Forks. -

It's been over a year since Jasper and Alice met, over four months since he's been living with the Cullens.

So far… he was still quite withdrawn and quiet, refused to let other people touch him or even see him without the mask, but he's grown to be much more willing to try new things if asked to, and he was less prompt to hide upstairs if Alice wasn't at home.

Carlisle found him to be an interesting addition to the family, his interests were also quite… varied, they went from reading books, playing cards, chess, and videogames to playing hide and seek with Renesmee, building Legos with her, and he even let her paint his fingernails without so much as a protest.

He was definitely not what Carlisle had expected him to be, while he had been willing to give the young man a chance part of him had expected Jasper to be colder, much more distant, and why lie? He had also prepared himself for the possibility of hostility.

But he wasn't.

He was well behaved and while quiet, he wasn't rude.

So far he had been able to see several aspects of him, Jasper didn't like to be alone nor for people to stare at him for too long, he also had the habit to dig his fingers into his arm whenever he was anxious, that one had taken Carlisle quite a while to notice.

Also, he grew restless when Alice was gone for too long, would refuse to leave the porch no matter what, Carlisle found it a bit unhealthy, how much he clung to her, but the environment was new to him, and after what he lived in Volterra it stood to reason he would feel much more at ease with her around.

So he tried to not put much mind on his clinginess for the time being, he might grow out of it as time went on.

There was also how curious he was, Carlisle had learnt quite fast that Jasper was extremely curious towards just about anything, he had caught him more than once exploring the house and looking quite fascinated with the most simple of things.

He had seen him messing with the fridge, opening and closing the door over and over again, at times slower, as if aiming to decipher how did the light turn on and off.

There had also been that morning he didn't go to work, because Jasper had been in the garage and Carlisle had found himself not wanting to disturb him, he had looked quite fascinated with the simple action of opening and closing the Volvo's door, examining the Jeep's many headlights, the where was the roof of Rosalie's car, and don't even get him started on the how he had spent ten minutes straight messing with the Mercedes' window when he realized a single button could make the windows open and close.

There was also that time he sat infront of the washing machine throughout the whole process, staring at it as if it was the most interesting thing in the universe, he had also heard from Esme he had done the same when she had put the dryer on.

It was like having a child who was discovering the world for the first time, everything about technology in general seemed to fascinate him, made Carlisle wonder at times how was his knowledge regarding the modern world, Alice did said he hadn't been allowed out of Volterra that much.

No one ever saw him, didn't knew about him until the aftermath of the fight with Victoria's newborns.

Aro kept him hidden for so long…

Carlisle worried his understanding of the modern world might not be as good as it should. But he didn't seem to have trouble with much, he knew the basic rules and he wasn't one to cause trouble, so Carlisle tried to not be too concerned.

Plus, Alice kept watch over him.

Alice… Carlisle did admit it was nice to see his daughter so happy, she clung to Jasper just as much, she was the only one that could get him to do just about anything without hesitation, he looked at her like she was the most important person in the world, such outstanding devotion it was almost a bit unnerving.

Carlisle's never seen someone wield such intense emotions, at times, it felt like his bond with Alice was much more intense than the regular bond between soulmates.

At times, he would even move in synch with her, whenever she was upset, there he would be, like a soldier waiting for the slightest order to strike.

It was a bit frightening, how he seemed to respond to Alice and what he seemed to be giving to her, and at the same time he couldn't help but find it to be quite the mesmerizing thing, to know his daughter had someone like him protecting her.

There was also Jasper's diet, he didn't feed much on animals, but Carlisle didn't mind that, everyone was free to live their lives as they wished, he wasn't anyone to force people into this lifestyle.

And it wasn't as if Jasper fed in Forks to begin with, as long as be didn't feed on Forks Carlisle could care less about what he chose to eat, against popular belief he wasn't one to judge the vampires who chose a vampire's regular diet.

He did know some of his other children weren't as supportive of this, Carlisle's seen the glares Rosalie and Edward throw at Jasper whenever he comes back from feeding from humans. He's spoken with them about it, but there was no getting through them.

Jasper at least didn't seem to mind.

Still.

One thing did bother Carlisle, the mask, Jasper refused to take it off, it was this what led him to refuse to hunt with anyone that wasn't Alice whenever he fed off animals, and while Carlisle's seen his face before he feels like he shouldn't be wearing that mask, he had no need for it here.

Because if what Alice had said about the muzzle alongside what Jasper himself had insinuated about it was right… the Volturi had pushed him into wearing the muzzle so as to humiliate him, he didn't need to wear it here, he didn't need to hide himself to make others comfortable, but Carlisle also knew he couldn't do anything about it.

As Alice had said, he would stop wearing it when he was ready.

~

Esme was more than delighted to have a brand new son, he could be a bit elusive, and while at first it had been hard to even come across him because of his liking to hide in Alice's room he had grown less… elusive.

He was… an interesting one, she hadn't been sure what she had been expecting of him, but she had certainly not been prepared for the way he turned out to be, he was possibly the kindest and sweetest young man she's ever met.

He was so polite and soft spoken at times it felt as if he had come straight out of one of those old movies with the sophisticated gentlemen, she could see what Alice had meant with "her southern gentleman". Whenever she came from the grocery store, there would he be, already waiting to help her carry everything.

As if she couldn't carry everything in one arm and in one trip.

But she let him, because she found it endearing.

He had also developed the habit to help her in the garden, at first he had taken it to sit at the steps and watch her, she would talk to him, he never spoke back, but it was nice to be able to talk to him, she would tell him about the flowers and just about anything that came to her mind.

An amusing thing from this was that as time went on he had gone from sitting at the porch to sitting at the bottom of the steps, watching him get closer and closer had felt like watching a cat with trust issues.

One day she had asked him to help her with a pot, and that had seemed to be enough to get him offering his help whenever she was at the garden.

Those moments were as precious to her as when he helped her in the kitchen, Esme was someone who liked cooking, vampires didn't eat human food and so the food she bought at the market to keep appearances had to go somewhere else.

Thus, she liked cooking it and giving it to shelters, now with Renesmee it was still the same, the girl couldn't eat the amount of food that needed to be bought for a family of eight every month.

So Esme cooked, she always found saddening to not be able to cook for her children nor with them, Edward and Alice weren't interested in cooking, Emmett didn't found appealing cooking something he wouldn't be able to eat and Rosalie hated the sole idea of cooking something she wouldn't even be able to taste.

But Jasper… as fate would have it she had finally found it, a son who enjoyed cooking as much as her , and for what she had heard from Carlisle's co-workers he had a particularly amazing talent at baking, better than her.

It did nothing but fill her with pride.

He also liked helping her around the house, and unlike Emmett he didn't whine about it nor tried to escape it.

Like now.

She had been cleaning the kitchen, Jasper had joined her at some point and now there he was, sitting on the countertop while she rearranged the silverware.

And while she would have scolded him for sitting there she couldn't bring herself to do so when he had offered to dry the dishes for her, he was even kicking one of his legs in the air absentmindedly, that was the most carefree she's seen him since he arrived, she didn't want to spoil it.

So, she let him be.

-You're a great helper.- Esme found herself praising as she took the last glass he was offering to her, and as expected his eyes lit up under the praise, she couldn't see his face, but his eyes alone were enough to tell Esme that he smiled whenever she praised him.

And she wondered how did he look like smiling, Alice said he had the cutest dimples.

-Always happy to help.

-Good to hear that because that fan's been needing a new lightbulb for quite a while now and Emmett's been postponing it.- Esme said, pointing at the ceiling fan as she did.

Emmett as her tallest child was the one tasked with taking care of this particular ceiling fan, because for her not even climbing on the countertop gave her much height to reach the thing, and the ladder didn't help much due the countertop being in the way.

Jasper had become the second tallest in the house, being nothing but an inch shorter than Emmett, something that made an amusing contrast with Alice's short height if she was being honest.

-Alright, but uhm, how…?- Jasper looked up at the ceiling fan, Esme could almost read the silent question.

-You can stand on the countertop dear.- Esme conceded, handing him the new lightbulb.- But shoes off.- She added, she might not mind them walking around the house with their shoes on when it didn't rain, vampires didn't got sick, but that didn't meant she wanted shoes on the same places she put food on.

Jasper gave Esme a short nod before putting the lightbulb aside, he was quick to take his shoes off, and Esme had to bite back her smile as she caught sight of his socks, little cactuses with sunglasses, moustache and little guitars.

And Esme knew those weren't Alice's doing, Jasper seemed to have a similar sense of humor to Emmett when it came to silly things.

Something that Emmett seemed to enjoy to no end.

Once he was done with the shoes he got on the countertop, picking the lightbulb up as he did, Esme watched him, it was this profile of him that led her to notice something.

Scars.

Jasper usually wore long sleeves, and he either wore scarves or shirts that covered most of his neck, now she could see the reason, his throat was covered in scars, dozen of ravenous half-moon marks, bites.

The crude reminder of where he had to live at for decades alongside those scars made the air catch in her throat, and she cursed that little slip when he snapped his attention to her.

-What's wrong?

-Nothing.- Her answer didn't seem to appease him, of course she couldn't lie to the empath, and he now looked anxious, hesitant, as if he had done something wrong and was trying to figure out what.

It made her chest twist.

He frowned, lowering himself down until he was sitting down once again.

-You're upset, how can I make it better? Was it somethin' I did? Somethin' I said? Do please forgive me, tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it.- Each word that came out of his mouth felt like a punch to the gut and Esme had to resist the urge to grab his shoulders. Because he sounded so genuinely desperated to figure out what had he done wrong, it broke her heart.

-You have done nothing wrong, dear. There's nothing to be worried about.

-You are upset.- He repeated, still looking unsure, and Esme wished she could get her hands on whoever had hurt him and wrangle their neck, she was no violent woman, but for her children she was willing to commit the worst of crimes.

And Jasper had become her son, whether he acknowledged her as a mother figure or not it didn't matter, to her, he was already her child.

-Not at you.- She told him honestly. He still gave her a doubtful look, but at least he seemed to relax.

Meanwhile, Jasper wasn't sure how to deal with Esme, he had no idea what had upset her, but she insisted she wasn't mad at him, and he did fail to find anger in her emotions, at least directed at him.

He could feel anger and resentment, for someone else.

And sadness.

For him.

Something about her emotions was warm, there was a reason he liked to spend time around her, her emotions were warm and comfortable to be around, reminded him of something he couldn't quite pin point, but it made him feel relaxed and almost… comforted.

It was a strange feeling.

It reminded him of love, but warmer than Alice's, less intense, less bright, more than a wave that swept him off his feet it was the kind of warmth and comfort one would feel while being wrapped in a soft blanket during winter, the kind of warmth that came from sitting infront of the fireplace drinking hot chocolate while-

Ah.

He knew what this was.

And the second it hit him the second felt his eyes widen.

Maternal love.

That's what she was regarding him with, and that realization made his chest burn, throat closing as he felt his vision blur against his will.

Because he isn't felt this since he was a child, a very human, very ignorant child.

Times were he had no idea what true fear felt like, desperation, pain, anger, what it felt to run for his life, to see his friends die infront of him, exploding to pieces, or watching teenagers ripping each other to pieces quite literally.

This woman…

He can now understand what had led her to be so… nice, she kept seeking him out, spoke so kind, so soft, she cared about him .

Not because he was with Alice, not even because she was afraid of what he might do if she didn't show interest on his presence.

She genuinely cared about him.

And he had no idea what to do with that.

Because he isn't felt this kind of innocent and pure love in decades, the kind that stuck and never wavered, it stuck through horrors and mistakes.

She didn't even know him that well, how could she love him this much when she had no idea what he even looked like? She knew the monstrous things he did, he knew the Cullens knew he was The Major.

So why was she still willing to love him as her son? Wasn't she afraid? Embarrassed? Disgusted?

He couldn't understand.

And against his better judgement he finds himself reaching out to her, taking one of her hands and holding it between his own, her surprise and shock bled over him, but it was soon replaced with affection.

He wondered… what would she do if she were to see his face? Would she be afraid? Disgusted? Would she want him to stop spending time with her?

That was a thought that he found himself not liking, he didn't want to give up the time he spent with her, he didn't knew when, didn't knew how, but he had grown to like cooking with her, baking, working in the garden…

It reminded him of the time he spent with his mother as a human, Esme… she reminded him of his mother, she was kind and soft spoken same as she could become utterly terrifying when she was mad.

He had found this out when Emmett had dragged mud into the house, that was the first time Jasper had ever seen Esme mad, she had made him clean the floor and had watched him throughout the whole process with quite the frightening glare.

Odd enough, he hadn't felt much fear from her anger, more than the mate of the coven leader she had looked more like a mother.

Not a threat.

Or well, not the kind of threat he was used to.

Point was, he didn't want her to be afraid of him, the sole idea of it made a painful weight sit on his chest.

But he also knew, that if he kept this up the one who would end up suffering the most at the end would be him.

Getting attached to her just for her to end up avoiding him once she saw how he looked like under the mask wasn't a good idea.

He really wanted to know, would she still love him, or would she fear him?

He released her hand, withdrawing his own hand back, the hint of disappointment in her emotions was a bit unexpected.

Still.

He pulled his gloves off, wanting to see how she would react to the sight of his hands, if she couldn't take his hands then his face was out of the question.

He left the gloves on the countertop before bringing his hands up infront of her, a silent request, she could either take his hands or not, he waited for the disgust, the fear, anything.

But none of it came.

All he got was such piercing wave of sadness and something else…

It wasn't fear, it was more like the kind of horror someone would get from seeing something horrible on a loved one.

She was hesitant when she reached out to touch him, and it took him a moment to realize she wasn't hesitating out of disgust.

She was hesitating because she was afraid it might hurt him.

And that…

He had no idea of the reason, but it made a fear he hadn't known had been sitting on his chest to disappear, shoulders relaxing.

And when she took his hands into her own, such gentle touch, it felt like for the first time in his life since he became a vampire he had recuperated something he hadn't even known had been missing.

Esme for her side… she hadn't been prepared to have Jasper holding her hand, he never touched people, no one but Alice could touch him, and Renesmee.

He was extremely jumpy when it came to touch, she had learnt this when she had touched him with her foot, he had been on the ground in the garage, right under Edward's Volvo, and it hadn't occurred to her that the one on the ground might be Jasper and not Edward.

She should have known something wasn't right when he hadn't responded to her thoughts.

So she had pressed the tip of her shoe on his leg to get his attention, and before she had even been able to speak Edward's name he had completely disappeared under the Volvo.

And then Jasper had appeared from the other side of the car looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Point was, he didn't like people touching him, Carlisle said it might be because of the kind of life he led in the past, all that violence might have led him to develop an aversion to touch because in his previous life, touch had only meant either pain or a fight.

It broke her heart to even think about that.

Him taking his gloves off had also been an unexpected turn, she had no idea what even led him to do so, but she liked that he had trusted her enough to do so.

And she was able to see the reason for the gloves, his hands were covered in bite marks, some more ravenous than others.

The sight alone broke her heart, it filled her with horror, pain, sadness, because God, what kind of horrors must he have gone through to end up like this? How much pain must he have gone through? She has never been bitten aside from when Carlisle turned her, but she knew that the pain that came from a vampire's bite was excruciating.

Edward's moans and hisses when Emmett had bitten him when he first woke up had been proof of it.

She could tell that he was expecting a reaction out of her, he was tense and he looked like he was preparing himself to accept some kind of insult.

Well… he had another thing coming, and thus, hoping to not spook him she reached out to take his hands into her own, gentle, some of those scars looked like they still hurt, she didn't want to accidentally hurt him.

She found herself inspecting his hands, most of these scars looked decades old, but one in particular, the closest to his wrist, that one was recent, weeks recent.

She knew he hurt himself, it was hard not to notice when he sometimes smelt like venom.

But seeing the damage was much worse than knowing, he shouldn't be hurting himself like this, but she also knew that these kind of things took time and trust, and that as long as she wasn't much close to him she shouldn't risk bringing up this with him, Alice seemed to have it under control.

Doesn't mean Esme liked seeing her son hurt himself.

She couldn't help but rub soft circles around the outlining of that particular scar with her thumb, she wondered how it would have been like, to get to raise him since he was a newborn. How would he be like had he been raised in a peaceful environment.

-Jasper?

-Yes ma'am?

-You do know you are part of this family, right?

-...

-We protect each other, and we respect each other. This means that no matter what, no one here will ever judge you, and that includes how you look like.- Esme finds herself saying.

She promised herself that she wouldn't touch this topic either, that she would wait until he was comfortable enough to come out of his shell on his own, but she couldn't just do nothing, she needed, wanted to assure him that he was safe here, no one would ever humiliate him nor hurt him for how he looked like.

Not even Rosalie or Edward would ever say anything against something like this.

That Esme knew it well, because while her children might be difficult neither of them was that cruel nor vile.

She stroke a scar across his knuckle.

-These scars… they tell a story, but you aren't obligated to share them, in this house, we respect each other's boundaries, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. My point is, this is your home, you don't have to hide with us, this is a family, your family, all you have to do is be yourself, let me and Carlisle worry about the rest. You are our son now, not a soldier, not a weapon, not even a guest, our son. Alright?

Jasper stared at her.

And stared.

For a moment, Esme thought that that would be all the reaction she would get from him.

But then he fred his hands from her hold and did the most unexpected thing possible.

He took the mask off.

And Esme tried her best to not just reach out and crush him into a hug, because God, his cheeks and jawline were littered in ravenous scars, like a cruel mosaic.

The idea that the Volturi had dared to humiliate him for this, something he wasn't even at fault for, it made her venom burn, and against her better judgement she reached out to touch his face, expecting him to pull back.

He didn't.

He was looking at her as if he were expecting her to insult him, run off, something.

But all she could do was rest her hand on his cheek, and Esme's heart broke into a million pieces when his eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he was leaning into her touch, the way his eyes almost closed, as if he was for the first time in his life learning that there was more than just one good person in the world.

That not everyone was out to get him.

And she was suddenly struck by how awfully young he looked, a boy who suffered way more than anyone should have to.

He might be older than her, but he had been nothing but a teenager barely scratching into adulthood when he was turned, vampires didn't change, they didn't grow, no matter how mature he acted, at the end of the day he was just a 19 year old, and she couldn't help but hope for the day where he would finally realize that he no longer needed to live in fear, for him to allow himself to belong in this family, to be himself.

To just be happy.

But for the time being all she could do was show him that there was nothing to be afraid of, she didn't care how he looked like, all children were beautiful in their mother's eyes, and even so, as Rosalie said, beauty was nothing but society's way of putting everyone in a box, everyone had their own view of what was pretty and what wasn't.

To Esme, all her children were beautiful, scars or no scars.

She could care less what other people said.

-Thank you.- Jasper's voice was nothing but a whisper, but Esme was still able to hear him, and she couldn't help but smile at it, stroking his cheek with her thumb affectionately.

He had nothing to thank her for, she was just telling him the truth, what she felt like he needed to hear.

Something to hopefully give him the push he needed.

~

Jasper wasn't sure this was a good idea, he was regretting it the moment he so much as saw the car approaching the house.

Alice had gone out shopping with Rosalie and Bella.

And now she was back.

He came to stand at the porch the second he heard the car.

Just that this time he was missing his mask and gloves, he had dared to test Esme's words, where had that impulse come from? He had no idea.

Might be that stupid little part inside him that craves for her words to be true, for the possibility of finally having somewhere to belong at.

And still, he tenses when the car pulls up on the driveway, he can feel their joy, it makes him want to go back inside if it means not ruining their mood.

But before he can even do so Alice is stepping out of the car and waving at him.

-Hey, you, handsome, come grab these!- Alice's emotions were filled with joy, yes, but there was also a hint of encouragement, love, affection, the way she looked at him…

It made him feel warm, lighter…

It was that what pushed him to move, going down the steps and letting her fill his arms with dozens of bags.

He did feel the stares from Bella and Rosalie, felt the exact moment both of them saw his face, knew it in the flash of fear from Rosalie, the surprise from Bella.

It made him bite his tongue, he didn't like this feeling of being exposed like this, he felt naked, like something was missing. This was such a terrible idea, he shouldn't have done this, he shouldn't have-

-Here.- Rosalie's voice cut his growing panic, and he couldn't help but frown in confusion as he stared at the bag she was holding out for him, she was giving him an indifferent if not a bit annoyed look.

But her emotions… something about them was odd, sympathy? No… it was something else he couldn't quite decipher.

What was the bag for? She never let him help her, ever.

And still, he took it.

-That's for you, Rosalie even harassed a clerk at the store into helping her find the best ones.- Alice said, snickering at the glare Rosalie sent her.

-I certainly did not.- Rosalie snapped, she could care less about Jasper, he was weird and he put her on edge, but somehow, seeing his face now, she could tell where did some of his mannerisms came from.

All those scars… no wonder he was so skittish and withdrawn with everyone around him.

Doesn't mean she cared. She didn't.

And with that last thought she grabbed her bags and stalked inside.

Jasper watched her leave with a frown, Alice's arms coming to wrap around his waist.

-Don't mind her, Rose's just terrible at acknowledging she cares about her brothers too.- Alice told as a statement of fact, grinning at the look Jasper gave her.

-You look nice without the mask.- Bella's sudden voice got Jasper turning to look at her, she wasn't staring nor could he feel deception in her.

She was just smiling, as if it was a natural compliment to give to an old friend, he wasn't quite sure of the reason, but it made a weight he hadn't even known was there to lift off of his shoulders.

-See? Told you he was handsome.- Had Jasper been human he was quite sure his face would have burnt as he heard Alice's words, her emotions bursting with pride and love.

Still.

He liked this feeling, so much more different from the one in Volterra.

Like for the first time in a long time, he could genuinely breathe.


A/N: I'm not satisfied with how part 2 turned out. But to be fair when I first wrote "The Angel And The Demon" I had been craving to write and imagine underwater scenes and just Jalice at the beach and fluffy sides of their developing relationship. I don't think I can ever duplicate the imagery and feeling I was going for in that fic, even I'm still surprised with the results

But I really wanted to write a part 2 so...