AUGUST • C.CULLEN

eleven

AUGUST

2003, FORKS

August laughs softly as he watches Emmett carry a large mattress into his and Rosalie's new bedroom with a cocky grin, the blonde trailing after him with boxes of cashmere sweaters and high-end materials. The Nymph follows behind with Rosalie's toolbox in hand, veering from their path to carry it into the garage.

He places it down as Alice flits to his side with a grin, holding onto his arm and hanging there as August lifts it. Now at eye level, the two stare at one another in silence as Jasper makes his way into the garage. Alice's outstretched arm waves around uselessly as she struggles to reach August's curls.

"Hey, Jas," August greets, his gaze still trained on Alice as he raises his brow. "Your wife is trying to steal my chipmunk again."

From August's hair, the trio hear soft squeaks of outrage. August tries to hold back his laughter.

Jasper chuckles and pulls Alice from August's arm, allowing her to scramble onto his back like the small gremlin she is.

"How's your bedroom?"

Alice squeals loudly with joy at the new topic and August winces on Jasper's behalf, feeling pity for the man that probably just had his eardrums destroyed.

"It's perfect!" Alice grins, "It's so pretty, and we've already set up all of the furniture-"

'We' most likely means Jasper did all of the heavy lifting while Alice told him where to put the furniture, August chuckles inwardly. A quick glance at Jasper's loving expression confirms his thoughts.

"- and oh my gosh, Auggie, I absolutely love Esme's design! Everything is so - so, open, and there is so much nature!"

August nods in agreement with a soft smile. "I can agree with you on that," He says, "Esme's a genius. Plus, being surrounded by nature does sort of feel like I'm back home, in a way."

Alice smiles winningly, then pauses and gasps. "Oh! We gotta go." She wraps her arms around Jasper's neck and kisses his cheek quickly as he adjusts his grip on her thighs. As the two of them leave, she calls over her shoulder to August, "Carlisle is looking for you!"

With a grin, August spins on his heel and takes the stairs three at a time, only stopping once he reaches his bedroom door. He steps inside and closes the door quietly behind him, pausing briefly to admire Carlisle's work. To the left of the door is a small cabinet with shelving set out to hold shoes. Set in the far corner of their room is a set of bookshelves filled to the brim with August's favourite novels, plants of varying size and colour set carefully on top of them and barely hanging over the book covers. Next to it is a large, comfortable looking king-sized bed with emerald green covers and a mahogany base. Upon closer examination, August notices that small floral patterns have been etched into the bedframe. He smiles.

Two doors are set in the opposite wall - leading to the closet and the bathroom respectively, he assumes, the white paint standing out in the pale grey of their bedroom walls. There's a desk set into the corner, although August doubts it will be put into much use compared to the one in Carlisle's study. There is a floor to ceiling window with a lounge placed carefully in front in the final wall, a record player set on the short table at the end of it with their shared favourites in records from throughout the years in place on the shelf of it.

A pair of strong, cool arms wrap around his waist from behind, cool lips pressing a gentle kiss against his throat. August smiles and gently places his hand on top of Carlisle's as he leans back into him.