Oyster

Oyster. It was a word that set her apart from those in Wonderland. It was often spoken with fear or pity. More often than not spat with disgust. In wonderland she was a contaminant, something that never should have existed there in the first place.

To be branded with the name oyster, even more so to be branded with the "glow" as Hatter called it, had severely hurt. It was just like a racial slur, as demeaning as anything her world had come up with. This was the first time she had really felt how hard a simple word could sting.

Waking in the hospital and finding her glow gone had been a relief. She was just a normal person again. Just like everyone else. Nothing set her apart here, nothing marking her as other. No one here knows what the word oyster could mean and no one was going to use it to describe her.

When Hatter came for her she'd been so happy. She was also relieved to know that no one would ever make him out to be anything other than a normal, charming, handsome man. Her world knew nothing of Wonderland and there was nothing about him that would clue anyone in on the fact he came from another world. There was no light here to burn a brand in his skin and for that she was grateful.

Putting Wonderland and her oyster name behind her Alice began focusing on all the good things that had changed in her life. Hatter was definitely the best of those changes. He had left his life behind to start a new one here with her. She could only hope she was making him happy here and that he would never regret his decision.

He had been here a few weeks when it had happened. During a session of heated kisseing and whispered endearments he had called her that name. "My sweet little oyster." He whispered to her in between words like love and sweetheart as if there was nothing wrong with it. She froze underneath him and it took him a moment before he knew anything was wrong.

He pulled away to look down at her. "Whats that matter?"

She looked up at him, her hands still frozen at his back. "Why would you call me that?" She could see his confusion as he mentally went over what he had said to her. She pushed him off of her and got up so they were both sitting on the couch. "Why would you call me an oyster?"

Hatter sat there still looking lost. "Because...you..are?"

She moved from the couch to stand in front of him. "No I'm not" she said shaking her head. "Not here I'm not. I don't have to be branded with that name here. I don't have to be looked down on here and I'm not an oyster!"

Hatter stood up and moved towards her, his hand held out in front of him defensively. "Ok stop and just calm down. I didn't mean it to agitate ya like this. You know that. I was just trying to be cute thats all."

She shook her head again and backed away from him slightly. "Theres nothing cute about being an oyster Hatter. Oysters are something your people use. Something that they drain dry and then throw away. And the people who don't want to use them want nothing to do with them. They want to avoid my kind like we're some kind of plague."

Hatter closed the gap between them in a few short steps and reached out and grabbed her arm. She hadn't even realized that she had been clutching her arm to her chest, instinctively she had tried to hide her glow even if it was no longer there. Hatter forced her arm against his own chest grabbing her hand in his. "I don't think like that Alice. Oysters are different and amazing. They're all light and sound and feeling. You cant stop being an oyster any more than I can stop being a Wonderlander, and that I can assure hasn't always been seen as a good thing. You know if we're going to look at it that way then most of your people see Wonderlanders as monsters who come through the looking glass to steal them away in the middle of the night?"

Alice went quiet and thought about what he said. It was true and he was right but it still didn't change the fact that being an oyster held bad memories for her.

"Hey" he said as he reached up to cup his had to her face. "If it upsets ya this bad I wont say it anymore. Ok?"

She nodded and he tilted her chin up so he could catch her lips against his. He hadn't meant to hurt her and she knew that. They slipped slowly back into their previous activities. She knew that one day the word would lose its edge and no longer be hurtful to hear. Maybe, just maybe when that day came she would let him call her oyster. Because as much as she didn't like being called oyster, as long as she was being called his oyster than it might just be alright.

a/n

Ok so originally this was going to end with Alice becoming ok with Hatter using oyster as a pet name and I had intended it to be a fluffy piece. However as I wrote it Alice just didn't seem to like that idea and kept fighting to not be called oyster. I don't even think smooth talking Hatter could change her mind. Oh well. Hope to have another one-shot up soon.