When Hatter had gone through the Looking Glass, he hadn’t exactly expected to show up in the middle of a forest he’d never seen or the sudden, unexpected greeting from a stranger he didn’t know. He didn’t remember Alice mentioning a dense forest. Then the whole informational part of the adventure started and the video he didn’t understand in the slightest. He understood the information, but the song wasn’t one he knew and the explosions just seemed to be there for effect. Which, he couldn’t really fault, it was just that everything felt off kilter and he was trying to figure out what was going on entirely.
Eventually the fact that he wasn’t in Wonderland or Alice’s world sunk in. He was somewhere else and, as far as he knew, alone. Approximately two weeks of waiting, of wondering, regretting...and he was here. Jack’s look, the slip of paper with Alice’s address he’d given him with a very matter-of-fact “Stop being an idiot and go after her”. All of it was for nothing. A darkness settled over him and he took the money he was given and was on his way out, when he heard the sound of a familiar voice. “Alice?” He looked up, looking around, but he didn’t see the person he wanted to see. He listened and didn’t hear the voice again.
He sighed, making his way out the door. Probably his mind just trying to trick him. Wishful thinking. He never turned up at the right time or the right place. He should have guessed something would happen because of course.
Landing on the floor of a forest had honestly been the last thing she’d expected after being pushed through the large Looking Glass that was supposed to connect her world to Wonderland. If anything, she should have been where she’d originally gone through, right? But no. Something had happened, something she… honestly had no idea how to even try and explain.
With just enough time to brush off her blue dress and tights, she was greeted by a member of some organization called the DOA, led back to their offices, and given a run down of everything. She watched the video in disbelief and couldn’t help the feeling of hopelessness that settled in her heart the longer she sat there. There was no way to get back home. She couldn’t get back to her mother. She couldn’t go back to teaching. She couldn’t pack away the things she’d been using for years to try and locate her father. None of it, because she was here and not there and oh God, what if Hatter did try to come to her world and she wasn’t even there? Though he hadn’t seemed keen on it, what with their awkward goodbye just a little while before.
Just as Alice stood to leave the office space she was in, she looked out of the window and saw… no. It couldn’t have been? Her heart leapt into her throat and she gave a quick thank you and goodbye to the person who had done their level best to help her as she hurried out to follow him. “Hatter?” she called, pushing her way out of the door that led into the building, staring hopefully at the back of the man who had been making his way down the sidewalk by the time she’d gotten back outside.
Hatter was planning on going to wherever he was staying now and hating his life. He was so focused on the thought that he nearly missed Alice’s voice. In truth, he did until something in his mind registered the sound and told him. To stop.
He looked up, standing still and listening again, but he looked around in front and to the side before turning around. It was another minute before he found her. His heart felt like it jumped in his throat and plummeted to his stomach at the same time, which was sort of like being in an argument with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
It was another moment before the shock wore off and his feet started moving toward Alice. “Alice” He wished he didn’t sound quite as desperate about his life in that moment. Like her name was the most important thing he could have had to say. “I thought...well, when I showed up here, I figured…” He gestured vaguely as if it made sense or could really be substituted for an actual explanation. “I missed you.”
When he turned around, a wave of absolute relief washed over her. He was here. With her. He’d gone through the Looking Glass, too. She was still wearing the same dress and tights she had been the entire time she’d been in Wonderland but he was dressed more… well. Like he would in her world.
That thought was brief in her mind though and as soon as he started to move toward her, she couldn’t help but run to close the distance between them more quickly. As she reached him, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as fiercely as she could, closing her eyes at the realization that he was here.
“You have no idea how happy I am that you’re here.” The words came out before she could even think about it, but there really had been a mix of desperation and relief in her voice. After a few long seconds, she pulled back enough to look at him, disbelief and joy and so many other emotions pulling at her in that moment. “What do you mean you missed me? I just… I just saw you. Before I got here.”
The feeling of her arms around him was the same as the last time they’d hugged. It was one of his favorite things, but he’d been too scared to say how he felt then, more comfortable with awkwardly fumbling for the right thing to say while also trying not to come off as if he wanted anything more than friendship in case she didn’t feel the same. Especially in case she picked Jack instead. Who could blame her for picking a prince. It wasn’t like he even really had a Tea Shop anymore. Sure, they’d had a moment, but that didn’t mean anything. At least he refused to believe it did in case he was proven wrong. But he hoped he was.
“Just saw-” He paused, glancing at her outfit and a moment of realization hit him. It was still the same dress she’d been in all that time. The same tights. The same shoes. Not that he was complaining. It just meant things were off by a bit. “I’ve...um...well, you see...you’d been gone for somewhere around two weeks. Jack...uh...actually not a bad guy, I guess. You know. He gave me your address.”
Alice hesitated briefly, the shock of what he said settling over her. Two weeks? How was that even possible? She’d only just gone through the Looking Glass. The confusion was evident on her face as she looked at him, but as he talked about Jack not being a bad guy and giving him her address, an almost giggly sort of feeling bubbled up in her stomach and then escaped out of her.
“Just shut up,” she said through her quiet giggles. Her fingers curled into the fabric of the shirt he was wearing and she gently pulled him closer, smiling as her lips found his. The immediate relaxation that hit her was obvious and she melted into the kiss, eyes closing. They’d had a moment that had been interrupted by Jack already, and having gone back through the portal not knowing if she was ever going to see Hatter again, she wasn’t about to waste this opportunity.
Of course. Maybe she should have waited for him to make the first move, but he already sort of had, hadn’t he? “I can’t believe you came.” Her voice was soft, almost a murmur when she spoke, nuzzling her nose against his.
The laugh caught him momentarily off guard. He thought maybe she was teasing him, but the way that she was looking at him and the fact that she drew him in closer by his shirt was definitely proof that it wasn’t making fun of him.
Finally. It was the only thought he’d had as Alice kissed him. It felt like he’d been holding onto something for years and finally been able to let go. His hands moved to cup her face. He couldn’t remember how long it had been officially since he’d realized his feelings for Alice, but he was even more sure of it in that moment.
“Who me? Totally planned this.” He had a goofy smile on his face, but it was just one of those moments where he’d realized he wasn’t the only one that felt the way he did. It was nice. After all the arguing about getting Jack back, she’d still picked him. “I mean, except the part where we ended up in a strange place I’ve never been watching a video I’m not sure that I understand. That wasn’t me.”
Of course she’d picked him and she would have looked at him like he was crazy if she knew he was surprised by that. Jack may have been the reason she ended up in Wonderland in the first place, but her time there had changed her. Meeting Hatter and Charlie and experiencing what she did had a profound effect on her that she couldn’t really put into words yet, but she didn’t want to take anything with him for granted.
As his hands cupped at her face, she felt her own smile grow and the giggles returned, at least briefly. “Oh, I’m sure you definitely planned this.” It took that moment for her to remember that they were in the middle of a sidewalk and she glanced off to the side briefly before looking back at him, her smile still bright. She didn’t care.
“Well, what I got from that video was that we’re… stuck here. I think that was the big takeaway.” Her smile faltered momentarily, but she shook her head gently. “Mostly what I’d meant was that you followed me. Through the Looking Glass. If we weren’t here, we’d be in my world and I just…” Alice hesitated a moment before leaning up to press another sweet kiss to his lips. “I wasn’t sure you would, that’s all.”
Hatter wasn’t sure anything but Alice mattered in that moment. He was glad Jack had been himself about things and told him to quit being an idiot. Time in Wonderland was always different from the Oyster’s world. At least according to Jack.
“Seemed like the biggest part of it, yeah.” Which wasn’t exactly comforting. He and Alice could at least visit Wonderland if they wanted, but here they were just...there. He glanced around momentarily, gaze stuck briefly on a unicorn that was meandering down the street before turning back to Alice.
“Wasn’t sure of that?” He went to laugh, but stopped halfway. “I mean, I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to and things were a bit dodgy in the end after your father dying and nearly cutting fingers off. I thought maybe you just wanted to be home. Away from...us. Well, Wonderland in general.” Which was fair. It had been a lot over all.
Alice’s eyes followed Hatter’s and when she saw the unicorn, they went wide. And her jaw went a little slack. Well, that was a first. She’d had a lot of firsts over the last few days, but that was one that made the little girl in her burst with excitement because… well, it was a real unicorn. “What in the…” she murmured, the shock of it weighing on her briefly before she looked back at him, letting herself become grounded again in the conversation.
Her face fell a little as he talked and she glanced away for a second. There’d been a little guilt at how ready she was to get home, but Hatter had told her that he needed to stay in Wonderland, right? She remembered that. She’d just hoped maybe he had changed his mind after the Queen was defeated.
“I did want to be home. Do want to,” she said with a hint of a sigh, looking back at him. “Not that it does either of us much good now. But you’d said you were going to stay in Wonderland and I understood why, even if I… really wanted you to come back with me.” Alice gave a small shake of her head and felt a corner of her mouth perk up in a bit of a smile. “Doesn’t matter though, does it? Cause you’re here.”
He’d wanted to stay, to help set things to right. Things were a bit unusual and off kilter. The Resistance was basically unnecessary, but it was nice to be able to let them know that the fight was over and that they could come out of hiding. They would no longer have to hide away. Charlie was set up and able to start training more knights. He wished he could see all their plans in action, but he missed Alice and he loved her. He would just have to check in occasionally.
“Had a lot of things to figure out, yeah?” He gave her a small smile. “Charlie’s doing well. Everyone except the ex-Queen, really. Think the suits have never been happier, honestly. No more losing your heads and all.” He studied her for a moment. “I wanted to follow you, but I think I still needed to help them. But you’re right. We’re here now. We just have to figure it out.”
There was a brief pause. “Sorry about your mum.”
She’d understood his reasoning for wanting to stay behind in Wonderland, as far as she was aware, he was needed there more and if worse had come to worst, she would have just had to wait to see him again. The thought that she might never see him again had definitely crossed her mind repeatedly as she’d been led over to the Looking Glass, but that clearly wasn’t the case now.
Alice gave him a gentle, apologetic sort of smile and leaned in to press a soft kiss to his cheek before wrapping her arms around his neck again for one more hug before pulling back. A small breeze kicked up then and caused her arms to break out into goosebumps, quietly regretting giving him that purple coat back before she’d left. “I know. I’m glad you were able to help them, I swept in, caused a lot of chaos, and then got sent… well, not back, but back as far as they’re concerned. Someone needed to stay behind and make sure things got to some sort of normalcy and that Charlie would be alright.” Which it sounded like he would be, which comforted her.
The mention of her mother made a sort of knot form in her throat and she shook her head a little, gaze averting down toward her boots for a moment. “Thank you. I mean… I’m sure she’ll be fine. And if time really is that different, maybe she’ll hardly notice I’m gone?”
He smiled. “Brought the whole house tumbling down, Alice of legend.” He said the last part with a hint of amusement. He knew she’d staunchly asserted that she was just Alice but she’d done a lot in the time she was there and it was similar to the stories of the last time an Alice was there. She’d changed things for them and hopefully it was for good. Wonderland was his home and he’d always love it and miss it, but he wanted Alice, too. He wanted her more.
He hugged her back, feeling the comfort that it brought him in that moment. He could get used to this. Hugs were slowly becoming one of his favorite things. It was probably because of Alice, honestly. “Ehhh. He’s always a bit off, but he’ll be fine. Probably.”
The shift in expression made him feel bad for bringing it up, but he figured it’d come up eventually and Jack mentioned that her mom was important to her and she’d just lost her dad all over again. “Don’t think it works that way, love, but we’ll figure it out, yeah?”
“I’m going to let you get away with calling me that just this once, okay?” She gave him a playful glare before softening her look, because really, as much as they’d argued since meeting one another, she couldn’t stop smiling. It was almost a weird sensation after everything they’d been through, and yet it still felt… natural.
Alice nodded a little, the smile faltering briefly, but her expression still sweet as she lifted a hand to brush her fingertips through the front of his hair that he’d combed down. She took the black hat on his head off just long enough to try and push the hair up a bit, giggling to herself before she placed the hat back where it had been. Not that it was better than how he looked, but it was more what she was used to.
“We’ll figure it out.” Her voice was quieter when she spoke then, but she had a knowing sort of look in her eyes that quietly spoke to how much she trusted that they would. After a moment, she stepped to his side and found his hand, giving it a squeeze as she leaned into him. “We should go find those apartments they were talking about.”
“You let Charlie get away with it more than once.” He repressed the urge to imitate Charlie calling her Alice of Legend. He almost missed the old guy. He was sure he was fine, but now there was definitely no way to check in. He wondered how long it would be, how much time was left. He hoped the next time he went back that things weren’t the way they left it.
He scrunched his face up as Alice played with his hair, pushing it up rather than leaving it down. He’d thought it was the look with Oysters. And he definitely didn’t have his regular hat. He missed that hat, but maybe he could find one more like it while he was here.
“Yeah,” he said, smiling as her hand squeezed his. He liked the feeling of it. “It’s probably a good idea to figure out where we’re staying. Wasn’t too sure about government agencies, but I also didn’t know what else to do. Free housing is nice, though.” A beat. “But yeah. We should find it so we can at least be out of the cold.”
“I let Charlie get away with it because he’s a sweet old man, and what was it you said? Mad as a box of frogs?” Alice was teasing of course, and she leaned in closer to him, bumping her shoulder against his gently as they walked. “He seemed convinced. It was kind of endearing by the end.”
She glanced over at him, the amusement in her eyes flickering briefly before she shook her head. “I’m honestly kind of surprised you agreed to register after everything you’ve been through. I was reluctant, too. But I wasn’t sure what other option there was since I have no money on me other than the ten bucks that’s still in my pocket… not that I think it would do me much good here.” She sighed a little then. “We could get an apartment together if you want? Or separate ones… I don’t know. Is that weird to talk about?”
“Sweet old man.” Hatter laughed. It wasn’t that she was wrong, he was old, but he wouldn’t have called him sweet. Not that he didn’t like him. It was just that sweet old man wasn’t the descriptor in mind. “Mad as a box of frogs still fits.” He smiled as she bumped into his shoulder. “Well, you did bring the whole house of cards tumbling down,” he said after a moment, giving her his best amused look.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Well, I’m in a new place I’ve never been and poor, which wasn’t really the biggest deal going into your world because I’d have figured it out eventually. So I guess it’s the same here, but…” He agreed with what she said. They’d have had trouble getting things and these were the only clothes he had. Also he needed to be able to get food...and probably a job. “Well, I can’t see how living together would be a bad thing. Plus, it’s not like I know anyone that well. Unless you think it’s weird.”
Alice shook her head indignantly and even playfully rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t just me that did that, you know.” As stubborn as she was to first help Jack and then her father (who could blame her?), she hadn’t been the only one in the casino to help it - quite literally - come tumbling down. “You had quite the hand in defeating the Queen, so don’t sell yourself short.” It had been a small, but mighty group effort, to say the least. But she was certainly aware that it never would have happened if she hadn’t wound up in Wonderland to begin with.
“I don’t think it’s weird, necessarily.” She paused for a moment and leaned over, head briefly resting against his shoulder as they walked. “I’m not the type to rush into things, but it feels… different now, I guess. Now that I actually know what happened to my father.” Lifting her head, she shook it gently. “My mom always thought that I came up with excuses to end things with a guy before he had the chance to leave me first. ‘Daddy issues’, I guess, but I wouldn’t say she was wrong. There’s always been a fear of abandonment coloring any relationship I’ve been in.” Alice sighed then and looked over at him with a hint of a grimace on her face. “Sorry if that was… a lot just now.”
“Yeah yeah.” He waved it off, but it was one of those things. He knew he’d been part of it, but would any of it really have happened without Alice showing up the way she did? Probably not. Hatter knew that well enough. “Would have still been a mess if you hadn’t showed up and been so pushy and made as many questionable decisions.” It was a light teasing. She had sort of done a lot of things he’d told her not to do and then he’d had to get her out of it...but he’d wanted to because, despite her insistence on following Jack, he cared about her.
Hatter listened as she spoke, a somber expression on his face. He knew the feeling of loss, too, so he knew it could make you react to things differently. “No. You should be able to be honest with me. You don’t have to be sorry for what happened to you or your past relationships.” Even if he had sort of told her that he wasn’t surprised that she had a bad history with relationships before. But that was before everything. “Not like I’ve had a lot of relationships. Been too busy playing two sides of the court.” He allowed a moment of silence. “Whatever you’re comfortable with is fine with me and we can figure it out from there, yeah?”
“I mean, maybe.” Of course that maybe was more like a ‘you’re probably right’, but Alice wanted to give credit where credit was due. Maybe the resistance would have eventually succeeded in overthrowing the Queen without her. In fact, she was sure of it, but she’d been lured to Wonderland as a pawn, in a sense. Used to jar her father’s memories in hopes that waking him up would do the trick. Well, it did, but at what cost? “Though I didn’t really have a say in going there, did I? Jack had only come to my world to find me.”
That fact still stung a little, but she knew she’d get over it sooner rather than later.
Alice smiled softly and leaned over to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.” The fact that he was able to respect her boundaries, whatever they might be, was a huge thing for her. Though he’d respected them for the most part ever since she’d met him. “Let’s get to the apartments, it’s getting cold. Maybe they’ve got a spare two bedroom we can have?” She paused for a moment and laughed, kissing his cheek once more. “Though sharing a bed isn’t out of the question.”
He smiled a little. “No. I guess you didn’t. But I guess it worked out in the end, yeah?” Cause without her, he wasn’t sure what would have happened. Jack would probably still be doing what his mother wanted and trying to help the resistance. Oysters still would have been drawn in and drained. He’d still be playing two sides.
There was a nod. He didn’t want to push anything. He liked Alice. He liked Alice. So he didn’t want to do anything that she wasn’t happy with. “It is,” he agreed, pulling his jacket a little closer before looking at Alice. He slipped his jacket off and offered it to her. “You’re the one with bare arms,” he said as explanation. “I don’t mind sharing a two bedroom. If we can’t find one, we can maybe get something close to each other at least.”
She nodded a little in agreement with his question and gave him a gentle smile. “Yeah, it definitely worked out.” At least for the most part. There was still the matter of them being here and not in her world, but at least she could say it wasn’t her first venture to a completely unknown place.
Alice looked over when he offered her his jacket and glanced up momentarily to make sure it was okay before she gently took it, slipping it on and immediately feeling much better against the cooler air. But that didn’t stop her from leaning into him still, their arms pressed together and her hand seeking out his so their fingers could intertwine as they walked. “A two bedroom it is, then. Hopefully.”