She watches him as he speaks of Alice, barely able to see him in the dark save for the silhouette of his frame as light barely peaks through the window from the blocked moon outside. He's informing her about Alice, yes, but the story is in the way that he speaks, passion and anger and everything in between weaving in and out of his words with a natural flow. She sees more of him, more of Jasper, within these few moments than she has since her arrival here, it's as if the simple mention of Alice lights a sort of life within him that he's void without. The envy is gone, because how can Natasha feel something like that when it obviously makes him so happy?

She's happy for him. She isn't sure if that's supposed to hurt with a constant ache of longing that even she doesn't understand to this day, but she's happy for him.

That's why this is so hard for her, she realizes. "She sounds amazing." Her voice is soft and encouraging, as if thankful that he shared Alice's story with her. It's hard because Natasha has given up on this sort of connection, she realized a long time ago that she'll never be loved or love someone the way that Jasper loves Alice. She can't, she's not a person she's a weapon, and weapons don't decide who they do and don't like. She never had the opportunity to be anything else and she told herself that it was okay, once she got into Shield. The sacrifice was worth it.

Now she's here, with him, with nothing to show for all the efforts she made, and she's realizing just now what she had to give up to make them. Everything. She gave up everything, she's lived a full life and she has nothing to show for it except for a cabin in the woods, one that exists only for her to hide herself away from other people. This is all she has to her name, and when she hears Jasper speak of Alice... that certainly feels like nothing.

"You'll get back to her," she assures him in the same soft, passive tone. "It doesn't sound like your story is over yet. You've been through too much for it to end now."