MUST READ
First off, if you hadn't read the first story, I suggest you go and do that to avoid being lost and confused. It's simply called We're All Mad Here
I don't own Joker/Clover/Heart no kuni. I only my OCs.
It's Official. I hate Wonderland. Wonderland and it's stupid, stupid cold. Wonderland and it's stupid, stupid winter!
"A-Achoo!"I sneezed harshly and shivered, pulling the blankets closer to me as I scowled at the fireplace, scooting closer to it. Nightmare wasn't doing anything different-he was just as susceptible to the cold as I was. I rubbed the goosebumps that were forming on my arms frantically, trying to warm myself. It was freezing. Between my sneezing and Nightmare's coughing, if this cold didn't go away soon Gray would have to go into "mother-mode" twice as much and have even more work on his hands. I felt bad for the guy. "Achoo!"
"Alexis!" I scowled and turned my head towards the voice, but jumped when heat hit my back and warm arms around my shoulders. "I missed you, chuu!" I felt him kiss my cheek and scowled for the fifth time in two minutes.
"Sh-Shut up." I missed you too, jerk."...Are you sitting down?" Pierce tilted his head at me and nodded with a smile, before taking a seat between Nightmare and I-forcibly removing me from my human pillow. Pierce was even warmer than Nightmare however, and with a dark red face I reached over and leaned against his chest, grabbing his arm and hugging it to keep myself warm and to give myself something to cuddle. Unfortunately I had to wiggle my arms out of my blankets to do so, so I was slightly more colder than before. I sneezed again and scowled, realizing that it wasn't only sinuses but that I had forgotten my cat allergy medicine as well.
"Alexis?" Pierce asked in surprise before smiling widely. I let out a squeak in protest as he suddenly moved away, pulling his arm out of my grasp.
"H-Hey! Sit back down you jerk! Gah-!" I let out a shout when he suddenly picked me up and sat down cross-legged, setting me in his lap before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close to him.
Nightmare coughed a little, turning his head away from the scene. There was a light pink dusting his cheek as stress lines formed down his face. Ah...third-wheeling. Gah! I'm so sorry, Nightmare!No. I wasn't going to be like Sarah and Jack. I wasn't going to let anyone be a third-wheel. I know that pain. Well, actually, now that I think about it, Nightmare's probably only feeling awkward more than anything.
...GAH! I DON'T KNOW! I CAN'T READ MINDS LIKE HIM, DAMN IT!
"Hm...You're so cute, chuu!" Pierce said and kissed the side of my head, causing me to scowl. I found myself moving closer to him though, attracted to the warmth that was radiating from his body. He was really warm. I sneezed again and he chuckled. "Your sneeze is so adorable, chuu!"
"Sh-Shut up!"
"Lord Nightmare, Alexis-I brought some hot chocolate."
"Gray!" We cheered, both looking up at the mother-figure happily. Gray shook his head at us with an amused smile, kneeling over and handing us both our chocolate. Gray...made awesomehot cocoa. I then blinked when I saw him reach into his pocket and pull out a small medicine bottle. Nightmare looked worried for a moment, before relaxing when he saw Gray pour two pills into my outstretched palm. I quickly popped the allergy medicine into my mouth and swallowed, taking a sip of my cocoa to help down it.
"Please be more careful next time, Alexis. It would not be very good for your health if you had to go to the hospital because of your allergies." My face flushed and I scowled, refusing to look at him. I still found it weird with people being openly worried about me. It made me happy, yeah, but I was still unused to it...
Pierce tightened his grip on me and I tensed, feeling my heart beat faster. His ear twitched. J-Jerk!
I said, talking to Gray, "I-it's not like I asked to forget about them..."
He shook his head at me, before ruffling my hair gently. "So you say. I'll be back for you, Lord Nightmare. I have to go give a certain Clockmaker his hot chocolate."
...Clockmaker? Wait, since when was there another person living in Clover Tower? As far as I knew it was just me, Nightmare, Gray, and Pierce.
-hands fiddling with bolts in an attempt to keep himself preoccupied. Dirty blonde hair fell into his face as he scowled, his brown eyes narrowed in concentration and annoyance as he pulled a gear out of a watch's clock. He fiddled with a knob, causing the clock hands to spin. His glasses nearly fell off of his face, revealing the dark bags underneath his eyes-
I was startled at the sudden memory, and felt my heart clench at the memory of my brother. I miss him. More than anyone back in my world, I miss him the most. Since the very beginning he was there, always looking after me and making sure that I was healthy and safe... He always kept the bullies away whenever he could. When I had a nightmare, he'd let me sleep with him in his bed and hug me, telling me it was alright to cry and that he would protect me. I smiled at the memory, finding it slightly bittersweet. I wish that my big brother was here...
"Kekekekeke~!" I tensed, suddenly remembering a really weird dream I had a few time periods ago. I then shrugged it off and went to take a sip of my hot cocoa, only to have Pierce lean forward and snatch the cup instead, drinking half of it. I gaped at him, stunned at his sudden actions. He didn't.
That little bastard just drank half my hot chocolate! "What the hell did you do that for-!" I was quickly cut off by him slamming his lips against mine, forcing my mouth open with his tongue. My face flared red and I slapped his shoulder repeatedly, trying to get him to back off as a warm liquid entered my mouth. I swallowed, wincing as the hot liquid went down my throat. I felt some hot cocoa trail down my chin. Once he managed to get me to swallow it all, he pulled back with a "Chuu" and kissed my cheek. I quickly wiped at the liquid on my chin and did the same with my cheek, scowling at him. He pouted at me. My face was really red, and I grew annoyed at how much his ear was twitching. One of these days I was really going to rip them off. "Wh-What was that for?"
"I wanted to kiss you, chuu... You won't let me do any long kisses with you, so I did this!" My face turned even redder. I struggled in his hold, tempted to smack him upside the head and to run away and hide somewhere he wouldn't be able to find me.
Nightmare coughed, a bit of blood trailing down his chin. He looked at Pierce with a slightly blue face. "C-Can you keep your thoughts to yourself, please? I don't need to know..." Blood spurted out his mouth and I cried out in alarm, struggling to push Pierce's arms off of me to rush over to the Incubus.
"Dude, are you okay!?" Oddly, Nightmare was the only one I wasn't uncomfortable with showing worry for. Maybe it's because he's really sickly and I used to be too, so I kinda understand know the pain he's going through. Or maybe because I trust him more than anyone here in Wonderland; I trust him even more than Pierce. I love Pierce, not that I'll ever tell him that out loud though, but Nightmare was my closest friend here.
Pierce tilted his head at Nightmare, eyes flashing slightly, "You can block thoughts, right?"
"Yes, but-!" He went into another fit and I flinched, watching him kneel over with one hand over his mouth and his other arm wrapped around his stomach. I rubbed Nightmare's back slowly, trying to ease the pain. "Stop thinking!"
"Eh? But I'm not thinking anything!"
Hah? Gah, I'm so confused... But I'm even more confused as to why it's Winter. WHEN THE HELL DID WONDERLAND HAVE SEASONS!?
Nightmare, finally managing to regain himself, coughed out, "A-April Season!"
"April..." April Season? Why does that sound so familiar?
"Gah!" I let out a small shriek when Pierce suddenly launched forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, nearly knocking me to the ground. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my hot cocoa on the ground, and I made a mental note to drink the rest of it before Pierce could come up with another devious plan like he did. I refuse to be the uke in this relationship!
Nightmare scowled before sitting up, coughing a little more into his fist to clear his throat and get rid of the access blood, before explaining as he tugged his blanket around him with a shiver, "April Season is the time where Wonderland gets seasons. You can no longer visit each territory freely anymore." I opened my mouth to question what he meant by that, but closed it realizing he'll just answer all my questions anyway without me even really needing to ask them. "Clover gains two new territories-The Amusement Park which is located north of here, and the Circus which is located in the forest of doors. There is also a door leading from Clover Country to Heart Country-which is located in this very tower. It connects the Clover Tower to the Heart Country's Clocktower, which is where the role-holder Julius Monrey resides."
Julius...Is he french? Pierce's name was french, too. Peter as well-though I believe he's British, if not Australian.
AGH! Too many accents! At least Nightmare and Gray speak American! Boris...I have no idea about him, honestly.
Alice...I thought was Japan ese because of the lolita-like outfit and formalities, but according to her she comes from America... Ugh... Blood might be Japanese however. This is hurting my brain. It's Wonderland, Alexis, deal with it. Nothing is supposed to make sense. Everything that doesn't make sense makes sense, and everything that makes sense doesn't make sense.
My poor head...
"In order to travel between territories, you have to win a game against Joker in order to change the season." I waited for him to explain. "Each territory has its own season-here it is Winter," Nightmare made a face, also being a Winter-hater, despite apparently loving the snow. He just disliked the cold. "At the Amusement Park it is summer, the Hatters Mansion is Autumn, and down in Heart Castle is Spring."
"...There's an Amusement Park?" That was really the only thing my mind was focusing on. I've only been to an Amusement Park once and that was King's Island. It was for band, and I didn't even get a chance to ride a rollercoaster. It made me sad. The people I was walking with ditched me and I was left to wander aimlessly lost and alone trying to find someone I knew to hang out with-one who wouldn't leave me. Luckily Derek had come as a chaperon and came to my rescue. "And a circus?" I had never been to a circus before. I've heard they were fun, though.
"The Amusement Park is fun!" Pierce chirped, before frowning. "The Circus isn't..."
"You don't have to go to the Circus if you don't want to," Nightmare informed, shivering a little. "It's a mandatory event for outsiders; however during April Season all role-holders must attend. In place of an Assembly, we go to the Circus."
"...I wanna go!" I said, biting the inside of my cheek. I was pouting. "I've never been to a Circus before!" I wanted to see a real clown. Oh, and an acrobat! Oh, oh! What about those knife-throwing guys? Oh, man, this was going to be awesome! "When you guys go, you have to take me with you! Please?"
Nightmare frowned, but sighed. "I'd rather you not go, but if you insist..."
"Yes!" I fist-bumped the air, and tensed when Pierce sat up and pulled me back into his chest. I scowled. I didn't say anything though, merely accepting the warmth he gave.
...
I was currently decked out in a pale brown tanktop underneath a red sweater with jeans. I was wearing a jacket over top of my sweater, and I was still cold. I was even wearing long socks to give my legs extra warmth, not to mention a pair of snow boots.
It was ridiculous at how cold it was. And what was even more ridiculous was the fact that I was actually making dinner for five instead of three. How big of stretch was that? My cooking skills aren't that good! I don't even know if I'm making this correctly...
"It smells good!" Nightmare reassured, peering over my shoulder. I scowled at him and moved, not liking the close-contact. It felt weird. Nightmare appeared to ignore my awkwardness though as he peered into the pot, grinning. "What are you making, anyway? It looks like beef strew!"
"It's called Pot Roast," I corrected, stirring the potatoes, meat, and carrots together. Nightmare was right though. The delicious aroma seeping out from the food... I inhaled deeply, a smile stretching across my face. It smelled so good. "I-It's really cold and-and I thought it would be good to eat something warm."
Nightmare looked excited-partially because it wasn't Gray cooking, and partially because Gray hadn't found him yet. He was worse than me-and he's the adult! "I can't wait! How long until its done!?"
"Uh...I think five minutes?" Nightmare practically glowed.
"I'll go get the clockmaker! Since he's living here, that makes me the landlord, which means he has to listen to me! Make my plate first, Alexis!" I opened my mouth to respond, but he had already bolted out the door. Idiot. Stupid Nightmare.
I scowled. Jesus, it wasn't that hard to sit down and wait for dinner to be done. Poor Gray. Huh. I wonder if he ran into Nightmare on the way to get...ah, what was his name? James? No...John? Yeah, let's go with John. John...
I felt a twinge of pain and guilt at the name, but forced it out of my mind. Actually, let's stick with James.
James worked with clocks...right?
-he cursed loudly when a gear didn't fit. Putting the useless object down, he reached over without even looking and grabbed a different pair-
I pursed my lips together. This was reminding me too much of my brother. I'm...going to stay in Wonderland. I...I can't think about him so much.
He wants me to stay. Sarah wants me to come back...If-If I told her that I wanted to stay...how would she react? I had no idea. It scared me to think of her reaction. What if she hated me for it? No. No, Sarah wouldn't hate me. She wasn't like that. Sarah... Sarah was too nice. I-I mean, yeah she had her issues with people, and most of them pissed her off with their inconsiderate jerk-ness, but she said that wouldn't hate me. I was one of the only people she said to have never angered her...to annoy her or... But what if that changed? I had no idea what was going on back in my world. How was everything getting along? Were they happy? I hoped they were.
"No, let go of me! I refuse to partake in this-!" I paused, turning my head in surprise at the sound of a man yelling in protest. Surprise surprise he had a deep voice-but not quite as deep as Nightmare's. I almost dropped the ladle when Nightmare and Gray entered, forcefully dragging a young man into the kitchen.
He looked about Nightmare's age, with broad shoulders and pale skin. He was probably as thin as him too, which was because he didn't eat a lot (In my guess that is. I knew what it looked like when someone was sleep deprived or starved) and had dark circles forming underneath his eyes. His long ebony blue hair fell onto his shoulders and was tied back with a yellow ribbon, falling down to his knees. He looked slight unhealthy, but healthier than Nightmare in any case.
"Hey!" Nightmare protested loudly, "I'm very healthy-!" Blood spurted out of his mouth, causing him to release "James"and kneel over, a hand over his mouth and the other over his stomach. Gray quickly pushed the stranger into the kitchen, kneeling down to grab Nightmare's purple handkerchief out of his coat pocket and start dabbing at the man's mouth, wiping off the blood.
"You shouldn't strain yourself, Lord Nightmare! This is why you should take your medicine properly!"
"I-I refuse!"
The ebony haired man scowled, crossing his arms as he glared at his surroundings. His gaze then fell upon me, and I blinked dumbly.
He was the prettiest man I have ever met. "Can I steal your hair?" It looks so pretty! Holy crap man, what products did he use!? It looks so shiny! I then realized what I said and a huge red spread across my face from embarrassment. "I-I mean, that's not-It's not like I like your hair or anything!"
"Wh-Why would you want to steal my hair!?" He looked visibly alarmed, and slightly disturbed.
Nightmare was breaking into fits of uncontrollable laughter, blood exiting his lungs harshly as he hacked. Gray was trying to calm him down, but it was failing miserably. Nightmare gasped, clutching his aching stomach, "Sh-She thinks-She thinks your hair is p-pretty-BWAHAHAAHAHAAA~!"
"IF YOU DON'T STOP READING MY THOUGHTS I'LL BURN YOU WITH MY FREAKING SPOON!" I waved the ladle angrily at him, glaring. I then let out a small scream when I realized that the roast needed taken off the burner. I quickly turned it off and shouted, "Stop distracting me damn it and sit down at the table already!"
"Why should I sit down when I don't even want to be here?" The pretty man grumbled to himself, but pulled out a chair and sat down anyway. He stole my chair. That jerk. Nightmare continued to laugh, but that was causing him to grow paler and paler by the moment. STOP DYING ALREADY!
"Th-Then stop making me laugh!" He wheezed, exhausted. He couldn't even move. "Gray~!" Nightmare whined, coughing a little more. Gray sighed and wiped at the blood on Nightmare's lips, before lifting the ridiculous Incubus up off the ground bridal style.
...I just had a really freaking hilarious image of Nightmare in a wedding dress, his hair pulled back in a pony, while Gray was the groom. Ah, if only that came to be. That's even better than when I told Boris that Nightmare may be gender-confused.
"Hey!" Nightmare protested, blood trailing down his chin. He looked insulted. "I am not gender-confused! And I'm not marrying Gray! Wh-Why are you being so mean to me; I'm important, so you should treat me with respect!"
I deadpanned as I started dividing the food onto plates, "I'll do that as soon as you stop running away from your cough medicine."
"B-But you hate that stuff, too!"
"Yes, but I at least drink it."
Gray spoke as he set Nightmare down in his giant orange chair, "Alexis is right, Lord Nightmare. You need your medicine to get healthier."
Pretty man spoke, scowling, "He's the caterpillar, Lizard. He's an immature child."
"I-I'm a bagworm!" Nightmare looked like he was going to cry. "A-And I'm your landlord, so-"
"You are not my landlord! Clover Tower and my Clocktower just happened to be connected! I don't have to treat a child like you with any respect." I grinned, seeing that I finally had someone to help make fun of Nightmare with. Yes!
Tears actually welled up in Nightmare's only visible eye. "Wh-Why are you all so mean to me...? I-I'm important!" He sniffled, watching as I placed his plate down on the table in front of him. He then paused, staring at the plate in shock before looking around at the other people. Suddenly he lunged, and I let out a scream as I was tackled to the floor. He hugged me tightly, crying out, "Alexis is the only one who cares! She even made my plate first like I asked!"
"G-Get off of me!" I cried out, struggling to push Nightmare off. "Wh-What is up with you people tackling me!?"
Pretty man sighed, placing a hand against his head as he rested his elbow on the table. "This is so tiresome...Can I please return to my room?"
Nightmare shot off of me like lightning, pointing dramatically at pretty man. "Absolutely not! You are eating dinner, the dinner that Alexis made for us, and that's final!"
I took that chance to scoot away from Nightmare and finish handing everyone their food. Why was I the one distributing everything, anyway? Can't they get their own food? Wait... "Where's Pierce?" Pretty man looked surprised at my question and raised an eyebrow as he looked at me, while Gray answered calmly,
"He was off doing something for the mafia again," He explained. He scowled, not a fan of Mafia, but not exactly hating on Pierce. Gray just didn't like the mafia in general. He found Pierce tolerable, like Elliot, and it helped that Pierce was a mouse. "He should be back soon, however."
"Oh..." I frowned and ignored the worry that formed in my gut. He...he's okay, isn't he? I pretended that I was okay and shoved the mixed feelings of worry and loneliness away, instead placing everyone plates on the table. I even got Nightmare a glass of water so Gray wouldn't have to get it later. I then made my own plate and sat down next to Nightmare, who was practically digging into the food. I shook my head at his antics, but my lips twitched upwards in amusement. "Uh..." I looked at pretty man awkwardly, seeing him staring at the food contemplatively. He observed Nightmare's reaction to it and deemed it safe, before taking a bite. "Who..." I swallowed, furrowing my eyebrows. "Who are you, anyway?"
He swallowed and turned to look at me. Tsundere. I instantly decided. His eyes looked a lot like my brother's did. Rough-around-the-edges, but overall a nice guy. I think. I hope. Maybe. Nightmare and Gray like him, so... "My name is Julius Monrey."
"I-I'm Alexis." Ugh. I hate introducing myself.
"Alexis~!" I tensed and barely raised a hand in time to avoid getting my face molested by Pierce. He let out a whine. "B-But, Alexis~! I just got back! Why won't you let me "chuu" you?"
"B-Because I'm eating!" Julius looked surprised at the dormouse, having not expecting to see him here. He turned to Nightmare, asking,
"Since when did the dormouse visit you?"
Nightmare paused in his eating, explaining, "Ah, he's been living here with us for a while now."
Gray said, "He and Alexis are together." Julius looked stunned. Nightmare started to chuckle as he took a drink of his water.
"Chuu?" Pierce asked hopefully, looking at me with those big green eyes of his.
"No chuu!" I responded, refusing to look at him.
"Chuu!" He leaned forward, trying to plant a kiss on my face.
"Stop that!" I complained, pressing my palm against his forehead in an attempt to get him to back off. My heart was racing faster. "N-No "chuu"ing me!"
"B-But..." Pierce pulled away, tears welling up in his eyes as he frowned. I lowered my hand and relaxed, relieved. My poor heart can only take so much... "CHUU!"
"MMmf-!" Arms wrapped around my neck as soft lips pressed against mine. W-Wait, hold on, did he just-GAAAH! My face turned a dark red, and Pierce's ear twitched at the sound of my heart beating faster. Pierce pulled away with a grin, before pecking me on the cheek.
"I squeaked in a kiss!" He laughed, causing me to scowl at him as I leaned away from him and towards Nightmare, who just looked amused at the whole thing. "Eh? Alexis, what's the matter, chuu?"
I have him a blank look, causing him to blink at me. "Just shut up and get your food, damn it." He pouted at me, but didn't burst into tears.
"Alexis," Gray started. I flinched and squeaked, shrinking down into my seat.
"I'm sorry!" Agh! Crap. "W-Won't do it again!"
He nodded, accepting my apology. I held my breath for a few more moments before relaxing. I took a bite of my food. ...Random, but Nightmare said something about an Amusement Park, didn't he? I wonder... I bit my lip, turning my head to stare at Pierce for a few moments, watching as he sat down beside me. Gray was sitting on the other side of Nightmare, across the table, next to Julius. Wait, if Gray's the mother, Nightmare's the brother, and Pierce is the boyfriend, does that make Julius the father? I fought down a grin, resisting the urge to snort.
"Hey, what is it, Chuu?" I jumped and leaned to the side, staring at Pierce in alarm when he suddenly grew closer to my face. "You're smiling. Is the food you made really yummy? Does it taste like cheese!?" He started to grow excited. I deadpanned, placing a hand against his forehead and pushing him away from he with a scowl and a red face. His ear twitched.
"No, it's not anything like cheese. And yes, it is really good-in my opinion at least." Pierce blinked before he looked down at the plate in surprise, a huge smile grinning across his face despite it not tasting like cheese. His enthusiasm confused me. "What?"
"You think it's yummy, right? And you made it?"
"Uh, yeah..." I had no idea where this was going. Nightmare looked like he was trying not to choke on his food from laughter, Gray was watching calmly but curiously, and Julius looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.
Pierce picked up his fork and took a bite of the meat, smiling ear-to-ear all the while. I think I saw him kicking his legs back-and-forth too. "You always make yummy food~!" My eyes widened and I felt my face burn. W-What? He-He thinks it's... I scowled and turned my head, stabbing at my potatoes with a fork before mumbling,
"Y-yeah, well...It's-It's not like I care what you think, anyway." He grinned at me regardless, and I chewed, stubbornly refusing to look at him.
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