Fic: A Tale of Do's and Don'ts
Story Title: A Tale of Do's and Don'ts
Rating: PG
Characters: Alice/Hatter
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the story of the Alice or Alice in Wonderland.
Warnings: no warnings, just enjoy!
Summary: What exactly happened following Alice's trip back through the mirror?
Special Thanks to erin for the editing! *You totally deserve a special award!*
Note: I am a bit rusty. I wrote Tin Man fiction for a while, but had to scale back. Now I'm back writing and looking forward to an entire new pallet.
The seconds seemed to go on for hours, and Alice never wanted to let go. Her arms tightly embraced the man she had spent so many minutes falling in love with and she felt his arms on her back, his mouth on hers; it all seemed too good to ever be true. She wanted to melt into his arms, to let go of everything.
Her mother, still in shock, quietly cleared her throat. Alice pulled away reluctantly and looked over at her mother, her cheeks a sudden, scarlet hue. If there was an award for awkward mother encounters, this would take first place. She slowly began to regain movement in her body and Alice reluctantly pulled away from Hatter, her hand wiping her mouth as she went.
“I should rescue females more often,” Hatter laughed nervously as he played with the hat he was holding. He moved it back and forth, in his shaking hands, twisting the brim in opposite directions. The room was silent for what seemed like eons and Alice rocked back and forth on her feet and took a deep breath.
“Mother, this is Hatter.” She gestured towards the man to her left and Carol raised a quizzical brow. Alice quickly shook her head. “DAVID Hatter. His last name is Hatter, first being David. He helped me, but you already knew that...” she quietly ended her sentence.
“Please to meet you. Again.” Hatter nodded his head, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. “Ma’am,” he nodded and tapped his finger on his hat.
“Well, David, I thank you again for helping my daughter.” Carol eyed this new man carefully, suddenly unsure what to think of the stranger standing in her foyer. She glanced over at her daughter, knowing full well an explanation would be needed long after David was gone. “How would you like to stay for supper?”
Hatter looked from Carol to Alice and sucked in his breath. Jack hadn’t quite prepared him for this moment: this total fear of meeting a mother, so quickly in a relationship. The judgment, the terror; it was almost too much to bear. He could take on the Queen of Hearts or face any amount of torture on any day, but, this... this was agonizing.
“I think that would be wonderful, ma’am,” he said slowly and glanced over at Alice. Her face attempted to hide a smirk and he knew she was enjoying this.
“Okay, well, I will let you two catch up?” Carol suggested cautiously. “I’m going to run down to the market to grab a few items. I will be back shortly.” She looked at her daughter, carefully. “Are you going to be okay here?” she asked Alice. Alice shook her head and Carol moved to hug her daughter and patted her back.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be back to good in no time. Nothing that a good cup of tea can’t fix, am I right, David?” she asked the man beside her. Hatter laughed nervously and glanced over at Alice, stopping as realization set in.
“More than you would ever know,” he replied. Carol nodded and reached for her purse.
“I will be back in a bit.” She smiled and headed towards the door. As the door shut, with a firm thud, Alice turned back to Hatter. Her eyes instantly glued onto his figure, unwilling to blink for even a moment.
“Hi,” she said simply.
“Hello.” Hatter gave her a tiny bow and slid his hat atop his head. Alice smiled and reached over to pull it off. She tousled his hair a bit and replaced the hat, nodding briefly.
“Better,” she grinned. The two stood in silence for a moment, neither one knowing what exactly to say. She began to walk towards the sofa, Hatter close behind her. “This is so unbelievable,” she said, settling into the soft material.
“What’s so unbelievable about it?” Hatter asked as he crashed onto the sofa next to her.
“I can’t believe it,” she said again, her eyes brimming with tears. “One moment you are standing next to me, telling me to go on back to my own world and then, next, you’re right here.” She reached over and touched his arm.
“What happened? How are you here? Why are you here? What changed your mind?” A million questions race through her mind. Thoughts jumbled around and Alice had to shake her head to sort it out. “This is crazy,” she laughed, “just mad.” Hatter smiled, his head cocked to the side.
“I thought it would be fairly obvious as to why.” He reached over and tucked a stray hair behind Alice’s ear. As he moved his hand back, Hatter’s fingers grazed Alice’s cheek and Alice closed her eyes, suddenly aware of the lack of distance between the two of them. The heat penetrating from his hand formed a butterfly in her gut that quickly multiplied times a hundred. Hatter’s hand reluctantly pulled away and slipped into his pocket. It reappeared with a small sliver key.
“Jack,” Hatter said simply. He tapped the key on his knee, the silver shining in his eyes. Alice looked at Hatter with a blank expression. He sighed and continued, “After spending what seemed like a zillion second ticks, debating the dos and don’ts of living in either world without you, I felt compelled to take a leap.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I figured the do’s far outweighed the don’ts, in this situation.”
“But, what does Jack have to do with any of this? How did you get here, in my living room, on my couch?” Alice was trying very hard to enjoy this special moment. She didn’t want to ruin a single thing, but it just seemed all too good. With a deep sigh, Hatter stood, slipping the key back into his pocket. Alarmed, Alice sat up straight in her seat. “Where are you going?”
“Jack helped me.” Hatter pieced it together, as if thinking about it for the first time. “After you left, quite abruptly, we all stood there, feeling this void. It was as if you took all the magic back with you.” He stopped and cleared his throat. “I didn’t know where to go or what to do next. I was sure I was going to go find Charlie, throw back a large cuppa tea and call it a life.” He shrugged and looked back at Alice. “What a life it had been.”
“Oh, Hatter. I’m sorry I left.” Alice looked down at her hands, wearily.
“So, as I was leaving,” Hatter continued, “I passed Jack. He looked just as sad and upset as I did. I figured he was just as torn as I was about losing you, but, a strange thing happened. He pulled me aside and said I would be a fool if I didn’t go after you.”
“He spoke briefly of your world and slipped this key. He told me that a person would have to be mad to follow in your foot steps, but, if anyone could, I would be the one to try it,” he laughed quietly to himself.
“Jack told me how to get to his place, where I could find a change of clothes, a bite to eat and this.” He pulled a large wad of high-numbered bills from his pocket. They landed with a soft thud as he tossed them onto the coffee table. “I have not the slightest idea on how to use them, but, apparently, they are quite important here in this world.”
“So, how did you find me?” Alice asked softly, raising her eyes to look into his.
He walked over to her and said carefully: “You had arrived shortly before I did. I remember crossing over and nearly tripping over you; didn’t have the time to really prepare yourself. At least I had that on my side. I scooped you up and called for help, but I didn’t know where to go or what to do, so I laid you back down and ran to find someone.”
“I found a few of the workers and they helped me get you to the hospital,” he looked sadly at her. “I never wanted to leave your side. I didn’t, until your mother got there. She thanked me a million times and then told me to go get some rest, she had it from there.”
“And you left?” Alice said. “Where did you go?” A sadness fell over her: here was a stranger to her world, forced to walk alone in a dangerous, new world.
“I gave you space, so you could be with your mother. I went on to find Jack’s place, to change and clean up and I found your address there. I didn’t know any other way to get here, other than walking, and I had no idea where to go. Luckily, this city is filled with some very honest, caring people, who were more than willing to help me.”
“That’s NYC for you,” Alice rolled her eyes and shook her head. She was silent for a moment, carefully observing him. “I can’t believe you’re here. It’s like I fell back down the rabbit hole and I’m back in Wonderland.”
Hatter leaned over and placed a hand on her cheek. His thumb stroked the soft skin on the apple of her cheek and Alice leaned slightly into his hand.
“Please, never leave me again,” Alice whispered. Hatter shook his head.
“I have no plans to ever do such a thing. You’re stuck with me for the long haul.” He smiled as Alice laughed. Of all the sounds in all the worlds, her laugh was, by far, his favorite sound.
“So, I guess there’s only one thing left to do?” Hatter said, his lips curling into a smile. Alice raised an eyebrow, carefully, and she watched as Hatter pushed himself up from the sofa. He straightened his clothes and reached over to help her stand up. When she stood up, hardly an inch separated the two of them. Alice could feel his warmth and knew it was now or never. She closed her eyes and braced herself for his arms around her body, his fingers in her hair, the feeling of his-
“It’s time to go out and explore this wonderland of yours.” Hatter reached up and placed his hat firmly on top of his tousled hair. Alice’s eyes flew open, her mouth still posed for a kiss. With a wink and a nod, he grabbed Alice’s hand and pulled her to the front door. As he swung it open, the couple came face to face with Alice’s mother.
“Don’t wait up, Mrs. Hamilton,” Hatter stated as he brushed past her, pulling Alice along for the ride.
“Wait, what’s going on?” She called towards her daughter.
“We’re late!” Alice yelled back, “for a very important date!”
Rating: PG
Characters: Alice/Hatter
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the story of the Alice or Alice in Wonderland.
Warnings: no warnings, just enjoy!
Summary: What exactly happened following Alice's trip back through the mirror?
Special Thanks to erin for the editing! *You totally deserve a special award!*
Note: I am a bit rusty. I wrote Tin Man fiction for a while, but had to scale back. Now I'm back writing and looking forward to an entire new pallet.
The seconds seemed to go on for hours, and Alice never wanted to let go. Her arms tightly embraced the man she had spent so many minutes falling in love with and she felt his arms on her back, his mouth on hers; it all seemed too good to ever be true. She wanted to melt into his arms, to let go of everything.
Her mother, still in shock, quietly cleared her throat. Alice pulled away reluctantly and looked over at her mother, her cheeks a sudden, scarlet hue. If there was an award for awkward mother encounters, this would take first place. She slowly began to regain movement in her body and Alice reluctantly pulled away from Hatter, her hand wiping her mouth as she went.
“I should rescue females more often,” Hatter laughed nervously as he played with the hat he was holding. He moved it back and forth, in his shaking hands, twisting the brim in opposite directions. The room was silent for what seemed like eons and Alice rocked back and forth on her feet and took a deep breath.
“Mother, this is Hatter.” She gestured towards the man to her left and Carol raised a quizzical brow. Alice quickly shook her head. “DAVID Hatter. His last name is Hatter, first being David. He helped me, but you already knew that...” she quietly ended her sentence.
“Please to meet you. Again.” Hatter nodded his head, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. “Ma’am,” he nodded and tapped his finger on his hat.
“Well, David, I thank you again for helping my daughter.” Carol eyed this new man carefully, suddenly unsure what to think of the stranger standing in her foyer. She glanced over at her daughter, knowing full well an explanation would be needed long after David was gone. “How would you like to stay for supper?”
Hatter looked from Carol to Alice and sucked in his breath. Jack hadn’t quite prepared him for this moment: this total fear of meeting a mother, so quickly in a relationship. The judgment, the terror; it was almost too much to bear. He could take on the Queen of Hearts or face any amount of torture on any day, but, this... this was agonizing.
“I think that would be wonderful, ma’am,” he said slowly and glanced over at Alice. Her face attempted to hide a smirk and he knew she was enjoying this.
“Okay, well, I will let you two catch up?” Carol suggested cautiously. “I’m going to run down to the market to grab a few items. I will be back shortly.” She looked at her daughter, carefully. “Are you going to be okay here?” she asked Alice. Alice shook her head and Carol moved to hug her daughter and patted her back.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be back to good in no time. Nothing that a good cup of tea can’t fix, am I right, David?” she asked the man beside her. Hatter laughed nervously and glanced over at Alice, stopping as realization set in.
“More than you would ever know,” he replied. Carol nodded and reached for her purse.
“I will be back in a bit.” She smiled and headed towards the door. As the door shut, with a firm thud, Alice turned back to Hatter. Her eyes instantly glued onto his figure, unwilling to blink for even a moment.
“Hi,” she said simply.
“Hello.” Hatter gave her a tiny bow and slid his hat atop his head. Alice smiled and reached over to pull it off. She tousled his hair a bit and replaced the hat, nodding briefly.
“Better,” she grinned. The two stood in silence for a moment, neither one knowing what exactly to say. She began to walk towards the sofa, Hatter close behind her. “This is so unbelievable,” she said, settling into the soft material.
“What’s so unbelievable about it?” Hatter asked as he crashed onto the sofa next to her.
“I can’t believe it,” she said again, her eyes brimming with tears. “One moment you are standing next to me, telling me to go on back to my own world and then, next, you’re right here.” She reached over and touched his arm.
“What happened? How are you here? Why are you here? What changed your mind?” A million questions race through her mind. Thoughts jumbled around and Alice had to shake her head to sort it out. “This is crazy,” she laughed, “just mad.” Hatter smiled, his head cocked to the side.
“I thought it would be fairly obvious as to why.” He reached over and tucked a stray hair behind Alice’s ear. As he moved his hand back, Hatter’s fingers grazed Alice’s cheek and Alice closed her eyes, suddenly aware of the lack of distance between the two of them. The heat penetrating from his hand formed a butterfly in her gut that quickly multiplied times a hundred. Hatter’s hand reluctantly pulled away and slipped into his pocket. It reappeared with a small sliver key.
“Jack,” Hatter said simply. He tapped the key on his knee, the silver shining in his eyes. Alice looked at Hatter with a blank expression. He sighed and continued, “After spending what seemed like a zillion second ticks, debating the dos and don’ts of living in either world without you, I felt compelled to take a leap.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I figured the do’s far outweighed the don’ts, in this situation.”
“But, what does Jack have to do with any of this? How did you get here, in my living room, on my couch?” Alice was trying very hard to enjoy this special moment. She didn’t want to ruin a single thing, but it just seemed all too good. With a deep sigh, Hatter stood, slipping the key back into his pocket. Alarmed, Alice sat up straight in her seat. “Where are you going?”
“Jack helped me.” Hatter pieced it together, as if thinking about it for the first time. “After you left, quite abruptly, we all stood there, feeling this void. It was as if you took all the magic back with you.” He stopped and cleared his throat. “I didn’t know where to go or what to do next. I was sure I was going to go find Charlie, throw back a large cuppa tea and call it a life.” He shrugged and looked back at Alice. “What a life it had been.”
“Oh, Hatter. I’m sorry I left.” Alice looked down at her hands, wearily.
“So, as I was leaving,” Hatter continued, “I passed Jack. He looked just as sad and upset as I did. I figured he was just as torn as I was about losing you, but, a strange thing happened. He pulled me aside and said I would be a fool if I didn’t go after you.”
“He spoke briefly of your world and slipped this key. He told me that a person would have to be mad to follow in your foot steps, but, if anyone could, I would be the one to try it,” he laughed quietly to himself.
“Jack told me how to get to his place, where I could find a change of clothes, a bite to eat and this.” He pulled a large wad of high-numbered bills from his pocket. They landed with a soft thud as he tossed them onto the coffee table. “I have not the slightest idea on how to use them, but, apparently, they are quite important here in this world.”
“So, how did you find me?” Alice asked softly, raising her eyes to look into his.
He walked over to her and said carefully: “You had arrived shortly before I did. I remember crossing over and nearly tripping over you; didn’t have the time to really prepare yourself. At least I had that on my side. I scooped you up and called for help, but I didn’t know where to go or what to do, so I laid you back down and ran to find someone.”
“I found a few of the workers and they helped me get you to the hospital,” he looked sadly at her. “I never wanted to leave your side. I didn’t, until your mother got there. She thanked me a million times and then told me to go get some rest, she had it from there.”
“And you left?” Alice said. “Where did you go?” A sadness fell over her: here was a stranger to her world, forced to walk alone in a dangerous, new world.
“I gave you space, so you could be with your mother. I went on to find Jack’s place, to change and clean up and I found your address there. I didn’t know any other way to get here, other than walking, and I had no idea where to go. Luckily, this city is filled with some very honest, caring people, who were more than willing to help me.”
“That’s NYC for you,” Alice rolled her eyes and shook her head. She was silent for a moment, carefully observing him. “I can’t believe you’re here. It’s like I fell back down the rabbit hole and I’m back in Wonderland.”
Hatter leaned over and placed a hand on her cheek. His thumb stroked the soft skin on the apple of her cheek and Alice leaned slightly into his hand.
“Please, never leave me again,” Alice whispered. Hatter shook his head.
“I have no plans to ever do such a thing. You’re stuck with me for the long haul.” He smiled as Alice laughed. Of all the sounds in all the worlds, her laugh was, by far, his favorite sound.
“So, I guess there’s only one thing left to do?” Hatter said, his lips curling into a smile. Alice raised an eyebrow, carefully, and she watched as Hatter pushed himself up from the sofa. He straightened his clothes and reached over to help her stand up. When she stood up, hardly an inch separated the two of them. Alice could feel his warmth and knew it was now or never. She closed her eyes and braced herself for his arms around her body, his fingers in her hair, the feeling of his-
“It’s time to go out and explore this wonderland of yours.” Hatter reached up and placed his hat firmly on top of his tousled hair. Alice’s eyes flew open, her mouth still posed for a kiss. With a wink and a nod, he grabbed Alice’s hand and pulled her to the front door. As he swung it open, the couple came face to face with Alice’s mother.
“Don’t wait up, Mrs. Hamilton,” Hatter stated as he brushed past her, pulling Alice along for the ride.
“Wait, what’s going on?” She called towards her daughter.
“We’re late!” Alice yelled back, “for a very important date!”