Timeless.
Disclaimer: This all belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just kidnapping Alice and Jasper for a while.
Timeline: Post Breaking Dawn.
Spoilers: Mentions of events from Breaking Dawn.
P.O.V: Alice
Summery: While clearing out her closet, Alice recalls one of her most precious memories of herself and Jasper.
Author Notes: More Alice and Jasper fluff! Just because they're so damn adorable. Reviews are always welcome :)
I was aware that my growls could be heard from every room in the house, not that I cared. I was much too busy to care, busy imagining all the ways that I could dismember Emmett for his latest prank. It really wasn't funny. Of course I had laughed with everyone else when he'd taken apart the engine of Rosalie's precious BMW and hidden it, piece by piece around town. Or when he'd casually mentioned to Charlie that he should ask Bella why she's so fond of feathers; and followed Edward around for a whole day, filling his head with images of Rosalie that no brother wants to see of their sister. But this? Well, this was just one step too far.
I stood in front of my closet, my precious closet. I'd always assumed that everyone understood that my closet was off limits for pranks of any kind. Clearly Emmett had taken leave of his senses entirely. My honey tinted eyes took in the sight of my clothes, my pride and joy, strewn about on the floor. There wasn't one single item left on the hangers which I had painstakingly placed them all on. I let an exasperated sigh slip from my lips and felt a sudden wave of calm wash over me from the direction of my empathic husband, who was seated at the foot of our bed, watching me silently.
"Jazz, if you really love me then please go downstairs and make Emmett feel guilty."
I spoke through tight lips, without turning to look at him. I fought against Jasper's calming influence – something I didn't do very often, but right now I wanted to be mad at Emmett.
"I said I was sorry!" Our brother's loud booming voice called from downstairs. My answering growl was just as loud.
Jasper was at my side, turning me to face him. He pressed his lips softly to my forehead.
"Anything for you, my love. Don't be too hard on Emmett, he was only trying to let off some steam."
I was sure I could see a smile on his face before he disappeared from my sight. Huh, he would side with Emmett. Jasper was almost as much of a trouble maker as our brother. I turned my attention back to my closet. Another growl rumbled low in my chest. The products of so many carefully planned shopping trips had been thrown to the floor. It was almost enough to make me cry, had my immortal body been capable of producing tears. But, I supposed it could have been worse, knowing Emmett's sense of humour he could have set fire to my clothes instead of merely tossing them to the floor. And, I had been planning on clearing my closet out soon anyway. I'd seen that a new store would be opening in Seattle soon, with the most adorable collection of dresses that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. But still, I would have preferred not to have the clear out forced upon me by my brother.
I took a small step inside my closet – it was bigger than mine and Jasper's room – and made sure not to stand on any of my precious clothes.
"Where to start...?" I wondered to myself with a sigh.
Moving a little faster than a human would – but no where near as fast as I knew I was capable of – I began sorting everything into two neat piles. One pile was soon towering over the other, and over myself. Those were the clothes I would give away. The other, much smaller pile were the few things that I could never bare to part with. I placed these items back on their hangers, each of them holding one of my most precious memories.
November 1949
Jasper and I had been together for a little over a year now. While I knew that he would eventually come to love me, as I already loved him, neither of us had worked up the courage to say the words to each other yet. And then I'd seen it, a vision of Jasper asking me out on our first official date. I saw that later, as we walked through a beautifully moonlit park, he would speak the words that would lift my still heart to the heavens. It had been close to impossible for me to control the feeling of sheer giddiness that overtook me as the vision faded. I was glad to be alone at that moment, glad that Jasper was elsewhere in the small but pretty house we had been renting for the past two months. I skipped straight to my walk-in closet – which had been the main reason for my wanting to rent this little house – and searched through the racks of clothing until I found the perfect dress. It was a simple cut, with a full skirt which fell just below my knees, in a pale lavender color, which in the moonlight would look only a shade or two darker than my alabaster skin. I searched out shoes, a wrap for my shoulders, a purse and even a pretty little band to wear in my hair; all in the same color as my dress. I sat on the edge of my bed and waited for Jasper to knock on my door and ask me if I cared to join him for the evening.
The park looked just as beautiful as it had in my vision. Jasper and I walked arm in arm, neither of us feeling the need to fill the silence. We already seemed to be on the same wavelength so much, it gave me even more hope for the perfect future I saw ahead of us. Jasper led me to a small bench, by a patch of pretty flowers. He waited, gentleman that he was, for me to sit first before taking a seat next to me.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?" He asked, without looking at me. He was staring straight ahead, his topaz eyes looking wary. I wondered if he was nervous.
"It is." I answered, looking into the distance, just as he was.
He shifted slightly next to me, turning to look at me.
"Alice... I... I -"
His struggle for words answered my question, he was nervous. I looked at him, radiating reassurance and love.
"It's okay Jasper, just say what you need to say."
I placed my hand over his and squeezed gently, a small smile lighting up my face. Hoping he wouldn't notice, I quickly checked on the immediate future. Nothing had changed, he was still going to say it. I heard him draw in a deep breath. Whether it was to enable him to speak, or to calm his nerves, I wasn't sure.
"Alice. I know I may never truly be worthy of you, or of the way you feel for me."
I opened my mouth to protest that statement – as if he could ever be anything less than worthy – but he held up one finger to caution me before he continued.
"Since the moment you found me Alice, I've felt emotions in you, and in myself that I'd forgotten even existed. For so long, all I knew was hatred, deceit and anger. But you, all I feel from you is love and hope. I'd like to be worthy of your love Alice, because I'm not sure if I could survive one day without you to light my footsteps."
He stopped to take my hand in his.
"I love you, Alice."
With his words I felt the strongest wave of love crash over me. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. It made my heart want to sing.
"I will love you forever, Jasper Whitlock."
I echoed his feelings of love back to him.
I was so lost in my memories that I didn't notice Jasper was behind me until he wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.
"You looked beyond beautiful in the moonlight that night darlin."
I giggled, as I always did when he called me that. The sweet southern drawl that he kept so well hidden usually, creeping into his tone. "I'm still working on being worthy of your love, you know."
I turned in his arms, standing on my tip toes to press a chaste little kiss to his lips.
"Jasper Whitlock, you have always been more than worthy of that, and so much more. And I will love you forever."
I'd seen fashion trends come and go, but love, that truly was timeless.
