Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in this chap! I just got caught up with school, hope you guys can forgive me. Hopefully, after this week, I'll be able to write and post more chaps sooner. Enjoy!

If you have any ideas for the next one-shot don't be shy! Please tell me what you think, it feels like such a long time since I've written, so I hope this is good! Also thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed, alerted and even read my work!!

3. Perfection

Hatter, just arriving home, had expected to be greeted by Alice once he opened the door, not smoke. A rush of smoke quickly burst once Hatter had opened the door. After the smoke was gone and his coughing fit was over, Hatter cautiously entered the house.

He wasn't sure what he had expected to find in the house, could it be a robber? Or perhaps some rouge suits who wanted revenge? Despite the endless possibilities the one he hadn't expected in a million years came true.

There was his girlfriend, Alice Hamilton, the girl who knew martial arts, the girl who had saved Wonderland, the girl he had fallen for, the girl who was currently staring at a badly burned chicken with disgust.

Am I missing something, Hatter asked himself.

He watched as Alice, who had no idea he was there, cursed to herself and angrily flicked through pages of a cook book.

It was a rather comical site from where Hatter was standing. Alice, wearing a pink frilly apron, hair disheveled, was glaring at the cook book with her blue eyes. She looked like she wanted to burn the book then and there.

Alice's hand combed through her hair in frustration. She couldn't, or actually refused, to believe that she was incapable of making even a simple chicken. She had followed every direction in the book… hadn't she?

She quickly scanned the book again only to find…

Alice groaned out loud. She had made a mistake!

"Of all the…. of course….. I had to." Alice was grumbling to herself, so Hatter could barely make out what she was saying, but he could tell that the other brunette was obviously not pleased with herself.

"Ahem."

Alice jumped, surprised to see Hatter standing there looking amused and slightly smug. Oh no, that means he had just witnessed the entire thing. If Alice could have anything she wanted at this precise moment, it would be to be swallowed up by the floor.

"Everything alright, Love?" Hatter asked amusement clear in his voice.

Alice couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes, nor could she lie to him for, she assumed, he had seen everything that had happened in the past few minutes.

Hatter relished the moment as he watched Alice trying to conceal the blush that was quickly forming on her face. It was in these little moments, the ones where he kept finding out something new about Alice, that he slowly began to fall even more, dare he think it, in love with her.

Yes, Hatter, the one who use to always sell emotions rather than feel them, had fallen for Alice, but right now wasn't the best time for that. (Perhaps in another drabble?)

"What's going on here?" Hatter asked, slowly taking a step towards the burned chicken.

"I tried making dinner." Alice mumbled grudgingly.

Hatter sniffed the roasted bird, his nose crinkling with disgust. "Tried, being the key word 'ere."

Alice rolled her eyes at Hatter's comment, and then proceeded to sit down on a nearby chair.

Hatter quickly followed her lead, grabbing a spare chair and plopping it directly in-front of the depressed girl. Using his hand, he tiled her chin up, making her face level with his.

"I asked you before if everything was alright and you didn't give me an answer, so I suppose I'll have to ask again. Is everything alright?" Hatter asked, staring into her eyes.

She smiled and sighed, "It's just that this whole cooking... thing turned into a disaster."

Hater nodded solemnly, "I couldn't agree more. What with the black chicken, smoke and-"

Alice hit him on the head before he could continue, granted it wasn't that hard, but he seemed to have gotten the point.

After a moment of silence and pondering, Alice continued, saying "My dad was a good cook. Not the best, but he seemed to enjoy it and it came naturally to him."

Alice looked at him, seeing him nod at her she went on, "I use to help him bake all sorts of things," Alice glanced at the ruined food, "and they never turned out quite like this."

She gave a loud sigh and rested her head on Hatter's comforting shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes, both pondering about what had just been said. It was evident that Alice still missed her father, despite how many times she denied it.

"He would have been proud of you, Alice." Hatter said softly.

"How would-"

Hatter didn't stop speaking, "My dad was a lot like me. Or maybe it's better to say I'm a lot like him."

This time Alice didn't dare interrupt. It was always rare to have Hatter talk about anything concerning his past, especially when it dealt with his family. Whenever Alice would indicate a conversation about his past he would make a joke to brush it off, or ignore the question completely.

"Whenever I had the chance or he had the time, he would always bring me to the tea shop. It was the most amazing place, there were a myriad of teas to chose from, great music and people who loved tea." Hatter said, looking off into the distance with a smile.

When Hatter returned from his dazed state, he turned to look at her, seeing if she was paying attention. Alice smiled and nodded, urging him to continue.

"When I was old enough, about 8 I think, he let me make tea for him. The first time I made tea it was horrible." He chuckled as he saw a surprised look crossed her face.

"Don't make that face," he said, "I was 8, give me a break."

"First off, did that have to rhyme?" Alice asked with questioning eyes, "And second, do you know how hard it is to picture you not making good tea?"

He gave her a cheeky grin, "It is hard to imagine me do anything wrong, isn't it."

"Yes, because you're so perfect, hatter." Alice replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Hatter didn't seem the least bit affected by what she had said. He only continues telling his story, "I had put too much sugar, left the packet in too long, and I didn't stir it enough."

Alice watched as he grimaced, looking as if it physically hurt him to remember the awful tea. If he hadn't looked so serious the next second, it would have been funny.

"But my dad," Hatter said softly, "He didn't care at all. He just laughed, gulped it down and said 'Don't expect to get everything right the first time!'"

"So, Alice, do you finally understand?" He watched as the girls rolled her eyes and nodded. He, in turn, playfully rolled his eyes back, but said "It's okay not to be perfect all the time. I highly doubt anything is perfect."

"Yes, yes, I understand." She said as went to hug him.

"Good." He whispered into her ear, enjoy the sensation of his arms around her.

When they broke apart, Alice headed for the phone, intending to call take out. A yawn escaped Hatter's mouth, reminding him of how tired he was and how the emotional conversation had just drained him more. He headed for the couch and lay down as Alice dialed a number.

But before he drifted off he swore he heard Alice say, "I think you're wrong about one thing, Hatter. I'm almost certain your perfect, or at least, perfect for me."