Chapter Text
Sarah eagerly grabbed her bag, anticipating the upcoming girls' night. The promise from her aunts to assist in choosing something special for her first date with Seth added to the excitement. Although the date lacked specific plans, it was scheduled for next Thursday.
Lost in thoughts about potential outfits, Sarah navigated through the house. Suddenly, she found herself face to face with a shirtless Seth. The unexpected sight caused her to blush instantly, and she stammered, trying to avert her gaze from his well-defined abs. Before she could utter a single word, her dad cleared his throat from behind, drawing attention to Seth's state of undress.
"Didn't I tell you to wear a shirt inside the house?" Edward reminded him exasperatedly.
Seth raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Why doesn't that rule apply to Jacob?"
Liam, overhearing the exchange, joined the scene, adding his own perspective. "Because my dad is not interested in seeing his daughter thirsting after you, Seth."
“Seth!” Edward and Nahuel scolded him.
“Oh, c'mon, it's true…” Liam pointed out to his father. “I'm going, I'm going…” he said, dragging Nahuel with him outside the house.
“And I'm doing this because Jacob said that I already met my quota of ripped shirts,” Seth crossed his arms.
“And I will keep my word. Tear one more, and you'll be going like that to school…” Jacob said, munching an apple.
“I can always share clothes with Liam…” Seth shrugged.
“Not happening!” Liam shouted from somewhere.
“Okay…” Sarah began, avoiding everyone's gaze. “Good chat.”
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Jake inquired of his daughter. She made a face; it was a tradition that whenever her dad needed to feed himself, the entire family took a nighttime stroll to hunt as well. She had tried it once when she was younger and decided she didn't like blood.
"You know I don't like hunting, but you guys have fun. Night, Daddy," she said, raising in tiptoes to kiss her dad on the cheek and repeated the same with her father. "Goodnight, Papa."
"Goodnight, princess…" Jacob replied. She wished Seth a good night as well before walking out just in time to see his brother locking lips with Nahuel, and their hands weren't in sight.
"Good night, both of you," she said amused. "Don't let Daddy see you like that, or you'll find a way to give a vampire a heart attack."
"Pretty funny, bye Sarah. Have fun looking for a dress for your date," Liam snickered. She rolled her eyes and walked towards the house, knocking, and her grandpa opened the door.
"Night, Grandpa," she greeted.
"Good night, Sarah. You look quite lovely today," he praised.
"You always said the same," Sarah huffed.
"Well, then I suppose you always look lovely. Go ahead," he motioned upstairs and murmured like saying a secret, "Esme prepared her cheese pizza just for you…" The girl grinned, hugged the blonde doctor, and dragged her bag towards Alice's room.
As soon as she entered the room, she was hit with the delicious smell of gratinated cheese, and her aunts were already in their fancy pajamas. It always warmed her heart how her family made some simple adjustments around her just to make her feel comfortable.
Like how her dad used to pretend to sleep when he took Liam and her to camp, or when her uncle Em and Jasper used to swallow the cookies she offered to them even though they didn't enjoy them, just to see her smile.
She was indeed blessed.
"Special delivery," Alice motioned to the pizza on the small table. "You can leave your stuff on the bed…" Sarah nodded, sat before the pizza, and grabbed the first slice.
She hummed as she bit into the crusty bread. "I don't know why Liam likes to hunt; nothing's better than this," she said. Rosalie and Alice chuckled, and then Sarah felt self-conscious for the comment. "Sorry, I didn't mean..."
“Sarah, I told you before, it's okay to enjoy things even though we can't,” Rosalie reminded her. The girl nodded.
“Besides, we enjoy seeing you happy. Aren't we, Rose?” Alice chimed in.
“Okay…” she continued eating her pizza as Alice made some arrangements of magazines with Rose help “ So you would help me, right? To pick something for my date,” Sarah wondered.
“Obviously,” Alice winked her eyes and then chuckled, looking at Rosalie. “Remember that time Jake dressed her all orange…” Rosalie snorted.
“Worse things I have seen in my life…” Rosalie agreed, going through nail polish.
Sarah flushed because she had seen the photos. Apparently, her aunt was so obsessed with photography back then that it wasn't a day that Bree didn't take a photo of her and her brother. “I know I looked like a basketball ball…” the youngest complained while sipping her soda. “My question is why Daddy didn't do anything about it.”
“Because, and I quote, ‘Jake was so happy to dress her by himself.’ He would let your father go away and dress you with a trash bag if that made Jacob happy,” Alice replied amused.
Sarah giggled. “Okay, I can't get mad with that,” she then looked sad.
“What's?” Rosalie sat beside her.
Sarah shrugged and set aside the slice of pizza she was eating. “I'm just, in school, the majority of my classmates, their parents are divorced, but mine aren't. My dads have the best love story, and I can't even brag about it,” the girl said.
“Oh, Sarah…” Rosalie embraced her, and Alice pursed her lips.
“I know it's silly…” the girl began.
“No, it's not,” Alice said.
“All the pretending is so hard,” Sarah sobbed. “I hate calling them by their names; I hate it…” the girl said frustrated.
“Have you spoken about this with your dads?” wondered Rosalie, already anticipating the answer.
“I did, but I see their faces every time I complain about it. I know they hate it too, and I think it's more difficult for Daddy because he's the one with us at school.”
"It’s,” Alice nodded, as she was the one who spent most of the time with Edward on school dates, and his sulking face wasn't something he easily shook off for the rest of the day. “But he now knows it is for a greater good.”
“Besides, it's only just a little time compared to all the time you spend with them. Probably, in a few years, you will get tired of them…” Rosalie jokes.
“Never,” she hurried to say, “They're my dads. I don't want to leave them.”
Rosalie and Alice shared a knowing look. “And you won't if you don't want to…” Alice assured her. Then she motioned to the small rack of clothes and said, “What if we begin looking for some looks for you…”
“I don't even know where he would take me,” Sarah sighed.
“Knowing the mutt, he would take you for a picnic. You should wear something comfy…” Rosalie teased.
Sarah laughed. “Alright, let's see…”
Seth trailed behind Edward and Jacob, who were murmuring about something he didn't want to know. Liam and Nahuel were behind him, teasing each other about who was the fastest, with Liam claiming victory.
Upon arriving at the house, Jacob and Edward disappeared into their room again, something Seth didn't want to delve into, leaving him stuck with the lovey-dovey couple in the living room.
He stared at them. The beta was the first to whom Liam openly admitted liking Nahuel. He had never thought the Chilean guy liked Liam back, given their apparent differences—at least, to him.
His best friend was upright and controlling, disliking anything out of place, and following a strict routine each night. Liam didn't appreciate inadvertent touches, causing odd looks at school, but Seth understood—the curly boy struggled to control his gift when was touched without consent.
Seth snorted, glancing at Nahuel, the opposite of Liam. Nahuel was a nomad in his own home, rarely sticking to a routine, evident in the random hours he contacted Liam.
Living in the jungle, Nahuel, like him, was indigenous. Unlike Seth, Nahuel rarely left home, having all he needed within a few steps. He wasn't accustomed to many aspects of modern life; Huilen had mentioned trying to convince him to get a cellphone, but he refused, seeing no purpose in it.
Until Liam, because as amazing as his best friend was, he was clingy. Seth sighed; he liked Nahuel enough, but he only wished that his friend didn't face a heartbreak. Seth, more than anyone, knew how hard it was to leave everything one knew behind to follow a soulmate. Nahuel had done it only a few months after dating Liam, and Seth crossed his fingers for them because it seemed rushed.
He pondered the idea but never vocalized that they should take things slowly, just like he and Sarah were doing.
Sarah.
He groaned; he liked her. How could he not? Smart, funny, and beautiful, something inside him hesitated to take any steps before she did. He avoided being pushy or pressuring her, especially when he needed to reconcile the image of the two Sarahs in his mind—the girl he protected and the young woman he now liked. He doubted it would ever happen because yes, Sarah was his imprintee. However, for most of her life, he only saw her as Liam's sister. He was closer to Liam than her, making him question if there was something wrong with him.
Jacob was too invested in Edward from the start, like Leah or Paul, and everyone he knew had imprinted. Sarah was the sun in his galaxy, she always had been, but he shared another kind of connection with Liam. It seemed, at least for him, that he would be only Sarah's friend for the rest of their lives until one day everything changed.
She was messing around with her twin, her curly hair flicking in the air, and her smile radiant, and the only thing he thought he had was about kissing her.
And when they were alone they did it, and he could feel a stadium about all the things he felt with that kiss.
After that, there was no turning back.
Edward obviously noticed, as did Jacob, but they were kind enough not to mention it to anyone in their family until they were ready. He was grateful for that, wanting to take his time to know each other beyond friendship without any pressure.
Of course, Seth had to endure the sex talk from Edward, of all people. At least he wasn't alone in that, and Sarah looked more mortified than him. Even after all that, she accepted the date he offered to plan but didn't know what to do. “I know you won't get wrinkles, but dude, what's with the frown…”
“Sarah…” Seth looked at him helplessly.
Liam settled against Nahuel, who was silent, observing the interaction. “The date?” Seth nodded. “It's Sarah.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” wondered Seth, puzzled.
“That she's like pops; she isn't into grand gestures, like in our last birthday. You gave her that pottery vase you made…”
Seth made a face. “It was supposed to be a mug,” Liam chuckled.
“It had holes in Seth, but she uses it to hold her brushes, and she smiles each time she sees it because you made it lilac, and lilac….”
“It's her favorite color…” Seth finished.
“See…” Liam said.
Nahuel cleared his throat. “What's the thing you like to do with her?”
“Playing video games?”
“Oh…” Nahuel frowned and looked at his boyfriend. “Oh, what's the name again of the thing you took me, the colorful one…the one we both hated,”Liam smiled at the description.
“The arcade?” Nahuel nodded at his boyfriend “It was too noisy, right?” the mapuche sighed heavily.
“But the place was good for a while, and the food was nice and you can do something fun that you both like…” Nahuel shrugged.
“The arcade?” Seth pulled a face.
“I think it's a good idea. Besides, there's this thing where you can win a plushie, she likes that…” Liam said.
“You like that too…” Nahuel teased, his boyfriend has a small shelf in his room full of plushie and he hasn't seen Sarah's room but the Chilean swore she had the same thing.
“It's what grandpa Billy always gave us. Of course, I like them…” Liam argued, his grandpa Billy found a way to give them the most funny stuffed toys ever, even after Aunt Rachel reminded him that the twins weren't babies anymore, he refused to acknowledge that they had grown up.
Seth sighed. “But that's not romantic.”
“Dad always says that romance isn't always about wine and dine,” Liam said. “And you should believe him. Pops always come back happy after their dates.”
“Fine, would you help me pick clothes?” Seth pouted.
“Fine, but after that, you'll leave me alone. My dads are too engrossed with themselves to bother about Nahuel being in my room…”
“Liam,” the other two scolded him.
“It's true,” Liam stood up with Nahuel and Seth trailing behind him. “And we'll go to your room because then I have to clean up mine again…” Seth rolled his eyes, already regretting asking for help, but it is what it is.