Complete at Three

Because four is one too many and two is not enough…

AN; Due to popular demand I have re-posted the story with a change in how I write mydialogues. Now it should be easier to read and not as confusing when something is said or not. Thanks for the criticism, it helps me grow as a writer… though I am still debating if I should apply the same change to my main story; Leah's Full Moon Trouble, this story; Complete at three will be written this way from now on.

Chapter 1

Things had been going south with Alice's and Jasper's relationship for half a decade now. Of course, the signs hade been there for a full decade, but neither were really comfortable bringing them up in the beginning. It went on and on until one night after a particularly unsatisfying session of sex, when Alice, as they were laying together in bed finally said;

"That was the worst sex we've ever had Jasper. I know it was just as bad for you as it was for me."

"I kind of figured you would bring it up since you didn't even bother faking this time." he said sourly.

"I am as sorry for those times as you are for yours, don't think I can't tell when you are faking it to, 'cause I can." was her retort.

She then propped her small frame on her elbows to look him in the eyes with an all-business expression on her face.

"It sometimes feels like something's missing doesn't it?" Alice said and then hurriedly added; "It's not love! I still love you as much as when I first met you, no, even more, but sometimes it just feels like there is a hole inside me that hasn't been filled yet."

She felt a great deal of regret and self loathing over the fact that she wanted something more than Jasper.

"Please don't feel that way darlin'," he said as he sent a wave of affection to her, "I understand what you are talking about." Jasper answered.

He himself often felt like scum, desiring something other than Alice.

"I love you more than my own life, but I can tell that we both have this longing for something else. I just don't know what and therefore what to make of it."

His brows furrowed as he thought it through the way he had many times before. Once again he came up with no answer.

"Perhaps if we tell each other exactly how we feel and break it down to analyse it we will see what it means?" Alice suggested. "Though that makes it sound like a math problem…" she continued with her face in a scrounged up grimace.

Jasper laughed at her facial expression as well as her math problem-comment and said;

"Yeah, somehow Alice plus Jasper equals mere content. Our problem feels more like: Alice plus Jasper plus X equals never ending happiness, figure out what the X represents." But the way he said it had made the 'equation' spin around in Alice's head, she felt that she was close to solving it, she just needed more information.

"Jasper, love?" Alice asked. "Can you describe what you are feeling when… you know?"

He thought about it for a minute, and then he said:

"It's a longing, not all that unfamiliar to what I feel when we are separated yet it often surface at the moments when we are at our closest." The look on his marble face as he said this was frustrated confusion, like he had encountered a problem to which he had known the answer just minutes ago and now was unable to recall it.

"Yes, it is the same for me but, she hesitated, do you long for something other than me? Or something to…," she struggled to find the right words, "complete the moment?" Alice finally exclaimed.

She was feeling extremely vulnerable right now; Alice was trying to give words to her own feelings as well as waiting for her soul mate's response. Would he understand? Did he desire something else than her? Or something else and her? Her husband, being the empath he was, felt her anxiety and fear and sent her all his love and affection as well as a wave of confidence.

"I could not have phrased it better my self darlin'," he drawled in his southern accent. "I don't desire something other than you, I long for something and you. It's like we are two pieces of a puzzle that won't be complete unless we find the hidden third piece. A puzzle complete at three."

Alice was now sure what they were missing. Her not remembering her human life made it easier for her to think outside of the box when it came to human morals and habits. Not about killing humans to feed her self or her love, no. But sometimes she had trouble seeing the logic behind many human prohibitions, accusations or restrictions. Take homosexual relationships as an example, though she knew she had been raised in an era were gay people had been forced to hide their nature and children raised to despise them she could not see any thing wrong with it. Alice loved people because of who they were, not their gender. Had her husband been a woman instead of a man when they first met then Alice was 120 percent sure that she would still had loved him, or her in that case, regardless.

Her husband however, though he did not remember all that much from his human life, had a solid foundation of morals and ethics in him, planted there during his human years. Much like his brother Edward he had initially considered marriage and other kinds of similar partnerships to be something for man and women pairings exclusively. Though he had since been made to change his mind about many things, gay couples for example, it was hard not to give in with an extremely open minded wife who was more stubborn than a rock. He was still quite conservative compared to his soul mate. So when Jasper looked at the problem, at the puzzle, trying to find the missing piece, he thought of feelings, actions and material things. Of course, they were short on neither and thus he came up empty for answers.

Alice didn't have her husbands inhibitions, so when she thought of what she wanted, what she was longing for, she realized just as Jasper had that they wasn't looking for something, they longed for someone! Jasper didn't need to be an empath to see the triumph in his wife's face. What made him confused was the strong caution he felt when the high from the triumph had dissipated.

"Jasper?" She said his name like a question.

"Yes Alice?" He returned in kind.

"I don't think that we are actually missing something in our relationship."

"What? We just established that we both long for something to complete it!"

"No, that is not what I mean; I said that we aren't looking for something, what we are looking for is…," Alice hesitated a second and then finally said; "someone."

Jasper had not even thought in those tracks, and now that he did he immediately thought of the most logical explanation behind his wife's words; he thought she meant that she wanted a child. Alice saw what her husband was about to try and explain to her and promptly put a finger on his lips to silence him.

"Jasper," she said, "I am fully aware that vampires are living stone and therefore can not carry children. I would be immensely happy if I could give you a child, because I know that you secretly wish for it, but it is not something I consider important. I know I am vampire, and since I don't remember my human life such human wants are a mystery to me. If you are a creature with no way of producing offspring then why bother wishing for it? Maybe I would have thought differently if I could remember my human life but I can't, and I don't."

"Then what, darlin'? What did you then mean when you said we needed "someone"?"

Alice deliberated for a moment, looking ahead to see which way to explain would gain the most favourable reaction. She then returned her gaze to his face and said slowly:

"Don't overreact and carefully think through what I am about to ask you. Remember that we are still in a discussion, not at the end of it. The question will double back to me and what I would think of you in a similar situation."

Jasper were confused by the feeling of apprehension his wife had about what she was about to say so he only nodded.

"Jazz… if you were to see me with another in an intimate way, would you rather see me with another man? Or a woman?"

To say Jasper had a hard time fighting back the red haze of fury covering his vision was an understatement, Alice concentrated on feeling calm so that he could draw that from her but he could feel the hurricane of emotions beneath her surface. When he finally calmed down and began to think about it he came to a conclusion quicker then he expected.

"A woman." Alice and Jasper said in unison.

"I could never stand seeing you with another man; I would kill the bastard out of possessive jealousy," Jasper explained, unable to keep the last words from coming out as a hiss.

"And I wouldn't want to be with another man since I would constantly compare him to you and how could anyone measure up to your perfection? But a woman…," Alice left the sentence unfinished.

"Yes, a woman… I thought I would feel jealousy toward anyone approaching you that way, but the idea of you with another woman is strangely appealing. And if I imagine myself in the picture it feels even more than appealing, it feels… right?"

Jasper was confused, this was not a side of himself he had encountered before, but he could feel the immense happiness emanating from his tiny companion.

"I knew you would understand!" Alice shrilled, "I know the idea of a polyamorous relationship must feel weird to you but I really think that it is what we are meant for. We have another soul mate out there. As you said about your puzzle analogy; complete at three."

They laid in bed for several hours after that, each thinking through what they had discussed in minuscule detail. Finally Alice broke the silence;

"We need to start packing, our flight leaves in two hours."

"Oh yeah! We are supposed to reunite with the rest of the family tonight right?" Jasper realized.

"Yeah, the school term starts again in a few days so we need to get back to Alaska and the others." Alice sighed; she knew how painful going to school was for her beloved.

"Can't say I'm looking forward to that darlin', though it will be nice to see the others again." Jasper was unable to hide the grimace at his wife's mention of school.

"Don't worry love; we won't stay there that long. Carlisle has already made plans for our next move."

"Yeah? And where are we going this time?" Jasper said, only slightly curious.

"Not that far actually, the others have already been to the place once a couple of generations ago. I think they said it was a small town in the Olympic peninsula called… what was the name now? Oh, right! The town was called Forks."