Stained Glass Windows || Jasper Hale

Twenty two

Jem awoke to the sliver of fragile grey light bruising against the tent flaps. The canvas just illuminated enough for him to tell that the sun was rising outside. He blinked at it, taking a moment to let his brain shake off the fuzziness from sleep. San was breathing in the sleeping back next to him. They had pushed their mats together and the younger's form was pressed up against Jem's side as if seeking more heat. San's forehead resting on his shoulder as he slumbered on. On the other side of the tent Nessie slept in a hammock tied between two tent poles. The little girl so bundled up in blankets that she looked like a caterpillar in a chrysalis. 

The air in the tent was quite warm. The canvas insulated against the snow outside and heat radiated from the little log burner complete with a small chimney attached the ceiling that stood in the centre of the tent. Edward and Bella had taken turns throughout the night to keep it burning, the cold of the night too uncomfortable for the younger halfbreeds. Jem woke up and immediately missed the chill. 

Careful not to wake up his brother, he extracted himself from the blankets and tucked them back around San's sleeping frame. The younger barely stirred. Nessie breathing softly from her hammock. Jem stretched, tshirt riding up as he sighed. He tugged his sleep clothes off and pulled on a pair of black corduroy trousers and some warm socks. He snagged a plain wine shaded tshirt and layered it in a dark grey knitted jumper with a denim jacket on top. He brushed out his bedhead and tucked his strands under his hat. The short cut was already long enough to brush his ears and he recalled why he hadn't cut his hair in six years before this. Short hair had to be maintained and he never cared for that. He tucked the black beanie over his ears before unzipping the tent flap and stepping out quickly as to not let too much heat escape. 

The world outside was a sharp biting cold of fresh untouched snow. It covered the plain around them and dusted the edges of the forest, glittering like sugar under the rising sun. For a second he was taken back to the memory of his small feet touching the cold ice for the first time as the golden rays of sunlight broke over the house. Here there was no houses, just the tent and trees, but still the hints of golden sunlight against the white was the same. It crunched under his boots. Brown leather stark against the white and he admired the contrast. 

Jasper found him lying in the show a hundred yards from the tent as the sun made it high enough to start the morning properly. The blonde was barely dressed for the cold, obviously deciding that a cashmere jumper over his shirt to be enough. When he smiled, his skin glimmered slightly in the weak winter sun just like the snow under them. "Making snow angels?"  His voice was gentle as it broke the silence. The clouds had blocked the sun's rays but a bright white light still draped over them. It dulled the blonde waves into corn stalks.

Jem tilted his head and the snow crackled around his ears. Jasper's smile was warmer than his fingers as he reached out to tug lightly on a lock of Jem's fringe. "Are you hungry? Esme brought some food to cook and Carlisle brought some blood bags". Jem reached up a hand and the blonde took it. The brunette grinned and pulled sharply, Jasper exhaling as he fell. 

"Hi", Jem greeted. The vampire half sprawled over him and half in the snow. 

"Hi". Jasper muttered as he rolled over to lie so that they were side to side in the white frost. The snow cocooning them like a pillow as they gazed at each other. Jasper was in jeans and black boots along with his pale grey jumper. "Why are you lying in the snow?" Golden eyes, bright with fresh blood, were curious. 

Jem inhaled and turned his gaze to the sky. "My first happy memory was of snow like this. Thick and deafening. It is nice to lie here and just enjoy it. We might die today after all". 

"My first memory was of scorching sun through the cracks of a barn window. The texan heat was so thick with dust that the humans could barely see". Jasper's voice held the same soft quality as  Jem's. Almost nostalgic but with hundred years of emotion layered on top to suffocate it. "Don't die", he added with a small smile. "The world is prettier with you in it". He got the joy of watching the blush rise to Jem's cheeks. A chuckle rising out of the hybrid and ridding the look of melancholy almost sadness from his face. 

"We are to face the volturi today and you are flirting?" He grinned as he shifted closer. The snow soft and fluffy as they faced each other. "Kiss me?" It was a whisper of a question spoken with bright and amused eyes. Jasper nodded and leaned in, one hand coming up to cup Jem's cheek as their mouths slot together. It was warm despite the chill of Jasper's skin and the bite of frost. Jem sighed into it and let it relax him. He didn't need to think in this moment, all thoughts other than the pressure of the gentle touch against his cheek and the consuming rhythm of their lips together were unnecessary. Fingers twitched in the snow and he felt it crumble. 

"Boys!" Annabelle's voice interrupted them. Jem pushed himself up onto his elbows and glanced back towards the tent. San was standing in the entrance and yawning as he conversed with Seth. Bella had Nessie up on her shoulders and the little girl was giggling, still in her pyjamas with a coat thrown over top. Through the trees,  the rest of their group was appearing. Vampires slinking out to dot the snow and wolves poking their noses around trunks. Only Seth and Jacob were in human form. The two with their imprints. 

Annabelle was dressed in the same red as she was when Jem and San met her in the airport. She looked like blood against the white ground. Or a rose. Jem wondered if that was a bad omen or not. She waved a bag of blood at them. "Come have breakfast Jem!" 

On que, his stomach grumbled. He scowled as Jasper chuckled breathily. "Better feed the human", he remarked as he relined back amongst the snow. It dusted his clothes, not melting while Jem could already feel the icy water begin to soak into his jacket. 

"You like my humanity", he huffed as he leaned back over to press another kiss to the blonde's lips. Jasper chuckled into it and Jem bit his lip lightly in retaliation as he pulled away. He stood up, brushing the stray flakes from his clothes and hair as he walked over to the redhead. As he grew closer, he glanced towards the trees. Seth and San had moved for privacy between the trunks round the side of the tent. Jem watched as Seth leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to San's lips. 

"Is that blood warm?" He called to Annabelle as he averted his eyes. It stung slightly to see his brother grown up and a very small part of him felt sad. The majority of him felt glad. It would make it easier for them if this plan didn't work out. San wouldn't be alone. Smiling to himself, he reached the tent and took the bag from her hand. He could warm it up on the log stove inside. Emmet must have packed some pans. 

unedited 

Random thought, but any love Castlevania? I am debating a Alucard fic.