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She was happy and she was watching. Her annoyance couldn’t be restrained so Alice just allowed it to play out. There was no use trying to hide it from Jasper. With any amount of luck he’d figure out why she was upset on his own.

He’d gotten fairly good at that over the last several years, to his credit.

It didn’t help that they only argued about a couple of things. Nowadays, really, only one thing.

Alice was happy and she was still watching and god damnit it irritated her that Jasper couldn’t see that and just let it go.

No, that was cruel. She didn’t want him to ‘let it go’. She knew he would never be able to. She knew that he loved her and he loved their family and that he would do whatever he could to protect them. To keep them safe. It wasn’t fair to expect him to ever stop looking out for her and for their family.

It also wasn’t fair for him to withdraw the way he had in the past several years, opting to spend more and more time alone in his study than with them.

It hurt her feelings on a good day. And today was a good day. 

When Alice felt herself begin to calm she finally rolled her eyes and looked at Jasper. His eyebrow was already raised and his head turned toward her but she simply looked back toward where Ness was finally climbing down off of Emmett’s back. She already knew what everyone was going to say as they began to head their separate ways. Instead of paying attention, she let a few more visions flicker.

Another routine she’d added to her schedule. Another way in which she was proving how thoroughly she was watching out for their family.

Aro was listening to Caius rant about something meaningless—a job not completed upon the time they’d requested apparently; what the job was for, she wasn’t positive on the specifics—and Alice knew well enough the expression on Aro’s face. The polite boredom that took hold when Caius acted the way he did.

Marcus was notably absent from the conversation but when Alice focused on his future she found that he wasn’t far. His full attention was pointed in the direction that Alice was sure both Aro and Caius were standing in. The library they occupied was a familiar wing to her. Not one they used often, but used nonetheless.

Jane was grinning, the sheen of red still slick between her teeth as she washed blood from her hands and forearms. Alice just knew that she was glad she missed whatever had transpired directly before the vision. Alec was covered head to toe, only not with blood. He had his hood up, and was traveling silently alongside vampires that all towered above him.

It was a mission that Alice had caught a glimpse of before; a small group of them were heading toward Central America. Alice was unsure why, but the crew at Alec’s side consisted of only two faces that Alice was used to seeing. The first was a newer addition. He didn’t look much older than Emmett or Carlisle, and his slight build had been what first clued Alice in on the fact that he was certainly gifted. The Volturi would’ve never added anyone to their ranks that small or skinny without good reason.

Gift amplification seemed like a good enough reason as any.

The man, Rohit, had been an enigma for a couple of years to her before she figured it out. Watching Jane cripple an entire room full of people had been a sobering vision.

Along with those two was Demetri, of course.

Alice focused on his self-satisfied expression as he spoke out loud; seemingly to anyone who was willing to listen. He was explaining to a few vampires that were seemingly along for one of the Volturi guard’s ‘joyrides’ that their accommodations aboard their jet would be exceeding their expectations. Alice wasn’t sure who these people were but if they were anything like the other random vampires that were brought along for ‘trips’ and ‘missions’ then they were acquaintances of Aro or Caius, and they were very likely eager to see what the talented Volturi guard could do when it came to rule enforcement.

Demetri started droning on and on about some boring anecdote concerning all the Volturi’s technological advances that had been made in the past half century.

It wasn’t anything Alice hadn’t heard before. She let her visions flicker around a bit more until she found that they would be landing in Costa Rica’s capitol within the next fifteen hours or so.

She nearly hummed out loud at that. It meant they’d be in the air within the hour.

By the time she emerged back into the present, only a handful of seconds had passed. Alice continued to ignore Jasper’s inquisitive look all while enjoying the emotions he was dispersing forth. It really wasn’t for anyone’s benefit except her own, she knew. Everyone else was in decent spirits and likely wouldn’t even notice Jasper’s interference with the climate of the room. With the obvious exception of Edward, that was.

She halfheartedly hoped he was tuning her thoughts out. Alice knew how annoying it probably was to listen to her get herself worked up over the same argument with Jasper time and time again.

Finally, she looked toward Jasper and rolled her eyes swiftly, communicating that they’d talk later about this, and to cut it out already.

Moderate annoyance wouldn’t kill her.

Jasper pulled his ability back and Alice let her smile twitch upward a bit higher despite the reemergence of her annoyance. Damn if he didn’t understand her so thoroughly.

In the time it took her to check over a dozen futures and communicate silently to her husband to ‘quit it,’ Renesmee finally released her hold on Emmett and had both of her feet firmly planted on the ground once more.

This was why Alice wanted Jasper to leave her to it. It only took her seconds to check in on the Volturi and see what they were up to. Jasper could be holed up in his study for days if he was left to his own devices.

Perhaps a visit from Peter and Charlotte would be a help. Thankfully, with Emmett and Rosalie back Alice knew she’d have some help in keeping Jasper away from his awful, unnecessary habits. Jacob would also fly back in from Seattle this week, and everyone would be together again for the first time since the summer began.

Alice let the buzzing excitement fill her chest at that thought. It wouldn’t be long before they’d pick their new home (Alice knew it was going to be West Virginia) and the amount of activities that she and Esme were going to plan before Jacob left again for the holidays would surely keep everyone occupied for weeks.

Sure, she missed her absolute favorite hobby: playing human. But a year or two without school was sometimes invigorating for her. Now, she had plenty of time to prepare for when they moved and started anew.

Emmett and Rosalie were the first to exit, with Ness on their heels, dragging Rosalie’s suitcase behind her. She’d be shooed away in a few minutes and that’s when Esme would redirect her to the upper level for their quality time pouring over off-white curtains and tiny needles.

Esme patted Jasper’s knee as she stood and departed, off to take a shower to rid the ‘food smell’ off of her before she continued on with her day.

“Are you two going to cuddle for the rest of the night?”

Alice didn’t even look up at Edward. Instead she reached over and wrapped her arm around Bella’s midsection, pressing her face further into her side. “And what if we do?”

Bella snorted but let her hand rest on Alice’s back. “Do you want to save me the trouble of clicking through all the links Ness sent me?”

Alice shook her head against Bella’s side. “No way. You’re about to find so many things you’re going to be tempted to buy on those sites. Who am I to stop such a beautiful thing?”

Edward groaned. “We already bought her birthday present.”

“You already spoiled the child.” Alice countered. “After all, it’s a milestone birthday.”

“Thirty-three is not a milestone.”

“It is a palindrome.” Jasper chimed in, finally standing up from his seat to approach.

“Oh, because we definitely celebrate those.”

Alice lit up. “We could start.”

Jasper chuckled as he reached forward, presenting his hand to Alice. Alice stuck her tongue out toward Edward as she accepted the outstretched hand and let Jasper pull her to her feet. “I can cuddle your wife all I want.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Edward rolled his eyes before stealing the spot that Alice vacated on the couch. He handed Bella her laptop and pulled a book out from its spot under the coffee table, opening it to whatever page he’d left off on.

Alice lifted her nose as she allowed Jasper to lead her out of the room. Still, she looked back at her two best friends, continuing on with her dramatics. “We both know she’d rather cuddle me. No need to be jealous.”

“That is very untrue,” Bella spoke up, like a traitor. At the look of Alice’s exaggerated expression, she laughed. “You’re literally a bag of bones, Alice. No offense.”

“Offense has been taken and now my heart is broken,” she whined, pressing into Jasper’s side to with a pout. “So cruel, you two!”

“Come on,” Jasper laughed softly, steering her back toward the adjoining room that led to the side stairs, “lets get you away from their cruelty,” his voice was amused, if not a little dry. He pressed his fingers lightly to her back and steered her up the stairs.

“I don’t know where you think we’re going,” Alice spoke after they made it to the hallway where their room was located.

Jasper only looked down at her, waiting for her to continue, so used to her quirks.