She Chewed on Her Pencil
a/n This is for tlah21, who really liked the idea of Hatter/Alice. And this is kinda of a continuation of my Alice in Wonderland "How it Should Have Ended". And Hatter is rather... obtuse. *grin* This may become more than a Oneshot if people request that I add to it. Just fyi.
The Hatter had begun to notice a habit of Alice's. She chewed on her pencil.
Every time they would come upon something new, or amazing, or dangerous, out of her bag would come the little pad of paper, and the tiny stub of a pencil. And instead of immediately beginning to write, she would stand, and tilt her head, and chew on that pencil.
She had rather nice lips.
Hatter stopped and considered his thought. Did friends notice one another's lips?
He pictured his other friends. The Tweedles must have lips, and they were constantly speaking. But he had never noticed their lips.
Mallymkun was also always speaking, dramatic monologues about courage and bravery and loyalty and punishing villains. But Hatter found he was not even sure if mice had lips.
The March Hare had a tendency to twitch and tremble, but Hatter had no idea as to whether his friend's lips twitched or trembled.
As for the White Queen, he knew he had never noticed her lips. Hatter was always caught by the fluttering of her hands, wondering if they would someday simply fly off without her.
Ches! He noticed Ches's lips! But, no, he simply noticed Cheshire's smile, since Ches liked to make everything else about himself disappear except his gleaming, mocking grin.
Hatter turned his attention back to Alice's lips. He had noticed them. Nearly constantly. They were a lovely, pale pink. And plump. And set off the fair pallor of her skin. And her large, dark eyes, always brimming with emotions, which he had become adept at reading. And it was all surrounded by the halo of her tangled, white-gold curls.
Alice was a beautiful woman.
Did friends think that about each other?
Hatter pulled off his hat, and considered again. Friends seemed to enjoy complimenting each other. But did they simply notice how wonderful the other looked, rather then looking for something to comment on?
Did they notice how the other smelled? (Alice smelled like faded roses and sugar and single-estate Windy Water tea, his favorite.)
Did friends notice how nicely the other's outfit made their friend look? (Alice wore a pretty blue, ruffled shirt, and patched brown trousers, and black leather boots, and a soft grey overcoat. It all looked quite appealing on her.)
Did friends get jealous?
This brought Hatter up short. Jealousy. It was not an emotion he had ever dealt with before. But as he let himself remember their travels so far, he found that he commonly found himself jealous when Alice was excited to meet someone new.
That fellow Crowsen, for instance. Hatter had not liked the way Crowsen had bowed over Alice's hand, or made her cheeks blush a delicate pink.
(Alice was, after all, Hatter's best friend. He was the one who was supposed to make her laugh and smile!)
Did friends not like it when the other got attention?
Hatter was more confused then ever. And he found himself watching Alice again as she chewed her pencil.
Maybe he should ask her what it all meant tomorrow? Alice would know.
Hatter nodded decisively and let his troubles drift away, and simply sat and watched his friend.
fin