A/N: This is just a one shot that popped into my head after watching Eclipse. I wrote it as an exercise to see if I could manage to get Alice and Jasper's voices right when it comes to writing but it turned out all right. It seemed worth sharing this little story with everyone. After seeing the way Jasper looked at Alice after telling Bella his story and the way that Alice responded, you just know this is something that they've talked about before. So this is my take on a little conversation about how Alice's love changed Jasper's world and his thankfulness for it. I hope you enjoy it! Reviews, while not necessary, warm my heart and make my day so feel free to drop me a review if you'd like!
Alice was grinning a secret little smile as she sat with Jasper in the living room of the Cullen's house in Forks, Washington. The television was on with the evening news playing but it seemed that neither of them was truly paying any attention to it. She was lying on the couch, her head in his lap and Jasper was softly playing with her hair. It didn't even seem like something he was thinking about. It just felt nice, those silky strands between his fingers so he brushed at her hair, twirling it a little wherever he could. He was staring at Alice, playing with her hair, while she stared back at him with that secret smile on her lips. It made Jasper chuckle a little, seeing that smile and that glint in her eyes. When Jasper laughed, Alice seemed to just smile even brighter at him.
"Tell me. What in the world is going on in that pretty little head of yours, my dear?" Jasper asked, stilling grinning at her. He was trying to keep the laughter out of his voice as he asked but it was still there.
Alice started to giggle and leaned up, as quick as lightening, to sneak a kiss from him. "I'm not telling," she said, still smiling that secret smile of hers.
"Come on. Please?"
Alice 'aww'ed and gave Jasper a little pout, sitting up quickly. In an instant, she was snuggled in at his side, his arm immediately going around her shoulders even as she moved. Her head was resting on Jasper's chest and she looked up at him, her smile softer now. The look in her eyes was softer as well, full of the love and passion that she felt for him. She reached one hand up and brushed her fingers softly along his cheek. Then Alice let her index finger trace the line of Jasper's jaw before moving to his lips, which she softly brushed with her index finger as well. "Do you really want to know?"
Jasper almost couldn't think straight at the moment but he still nodded. While he didn't need to breathe, he certainly felt breathless right now. And if a vampire could have a heartbeat, well, he knew that his would have been racing at the moment. Her touch and the closeness of her body just did something to him and he was helpless against it. Not that he minded. In fact, it was one of the times when Jasper enjoyed giving himself over to the emotions he felt coming from someone.
"I was thinking about the first time that I saw you."
"Which time would that be?" Jasper chuckled a little, not sure if she meant the vision that she'd had of him coming to her or if it was when he actually did find her in that diner, waiting for him. He remembered that moment quite clearly and just the brief reminder of it brought a smile to his face. It had been truly the best moment of his entire existence.
"Does it really make a difference?" she asked with a light laugh. "It really wound up being the same thing, didn't it? You showed up when and where I'd seen and the whole scene played itself out just the same. So really it's both."
Jasper laughed a little, nodding. Of course it would be 'both'. Alice was, after all, rarely wrong when it came to her visions, unless someone made a split second, last minute decision anyway. So for her the reality and her vision really were one and the same most of the time. Jasper should've expected an answer like that from her but it still amused him nonetheless. "Of course it's both," he said with another little nod, laughter in his voice.
"I've been right about you, every step of the way, Jazz."
Jasper nodded a little again but his eyes took on this far away look. He wasn't always so sure how right Alice was about him. He wanted to be good for her though so he knew that he tried. He tried so hard to always be the man that Alice saw in her visions. Jasper wasn't sure he was always successful in that however. He often felt weak, subject to the whims and emotions of everyone around him. It wasn't easy after all. He could taste and feel every emotion from every human and vampire around him. Sometimes it made him feel weak, it made him feel like he perhaps didn't always have control.
"I try," Jasper softly said, his eyes downcast.
Alice 'shh'ed him, her fingers brushing the side of his face. The love and devotion in her eyes was easy to see but she knew that Jasper could feel and taste it coming off of her in waves. He was her everything and having him in her life made Alice feel whole. Never had she felt so complete than when she was with Jasper. From the moment that she first saw him in her visions, she knew that he was her whole world. From the moment that she first saw him in person, Alice knew that Jasper was a good man and that he would complete her. She knew that he felt the same way about her, that she completed him, which made it all so perfect to her.
"Don't you even think about it," she said, her voice soft and soothing. Alice leaned in and kissed the corner of Jasper's mouth. Then she softly kissed his lips. She brushed her nose against his cheek and sighed. "You're an amazing man, Jasper. You're exactly who I've always seen in my visions and you know it."
Jasper couldn't help but smile at Alice. When she talked like this, it was hard to argue with her. He couldn't find the words to argue with what she felt, with what she saw when she looked at him even if he couldn't always see it himself. He nodded a little, his hands softly brushing at her hair, cradling her face. Jasper leaned in and kissed Alice softly, his lips moving gently against hers for a lingering moment.
When he was with her, Jasper wondered a little what his life would be like if he'd never met her. He wondered a little if he'd even be alive without Alice. Looking back, he felt like he had been stumbling his way to her since the moment that he was turned. And maybe that was true. For every misstep he'd taken though, he still found his way to her and he felt like maybe he was more grateful because of it. Maybe Jasper had been stumbling his way to Alice for quite some time until he finally made it to her, until he finally met his 'perfect match'.
"Maybe I am," Jasper said with a little nod, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Maybe you've made me a better man. Maybe making my way to you changed me in the best possible ways."
"Maybe you've always been that man, Jazz. Because I really don't think I've done much to change that man you've always been."
He chuckled and shook his head, smiling brighter now. Only Alice would say that she couldn't see how she changed him, especially when Jasper knew that she changed him to the core. Everything about him was different now that he had Alice. "I don't know who I would be without you, Alice. The strength I get just from being with you …" He shook his head again, an amused little smile on his face as he looked at Alice right now. "Your love has changed me in ways that you can't even understand. Don't you see? Finding you was the single greatest thing to happen to me in my life. Being with you has made me want to be better, has made me try harder to be good. For you."
"Silly boy. You've always been good," Alice said with a light laugh, tapping the tip of Jasper's nose.
Jasper chuckled and shook his head a little, grinning at Alice. "Maybe so. Maybe finding you brought back a side of me that had been buried for a bit. Maybe finding my angel brought back to life the best parts of who I was before," he said with a little shrug. "When I'm with you, I know that my past really doesn't matter anymore." He kissed Alice softly, leaning her back onto the couch so this time they were both lying down. At the moment they had the house to themselves and Jasper was going to make the most of it.