Disclaimer: I don't own Alice. SyFy does. Though I'm sure all of us long to find those official papers giving us legal rights wrapped up neatly under the tree, huh? :P
A/N: Just a fun little fic I thought of for a Christmas present to all my lovely Forgotten reviewers. This is my way to thank all of you for helping keep me motivated. Enjoy!
Summary: Alice struggles to make Hatter's first Christmas the best she can. There's a lot he needs to learn about the holiday, including how to shop for Christmas gifts, how to assemble a Christmas tree, and the art of mistletoe… Three shot. Alice/Hatter
It was Hatter's first Christmas in the human world. Alice was determined to make it the best and most memorable she possibly could. But he didn't seem particularly interested in the important human holiday, especially after Thanksgiving.
The big dinner had been attended by all of the Hamilton relatives, both those close and distant, and each and every one of them had been determined to introduce themselves to Hatter and make sure he would always remember them. Alice had never been more embarrassed in her whole life. Especially after seventy-seven-year-old Aunt Marjorie had actually pinched both of Hatter's cheeks and then planted a lengthy kiss on his lips. Alice had wanted to die when she saw the stunned expression on his face. It had only gotten worse when Marjorie's four sisters hadn't wanted to be undone, and all vied from that moment on to give him their own pecks of affection. Alice and Hatter had left early.
She had assured him on the way to his apartment afterwards that Christmas would be a much smaller affair, with just the two of them and her mother present. The rest of the Hamilton relatives who lived in the surrounding area would come on New Year's Day to exchange gifts. Hatter had tried to hide his very obvious relief, and said something about how he had a feeling he'd be grievously ill on New Year's Day, and therefore confined to his apartment.
And so after that first disastrous Oyster holiday, she was determined to make sure his next one was perfect.
When she woke up on the first day of December, alarm clock blaring, she reflexively reached out for Hatter, but her hand found nothing. That was when she remembered that she was in her bedroom at Carol's house instead of in Hatter's apartment. She tried not to feel disappointed, and instead climbed out of her warm bed and started getting dressed. She didn't have to be at the dojo today, and so she had big plans.
After she was fully clothed in jeans and a blue sweater, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and went to the window. Flakes of fluffy white snow were falling softly from the sky, as they had been off and on for the past few days. The sidewalk below her window was coated in both snow and ice.
She stared down at it for a few minutes, smiling to herself and thinking of when the snow had first started coming down, and Hatter's adorable reaction. He'd thought the sky was falling at first, until she'd explained properly. Wonderland had never received any snow, he had told her with a furrowed brow. And even after she had assured him that the stuff was perfectly harmless, he continued to regard it with much suspicion.
Alice shook off thoughts of Hatter, knowing she would see him soon enough in person, and went out to the apartment's main area. Her mother was in the kitchen preparing a steaming bowl of oatmeal for her breakfast. "Good morning, dear."
"Hi, Mom." She grabbed a banana from the counter and peeled it, tossing the skin into the garbage. "It's snowing again."
"What a surprise," Carol said. "A snowy Christmas in New York City? Never thought I'd see the day." She took her bowl to the table, then turned to face Alice again. "Are you going over to David's again this morning?"
"Yeah. I'm going to take over that little Christmas tree I bought yesterday and set it up in his apartment. He's never had a tree before. Or a Christmas, for that matter. I'm trying to make this one as special as I can."
She nodded knowingly, and murmured something that was lost in the scraping sound of her chair being pulled back from the table.
"What?" Alice said, finishing the banana and pouring herself a glass of orange juice.
"I said, why don't you just take it all over and be done with it?" Carol repeated, shaking her head. "You're not fooling anyone but yourself by taking everything you own over there one thing at a time."
She blinked a few times. "What are you talking about?"
"Alice, David obviously wants you to move in with him, and I can tell you want to, as well. But he's afraid to ask you, because it's only been two months, and he doesn't want to scare you off. And you're afraid to ask him, because you don't want to be the clingy girlfriend. You think I haven't noticed all this? I'm around you two enough that it's impossible not to. And besides, half of the things you own are already over there anyway. Just make it official."
She was suddenly very absorbed in her glass of orange juice. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mom. But I've got to go. Hatter's waiting for me."
Carol said something that sounded like, "I'm sure he is," but Alice pretended not to hear. She hurried to her room and pulled on her coat and boats, then got the box containing the tree and a plastic bag of various other Christmas goodies, and left again. She kissed her mother on the cheek and told her she'd be home later, then exited the apartment and took the elevator to the ground floor.
It only took about ten minutes to reach Hatter's apartment building, but her cheeks were flushed with cold by the time she got inside. Since the building didn't have an elevator, she hurried up the two flights of stairs. The exercise did a lot to get her warmed up.
Shifting the combined weight of the box and bag to her other arm, she raised a fist and knocked. She waited expectantly for a few minutes, but he didn't open the door. Frowning, she stood on her tiptoes and reached for the spare key from where it was hidden on the top board of the doorframe. She inserted it into the scratched lock and slipped inside, kicking the door closed behind her.
The apartment was cold and dark, except for a faint light shining from the kitchen. "Hatter? Hatter, are you here?" There was no answer, so she put her burdens down just inside the doorway and followed the light into the kitchen.
Hatter wasn't there, but a steaming cup of coffee resting on a thick hot pad and a note were. Since the coffee was still warm, Alice realized she must have just missed him. Taking a sip and smiling at how well he already knew her habit of needing caffeine to properly start each morning, she leaned down to read the note. Hatter's familiar writing scrawled across the page. Alice. I'm sorry, love, but I've been called in to the café to work the morning shift. Cassie was sick, and there was no one else available to work. What are the odds, eh? I'll be back by noon. Love, Hatter.
She checked her watch. It was only ten o'clock. That left two hours to wait until Hatter got back. And it didn't make any sense to go all the way back to her mother's if she was only going to come back in two hours. She glanced around, then nodded briskly to herself. She could find plenty to do around here until Hatter got home. First, to find the perfect place to set up the Christmas tree.
When the apartment door creaked open at ten minutes after twelve, Alice was waiting. She hurried out of the kitchen to meet Hatter at the front door, holding behind her back a sprig of mistletoe she'd taken from her bag of Christmas goodies. Around the corner, she found Hatter just taking off his coat. She sprang at him, almost knocking off his hat, and wrapped both legs around his waist. He reacted instantly and caught her, holding her body tight to his.
"Hi there," he said, grinning at her. His lips were separated from hers by only a few inches of open air. "It's right cold out there."
She smirked and leaned even closer, taking off his hat and putting it on her own head. She ran one hand through his hair. "Let me warm you up," she said, and kissed him. He didn't protest, quickly taking over the kiss and performing a lengthy exploration of the inside of her mouth with his tongue. They were both breathless after a few minutes of this, and Hatter didn't look at all cold any longer.
"One more?" She produced the mistletoe from behind her back and dangled it over their heads.
He eyed the green leaf with obvious bewilderment. "What's that?"
She frowned at him, thinking he was trying to make fun of her for some reason, then remembered that he genuinely didn't know what it was. "Mistletoe. Whenever two people walk under a piece of it, they're supposed to kiss."
He raised his eyebrows, and brushed another, lighter kiss across her lips, one that was intense enough to make goose bumps explode all over her arms. "I don't see the point of it. Whoever needs mistletoe for an excuse to kiss his girlfriend is one sad bloke."
"It's supposed to be romantic."
"Well, in that case…" He kissed her again, this time much deeper. When Alice finally unfurled her legs from his waist and stood on her own two feet again, her breathing was more than a little unsteady.
"So what've you got on the calendar for today, love?" Hatter asked her, taking his hat back and effortlessly flipping it onto his head. "I'll make lunch first, if you want. There's still some lasagna left from the other night, I think."
"No, let's do something else first," she said, then laughed when she saw his expression. "No, not that. Maybe later. I was thinking more along the lines of this." She moved around him to pick up the box containing the Christmas tree she'd brought over, and shook it invitingly.
He stepped closer to read the small writing. "A Christmas tree?" he said, and looked at her questioningly.
"This is your first Christmas, Hatter. You need to have a tree."
He nodded. "All right. Whatever you say, love. So how does it work?"
"We have to set it up. Come on, in here." She led the way into the living room, and put the box down in the spot she'd cleared out earlier, by the single window. She opened the lid and struggled to pull the tree out of the box. It was a metallic green, and roughly three and a half feet tall. The branches were already assembled, if a little crumpled, and the pre-strung lights were ready to be plugged into a wall socket.
There was a moment of silence. Alice turned to study Hatter's face; he looked like he was struggling to find words. "It's…bright," he said. "Green. I like it."
She beamed. "I thought you might. I saw it and thought it looked just like you."
"I'd like it better if it were blue. Like that dress of yours," he said, grinning wickedly.
She rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the side. He pretended to be in absolute agony, clutching his side and gasping melodramatically. "Well, the store was all out of blue trees, so you'll have to make do with this one. Now, we've got to straighten out all the branches. Like this." She demonstrated, pushing and prodding one until it was perfectly shaped.
Hatter expertly copied her example. "This isn't so hard," he said, as the two of them set to work on the rest of the small tree. "Some of the people I work with have been complaining about putting their trees up later this week."
"Most people have trees a lot bigger than this one. Maybe we'll get one like that next year."
From the corner of her eye, Alice saw him glance quickly at her, a smile tugging at his lips. She looked at him, but he'd already glanced away again, seemingly focused on his work. She turned to face him, putting both hands on her hips. "What?"
He blinked innocently. "What is it?"
"You were looking at me funny," she said. "Was it something I said?"
He shrugged, and reached up to touch his hat. This was a gesture Alice already recognized as one he used to comfort himself when he was feeling unsure. Though such an occurrence actually didn't happen very often. "I just…you said next year, Alice. As in, next Christmas. You're planning to still be with me next Christmas."
She was honestly shocked that he might think otherwise. "Of course I am," she murmured, leaning over to give him a kiss. "I love you, Hatter."
"I love you too, Alice of Legend," he said with one of his trademark smirks.
She didn't know quite what to say to that, so she quickly turned back to the tree and finished fluffing up its branches. Once she was satisfied with it, she opened the bag of goodies she'd brought, and handed Hatter a plastic box.
"What's this?" he said, turning it over in his hands.
"Ornaments," she said. She slit the tape on the lid of the box with a fingernail, and took one of the glittery blue bulbs out. "See, we hang them on the tree. Like this." She hooked one over a branch, and then brushed the extra glitter from her fingertips.
He followed her example and hung a bulb next to hers.
"Yeah, just like that," she said encouragingly.
She took another bulb, and so did he. It wasn't long before nearly every branch had been filled by a small blue bulb. Hatter looked pleased with it, and Alice was suddenly very glad she'd thought to buy it for him.
"Looks perfect," he said, putting one arm around her waist. "Just like you."
She tried to look like she thought that the compliment had come across as incredibly cheesy, but failed miserably and ended up blushing instead. "Not quite," she said, more to distract him from her red cheeks than anything. "We still need to add the star. And I have a couple other ornaments I still want to go on there."
She pulled from his embrace and rustled around inside her bag. She finally produced a shiny golden star, which she handed to Hatter. "This goes on the top of the tree. There," she said, and pointed.
He put the star on where she'd told him to, then stepped back to survey his work. "We never did anything like this in Wonderland," he said, a note of melancholy entering his voice. "We never celebrated anything, really. Except for unbirthdays."
She pulled two smaller objects from the bag and walked up to join him beside the tree again. "We still need to pick a date for your unbirthday."
Hatter had told her that he didn't know how to translate the Wonderland date for his special day into Oyster time, and had no real desire to combine the dark days of his old life with this new one. She thought that was a very sweet thing for him to say, though it made her feel bad for him, and wonder what exactly he'd been forced to go through back before he had met her and left Wonderland far behind.
"There's no hurry," he said, bringing her from these depressing thoughts and back into the more cheerful present. "We've got to get through, er, enjoy Christmas first, yeah?"
She tried not to laugh, but it was a losing battle. She busied herself with plugging in the lights. The tiny yellow dots shone brilliantly through the room, despite the dim sunlight filtering in through the window. She attached the last two ornaments to a branch, then tilted her head to one side and smiled. "So what do you think?"
He stared in silence for a few moments. "What're they supposed to be, then?"
"That's me, and that's you, silly," she said, slugging him in the arm.
He continued to stare blankly. "You're not blond, love. And do you really think I look like that? Because my hair wasn't white, last time I checked."
"They're novelty ornaments based on this Disney movie that came out in the fifties," she explained. "See, Alice looked like this, and the Mad Hatter looked like this."
He didn't seem particularly impressed with the ornament meant to represent him, but leaned forward to gently touch the tiny Alice. "I liked your dress better," he said with a crooked little smile.
And she couldn't help kissing him again.
If everyone likes this so far, I'll post the second chapter soon. :D