So I don't own Alice.
This is originally posted to tumblr, but I thought I'd add it here as well. :D
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"Here," The blonde man declared, setting a plate down with a flourish and smiling at the table's second occupant. "Would you like some?"
"No," Alice replied, speaking in a voice she hoped hid her unhappiness. She forced a smile. "Thank you."
The blonde man gave a cheerful nod before spinning on his heel in the direction of the workroom. Over his shoulder, he said brightly,
"Call me if you need anything, Nightmare."
"I will." Nightmare, sitting across the table from Alice, murmured dourly, staring down at the tabletop. He picked up a fork, and pushed the food around the plate without looking at it, making no move to eat.
"So…" Alice began hesitantly, not bothering to try to sound happy anymore; she was desperate to break the silence that had fallen the moment the other man left the room, even if it meant filling the air with the watery, congested sound of her voice. "Um…how is he?" she glanced at the door to the workroom over Nightmare's head as she spoke, trying to keep her voice from cracking completely.
Nightmare shrugged.
"He can cook." He said dully, still not touching the food. "And he-" he paused to put a hand over his mouth, body heaving as though he were about to cough blood all over the table. Alice looked up, half-expecting to see Gray come charging through the doorway in full nanny-mode at the sound of Nightmare's heaving. Then the incubus grabbed a napkin and used it to replace the hand over his mouth, catching the blood that came up on the clean white cloth, and she was painfully reminded that Gray wasn't going to appear.
Then Nightmare lowered the cloth and continued, voice strained and out of breath. "He's…easygoing." He looked down at the table again, still carefully avoiding looking at his plate and its contents. Alice looked away too, trying to hide the tears making their way down her cheeks.
After a moment of silence, she heard Nightmare move again, and then one of his hands covered hers where it rested on the table, his grip almost too tight for comfort. Her heart shattered at the gesture.
"I miss him." She choked, dashing a hand across her eyes and sniffing. Nightmare rose slowly, circling the table, and, ignoring the protest of his body, knelt down to wrap his arms around Alice, his chin coming to rest in the crook of her neck. Her arms wrapped around him in return and she sobbed into his shoulder, quaking in his grasp. "I miss him so much." She wept, and Nightmare squeezed her tightly, his gaze at last resting the full plate of perfectly cooked food steaming on his side of the table.
"I know, Alice." He said softly, and closed his eye against the sight. "I know."
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Review. No flames. ~Seeker