Beyond the Looking Glass

Chapter Four

He was dying.

Hatter stared at the ceiling, blinking as he tried to remember how to breathe. One, two, in, out…

Alice's face appeared before him, a glow around her face, and Hatter couldn't stop the dopey smile from crossing his face. "I've died, haven't I?"

"I didn't flip you that hard," she laughed at him, pulling him up, and the painful soreness in his arms and back confirmed it. Nope, no dream. Not dead. It wouldn't hurt if he were dead.

Hatter grimaced as he stretched his back, making it pop audibly. As the chatter of other Oysters floated to his ears, he gratefully drifted off to the side, Alice's class filing in wearing the same white get up Alice was, though the sashes varied in color. She'd explained the bare basics of it to him – how each color represented a different level of mastery – and it was somewhat amusing to see that only two others were at the same level as Alice.

There had been forms of fighting in Wonderland as well, imported from this world in fact, but Hatter had neither the money nor the attention span to learn them. Hitting when an opponent was open and ducking like hell when something was flying at him had always worked well for him. Abby had even tried to teach him once, when one of her blokes of the week had taught her some, but Hatter had long since decided that a structured fighting style simply didn't suit him. Flying by the seat of his pants did.

Watching Alice, her face lit up in excitement as she taught her class a new move, he almost wished he had taken to it. She moved with a familiar confidence, but there was a joy in her expression too that Hatter had never really seen on her face before – an almost feral pleasure as she flipped men over twice her physical size onto their backs with an ease that made Hatter's chest swell with pride.

That's my girl!

She wasn't the only one, however. At least a quarter of the class was women, varying between teens to women as old as their thirties. Tall ones to short ones and thin ones to stout ones, they all flipped men twice their size as if they weighed little more then a chipmunk.

Unfortunately, it also meant he noticed the appreciative looks she got every so often from her male students, mostly young and strapping blokes around her age or slightly older. As much as Hatter knew he looked the part of a late 20-something, he felt so much older in that one moment compared to all the shining youth in the room that it was depressing.

He was so much older.

One hundred and fifty seven. He looked good for the age, but it was an abnormal one by Oyster standards. If he aged the same way he had in Wonderland, he could reasonably be expected to live for another century, easy. Hell, Abby was two hundred something and still showed no signs of aging at all.

Will I still be here when youth fades and Alice begins to age long before I ever will?

He'd never told her that, the aging difference, though he had alluded to as much. Hatter doubted Alice had realized it, however. Jack Heart was what he looked, having been very young and only recently born, but Hatter had been around long before Jackie even knew what a girl was. He'd been around, even if he had been a young boy in truth, when the first Alice of Legend had come to Wonderland.

He remembered a Wonderland very much different then the one it was now.

Thinking about the past made Hatter drift away into his memories, both pleasant and not, and he didn't actually snap out of it until Alice stood over him and poked him in the arm, dressed in her normal clothes and holding a duffel bag over her shoulder.

"You alright, Hatter?" she asked, concern etched in her face, and he smiled winningly to put her at ease.

"I'm fine, my love," he murmured, kissing her fleetingly as he got to his feet, and Alice leaned into him, all warm and flushed from her recent exertions.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"You were a sight to behold," he grinned down at her, though he'd seen very little beyond the beginning parts of it. "But I already knew that, love. All of Jack's stuffy suits know that, too."

She grinned right back at him, though it had a sheepish quality to it that his lacked. "I did apologize to Ten before I left. We did quite a number on them, apparently."

Hatter snorted audibly. That was understating it quite a bit. He'd never held a big opinion of the Suits to begin with – had spent too long outsmarting them at every turn – but the men in the Heart's employ knew how to shoot and fight at the very least. Most, if not all of them had a healthy respect for his Alice and were more then a little glad to see her go home at the same time. "You don't know the half of it."

She tried to look abashed and failed miserably, too proud to look properly chagrined and he kissed her again, a longer, more playful lingering against her lips that she responded to with equal enthusiasm. Kissing Alice was quickly becoming his favorite pastime, though he was proud of the fact that he hadn't done a repeat performance in front of her mum again. While Carol seemed to like him for the most part despite her confusion over his abrupt appearance, Hatter doubted she'd appreciate a show like that again.

They broke away laughing as he stumbled a little until his back hit into the wall and he cracked his head against one of the shelves displaying some of the dojo's trophies, though neither let go of the other for a good couple of minutes. They just stayed where they were, Hatter pressed between the wall and Alice, arms linked loosely about her waist while she leaned against him, her head turned to listen as his heart beat a steady rhythm inside his chest.

"Is it weird that I keep expecting Jack or Charlie to come barging in right now?" she laughed, only partly joking.

"Not really, though if they do I really will have to kill them," he swore, smiling when she laughed. "I'm not kidding!"

He's not and she knows it, but Alice ignores that lingering thought and stands on her tiptoes to kiss him again, murmuring against his lips, "I'm just really glad you're here, Hatter…"

"That's good," he smiles, his heart feeling suspiciously warm. "I'm glad I'm here too."

If he looked like a fool once he barged into the apartment, Hatter really didn't give a wit.

"I'd say you looked like a man who got to have his desert before dinner," Abby said dryly, spinning around in her chair to look at him as he came in, "but you're too keyed up to have gotten any of that. Alice doesn't seem the type to give it up that quick, anyway. What has you in such an awfully good mood?"

Hatter merely whistled, making her eyebrow arch further into her hairline, and drifted over to the fridge to grab one of the scones they still had. They really were quite good, though some of the flavor had been lost since they weren't nearly as fresh anymore. "Can't I simply be in a good mood?"

"Not without reason, no." Abby didn't even blink or pause as she said so. "Though I suppose it's to my benefit, tonight. I've been wanting to talk to you about something."

Curiosity nibbling at his head, Hatter directed most of his attention her way, head tilting. "You always have something to talk to me about. Well? New tea at your shop?"

"Yes…but that's not what it's about! Shut up and sit down!" He did, though Hatter grinned wickedly as he did so. Abby just rolled her eyes at him. "You've learned most of the basics about living here– it's time you got a job."

Wonderful as doing nothing all day was, Hatter was cheered by the announcement. Idle hands meant an idle mind and he detested being idle. "Finally!"

"I think you would do well at the club," she continued on, as if he'd never spoken. "I'm part owner of a club near Times Square too, you know. One of our regular bartenders quit so it seems like a good place for you; talk to customers, flirt lightly, serve drinks, and dress flashy but sexy like you already do."

If he puffed up slightly like a proud peacock, Hatter ignored it. "I dress sexy, do I?"

Again, she ignored him. It was becoming something of a routine for her. "We do theme nights, as a sort of gimmick to attract patrons, at the club named after a piece of our own motherland. Themes change nightly, but the concept is the same. Kick ass music, lots of drinks, lots of good food, and many, many Oysters looking for some eye candy and a good time." Abby finally looked at him then, eyes raking him up from head to toe. "You do make fine eye candy, Hatta. You know this."

He most certainly did not preen, though he did grin bigger. "Sounds a blast. When can I start?"

"Come by tonight and take a look at how we run things," Abby smirked. "Bring Alice too. Should be fun." Standing, she stretched, all long arms and legs that he admired dutifully before running through the clothes he had in his closet mentally. He knew clubs were pretty much the same here as they were in Wonderland, though they were less seedy here and more fun…mostly. Lots of dancing and loud music; no drug dealers and drugged up addicts in the respectable ones. Hatter had garnered that much from the snippets of knowledge he caught when he sat in Tea Tyme, Abby's tea shop, listening to the Oysters around him chatter amongst themselves. He'd learned most of his stuff simply listening to them with Abby or Alice filling in any missing gaps every day.

As she passed by him to retreat into her room, Abby paused and leaned down to chuckle, "You'll especially love tonight. Alice in Wonderland theme."

Hatter didn't even bother to try and hide his loud laughter.

Oh, tonight was going to be perfect! And he knew just the thing to wear.

And so ends another little chapter. Some nice Hatter/Alice fluff and Abby seems to have decided that Hatter is safe enough to unleash on New York's nightlife. Oh boy. Admittedly, I think bartender would be a perfect job for him. Can you SEE the amount of money he'll garner on tips alone?

On another note, I'm glad Abby is becoming endearing – I enjoy writing her interactions with Hatter. Things will get even better once things settle down some in normalcy…and Alice gets comfortable enough to try and inquire about Hatter's past.

As always, THANK YOU for all the lovely reviews! Please keep them coming and I will reply to them as quickly as I'm able. =)

Next Chapter: Hatter takes "The Cheshire Club" by storm and finds out Alice has quite the delicious evil streak…