-You do realize Esme must be havin' the shivers right now, right?- Jasper asked as he watched Alice stir whatever the hell that brown liquid was supposed to be.

Bella was upstairs doing homework and both of them had been left to look after her while the rest went hunting.

And Alice was cooking.

Alice.

Was cooking.

She said it was chicken soup but he begged to differ. That didn't look like soup nor even food. It was too brown and he could have sworn he saw something move.

Alice for her side gave him a glare as she took the carrots he had cut earlier from him. Adding them to the pot of questionable soup.

-Does she even likes carrots?

-Carrots are good for her.- Alice told him matter of fact. She had looked up the recipe and she was following it to the letter. Corn. Chicken. Carrots. Potatoes. Beans. Celery. Everything .

Or at least most of it.

She had dragged Jasper with her for a reason and that reason called for the absence of garlic.

As the one with the gift to taste human food he would be the one to tell her if it tasted good or bad.

She turned the stove off and grabbed a spoon from the drawer. She scooped up a generous amount before shoving the spoon infront of Jasper's face who reeled back at the action.

-Does it taste good?

-I'm not tastin' that.- Jasper told leaning back with a disgusted face. Alice gave him that sweet look that never failed to make his knees go weak. Blinking up at him and pouting.

-Please?

God how could this little pixie have such control over him?

He opened his mouth and let her feed him that horrible looking thing. He was surprised to find that despite its appearance it tasted quite good.

-Well?

-It tastes good.- He conceded as he swallowed. Alice perked up at that and feeling a surge of pride she scooped up another spoonful of steaming soup and offered it to him. He took it without protests.

To be honest Alice had never thought about cooking for Jasper. Yeah, he could taste and eat human food but it wasn't as if he needed it to survive. The venom made sure to burn it like the acid in a human's stomach would break down the food.

Just that the venom didn't carry the nutrients anywhere, they just died there.

Summary.

For him, eating was nothing but a waste of food since he didn't need it and at the end the food disappeared thanks to the venom.

He didn't eat much to begin with, though he did had the habit to steal apples from the cafeteria whenever he thought no one was looking. He said apples reminded him of his human life. He wasn't sure of the reason but it never failed to make him feel oddly happy.

-Ain't this suppose to be for Bella?- Jasper asked as Alice offered him a fifth spoonful of soup. Even if he said that he accepted the offering. He found that he liked the mix of carrots and chicken.

-There's a lot for her.- Alice told before grabbing two bowls and filling each with a generous amount of soup. She handed one to Jasper before disappearing upstairs with the other bowl.

He stared at the bowl for a moment before deciding that it wouldn't hurt to eat it. It did taste good no matter how concerning the color was.

Thus he took it to eat the soup. It had been a while since he had chicken and the first time he ever ate something his darling wife made. He wanted to take his sweet time to savor each bite.

Alice came back at some point and put the remaining soup in a tupperware container before placing it in the fridge.

-Should I start cooking for you?- She questioned as she came to lean against the countertop where he was sitting at.

-I don't think that would be wise. Esme keeps food for Bella but she would definitely notice if food starts disappearin' from the fridge even when Bella isn't around.- Jasper told matter of fact as he scooped up a particularly big carrot. He should have chopped them smaller.

-True.- Alice pouted. She sometimes wondered though. How would human food taste. She had no memories from her human life to aid her. She knew apples were sweet and that oranges could be as acid as some could be sweet or bittersweet. Strawberries were also sweet but not as sweet as some people made them out to be. Bananas had a sort of smooth flavor that came close to sweet.

But that was because Jasper told her. He ate more fruits than he ate candies. The Major on the other hand had become an addict to candies if those trunks in Jasper's studio were something to go for. He once told her that coffee tasted like needles and misery. Not helpful at all.

-How does chicken taste like?

-Sweet. Sort of... It's hard to explain how meat tastes like if I'm being honest. I like the celery and the carrots better though.

-The vegetables? Really?- Alice asked with a raised eyebrow.

-They taste good.- Jasper defended.

-Any human parent would have a blast having you as their son.- Alice couldn't help but say in amusement.

-I grew up in a farm. Fruits and vegetables were the things we ate the most. Or at least as far as I can remember. So do forgive me if I favor 'em over the chicken.- Jasper told before drinking up what was left of the soup.

Alice took the bowl from him when he was done and after washing it up she came to rest her hands on his knees. Holding his gaze. Such a light orange, and she never ceased to find the silver freckles alluring.

Jasper of course, taking advantage of her distraction, was more than gleeful about leaning down and stealing a kiss from his little wife. She was more than happy to correspond, deepening it for the spare of a second before biting his bottom lip. Her hand fishing out the neck of his shirt to pull him closer.

The sudden flare of surprise and fluttering embarrassment made Jasper pull back in order to see one flustered Bella holding an empty bowl and looking like she wished for the earth to swallow her.

-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.- She said awkwardly. Alice smirked as she flew to her side and took the bowl from her.

-Oh no worries Bella. No need to get so flustered, it's not as if you haven't seen us kissing before, either way we are family.- Alice told in absolute amusement.- Trust me, once you are turned you will learn about the extent of what it means to live with Rosalie and Emmett.

Jasper grimaced at that.

-You just pray that if you were to get a gift that it's not one that let's you feel others regardless of how that may be.- Jasper told her as a statement of fact. It was horrible to feel his own siblings' lust.

And worst.

His parents'.

Even now he still couldn't stand being under the same roof as them whenever things got too heated.

-How does one gets a gift?- Bella asked suddenly, she had never given it thought.

-No one really knows how that works, though it may be because some particular aspect from our human life gets amplified.- Alice said as she went back to the sink with the bowl and spoon at hand.

-What kind of aspect?- Bella asked curiously.

-Edward once said he was prompt to headaches when he was human and that he was also quite good at readin' people, that may have branched into mind readin'. And I was pretty persuasive as a human, someone once told me that I was quite literally, charmin'. And I was also rather susceptible to people's moods, that may have branched into my kind of empathy. Or at least that's Carlisle's theory.

That did sound like a credible theory, Bella just hoped her gift was at least useful. Like Alice's or Jasper's . Or Edward's .

-You should get down, they will be back in three minutes and Esme's not gonna like seeing you sitting up there.- Alice warned.

Jasper made a face at that but still did as told.

It was then, as he got down, that he smelt it. Vampires . Unknown.

His muscles locked and while he had learnt to not sprint towards every single nomad that crossed his path after what happened with Victoria and her army he felt pretty much like doing the complete opposite of what Carlisle had fought so hard to engrain in his head.

Alice grabbed his arms and he looked down at her.

-Take Bella upstairs and do not leave her side. You understand?

-But-

She glared at him and he bit back a growl before leaving her side and picking up one surprised half confused Bella. He took her to Edward's bedroom in a blink since this one didn't face the direction those nomads were coming. He never liked the glass walls for a lot of reasons and while Alice had chosen the bedroom with the walls that weren't made of glass it still put him on edge to live in such an open house.

-What's wrong?- Bella asked confused as Jasper put her down.

-Nomads.- He told opening the door of the balcony and taking a deep breath, focusing only and solely on the nomads, closing his eyes and straining his senses past what he would usually allow himself.- There's two; male and female, if the distribution of their weight is somethin' to go for they may not be hostile.

-You can get all that by their scents?- Bella couldn't keep the amazement from her voice and Jasper turned to look at her.

-Once you become a vampire you will notice that each vampire has a distinctive scent, and that females smell different than males, and for the other, I was a soldier even as a vampire, I learnt to read someone's intentions based on their footsteps, footsteps do tell a lot. That's why I always hide mine. Never let your enemies know your intentions.

He turned back to focus his attention on the nomads. Bella stared at him. He was amazing she had to admit. Something about him... He had that vampiric air around him that didn't seem to quite hover around the others. In the way he moved to the way he spoke sometimes.

A predator.

She wondered if he would be willing to teach her how to fight once she became a vampire. How to read someone like that with nothing but her senses.

Jasper for his side was tense. Because Alice was alone. But he had also promised to give her the freedom to face dangers on her own. That she wasn't weak nor a damsel in distress for him to go running to protect her at all times. She could keep herself safe.

He needed to protect Bella. She couldn't protect herself, much less from a vampire.

He felt more at ease when he smelt the Cullens and he allowed his shoulders to relax. Soon the nomads' scent were growing further and further and then the door opened and Edward stood there. Gratefulness being sent his way.

Jasper nodded before walking out of the room and finding Alice. He threw his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug the second he had her on sight.

-You did good.- Carlisle praised from the door. His pride was as warm as ever and he let it wash over him. This was the first time he had ever stood back from confronting a nomad.

But to be honest, had Bella not been here, he didn't think he would have stood back.

Not really.