Sisterly Consolation
Title: Sisterly Consolation
Fandom: Twilight
Characters/Pairings: Bella, Alice, Canon Cullen Pairings
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/Mild Sexual References, Unbeta'd
Word Count: 2,267
Author's Note: Twilight one-shot. I wanted to write something with focus on Bella's and Alice's friendship, and it became this - Alice helping Bella to endure her first weekend away from Edward, after being turned. Written pre-Breaking Dawn.
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“You’re going to leave marks on the carpet.”
I ignored her.
“Bella, this is absurd, even for you.”
I did not stop pacing, but looked up to give her one of my most impressive glares. Well, I thought that it was impressive at least, but Alice seemed unabashed as ever, leaning casually against the doorframe. She raised her eyebrows.
“Wow. So it is true what they say; married couples really do start to look alike.”
“Leave me alone,” I hissed.
“Not a chance.” Her voice was decided.
“Please?” It was worth a try, at least.
“Nope.”
Exasperated, I came to a halt, facing her while fighting the urge to bare my teeth. “What do you want, Alice?”
“That, for one,” she smiled and gestured at my stillness. “And I would also appreciate if you could stop moping for two minutes. It’s making me feel extremely insignificant, you know.”
“I’m not moping,” I objected. “I’m trying to endure it.”
“By ruining that lovely carpet that Esme bought for you?”
Involuntarily, I glanced at the floor. There weren’t any marks, I was sure, though perhaps the carpet did look a little ruffled. Quickly I turned back to her, hoping she hadn’t seen me checking. But of course she had, and her smile widened. My resigned sigh was deep - also impressive, I thought.
“Do you have a better idea, then?” I muttered.
“Plenty of them. But let’s just go outside, for now.”
Her speed was still stunning to me, and there was no escaping the hand that quickly caught mine and began dragging me through the corridor. The house was uncharacteristically quiet with only the two of us at here. Rosalie and Emmett had been gone for a couple months now, but they were due home for a visit soon. Carlisle and Esme were both at work, in a way; he at the hospital and she in some antique store, looking for the next detail that would make our perfect house still more beautiful.
It was Jasper who had suggested that he and Edward should go on a hunting trip this weekend, just the two of them. I had wanted to demand a reason for this, but had felt too childish and silly to do so. After all, Jasper didn’t need to have a specific reason for wanting to go hunting with his brother, did he? Difficult as it was to remember sometimes, Edward was more than my husband; he was a brother and a son, also. And so I had avoided his anxious eyes and agreed that a hunting trip sounded like a brilliant idea.
Alice had stayed with me, of course, knowing that I needed her to retain my sanity and my brittle grasp on humanity. After two years I had gained some self-control, but none of us, myself especially, was going allow me to be left alone for any considerable length of time. While I did try my best, temptation was sometimes… very hard to resist.
I was all right for the moment, though; Edward had seen to it that I was left well fed and satisfied in all possible ways. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I recalled this, something which did not escape Alice.
“See? Your mood is improved already!”
I rolled my eyes slightly. “Not because I’m being forced outside.”
“I know. But at least my intervention helped wipe the frown from your face.”
The house we walked through held very little resemblance to the Cullens’ Forks residence, and still they were somehow similar. The remote location was one part, as was the closeness to water, although here we were situated by a lake instead. The rooms were spacious and bright; we had all assisted Esme in removing walls and adding more windows. There were only two floors, but they were large, and Edward and I had plenty of space under the old wooden beams in the attic. I liked this arrangement. I wouldn’t want to live far away from my new family, but at the same time it was nice to feel that Edward and I had some room to ourselves. My smile became more pronounced, and Alice grinned in response; she most likely knew what was on my mind, and this made her almost as happy as it made me.
The sun was shining outside - I hadn’t even noticed, being caught up in my pacing. But neither of us hesitated as we walked down from the wide porch; our house had been chosen first and foremost because of its convenient lack of neighbours, and thanks to Alice’s foresight we were perfectly safe from exposure as we let the warmth wash over us. Still holding my hand, she tugged me over the lawn, towards the water and the little jetty.
We had come here before my transformation, and the first year following it we had all lived in seclusion, hidden from the world beyond our Alaskan wilderness. I had felt awful at first, effectively putting all of their lives on hold because of my choices. But none of them, not even Rosalie, would allow me to feel guilty. Their reassurances had been endless; it was a family decision, all of them wanted this, they had said. They wanted to be there for me.
Afterwards, I had needed them too much to feel guilty.
“Come. Sit,” Alice commanded playfully.
Taking a deep breath, tasting the air and all the information it held for my senses, I folded my legs and sat down on the smooth, weather-beaten wood. Alice was at the very edge, legs dangling, trying to reach down to touch the placid waves with her toes. I closed my eyes, face turned towards the golden rays of light, and tried to think of nothing but breathing. It was true what they all had said about the Alaskan air - it was so clean, almost tasty. Purifying to the mind. It might have been my imagination, but I thought it soothed the ever-present, scorching thirst in my throat a little.
Moments flew by, the sun lazed along on its path above, and eventually I found that the ache in my chest eased, if only marginally. His scent was all around here as well, though not as potent and saturated as it was in our rooms in the attic. I opened my eyes. Alice was watching me, expectantly.
“I’m sorry, Alice,” I apologised. “I’m being awful, right?”
“You’re forgiven.” Her pearling laughter rose into the sky along with countless little reflections that were bouncing off of her face. “Besides, I can empathise completely. I’m not particularly fond of being separated from Jasper either, you know.”
“Then why do you let him leave?”
Her grin turned to an impish smirk. “If you had been parted from Edward for more than two hours since becoming one of us, you wouldn’t be asking that question.”
I blinked, not following her. “What do you mean?”
“It’s all about the reunion, Bella. About anticipating his return, about longing, and then, finally…” Her words trailed off, and the smirk softened into a smile. “Let’s just say that it’s worth it.”
Having Edward return would be worth the agony of not having him here? I doubted it, and Alice saw that disbelief in my expression.
“You’ll see,” she promised, confident as ever.
“When?” I tried to keep my voice neutral, but it still came out like a pleading whine.
“Soon. Patience, little anxious sister. Here, take your shoes off and come sit next to me.”
Wanting to make up for my rude behaviour earlier, I did as she asked. My legs were somewhat longer than hers, so I was able to dip my toes in to the cold water, to sweep them back and forth just above the surface. Swiftly, she moved to sit behind me, and her fingers began working on some nonexistent tangles in my hair. It was pleasant, relaxing, and I sighed contentedly.
“The first time Jasper went away without me, it was unbearable,” she suddenly told me.
“Why did he go?” I asked immediately.
“Emmett asked him to, of course,” she snorted. “Edward must have known his motivations, even if he didn’t understand them. He went along anyway, probably to help keep an eye on Jasper.”
I nodded against the gentle pull of her fingers in my hair, understanding precisely why Jasper had needed watching.
“I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t allowed to go with them, but Emmett wouldn’t budge. It was going to be a ‘brothers’ weekend away’, as he put it. And I don’t mean to disrespect your suffering now, Bella,” she giggled, “but I believe I was even worse off. Jasper was the first person I could remember being close to, he was my everything, and although I could see our future clearly, some irrational part of me still worried that he wouldn’t come back.”
“Oh, Alice,” I breathed, sympathy flooding my chest. I tried to turn around to comfort her, but she put a hand on my shoulder to keep me in place.
“My distress was plain to Edward, naturally, so it surprised me that he didn’t object on my behalf. But perhaps he was curious. Actually, I’m sure that he was; that’s probably why he agreed to go with Jasper this weekend, anyway.”
“How did you deal with it?” I wondered. “You know, since you didn’t have an Alice to keep you from going insane?”
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and placed a kiss on my left cheek then, and laughed again. “You’re so sweet, Bella. And I wasn’t a pretty sight. At least you’ve had some practice letting Edward go away on hunting trips - while you were human, but still. I was just beyond pathetic, clinging to Esme or Carlisle and spying on the boys and loathing Emmett.”
“You, loathing someone?” I asked sceptically.
“That irrational part of me grew more pronounced for every minute we were apart,” she smiled, her little chin resting on my shoulder now. “Fortunately, it didn’t last too long. Jasper decided to run away from his brothers. Emmett couldn’t catch him, and Edward didn’t try.”
“So he came back to you?”
Alice chuckled. “It was better than meeting him for the first time. He - It was like he had taken all the best parts of me away with him, Bella, and I couldn’t recognise myself until he returned with them. And unlike the first time, we knew each other so well… I knew his touch from memory rather than precognition, and it was even better than I had remembered.”
I sat very still while listening to her, almost afraid to move in case I might interrupt her. It was rare for Alice to talk about her soulmate this way, and while I was aware of the unbreakable bond that tied them together, they didn’t often put their affection on public display. Not like Emmett and Rosalie - or Edward and myself. Something tightened in the pit of my stomach when I thought of how he would casually touch me or bend down to gently kiss me, the hunger always evident in his eyes even when we had company.
“What are you thinking about?” Alice prodded, her fingers back in my hair.
“Edward,” I whispered, not bothering to be ashamed of the yearning with which I spoke his name.
“And why am I not surprised?” she said in mock disapproval; I could hear her grinning.
“Because you know me?” I suggested, closing my eyes again as she began to force brown strands into a smooth braid.
“Probably,” my sister agreed. “And, Bella?”
“Mhm?” I mumbled, all but purring from her treatment.
“Next time it’s just the two of us, perhaps we could try to do something fun?”
I only hesitated for half a moment. “Sure. We’ll try. Whatever you like,” I promised her.
“Shopping, even?” She was excited, now.
“Yes,” I nodded, much too fond of her to even sigh at the prospect.
She produced a hairband from seemingly nowhere and secured the braid, before sitting down next to me again.
“Pretty Bella,” she said and leaned against me. “I’m so glad I have you.”
“And I you, Alice.” I put my cheek against the top of her head.
The sun began to descend as we sat there, comfortable in our silence. Edward’s absence was still gnawing on every part of my body and mind, but it had become… almost bearable. Perhaps I would let him leave again. Someday.
Another little while passed before I, suddenly, was on my feet. I doubted that my hearing was more acute than Alice’s, but maybe my anticipation was greater. Not knowing if she was following behind me, I sped towards the house, past it, into the gravel driveway where a familiar silver-coloured Volvo was just coming to a stop. I was vaguely aware of Jasper getting out of the passenger seat, a knowing grin stretching his face. But my eyes were busy watching how the driver’s door opened - excruciatingly slowly, I thought - and Edward stepping out of the car. The glowing golden colour of his eyes indicated that his thirst was satiated, but they also told me of needs still unfulfilled. The hunger, I knew, was mirrored in my own gaze. Neither of us seemed to have moved, yet he was there, meeting me as I tried to reach for every part of him at once. I must have been imagining it, but it felt as though his mouth had never been so eager, his lips so intense, ever before.
“Welcome home,” I breathed.
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