Alice had groaned a little, as if it was such an effort to move, but she'd shifted right over to sit on Jasper's lap instead, and they both watch her walk up the stairs with twin expressions somewhere between admiring and affectionate.
"I think we'll be okay," Alice whispers as she tucks her head under Jasper's chin and he wraps his arms around her. They stay like that, unmoving, curled together, soaking in each other's presence after so long separated. She'll tell him what it was like, but not right now. There will be plenty of time for them to spend with each other when Natasha needs to sleep, or when she's running errands, or gathering intel.
When Natasha reappears, they won't look as though they've moved an inch, because they haven't, not until she stops on the stairs and Alice looks up, and immediately hops up and hurries over to her. "Tash! You look amazing," she gushes, taking one hand and then the other to examine the rings she's collected. "If you didn't smell the same, I'd definitely need to look twice! You know, vampires are terrible at disguising themselves, our nature somehow shows through no matter what we do."
Jasper follows more slowly, hands folded neatly behind his back, to actually answer her question. "We need to know what the town thinks happened to us," he says a little briskly, something like a briefing. "They'll have noticed by now that we've been gone, but we've always been a little...unorthodox. It's more than possible they haven't thought much of it, and no one believes we're gone for good, but if they do think we've up and vanished, we need to know. It might be too risky to come back yet if that's the case."
"We'd need to wait a few decades," Alice explains calmly, as if it's a mild inconvenience. "Until the children we went to school with have all grown and their children aren't in school either. Grandchildren are okay, we can associate with grandchildren without much trouble."
Jasper nods in agreement, staying businesslike even as he also gives Natasha an interested once-over. "Carlisle worked in the clinic. The rest of us were in high school, until we graduated." He can't help the half-smile of amusement at that. "Then we all went off to colleges, so they believe, and we went a good few years without being sighted in town much at all, but we've been in this house during that time. All we need to know is if that six-week absence has been noticed, and if so, what they think caused it." A lazy smile. "Should be no trouble at all."
no subject
"I think we'll be okay," Alice whispers as she tucks her head under Jasper's chin and he wraps his arms around her. They stay like that, unmoving, curled together, soaking in each other's presence after so long separated. She'll tell him what it was like, but not right now. There will be plenty of time for them to spend with each other when Natasha needs to sleep, or when she's running errands, or gathering intel.
When Natasha reappears, they won't look as though they've moved an inch, because they haven't, not until she stops on the stairs and Alice looks up, and immediately hops up and hurries over to her. "Tash! You look amazing," she gushes, taking one hand and then the other to examine the rings she's collected. "If you didn't smell the same, I'd definitely need to look twice! You know, vampires are terrible at disguising themselves, our nature somehow shows through no matter what we do."
Jasper follows more slowly, hands folded neatly behind his back, to actually answer her question. "We need to know what the town thinks happened to us," he says a little briskly, something like a briefing. "They'll have noticed by now that we've been gone, but we've always been a little...unorthodox. It's more than possible they haven't thought much of it, and no one believes we're gone for good, but if they do think we've up and vanished, we need to know. It might be too risky to come back yet if that's the case."
"We'd need to wait a few decades," Alice explains calmly, as if it's a mild inconvenience. "Until the children we went to school with have all grown and their children aren't in school either. Grandchildren are okay, we can associate with grandchildren without much trouble."
Jasper nods in agreement, staying businesslike even as he also gives Natasha an interested once-over. "Carlisle worked in the clinic. The rest of us were in high school, until we graduated." He can't help the half-smile of amusement at that. "Then we all went off to colleges, so they believe, and we went a good few years without being sighted in town much at all, but we've been in this house during that time. All we need to know is if that six-week absence has been noticed, and if so, what they think caused it." A lazy smile. "Should be no trouble at all."