She knows he's coming, and Natasha prepares for it. by the time Jasper has entered her walls are already up, solid and precise, and she's glad that she did it when she sees the way that Alice moves to him. He touches her without hesitation, staring down at her as if she's the only thing in his world, and for a moment Natasha knows that she no longer exists to either of them.

She diverts her eyes, simply looking away to watch the trees sway peacefully out the window, and instead of shielding her feelings Natasha uses a different tactic to shut them down all together, temporarily dissociating from the room around her. It's easier that way, she thinks, instead of having to hide the unjustified hurt she knows she'll feel if she keeps watching.

It isn't until Alice speaks again, obviously addressing Natasha, that she looks back, and the smile that she gives is an easy performance as she slowly transitions herself back into the room, walls still firmly in place. "I don't know if that's a good idea," she begins slowly, looking between the two of them where Alice stands wrapped in Jasper's arms. A couple of weeks like this? With this feeling? "Wouldn't your family miss you? Or worry?"