Hey, everyone, long time no see! This was written for a prompt over on the staynexalice community on LJ. Prompt was, "Alice wears an article of Stayne's clothing." I wrote three different stories before settling on this one, and it's still not exactly what I had in mind, but I like it.
Each of the drabbles are 100 words long. Never done drabbles before. It was interesting! :D Anyway, everything belongs to Lewis Carroll/Tim Burton.
I
His shirt is missing. It's made of a thick cotton, dark and blue as the night sky, simple in style, with long sleeves and a small hole in the left seam, down near the hip. He does not own very many shirts, as he wears his armor so much of the time, so he notices immediately the empty spot in his drawer. He searches for it, of course, but it is nowhere to be found, and besides, it is not really that important. He can always have another made, should he so desire. He pulls out a different shirt instead.
II
She opens the door and peers in silently. He is fast asleep, his broad chest rising and falling as he breathes. She sneaks in, her shadow a dark, stretched, ghoulish version of herself. In a matter of seconds she is at the chest of drawers. Before opening it, she turns and looks at him, her heart seeming to pitter-patter between beats as her gaze rests on his face. She is struck with a sudden vision of herself accompanying him, nestled securely in his long arms, but she vanquishes it. She claims her prize and leaves as quietly as she came.
III
He sits down and fills his plate with food. It is almost one o' clock, just the right time for him to have lunch. There are not so many people as when it is noon, but it is not so late that he is starving. He wonders where she is. He has not seen her all day, which is unusual. Usually he sees her at least at breakfast, but today she is nowhere to be seen. Surely she would be hungry by now. He wonders if she is feeling well. Perhaps he will pay a visit to her room later.
IV
With a sharp snip, the dark thread falls limp and she admires her handiwork. It's nothing fancy, but it should be a nice surprise. She wonders if he misses his shirt. Probably not. He probably hasn't even noticed its disappearance. She folds it over her arm and approaches the exit. She ponders how to return it to his drawer without getting caught. Suddenly, she pauses. She glances at the fabric draped on her arm, then back into her room, and then back at the shirt, her imagination coming alive. With a somewhat devious smile, she steps away from the door.
V
Again, he sits down at the dining table. The sun is setting by now. At least this time she is not absent. She is wearing a new dress, he notices. Dark blue, with long sleeves, and… suspiciously like his missing shirt.
"Alice," says he, trying to see if there is a patched-up hole. She looks up at him demurely, her fork half-raised.
"Yes, Ilosovic?" she asks, and he feels a pang of longing as his name passes her lips. He hesitates, trying to word his next question carefully. At last he just decides to ask outright.
"Is that my shirt?
VI
She cannot fight the smile that appears on her lips.
"I'm a bit surprised you noticed. I thought the belt might have modified it out of familiarity," she said, gesturing to the thick cincher round her waist.
"Well, I own so few shirts that I know what all of them look like quite well." There is a mild grin on his face, betraying his sharp tone of voice.
"I was going to return it," she mentions.
"Oh, not at all. Take your time."
There is silence, and then the next moment he is on her chair, lips crushed against hers.