This chapter has a strong T rating.


The old man behind the counter raised an eyebrow at the young man standing in front of him. The boy had been in and out of the flower shop all day purchasing several bouquets of sunflowers on each visit. After the first three purchases, the oddly dressed boy had grinned, stuck out his hand towards the old flower shop owner and introduced himself.

"I'm Hatter."

"Nice to meet you son, I'm Larry."

That had been it. The young man had paid for his armful of sunflowers and left the shop, faintly singing "Hey nonnie nonnie," only to return every hour on the hour for the past four hours to buy more.

As Hatter dug in his pockets for exact change to pay for his most recent purchase, Larry smiled and said, "Whoever you're buying all of these flowers must be pretty special, hm?"

"She is mate," Hatter responded as he dropped a handful of change on the counter. "Sunflowers are her favorite and your shop seems to be the only one in this whole bloody city that keeps a bunch in stock."

"So, what's the special occasion? Birthday? Anniversary?"

"It's Monday."

With that matter-of-fact answer, Hatter took his receipt and gathered his purchase, and threw a wink at Larry as he exited the shop and headed back to the apartment he shared with Alice. She would be home in a little under two hours and he had a lot of preparation left.

When Hatter reached his destination and entered the apartment he stopped for a moment to take in the initial effect Alice would receive when she returned home. The hallway was lined with vases filled with sunflowers which led to the kitchen that was also filled with sunflowers.

Hatter grinned as he admired his work. This was good. It was eye-catching, vibrant and bound to pique his Alice's curiosity. Satisfied with how well his plan was going, Hatter strode with purpose to the cutlery on the kitchen counter and chose the sharpest knife. He placed his newest sunflowers on the floor and started the tedious process of removing the flower from the stem. Phase two of his plan would soon be complete and then the real fun would begin. He just hoped Alice would hurry up and get home…

"Hatter! I'm hom—Oh, wow."

Alice froze in the doorway, taken back by the sight in front of her. Her breath caught in throat as she walked toward the kitchen, her entire path lined with sunflowers, and her breath completely left her when she entered the kitchen. The entire table and island were covered in sunflowers in all different kinds of cups, vases and, she noted in amusement, teapots.

She dropped her karate bag and purse in a chair, the only place she could find that wasn't taken over by her favorite flowers, before leaning towards one of the many vases and inhaling the scent. She smiled when the total aroma in the room filled her senses, a mix of sunflowers, honey, and lemon tea.

"Hatter," Alice called in a singsong voice. "Where are you?"

There was no response, but if she was going to be honest with herself she hadn't been expecting one. This was the third randomly sweet surprise he had done within the month and she knew there was more to it than meets the eye, there always was.

"Hatter?"

Alice called out his name again, but stopped when she heard a crunch under her foot. Stooping down, she carefully picked up the top of a sunflower. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed the trail of severed sunflower heads leading down the hallway. Following her own version of the yellow brick road, Alice couldn't help but roll her eyes at where the path ended, as she gently pushed the last sunflower head away from the closed door with her foot.

The bedroom was dark when she opened the door, not exactly what she had been expecting.

"Hatter?" Alice questioned as she reached for the light switch.

Her fingers brushed against the switch, bathing the room in light, and momentarily blinding her. Once her eyes began to adjust, she got a good look around the room and couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her.

Alice's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline at the sight before her. There on the bed lay Hatter wearing his porkpie hat and holding a sunflower over the most intimate part of his anatomy.

"Welcome home, love," Hatter purred.

Trying not to show how much she was affected by his stunt, Alice responded coolly, "This is quite the welcome."

"Well, you work so hard all of the time I thought you might like a surprise."

"This is quite the surprise."

"I know. C'mere love," Hatter coaxed, patting the spot next to him.

Alice walked slowly towards him, noticing for the first time that the entire room was also covered in sunflowers. She had to admit when Hatter set his mind to something it was go big or go home, but she cringed thinking about how much all of it must've cost him.

Sitting next to him on the bed, Alice's eyes seemed to look at everything in the room but him. She couldn't take the chance because she was so close to laughing. The whole situation reminded her of those trashy romance novels she used to sneak out of her mother's room as a teenager. She smirked at the thought; if her life was becoming a smutty novel than that would make Hatter Fabio. Oh, that was a priceless image. Alice had to admit that he was trying too hard, but it was so sweet, she could accept it.

"So," Alice began, "the sunflowers are beautiful. I don't know how I'm going to repay you for all of these surprises you've been giving me recently."

Hatter grinned rakishly. He just loved when she played innocent.

"I can think of a way," he murmured, taking her hand in his and placing a kiss on her knuckles.

Before he could sweet-talk her any further, Alice was straddling his waist, careful not to disturb the sunflower that was between them. She bent down to capture his lips in a passionate kiss, her long hair tickling his bare chest. They remained like that for some time, tongues battling for dominance, hands roaming and breathing turning shallow.

Gasping for air, the pair pulled away from each other. Alice's smile threatened to break her face, while Hatter grinned madly.

"I think I like your surprises better," Hatter rasped.

Alice said nothing; just bit her bottom lip as she trailed her hands down his chest, nails scratching on occasion. She relished his shivers of pleasure. Moving her hands further south she retrieved her final sunflower, letting her hands linger a bit longer than necessary.

"Don't tease, Alice," Hatter groaned.

The woman smiled and slowly traced the sunflower over her lover's face. Hatter exhaled slowly as he tried to maintain the sliver of self-control he had. His Alice could be quite the little mink when the urge struck her. His train of thought was quickly brought back to the task at hand as Alice leaned forward, pressing their bodies flush against each other's.

Hatter threaded his fingers through her hair as she left love bites on his neck. She made her way to his ear, briefly tugging on the lobe, before pausing her ministrations. Alice moved back and placed her forehead against his, ignoring his groan of protest.

"Thank you for the flowers," she whispered. "I really love them."

"Glad to hear it," Hatter whispered back.

"No one's ever bothered to find out my favorite flower before. I always just got roses."

Sensing that this was not a moment to make a joke, there was something off with her voice, Hatter pressed himself deeper into the pillows so he could get a better look at Alice. She suddenly looked very small and childlike.

"Alice," he mumbled placing her hair behind her ears.

"I just want you to know, to understand, how much all of this means to me," Alice said, spreading her arms wide, the universal signal of encompassing everything.

Taking her face in his hands, Hatter made sure that her eyes were locked on his before speaking. "All of this means the world to me, more than I could ever put into words."

Alice smiled, fighting back tears. She had never been good with showing emotions; she had learned long ago that hiding them was easier, but this felt right and she was happy to be reassured, that he felt the same. She leaned forward and kissed Hatter chastely on the lips.

"And you are very welcome for the flowers," Hatter mumbled, placing a kiss on Alice's cheek. "You can be sure that there will be many more sunflowers in our future."