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krysyuyTitle: Forever
Author: Krys Yuy
Summary: AU. Usagi is blissful in her strange new relationship, but sometimes happiness isn’t meant to last forever. Can her lovers prove otherwise? Threesome. Established relationship.
Pairing/Characters: Alice/Usagi/Jasper, Edward/Bella
Fandoms: Sailor Moon/Twilight
Warning: Possible OOCness.
Rating: R/M
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters used. This fic is purely for entertainment purposes only.
Author’s Notes: Set post-Sailor Moon Stars and sometime post-New Moon. A fast update! The world is ending. Check outside your windows for meteors. And still, this story is not over! Why?! If this doesn’t end in the next part or fifth part, I’ve officially gone loco. There’s a bit more action in here, a couple flashbacks. Try not to be too confused with the opening scene. XP The other flashback towards the end of the chapter came from notes I have of a possible prequel. Like? Don’t like? Let me know! What you say may determine if the prequel gets made or not. I’m still iffy. If you’re wondering about status of chapters, check out the sidebar in my LiveJournal to see my progress. Or maybe follow me on Twitter (but be prepared for other randomness, mostly of the Smallville nature – not just fanfic stuff!).
I hope y’all enjoy this installment! I had a lot of fun writing it, actually. Wish me luck with the end. If you are so inclined, please leave a review. It encourages me like whoa. Thanks!
Part 3: Begin
“Mamo-chan!”
Usagi happily threw herself into the arms of her boyfriend, oblivious to how he stiffened before returning her embrace. Neither did she notice that his hold was loose and his eyes closed off. They stood atop her favorite meeting spot – a bridge crossing over a large river that divided the Juuban district.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” she exclaimed. She gave him one more good squeeze before she pulled back, leaning against his arms as she beamed up at him.
“Not forever,” Mamoru replied. He looked down at her, something flashing through his eyes before it disappeared. “Only a couple weeks.”
“Way too long,” she commented, shaking her head. “Summer is the time of freedom! It sucks that you’re so busy.”
Mamoru’s hands dropped from her waist but she didn’t particularly notice, keeping her own arms around him. “An internship will do that,” he said. “It’s only going to get worse when college starts up again.”
“Yeah, but at least you’ll be in Japan! I’m so glad you transferred back to Tokyo University,” she said, leaning her head sideways on his chest. “Harvard would have been amazing, but after everything with Galaxia and Chaos… I’m relieved you’re so close.”
“Usako…”
She picked at the invisible creases on his white button-up shirt. “Two more years and then I’ll be in college, too! And maybe, soon, after that -” She lifted her left hand and smiled at her heart-shaped engagement ring. “We can finally –”
“Usagi!” Mamoru stepped back, breaking out of her embrace.
Startled, Usagi looked up at him and for the first time, noticed the distance in his eyes. “Mamo-chan, what is it?”
Usagi held out her hand and moved towards him, but paused when he took another step back. A small sense of foreboding trickled down her neck, but she pushed it away. There was nothing to worry about! She was with her Mamo-chan. Everything would be fine.
She tilted her head to the side. “Mamo-chan?”
“Usako…” Her heart breathed a little easier at the sound of her nickname falling from his gorgeous lips. “There’s something I need to tell you.” He looked at a point above her shoulder and she frowned.
“You’re okay, right? What’s wrong?” Her concern grew when he was still unable to meet her eyes. “Mamo-chan –”
“Please,” he interrupted, holding up his hand. “Please don’t look at me like that.”
Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand –”
“I’m leaving, Usagi,” Mamoru said abruptly, finally meeting her eyes. The unexpected use of her first name jolted her. She stared back, shocked, and she remained frozen as he continued, “I’ve been accepted as an exchange student at a London university specializing in medicine.”
“Europe?” she whispered, unable to believe what she was hearing. “You’re going away again?”
Mamoru looked so much like he didn’t want to say what came next, but he steeled himself. “There’s something else.”
The foreboding that had been a mere trickle turned into a full out flood. She held out both her hands in front of her as if that would stop the sudden ache in her chest. “No, wait –”
Usagi cut herself off as Mamoru stepped forward and grasped her left hand. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing of the warmth she remembered so fondly. There was only regret. Everything inside her stilled.
Mamoru held her left hand in both of his, studying each and every finger. She held her breath, waiting. Finally, he very quietly stated, “I’m not going to let destiny dictate my life, Usak- Usagi.” His right index finger traced the outline of her heart-shaped diamond as he locked gazes with her. “I’m sorry.”
She saw it in his face – the remorse and guilt. But what truly scared her was the resolution lurking behind his blue orbs. He had already made his decision.
Even though she suspected what lay ahead, she tried to delay the inevitable. “Wh- what are you saying?” she murmured.
Mamoru placed his index finger and thumb on either side of her engagement ring before he ever so slowly and ever so carefully slid it off. It fell into his palm and his fingers curled around it, a protective shell from her now prying eyes.
“It’s over.”
Usagi breathed in sharply, the damning words ringing again and again in her head. Her left ring finger felt empty and cold, and she clasped her hands together. “I –” Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn’t bother stopping them. “I don’t understand.”
Mamoru tucked his hands in the pockets of his black slacks, looking as cool and guarded as she had ever seen him, though his eyes betrayed his tumultuous emotions. “So much of my life has been devoted to this battle between good and evil and this past life that continues to dictate our present. I need to find out who I am.”
“You’re my –” Boyfriend. Prince. Lover. Soulmate. “– everything.” She reached out for him, but he kept his distance and the tears wouldn’t stop falling. “All I need is you.”
He turned and placed his hands on the railing of the bridge. His knuckles turned white with his clenched grip. “I died, Usagi,” he began softly. “I died and there should have been no regrets. I’ve known your amazing love and I’ve seen our beautiful future. But there were regrets.” He turned his head to the side to look at her. “This second chance you’ve given all of us – the Senshi and I – I don’t want to have any regrets this time.”
Usagi trembled, every word coming out of his mouth inconceivable. She was stuck in some kind of nightmare and nothing was waking her up. “This isn’t happening,” she denied, shaking her head again and again. “After everything that’s ever happened to us, this connection that brought me to you, this-” She threw out her arms and gestured all around. “All this – it’s our happily ever after.”
“I’m not ready for happily ever after,” he replied. He said everything firmly and with that touch of grace and diplomacy only royals could ever hope to achieve. But after knowing him for so long, she spotted the slight shaking of his hands. He continued, “There’s still so much I want to see, do –”
“We can’t do that together?” she gasped desperately through her tears.
Mamoru seemed torn as he regarded her before resolve schooled his features once more. She absolutely hated it. “I have to do this alone,” he said. “You have to find your way, too, Usagi.”
“It’s Usako!” she snapped, close to hysterical. “Mamo-chan, please. I love you! Why are you doing this?”
“This is about having a choice,” Mamoru explained in a low voice.
“And you don’t choose me,” Usagi clarified, the hole in her chest growing and growing.
His silence spoke volumes and she felt her heart break.
“Please don’t do this,” she murmured. She didn’t have it in her to raise her voice, to demand he stay. All her energy was gone. “Please.”
“I have to,” Mamoru replied. “I’m sorry.” For the first time, he stepped toward her. He placed his fingers under her chin lightly and tipped her head down. He very gently kissed her forehead. “I love you,” he whispered. “Forgive me.”
Mamoru’s image blurred through her tears and she closed her eyes. His hand fell away from her. By the time she gathered the courage to look at him again, he was gone. Usagi allowed the sobs to take over and she crumpled to the ground, her hands finding unsteady purchase on the railings.
She would never be whole again.
–
Usagi was torn out of her painful memory as an all too familiar car crossed her path, forcing her to swerve Bella’s motorcycle to a stop. She glared at the shiny silver Volvo, pulling up the visor of her helmet, as her best friend’s bronze haired boyfriend slipped out of the front seat. He leaned forward between the space of the open door.
“And where are you off to?” he asked. He raised an eyebrow as he assessed her carefully.
“It’s none of your business,” Usagi replied. She hummed a random song in her head to keep Edward out. She kept the motorcycle running, tipping it to one side so her left foot balanced on the ground. “Get out of my way.”
“Jasper and Alice suspected you might do something stupid,” Edward commented. “They’re on the main road, right at the edge of the border, back down that way.”
Usagi was suddenly glad she had chosen to be careful, taking one of the many dirt paths out of La Push. Thank you, Jacob. She had gone a roundabout way to get to the main road, and hadn’t bothered to get onto the paved road until she was a few miles away.
“You’re being very cautious, Usagi,” Edward observed, skimming the surface of her thoughts. “Lucky for my siblings that I was able to catch you.”
“You didn’t catch me,” Usagi retorted, revving the engine. “You got in my way.”
“Be rational about this,” he said, lifting his hands peacefully. “Running away isn’t going to solve anything.”
“I’m not running away,” she replied. Finally.
“What does that mean?”
Usagi was in no mood to be interrogated by Edward. A sudden urge to get away engulfed her and she looked at the flawless vampire in front of her. You told them. It wasn’t a question.
Edward lifted his cell phone for her to see. “They should be here soon,” he replied.
“You’re stalling me!” Usagi straightened, her grip tensing on the handlebars.
“Usagi –”
Placing her visor down again, she revved the engine louder and prepared to speed off. She saw Edward tense and before she knew it, she had shot past his car. Gasping, she turned around to see Edward unfolding from a crouch. He had pounced on the spot she had been a moment before, but had missed her. He spun around to stare after her in shock, and she mentally sent a prayer to Uranus as she turned to face the road again.
Thank you for lending me your speed.
Somehow, Usagi knew Haruka was smiling wherever she and Michiru were in the world. The more road she put in between her and Edward, the faster his presence faded from her senses. Thankfully, she didn’t feel either Alice or Jasper.
She couldn’t see them. Not yet. They would only cloud her mind.
I’ll come back. I promise.
–
Alice’s Volkswagen beetle came to a smooth halt next to Edward’s Volvo. Jasper was out of the car and in Edward’s face before Alice even opened her door. “What happened?” the honey-haired vampire demanded.
Edward stared past Jasper’s angry face and towards the now empty stretch of highway. “She evaded me,” he replied.
Jasper paused, his brother’s genuine confusion and intrigue grazing him. “How?” Edward was fast, the fastest vampire among the Cullen clan. And Usagi – Usagi was human. He turned as he felt his wife’s touch upon his arm.
“I saw her on Bella’s motorcycle,” Alice said. Her eyes were blank as she looked in the same direction as Edward. “She was able to maneuver right under his jump. And she was fast. Faster than should be possible.” She shared a meaningful glance with him.
Usagi was human, there was no doubt of that. But Alice and Jasper had always suspected there was something more hidden beneath the surface. The way she had remained calm in the face of danger as well as being unperturbed by her discovery of vampires were a couple of many hints. Alice and Jasper had never asked, however. As her secret didn’t seem to be a danger to the family, they had let it go. Temporarily.
“Seems she’s holding out on you two,” Edward commented.
Jasper growled, hackles rising. “And what do you mean by that?” he asked. You don’t know her – don’t pretend you do!
“Calm down,” Edward replied, rolling his eyes. “I’m only stating the obvious.”
Brother dear, now is not the time to be irritating. Alice smiled at him innocently when he glared at her. “Now boys, no fighting,” she said, coming in between them. She looked at Edward. “Did she give away anything?”
“Usagi usually thinks quite loud,” Edward replied, “but not this time. However, I was able to glean something about Uranus.”
Jasper’s confusion began to outweigh his anger and his tension lessened as a result. “The planet?”
“No.” Edward shook his head, eyebrows furrowing. “A woman. Short sandy hair. Beautiful and handsome at the same time. Usagi was thanking her… for her speed.”
“What?” Jasper looked towards Alice, but she looked as lost as him.
“The pup might know something,” Edward commented. “He was in her thoughts briefly.”
“That doesn’t do us any good if he won’t leave the reservation,” Alice replied. “We can’t break the treaty.”
Edward’s phone vibrated before anyone could comment. He flipped it open with a quick glance at the screen, smiling. “Yes, Bella love?”
Her voice came across loud and clear to the other two vampires standing by him. “Jacob and I are at the border.”
“We’re on our way.” Edward closed his phone as he turned to his siblings. “Looks like you have your chance after all.”
–
Jacob twitched as Bella continued to stare at him. They were parked in her truck on the side of the road, right outside the edge of the border. Bella’s left hand was casually placed on top of the steering wheel with her right hand in her lap. She tapped her fingers, paused, and then tapped again. Her lustrous brown hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she was dressed in jeans and a printed T-shirt, complete with a thin black hoodie.
She was beautiful, even with her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
Jacob vaguely wondered if the pain in his heart would ever go away. He grit his teeth and looked out the truck’s foggy window. Again and again, I’m pulled to her. I must be a masochist.
“I can’t believe you’re not going to say anything,” Bella finally said.
Jacob had one simply reply. “I promised.”
“Jake –”
“She’s not in any danger, Bells,” Jacob interrupted, cutting her off. Not the physical kind, anyway. He wavered in his decision, but hardened his resolve. He had to trust that Usagi knew what she was doing.
“There’s no way you can know that!”
“Don’t be overdramatic,” he retorted. He grabbed Bella’s wrist before she could smack him. “You know you’ll only hurt yourself.”
“And yet, that still doesn’t stop the urge,” Bella replied with a glare.
“You know what?” Jacob really didn’t have to deal with any of this. Usagi had never said he had to reassure her lovers of anything. “You can tell the bloodsuckers that Usa is safe and that she’s coming back. I’m going home.”
“No!” Bella put a hand on his arm as if that would stop him. He paused to see what she had to say. “You have to tell them.”
He shrugged off her hand. “They’ll believe you more than me,” he retorted. “I should be sleeping in right now!”
Bella pursed her lips. “She told you, so you’re telling them.”
There was something about the way she wasn’t quite looking at him that raised flags in Jacob’s head. “You think your leech is going to pick it out of my head, don’t you?” he accused.
Bella’s averted eyes and twitch of her fingers was all the answer he needed.
“I can’t freakin’ believe this,” he muttered. He restrained himself from kicking her door open, but settled for opening and closing it with a slam. He heard Bella quickly get out of her side of the truck.
“Jake, wait –”
Jacob stopped, but only because two cars appeared in the distance, coming towards them at dangerous speeds. He ran in front of Bella as they pulled onto the side of the road. They stopped just a few feet away, the Volkswagen right behind the Volvo. Bella’s bloodsucker came out of the latter, while the pixie and the calm one exited the former. The stench of leech was immediately in the air and Jacob scowled, feeling his inner wolf start to twitch.
“Bella, get away from him!”
Edward’s words had the effect of Jacob pushing his wolf further into himself. He would prove the bloodsucker wrong. He snarled, “I’m not the one she should be afraid of.”
All his anger suddenly flowed out of him to be replaced with a sense of calm. The usually quiet leech – Jasper, as Usagi so often reminded him – stepped in between them and snapped, “Now is not the time.”
Jasper turned his golden gaze on him, and the first thing Jacob noticed was the darker than usual color of the irises. Coolly, the bloodsucker asked, “Where is Usagi?”
Just as frostily, Jacob replied, “I have no idea.” A promise is a promise.
“He promised her he wouldn’t say anything,” Edward said, stepping up next to Jasper. His eyes were trained on Bella, who remained behind Jacob.
“We’re worried about her,” Alice said, coming up on Jasper’s right side. She looked at Jacob entreatingly. “Please.”
Jacob vacantly wondered if it cost the leeches to ask for his help. It didn’t matter, either way. “She’s coming back,” he said. “She’ll be back with you by the end of the day. Is that not soon enough?”
Alice whispered, “Don’t be so sure.” And by the pained looks on their faces, Jacob understood it cost them to admit that.
He struggled not to feel for them and focused on what he knew. “She left to take care of this guy for you two,” he said grudgingly. “You don’t trust her enough to come back?”
Alice gave him a hard stare. “If you knew someone you loved was getting into a volatile situation that could hurt them, would you just let them go?”
Her words brought back all the doubts Jacob had about letting Usagi leave. Could she handle seeing her ex-boyfriend again? No, no, no - I trust her. My loyalty lies with her.
“He’s not giving her up,” Edward said. “And he’s not directly thinking of her – I can’t pick up anything.”
Jacob had no time to be smug – Can’t use your stupid mind-reading this time, leech! – not when Jasper was, without warning, directly in front of him. He tensed instinctively and stepped back to put distance between them when all the fight left him. The anger that sprouted as he realized what was happening was swiftly suppressed as well, and Jacob found himself at Jasper’s mercy.
Jasper stared at him unblinkingly and Jacob would have shivered at the intense gaze if all his feelings weren’t being replaced by a sense of compliancy. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should be enraged but Jasper was enforcing his full will upon him.
“Where is Usagi?” Jasper asked very quietly, seriously.
“Jasper –” Bella realized what was going on, but she was too late. Edward flashed to her and quickly brought her back to his side.
The words poured out of Jacob – all his defenses wasted under the true extent of the quiet vampire’s powers. “She’s meeting that bastard in Port Angeles,” he answered sluggishly, his lethargy a result of Jasper’s manipulation.
Jasper kept Jacob’s will pliable. “Where in Port Angeles?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Jacob answered inertly. He almost swayed on his feet. “She didn’t say.”
Alice placed a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. “That’s all we need to know,” she said, glancing back at Edward.
Edward nodded. “I’ll take care of it.” He wrapped an arm around Bella’s shoulders, but she shrugged him off.
“No.”
“Bella, love –”
“I’m staying here.” Bella rushed up to Jasper and Jacob, and pulled Jacob away. “Jasper, stop!”
Jacob knew the second Jasper let him go as his fury came out full force. “Son of a bitch!” he snarled. His wolf rippled inside him as Jasper and Alice ignored him, and in the next moment, they were in the Volkswagen.
“Jake, calm down –”
Jacob turned his betrayed eyes on Bella and she flinched. “Stay away from me,” he whispered. He glowered at the Volkswagen as it drove off and then glared at Edward, who stood tense and rigid by his car. “The next time I see any of you, I’m ripping you apart!”
“Please, Jake –” There were tears in Bella’s eyes and Jacob cursed the fact that his heart bled for her.
And even though it hurt him, he turned away from her and sprinted across the border, ignoring her cries.
–
“Love, come on.” Edward reached for her, but Bella shook her head.
“Edward, I love you, but I have to be with Jake right now.” Bella wrapped her hoodie tighter around herself as she got in her car.
“Bella, no! You can’t be around him – he could hurt you!” Edward knocked on the window, obviously restraining himself from breaking it.
“Jake would never hurt me,” Bella replied, turning on the engine.
“Bella –”
“If you love me, you’ll let me be with my best friend right now,” she said quietly, though she knew he could hear every word, “and you’ll help your brother and sister find their heart.”
Edward’s hands dropped to his sides and Bella backed her truck up until she was over the border. She waited until Edward tore his gaze away from her and got into his Volvo. Their eyes met one more time, and though she trembled, she didn’t have it in her to look away first.
Bella saw Edward sigh before he drove off and followed Alice and Jasper. Her tense fingers relaxed and she dropped her forehead against the steering wheel.
Jacob…
–
“Moonshine is not going to be happy when she finds out what you did to Jacob.”
“I don’t care,” Jasper replied tightly. “As long as she’s there to be mad at me.” He watched the scenery streak by as Alice gunned it down the highway. “You didn’t have any objections a minute ago.”
“I still don’t,” Alice said with a shrug. She reached over and brushed his cheek briefly with her fingers. “Just making an observation.”
Jasper closed his eyes at her touch, relishing in the small comfort. He took her fingers and brought it down to his lap, clasping her hand in his. “I can’t be sorry if it brings us closer to her,” he commented, giving her knuckles a kiss.
“Neither can I,” Alice agreed, squeezing his hand.
Jasper absentmindedly stroked Alice’s palm and returned to looking out the window, losing himself in one of his first memories of Usagi.
–
Jasper was only vaguely aware of the conversation his wife and siblings were having, hanging behind them as he held his breath discreetly. The scent of the humans was so sweet and alluring, but the utter chaos of teenage emotions – lust, angst, confusion, anger, pain, sorrow, pleasure – nearly canceled it out. Not entirely, but it was enough to distract him most days. Their emotions went on and on, swirling all around him, and he had to keep himself in check.
Doing that while simultaneously resisting the temptation of their flowing nectar gave him the pained expression every student in Forks knew him by.
“I don’t think that chick is the girl from your visions, Alice,” Emmett commented, slinging an arm around Rosalie’s shoulders.
His blonde wife inspected her nails. “Who are we talking about again?” she asked, already sounding bored.
“Baby Bells’ new housemate, Rosie!” Emmett answered. “That girl from Tokyo or wherever.”
“The depressed one with her hair pinned up under that awful hat?” Rosalie clarified.
“That’s the one,” Alice replied, frowning at the reminder of the foreign student’s baseball cap. “It has to be her, though! My visions started getting murky the day before she showed up.”
“But what’s so special about her?” Emmett asked, scrunching his nose. “She smells like they all do. She isn’t a singer.”
Rosalie mildly added, “Edward can read her thoughts – something he would do a lot more of if he wasn’t off with his human pet.”
“She’s clouding the future, that’s what makes her special,” Alice murmured, looking down at the ground, but fully aware of her surroundings. “But there’s something else…”
Jasper observed his lovely wife – her graceful gait something that always entranced him. If there were ever a vampire more graceful than all the others, his Alice was the one.
Something bubbled along the periphery of his gift, making him pause. It was like a gentle burst of happiness, free and uninhibited. In that fleeting moment, it overshadowed all the nearby emotions of the other students. But before he could attempt to pinpoint it, it was gone.
Whoever it was, he or she was either no longer happy or had left the range of his ability. Jasper’s eyes darted around, attempting to deduce who had changed, when he felt a tug on his arm. He looked down into his wife’s fae-like face.
“Jasper?” Her tone was questioning, though there was a small smile on her face. “Come on.” Alice twirled under his hand and towed him along.
They caught up to Rosalie and Emmett on the cement walkway leading to the doors of the main school building. As expected, people stayed out of their way, like there was some invisible field around them that no one could cross. Frankly, Jasper was glad for it. It kept temptation out of arms’ reach. It was a small detail, but every little thing helped.
“Catch me if you can!” A somewhat high voice for a guy. Eric Yorkie.
“Eric! Give us back our tickets!” A sweeter voice, unusual in its irritation. Angela Weber.
Racing heartbeats were coming closer, and Jasper knew they were near and as expected, they darted around him and his siblings with only the barest of pauses. Eric’s goal was for the door, Angela’s was to catch any part of him.
But just as Jasper realized there was a third heartbeat pulsing erratically and getting uncomfortably closer, the owner of said heartbeat bumped against him and accidentally spilled her books all over the floor. Jasper had to stop so he wouldn’t instinctively jump over them and go on his way.
The stranger fell to her knees in front of him, quickly scrambling to gather her notes and textbooks. There was something about the curve of her neck and the loose strands of blonde hair peeking out from beneath a baseball cap. It was on haphazardly, sitting awkwardly on her head. She should have been another faceless name in the crowd, but under her primary emotion of embarrassment, there were nuances of amusement and pleasure, tinged with something he couldn’t quite place. She didn’t seem to care about ripping her jeans or getting her yellow blouse dirty.
“Usa!”
Jasper looked up to find Eric looking in their direction, but at the floor, and he realized the frail human was talking to the girl. Eric held the door open and Angela was making her way back to help, but the girl was already pushing herself to her feet.
“Coming!” Her voice – different than before. Silvery and mellifluous, and not unlike their own.
With her books and papers gathered in her left arm, she turned around. As she did, she grabbed the carelessly placed cap’s brim with her right hand and took it off while pushing her bangs back. Her blonde hair, a shade more golden than even Rosalie’s, came spilling out and over her shoulders, stopping mid-back.
Jasper remained unmoved, though Alice gasped and several surrounding students echoed her.
Usagi Tsukino – that was her name, Edward’s Bella had said – finally looked up with a sheepish smile on her face as she ran a hand through her long locks distractedly. And she was so unbelievably changed from the meek and dejected creature that first wandered Forks High’s hallways that Jasper wasn’t quite sure it was even her.
“Sorry for bumping into you,” she said, voice soft and wholehearted. Her sheepish smile grew as she ducked her head, hands grasping at her cap. “I’m such a klutz!”
Embarrassment gave way to mirth and cheerfulness as laughter poured out of her, warming him.
Angela pulled on the sleeve of her blouse, and just as she was about to turn around, the silly, laughing blonde girl looked straight into his eyes and said, “See you around!”
Three simple words, a plain phrase of farewell, but it was the pure emotion behind them that made him start. It was said with sincerity and affection – the kind of affection reserved for friends and neighbors. There was no deception lurking behind her words – no poorly hidden lust or desire for him like certain other classmates and no trace of false politeness. Just a sincere token of friendly gentility.
Angela whispered in her ear: “I’ll distract Eric, you come up from behind and get the tickets.”
And then the most amazing thing happened.
Her sincerity and affection grew and blossomed once more into that unadulterated happiness he had felt earlier. Like before, it eclipsed all other emotion and she became the only one he could feel. Being in such close proximity to her heightened the connection and he soaked in the purity of it. It was like being drunk, if his foggy human memories were recalling that right, only this was a kind of drunk with picture-perfect clarity.
Her happiness was streaked with joy and pleasure and mischief, and as she turned around fully, her back now to him, her laughter sparkled with it. The light she emitted was none like he had ever encountered during his decades of existence.
He watched as she passed her books over to Angela so she could pin her hair back up. She was in the middle of a complicated twist as the doors closed behind her and the students inside the building blocked her.
Jasper kept staring at the door, and he wanted to follow her – follow that intoxicating light. The very fact that he desired it, desired it so badly, held him back. This mere slip of a human – what was she to make him feel this way?
Alice squeezed his hand. “I told you,” she said, her tone distant and faraway. “She’s special.”
“More than special,” Jasper murmured.
She was magnificent.
–
The image of Usagi – beautiful in her elation and delight – reminded Jasper of why he and Alice wanted always for her to be happy. When she was happy, they were, too, no matter how clichéd the notion was. It was true.
“Thinking about that first sleepover?”
Jasper glanced over at Alice, who looked back with an amused smile playing across her lips. “No, actually,” he replied, “the first time she tripped in front of us.” He returned her smile.
“Ah.” Alice giggled, and his smile widened at the chiming sound. “Clumsy, that one,” she commented. “And I still don’t think I scolded her enough for that hideous hat. If she insisted on hiding her hair, do it fashionably.”
Jasper chuckled. “I don’t think that was the point, darlin’.”
“There’s no excuse for bad fashion,” Alice replied with a tsk. “I’ll have to take her out on another shopping trip soon.”
“Alice?”
His wife locked eyes with him for a moment, taking her gaze off the road. “Yes, Jazz?”
He made a promise. “I’m not letting her go.”
Perhaps it was selfish to think that way. But that didn’t make a difference.
Alice smiled, love and determination flowing from her to him.
“Never.”
Author: Krys Yuy
Summary: AU. Usagi is blissful in her strange new relationship, but sometimes happiness isn’t meant to last forever. Can her lovers prove otherwise? Threesome. Established relationship.
Pairing/Characters: Alice/Usagi/Jasper, Edward/Bella
Fandoms: Sailor Moon/Twilight
Warning: Possible OOCness.
Rating: R/M
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters used. This fic is purely for entertainment purposes only.
Author’s Notes: Set post-Sailor Moon Stars and sometime post-New Moon. A fast update! The world is ending. Check outside your windows for meteors. And still, this story is not over! Why?! If this doesn’t end in the next part or fifth part, I’ve officially gone loco. There’s a bit more action in here, a couple flashbacks. Try not to be too confused with the opening scene. XP The other flashback towards the end of the chapter came from notes I have of a possible prequel. Like? Don’t like? Let me know! What you say may determine if the prequel gets made or not. I’m still iffy. If you’re wondering about status of chapters, check out the sidebar in my LiveJournal to see my progress. Or maybe follow me on Twitter (but be prepared for other randomness, mostly of the Smallville nature – not just fanfic stuff!).
I hope y’all enjoy this installment! I had a lot of fun writing it, actually. Wish me luck with the end. If you are so inclined, please leave a review. It encourages me like whoa. Thanks!
Part 3: Begin
“Mamo-chan!”
Usagi happily threw herself into the arms of her boyfriend, oblivious to how he stiffened before returning her embrace. Neither did she notice that his hold was loose and his eyes closed off. They stood atop her favorite meeting spot – a bridge crossing over a large river that divided the Juuban district.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” she exclaimed. She gave him one more good squeeze before she pulled back, leaning against his arms as she beamed up at him.
“Not forever,” Mamoru replied. He looked down at her, something flashing through his eyes before it disappeared. “Only a couple weeks.”
“Way too long,” she commented, shaking her head. “Summer is the time of freedom! It sucks that you’re so busy.”
Mamoru’s hands dropped from her waist but she didn’t particularly notice, keeping her own arms around him. “An internship will do that,” he said. “It’s only going to get worse when college starts up again.”
“Yeah, but at least you’ll be in Japan! I’m so glad you transferred back to Tokyo University,” she said, leaning her head sideways on his chest. “Harvard would have been amazing, but after everything with Galaxia and Chaos… I’m relieved you’re so close.”
“Usako…”
She picked at the invisible creases on his white button-up shirt. “Two more years and then I’ll be in college, too! And maybe, soon, after that -” She lifted her left hand and smiled at her heart-shaped engagement ring. “We can finally –”
“Usagi!” Mamoru stepped back, breaking out of her embrace.
Startled, Usagi looked up at him and for the first time, noticed the distance in his eyes. “Mamo-chan, what is it?”
Usagi held out her hand and moved towards him, but paused when he took another step back. A small sense of foreboding trickled down her neck, but she pushed it away. There was nothing to worry about! She was with her Mamo-chan. Everything would be fine.
She tilted her head to the side. “Mamo-chan?”
“Usako…” Her heart breathed a little easier at the sound of her nickname falling from his gorgeous lips. “There’s something I need to tell you.” He looked at a point above her shoulder and she frowned.
“You’re okay, right? What’s wrong?” Her concern grew when he was still unable to meet her eyes. “Mamo-chan –”
“Please,” he interrupted, holding up his hand. “Please don’t look at me like that.”
Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand –”
“I’m leaving, Usagi,” Mamoru said abruptly, finally meeting her eyes. The unexpected use of her first name jolted her. She stared back, shocked, and she remained frozen as he continued, “I’ve been accepted as an exchange student at a London university specializing in medicine.”
“Europe?” she whispered, unable to believe what she was hearing. “You’re going away again?”
Mamoru looked so much like he didn’t want to say what came next, but he steeled himself. “There’s something else.”
The foreboding that had been a mere trickle turned into a full out flood. She held out both her hands in front of her as if that would stop the sudden ache in her chest. “No, wait –”
Usagi cut herself off as Mamoru stepped forward and grasped her left hand. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing of the warmth she remembered so fondly. There was only regret. Everything inside her stilled.
Mamoru held her left hand in both of his, studying each and every finger. She held her breath, waiting. Finally, he very quietly stated, “I’m not going to let destiny dictate my life, Usak- Usagi.” His right index finger traced the outline of her heart-shaped diamond as he locked gazes with her. “I’m sorry.”
She saw it in his face – the remorse and guilt. But what truly scared her was the resolution lurking behind his blue orbs. He had already made his decision.
Even though she suspected what lay ahead, she tried to delay the inevitable. “Wh- what are you saying?” she murmured.
Mamoru placed his index finger and thumb on either side of her engagement ring before he ever so slowly and ever so carefully slid it off. It fell into his palm and his fingers curled around it, a protective shell from her now prying eyes.
“It’s over.”
Usagi breathed in sharply, the damning words ringing again and again in her head. Her left ring finger felt empty and cold, and she clasped her hands together. “I –” Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn’t bother stopping them. “I don’t understand.”
Mamoru tucked his hands in the pockets of his black slacks, looking as cool and guarded as she had ever seen him, though his eyes betrayed his tumultuous emotions. “So much of my life has been devoted to this battle between good and evil and this past life that continues to dictate our present. I need to find out who I am.”
“You’re my –” Boyfriend. Prince. Lover. Soulmate. “– everything.” She reached out for him, but he kept his distance and the tears wouldn’t stop falling. “All I need is you.”
He turned and placed his hands on the railing of the bridge. His knuckles turned white with his clenched grip. “I died, Usagi,” he began softly. “I died and there should have been no regrets. I’ve known your amazing love and I’ve seen our beautiful future. But there were regrets.” He turned his head to the side to look at her. “This second chance you’ve given all of us – the Senshi and I – I don’t want to have any regrets this time.”
Usagi trembled, every word coming out of his mouth inconceivable. She was stuck in some kind of nightmare and nothing was waking her up. “This isn’t happening,” she denied, shaking her head again and again. “After everything that’s ever happened to us, this connection that brought me to you, this-” She threw out her arms and gestured all around. “All this – it’s our happily ever after.”
“I’m not ready for happily ever after,” he replied. He said everything firmly and with that touch of grace and diplomacy only royals could ever hope to achieve. But after knowing him for so long, she spotted the slight shaking of his hands. He continued, “There’s still so much I want to see, do –”
“We can’t do that together?” she gasped desperately through her tears.
Mamoru seemed torn as he regarded her before resolve schooled his features once more. She absolutely hated it. “I have to do this alone,” he said. “You have to find your way, too, Usagi.”
“It’s Usako!” she snapped, close to hysterical. “Mamo-chan, please. I love you! Why are you doing this?”
“This is about having a choice,” Mamoru explained in a low voice.
“And you don’t choose me,” Usagi clarified, the hole in her chest growing and growing.
His silence spoke volumes and she felt her heart break.
“Please don’t do this,” she murmured. She didn’t have it in her to raise her voice, to demand he stay. All her energy was gone. “Please.”
“I have to,” Mamoru replied. “I’m sorry.” For the first time, he stepped toward her. He placed his fingers under her chin lightly and tipped her head down. He very gently kissed her forehead. “I love you,” he whispered. “Forgive me.”
Mamoru’s image blurred through her tears and she closed her eyes. His hand fell away from her. By the time she gathered the courage to look at him again, he was gone. Usagi allowed the sobs to take over and she crumpled to the ground, her hands finding unsteady purchase on the railings.
She would never be whole again.
–
Usagi was torn out of her painful memory as an all too familiar car crossed her path, forcing her to swerve Bella’s motorcycle to a stop. She glared at the shiny silver Volvo, pulling up the visor of her helmet, as her best friend’s bronze haired boyfriend slipped out of the front seat. He leaned forward between the space of the open door.
“And where are you off to?” he asked. He raised an eyebrow as he assessed her carefully.
“It’s none of your business,” Usagi replied. She hummed a random song in her head to keep Edward out. She kept the motorcycle running, tipping it to one side so her left foot balanced on the ground. “Get out of my way.”
“Jasper and Alice suspected you might do something stupid,” Edward commented. “They’re on the main road, right at the edge of the border, back down that way.”
Usagi was suddenly glad she had chosen to be careful, taking one of the many dirt paths out of La Push. Thank you, Jacob. She had gone a roundabout way to get to the main road, and hadn’t bothered to get onto the paved road until she was a few miles away.
“You’re being very cautious, Usagi,” Edward observed, skimming the surface of her thoughts. “Lucky for my siblings that I was able to catch you.”
“You didn’t catch me,” Usagi retorted, revving the engine. “You got in my way.”
“Be rational about this,” he said, lifting his hands peacefully. “Running away isn’t going to solve anything.”
“I’m not running away,” she replied. Finally.
“What does that mean?”
Usagi was in no mood to be interrogated by Edward. A sudden urge to get away engulfed her and she looked at the flawless vampire in front of her. You told them. It wasn’t a question.
Edward lifted his cell phone for her to see. “They should be here soon,” he replied.
“You’re stalling me!” Usagi straightened, her grip tensing on the handlebars.
“Usagi –”
Placing her visor down again, she revved the engine louder and prepared to speed off. She saw Edward tense and before she knew it, she had shot past his car. Gasping, she turned around to see Edward unfolding from a crouch. He had pounced on the spot she had been a moment before, but had missed her. He spun around to stare after her in shock, and she mentally sent a prayer to Uranus as she turned to face the road again.
Thank you for lending me your speed.
Somehow, Usagi knew Haruka was smiling wherever she and Michiru were in the world. The more road she put in between her and Edward, the faster his presence faded from her senses. Thankfully, she didn’t feel either Alice or Jasper.
She couldn’t see them. Not yet. They would only cloud her mind.
I’ll come back. I promise.
–
Alice’s Volkswagen beetle came to a smooth halt next to Edward’s Volvo. Jasper was out of the car and in Edward’s face before Alice even opened her door. “What happened?” the honey-haired vampire demanded.
Edward stared past Jasper’s angry face and towards the now empty stretch of highway. “She evaded me,” he replied.
Jasper paused, his brother’s genuine confusion and intrigue grazing him. “How?” Edward was fast, the fastest vampire among the Cullen clan. And Usagi – Usagi was human. He turned as he felt his wife’s touch upon his arm.
“I saw her on Bella’s motorcycle,” Alice said. Her eyes were blank as she looked in the same direction as Edward. “She was able to maneuver right under his jump. And she was fast. Faster than should be possible.” She shared a meaningful glance with him.
Usagi was human, there was no doubt of that. But Alice and Jasper had always suspected there was something more hidden beneath the surface. The way she had remained calm in the face of danger as well as being unperturbed by her discovery of vampires were a couple of many hints. Alice and Jasper had never asked, however. As her secret didn’t seem to be a danger to the family, they had let it go. Temporarily.
“Seems she’s holding out on you two,” Edward commented.
Jasper growled, hackles rising. “And what do you mean by that?” he asked. You don’t know her – don’t pretend you do!
“Calm down,” Edward replied, rolling his eyes. “I’m only stating the obvious.”
Brother dear, now is not the time to be irritating. Alice smiled at him innocently when he glared at her. “Now boys, no fighting,” she said, coming in between them. She looked at Edward. “Did she give away anything?”
“Usagi usually thinks quite loud,” Edward replied, “but not this time. However, I was able to glean something about Uranus.”
Jasper’s confusion began to outweigh his anger and his tension lessened as a result. “The planet?”
“No.” Edward shook his head, eyebrows furrowing. “A woman. Short sandy hair. Beautiful and handsome at the same time. Usagi was thanking her… for her speed.”
“What?” Jasper looked towards Alice, but she looked as lost as him.
“The pup might know something,” Edward commented. “He was in her thoughts briefly.”
“That doesn’t do us any good if he won’t leave the reservation,” Alice replied. “We can’t break the treaty.”
Edward’s phone vibrated before anyone could comment. He flipped it open with a quick glance at the screen, smiling. “Yes, Bella love?”
Her voice came across loud and clear to the other two vampires standing by him. “Jacob and I are at the border.”
“We’re on our way.” Edward closed his phone as he turned to his siblings. “Looks like you have your chance after all.”
–
Jacob twitched as Bella continued to stare at him. They were parked in her truck on the side of the road, right outside the edge of the border. Bella’s left hand was casually placed on top of the steering wheel with her right hand in her lap. She tapped her fingers, paused, and then tapped again. Her lustrous brown hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she was dressed in jeans and a printed T-shirt, complete with a thin black hoodie.
She was beautiful, even with her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
Jacob vaguely wondered if the pain in his heart would ever go away. He grit his teeth and looked out the truck’s foggy window. Again and again, I’m pulled to her. I must be a masochist.
“I can’t believe you’re not going to say anything,” Bella finally said.
Jacob had one simply reply. “I promised.”
“Jake –”
“She’s not in any danger, Bells,” Jacob interrupted, cutting her off. Not the physical kind, anyway. He wavered in his decision, but hardened his resolve. He had to trust that Usagi knew what she was doing.
“There’s no way you can know that!”
“Don’t be overdramatic,” he retorted. He grabbed Bella’s wrist before she could smack him. “You know you’ll only hurt yourself.”
“And yet, that still doesn’t stop the urge,” Bella replied with a glare.
“You know what?” Jacob really didn’t have to deal with any of this. Usagi had never said he had to reassure her lovers of anything. “You can tell the bloodsuckers that Usa is safe and that she’s coming back. I’m going home.”
“No!” Bella put a hand on his arm as if that would stop him. He paused to see what she had to say. “You have to tell them.”
He shrugged off her hand. “They’ll believe you more than me,” he retorted. “I should be sleeping in right now!”
Bella pursed her lips. “She told you, so you’re telling them.”
There was something about the way she wasn’t quite looking at him that raised flags in Jacob’s head. “You think your leech is going to pick it out of my head, don’t you?” he accused.
Bella’s averted eyes and twitch of her fingers was all the answer he needed.
“I can’t freakin’ believe this,” he muttered. He restrained himself from kicking her door open, but settled for opening and closing it with a slam. He heard Bella quickly get out of her side of the truck.
“Jake, wait –”
Jacob stopped, but only because two cars appeared in the distance, coming towards them at dangerous speeds. He ran in front of Bella as they pulled onto the side of the road. They stopped just a few feet away, the Volkswagen right behind the Volvo. Bella’s bloodsucker came out of the latter, while the pixie and the calm one exited the former. The stench of leech was immediately in the air and Jacob scowled, feeling his inner wolf start to twitch.
“Bella, get away from him!”
Edward’s words had the effect of Jacob pushing his wolf further into himself. He would prove the bloodsucker wrong. He snarled, “I’m not the one she should be afraid of.”
All his anger suddenly flowed out of him to be replaced with a sense of calm. The usually quiet leech – Jasper, as Usagi so often reminded him – stepped in between them and snapped, “Now is not the time.”
Jasper turned his golden gaze on him, and the first thing Jacob noticed was the darker than usual color of the irises. Coolly, the bloodsucker asked, “Where is Usagi?”
Just as frostily, Jacob replied, “I have no idea.” A promise is a promise.
“He promised her he wouldn’t say anything,” Edward said, stepping up next to Jasper. His eyes were trained on Bella, who remained behind Jacob.
“We’re worried about her,” Alice said, coming up on Jasper’s right side. She looked at Jacob entreatingly. “Please.”
Jacob vacantly wondered if it cost the leeches to ask for his help. It didn’t matter, either way. “She’s coming back,” he said. “She’ll be back with you by the end of the day. Is that not soon enough?”
Alice whispered, “Don’t be so sure.” And by the pained looks on their faces, Jacob understood it cost them to admit that.
He struggled not to feel for them and focused on what he knew. “She left to take care of this guy for you two,” he said grudgingly. “You don’t trust her enough to come back?”
Alice gave him a hard stare. “If you knew someone you loved was getting into a volatile situation that could hurt them, would you just let them go?”
Her words brought back all the doubts Jacob had about letting Usagi leave. Could she handle seeing her ex-boyfriend again? No, no, no - I trust her. My loyalty lies with her.
“He’s not giving her up,” Edward said. “And he’s not directly thinking of her – I can’t pick up anything.”
Jacob had no time to be smug – Can’t use your stupid mind-reading this time, leech! – not when Jasper was, without warning, directly in front of him. He tensed instinctively and stepped back to put distance between them when all the fight left him. The anger that sprouted as he realized what was happening was swiftly suppressed as well, and Jacob found himself at Jasper’s mercy.
Jasper stared at him unblinkingly and Jacob would have shivered at the intense gaze if all his feelings weren’t being replaced by a sense of compliancy. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should be enraged but Jasper was enforcing his full will upon him.
“Where is Usagi?” Jasper asked very quietly, seriously.
“Jasper –” Bella realized what was going on, but she was too late. Edward flashed to her and quickly brought her back to his side.
The words poured out of Jacob – all his defenses wasted under the true extent of the quiet vampire’s powers. “She’s meeting that bastard in Port Angeles,” he answered sluggishly, his lethargy a result of Jasper’s manipulation.
Jasper kept Jacob’s will pliable. “Where in Port Angeles?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Jacob answered inertly. He almost swayed on his feet. “She didn’t say.”
Alice placed a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. “That’s all we need to know,” she said, glancing back at Edward.
Edward nodded. “I’ll take care of it.” He wrapped an arm around Bella’s shoulders, but she shrugged him off.
“No.”
“Bella, love –”
“I’m staying here.” Bella rushed up to Jasper and Jacob, and pulled Jacob away. “Jasper, stop!”
Jacob knew the second Jasper let him go as his fury came out full force. “Son of a bitch!” he snarled. His wolf rippled inside him as Jasper and Alice ignored him, and in the next moment, they were in the Volkswagen.
“Jake, calm down –”
Jacob turned his betrayed eyes on Bella and she flinched. “Stay away from me,” he whispered. He glowered at the Volkswagen as it drove off and then glared at Edward, who stood tense and rigid by his car. “The next time I see any of you, I’m ripping you apart!”
“Please, Jake –” There were tears in Bella’s eyes and Jacob cursed the fact that his heart bled for her.
And even though it hurt him, he turned away from her and sprinted across the border, ignoring her cries.
–
“Love, come on.” Edward reached for her, but Bella shook her head.
“Edward, I love you, but I have to be with Jake right now.” Bella wrapped her hoodie tighter around herself as she got in her car.
“Bella, no! You can’t be around him – he could hurt you!” Edward knocked on the window, obviously restraining himself from breaking it.
“Jake would never hurt me,” Bella replied, turning on the engine.
“Bella –”
“If you love me, you’ll let me be with my best friend right now,” she said quietly, though she knew he could hear every word, “and you’ll help your brother and sister find their heart.”
Edward’s hands dropped to his sides and Bella backed her truck up until she was over the border. She waited until Edward tore his gaze away from her and got into his Volvo. Their eyes met one more time, and though she trembled, she didn’t have it in her to look away first.
Bella saw Edward sigh before he drove off and followed Alice and Jasper. Her tense fingers relaxed and she dropped her forehead against the steering wheel.
Jacob…
–
“Moonshine is not going to be happy when she finds out what you did to Jacob.”
“I don’t care,” Jasper replied tightly. “As long as she’s there to be mad at me.” He watched the scenery streak by as Alice gunned it down the highway. “You didn’t have any objections a minute ago.”
“I still don’t,” Alice said with a shrug. She reached over and brushed his cheek briefly with her fingers. “Just making an observation.”
Jasper closed his eyes at her touch, relishing in the small comfort. He took her fingers and brought it down to his lap, clasping her hand in his. “I can’t be sorry if it brings us closer to her,” he commented, giving her knuckles a kiss.
“Neither can I,” Alice agreed, squeezing his hand.
Jasper absentmindedly stroked Alice’s palm and returned to looking out the window, losing himself in one of his first memories of Usagi.
–
Jasper was only vaguely aware of the conversation his wife and siblings were having, hanging behind them as he held his breath discreetly. The scent of the humans was so sweet and alluring, but the utter chaos of teenage emotions – lust, angst, confusion, anger, pain, sorrow, pleasure – nearly canceled it out. Not entirely, but it was enough to distract him most days. Their emotions went on and on, swirling all around him, and he had to keep himself in check.
Doing that while simultaneously resisting the temptation of their flowing nectar gave him the pained expression every student in Forks knew him by.
“I don’t think that chick is the girl from your visions, Alice,” Emmett commented, slinging an arm around Rosalie’s shoulders.
His blonde wife inspected her nails. “Who are we talking about again?” she asked, already sounding bored.
“Baby Bells’ new housemate, Rosie!” Emmett answered. “That girl from Tokyo or wherever.”
“The depressed one with her hair pinned up under that awful hat?” Rosalie clarified.
“That’s the one,” Alice replied, frowning at the reminder of the foreign student’s baseball cap. “It has to be her, though! My visions started getting murky the day before she showed up.”
“But what’s so special about her?” Emmett asked, scrunching his nose. “She smells like they all do. She isn’t a singer.”
Rosalie mildly added, “Edward can read her thoughts – something he would do a lot more of if he wasn’t off with his human pet.”
“She’s clouding the future, that’s what makes her special,” Alice murmured, looking down at the ground, but fully aware of her surroundings. “But there’s something else…”
Jasper observed his lovely wife – her graceful gait something that always entranced him. If there were ever a vampire more graceful than all the others, his Alice was the one.
Something bubbled along the periphery of his gift, making him pause. It was like a gentle burst of happiness, free and uninhibited. In that fleeting moment, it overshadowed all the nearby emotions of the other students. But before he could attempt to pinpoint it, it was gone.
Whoever it was, he or she was either no longer happy or had left the range of his ability. Jasper’s eyes darted around, attempting to deduce who had changed, when he felt a tug on his arm. He looked down into his wife’s fae-like face.
“Jasper?” Her tone was questioning, though there was a small smile on her face. “Come on.” Alice twirled under his hand and towed him along.
They caught up to Rosalie and Emmett on the cement walkway leading to the doors of the main school building. As expected, people stayed out of their way, like there was some invisible field around them that no one could cross. Frankly, Jasper was glad for it. It kept temptation out of arms’ reach. It was a small detail, but every little thing helped.
“Catch me if you can!” A somewhat high voice for a guy. Eric Yorkie.
“Eric! Give us back our tickets!” A sweeter voice, unusual in its irritation. Angela Weber.
Racing heartbeats were coming closer, and Jasper knew they were near and as expected, they darted around him and his siblings with only the barest of pauses. Eric’s goal was for the door, Angela’s was to catch any part of him.
But just as Jasper realized there was a third heartbeat pulsing erratically and getting uncomfortably closer, the owner of said heartbeat bumped against him and accidentally spilled her books all over the floor. Jasper had to stop so he wouldn’t instinctively jump over them and go on his way.
The stranger fell to her knees in front of him, quickly scrambling to gather her notes and textbooks. There was something about the curve of her neck and the loose strands of blonde hair peeking out from beneath a baseball cap. It was on haphazardly, sitting awkwardly on her head. She should have been another faceless name in the crowd, but under her primary emotion of embarrassment, there were nuances of amusement and pleasure, tinged with something he couldn’t quite place. She didn’t seem to care about ripping her jeans or getting her yellow blouse dirty.
“Usa!”
Jasper looked up to find Eric looking in their direction, but at the floor, and he realized the frail human was talking to the girl. Eric held the door open and Angela was making her way back to help, but the girl was already pushing herself to her feet.
“Coming!” Her voice – different than before. Silvery and mellifluous, and not unlike their own.
With her books and papers gathered in her left arm, she turned around. As she did, she grabbed the carelessly placed cap’s brim with her right hand and took it off while pushing her bangs back. Her blonde hair, a shade more golden than even Rosalie’s, came spilling out and over her shoulders, stopping mid-back.
Jasper remained unmoved, though Alice gasped and several surrounding students echoed her.
Usagi Tsukino – that was her name, Edward’s Bella had said – finally looked up with a sheepish smile on her face as she ran a hand through her long locks distractedly. And she was so unbelievably changed from the meek and dejected creature that first wandered Forks High’s hallways that Jasper wasn’t quite sure it was even her.
“Sorry for bumping into you,” she said, voice soft and wholehearted. Her sheepish smile grew as she ducked her head, hands grasping at her cap. “I’m such a klutz!”
Embarrassment gave way to mirth and cheerfulness as laughter poured out of her, warming him.
Angela pulled on the sleeve of her blouse, and just as she was about to turn around, the silly, laughing blonde girl looked straight into his eyes and said, “See you around!”
Three simple words, a plain phrase of farewell, but it was the pure emotion behind them that made him start. It was said with sincerity and affection – the kind of affection reserved for friends and neighbors. There was no deception lurking behind her words – no poorly hidden lust or desire for him like certain other classmates and no trace of false politeness. Just a sincere token of friendly gentility.
Angela whispered in her ear: “I’ll distract Eric, you come up from behind and get the tickets.”
And then the most amazing thing happened.
Her sincerity and affection grew and blossomed once more into that unadulterated happiness he had felt earlier. Like before, it eclipsed all other emotion and she became the only one he could feel. Being in such close proximity to her heightened the connection and he soaked in the purity of it. It was like being drunk, if his foggy human memories were recalling that right, only this was a kind of drunk with picture-perfect clarity.
Her happiness was streaked with joy and pleasure and mischief, and as she turned around fully, her back now to him, her laughter sparkled with it. The light she emitted was none like he had ever encountered during his decades of existence.
He watched as she passed her books over to Angela so she could pin her hair back up. She was in the middle of a complicated twist as the doors closed behind her and the students inside the building blocked her.
Jasper kept staring at the door, and he wanted to follow her – follow that intoxicating light. The very fact that he desired it, desired it so badly, held him back. This mere slip of a human – what was she to make him feel this way?
Alice squeezed his hand. “I told you,” she said, her tone distant and faraway. “She’s special.”
“More than special,” Jasper murmured.
She was magnificent.
–
The image of Usagi – beautiful in her elation and delight – reminded Jasper of why he and Alice wanted always for her to be happy. When she was happy, they were, too, no matter how clichéd the notion was. It was true.
“Thinking about that first sleepover?”
Jasper glanced over at Alice, who looked back with an amused smile playing across her lips. “No, actually,” he replied, “the first time she tripped in front of us.” He returned her smile.
“Ah.” Alice giggled, and his smile widened at the chiming sound. “Clumsy, that one,” she commented. “And I still don’t think I scolded her enough for that hideous hat. If she insisted on hiding her hair, do it fashionably.”
Jasper chuckled. “I don’t think that was the point, darlin’.”
“There’s no excuse for bad fashion,” Alice replied with a tsk. “I’ll have to take her out on another shopping trip soon.”
“Alice?”
His wife locked eyes with him for a moment, taking her gaze off the road. “Yes, Jazz?”
He made a promise. “I’m not letting her go.”
Perhaps it was selfish to think that way. But that didn’t make a difference.
Alice smiled, love and determination flowing from her to him.
“Never.”
