Jasper laid next to her on the bed of the hotel they were currently staying in. They had been silent for a few hours, thinking, enjoying each others' presence. He had let his mind wander slightly, remembering his life before Alice. Before Peter and Charlotte. In the beginning…
He grimaced slightly to himself, lost in faintly painful thoughts.
He felt her move beside him and he looked over at her. Their gazes locked, and she gave him the look. The one that he knew, even after being near her for only a few weeks, meant that she was on to him. She knew that something was bothering him. He wondered if she had seen him in a vision or if it was just something she had picked up on from observation.
He matched her look, causing her to chuckle a little.
"What?" he asked.
"You imitate me very well," she replied easily, "It's amusing…somewhat charming, if you ask me," her voice was light and warm.
"Well, thank you," he responded, and then after a pause, "now your turn."
"Hmm?" Her eyebrows lifted up innocently.
"Do an imitation of me, if you think you can match mine of course…" he challenged in a playful tone.
A smile spread across her face, lighting up her features more than usual. A peaceful feeling swept over him at the sight of her.
"I'll do my best. Ready?"
"Ready," he agreed, truly curious as to how well she would be able to portray him.
He could feel her concentrate on her emotions. She struggled to suppress any excitement she was feeling about the challenge, or just about spending time with him. He felt the major, typical "Alice" emotions fade into "background" emotions: the underlying ones that could usually define a person. Most people usually weren't even aware that they existed.
As she suppressed those emotions, he felt new ones enter her emotional climate. Her face became too serious for her soft features and her eyes began to look older…like they had seen too much. Her face was beautiful, mysterious, strong, sad, happy, and hopeful all at once.
What really amazed him though was the fact that her emotions seemed to match her face. He could feel real sadness, real happiness, real hope emanating from her.
She hadn't just captured the way that he looked, but she had captured the essence of him. In that moment, she was Jasper. The fact that she knew him so well made him feel…strange. But not a bad strange. He was…happy. But truly happy. And slightly incredulous. He could feel their connection, feel his own love reflected in her emotions toward him. He discovered new things about her everyday, but he knew that he knew her just as well, if not better, than he knew himself. But he had never thought about the possibility that she would know him too.
Without warning, her background emotions suddenly broke through their barrier, overwhelming her new "Jasper" emotions. The Jasper emotions slipped into the background, but he noticed that they did not leave. He felt her happiness, tinged with slight apprehension, as she waited for him to respond. But he could only look at her.
When he didn't comment, she grinned and said, "Well? Did I live up to your impression?"
He stared at her in amazement for a minute or two. She waited for him this time, patiently, watching his face.
He was finally able to say, "Wow."
"That's it?" her eyes twinkled merrily.
He shook his head, trying to think of anything else he could say to her. "Well…what else can I say? You definitely beat me."
She shook her head, "No, no, you did an impeccable impersonation of me. Maybe we can call it a draw. What do you think?"
"I think that you're the only good thing in my life right now and I don't know how I managed to survive without you," he replied honestly.
Her face, if possible, lit up even more, "I could never live without you again either."
He didn't need to feel her honesty to know that she meant it.
"A draw, then?" He held out his hand to her.
"A draw." She placed her hand in his.
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, "As you wish."
He felt her emotions swell with love and happiness that made him happy too.
Alice could always cheer him up.
