Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything!

Caution: Contains slash! Edward/Jasper! Don't like it? Don't read it!

The Word of Your Body

He sat alone in the rainforest, under the shade of the trees. There were no animals around. They wouldn't come near his kind. He sat, unmoving, wondering why he didn't feel the sorrow and pain he knew he sould feel. He had told the girl he loved that he no longer craved her company; he said that he no longer wanted her. At the time, it had crushed him to say so. But now, at the thought of her face as he had uttered those words, he felt nothing. Pity, maybe. After spending three months in the silence and still of the jungle, having time to think it through and to be apart from her, he no longer felt those words to be untrue. This unforgivable sin, this deep black blasphemy, was no longer that. It wasn't sinful. It wasn't blasphemy. In truth, he had done them both a great favor. Apart, they were no longer in danger from the Volturi. They had no reason to kill them. With his mind clear of her presence, his air no longer tainted by her scent, he could think clearly. It was much the same as when he had fled to Alaska a year before. His throat began to burn as he thought of that first meeting.

Edward? A quiet thought and soft footsteps interrupted his thoughts. He would forever be grateful for that. Those thoughts could so easily overtake him. He knew that "voice".

"Hello, Jasper," he said, as his brother emerged from the thick foliage. It was the first time he'd spoken in many weeks. The sound of his own voice slightly startled him. He was so unused to sound. Jasper felt his reaction, and they both chuckled. "Sorry. I'm just so unused to speaking."

Jasper spoke aloud now. "That's alright. I'm not used to your voice much anymore myself. You seem peaceful. I was expecting distraught, anguish, something of that nature," he said with his slight southern accent. Edward smiled slightly as he heard the confusion in Jasper's voice and read it in his mind.

"I expected that, too," he responded. "But I can finally see the rationality in my decision. In time, I'm sure Bella will too, if she hasn't already." Edward hadn't realized the truth in that statement until he had spoken it aloud.

Jasper moved and sat down beside him. "Alice told me where to find you. She said I was the only one you would really talk to. But I see she was wrong. There's not much to talk about, is there?" Jasper's mind still brimmed with curiosity.

"I suppose not," Edward said quietly. For the first time since he'd arrived, he looked Jasper directly in the eyes. Red. He wasn't surprised. With Alice not there to contain him, Jasper would slip up.

Jasper stared back into Edward's pitch black eyes. How long had it been since he'd fed? Then he felt Edward's reaction to his eyes. "What? No disappointment? Just acceptance?" He chuckled.

Edward looked back down at his hands as he responded. "Jazz, I'm not going to judge you. I haven't been on my best behavior either. That is when I've rememebered to feed." He spoke quietly, afraid of startling himself again. "Animals avoid me. I haven't seen humans in weeks. I've felt no temptation to kill."

Jasper stared at Edward for a long moment. He felt peaceful, but this wasn't the Edward he knew. Edward wasn't so distant, so solitary.

"It's still me, Jazz. I'm just not so used to interaction, that's all," Edward said, as he heard Jasper's thoughts.

No. That's not all, Edward. You're peaceful, but there's a twinge of something else. It's as if this is a facade. I think you may feel guilty. Or... I don't know. I can't pinpoint what it is.

"Jasper. Listen to me. I'm fine. I just don't know what to say." Jasper still wasn't convinced, but he let it go for now.

"So, what did you mean by you haven't been on your best behavior?" he asked, turning the subject back to Edward's earlier statement. "How many have died at the hands of you, Edward? I'll bet you've killed less people in the last 3 months than I did on the way here." Jasper felt an overwhelming sense of shame and guilt wash over him as the images of his victims passed through his mind.

Edward turned to him, suddenly angry, the burning liquid onyx in his eyes startling Jasper. "It's not about numbers, Jasper! I killed the innocent! Their blood is on my hands! I've fought for so long to keep from becoming this monster again! I heard their dying thoughts... and yet... I still..." He trailed off. He looked down toward the ground again, guilt and shame filling him as well.

For the first time since he joined the Cullen's family, Jasper related to Edward. They were close, that's true, but he always thought Edward to be so in control, so inpenetrable. Now, seeing this raw anger, this true passion in him, Jasper felt he knew why Alice had told him to come here.

"Alice knows us both. Maybe better than we know ourselves. She knew I felt horrible and she knew only you would relate." Edward spoke in a soft whisper, still ashamed. The images of his victims flowing through his mind, mixing with their final thoughts, the memories of their screams, and with the memories Jasper had in his head. Seeing Edward so vulnerable, so raw, made feelings Jasper hadn't known in a long time come rushing back to the surface. That anger, that sorrow. Edward had never been more beautiful than he had been in that moment.

They sat still and quiet for what seemed hours.

You need to feed, Edward. Jasper was afraid to speak aloud, afraid to break the stillness and the silence. Edward didn't respond. Jasper was about to speak aloud, when Edward beat him to it.

"I'm not that in control. That's my facade. I may have not tasted human blood for decades until very recently, but I am not in control." His words were harsh and cold. "I resisted killing Bella, but... I haven't done so well lately..." He broke off, remembering that girl. The scent of her blood was stronger than Bella's had ever been to him. He didn't see any reason to resist. He had left Carlisle; he had no ties to the human world anymore. He remembered her face as she willingly followed him. "Mysterious and handsome stranger" were the words she had in mind about him. He had led her to an isolated part of the forest, smiled seductively, and she was hooked. He knew it would be too easy to take her life. He could feel the warmth of a blush, so much like Bella's, flash across her face. He leaned slowly in, taking in her scent even more fully. Her heart raced. He let his lips slowly touch her throat, and...

"Edward!" Jasper screamed. He was immediately brought out of his trance. "I thought I'd lost you there for a minute." He chuckled, a warm, inviting sound that, along with Jasper's ability, caused Edward's mood to lighten a little.

"Sorry," he apoligized. He felt a sense of calm wash over him suddenly. "Thank you." Jasper just nodded in response. He sat unmoving for a moment, his eyes closed and head cradled in hs hands. He looked up suddenly and said, "You're right. I need to hunt. Maybe... maybe I won't be such terrible company then." With that, the two vampires stood and dashed away.

They ran parallel with one another about 6 feet apart for a while. Suddenly, Edward turned west, lost in his instincts. Jasper wasn't thirsty. He stopped, eyes locked on Edward as he lunged at a leopard. There had always been something graceful and cat-like in the way Edward hunted. Jasper had never been able to keep his eyes away from him as he stalked his prey. He usually guarded his mind about this sort of thing, but he couldn't today. Edward was almost ravenous as he devoured the sticky sweet life blood from the unconcious animal. Jasper again found old thoughts, old feelings, resurface. He was immediately drawn back to the last time he had felt that way...

There will be more to come. What happens next? Jasper and Edward love, I assume! And I hope I do the images in my mind justice! ^o^

I have the flashback already written and will probably immediately post it after this one, so enjoy!

Please comment! I need to know if it sucks and if I should just stop!