CHAPTER THREE.
A/N: Thanks so much to smiles2go for being my first reviewer! And thanks to Leiary Seiner for reading my drafts every so often. You're a gem.
"Hatter! Join us, will you?" a busty blonde crooned as soon as Hatter stepped into the Tea Shop. The misty haze made her look as if she was gliding across the floor as she suddenly appeared at his side, smelling strongly of Emotion tea.
"Now, now, Gryphon, you seem to have had a little too much to drink." He tried to push her away as she flung her arms around his neck. Her knees buckled and Hatter grabbed her around the waist to keep her standing. Gryphon hiccupped and pulled Hatter down into one of the half-egg shaped chairs, clambering on to his lap. She knocked his hat off as she roughly twisted her fingers in his hair, bringing her face close to his. Hatter's eyes watered as the pungent taste of Lust met his lips with every one of Gryphon's exhalations. "Hatter… I've missed you." He attempted to grab his hat off the floor, but she pinned his arms to the armrests. "You don't come out here as often as you used to… Have you forgotten about me?"He shuddered as she ran her nails along his chest, trailing small spirals to match those on his paisley button down shirt. Hatter closed his eyes for a second and suddenly Gryphon's mouth came crashing down to meet his and he pushed her off of him entirely. He spun around in his chair to see Cheshire standing in the doorway leading to his office, staring directly at him with confusion burning in her eyes. He got up to walk towards her, but she bolted towards the exit, dropping her hat in the process.
But she did not turn back.
Cheshire shoved the iron doors open and kept running until she reached a lone tree leaning over the river. She wrapped her fingers around a low branch, using her feet to push herself up the trunk. Once she had clambered on to the branch, she continued climbing until she got halfway up the tree and sat down. She buried her face in the sleeves of the flannel shirt he had given her. His smell permeated her senses and made her mind grow fuzzy. She kicked her leg angrily against the trunk of the tree, chipping off small bits of bark and watching them fall into the water.
"You know, you should probably not hurt the poor tree. It didn't do anything to you." She whirled around to see who was behind her, only finding a slim, fancily dressed young man sitting on a branch below her. Her eyes widened and she leapt down nimbly to sit beside him.
"March…" The Queen of Hearts' adopted son. Cheshire's childhood friend. "What are you doing here?" She gave him a quick once-over. In the three years she'd been on the lam, March had grown into a fine young man. His round, boyish face that had once been framed by curtains of thick brown hair had thinned out, defining his cheekbones. As far as his hair, that had been cut short, just enough to look as if it was in a state of permanent casual disarray. His lean legs straddled a branch and Cheshire realized how tall he had gotten.
He placed his hand on her knee and she stiffened, tucking her leg under her body. March frowned and drew his hand back. "I came to look for you."
"And you coincidentally happened to find me?" she questioned, cocking her head in confusion. He nodded, smiling and extending his hand. Cheshire faltered as he gestured for her to come closer. He had always led her on horribly while they were living in the Casino. She'd fall for his incendiary charm over and over again but nothing would ever come of it. He'd often leave her alone at night to go out to Wonderland's flashy nightclubs.
But as her hand twitched in anticipation, she brought the flannel sleeve back up to her nose and inhaled. Hatter.
Almost instantly, she connected the smell that was once her aphrodisiac to the image of Hatter's face being… swallowed by some strange blonde woman. She dropped her hand into March's and he urged her closer, placing his hand on her waist and pulling her into his lap. Unconsciously, her head fell against his neck and March smiled as his hand moved from her waist to the fingers of her free hand.
"I missed you, darling. You shouldn't have run off…" She felt uneasy as his hands made their way to her wrists. "I could have protected you from mumsy. She's quite harmless." March nudged Cheshire with his shoulder and she looked up at him.
"But you were the one who-" Before she could finish her retort, March's lips pressed against her so eagerly that she could almost taste the Passion on his –
Cheshire ripped her arms from his grasp and shoved him off. "You've been drinking."
"And?" he countered, leaning forwards again. Cheshire skillfully swung herself down to the branches below and began to ease herself out of the tree.
"And, you wouldn't be doing that if you were completely sober. So you can leave now, March. I'm not going back with you." She paused to fix her boot and March landed on all fours beside her before straightening back up.
"Mother had me train with her best trackers, you know. There's a reason I was able to find you so quickly." March narrowed his amber eyes as Cheshire glared at him.
"Or maybe it was sheer dumb luck that you found me in your latest hangout." He growled and reached out to grab her shoulder as she turned on her heel to stomp away. She shrugged it off and ran towards the Tea Shop door, leaving March standing under the tree with murder in his eyes. He attempted to walk after her, but the tea had kicked in, leaving him slightly dazed and confused.
If March had been following her, Cheshire didn't care. She slammed the door shut behind her and ran into Hatter's office. She stopped dead when she saw him sitting on his desk holding her hat in both hands and looking miserable.
"Oh. Hello," he mumbled, holding the hat out. She stood sheepishly in front of him for a while before disappearing into the bedroom, clicking the door shut behind her. "L- Chess..? Cheshire?"
Her silence bothered him. And it wasn't the kind of bothering where it would come and go every few seconds and he could dismiss it without care. It was the kind that tugged at whatever it was inside his chest cavity because he knew she was upset and he was more than likely the cause of it. Hatter knocked lightly on the door to her (his, he corrected himself) bedroom.
"G'way," she mumbled.
"I'm coming in." Hatter turned the knob and pushed, finding Cheshire lying in the fetal position in the center of the floor. The blankets were tossed carelessly into a corner and the desk had been overturned, the vase that was once on top lying in bits on the floor. She didn't move as he stepped over the glass shards and came closer to her. Hatter bent over to touch her and she curled up into a tighter ball.
"I said, go away."
He stood straight up and crossed his arms.
"Fine. I will. You try and help someone, but nothing is ever appreciated anymore." He turned to walk away, hoping she'd say something.
Silence.
Hatter sighed and closed the door behind him. She's driving me to Wit's End, she is... He sat down in the swivel chair behind his desk, putting his feet up on the crystaltabletop. He could hear her muffled sobs and wondered if she was still lying there on the floor. Serves her right. Life is not all rainbows and happiness. She of all people should know. He placed his hand over his eyes and sighed.
Cheshire's sobs grew louder and louder until they cut off completely and all he could hear was her choked up breathing settle down to an even pace. Hatter removed his hand to see Dormouse standing on the other end of his desk.
"Is she..?" Hatter shrugged. "Well, I need to talk to you about some Shop related things…" Dormouse held out a folder of papers and left it on Hatter's desk to look over.
"Come back after we close up shop, alright? I want someone there to make sure Gryphon doesn't… Do anything bad." Dormouse nodded sleepily, yawned, and went back outside. Hatter flipped through the papers and pushed them to the side of his desk, covering his face with his porkpie hat and leaning back in his chair.
He had not realized that he'd fallen asleep, and for a couple hours at that. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and got up to check on Cheshire. He creaked the door open slightly, letting a streak of light enter the room.
She had moved from the floor and to the bed, but the blankets were still in a pile on the other end of the room. She had also taken her clothes back from the line outside and left his flannel and sweatpants sprawled across the floor. A towel was bunched up by the door, still damp, leading him to assume she had bathed. Hatter heard Dormouse enter his office again and he turned to hold up one finger. "I'll be out in a bit… I need to take care of some things." Dormouse sat down on the couch in his office and dozed off.
He entered the bedroom, softly shutting the door behind him. Hatter tiptoed to the back of the room, gathering up the blankets and bringing them over to the bed where he draped them over her and sat down beside her.
Cheshire's eyes snapped open as she felt the edge of the mattress sink in as he sat down beside her sleeping form. "I told you to go away."
"No, it's freezing cold and I'm not about to feel guilty for having you shiver all night," he growled. Her piercing green gaze found his eyes in the dark and she sat up, challenging him to try and continue to mother her. "Goodnight Miss Cheshire." His husky breath danced across her face and she instinctively tilted her chin upwards. At that moment his lips collided with her cheek and Cheshire drew back in surprise. She heard the floorboards creak as he quickly stood up and began to walk away.
"Get back here."
Hatter chuckled softly, turned on his heel and crept back to Cheshire's bed. "Dormouse will be suspicious if I'm not out in a second…" he murmured in her ear.
"Stay here, and that's an order." Hatter's grin was visible even in the lack of light. "You can't tell me to fuck off when I treat you like a lady and then order me around when you want me. That's not how it works, darlin'." She pushed away the blankets and stared at him. "Then I'll freeze and it will be all your fault." He kept smiling at her. Her glare hardened. Persistent, he is… Why won't he just give up and leave me?
"You've got to learn to make up your mind, girl. You're just about as mad as a box of frogs." He knelt down on the bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her frigid frame. He bundled her up against the blankets she had shoved away earlier and lay down. Her hands made their way to his chest as he nestled his face in her hair, sighing. The smell of the Tulgey Wood mingled with the smell of the soap she had washed herself thoroughly with and the combination made something stir in his stomach.
"Hatter?"
"Mhm?" he mumbled, looking down at her. "What's wrong?"
"That… girl… Is she someone… special?" She felt his lips twitch against her head.
"An old customer who had too much to drink…" She was quiet for a while before mumbling something along the lines of "I'm sorry." They lay still for a while, her breaths coming in spasmodic little gasps before speaking again.
"Why do you continue to put up with me? All I do is argue with you and cause trouble." Hatter chuckled before bringing his lips to her ear.
"I only do it, Miss Cheshire, because you captivate me." As much as she pressed for him to reassure her even more, he refused to say anything else. She let out a disgruntled growl and kissed his collarbone. "Prove it," she said, twisting her fingers in the silken fabric of his paisley shirt. He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her jeans, brushing against her skin and making her twitch. She hadn't had anyone invade this much of her personal space before. His lips groped around her cheek until they found hers and he hungrily pulled her closer, eliminating all space between them. Cheshire's fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt and as soon as the last one popped open, she ran her hands along the bulletproof vest underneath.
"There's going to be a little problem here if this doesn't come off…" she purred, leaving a trail of kisses along his neck. He sat up and let the shirt and vest fall to the ground. He shivered and she smirked. "You're cute when you're cold." He pulled the covers back over him and unzipped the purple sweater she refused to ever remove under any circumstances except for laundry day. The thick material was pushed off her shoulders and discarded in a corner of the bed. His hands lingered on her hips as he hesitated, not knowing what to do next. She urged him on with a few kisses in the hollow of his neck and his hands found themselves under her shirt, fiddling with the bra clasp.
"There's going to be an even bigger problem if this doesn't come off… How many clasps are there on this damn thing?" His warm hands against her cool skin were making her go crazy and she pressed herself against him. Hatter shifted his attention to her pants again, slipping his fingers under the waistband. She stiffened and he waited for a signal for him to continue. She seemed to not get the message and he kissed her cheek.
"Don't stop, keep going." Her breathing was already becoming uneven and it only made Hatter more nervous. He fumbled with the button on her pants and she lifted her hips for him to pull them down. Cheshire kicked her pants off, leaving them in a pile at their feet and moved on to removing his pants. Their lips met and parted, his tongue carefully exploring the depths of her mouth. He bucked his hips slightly, unwillingly as her hands brushed against his happy trail and moved to unbutton his slacks. He wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her with more fervent passion than before. The button was out of the way and she curved herself, molding her body into the shape he made with his own.
The two of them lay there with the smallest bits of clothing separating them from total release of all the emotional build up inside of them. Hatter rolled her over on to her back so he looked down on her and brought his face down until their noses were touching. She felt him stiffen underneath his boxers and smiled to herself. Her fingers intertwined with his and he kissed her nose.
"Are you sure?" She nodded and pushed his hips down over hers. She continued to kiss his neck, occasionally letting her tongue slip out and touch his bare flesh as he lifted her hips to slip her underwear down around her ankles. His boxers were pulled off in a matter of seconds by her hands without giving him much time to think.
"Cheshire? I.. I - " she cut him off with yet another kiss, pushing him to penetrate her untouched sanctuary. He let out a quiet moan and shifted between her thighs. A deep purr rumbled in her throat as he entered, but she tensed all the muscles in her body as he pushed through the delicate barrier she had preserved for almost nineteen years. Cheshire let out a soft cry, which only made him pull her closer. Once they found a joined rhythm, everything seemed to fall into place. Her head spun every time Hatter planted a kiss on her neck, making her pulse rush and heart throb even harder than before.
The intense, heated passion eventually cooled into comforting warmth, with Cheshire asleep in Hatter's embrace.