A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer, but her characters are fun to play with so I'm making them do my bidding for the foreseeable future. Jasper as the God of War and Peter 'just knowing shit' are ideas that belong to Idreamofeddy. I do own the plot and original characters of Longing though.

Thank you to my wonderful prereader and friend, Laurie Whitlock. My heart and spirit are with you as you continue to deal with the loss of your mom. I love you, sweets. Thank you to my beloved sister/beta/prereader, Shelljayz, who brings me great joy every day. I love you so much! :)

Thank you so much to everyone that has followed, favorited, and reviewed or just plain stopped by to read or visit. I love you all! :)

I am once again sorry for the delay.

Now, what was Alice thinking?

oOo

Saturday, October 23rd, 2080

APOV

I was so excited! Bella moved in yesterday, we had a popcorn war, she was on my team, and today we were going shopping!

I could see it now: the two of us arm in arm as we strolled through Nordstrom, riffling through the racks of Gucci, Prada, and Alexander McQueen, digging through the Fendi purses and trying on pairs of Manolos, giggling and whispering like old friends all the while. Okay, so I couldn't actually see it, I still couldn't see her, but I had a vivid imagination.

"I'm going to have to stop you there, Ali love," Edward said as he walked out of our en suite bathroom, in nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips. Now I had seen that. God, I loved my gift in instances like these. Seeing my man nearly naked times two was freaking awesome! I licked my lips at the sight, and he smirked slightly but continued on as if he hadn't noticed. "This isn't going to be like every other shopping trip you go on."

He brought the extra towel he was carrying up to his head and scrubbed it roughly through his dripping hair, watching as I digested this information.

I was momentarily distracted as my eyes fixed on the droplets of water slithering over the well-defined muscles of his chest and abs. Maybe Edward wasn't as bulky as Emmett, Jasper, Peter or even Carlisle, but he was cut and filled out just right for his height and frame. Broad shoulders, trim hips, long legs ... he was perfect, and he was mine. I was an idiot for not figuring that out sooner.

"You never know," I said with a shrug. "It could be."

He gave me an affectionate smile. "Your optimism is one of the things I love most about you, Alice, but even you have got to see how unlikely that is."

I crossed my arms stubbornly. "She's been different since she moved in. She's not quite so obstinate, and she promised Carlisle she would play nice."

"Love, Bella moved in yesterday," he said patiently. "I don't think that's enough time to tell how she's going to be, and one popcorn fight doesn't necessarily prove anything."

"You're being awfully negative," I huffed.

He dropped the towel he'd been using to dry his hair on the floor, leaving it in a heap as he made his way to his dresser to pick out a pair of boxers. It would stay there until we got home from Seattle unless I picked it up. Edward wasn't exactly a neat freak, but I loved him anyway.

He made his way to our walk-in closet without further comment, me following behind him. I remained in the doorway, observing as he perused the racks of his clothes. I hadn't seen what he would wear since he had yet to decide, and I wasn't going to help. I'd taught him well enough over the years to have faith he would choose well. He could pick out which was Prada and which was Walmart even if he was under complete sensory deprivation. Besides, my man could make a burlap sack look stylish.

I did have a vision of him rolling his eyes when he heard those thoughts. I saw him smirk and he undid the towel around his hips, letting it fall to the floor. My eyes darkened and I swallowed hard as my husband stood there, bare-ass naked, purposely taking extra time to pick out his outfit just to torture me.

Do not attack him. Do not attack him.

I saw Edward's smile widen through my second sight and he continued to slowly push each hanger aside, seeming to examine every damn thread of every damn shirt he owned and still not making a damn decision.

"I'm not being negative, love," he assured me. "I like Bella ... a lot actually. I'm just looking out for you. She's a tough girl with a hard shell. She's not just going to automatically be your best friend. I know how much you want that, and I want you to have it just as much, but it's going to take awhile for it to happen. I just honestly don't have the first clue how you should go about trying to get her to come around. I don't want you to get your hopes up."

Edward was right. I really did want Bella and I to be friends and good ones at that, but I, like him, had no idea how to get that to happen.

"I know she's guarded," I insisted, "and I know it will take some work, but you're forgetting something."

He abandoned his quest for clothes and turned to face me, cocking a questioning eyebrow. My eyes shot down to his groin and a moan nearly escaped my throat. I forced my eyes back to his face.

"I have the puppy dog face," I reminded him, smirking. Considering Edward's state of undress, my sufficient distraction and my suddenly very dry mouth, it was difficult to get the words out in a manner that sounded convincing.

Edward smiled, feigning indifference to my obviously aroused plight. I almost scowled but didn't, managing to retain my sunny disposition by a thread.

"Oh, I could never forget that." he said. "That face is permanently seared into my brain. It would be even if I wasn't a vampire with perfect recall. It haunts me, in fact, but Bella appears to be remarkably resistant."

"No one can resist the puppy dog face, baby," I said smugly. I'd worked tremendously hard over the years to perfect it ... if deciding to use it and having a vision of the perfect expression counted as hard work, that is.

Edward snorted at that overheard thought. "She may be the first person to knock that back down from law to theory, love."

"We'll see about that," I scoffed lightly.

"I'm just saying," he continued, "don't expect her to let you pick out outfits for her. The rest of us do because we love you, we trust you, and we know you know what we like. You also don't throw away the stuff we buy for ourselves ... anymore ... after the little talk you and I had about boundaries and respecting people's personal tastes ..."

I rolled my eyes. Okay, I could admit that wasn't a nice thing to do, but I was just trying to help. I would never do anything like that again, and grudgingly, I had later come to realize that my family members had decent fashion instincts. Under my tutelage, however, that fashion sense was now beyond fantastic. Even if they hadn't learned, I still wouldn't interfere, but they let me buy 70% of their wardrobes for them now, Jasper being the exception, and I was sure I could persuade Bella to let me do the same for her eventually. I would have to work on Peter and Charlotte in that regard as well.

I had no real feel for Bella's current style since I'd only seen her three times in total, but she didn't appear to be hopeless. We could have so much fun together. I just knew it.

"... Bella isn't there yet. If you want things to go smoothly between the two of you, don't push her."

"I won't," I promised. There was a tinge of defensiveness to my tone that I tried to snuff out before I'd spoken; I was not successful. Edward heard it and came to me, wrapping me in his arms and pressing his naked body against my clothed one.

"It wasn't my intention to upset you, love," he whispered, planting a kiss on the crown of my head. "I'm just trying to protect you."

"I know, and I love you for it," I breathed into his bare chest. He sucked in a sharp breath at the whisper of it against his skin and I could feel him hardening against my middle. "I know I can get pushy sometimes. I'll try my hardest to tamp it down. Promise to rein me in if I start to get out of control?"

"Of course," he promised earnestly, grinning boyishly at me, "and I love you too."

Though my heart no longer beat, it still felt as though it fluttered in my chest. God, I wanted him, but we were due downstairs to discuss this shopping trip with Bella soon and I needed to rethink my strategy on the whole thing. In addition to my current discussion with Edward, Esme had had a talk with us about it as well. I didn't want to screw things up and my original strategy really had been pushy. I would probably revert to my original plan in spite of whatever alternative I came up with. It wouldn't be intentional - this was fashion, after all. I wouldn't be able to help myself. The only things I loved more were my family and Edward, Edward above all else. He was the only one who could talk sense into me when I got crazy and he would be there, so maybe I wouldn't morph into Fashion Monster Alice and scare Bella half to death after all, and he had just promised to keep me in check. He would have even without my asking.

None of this eased the ache between my thighs. I absolutely had to do something about that.

I pulled slightly away from the security of his embrace and snaked my arms up around his neck, weaving my fingers through his now dry, silky, sex God hair. I used this hold as leverage to slide myself sinuously up his body, teasing his stiffening cock as I did. Edward let out a strange combination of groan, growl and purr at my maneuver; I swallowed it when I pressed my lips to his and plundered his mouth with my tongue. He kissed me back fiercely for a solid minute but when my hand drifted down over those sculpted pecs and abs, he pulled away and put his hand over mine.

"Ah, ah, ah, Ali, love," he tsked, prying my legs away from where our bodies were so perfectly aligned, and stepping back so there was a foot of space between us.

In the heat of the moment, I had not seen this coming, and I was furious. "What the hell, Edward?"

I could see how much he wanted me ... he was fucking throbbing for me ... and he could both smell and hear how much I wanted him. Yes, I'd had my vision, but I was going to make him say it. If he was going to hold out, the least he could do was man up and explain himself like a normal guy would ... out loud.

Edward closed the distance again, brushed my hair from my forehead and cupped my cheek. The adoration on his face and the fiery lust that still shown in his eyes tempered my anger some. Edward had a puppy dog face of his own.

Damn it! How was I supposed to stay mad at that? Oh, right! I was fucking horny!

"You know I want you, love," he said in his velvet voice. "You have no idea how difficult it is for me to stop things now, but you know why I did."

"And you know you have to say it," I responded stubbornly.

Edward chuckled and even that sounded seductive.

Shit!

He leaned down and clamped his teeth and lips around my earlobe, laving it with his tongue. When he released it and spoke, his voice a purr in my ear, his breath made my thighs clench together, "If you're a good girl with Bella today, we'll pick this up as soon as we get home, and I won't be finished with you until every last piece of furniture in this room needs to be replaced, until I rip apart every last piece of lingerie you own ... I'll even aim to make your gift go haywire all by myself."

I shivered and my knees buckled a little but Edward's hand shot out to grip my hip and support my weight. It took me a second to get my bearings.

Pull me out of my head for long enough and I became sort of disconnected from my gift. The visions still happened but I didn't see them until a later time. It was a nice reprieve and I sure as hell loved what it took to get me that way.

A broad grin stretched my lips.

He switched to the other earlobe, sucking it between his lips, nipping it with his teeth. "Think of it as," he paused, nipping again, "extra incentive," he sucked on the sweet spot behind my ear, "or a fail safe."

Then he stepped back and raised his eyebrows challengingly.

Damn sexy bastard!

"Bribes are not nice, Edward Cullen, nor are they fair," I growled.

"Maybe not, Alice Cullen, but they are effective," Edward said, smugly. "And you'll never admit it but you love this bribe."

My eyes narrowed, much more so than they would have normally. I was still pissed at him but he was right on both counts. I wouldn't admit that out loud though even if that didn't matter, and I did love this bribe. I saw his smug expression magnify.

"Would the two of you cut that the fuck out?" Jasper's annoyed voice sounded through Edward's gift. Normally, he would have projected to reinforce his ire, but he didn't. He hadn't projected for a month and it had both Edward and me worried. Despite our concern, we ignored him.

"Is this really how you want to play things, baby?"

He nodded evenly.

I had a vision of using the puppy dog face to my advantage but Edward saw it.

His expression hardened. "Don't you dare!"

"Fine!" I snapped irritably and then propped my hands on my hips, levelling him with a piercing glare. "Now if this," I said emphatically, gesturing to how very not naked (in my case) and writhing the two of us were, "is how the rest of the time before we leave for Seattle is going to go, then for God's sake, I don't even care if it matches, just put some damn clothes on!"

Edward only smirked, turned his back to me and paused just long enough to give me a damn nice eye full of his perfect naked ass before he disappeared back into our closet.

I groaned. This was going to be a very long day but the promise of what was to come would be worth every second.

oOo

A/N: There you have it! A little Alice POV. I hope you liked it. Thoughts are always appreciated, especially since I never pictured myself writing a scene like that between E/A. I'm quite happy with how it turned out, I have to say. I think they're cute. :)

Up next: Bella's first day of school.