Pancakes
~.
At Heart's Castle, the flowers were in full bloom, covering everything with pink and flowery scents. The queen was in the the maze, holding a tea party with her finest china dishes. Well, second finest. Her finest was broken by the ever-losing-his-way knight when he slammed the door into the cart full of delectable desserts. By accident, of course; he mistakenly thought the kitchen door was the door to his room. The White Rabbit was off in his room, thinking of his love for a certain Foreigner and dusting off his red covers for the next time she visited.
Pumpkins and golden leaves laid scattered throughout the Hatter's estate. The twins were outside the gate; for once, they were doing their job, although they were dressed as scarecrows, and scaring anyone who came near. Then again, there wasn't anyone to scare. Everyone avoided the Hatters at all cost. The March Hare was in his own room, napping since for the last two timezones he had been piled with paperwork for the mafia. The Hatter himself was cooped up in his own room, sipping a special tea that he had imported two days earlier.
The sun was shining brightly on the Amusement Park. It was a unusually hot day and most of the park's visitors congregated around the water slides and pools. The Cheshire Cat was handing out ice cream cones, as well as protecting his tail from curious faceless children. The Dormouse was hiding in the Haunted House, the worst choice from him. His screaming because of the zombies and vampires scared the visitors more than the house itself. The owner of the Amusement Park was preparing for his concert, with his workers trying to prevent him from destroying their ears.
At the Circus, the White Joker was busy set up for the day's performance. Acrobats and lion tamers were running about, practicing their acts. Everything seemed happy and cheerful on the outside, but on the inside, the Prison was a a dark and dreary mess. The Black Joker was directing the poor prisoners to their cells, snapping his whip whenever one got out of line.
However, for those at the Clover Tower, it was winter, with the snow falling into piles. The man with a tattoo of a lizard was berating his boss, an incubus, for not doing any paperwork. At least, the lizard man could once he found him. The incubus was hiding underneath a kotatsu in one of the many rooms, in hopes to avoid work.
And there was the clockmaker, always repairing the clocks of the place called Wonderland. It was quiet and peaceful, just the way he liked it. At least, until a certain foreigner came down the stairs, stretching and yawning from a good night's sleep.
"Good morning Julius!" she cheerfully said to the mortician. The gloomy man merely grunted as a response, too concentrated on his work. She frowned, but quickly wiped it off of her face.
"Do you want some coffee?" she asked him.
"Mhm."
She peered at the man, thinking that he works entirely too much. In fact, she was sure he hadn't set foot outside his room for almost a week. And yet here she was, constantly visiting her friends in different territories. She let out a huge sigh, but went to prepare some coffee like she offered.
Once she came back, she set the cup of coffee down on his desk, and stood there as she watched his hands work magic on the clocks. She still couldn't believe how graceful it seemed. Alice preferred this to any other type of magic that the other Wonderland residents could provide.
Standing by his side for a good ten minutes, she continued to be amazed. Then she realized that he still hadn't touched his coffee.
"Julius, drink up! The coffee is nearly cold!"
"Mhm."
"Hey, won't I get any points for this?"
"Mhm."
Alice tugged on her blond hair. He still didn't budge his hand from the pile of clocks. She could see his eyes intently concentrated on the clock's inner workings. It worried her and frustrated her at the same time.
"Well, I think Ace might be back with another delivery for you soon. You should take a break then."
"Mhm."
"And then again, Ace might be lost for who knows how long."
"Mhm."
"Are you just going to agree with whatever I say?"
"Mhm."
So he wasn't actually going to respond to her. Well, that's fantastic; she was just going to have to get a reaction out of him. And how would she do that? She thought about it while Julius was busy ignoring her. Alice hid a smile as she came up with an idea..
"So, I like what you've done with the place."
"Mhm."
"Dark and dreary is the way I like it."
"Mhm."
Oh boy, was this going to be fun! Alice bit her lip. She thought of the things she could say and not have Julius get worried... or angry.
"Okay then. I'm just going to go and make some pancakes."
"Mhm."
"Do you want motor oil on them?"
"Mhm."
"Fantastic," Alice drawled. Still nothing from Julius. She didn't like being ignored by Julius. Even if he was an antisocial man, she wanted to show him that she cared, but it wouldn't matter because he wasn't listening to a single word she was saying. The foreigner sighed inwardly. What else could she say?
"Hey Julius, Joker and I are going elope. We'll hold another wedding when we get back."
"Mhm."
Are you kidding me? She was sure that would elicit some type of reaction. Maybe just a glance up at her. Maybe a just a tiny pause of him not completely focused on the clocks. Maybe a twitch in his eye. Anything!
She let out another huge sigh, giving him one last chance to give her some attention. Nothing.
"Okay, well, I'm going to go visit Vivaldi then. I'll see you when I get back." She walked towards the door, frustrated by the clockmaker. Alice would have dragged him out with her, but she wasn't in the mood to force anyone to do anything.
She had her hand on the doorknob, ready to turn and go out in the hall of Clover Tower, when she heard Julius clear his throat and speak up behind her.
"You're not going out in that, are you?"
"Eh? What are you talking about? It's completely f-"
The foreigner cut her sentence off as she looked down at her outfit. Or rather, her nightgown. Cream colored, tied with a thick maroon ribbon on one side and a smaller ribbon on the other. Not exactly the best dress to go out in.
"Waaa? Okay, I'm going to go and ch-"
Alice whirled around, ready to charge upstairs into her usual blue dress and apron, only to fall back on the door. Julius was leaning over her, with his hands placed on both sides of her head. Alice could feel her face turn red since she could feel how close he was.
"Ah, w-what are you doing, Julius?" His face is so close that I can feel his breath, Alice thought, nervously holding onto the sides of her nightgown. I didn't even hear him cross the room!
His blue eyes gazed intently on the blond girl in front of him. He couldn't understand why she was always so concerned about him. It just didn't make sense. He who handles clocks of those who passed away. He is the mortician. Handler of the dead. He didn't deserve any of her care.
But just because he didn't deserve it, didn't mean he couldn't love her any less.
"Julius?" Alice tentatively asked the azure-haired man.
"Hmph?" He was brought back to reality, and realized he had been staring at her. Julius took his hands off the door. Hiding the blush that was crawling up his face, the clockmaker turned back around, only to find that a hand clutched the end of his coat.
Alice snatched her hand away and turned her head away from the clockmaker.
"Ah, sorry. I just wanted to know if you wanted anything while I'm out," she said as she slowly made her past Julius and go back to the other room.
And once again, she was stopped by the man. The pair were stopped for a few moments, where Alice could feel Julius's arms embrace her from behind, and feel his clock tick from inside his chest. This time, he spun Alice around and looked her dead in the eye before planting his lips on her own.
Their mouths moved together, sweet as can be. It's just like clockwork, Alice thought, but even more... caring. She kept her eyes closed savoring the moment, while Julius was relaxed and happy for the first time for a week.
Soon, the two lovers reluctantly pulled themselves apart, gasping for air. Their eyes met, and both Alice and Julius blushed red. Remembering what she asked of him, Julius spoke up, trying to keep his voice under control. What he said made Alice blush one more time.
"Can I get the pancakes without the motor oil?"
Thank you reading! My first oneshot, so feedback is absolutely welcome. Though, I think I may have Alice and Julius a bit OOC.
Inspired by a scene in a Nancy Drew novel. Heh, motor oil.