~This takes place during Eclipse about a week or so after Maya finds Lucky and promises Jasper that she'll stay out of the woods.~
Charlie sighed as he parked his car and made his way up the steps to his door. He had been putting in a lot of extra hours as hikers continued to go missing or turn up dead and he was about at his limit. Fitting his key into the lock and twisting it, he swung the door open and stepped inside only to freeze in shock at what he saw. Everywhere he looked there were bits of cardboard, plastic, string, tape and other scrap pieces of recyclables scattered about the floor. And up on the walls, hanging from the ceiling and over the backs of furniture were bridges, tunnels, and boxes made from said materials haphazardly strung up and taped to form some sort of a maze like track.
As he wandered through his living room, trying to avoid stepping on all the odds and ends that littered his floor, he watched as the tunnel by him swayed and a flash of black darted across a bridge across the room.
"Maya" he said, letting out another tired sigh.
A small black head with bright green eyes stuck its head out from the box and tilted to the side as she made a sound that he translated to mean "what?"
He gestured around the room. "What is all this?"
Maya scanned the room as if seeing it for the first time before jumping down and disappearing behind the couch. Charlie watched, arms crossed, as an arm shot up to grab the blanket they kept draped over it before Maya popped up with it wrapped around her shoulders and a sheepish look on her face.
"I ... uh ... got bored?"
"Bored?"
Maya scratched the back of her head. "Yeah. Jas doesn't really want me out in the woods by myself with that crazy lady I told you about still around. So I decided that if I couldn't go out and find an adventure, I would simply have to build my own." She finished her short explanation by gesturing around the room proudly.
"Uh huh" Charlie said absently, taking it all in and noticing once again just how much there was. "Where did you even get all this?" he asked as he noticed several labels he couldn't recall ever seeing in their kitchen.
"From the neighbours" she told him with a shrug. "I went around and raided all their blue bins for stuff."
"Okay, any chance I'll be getting my living room back in time to watch the game?"
"Aww, do I have to take it all down? Can't you just, I don't know, avoid it?" she whined.
He sent her a mild glare. "The track can stay. But I want this floor and any other messy areas cleaned up by the time I'm showered and changed."
Smiling Maya snapped him a salute. "Sir, yes sir!"
As Charlie made his way towards the stairs Maya began scrambling around to tidy up while she simultaneously tried to keep the blanket from slipping off her shoulders. Shaking his head, he went straight to his room and pulled out his cell. Scrolling through the contacts he hit the one labelled "Cullen" and began working at his buttons with one hand while he listened to it ring.
"Hello?" asked an anxious voice after only a few rings.
"Edwin" Charlie drawled, not at all interested in dealing with that particular boy today. "Is Jasper around?"
"Uh yeah, I mean yes Mr. Swan. I'll, uh, get him for you."
Charlie made a sound of acknowledgement and pressed the phone between his cheek and shoulder so that both his hands were free to work on a button that was being stubborn.
"Charlie?" Jasper asked, concern lacing his voice. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine, mostly. I'm just wondering if you could do a small favour for me?"
"Name it."
"Could you take Maya out tomorrow?"
There was a pause. "What?" Jasper finally asked, confusion easy to hear in his voice.
Charlie sighed. "I know you told her to stay out of the woods and I'm grateful for that and that she's actually listening, but she's bored. Yesterday I found her on the roof, painting the shingles random colours and today I came home to find that she's robbed our neighbours recycling to make some sort of cat circuit that takes up practically the entire main floor. She needs to get out and do something."
Jasper chuckled. "Sure," he agreed easily, "I'd be happy to take her out. I'll get Esme to pack her a lunch and pick her up mid-morning so that we can go for a run up the mountain for a picnic."
"That sounds perfect" Charlie agreed. "Do you want me to let her know?
"No, I'll surprise her. See you around."
"You mean tomorrow" Charlie said sarcastically, referencing the fact that Jasper had practically moved into his daughter's room. "Bye."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Racing Lucky through the track she made yesterday, Maya paused as she heard the doorbell ring. Glancing around she realized that she was home alone and gave a mental shrug as she jumped down to shift back and grab the robe she had thrown over a chair. Pulling it on she headed for the door and yanked it open.
"Mornin' Darlin'" Jasper drawled as he leaned against the door frame and held up a picnic basket. "Can I interest you in a pleasant run up the mountain and a picnic?"
"Yes!" she all but yelled as she pulled him into an excited hug. "I'm going mad staying locked up in this house!"
"I can see that" Jasper said with a smirk as he stepped into the house and got a look at the track she had made.
She grinned and then turned to dash up the stairs to find a nice dress that would be easy to slip in and out of. "I'll only be a minute!" she called down to him.
"Take your time" he called back absently, focus shifting to her track.
It was a cobbled together mess, of that there was no denying, with random bridges, tunnels and other paths going every which way. But structurally it actually looked pretty solid. However, he was pulled away from admiring the track when he caught sight of golden eyes watching him.
Speeding over he caught Lucky before the little devil could make his escape and held him up by the scruff of his neck. "Don't think I've forgotten about you" he told the beast. "Lord knows what Maya would say if I tried to leave you behind."
Ignoring the kitten's thrashing he quickly dropped the fur ball into a special basket that he had asked Esme to make for Maya last night. It wasn't really anything fancy, just a regular woven basket he had bought with big handles on each side, that Esme had added lots of padding to the inside of and a mesh cover to keep Lucky from being able to jump or fall out. The idea behind it being that Maya would be able to carry the basket by its straps with her mouth as she ran while Lucky rode comfortably in it.
He zipped the kitten into it just as Maya skipped down the steps. "Whatcha got there?" she asked, making her way over to check it out.
"A basket to carry Lucky in while you run" he told her as he handed it over for inspection.
She studied the bag for a moment before she sent him a bright grin and threw her arms around his shoulders. "It's perfect!" she declared before pulling him into a kiss.
"I'm glad you like it" he told her as he pulled back. "Now shall we get going on this family picnic trip?"
Instead of answering verbally, Maya turned and made her way to the backyard where she quickly stripped out of her dress and shifted. Picking Lucky's basket up gently, she sent Jasper what could only be interpreted as a "catch me if you can" look before taking off into the woods.
Jasper laughed before following her, staying right behind her as she began to lead him through the woods on a chase. They weaved through the trees, leapt over rocks, and slid under downed trees as they raced their way up the mountain to their favourite picnic spot. It was somewhere that normal people never went as unless you could jump a span of almost 15 meters, the only way to reach it was to climb up a sheer cliff that was almost 100 feet tall.
They enjoyed their game of tag up the mountain and by the time they got to their destination Maya was panting hard and in desperate need of water. As she shifted back and dug out a bottle Jasper had packed, he pulled out the blanket and began to lay out her meal. Then as she got dressed, he released Lucky from the basket.
"If you fall off the cliff, I'm not following after you" he warned the kitten as it began to explore.
"Aw don't be mean to him Jas" Maya said as she picked up the little guy to cuddle. "Don't worry baby," she cooed, "mama will make certain you don't fall."
Jasper just rolled his eyes and pulled her over to join him on the blanket. He certainly had nothing against cats in general and was glad that Lucky had been saved by Maya and had made a full recovery, but he was quickly growing to dislike the little pest. She'd only found the kitten a few days ago and already he was seeing a pattern emerge; when she would usually curl up as a human with him in bed, now she curled up as a cat with Lucky. When she usually played video games with him and Emmet or simply rested her head in his lap and read while he played, now she played on the floor with Lucky. And just the other day she had turned down coming over to hang out with him in order to visit a pet shop to buy more toys for the pest! No, he didn't hate cats but if this one kept stealing his mate's attention then he may just grow to hate this one!
Holding back a smirk as she finally set Lucky down so she could eat, he wasted no time in pulling her over so that she sat between his legs. Then he picked up a grape and offered it to her. "Eat up" he encouraged, "you're going to need your energy."
Her eyes sparked with mischief. "Why? Got something planned?" she asked, letting her hand lazily drift up in leg and towards his groin suggestively.
"Maybe, you'll just have to finish this picnic to find out."
She laughed before leaning forward to take the grape from him, sucking on his fingers for a moment as she did. Then she pulled back and turned away to grab a sandwich Esme had packed for them. "I'd best get started then!"
He laughed as she exuberantly began to devour the food but stopped as the sun decided to make a surprise appearance. He grimaced as his skin lit up and began to roll down his sleeves only to pause as Maya's laughter rang out once again.
"You know" she told him in-between huffs of laughter, "I've never understood how anyone could ever find a vampire scary when you guys look like that."
"When we're all covered in mud and blood like a proper vampire should be we manage it" Jasper grumbled as he finished rolling down his sleeves.
He didn't think his skin made him more of a monster like Edward did. After all given his past and all the things he had done his skin sparkling in the sun was perhaps the least monstrous thing about him. Nor did he find it fascinating like Carlisle. They sparkled, so what? It wasn't like figuring out why would change his life in any way. And he certainly didn't love the way it made them look like fairies as Alice claimed it did. No, the only emotion his skin brought forth was annoyance. Due to its reaction to the sun, it prevented them from living in most cities and made blending in harder. Which is why he tended to just avoid being in the sun as much as he could so he wouldn't be reminded of that annoying part of his life.
"Well, proper vampire or not, I love it" Maya declared. "It makes you look truly otherworldly and makes me feel special that some great being out there decided I was good enough for someone as amazing as you."
"I'm the lucky one" he argued, pulling her closer for a kiss.
"Agree to disagree" she argued as she always did, smiling against his lips. Then she pulled away and reached over to grab another sandwich, pulling out some of the meat from inside it to feed to Lucky. "Now tell me all about the first time you saw your skin or another vampire's skin sparkle while I eat" she commanded.
He shook his head while smiling at her but did as she asked, launching into a tale of how a newborn in Maria's army had tossed another through a barn wall his first week as a vampire and how he had been unlucky enough to be standing close enough for the light to land on him.
She laughed as he described his reaction and the reaction of the other newborns before they switched to talking more about what it had been like to grow up surrounded by the Volturi. He'd already heard many stories from her about her childhood of course, but now that she could actually use names and Jasper realized that she was talking about pranking some of the most feared vampires in their world, they were way more entertaining.
Hours later as the sun set and after the entire picnic had been eaten and Lucky hand managed to almost fall off the cliff twice before Jasper had managed to scoop him up, the pair made their way home. Maya shifting back into a cat so that they could race again. They headed for the Cullen house and Jasper wasted no time in grabbing the basket containing Lucky from his mate and dumping it on Alice.
"Babysit this for me" he told his sister before racing off to his room.
Maya was there already, shifted back into her human form and heading towards the closet to find something to sleep in. She didn't get far though as Jasper intercepted her and scooped her up into his arms so he could deposit her on the bed.
"What do you say we enjoy a little adult time now that the kid is gone?" he offered, stretching out on top of her and leaning down to begin kissing her neck.
She giggled and reached up to wind her arms around him. "I think that's an amazing idea" she agreed.