Jasper felt rather curious, Alice had dragged him out of the house with nothing but excitement oozing off of her.
The path she led him across was unfamiliar and the the more they walked the darker it got, the trees above them entwining branches and becoming a dense canopy of a roof-like thing.
Were she someone else he would have thought her to be leading him straight to his death.
But despite what his past self would have thought about it he did trust this pixie with his life. To think this angel would have him wrapped around her finger to that level.
Soon a pond came into view. Shadows casted upon it as the trees bend in an interesting pattern giving it a sort of natural roof.
Alice let go of his hand and ran up to the edge of the pond twirling around to face him with an excited look on her beautiful face. Her hands raised up in a showing motion.
He could feel her excitement as much as he could feel her apprehension and giddiness which made him curious on what she was planning on doing.
-You like it?- Her question was innocent and hopeful. She seemed rather proud about her "finding" so he gave her a smile.
-I do.
Her face lit up in absolute delight.
And then she proceeded to start removing her clothes. Such action caught him so off guard he could do nothing but stare.
The sound of Alice diving into the water snapping him back to attention. He huffed before picking her clothes off the ground. She resurfaced back right at the bank in order to meet him face to face. He felt a shiver run down his spine as the shimmering gold settled upon his soul. Her smile brightening his world.
-Come on, Jazzy, when was the last time we went for a swim?- Her voice was like lulling bells eager to hypnotize him.
-I don't think that's a good idea. What if someone comes?- He sniffs the air to make sure no one is near. Alice huffs.
-Don't be silly, no one will come, come on.- She pouted at him and he sighed. Alice grinned, knowing she had him.
Jasper got up and left Alice's clothes on top of a boulder before proceeding to remove his own clothes. If Alice said it was fine then he had to trust her for as impulsive as she was she would never do something like this if there was a risk of people seeing them.
He wasn't a fan of water in such amounts for it slowed his movements but with Alice he had grown to like it.
He got into the water and as he met Alice he couldn't help but pull her into an embrace.
She raised her hands to grip his shoulders and smiled as their gazes met.
-You do realize this counts as exhibitionism right?
-It doesn't if no one sees us. You think I would risk someone seeing what's mine?
He huffed in amusement before taking her hand into his own and bringing it up to his lips. Pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles.
Alice smiled at that and brought him down into a kiss.
And as she pulled back he felt mischief bloom in her emotions.
Then a small wave of water met his face which was followed by a wholeheartedly laugh. He blinked at the daring yet childish attack before responding with a wave of his own getting a yelp before Alice tried to swim away from him, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her back. Her shriek echoing across the place as she kicked his chest, he still managed to grab her and lift her up enough to throw her back into the water.
Rather than resurface back up he vaguely watched her silhouette circle him below the water like a shark, he braced himself for her attack even though he was confident about being able to protect himself against any attack she may have in store for him, he was more than caught off guard when he felt her grab a much more sensitive area.
The act itself leaving him out of his game long enough for her to climb on his back and bring him down into the water.
He resurfaced back shaking his head to get rid of the water, she was already swimming away from him and he was quick to give her chase.
-Come back here you little monster!- Her laughter filled the place and while he was faster on land he wasn't used to swimming as much as Alice which made her faster than him on water.
She got to the bank of the pond first than him and still, she waited until he was half out to jump at him, the little pixie managed to overpower him with such ease it made his skin crawl in a pleasant way, pinning him against the ground and straddling him with a triumphant grin.
-Gotcha.
She was flooding the place with her amusement and excitement but now he could also feel the undertones of lust and desire.
Alice towered over him with her perfect skin kissed by the droplets of water, some of them running down her curves, almost in slow motion, her golden eyes glimmering and her usually spiked hair smoothed down by the water.
She looked like a goddess of stunning beauty and sensuality.
He couldn't stop himself from pulling her in for a searing kiss as her lust danced across his skin like pleasing needles. Her fingertips touching his stomach and trailing down and down until-
He lost against her. And soon both of them were lost in each other's touches.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Jasper and Alice laid on the grass with their limbs entangled.
It had begun to rain at some point but neither Alice or Jasper had given it mind for they had been too focused on each other. The sky was an angry grey and the wind blew above them with enough force to make the branches dance and the leaves ruffle each other.
Were they human they would had been risking a severe case of hypothermia.
-We should head back.- Alice told pressing a kiss against his neck where a new bite resided. She hadn't broke skin but it had left quite the mark.
He moaned in protest before pulling her closer to him.
-The rain is going to get worse and Esme will have our skin if we bring mud inside.
That got his attention.
-Fine.- Jasper grumbled.
Dressing back up in their soaked clothes wasn't that comfortable but it worked, Alice didn't want to put her shoes back on but for some reason she still put them on even after Jasper offered to carry them for her.
He wasn't even done buttoning his shirt up before he felt something hit his back.
-You are it!
Alice's gleeful shout echoed across the place and he whirled around in time to see her disappear into the forest.
It took him a moment to process what was happening before his legs moved.
Her enthusiasm bleeding behind her as both of them ran beneath the growing rain and across the forest without care for the mud or bushes.
Still.
While she would never be able to outrun him she did great at taking impulsive turns and shortcuts. Landing on trees or climbing up boulders. Running through trees and jumping logs, anything to keep him off her back.
Of course he let her have her fun before deciding to catch up with her. He took a leap with all the intent of catching her her mid-air. He didn't expect her to grab onto a branch and change direction.
Which ended with him crashing into a pond of mud with a thunderous crack that could have either been his landing or the sky above.
Alice's laughter reached his ears as he sat up with a grunt. Mud soaking him from head to toe. He would have glared at her if her emotions hadn't been so wonderful to bathe in.
-This is abuse of power.- He protested spitting mud out of his mouth and wiping his mouth.
That did nothing but make Alice explode into more laughter.
And then shock and amusement hit him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The sudden crash that had come from outside had alerted the Cullens. Alice's laughter catching them off guard.
What neither of them expected was to catch sight of what, who , she was laughing at.
Jasper sat on a puddle of mud covered in it from head to toe and glaring at Alice, though more than glaring he seemed quite unsure about if to glare at her or protest.
-God what happened?- Esme found herself asking. That made Alice turn around to face them.
-I won, that's what happened!- Alice exclaimed in triumph. Jasper scoffed at her before getting up.
-No worries bro. Esme brought up a master plan to deal with mudman cases.- Emmett piped in as he left the house and got into the garage.
He then brought out the hose.
And without an ounce of warning he proceeded to turn it on and aim at Jasper.
-I will bring some towels.- Esme said as she left.
Emmett took it to shoot Jasper with water even though Jasper tried to take the hose from him a few times.
Esme soon returned with the towels.
-Clothes and shoes off.- Esme ordered giving two towels to each and what Carlisle loved to call her "boss look". Alice giggled at her commanding voice.
-Yes ma'am.
They left them to give Alice and Jasper some privacy, soon enough they both reappeared wearing their towels, or at least Alice who looked quite proud of her made-up towel clothes and a third towel drapped around her shoulders.
Jasper on the other hand had taken everything but his shirt off. And no one missed the raw scars on his ankles, they looked as if he had wore shackles for prolonged periods of time, but the scars looked like burn scars in humans. How the hell did one put those scars on a vampire?
There were a handful of bite scars on his legs but not enough to make competence with the ones on his neck and jawline. In fact.
Those seemed to focus around his ankles. Precise .
And for the first time in his life Carlisle wished he didn't knew so much about how human bodies functioned.
Because he knew those patterns.
She had kept him from being able to run let alone walk.
It didn't even look like it had healed correctly.
God what the hell had that woman done? What had she thought they were? Those were living beings, they had feelings and thoughts, and God how could someone so cruel exist? Carlisle hoped she was dead.
Because while he didn't like taking the life of others or even wishing it there were limits.
And someone like Maria deserved to be dead.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Jasper wasn't quite sure why was he at Carlisle's studio. He had done nothing wrong as far as he could remember.
But the man was bleeding concern. Sadness. What for?
-Am I in trouble?- He asked not being able to keep up with the silence. He hadn't done anything wrong.
-No, you are not.- Carlisle was quick to assure him; Jasper relaxed.- Jasper, you do know I'm here for anything you need, right?
That caught him off guard and he gave Carlisle a weird look. Was that a trick question? Was Carlisle mad? Disappointed? What had he done? Even if his emotions weren't bad he couldn't help but feel like there was more underneath it.
-You can come to me if something bothers you, that's what I'm here for, if you ever get hurt or if you just want to talk I will always be here. It's my job to make sure you are okay.
-Um, what's this about?- Jasper asked, feeling more and more confused with each word Carlisle said. What did Carlisle expect from this conversation?What did he want?
-Your legs.
There was the sadness again and those words clicked something in his mind.
Ah.
His ankles.
-I'm fine. It was a long time ago. It doesn't matter.- Jasper assured. Carlisle didn't seem convinced and now there was hesitation in his emotions.
-Can I see it?
Jasper tensed at the request. See it? What for? He was fine. What did Carlisle want with this? What was he aiming for?
But there was no malice in his emotions. Just concern and hesitation.
And Alice said it would be fine. He had to trust her judgement.
So biting back the instincts that had kept him alive for so long he spoke.
-Okay.
He pulled the hem of his pants up as Carlisle got up. Jasper wasn't quite sure what to make of the man kneeling before him. Putting himself in such vulnerable position. It was odd and unnerving.
-May I?- Jasper knew he would ask to touch. He wasn't lucky enough to avoid that and doctors could never keep their hands to themselves. Couldn't watch the damage from afar.
And once again trusting Alice and his own gift that nothing would happen he gave a short nod.
Carlisle for his side was careful as he grabbed Jasper's leg, inspecting the scarred tissue with a critical eye and feeling it around. He had been right. Maria had wanted to keep him from running away. These had been done by shackles.
But if there were scars...
Had she heated them up before putting them on him? For how long had she tortured him like that? The sole fact that he could walk left it clear that she had at least been careful to not cause permanent damage. The scarring didn't look that bad either.
Still.
-Can you run?- He asked as he released his leg. Jasper frowned.
-I do. It's healed and it hasn't been burnt since I left.
Those last words made Carlisle's stomach drop at the implication. He sounded so casual about it and how he said it... Had this been a recurrent thing?
Was this Maria's idea of a fair punishment? What in the name of God was wrong with that woman?
-It aches sometimes, but it doesn't hurt.
-Why would she do this?- The words were out before Carlisle could even stop them, but he couldn't help it. He could feel the anger bubbling up inside him, anger at the fact that someone could ever excuse this sort of abuse as punishment. This wasn't punishment at all. This was torture.
-So I wouldn't run off... I guess.- Jasper muttered, The Major had always had a rebel streak in him, always trying to escape, always getting them in trouble. So all he could guess was that Maria had chained them to keep them from escaping. He felt odd at the fact that, for some reason, Carlisle was feeling angry.
But not towards him.
For him.
Why?
-It's alright. You don't have to feel mad about it. Whatever the reason was, I'm pretty sure I deserved it.
Even if he said that part of him resented it.
Because he had worked so hard for her to not be pissed and at the end it never worked. It didn't matter what he did it was never good enough. Never perfect enough . She could go from peaceful to a living nightmare in seconds. And he had hated it.
She had made his life hell. Had made him wish he would die if that meant the pain would stop. Even now when the memories got the best of him he would wish to die. Even if The Major had taken the worst of the damage it didn't matter.
At the end he had still failed at protecting himself.
And not even Alice's light could save him from that amount of darkness.
-You didn't. You do know that, right? Nothing could ever excuse this. This is not a punishment and you certainly didn't deserve this.- Carlisle told with his voice firm.
Jasper didn't answer; he just shrugged before pulling the hem of his pants back down.
Carlisle bit back the urge to growl at his silence.
Jasper spent around 40 years in that Hell. Ever since he was a newborn torture and violence was all he was given. Of course the boy would have no issues believing he deserved whatever punishment he received.
And Maria was his creator.
It was second nature for a vampire to submit to their creator.
But Carlisle wondered if that even worked with Jasper at all for the only reason that instinct was developed was because it was the creator's job to guide and protect them during their newborn year, it was that what forged an unbreakable bond.
Maria had certainly not protected him.
She hadn't made him feel safe and on top of it all she had been planning his death. She threw him in a violent environment and tortured him whenever she didn't feel pleased with him.
He hadn't developed that kind of bond with her.
In fact.
What he must have developed towards that woman could have been either an overwhelming sense of hatred or an unhealthy sense of fear.
Or both.
She had tortured him and abused him. Turned him into nothing but her puppet.
What would have happened if Peter had never gone back for Jasper?
Would she have ended up killing him like she was planning, or would he still be there suffering?
And, as he looked at Jasper, he had to fight back the impulse to pull him into a hug.
How much had he suffered at the hands of that woman? How much had he suffered before Peter had pulled him out of that hell?
Jasper, for his part, wasn't sure what to do with the emotions he felt coming from Carlisle; he was bleeding such sadness and anger. For him . It was almost overwhelming. Weird. Odd. He couldn't understand this man's mind.
He couldn't understand it at all.