'd been crushed by the death of their baby. It drove a wedge between them that eventually led to him residing in an empty house made for a family. The insinuation that Bear wasn't his would eat him up, make him angry...several months ago. This version of him had been through too much with this baby to even be swayed. Instead, he just hums, a small smile gracing his face as he as he watches Bear wiggle closer to his pillow, little nose twitching as she scents it in her sleep.
There was something about the moment that takes him out of the conversation, it wakes him up as if he's been asleep for the past six months as he glances around him. He's not sure if he could go back to the glorified skyscraper he'd been so proud of just months ago. Something about the world felt different. The desolation that he'd once craved felt daunting. He was afraid to go back to it. He was used to Leah preparing dinner while Seth pretended he wasn't helping. He was used to Embry and Quil quietly cracking jokes on the couch as they cuddled under some of the blankets that one of them had hauled downstairs. He'd miss Jacob. The way Jacob smiled as if he's never been happier as he hops up on one of the stools, taking in the quiet buzz of his family as they enjoyed one another's company. His smile only grows larger when Edward and Bear emerge from upstairs. It was different from Jasper and Emmett popping in every now and then to go on a hunting trip. It felt like he was a part of something significant.
Yet, he's aware that, despite Jacob's promises, nothing felt concrete. The necklace with Jacob's mother's ring attached to it was just a part of their ruse. The bite had felt significant to Edward a few months ago, but the more he thinks on it, the more it feels like less of an expression of how Jacob feels and more of him simply filling a need. It was a need to protect Edward so that Jacob didn't end up alone, not him actually actively choosing Edward. Not him garaunteeing that he felt anything more than a primal need.
Edward can feel the anxiety bubbling up in his chest as his smile falls from his lips.
Jacob's technically not on the case. He's meant to protect Bear, but he has no real stake in the case itself. The spectacle and body count have gotten large enough that the FBI and SWAT are pounding at the doors of the station, itching to get their hands on the mess, and the Chief lets them in. The only real priority right now was making sure there was a protection detail around Jacob's house.
Jacob's instincts make that significantly harder. They're telling him to isolate his little family, that the best protection would be the pack, people he could 100% trust. He didn't like the team in and out of his house, and didn't like the patrol cars constantly monitoring them. He didn't like that he couldn't lay down with his...with Edward and not be interrupted by some incessant update on something he couldn't control. He craved space.
He wanted to walk into his kitchen and not see his coworkers posted up at his kitchen table discussing strategy. Everything felt stuffy. There was no escaping it.
He goes downstairs to wash one of Bear's bottles and is immediately bombarded with Mike and Eric bickering about something. They surround him, one on either side of him as he rinses the bottle, and he can feel the anger bubbling up before he can even register the words coming out their mouths.
"I mean what gives those asshats point?" Mike huffs, crossing his arms.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that the man has killed several people and kidnapped someone." Eric points out.
"If Boss was still on the case, we would've caught the bastard by now." Mike mutters, eyes glancing over to Jacob, who's stabbing the baby's brush into the bottle.
"What you think we could've out maneuvered the fucking FBI?" Eric huffs, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, ain't that right, Jake? Get the man a folder. He'd know where to look." Mike banters back.
"Naw, Eddy's got the man on a leash..." Eric's voice manages to penetrate through the irritation, "look at him. He's a family man now."
Jacob doesn't even acknowledge them, hoping they'll take it somewhere else, but Mike reaches out and pats him on the arm and something about the movement just sets him off.
He drops the bottle and brush into the sink, hands coming down to grip the countertop to keep him from reaching out and grabbing the man by the neck.
"Piss off!" He hisses, and he can feel the mood shift as the two realize that he's, in fact, not enjoying their little argument.
Why would he be? He's been benched while there's a five-year-old girl missing, his house is flooded with cops, Edward's upstairs talking to his ex-fianceé who's pregnant with his baby, there's a madman running around threatening their lives, and two of his team members are sitting in his kitchen bickering about who could've solved this shit show the fastest.
Mike moves his mouth as if he's about to stutter out something that's going to get him socked in his teeth, but he's cut off.
"Hey, I heard Jess call for you two." Leah says as she emerges from the living room to save them.
She nods towards the front door and they both haul ass out of it. She waits for their exit before leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, watching him with her arms crossed. She's not angry or even disappointed in him, if anything, she looks as if she understands as she waits for him to get his bearing.
"It's normal, what you're feeling," she starts, slowly making her way until she's standing next to the stove," especially with a baby on the way."
She doesn't even bother with explaining why taking that anger out on other people wasn't the answer. Though, he can feel that there's something she's omitting for his sake. Something she's implying, but doesn't want to say just in case anyone's listening. She just nods toward the stairs as if that was the answer to all of his problems before reaching over to grab a stack of plates wrapped in tinfoil and holding them out for him to take.
He's got a lot of pent-up energy that he'd usually run off. He misses it, running until he couldn't even feel his legs and lungs felt like they were on fire. The lack of release was turning him feral and the number of cops lingering around his house made it impossible to even spread his legs let alone shift. He was vibrating with so much energy that it was bound to rear its ugly head at some point.
He marches back up the stairs, plates in hand, and says nothing when Edward peers over at him. He's still on his call with Carlisle, but his father has clearly stepped away from the screen. Bella's still there, watching him. Jacob can feel her eyes following him even as he wanders off screen.
On any other day, none of it would bother Jacob. He'd climb onto the bed and quietly wait for Edward to be done, but he's so on edge, that he can feel himself gritting his teeth. He wants the call to end. He wants to have Edward to himself for just a moment. He doesn't want anyone watching them and what they're doing.
He'd felt it before, felt that itch, had even acted upon it despite trying his best not to label it or acknowledge it for what it really was. The way he'd bitten into Edward's neck like a reminder. He was jealous. At least for the moment, he was annoyed at the constant amount of people perpetually in their little bubble.
So, he sits the plates down on the desk louder than is necessary and stalks over to where Edward's seated on the bed. He presses his nose into Edward's neck, arms wrapping around him, before he can think better of it. Despite Jacob's previous antics, Edward's not one for PDA. He'd lean into Jacob every so often, but he didn't like sharing intimacy even when Carlisle wasn't on screen. He's especially touchy about it when Bella was watching. Though, this time he doesn't look up at Jacob like he wants him to stop.
He can feel Bella's eyes watching them even as Edward peels himself away from Jacob to scoop Bear up. Edward leaves the room for a moment, but that gaze never leaves the side of Jacob's head. He comes back upstairs and immediately heads for the computer, ending the call abruptly.
They're as alone as Jacob's going to get and he can finally feel the tension slowly melt from his shoulders as Edward makes his way over. Jacob's fingers rake Edward's oversized shirt up his stomach, exposing the skin so Jacob can finally get his lips on some part of him. Jacob needs him, but in a way that's foreign to him. He's on top of Edward, hands roaming over every inch of his body, but he has no goal in mind. He just needs this.
His lips find Edward's and he kisses him as if it's the last time he's ever going to be able to.
He's not looking to overpower him, mark him, Jacob just wants Edward to truly understand how he's feeling.
For the first time since they'd stumbled together, everything else seems to fall away. The chatter downstairs fades into the background, the constant movement turns to static, the stress of worrying about other people leaves him. They move together so seamlessly, so flawlessly that he's entranced by it. His every move is with the intention of making Edward feel good, to get sounds out of him that he's never heard before as he peels the man's hand away from his own mouth. So much so, that his own orgasm sneaks up on him. Edward's on his second, eyes fluttering as they rolled back and it's so strong, it has him clenching down on Jacob suddenly, ripping the orgasm right out of him.
The tremors rock his body so hard that he thinks he's just going to collapse and smush Edward as his legs and arms tremble underneath him. Though, instead, he's pulled down, Edward's arms and legs pinning them together before a quiet noise, that sounds like a sob, leaves his lips.
The sound sobers Jacob up quickly as it dawns on him that maybe something had happened while Jacob was downstairs. He'd been so caught up in himself, that it hadn't occurred to him to really take a good look at Edward, assess his mood.
Jacob tilts his head up, cheek brushing against Edward's, only to feel something wet touch his face.
Edward's crying. He's clinging to Jacob, even as his body begins to relax, as if Jacob's going to suddenly disappear when the moment's over. It's enough to have him panicking as Jacob attempts to make a little space so he can get a good look at Edward's face.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he manages and listens as the man quietly sniffles into Jacob's shoulder.
"I love you."