Eclipsed Secrets // Jasper Hale

Normal, for a night

It wasn't raining for once.

Forks felt strange without it.

The forest behind the house was damp but quiet, the air cold enough to bite. Althea sat on the low stone wall near the edge of the trees, one leg swinging lazily. She wasn't thinking about anything specific. Just... trying not to think at all.

Footsteps approached — soft, deliberate.

"You've been out here twenty minutes," Jasper said.

She didn't look at him. "You timed me?"

"I notice patterns."

She snorted quietly. "That's concerning."

He stepped up beside her, hands in his jacket pockets. For a second he just looked out at the trees instead of at her.

"You avoiding the house?" he asked.

"Maybe."

"Rosalie's in a mood."

"She's always in a mood."

"Fair."

Silence settled. Not awkward. Just there.

Althea nudged his knee lightly with her foot. "You going to sit or just loom?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't loom."

"You absolutely loom."

That got the smallest smile out of him.

He sat beside her on the wall, close enough that their shoulders brushed automatically. Neither of them adjusted.

For a minute they just listened to the wind move through the trees.

"You okay?" he asked finally.

She hesitated. "Yeah."

He didn't answer right away.

She glanced at him. "What?"

"You say 'yeah' when you don't want to explain something."

"That's manipulative."

"It's observant."

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling a little.

"I just don't like... change," she admitted after a moment.

"Mm."

"That's not helpful."

"I wasn't trying to be helpful."

She laughed under her breath. "You're impossible."

He shrugged slightly. "You still chose to sit next to me."

She bumped his shoulder with hers — a little harder this time.

He caught her wrist when she tried to pull away, not forceful, just reflex. His fingers stayed there a second longer than necessary.

"You're colder than usual," he said.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"Stop analyzing me."

He released her wrist but let his hand fall naturally against her knee instead. It wasn't dramatic. It just stayed there.

"Not analyzing," he muttered. "Just paying attention."

That quieted her.

They sat like that for a while — close, steady. Comfortable.

After a minute, she leaned slightly into his side. Barely noticeable. He adjusted without comment, arm sliding around her waist like it had done that a thousand times before.

No tension. No big moment.

Just habit.

They ended up on the living room floor, backs against the couch while Emmett and Rosalie argued over something unimportant.

"...I'm telling you, that bear was at least six hundred pounds," Emmett insisted.

"It was not," Rosalie said flatly.

Althea rested her head back against Jasper's shoulder. "He's adding emotional weight."

Jasper hummed. "He does that."

Emmett pointed at them. "You two are biased."

"We're tired," Althea replied.

"You don't sleep."

"You know what I mean."

Jasper's fingers absentmindedly traced small circles against her side while he watched the argument unfold. It was subtle — something he probably didn't even realize he was doing.

She didn't comment on it.

She just shifted a little closer.

After a few minutes, she tilted her head slightly toward him. "You want to get out of here?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

His room was dim, only the faint outdoor light filtering through the curtains.

She sat on the edge of the bed, watching him flip absentmindedly through one of his old books.

"You actually read that?" she asked.

"Sometimes."

"You've memorized it."

"Probably."

She studied him quietly.

"What?" he asked without looking up.

"Nothing."

"That's not true."

She sighed lightly. "You're different lately."

That made him pause.

"Different how?"

"Less tense."

He considered that. "Trying to be."

"For me?" she asked before she could stop herself.

His eyes flicked up at that.

"For us," he said simply.

Not grand. Not heavy.

Just honest.

She looked down at her hands, then reached out and tugged lightly on his sleeve. He stepped closer without resistance.

She rested her forehead briefly against his chest.

It wasn't dramatic. It wasn't fragile.

It was grounding.

His hand came up automatically, settling at the back of her neck. Not tight. Just there.

"You're overthinking again," he murmured.

"Probably."

He pressed the faintest kiss into her hair — so light it almost felt like a breath.

"Then stop," he said.

She huffed a quiet laugh against him.

"Bossy."

"Only when necessary."

And for once, the house felt normal.

A/N

I felt like the story needed a chapter only focused on Jasper and Althea. Let me know what you think so far, comments always help me get better and find ideas.