AN: I figured I'd do a little Jack/Duchess lovin'. They seem like a good match because, well, Hatter and Alice are obviously for each other. I'll probably be doing a fanfic of them soon, as well. But for now, here's this one-shot.
Duchess wrapped her arms around Jack, loving the feeling of his returning the hug after the Queen had finally been overthrown.
Going to happily congratulate him once again, knowing that he would be at the Looking Glass and overseeing all the departures of the Oysters, she was practically skipping until she saw Jack offer the ring to Alice. Glancing over near the rotating doors, she managed to see Hatter witnessing the same scene. Then there was the hug between the two estranged lovers. That could only be a good sign that she'd said yes. Though as Hatter began to walk away, Alice made her way to him. Okay, that was a bit confusing. But this gave the blonde her chance to get Jack on her own.
"Jack!" she exclaimed as she giddily approached him.
To her dismay, she got the same reaction as she had when she saved him from the Eye Room. A confused, "Duchess?"
So she held herself back from another hug.
As she saw one of the Looking Glass operators pull Alice away from Hatter, they happened to pull Jack's attention away, too. He was absolutely in love with the brunette and there was nothing she could do about it.
Turning herself around, the girl saw Hatter walk away with his head down and staring at the ground. No doubt going back to his tea shop to fix things up, Charlie following not too far behind him like a lapdog, though seemed to be willing to help clean up the ransacked establishment.
Feeling fingers curl around her upper arm, she was soon facing Jack once again. His grip was light on her, but his eyes were burning. He still thought Duchess was his mother's robot. She could tell that from the way his jaw was clenched and how he didn't seem to be ready to let her go anytime soon.
"You care about me?" he demanded an explanation from what she'd informed him of before.
"Of course. Your mother's a pretty terrifying woman when she has all that power. I wasn't about to go and practically kill myself."
"So, what, you're in love with me?"
"Jack, when you acted poisoned, did you not hear the worry in my voice? The fact that I just let you tie me up should've been a sign," she reminded him of the moment.
The thoughts in his head were swirling around; his eyes were clouded with thoughts. She'd done so much to help him and he hadn't even noticed or appreciated them up until now.
Finally, her voice broke the silence. "You know that Hatter and Alice are going to be together. He's gonna go after her. It may take months for him to do so, but he will. She's not your queen, Jack," she hit him with reality quite hard before whispering the next sentence. "I was supposed to be your queen…"
Jack's head lifted high, showing his determination and the decision he had made. All the Oysters were being returned back to their world, the Stone of Wonderland was already in use, but it didn't stop him.
"Alice and I were never meant to be. That's obvious. I may have to talk Hatter into going after her. He's a stubborn lot. Though, Duchess, you're right," he conceded, swallowing down the swollen lump in his throat. "You're my queen. You were always meant to be my queen," he agreed with a sure nod before pressing his lips surely to hers. "I just need you to accept the proposal on your own terms. Not my mother's," he spoke against her lips before pulling away.
Duchess couldn't have been more ecstatic when she felt his lips against hers and didn't waste a moment to kiss him back. Hearing his words caused a smile the size of the moon to appear on her face. "I always wanted to be your queen."
It's short and to the point, but I figured… Why the hell not? Look out for my Hatter x Alice story!