This is my first attempt at writing Alice and Jasper, but I hope you enjoy it regardless. Canon, set during events of Eclipse when the rest of the Cullens leave the clearing after the fight training with the wolves. A missing moment of sorts; if not one that Stephenie Meyer would approve. Reviews make me smile, leave me one if you get the chance and let me know how you thought I did with these characters.

** Thanks to Alverdine and MDealsWithIt, without whom I wouldn't have ended up writing this, and venis-envy for a much-needed confidence boost when I was nervous about posting. As always, many thanks to SunKing for her patience in fixing my errors. And hell, I guess I'd better thank Ashley Greene and Jackson Rathbone too for their fuckhawt chemistry in Eclipse. Playfight foreplay, anyone? **

Summary: Trained to fight and cursed to feel, Jasper must always carry a heavy burden. Gifted Alice, whose unnamed talent is unconditional love, always knows what her mate needs.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Yadayadayada.

As they leave the clearing, Jasper steals away from the group silently, needing the time and space to think. He knows that they will hear him go, but not begrudge him this time alone. His feet make little sound against the scattered twigs on the forest floor as he turns away from the path, his swift steps taking him deeper into the woods. Presently, he sits beneath a tree - though his legs will never tire, his spirit does. The responsibility bestowed upon him weighs heavily, as do the worries of his family. His brow wrinkles as he ponders whether their plan will work. Jasper has always had confidence in his fighting abilities, but he distrusts the wolves, and not only because they are the natural enemies of his species. He distrusts their capacity to discipline themselves; for what are they but mere teenagers, subject to the volatile whims of their own hormones?

He fears that even if they take down the newborns, they will never discover the true culprit, whether it be Victoria or the Volturi, and will be left stuck in this holding pattern once more. If only his brother would take the obvious solution, and change the insignificant human girl into one of them. An exasperated sigh escapes him. Today, Jasper feels the chronic struggle to control his bloodlust more keenly than ever. Even the mere presence of the girl reminds him of his inadequacies, given his one-time frenzied reaction to a mere drop of her blood. Although, as much as he would not like to admit to it, he is growing to like Bella Swan. She inspires a calmness that he cannot help being drawn to. Even throughout his explanation of the horrors in his own past, she did not flinch or fear him. As he draws in a slow breath, his highly attuned senses detect a change in the olfactory atmosphere. The smell is familiar to him- a sunny, floral scent. It grows stronger before Alice steps gracefully into view, flitting to stand beside the spot where he sits with his back against the root of the tree. It is a mark of the strength of their bond that she does not question him but merely offers her presence.

Jasper feels a sudden wave of hope, coupled with a subtle undercurrent of fear, and feels grateful for his wife's outward optimism, even in such dark times as this. He closes his eyes, letting her mood reach inside him, filling every corner of his body. For him, Alice feels like light, and warmth, and the purest joy he's ever known. He reaches up and clasps her hand, but does not feel like moving just now. She sits beside him, folding her legs underneath her, her small fingers still wound round his palm.

"I'm afraid, too," she tells him in the barest whisper. Alice's teeth connect with her lip as she nervously bites down upon it, concerned for Jasper. Her husband has always been prone to mood swings, often as a result of the twin gift and curse of his ability to manipulate emotions. She worries, as ever, that he is being too hard on himself, and marvels at the fact he cannot see how much he is doing for them all. She is aware of the uncomfortable fact that the memory of his empty, lonely past will always haunt him, no matter how much she bestows her love upon him. Nonetheless, she is understanding of this. She squeezes his hand, attempting to convey this to him, and he grasps her hand tighter in a grip that would crush a human hand in an instant.

Though she is not a medium of moods, Alice feels a sudden despair steal over her, and realises that it is coming from Jasper. His eyes are shut tight, his head bowed, and she concentrates on retaining her optimism. She trembles against him, and his eyes snap open, swivelling to hers in a second.

"I'm sorry," he says, anguish still written into the lines of his features. Alice places a finger on his lips, and she shakes her head, telling him non-verbally that there is nothing to apologise for. All the futures she has seen in her mind's eye depend on Jasper's ability to train their forces, and she knows how much this responsibility distresses him. There are some visions she has not even told him of, and she feels a wave of guilt rush over her at that thought. She hears his breath hitch, and briefly wonders if he feels it too, but for different reasons. Jasper is Alice's anchor, a source of calm, a foil for her sometimes-irrepressible exuberance with the quiet passion he would only ever reveal to her.

His eyes search her face, and he stretches out a hand to gently stroke her cheek. His fingers trail over the skin in a feather-light caress, and she sighs.

"Tell me honestly," he begins hesitantly, "do you really think this is going to work? If they're coming here?"

"Jasper Hale, that's enough of that kind of talk," Alice tells him in that stern but teasing tone he is so used to. Her eyebrows knit together and she breathes in deeply, exhaling slowly as she thinks. "You doubt yourself too much. Don't forget it's frustrating for me, too. Given that the presence of the wolves renders my foresight ineffective, and the fact that someone's playing with the holes in my visions. I feel...inadequate."

Jasper watches Alice as the corners of her lip turn down, and senses a wave of petulance as it rolls off her. He immediately feels overwhelming shame and guilt at allowing himself to indulge in such self-pity, when all the while his mate bears her own burdens with a far better grace than he. She catches him watching her intently, and is unable to suppress a tiny smile, despite her annoyance. With a single look, Jasper can still stun Alice with the intensity of the love which he bears for her. She smiles wider as pure happiness touches her, verging on giddiness. Jasper's gift can be overwhelming at times, but it is not a mere tool for him to control - he lives and breathes every emotion that others feel. He kisses her cheek, breathing in her sweet scent that fires straight to somewhere deep inside him.

"I'm sorry," he whispers against her throat in apology for his self-indulgent behaviour, and she winds her arm about his neck, leaning against him.

Jasper tries hard to use his gift sparingly, but depending on how strongly he feels his current emotion, he is sometimes unable to stop it rebounding upon others. Alice is his release from that; with her, he is free to express himself emotionally. He has no need to manipulate her emotions, as such, but a half-century together means he has learned to acutely sense her mood, to the point where it is linked with his own. After hundreds of years, Jasper has still not fully unravelled the complexities of his talent. He has come to see it as a fluid process, a dynamic where his own mood interplays with the moods of others, if he deems it beneficial that it should.

Alice laughs as she sees Jasper's eyes take on what is an unmistakably hungry look. She is held fast by the liquid onyx, unable to tear her gaze from the man who shows her such devotion is his every word and action. In all her premonitions detailing a score of different outcomes, there is only ever one certainty: Jasper.

"You're hungry," she murmurs, reaching out the trace the circles of dark mauve that lie beneath his eyes. Pity crosses her face as she realises how difficult it must have been for him to spend time around Bella earlier. And she is proud of him too, for how far he has come in the endless battle to deny his instincts. She knows that for him, it is a battle far more fearsome than any he ever fought in the South.

"It's nothing," he shrugs, his tone brusque. "We can hunt later."

The constant presence of a human within their little coven has brought them all to life, she muses, and made them all reshape their reality to include Bella. Hopefully as an immortal. She fizzes with excitement at that thought, and Jasper laughs as he catches the flavour of her mood. It's pure elation, with a sprinkling of mischief and a half-concealed yearning underneath.

Alice shakes her head, giggling. "That wasn't what I meant."

Her yearning comes to the surface, overwhelming her other feelings, and he chuckles. Daybreak is near, the blackness of the sky already beginning to turn an inky violet, and the sun will soon glimmer off the leaves and branches. Although, it is Forks, and so it's more likely that the sun's glimmer will be hidden under a thick cover of cloud. Jasper knows that they ought to return to the house, but oh, how he needs a distraction in this dark hour.

Small, warm fingers link into both his hands, and he knows that she is aware of his dilemma, but longs to comfort him any way she can. He wants to give in, but the dark thoughts creep back into his brain, unbidden.

"What if the wolves are unable to control themselves?" he bursts out, his worry returning. "If that's the case, the fight may turn against us. What if I...lost you?" The last two words are reluctant, forced, as he does not want to admit them.

To his surprise, Alice laughs lightly, before taking his face in her hands. "Jazz, hush. We have the advantage of numbers, and besides, the wolves aren't nearly as undisciplined as you think they are. Edward's been listening to the pack's mind and they're actually very organised. They were listening to you intently in the clearing, and I'm sure they took your advice on board. Have faith, please. You are not going to lose me." Her high, lilting voice has a trace of steel, and is as hard and unyielding as it is reassuring. "And I thought you weren't worried about me! You showed Bella that I can best you in a fight if needs be."

"I always worry for you." Jasper cannot help but smile at Alice's never-ending attempts to lift his mood. His eyelids close, and he concentrates, allowing calmness to engulf his being. He knows that she feels it too. She abruptly hops up, and he sees an impish expression play across her face.

He gets to his feet, raising an eyebrow before he draws closer to her.

"You can beat me, then? Is that so?" he murmurs. His voice is soft, dangerous- the verbal indication of a predator. And so he is. The human instinct would be to turn and run, but Alice, like him, is far from human. Alice winks at Jasper as he takes a step forward, and his fingers clutch thin air where her waist had just been.

He peers into the dim light of the forest, just before she streaks past him again, a blur of ivory skin and dark hair. She's toying with him, dancing around him, disappearing every time from the spots his eyes follow her to. A moment later, his sensitive hearing picks up the barest sound of her footsteps behind, sneaking up on him. Jasper smiles wickedly. He knows her far too well. She steps closer, making to feint once he senses her presence, but he is too quick for her. He seizes her wrist, pulling her around so her back is against him, his other arm locking round her waist in an iron grip. To the casual onlooker, it would appear to be a graceful dance, albeit played out at superhuman speed. Jasper's lips graze Alice's ear, travelling a path down to her neck, and she sighs rapturously.

"Got you," he whispers, and feels her shake with laughter against him.

"I let you," she replies softly. His large hands span her tiny waist, encircling it. Jasper always marvels at how small and elfin she is, and though she is hard as steel, he sometimes fears he will break her.

"How do you know I wasn't letting you win when the other were watching?" he teases, his fingertips slipping beneath the hemline of her top. Alice feels her body tingle, sparks firing from every nerve ending as his skin makes contact with hers. To her, his hands are warm, but only in the sense that he matches her own icy body temperature. Without warning, a wave of lust and desire hits her, flowing throughout her entire body, and a quiet moan falls from her lips. Jasper smiles to himself, knowing she feels every sensation he does. This is one of the moments where his gift can be a true blessing. He is not manipulating her, only intensifying what she already feels by intertwining it with his own mental state.

His fingers continue their upward path, skimming over her belly, and a hand slips beneath the satin of her bra. She whimpers as his fingertips meet the curve of her breast, grazing the tightened bud before his hand dips lower, caressing her stomach. Alice feels him pressed against her, already hard and willing, and she shivers. Jasper lowers his head to her neck, and his tongue sweeps over it. She intentionally shifts against him, and he growls. Her hands tug his away insistently, and she pivots to face him. Alice takes in his expression, and it's perfectly serene, though he burns with a passion for her he cannot conceal. Most of the time, their every moment together is filled with concern for the future of their family, but for now, they will forget.

She places a kiss on his cheek, and then the corner of his lips. He sighs, cupping her chin in his hands as he gazes down upon her. Their noses touch, and Alice breaths in his scent, heady and masculine. Jasper brushes his lips against hers in the briefest touch. And then he is kissing her, one hand at the flat of her back and one in her hair as he absorbs himself in the heat and moisture of her mouth. Her mouth is soft and pliable against his, and as her lips open, his tongue slowly slips inside to move with hers. In this moment, he is bound to her so entirely that he would have this kiss go on forever if it could. Alice's lips are gentle and careful on his at first, but then she is rougher. Her fingers knot themselves into his flaxen curls as she pulls his body closer, kissing him fiercely.

Breaking the kiss, Jasper reaches for the zip of her sweatshirt and drags it down slowly, pushing it off her shoulders. She shrugs out of it, letting it to fall to the ground. Her breathing hitches, and she tugs at his hoodie, pulling it over his head in one fell swoop. Alice feels his need for her reach every fibre of her being, washing over as intensely as he feels it when it is projected back to him. He palms the soft swell of her small breasts, considering for a moment before he throws caution to the wind. His steel fingers grip the fabric and pull, leaving nothing but shredded satin and lace.

"Jasper!" she protests, laughing. "That was my favourite bra!"

"I'll buy you another one," he murmurs, smirking. Jasper thinks himself to have been relatively restrained, given that his instincts are telling him to instantly shred every one of her garments with his strong hands. He smooths his hands over the newly bared skin with the gentlest pressure, and a tremor surges through her. Alice lets her fingers wander over the jagged white scars on his back, crescent moons barely visible in the half-light of the dawn. She dips her head to kiss the deepest scar that crosses his chest. Her lips worship it in acceptance of Jasper's painful past that nonetheless led him closer to finding her.

"Two new ones," she whispers, winding her arms round his neck. Her teeth nip at his ear, and she is instantly near-overwhelmed by twin sensations- his own desperate ache for her that magnifies her own.

"My Victoria's Secret expenses must be quite considerable," he tells her, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Shh." Alice tucks her fingers into his waistband, deftly unfastening the button while her other hand takes care of the zip. He lets his hands ghost over her bare back, feeling the pits in her skin as he follows the path of her spine downwards. He cups the curves of her denim-clad backside, lifting her into his arms as her legs wind around his waist. Jasper marvels at how tiny and impossibly light she feels in his arms, fragile and yet so permanent at the same time. His eyes flicker around, taking in the foliage and greenery that becomes increasingly clearer beneath the pale lilac sky as he searches for somewhere to set her down. Holding her against him tightly, he grabs his discarded coat that still lies at the root of the tree he was sitting against. Carefully, he sets her on her feet and spreads the fabric out on a patch of the forest floor that looks less muddy than the rest.

"Always the gentleman." Alice laughs, but it dies in her throat when Jasper's lips forcefully seek hers once again. Their mouths mold together, giving and yielding in a gradual balance. A searing current of lust rips through her, and she exhales slowly against his lips. He pants into her mouth, tracing the outline of her lips with his tongue, and her own breathing catches.

"That's kind of what got me into this whole vampire thing in the first place," he eventually replies with a regretful sigh. Not that Jasper regrets anything that has brought him to Alice, even all the unimaginable horrors he experienced in his past life. He stretches out mentally, allowing her to feel this, and she buries her face in his neck, holding him to her so tightly. He eyes follow hers as they turn to the ever-lightening sky, and he knows what she is thinking. It will not do for either of them to stay away too long, and both are anxious to savour the precious few moments that are left to them.

They kick off shoes and socks, not wanting to waste time. Alice giggles as Jasper unintentionally snaps the laces in his sneakers in his haste to remove them.

"Careful, now," she chastises, daintily slipping her own shoes off while she shoots him a smug look. In response, he kisses her, his hand brushing her cheek in a delicate caress as the other reaches down to unfastens her jeans. She hooks her thumbs into the fabric and pulls it down, wiggling her hips as she steps out of her underwear at the same time. Jasper gasps quietly and is momentarily too distracted by the sight of her naked to continue undressing himself.

"Alice, you're so beautiful. I know I don't tell you that enough." His voice is low and husky, and she smiles.

Jasper's words are like melting ice that flares across her skin in a flash burn under the intensity of his stare. To her, there is nothing more beautiful than that look of such naked, open hunger for her body, her heart, her soul. It is a far cry from the guarded persona her husband normally adopts, and she is grateful for his vulnerability with her.

"Please." Her words are imploring as she tugs at his belt loops, longing to rid him also of his last scraps of clothing.

He happily obliges before slowly pushing her backwards, laying her down on the coat-covered earth. Their mouths meld in a hard kiss, their tongues entwining as they move together. Alice's legs instinctively part, wrapping round him. Her feet pull him closer with impressive strength, and he groans as he feels himself make contact with her. He shifts against her, overpowered by the slick heat of her. Jasper's lips twist into a small smile, and he presses his arousal against the hard nub. Her eyes roll back into her head, and he jolts as a breathless cry of his name falls from her lips.

His hands inch downwards, drawing across her torso, and she shivers. Alice grips the fabric of the coat, already feeling it tear under her hands as she digs her nails in, trying to find purchase on something. He massages the skin of her hip, darting lower so his fingers make a fleeting pass over her heated flesh.

"Please," she begs, twisting her other hand in his hair as she attempts to bring his body back towards hers.

"Patience," he laughs, all the while knowing that the woman before him is one of the least patient people in existence.

And yet he enjoys to tease her, to manipulate her body until she is lost for words, and then, only then, will he give into her. Perhaps it is his abilities as an empath that make him so keen to pleasure her, because it pleasures him just as much to feel the sensations he is giving her rebounding back at him. His lips rain down upon her skin in a scorching trail that starts at her neck and drops lower, no inch of her skin left untouched. Alice moans, her muscles tensing as he licks her hip, tracing a slow circle.

Jasper's lips are wet and open against the smoothness of her thigh, and she gasps as his hot breath fans across her aching flesh.

"Beautiful," he whispers, moving to press a kiss to the flatness of her stomach. He drags his nose beneath her navel, placing a kiss on the triangle of dark curls below.

Alice's eyes are shut tight, her breathing shallow and rapid as she wordlessly begs him to continue. His lips slide lower, his tongue swirling over her, and her eyes involuntarily snap open. She takes in the sight of his blond curls brushing against her inner thigh, his dark eyes ablaze with an unashamed lust and adoration for her, and sighs in utter bliss.

And then she has no more words. All at once, Jasper's mouth is just where she longs for it- licking, sucking, tasting. A series of successive whimpers fall from her lips, each one louder than the previous, and the coat tears under her fists. Heat rises within her, coiling in spirals that tighten until their release, an incoherent cry of his name ripping from her throat as she finally finds relief. Jasper is overwhelmed by the torrent of emotions that pour from her, and is nearly undone himself as he watches her shudder uncontrollably, her head thrown back and her thighs clamped tight around his head. When Alice's body eventually stills, he soothes her still-trembling skin with the softest kisses, ascending slowly until their lips meet again.

She crushes her lips to his in a rough kiss, thanking him silently for the attention he has paid her. The pale sun rises in the distance, its iridescent glow already beyond the horizon. She carefully pushes the blond waves out of his eyes as his body shifts in between hers.

"I love you," he whispers, wave upon wave of reverence for one another flowing between them.

"I...love you too," she replies, faltering on her words as she feels him nudging against her, hard and insistent. Without warning, an unexpected wave of guilt washes over her as she remembers he has not yet had any pleasure. "But I wanted this to be about you."

"I assure you, I never feel better than when I'm making you feel good as well. Empath, remember?" Jasper's smile is playful, affectionate and she is pleased that she has managed to sufficiently distract him from dwelling on his many burdens.

Alice laughs, a light-hearted, tinkling sound that bubbles up from somewhere deep inside her. Her legs wind round his waist, her toes curling over his back as she rubs herself impatiently against him, willing him to move. His hand seizes her leg, hitching it higher against his hip before he slowly pushes inside her. She cries out, her hips rising to meet his until he is entirely sheathed inside her. His head drops to her neck, and he lets out a sharp intake of breath, not trusting himself to move just now.

From Jasper, Alice feels pleasure and pain, want and need, as he rocks inside her, slowly and deeply. He murmurs into her hair as her nails dig into his back, making their own crescent shapes alongside the scars. The sensations swell within her, cresting and falling as their hips meet, every nerve ending singing with delicious tension. Feeling that he wants a better view of her, he draws back, and deftly rolls to the side to pull her on top of him, the connection between their hips remaining unbroken.

"Let me see you," he growls in her ear, and she whimpers, pushing him backwards as her hands traverse his chest. His hands blaze a hot trail over her breasts, cupping them in his hands as she moves over him. Her body lurches forward, and he kisses her violently, pouring his every emotion into the kiss, her tongue sliding into his mouth to dance around his. Jasper runs his fingers over her back, and they travel down to grip the round curves of her backside. He pants into her mouth, and she echoes it with a low moan against his lips, the sweetest music to his ears. His hips thrust upwards to meet hers as she drops herself over him, urging him deeper. Alice braces one hand against his chest, the other tangled in his hair as she plants a kiss on his neck.

They move together for several minutes, no sound but the rasping of their breaths and the quiet flutter of flesh against flesh. He groans, his fingers tightening around her arms as she arches over him, grinding her hips into his incessantly.

"Please...I can't," Jasper chokes out, and he knows she can feel the searing heat deep inside him as it touches her, its potency increasing with every second that passes. Alice's breaths are uneven, scattered as she draws ever-closer to her release.

"Jasper," she moans, her head dipping to his neck, "just let go; it's okay."

"You first," he mutters, a taut smile on his face, and she knows he is not to be bargained with. His movements are harsher, sharper as he pushes upwards into her, and she inhales the delectable scent of his neck. His tongue darts out to trace a shape on her throat, and she sighs, every one of her muscles locking down. Warmth flares beneath her skin, and her body goes rigid as she reaches her peak, shattering in his arms as she cries out his name. He pulls her body close to his, moving faster, harder, deeper until the tension explodes within him, too. Jasper's cry is low, guttural, as he jerks against her, his strokes gradually slowing as the sparks fire across his body. Never has he felt more alive, more real than he does at this particular moment, making love to the woman who fills his frozen, endless existence with such happiness and fulfilment.

She collapses on top of him, unable to physically tire, but exhausted nonetheless. For a minute or two, they lie in the stillness, her head on his chest, listening to the sounds of an awakening forest that buzzes with life and activity. Jasper strokes her hair tenderly, not wanting this moment to end but knowing that it must.

"We'd better get back," he says with a heavy sigh, and she nods in agreement, noticing it is a new day, the sun continuing to rise in the sky. Swiftly, they get up and retrieve their discarded garments, brushing the mud and twigs from their clothes before they dress themselves. Jasper's coat is sadly beyond repair, and he rolls it up with a mind to throw it away later, shaking away the dirt that clings to the torn scraps. Alice pauses, frowning, and he follows her gaze to the forest floor. Their strength is such that their lovemaking has has made deep imprints in the ground, and they laugh together. Jasper kicks the floor, carefully smoothing away the outlines in the soil with the sole of his sneaker. With a cursory glance around, he acknowledges with a heavy heart that they are ready to return to their family.

Her feet take their first tentative steps towards leaving, but he reaches for her hand, stopping her. He places his hand on her back, spinning her into him and her eyes blink in surprise.

"Thank you," he murmurs in heartfelt tones, letting her feel every part of the calmness she has bestowed upon him. Her lips touch his briefly, igniting a muted spark, and he pulls a stray twig from her hair with the loving smile that always devastates her.

Alice smiles knowingly. "I couldn't let you lose faith."

I tried not to overstate Jasper's mood-altering abilities as I think it's quite subtle. A climate can affect him as much as he can affect it, but as he and Alice are so attuned to each other's moods, I thought that it would make sense that he can let his gift flow more freely when he's with her. Reviews are as good as a naked Jackson Rathbone. I'll reply to them. Thanks for reading! xxx