The Fic Lab Prompt #18: "If you have chemistry, you only need one other thing - timing. But timing is a bitch."

Alice has always had visions of the future, little glimpses into what could be. Her parents thought they were her version of a childhood imaginary friend and that she would grow out of it. She soon came to realize people would get scared when she talked about what she saw. By the time Alice was eight years old, she learned to keep her visions to herself. People couldn't accept things they didn't understand. Throughout the years, she would offer "advice" based on what she'd seen when she felt it was warranted, but she never mentioned that the advice was the result of a vision.

Alice's visions were how she knew for certain that her brother, Edward, and her best friend, Bella, would hit it off. But the timing was not right when she first received that vision last year, so she made sure that they wouldn't meet until later. It had been easy to keep them apart since she and Bella lived in Seattle while Edward lived in Chicago.

Alice still feels guilty about that sometimes, that she was delaying their happiness for her own selfish reasons. But then she'd see another vision of the blond hair, blue eyes, and dazzling smile of the man that she knew was meant for her. The man who would eventually become Edward's best friend. But Edward hadn't met this beautiful man yet.

Alice knew if she introduced Edward and Bella before he met this mystery man, it would never happen. Instead, Edward would end up moving from Chicago to Seattle to be with Bella too soon. And that meant Alice would never meet that man, either. That was not an outcome Alice was willing to accept.

So she waited. Edward finally did meet Jasper when he started his new job at a law firm two months ago and they have become fast friends.

Alice loves his name now that she knows it. Jasper…Jasper…Jasper. Alice repeats his name to herself like a prayer every night before she falls asleep.

The time has finally come for everyone to meet up. Edward and Jasper are coming to Seattle for a visit and everything is working out as it should.

Alice insisted that Edward and Jasper stay with her and Bella instead of getting a hotel. She waited too long, she wasn't going to wait anymore. She would share Bella's room, Edward would have Alice's room and Jasper would stay on the sleeper sofa in the living room.

"Thanks for letting Edward and Jasper stay with us, Bella."

"Of course, Alice. I'm excited to finally meet your brother. I can't believe we haven't met sooner," Bella smiles back at her.

Alice puts her guilty feelings about that to the back of her mind. She tells herself there is nothing to feel guilty about. Edward and Bella are meeting today and they will be happy together from now on. She didn't prevent anything, just postponed everything until the timing was right.

At the sound of the doorbell, Alice runs over and opens the apartment door. She jumps into Edward's arms to give him a big hug. "I'm so happy you're here, Edward!"

"Hey, Ali-cat, I missed you, too," Edward laughs as he spins her around once before setting her back down on the floor.

Jasper walks in behind Edward and Alice's eyes are fixed on him. He's even more beautiful in person.

"You must be Jasper," she says as she puts out her hand in greeting. Try as she might, Alice can't control the huge grin on her face.

"I'm mighty pleased to meet you. Ali-cat, is it?" Jasper winks as he shakes her hand.

Alice just smiles in response. No one except her family ever calls her Ali-cat, but Alice likes the way Jasper says it. It sounds sensual and enticing coming from his lips. Lips she wants to kiss. Alice has been in love with this man for a year, but they've really just met, so she needs to put those feelings on the back burner right now. She doesn't want to scare Jasper away before he even gets to know her.

They all decide to stay in for the night and have food delivered instead of going out. Edward and Jasper had put in a half day at the office before heading out to the airport for the 4 1/2 hour flight, so they don't have the energy for a big night out.

Alice was expecting that. She knew they'd had a long day. She let them know she already made reservations for dinner and drinks for tomorrow night, so there will be no getting out of that.

—t-—

Alice is lying in bed next to a sleeping Bella. She can't stop thinking about the day and finally meeting Jasper. It had been a quiet evening, eating take out, drinking beer and watching Netflix. They hadn't had much opportunity to really get to know each other yet, but Alice kept noticing the looks Jasper was giving her throughout the night. Could he be having feelings for her already?

Alice gives up trying to sleep, and careful not to wake Bella, gets up and heads to kitchen to get some water. The windows in the living room let in the moonlight illuminating her way. As she passes Jasper on the pull out sofa, she hears him sit up and quietly call out to her, "Hey, Alice, can't sleep?"

"I'm so sorry, did I wake you?" Alice whispers back.

Jasper gives Alice the smile she's seen in her dreams for a year now as he shakes his head. She can't believe he's here in person now.

"No, I can't sleep, either. Come sit next to me, we didn't really get a chance to talk much today," Jasper asks as he pats next to him on the pull out sofa.

It seems so intimate this early on in their relationship, but Alice can't stop herself from climbing onto the pull out and sitting next to Jasper. They talk about everything and nothing.

She learns that Jasper is originally from Houston, that he moved to Chicago five years ago for law school, and that he recently ended a two year long dysfunctional relationship with a woman named Maria.

She tells him about growing up in Chicago, about coming to Seattle for college and never leaving, about her job as an event planner, and that she hasn't dated anyone in over a year since she broke up with a jerk named James. She doesn't tell Jasper that she didn't bother dating anyone else because she was waiting for him. She's sure that would sound crazy.

Jasper turns to look at Alice, his blue eyes boring directly into her grey ones. While Alice has seen Jasper in her visions many times, the electricity she feels between them now is such a new feeling. It feels overwhelming somehow.

"I feel so content and happy around you, Alice," Jasper says. "I've never felt like this before. It's like I've known you forever when I barely know you at all. Does that make sense?" he asks. "Is this too much? Am I scaring you?"

Alice understands exactly what Jasper is feeling. It's not too much for her; she's been in love with him for a year. She wants to let him know this. She is sure that she can trust him with her secret. She hasn't talked about her visions to anyone since she was a child, but it feels right to tell Jasper.

"It's not too much and you're not scaring me, Jasper. I have something I want to tell you, but I'm afraid you might think I'm crazy. But I think I want to tell you anyway." Alice bites her lip and looks down from Jasper's gaze trying to gather her courage.

Jasper puts his hand under her jaw and lifts her head so she is looking at him again. "You can tell me anything, darlin' and I promise I won't think you're crazy."

Alice believes Jasper. She trusts him, so she tells him everything. She tells him about her visions, about seeing him for the first time in a vision last year, about waiting for him to eventually meet me Edward, so that he could finally meet her. She told him that his feelings for her aren't too much because she's been in love with him since she first saw him.

Jasper's smile brightens the moonlit room even more. "I know it's so soon, but it just feels right. I love you, too, Alice. And I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long."

Jasper leans in and gives Alice the kiss she has been waiting a year for. The best kiss Alice has ever received. As he pulls away to look at her, she misses his lips already.

"You were definitely worth the wait, Jasper," Alice sighs and she leans in to kiss him some more.