Ellis had no idea the things that had happened until him and Seth walked into the living room of the Cullen house after a morning of hunting to find Charlie Swan sitting on the sofa next to Bella and Reneesme. Ellis and Seth both paused as everyone turned to look at them. He could not read emotions like Jasper but even he could feel the tension charged atmosphere. The sound of a football game on the tv seemed to be the only noise. He had guessed that Charlie was here from the human scent and the cruiser parked outside, but they both made an effort to act surprised. Judging from the look on Jacob's face, he had been the one to orchestrate this whole thing. Ellis would have to keep Seth away later to stop another accidental injury.

"Ah", Charlie spoke up, face changing in recognition as the two boys entered the room. "You're the newest Cullen. Ellis Hale I believe. And Seth! How's your sister? Your mom still drops round and cooks. A god saver that woman".

Seth, who was in his usual attire of nothing but denim shorts, scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile. The hand he'd had around Ellis' waist dropped to his side. "Leah's okay. She's doing good. We're both doing good". Charlie's eyes darted between the two boys.

Ellis stepped away from his boyfriend and made his way over to where Emmet was watching the football game on the sofa. He curled up next to him and tired to act human. It had been a while and he was anxious. Charlie turned to look at him as Seth sat next to him.

"Sue mentioned that you two were dating", he said in a awkwardly gruff voice. "I have nothing against you. Neither should anyone else in town. If they do then just drop by and give me a word Seth. Your dad would hate it if I didn't keep an eye on you".

Seth's eyes became watery. The words obviously had a great affect on him. Ellis took his hand and Seth buried his head into his shoulder. "Thank you", he replied, voice ever so slightly raspy. Ellis ran his fingers through his hair as Charlie averted his eyes. The man was obviously uncomfortable at the pda.

"Ah well. As long as new Hale here keeps his record clean", Charlie reminded. He had not forgotten the backstory Ellis had given him at the wedding. Ellis had forgotten that he had made himself out to be such a troublemaker. He widened his eyes in an innocent expression.

"Who? Me? I couldn't hurt a fly". Everyone snorted and Seth began giggling tearfully into Ellis' tshirt. The image of him helping to kill Victoria and Riley came to mind. Ellis pretended to cough, hiding a smirk.

Charlie narrowed his eyes at him. "Just keep in line there Hale".

"Couldn't hurt a fly", Emmet laughed loudly. "Says the kid who could"- his voice broke off as Ellis slammed a hand over his brother's mouth. He smiled sweetly at Charlie.

"Ignore him. He loves me really. He's just trying to wind you up". Ellis ignored the muffled noises coming from Emmet's mouth. Jasper was smirking at them from his position in the armchair. On Bella's lap, Nessie giggled at the silly antics of her uncles.

Charlie looked between them all suspiciously before turning back to watch the game. Ellis let go of Emmet's jaw reluctantly. The bigger vampire winked at him with a shit eating grin. Ellis narrowed his eyes at him. Seth re-emerged from Ellis' shoulder and wiped his eyes. He chuckled at the both of them before standing up. He held out a hand, which Ellis took as he straightened. It was unnecessary but Seth liked cute actions like that. Ellis always found it amusing but he secretly loved them too.

"We're going to go and watch a movie on the laptop upstairs", Ellis waved at the room. Esme and Carslie both nodded and shot them small smiles. Charlie nodded at Seth as the two left the room, not a man of many words. Seth returned the gesture before they both began climbing the stairs.

Once in Ellis' room, Seth sagged against his arms. He pulled Ellis into a strong hug, nestling his nose into bronze curls. Ellis wrapped his arms around Seth's neck as the wolf boy sighed deeply. It was silent for a long moment. Both boys just breathing each other in. Eventually they parted. Ellis placed a hand on Seth's face, thumb smoothing his cheekbone.

"You okay?" He asked softy.

Seth nodded. "Yeah. Charlie and my dad would go fishing together. I knew my mum was dropping by his place recently but I haven't really seen the man since the wedding. And I haven't talked to him since my dad's funeral". He sighed again. "It's nice to know that he has my family's back you know. It just a lot of memories".

Ellis nodded. He knew grief, could understand. There were moment where something just came out of the blue and feelings would hit you like a truck. There was nothing you could do but ride it out. It would never truly fade but it would lessen over time. All he could do for Seth was be there for him.

"My parents would have liked you", Ellis smiled as the both of them climbed into the hammock. He rested on his stomach across Seth's bare chest, hands under his chin as he looked up at him. Seth has thrown a fluffy blue blanket over the both of them as the hammock swayed soothingly from side to side.

"How so?" He asked, corner of his lips twitching.

"Did I ever tell you my coming out story?" Ellis asked rhetorically. He hadn't. "Well, I came out when I was fourteen after my older brother caught me snogging some boy at our local park. Julian had come to surprise me with a visit from uni and caught me making out with some boy on the swings. My poor brother was a bit traumatised. He still thought I was a baby". Both boys laughed.

"I get that", Seth muttered with a groan. "Leah gets into these protective moods sometimes. It's so annoying".

"Anyway", Ellis continued with a grin. "He shrieks and startled the boy so fast that he ended up legging it. The kid wasn't my boyfriend or anything, he just wanted to experiment. Julian immediately started to rant about being safe and to not get involved with fuckboys", Ellis broke off to snort at the memory. "He then dragged me home for tea and as soon as we come in the door my mum asks why I was so grumpy. So I sat down at the table and told my parents that Julian should see a doctor, that it was unhealthy for a nineteen year old to shriek that high. My dad asked why Julian had been Shrieking. I replied with 'because he couldn't handle the fact that his little brother was kissing boys'. Both my parents then nodded, told Julian to stop being so dramatic and resumed eating".

Seth was laughing loudly at the story. Ellis felt a burst of pride to see that his cheeks were now dry and his eyes were brighter. "Your parents sound great", he huffed whilst giggling. Ellis smiled nostalgically.

"Yeah they were great. My mum told me to only date a boy if he could keep up with me. My dad just said that any future boyfriend of mine would have to be able to keep up with his bad jokes and mile long runs. Julian just said that if someone could beat me in a game of hide and seek, then they could deal with me".

"Well", Seth smirked. "I can do all that". Ellis smiled and leaned over to kiss him. Seth is eyes fluttered closed as their lips moved in slow movements. Ellis could feel the heat of his skin and could taste something so uniquely Seth that it was both reassuring and exciting at the same time. Their movements died down into small pecks and close comforts.

"My dad would have loved you too", Seth murmured lowly about half an hour later. Charlie had left by now, both of them having heard it. Downstairs, Jacob was playing with Nessie while Bella and Edward made dinner. Jasper and Emmet had gone hunting with Esme and Carslie. While Alice had retreated to her room to work on so interior designs. Rosalie had disappeared off to her garage.

"Hmmm?" Ellis replied, eyes still closed as he rested his head against Seth's collarbones. The sun was going down, casting long shadows over the room. The hammock swayed slowly.

"After he got over the whole vampire thing of course", Seth said. "He would have like you. He had terrible puns, like oh god they were bad", he groaned loudly. "One of his favourites was 'sleepy? I'm not sleepy. My mind is as clear as water'. It was horrible, really. He would say that like once a week".

Ellis chuckled. "Sounds funny".

Seth nudged him. "Only you would think so. If you two had ever met, oh the jokes would be bad", he grimaced jokingly at the thought before sobering up again. "He had a heart condition. The shock of Leah phasing, which no one had expected, gave him a heart attack. The shock of him dying then caused me to phase as well". He spoke in a slow sad tone. Ellis had heard the story from Edward and the other wolves, but it was the first time Seth had ever spoke of it. It was the reason why he was younger than all the other wolves. It was trauma that caused him to shift.

"I'm sorry", Ellis whispered. "I'm sorry that it had to turn out like that".

"Yeah. So am I", Seth replied, eyes distant. He let out a long deep sigh and changed the topic. "Did you know that us wolves often consider ourselves pansexual?" He asked. Ellis hadn't. Seth had never put a name on his sexuality.

"When we gain the ability to shift, we gain the ability to imprint", Seth explained. "An imprint is something that is based on souls, not gender or age. Because of this we often consider ourselves pansexual since we have no idea or control over our imprint. Despite this, I'm still the only one in the current pack to imprint on a boy, and the first in our history to have imprinted on a vampire". Seth beamed proudly.

Ellis chuckled and booped him on the nose. "That's because you're special", he teased. "My special wolf boy". He gazed into honey brown eyes, so completely in love with this amazing, strong, beautiful person in front of him. Ellis wondered how it had gotten so deep so quickly but found that he did not care. He loved Seth Clearwater.

Seth pulled him in for a kiss. "And you're my special leach", he replied with a wide smile. Ellis laughed and rubbed their noses together in an Eskimo kiss.

"I love you", he sighed so softly that Seth could barely hear it, even with super hearing and physical closeness. These were words only meant for Seth. Ellis did not need for others to hear it. It wasn't for them.

Seth's eyes widened in surprise. He blinked before his expression turned soft. He kissed Ellis again, hands running through his hair and palms on his cheeks. When they parted it was with twin exhales.

"I love you too. I have since we first met, regardless of the imprint. I love you".

"I will never say thank you", Ellis reminded him with a stupidly happy grin. He was filled with so much joy he thought he could burst. Jasper could probably feel it from miles away.

Seth's face was just as stupidly happy. He pressed a series of butterfly kisses across Ellis' cheeks and nose. The tickling sensation made Ellis whine and giggle. "You know I will never ask you too", he replied, the family words meaning everything.