This one-shot is loosely based off of the new series on the SyFy Channel. This is also very much AU, considering I have no idea whether or not the weather changes in Wonderland. Also, this is taking place in a time where Alice and Hatter are NOT running away from the queen or any of her minions. It is set when they have just started exploring the possibilities of a new relationship.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot/storyline/ideas.
The weather had been quite cold for quite a while now in Wonderland. And as of last night, it was the first snowfall the land had seen in some time. Being from New York, Alice had in fact seen snow before, but nothing like this. The way it was falling made it almost like a fairy tale; slow and steady, yet breathtakingly beautiful. She couldn't help but press her face against the window of the small log cabin in which she and Hatter were staying. She took a deep, excited breath and smiled when it left a foggy spot on the glass. She pulled away and quickly drew a smiley face before the mist disappeared.
"Having fun?" a voice asked from behind her.
Alice turned and grinned. "Absolutely. It's so beautiful; I can't wait to get out there. Do you know how long it's been since I've just played in the snow?"
Hatter smiled. He had never seen this side of Alice before; and he liked it. "I do not. But it has been quite a while for me as well."
She walked forward and put her hands on his waist, pulling him slightly closer. Hatter's heart began to race as he too, put his hands on her waist, hoping desperately that she wouldn't be offended. "I think we should have a snowball fight. Or- oh!! Is there a lake or a pond or something near here? We could go ice skating!"
Hatter laughed, trying to hide his nervousness. "I don't think a snowball fight is such a good idea…"
Alice's face fell. "Why's that?"
"Because I would totally dominate you and I don't think that would be a good thing for your ego."
Alice laughed. "Ha! There are things about me you have yet to discover, Hatter. Me thinks YOU would be the one crying from a bruised ego."
"Oh-ho. You silly girl. We shall see," Hatter said mischievously as he began to tickle her.
"No, please! Stop! I surrender! Please!" Alice yelled as she squirmed and writhed all the way to the floor, desperate for him to stop.
"You really surrender?" Hatter asked from his position above her.
Panting, Alice replied, "Yes."
"Wonderful. Shall we head out?" he asked, jumping to his feet and holding out his hand.
Alice took it gratefully and was hauled to her feet. "Definitely," she said as she started to make her way towards the closet that held all of their outdoor gear. "Wait a minute," she said, pausing as she handed Hatter his jacket before reaching for her own. "You never said if there was anywhere we could go ice skating!"
Hatter sighed. "There is, but I'm afraid that the ice might be too thin for skating. Besides, we don't have any skates," he said as they settled onto an old bench near the door.
Alice shrugged. "That's ok. I'm sure our boots are going to be slippery enough."
Hatter sighed again. "I really wish you would stay off the ice," he said before he could stop himself.
Alice looked up from tying her boots. "And why's that, Mr. Worrywart?"
"Because…"
Alice raised an eyebrow at him. "Because why?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Because I don't want you to get hurt is why, ok?" he blurted out as he jumped up from the bench and his cheeks grew hot.
Alice's face softened. "Ok," she replied. "I promise not to go out on the ice."
"Thank you," Hatter muttered as he sat heavily back down on the bench. Alice gently patted his arm, causing his heart to race even faster than it was already going.
The two of them got dressed as quickly as they could, stealing coy looks all along the way. Alice wore some comfortable jeans, a sweater, her jacket, scarf and mittens, all with long underwear underneath while Hatter looked surprisingly normal in his own pair of jeans and a warm winter jacket. Oh, and of course his trademark hat, perched exactly where it always was.
As Hatter was making some final adjustments, he heard the door to the cabin open and then slam shut. He grinned as he pictured Alice, desperately trying to get the upper hand outside before he even set foot out the door. Taking his time, he snickered and decided to go out the back door and surprise her. He shut the door as quietly as possible and stealthy walked around the side of the cabin. Just as he was about to clear the corner, he was hit with a very wet snowball on his left arm. He spun around and just barely caught a glimpse or her dark brown hair as is whipped behind a tree.
"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" he muttered to himself as he squatted down to ready a snowball. But before he could even stand upright, another snowball struck him, this time, directly in the chest. Understanding that he was very much a sitting duck out in the open, he quickly dashed towards the trees for cover, narrowly missing another snowball. He smiled as he heard Alice's sweet giggles, slightly muffled from the falling snow.
Alice found a huge tree and breathlessly leaned against it. Her heart was racing. She was glad that she got at least two good snowballs in before he even knew they were coming because she knew as well as he that she didn't stand a chance as soon as he got out here. Alice was about to bend down and create another ball when out of nowhere she was tackled from the left and landed in a large snowdrift. She smiled into the snow and gasped as she was flipped on her back. She looked up and smiled again when she saw Hatter, smiling back at her. Her heart fluttered as he slowly leaned down, closer and closer…
"You're it," he whispered in her ear before jumping up and running away into the woods.
Alice's mouth dropped and she laughed as she propped herself up in the drift. Even though she was sure Hatter hadn't gone more than a few feet away, she couldn't hear anything. The snow was doing a great job at muffling everything. She also wasn't sure but, to her, it seemed that it was snowing harder than it had been a few minutes ago. Alice stood up and brushed herself off. She circled a few times before deciding to head in one direction, which she was hoping was towards the house.
After several minutes of trudging through the deepening snow, she came upon a clearing. It wasn't very large, maybe twenty feet across at its widest point; it was almost a perfect circle. Alice walked carefully forward and was just about to the middle when she heard something behind her. She whipped around and relief flooded her as she saw Hatter standing at the edge of the clearing.
"Are you all right?" he asked, looking alarmed.
"Of course," Alice replied, furrowing her brow. "Just got a little lost, is all."
Alice could see Hatter getting more and more agitated. He was wringing his hands together and shifting nervously from one leg to the other. "Something wrong?" she called out, taking a step towards him. Before he could answer, Alice heard a daunting creak. She froze, and looked down at her feet. Wanting to know what she was in for, she squatted down and wiped the snow away. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the ice, now sporting many cracks and crevices. Her head whipped up and she met the extremely worried gaze of Hatter. She swallowed noisily, but stayed in a crouch.
"Don't move," he instructed her. She nodded hastily.
"I swear, I didn't know," she started to say.
"It's fine," he said, trying to keep his calm. "You don't know the area. I should have warned you-" his voice broke and he looked down.
Alice had to squint to see him; the snow was falling faster and thicker now. "Hatter?" she called out anxiously. When he didn't respond right away, she called to him again. "Hatter?!"
"Yes, Alice. I'm sorry."
She took a deep breath. "What do I do?" she asked. She was starting to shake from nervousness and the cold. The heavy wet snowflakes were beginning to penetrate through her clothes, despite the fact that she was wearing many layers.
"You need to move as slowly as you can. Try not to disturb the ice."
Alice gulped and nodded. She slowly pushed herself upright and sighed when there was no further creaking. Instead of taking a step, she cautiously shuffled her right foot forward a few inches. The ice groaned with the shift in weight. Her head shot up and she desperately tried to make eye contact with Hatter.
"Hatter?" she called out again.
"Yes, Alice?" came his immediate response.
"How deep is this pond?" Silence. "Hatter?" she asked again.
"It's about eleven feet."
"Oh," Alice said softly. She lifted her head again. "And what happens if I-"
"You won't," he interrupted.
"Ok," she said, and took another hesitant shuffle forward. She had moved about three feet before the ice groaned threateningly again.
"It's ok," Hatter said, encouraging her forward. She still had about ten more feet to go until it was safe enough for Hatter to go out on the ice with here. It was just too thin, especially in the middle where she was, for him to help her. Please let her make it another few feet, he thought desperately. Alice made it several more feet without any complaint from the semi-frozen pond. She paused in her path and looked up to smile at him. Now that she was more confident, she cautiously picked up her foot and took an actual step. When nothing happened, she grinned and lifted her other foot. Her grin however, was short lived. For the ice gave one deafening crack, and Alice disappeared beneath the surface.
Hatter didn't even think twice as he ran to what he thought was the edge and lay down to distribute this weight as evenly as possible. He quickly scurried to the spot where Alice disappeared and began pushing the snow away to find the hole. Just as he got down to the ice, Alice surfaced, gasping for air.
"Hatter!" she cried, frantically trying to stay afloat. It looked as if her clothes were no longer helping her stay warm, but weighing her down for she disappeared a few seconds later.
Hatter's heart was threatening to jump right out of his chest. He plunged his right arm into the freezing water and frantically searched for a piece of Alice to grab onto. He came out with nothing and was about to go in once more when Alice resurfaced. This time he grabbed a hold of her collar and pulled her towards him.
"Alice! Alice, it's ok!" he said to her, seeing as she was still waving her arms frantically. "I've got you." She stopped and looked him in the eye. His heart twisted at the sight of how frightened she looked. "I've got you," he repeated, pulling her even closer. "Now," he said, looking her straight in the eye. "We've got to do this slowly, or else we're both going in." Alice nodded, her teeth chattering. "I'm going to start backing up, and you're going to kick to bring yourself out of the water, ok?" Alice nodded again. "Ok, here we go…" Hatter slowly began to scoot backwards, pulling Alice with him. Alice started kicking as best as she could and soon only the bottom parts of her legs were in the water. She smiled shakily, her teeth chattering as loud as ever.
"Almost there," Hatter said softly as her pulled the rest of her out of the water and into his lap. She was freezing and now that she was out of the water, her whole body went into violent convulsions.
"Ssssooo c-c-c-cccooold," she said, gripping the front of his jacket.
"I know, I know," Hatter told her as he quickly scooted back towards the pond's edge. When they were at last on solid ground, Hatter clamored to his feet, bringing Alice with him. "Can you walk?" he asked her.
"I cccan try," she said, lowering her legs to test them. She managed to stand for a few seconds before her knees gave way. Hatter caught her before she hit the ground. "G-g-g-ggguess nnnot," she stammered, grinning slightly.
Hatter smiled at her and bent down slightly. He then gathered her into his arms and planted a light kiss on her frozen cheek. "Off we go," he said, beginning the short trek back to the cabin. His chest grew tight as he drew his arms tighter around Alice's shivering frame and he picked up his pace. After several minutes, Alice was growing dangerously still in his arms.
"No!" he said to himself, and began running. The cabin was only a few yards away, and he desperately needed to get her warm. He sprinted up the four stairs of the wood porch and threw open the heavy door. Once inside, he kicked it shut and rushed to the bathroom. He set Alice on the fuzzy rug and turned the hot faucet on full blast with just a touch of cold. He then turned back to Alice and began undressing her. Her jacket practically cracked as he peeled it off of her. Her boots felt like cement blocks and her sweater and mittens were covered in icicles. He left the rest of her clothes on for modesty purposes and because they were completely frozen to her body so he couldn't have gotten them off if he tried. On the plus side, Alice was shivering again, which meant she was still alive and her body was trying it's hardest to keep her conscious. He tested the water; it was hot to the touch; he hoped he was doing the right thing. He then lifted Alice carefully and gently set her in the water. She cried out when her frozen skin touched the (to her) scalding water.
"Oh, Alice, I'm so sorry, but we have to get you warm," Hatter said sadly to her.
Alice slowly lifted her head and looked at him. "I know," she mouthed, for her teeth were chattering so bad that she couldn't speak. Hatter sat down next to the tub and leaned against it. He sadly watched the water rise and Alice shivering violently. After a few minutes, the water was up to her chest, and Hatter turned it off. Alice slowly sunk down so it was up to her neck and her body convulsed so violently that she accidentally splashed Hatter.
"Ooopppsss…" she said, hanging her head so she didn't have to look him in the eye.
"It's ok," he replied. "Feels nice."
Several minutes went by before either of them spoke again.
"I'm sorry," Alice muttered, her teeth no longer chattering.
Hatter lifted his gaze to meet hers. "For what?"
"I promised you," she said, looking away.
"Oh Alice," Hatter said, bringing a hand up to brush the tear that had fallen, off her cheek. "How could you have known? It's not like I gave you a tour of the area before our impromptu snowball fight, which, I believe, I won." He grinned at her.
Alice rolled her eyes and flicked some water at him. He grinned again. "I don't ever want to go swimming in the winter again," she said, bringing her arms up and wrapping them around her torso.
"Are you still cold?" he asked, feeling the water. He was very surprised on how the water had become so cool, so quickly. "Let's get you out of there."
Alice nodded and braced herself on the edge of the tub and tried standing up on her own. After Hatter had caught her when her knees failed her again, she grimaced and tightened her hold on him. He lifted her easily from the tub and set her on the toilet. He then left briefly and brought back three towels, a change of clothes and a heavy wool blanket. "I'll give you some privacy," he said and turned to leave.
Alice sighed heavily and shivered again as the door softly clicked shut. She stripped her soaking wet clothes from her body and dried herself as best as she could while sitting down; she still didn't trust her legs to hold her. After dressing as quickly as she could, she tried to clean up a little and forced herself to stand. Just as she was pulling herself to her feet, a soft tapping came from the other side of the door.
"Are you decent?" Hatter asked, cautiously.
"I, um, yes," she called out, still trying to remain standing without the assistance of inanimate objects or Hatter. The door creaked open and Hatter came in. He too, had changed into some more comfortable clothes, and looked amazingly sexy. His hair was damp from the heavy wet snowflakes and instead of standing straight up as it usually was, it was hanging dangerously close to his eyes. This gave him a dangerous allure that Alice couldn't help but notice. As Alice was looking him up and down, the stress from standing finally got to her and she dizzily collapsed back down onto the toilet. Hatter rushed to her side.
"Maybe you should just take it easy for a while," he said, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
Alice smiled at him. "I just wanted to clean up a little."
Hatter chuckled. "Leave that to me. Now come on, let's get you settled." He put one arm behind her back and the other under her knees and hoisted her gently into his arms.
"I could get used to this," she joked, cuddling in closer to his chest.
"You and me both," he said, discretely taking her wonderful smell. He edged sideways out of the bathroom and brought her into the living room area where much to Alice's surprise, he had set up what looked to be a very warm and cozy arrangement on the couch, a roaring fire in the fireplace and two mugs of what looked to be hot chocolate steaming on the coffee table. He set her gently down on the couch amongst the piles of blankets and then wrapped her up in a little cocoon. "This ought to warm you up pretty good," he said, handing her a mug. "Careful though, it's plenty hot."
Alice smiled at him and took a cautious sip. It scalded her tongue and she coughed a little.
"See? I told you," Hatter said, grabbing the mug from her and setting it back down on the table. "Let's leave those alone for a bit."
"Ok," Alice said, shivering again.
Hatter watched her carefully and frowned.
"What?" she asked, pulling the blankets closer.
"I don't know of any other way to make you warmer. This is incredibly frustrating."
Alice laughed. "You could get under these with me. Body heat is supposedly the best kind."
Hatter blushed a little. "Are you ok with that?"
"I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't," Alice replied, opening the blankets so he could come in.
"All righty then," Hatter said. "But I have a better arrangement, if you don't mind."
"Sure."
Hatter then proceeded to scoot in the corner of the couch and pulled Alice with him so that she was lying in between his legs and across his chest. He then pulled another blanket over the two of them, carefully tucking in the edges so no more cool air could get in.
"Mmmm. This IS better," Alice agreed, snuggling in closer. Hatter, meanwhile, was praying that she wouldn't notice a certain part of his anatomy that was growing dangerously, well, growing, to say the least.
After Hatter was certain the Alice had fallen asleep, she startled him by speaking up.
"Hatter?" she asked, squirming a little so she could see his face.
"Yes, Alice?"
"I uh… Thank you. For what you did today."
"Of course. What else was I supposed to do? Let you drown? Never."
Alice blushed a little. "It really meant a lot to me. How can I repay you?"
Hatter's mind went hundreds of way. Some of them, he was sure Alice would not want to hear.
"I don't need anything, Alice."
Alice sighed. "Yes you do. I'll feel bad if I don't give you something."
"Well, there is, one thing I could go for," Hatter said, smiling deviously.
Alice looked up at him. "Oh? And what might that b-" But before she could finish her sentence, Hatter leaned down and captured her lips with his. Alice's eyes shot open with surprise and she gently pulled away.
"I- I'm sorry," he stuttered. "That was wrong of me. I-" Alice reached up and placed a finger on his lips to silence him. She slowly swiveled around till she was facing him and this time, she leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"Never apologize for something like that," she said softly. She then pulled away and try and she might, could not suppress the shiver that caused her whole body to shake.
Hatter grinned and tossed his hat onto the coffee table. "Well this simply won't do," he said. He pushed Alice and followed her as she fell backwards onto the other end of the couch. He covered her whole body with his and pulled the blanket up over the two of them. Alice giggled and blushed. It was all the incentive Hatter needed to lean in once more and finish what he had started.