Alice: Do Pizza
Rating: G
Word Count: 739
Disclaimer: Alice characters belong to... SciFi, I guess.
A/N: For c_quinn on my advent calendar. Sorry I wussed out on the John/Mycroft.
Summary: Hatter wants to do pizza at last, Alice has a small emotional breakdown.
Alice can’t stop looking at Hatter. She feels like he could disappear at any moment, and considering what she went through only- has it really been two weeks? When will time ever feel normal again? Anyway, that possibility doesn’t seem nearly as absurd as it should. It’s just... he doesn’t fit. It’s like all around him is reality as she’s almost always known it, and where he is... is something else. An impossible thing she must believe before breakfast or it might actually drive her insane.
Alice glances at Hatter again just in time to see a corner of his mouth lift in a smile as he looks up. She follows his gaze to see the red neon glow declaring the presence of PIZZA within. She wonders what her world is like for him sometimes. She looks at him and sees the madness of Wonderland- does he look at where she lives and see abject boredom?
Probably not, judging by the way his smile grows as he scoops up her hand and pushes open the door to the restaurant. It’s a bit of a dive, this place, a hole in the wall really, but Hatter looked so excited and almost proud when he told her about it and asked if she wanted to go with him that Alice couldn’t care less. “Proper pizza, right?” he said, “With all the trimmings.”
His eyes keep darting around the restaurant while Alice leads them to a table by a window and picks up the single laminated menu. “Okay, do you like onions?”
“Hm?”
“Onions, Hatter. Do you like them?”
“Umm, sure. Onions are all right.” He peers out the window now. Again Alice can’t help wondering what he sees when she sees what she’s almost always seen.
“Great. Sausage?”
“Nah, not really.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I’d trust the processed meat here anyway. Green peppers?”
“What?” he glances at her, “Peppers- yeah, I suppose.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’ll be right back.” She gets up to place their order up at the counter, and thinks she hears Hatter ask something, but when she looks back he’s returned to his people-watching. “So,” she says when she’s finished, “Have you ever ‘done pizza’ before?” Where did he come up with that phrasing? Must be a Wonderland thing.
Hatter nods with great authority. “Absolutely. Loads of times. Favorite thing to do.”
Alice smiles, “I bet they do it great in Wonderland.”
Hatter gives a modest shrug, “We do our best, when you’re talkin’- pizza. I mean, who doesn’t?”
Alice frowns slightly, beginning to feel she’s lost the thread somewhere, “Um, I’m not sure. Seems like something you would try to do your best on no matter what.”
Hatter nods again, “Exactly.”
Alice decides to let it go, chalks it up to having a boyfriend from another world, and does some people-watching of her own. Well, person-watching, as her eyes drift again and again away from the window and across the table. She feels a kind of pressure inside begin to build, the weight of her entire world and how can she possibly be its gatekeeper for Hatter? She never expected to figure it out herself and now she must help this man she loves but sometimes barely understands through it. The old urge to run stirs- but then she certainly can’t do that, can she? There’s cruel and then there’s cruel and that just makes things worse, doesn’t it?
Something she knows she shouldn’t say is on the tip of her tongue when their pie slides onto the table. “Oh,” Alice says, “Pizza’s here.”
Hatter stares down at it, face the living picture of puzzlement. “Uh...”
“Hatter? Something wrong with the pizza?”
His gaze jumps to her, and comprehension dawns. “Ohhh. Pizza- that’s... well.”
She feels a smile creep onto her face, “You... didn’t know what pizza was, did you?”
Hatter’s expression twists in reluctance, but not disagreement. “I... had suspicions.”
“Do I want to know what you thought it was?”
He smiles awkwardly, “Tell ya’ later. Ah, let’s eat?”
“Sure.” He watches her separate a slice and lift it up to take a bite. She hums at him encouragingly, and he mimics her actions carefully. His hum upon taking his first bite is... kind of hot, actually, Alice can’t help noticing.
“Wow,” he says around a mouthful, “That’s fantastic.”
“You like it?”
“Love it. Really.”
Alice’s smile is wide and warm. “Glad to hear it.”
Word Count: 739
Disclaimer: Alice characters belong to... SciFi, I guess.
A/N: For c_quinn on my advent calendar. Sorry I wussed out on the John/Mycroft.
Summary: Hatter wants to do pizza at last, Alice has a small emotional breakdown.
Alice can’t stop looking at Hatter. She feels like he could disappear at any moment, and considering what she went through only- has it really been two weeks? When will time ever feel normal again? Anyway, that possibility doesn’t seem nearly as absurd as it should. It’s just... he doesn’t fit. It’s like all around him is reality as she’s almost always known it, and where he is... is something else. An impossible thing she must believe before breakfast or it might actually drive her insane.
Alice glances at Hatter again just in time to see a corner of his mouth lift in a smile as he looks up. She follows his gaze to see the red neon glow declaring the presence of PIZZA within. She wonders what her world is like for him sometimes. She looks at him and sees the madness of Wonderland- does he look at where she lives and see abject boredom?
Probably not, judging by the way his smile grows as he scoops up her hand and pushes open the door to the restaurant. It’s a bit of a dive, this place, a hole in the wall really, but Hatter looked so excited and almost proud when he told her about it and asked if she wanted to go with him that Alice couldn’t care less. “Proper pizza, right?” he said, “With all the trimmings.”
His eyes keep darting around the restaurant while Alice leads them to a table by a window and picks up the single laminated menu. “Okay, do you like onions?”
“Hm?”
“Onions, Hatter. Do you like them?”
“Umm, sure. Onions are all right.” He peers out the window now. Again Alice can’t help wondering what he sees when she sees what she’s almost always seen.
“Great. Sausage?”
“Nah, not really.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I’d trust the processed meat here anyway. Green peppers?”
“What?” he glances at her, “Peppers- yeah, I suppose.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’ll be right back.” She gets up to place their order up at the counter, and thinks she hears Hatter ask something, but when she looks back he’s returned to his people-watching. “So,” she says when she’s finished, “Have you ever ‘done pizza’ before?” Where did he come up with that phrasing? Must be a Wonderland thing.
Hatter nods with great authority. “Absolutely. Loads of times. Favorite thing to do.”
Alice smiles, “I bet they do it great in Wonderland.”
Hatter gives a modest shrug, “We do our best, when you’re talkin’- pizza. I mean, who doesn’t?”
Alice frowns slightly, beginning to feel she’s lost the thread somewhere, “Um, I’m not sure. Seems like something you would try to do your best on no matter what.”
Hatter nods again, “Exactly.”
Alice decides to let it go, chalks it up to having a boyfriend from another world, and does some people-watching of her own. Well, person-watching, as her eyes drift again and again away from the window and across the table. She feels a kind of pressure inside begin to build, the weight of her entire world and how can she possibly be its gatekeeper for Hatter? She never expected to figure it out herself and now she must help this man she loves but sometimes barely understands through it. The old urge to run stirs- but then she certainly can’t do that, can she? There’s cruel and then there’s cruel and that just makes things worse, doesn’t it?
Something she knows she shouldn’t say is on the tip of her tongue when their pie slides onto the table. “Oh,” Alice says, “Pizza’s here.”
Hatter stares down at it, face the living picture of puzzlement. “Uh...”
“Hatter? Something wrong with the pizza?”
His gaze jumps to her, and comprehension dawns. “Ohhh. Pizza- that’s... well.”
She feels a smile creep onto her face, “You... didn’t know what pizza was, did you?”
Hatter’s expression twists in reluctance, but not disagreement. “I... had suspicions.”
“Do I want to know what you thought it was?”
He smiles awkwardly, “Tell ya’ later. Ah, let’s eat?”
“Sure.” He watches her separate a slice and lift it up to take a bite. She hums at him encouragingly, and he mimics her actions carefully. His hum upon taking his first bite is... kind of hot, actually, Alice can’t help noticing.
“Wow,” he says around a mouthful, “That’s fantastic.”
“You like it?”
“Love it. Really.”
Alice’s smile is wide and warm. “Glad to hear it.”