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He's powerful. He's strong. He's a wolf.
And he's human.
Sometimes, Edward forgets.
He forgets when Jacob stretches and sheds out of his human skin, his searing flesh transforming into the mahogany fur that stretches along the length of his ferocious wolf form. He forgets when they’re running together through miles and miles of dense forests that stretches from Washington to the border of Canada. Edward sometimes forgets about the very human, very young man that holds so much power and responsibility on his shoulders when he’s faced against the giant beast, teeth usually bared in a sharp, twisted attempt of a grin. The idea of Jacob, the human, gets lost in the majesty of Jacob Black, the shapeshifter and rightful Alpha to the Quileute Wolf Pack.
"Do you wanna go to the store with me?"
And then there are these moments, like this one, that reminds Edward all too well how mortal the man really is.
Edward glances up from his book, staring at Jacob with an even, almost critical look.
"What?"
Jacob rolls his eyes, shifting from his left to his right foot before unceremoniously digging a finger in his ear. Edward finds himself unable to stop the flinch of disgust, the concept of earwax of a vague familiarity to him.
"I said, do you want to go grocery shopping with me?"
Edward dog-ears his page, the biography reaching a stale plateau anyway. He closes and tosses the book on the table in front of him before moving to one side of the couch, just as Jacob flops down next to him.
"…You do remember I can’t eat human food, right?"
Jacob stares back at the vampire, equally unimpressed.
"Ah yes, I know how you need your milk, eggs, and fancy cheeses. Wouldn't want to stop that growing body of yours, after all," the man replies, flicking his glob of wax somewhere in the front of them.
Edward turns to glare at Jacob and without a word, stands to leave. But before he could take a step Jacob grabs his wrist, his thumb resting on the spot where Edward's pulse once beat steadily.
"Calm down, ice boy. I'm just kidding," Jacob says. The unnatural heat of his flesh seeps through Edward's cold skin, finding a way to travel along his dead veins to settle strangely in his belly. The feeling makes his toes curl.
"Ah yes. Because if there is one joke I do enjoy hearing, it is about my permanent state of being,” Edward replies, shaking his hand out of the man’s grasp. Jacob grunts before standing himself.
"So, you wanna come or not?"
Edward stares into the space of the adjacent hallway, silent. After a moment he asks, "Why are you asking me?"
"What do you mean, why? Cause I am."
"Well, grocery shopping isn't exactly my expertise…as you so kindly pointed out."
In the several years he has known the shifter, this has to be the surrealist conversation he’s ever had with him.
Jacob shrugs in that noncommittal way that annoys Edward to no end, looking away and sniffling in that stretches silence between them.
"Whatever, man," Jacob says suddenly, scratching his neck. "I just was wondering. No need to—"
"I'll come. I mean…I'll accompany you," Edward says, a little more hastily than he would ever care to admit. A flash of surprise crosses Jacob’s face before it falls back into youthful indifference.
"Okay, cool.”
Edward almost hopes that the entire request is a weird joke. But after grabbing his coat and his wallet, the vampire walks out of his front door and sure enough, there’s Jacob, leaning against his horribly beaten-up red truck with his arms crossed, not a hint of appreciation directed at him.
“You finally ready?”
The vampire huffs, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I am.”
Jacob smirks before tossing his keys in the air.
“Then let’s go.”
Edward is grateful for two things that morning. The first is the somber weather that keeps one of his undead body’s consequences at bay — the horrid shimmering light show he is cursed to call ‘skin’. The other is the surprisingly peaceful — and quiet — drive with Jacob. As the old pickup’s roars echo off the pavement and bounce off trunks of the trees they drive pass, Edward is almost flabbergasted by the lack of conversation starters the wolf attempts to make, keeping his eyes squarely on the road and his mouth shut. The radio is even turned down low in favor of a blessed silence.
At first, it’s wonderful. Edward’s mind is free to wonder and although Jacob blocks out his instinctive telepathic attempts to read his mind, he appreciates the peace. It isn’t until they reach their first stoplight outside of the woods that Edward suspects the established tranquility is more purposeful than not.
“Where are we going?” Edward asks a second before the traffic light flashed to green. The car lurches back a bit as Jacob all but slams his foot on the accelerator.
“Hmm?” Jacob answers distractedly, taking up leaning his head on his fist and steering with the other hand as he speeds through the light traffic. “What?”
“I said, where are we going, Jacob?” he repeats and then pauses. He suddenly realizes that he willingly jumped into his inherent rival’s car and has little idea where they are actually going.
And to think he used to admonish Bella for her naiveté.
The wolf continues to maintain an air of apathy, and even after a second attempt at reading his thoughts Edward still couldn’t glean the real intention behind it.
“That store near Eric’s Bakery. You know, that new age-y one? My dad wants some organic shit that’s supposed to help with his diabetes, and he says they only sell the stuff there. But whatever, I’m getting some chips.”
Edward, in fact, didn’t know of the “’new age-y’ store next to Eric’s Bakery,” but he supplies an “Oh,” anyway.
“Um…How is your father? You mentioned he’s doing better?”
The vampire closes his eyes, telepathically sending an apology to Jacob for the crude shift to the sensitive topic. The wolf gives a quiet grunt, but his voice is still even when he speaks.
“Yeah, he’s getting better. The new insurance gives us both a ton more options for treatments. There’s plenty of shitty tasting vitamins for the taking now.”
He barks out a bitter laugh. The vampire spares a glance and sees the tired expression the other stops bothering to hide.
“But he’s good. I think he still wants things to go back to normal, kinda before he got sick. But he’s getting there, accepting things. We both are.”
Edward nods, lost for how he should respond to that. Instead, he does his part in returning to the established quiet of before.
Within minutes, the rest of the forest gives way to a quiet residential area, and after following the main road, a downtown area pops up with small businesses and store-fronts lining the main streets. They drive for three more blocks before Jacob turns and pulls the car into a parking spot facing a small bakery with “World-Famous Eric’s!’ plastered on a sign hanging in front of the display window. And sure enough, to the left is an even smaller grocery store with the name Planet One in delicate lettering on the entrance door.
“We’re here,” the shapeshifter announces unenthusiastically. He turns the car off and climbs out without another word, leaving Edward to follow. The vampire does, sighing as he slams the door.
“Just the 'organic shit’, then?” Edward asks as they approach the front door. He swears he sees a smirk on the man’s face before jumping at the sharp sound of a high-pitched shriek.
“What?” Jacob shouts, and a frantic Shit! rings through his mind as they both swivel to the source – two young girls standing before them. They look no older than fourteen, eyes big and covering their mouths with their glittery fingertips. For one horrific moment, Edward thinks that he hadn’t been paying attention and the two saw his pale skin flicker in some stray sunlight. Maybe he could convince them of some particular perchance of body glitter, but he’s still putting both he and Jacob in danger. He makes the move to grab the wolf’s arm and rush them back to the truck when one of the girls, the screamer, exclaims,
“I’m so sorry! You’re just really hot!”
Edward stares, Jacob stares, and girls stare back, all in a wonderfully, humorous, expectant way that belongs in a sitcom somewhere. The screamer’s thoughts suddenly pummel the vampire’s mind, ending with, Damn I’m such an idiot! But he’s so cute! I’ve never seen someone so beautiful! Oh! But is that his boyfriend? Are they on a date? We’re ruing it!
“Ahem,” the vampire replies, clearing his throat and appreciative that he lacks the blood that would have run across his cheeks then. “Ah…Thank you very much.”
He spares them both one of his more charming smiles, noting their general innocence. The girls squeal loudly in joy before the screamer grabs her friend’s arm and runs pass them to the end of the block, disappearing around the corner. Edward huffs and smiles, turning back to the smirk he expects to see on Jacob’s face. Instead, the wolf seems even more irritated than before.
“Jesus, if I’d knew your little fan club is going to follow us around, I would have left you home,” Jacob says. He grabs the door’s handle with a little more force than necessary, yanking it hard as he enters. It bounces off the concrete wall before swinging back to place.
Edward sighs before entering as well, contrastingly politer. The single cashier – a small bespectacled woman with bright blonde – looks startled as he passes, no doubt due to Jacob’s abrupt arrival. He nods and gives her a soft, “Good afternoon.”
“Y-yes, hi! Welcome to Planet One!” she replies hastily as she visibly brightens at his appearance, her thoughts changing to slightly romanticizing ones about him.
“Thank you.” He glances around. “Ah, did you see where my friend went?”
Oh ew, he’s with him? But he’s so much cuter, and not nearly as rude. They don’t even look right next to each other. “Oh, yes! I think he went down aisle four? That’s where our vitamins are. The way he bumbled in here, he must be in a hurry.”
The last sentence seems to be tacked on before she thinks about it (her mind confesses as much), but even without it, Edward finds himself startled by her thoughts. Not ‘right’?
“Thanks,” the vampire says before following the store’s floor pattern to aisle four. Everywhere, food items on wooden shelves flash the words “organic!” and “gluten-free!” while fun, childlike drawings litter the chalkboard covered walls. One aisle is flanked with a long pinboard of help wanted ads, dog and cat adoption forms, band meet-ups, and farmer market notices. There aren’t many people around, which the vampire is grateful for; beyond a hunched older man and woman and her service dog, the place seems empty of patrons. After passing a shelf of slightly rotting fruit, Edward spots Jacob behind a corner, looking intensely between a pair of vitamin bottles in his hands.
“Thanks for waiting for me,” Edward deadpans. Jacob says nothing, eyes continuing to shift between the nutritional facts on the back of both bottles. The vampire tries vainly to read the shifter’s mind but is blocked out one more (though this time, it is by an R&B song he’s never heard of).
Edward growls, weary and irritated at the inexplicable coldness being thrown his way, especially after agreeing to go on this strange escapade with his rival (once-rival? Lines seem to be blurring recently) in the first place.
“Look, mutt,” the vampire hisses, his eyes flashing. He approaches to man, letting his civil exterior crack in lieu of his true feelings. “You’re the one who invited me on this little trip. I was perfectly content staying home and not spending time in this niche excuse of an organic paradise. Why the hell would you ask me to come along if you were just going to treat me like this?”
They aren’t the exact words he intends to say, but he is tired, a bit thirsty, and wants to finish his book. But the wolf still doesn’t answer. Instead, his broad shoulders shake in a botched attempt of suppressing a shudder.
“Jacob?” he says with a gasp.
The shapeshifter turns his face away, though Edward catches the look in his eyes. Despite his better judgment, the vampire reaches out and grabs his arm without thought. Even through the fabric of his jacket, he could still feel his warmth radiating through.
“Jacob? What’s wrong? Tell me.”
The man sniffs softly, rubbing a wet eye with his thumb.
“Shit, Edward,” he replies, watery. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s alright,” Edward whispers. He looks at the bottles in the other’s hands. “Is one of these what your father needs?”
“I-I don’t know, I forgot. Fuck, he called me at the shop, and I was trying to listen to him and a customer at the same time. And h-he’s on one of his fucking fishing trips and I know he left his phone, shit I know he did and- “
“Hush, wolf,” he whispers. He realizes after giving it a squeeze he hasn’t let go of the young man’s arm. “Why don’t we get both? And whichever he doesn’t need, we’ll return, okay? Let’s just get out of here.”
Oh, so he’s one of those. Makes sense.
Edward thinks the rude comment comes from Jacob at first. But he lifts his head and finds the two of them being stare down cruelly by a security guard standing behind them in the aisle. He looks so stereotypical in his appearance that the vampire nearly laughs: Insanely thick handlebar mustache, sunglasses indoors, and a gut that proved how much guarding he is actually doing regularly. Add a toothpick and Edward would have believed it was a prank.
“Good afternoon, officer,” the vampire replies sardonically before turning and dragging Jacob back to the counter, the other still in wiping at his face. They walk down an aisle full of snacks and chips, the security guard slowly trailing behind them. In a flash, quicker than the man could see, Edward grabs two bags of whole wheat barbeque chips from the shelf next to him.
“Do you like these?” Edward whispers, revealing his grab. Jacob glances down as they turned a corner, temporarily losing the officer.
He lets out a soft laugh. “Thank you, leech.”
The guard returns behind them, but the register is straight ahead. The two drop their items hastily when they reach the counter, startling the cashier out of her endless scrolling through her phone.
“Oh! Hi again,” she says, looking pointedly at Edward without sparing at glance the shapeshifter. “Did you find everything you needed?”
“We did,” He drops the pleasantries but schools his face into a perfected insouciant mask, her lack of acknowledgment towards Jacob confirming his suspicions. The woman doesn’t miss a beat; she rings up the items, grinning at the vampire the entire time. The wolf scoffs, staring instead at the display window as the price steadily increases.
You should be with me, not some nasty, dirty Indian . God, I bet he’s just here because he feels sorry for him. Gross.
“Okay, that’s…$40.98. Need a bag?”
“No, we’re good. Thanks,” Jacob grunts, pulling out his wallet. Edward bites his bottom lip, knowing the next move would be an important tipping point for…whatever their relationship was (if he could even classify it as such), but he couldn’t stop himself.
“I’ll pay,” he blurts out. The cashier’s eyes brighten while Jacob’s widen in horror.
“Edward, no.” The man seizes the vampire’s hand, grip tight before Edward could pass on his credit card. “I don’t need your money.”
The woman snorts. Edward grits his teeth but remains composed. He snatches his arm out of the grasp and hands his card to the woman. She makes sure to let her fingers brush against his as she grabs it, gasping at the coolness of his fingers.
“It’s not a problem,” he replies. “I rather not have my friends spend money when I can help it, especially in establishments that uphold such disgusting excuses of moral upstanding like this one.”
The cashier bites her lips and blushes, her stare downcast. Jacob chokes, and behind them, a grunt from the guard is heard.
“Uh…okay.”
She swipes the card and the receipt is almost printed immediately, the mechanically scratching sounds highlighting the sudden tension. She tears the paper and hands it back to the vampire, but not before gasping at the name etched at the top.
“You’re a Cullen? Oh my God!”
“That I am,” Edward replies with a small smirk. “And I can’t say I’ll be returning or recommending any of my friends to this little store of yours. Good day.”
The vampire gathers the items in one arm while grabbing the shapeshifter with the other before waltzing out of the store.
The two are back at the truck before Edward can apologize or confirm the horrible treatment or ask Jacob if he is alright (and knowing his grace around the boy during intimate moments like this, he’d probably try to ask all three questions at once), but before he opens his mouth, the cashier comes running out of the store with another piece of paper in hand.
“Wait!” she says, stopping in front to them. She gives Jacob a weird look mixed with sheepishness and defeat, before turning her attention to Edward.
“I am so sorry about what just happened. Buck, our guard, he’s just an overgrown watchdog. He always following people in the store. I’ve told him to stop but…”
Edward snorts, unbelieving the sheer audacity of this woman. Pretending she is blameless in this! He looks up at the wolf over the woman’s head, his fatigued expression only fueling his disdain.
“That’s not—"
“Sorry about your experience too. I swear I’m not like that, especially outside of work. My name is Katie, by the way. I’d love to hang out with you sometime?”
She hands him the paper she’s holding which is, unsurprisingly, her phone number in a messy scrawl. He gawks at her, completely gob smacked at her nerve while still ignoring Jacob, the deserving party to her half-hearted attempts at sincerity.
Edward feels his anger rising and his vision blurring a little. It probably isn’t a good thing he’s getting thirsty by the minute. A jumble of cruel words bubbles to the surface of his throat, but before he can tell Katie what he really wants to do with that paper, Jacob huffs loudly.
“Look, Kat-ie,” he says, stressing her name. “My friend isn’t going to take your number because unlike you, he isn’t a racist piece of shit. Next time you wanna score with someone, don’t treat their friends like fucking trash. Or better yet, do, cause then you’ll find someone who’s just like you: a fucking shit person.”
Jacob opens the door and climbs into the driver’s seat. Katie stands there, mouth agape, matching Edward’s incredulous look.
“Let’s go home, Cullen!” the wolf calls.
He snorts and shrugs before gracing the woman with a slight bow. “And with that, have a good day.”
Edward gets into the car just as Jacob jams the key into the ignition. The car rumbles and putters back to life, which snaps Katie out of her trance.
She dashes up to Edward's window, frantic. “What are you talking about? I’m not racist, I— “
“Eh, howgh, the big Indian has spoken. Now move.”
Katie does as she’s told, moving away as the truck backs out of the parking lot, turns, and drives back onto the main road. The last thing Edward can hear from her is the mortified mind is, Goddamn, I’m the worst.
You certainly are, the vampire thought back.
If the ride to the store was obliviously blissful, then the ride home is a near mirror image of straining tension. Despite their simultaneous understanding of the awful treatment Jacob was receiving and working tandemly to shut down Katie's advances, the vampire can’t help but notice the lack of joviality from the other. He still seems aggravated, though it’s coupled with an exhaustion unsuited for his youthful face.
“Are you okay?” he finally asks, softly. The car comes to a slow stop at a red light, the second to last before they were out of downtown and back on the road home.
Jacob opens his mouth before closing it, and instead runs a big hand down his face.
“No, I’m not,” the wolf says. “I’m really fucking not.”
And how could he be? To have such a horrendous experience happen to him while he’s worried about his father’s health. Edward’s chest aches. For an absurd moment, he wants to wrap his arms around him.
“But I'm used to it,” he continues. “I'm used to it there, and everywhere in this town. From cashiers and guards and other people. This just today…”
He doesn’t finish the sentence, but he does grip the steering wheel tighter. The light flashes green and Jacob steps heavily on the gas, sending them speeding out of town.
Edward sits quietly, digesting what the other is implying. A being over a century old, he is no stranger to witnessing the cruelty of man towards each other, especially by those with skin near as pale as his. It is always the same ideologies of being better or right behind their horrible thoughts and actions, notions that consistently held no ground. And there was always a suspension of disbelief that they were any but corrupt and hateful, always sighting fiction and anecdotes as their evidence of being the good people. Edward has seen morally compromised people rise to great heights in society over and over again, hiding their true selves behind accusations, violence, and the fear-mongering of others
“I’m sorry,” the vampire says, and it sounds shallow in his ears. He wants to tell Jacob that, despite the history between their families, he never held any ill-will towards the Quileute Tribe because of their culture or race. Or that when he was a mere 60 years young, he participated in the many civil rights movements that gripped the country around the time Jacob’s father is a small boy. Or that he would never, ever do or say anything like that Katie thought of him.
But it all feels preachy and self-congratulating and wrong. Jacob sighs and shrugs.
“It’s whatever. Like I said I'm used to it. I was once banned from there because I blew up at this dude who says he was surprised some Indian like me could afford the vitamins, that I hadn’t drank it all away yet. I had to beg them to let me come back so I could keep getting them.”
The vampire is horrified. Surely such a small business could afford to not hire several bigots at once, but perhaps it is intentional. It astonishes him a store that promoted such healthy, clean living is so backward with the attitudes of its employees. He begins to formulate a plan that would help him to find the manufacture of these vitamins and have them ship directly to his home. Anything to save Jacob from returning to that terrible place.
But that is only the surface. Jacob says this type of harassment is frequent in his life - surely Edward couldn’t go around Washington admonishing every racist idiot the wolf encounters.
“Jacob…why didn’t you tell me?” he presses. The wolf snorts.
“Tell you what? Every time a racist dickhead and I crossed paths? I’d be bothering you non-stop. ‘Sides, we aren’t really buddy-buddy like that.”
You called me your friend, the vampire wants to say.
They reach the final light before the road transforms back into the highway, leading them to their respected homes.
“Humans…it’s idiotic that certain people think they’re better because of their race, and to pass that line of thinking to their children,” Edward says carefully, after a moment.
The wolf smiles bitterly. “Don’t tell me that, tell them.”
The vampire persists. “Regardless of the color of their skin, they all bleed the same.”
Jacob looks sharply at him, flashing a malicious grin. “Lucky you then, right?”
The rest of the ride is silent after Edward sinks back into his seat, defeated. But doesn’t blame the wolf for his anger. If anything, his previous resolve to leave the uneducated masses of Forks to their whims is destroyed. Instead, he decides to unabashedly speak up every time a racist notion is even thought near him. And if that means accompanying the shapeshifter on any and every errand from that point onward, he would proudly do so.
(It only occurs to the vampire later how admittedly bold that is, that the wolf would even want for him to tag along anymore. Though he hopes privately that he would.)
Within minutes, they were turning on the dirt road that leads to Edward’s home.
“Look,” Jacob starts as the house comes into view. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just I hate going to that place, and the way they look at me. I was hoping it would be different this time but…”
“Is that why you invited me?” Edward asks without accusation, tilting his head. “Did you hope me coming along would change their behavior?”
“Honestly? I don’t know, maybe. I just wanted to hang out, man. To get my mind off all this.”
The ache in his chest increases significantly, and Edward turns away least the shifter sees the plain tenderness written clear on his face. The truck pulls up and stops next to his home’s multiple garages, giving him a moment to steady himself.
“Well, regardless of everything that has happened, thank you for inviting me. And there is no reason to apologize. I should be the one saying sorry.”
He gets out, expecting the other to drive off quickly. But the wolf gets out and meet him halfway behind the truck. He tries hunching his hulking form into himself, shoving his hands in his pockets with a sheepish expression on his face. The look doesn’t seem right on him compared to the naturally arrogant swagger he possesses.
“Thanks Edward, for sticking up for me. Felt nice to not deal with that alone for once,” Jacob says, stopping in front of the other. If the vampire is so inclined, he could just reach out and grab him—
“It’s no problem, Jacob. Although, I don’t think I’d be wrong in thinking that maybe you should order your father’s vitamins online for now on?”
“Yeah, I think that’s a good plan,” he says with a chuckle.
The tension from earlier finally begins melting away, and Edward sighs, relieved. There is still no gleaming of what Jacob is thinking, but the vampire hopes the upturn on his handsome lips is a good sign.
They stand there well past an acceptable period, staring at each other with faint smiles. Edward begins to feel the same dizziness he felt earlier when Jacob grabbed his wrist. He explains it away as his thirst, not willing to acknowledge the fact that when he had this feeling before, he hadn’t been thirsty at all.
“Well, I should get back,” the wolf finally says without making a move from where he stood. He’s waiting, though Edward doesn’t think it’s for the same reasons he dares himself to quietly wish for.
He could grab him, wrap him in his arms, hold him—
“Yes,” he says instead. “Will you be alright?”
“Yeah, I just need a drive. Need to clear my head, anyway.”
Edward nods, smiling at the other. “Well, don’t let me keep you. I’ll see you soon?”
Jacob flinches back, as if awakening from a trance
“R-right. I’ll see you later.”
He turns to get back to the car but before he can leave, Edward’s arm shoots out and grabs his wrist, thumb perfectly place on his quickened pulse.
“Wait.”
I’m sorry, he thinks before pulling the shifter into him and wrapping his arms as best he could around his massive form. He hopes it conveys the anger and hurt he empathetically feels while also reminding him of an unspoken care he inexplicably has for the wolf. He feels Jacob stiffen in his arms, but he holds him, steeling his nerves and stopping himself from breaking away in embarrassment. It isn’t long before he feels Jacob’s arms worming their way around his middle, hugging him close.
The vampire stands on his toes to properly wrap his arms around his shoulders (damn this man and his height) but thinks little of it when the other squeezes him. He places his chin on Jacob’s shoulder, inhaling the earthy, musky scent of the man. It is absolutely disgusting and everything the vampire wants at the very same time. He hums contently, and one stray thought filters through from Jacob—
This is nice. Asshole’s cold as hell though.
There are flushed against each other, clutching tightly when Edward finally pulls away, trying desperately not to think about that warm, taut muscle pressed against his abdomen. Instead, he levels the shifter with a soft smile, feeling an exciting unfamiliarity he was frightenedly growing accustomed to.
It only takes seconds for the wolf to ruin the moment in favor of a crack.
“You just out here hugging people now? Trying to find new ways to find my weaknesses?” he says, falling into known territory between them, though his expression brightens up considerably.
“Naturally,” he smirks, already walking backward towards his home. “Bye, wolf. Ah, if you need anything else—“
“I’ll text you, don’t worry, ice boy,” Jacob says before hopping back into his truck. Seconds later and he starts the car, maneuvers it to face the road. He winks and waves as he passes Edward, giving a toothy “Bye,” before driving off.
Edward waves and watches the truck until it turns left and disappears. A worrying thought wiggles into his head but he pushes it aside; Jacob is just a rival-turned-almost-friend. That’s it, nothing more.
…Right.
He leaves thought alone, instead focusing his attention on any favors owed to his family that could sway a manufacturer to sell him a personal supply of the vitamins Mr. Black needed.
(And a better excuse to invite the wolf over again. He doesn’t think, “Do you want my brother’s old video games consoles?” will work twice)
End