Happy Un-Birthday

It was a bright, beautiful Saturday morning and Alice embraced the day by putting her pillow over her head. She'd had extra classes at the dojo yesterday and she was exhausted. Alice didn't need to feel the bed beside her to know that Hatter was already up and about; the man was an obnoxiously early riser.

"Wakey, wakey!" The obnoxious man called, walking into the bedroom. Alice just groaned and pulled the blankets up to her neck.

"You don't want to miss your un-birthday, love."

Alice lifted the pillow and glared at Hatter. He was holding a tray in his hands, loaded up with breakfast and tea.

"My what?"

"Your un-birthday." Hatter sat on the edge of the bed and set the tray on his knees. He pulled the pillow off and tossed it aside. "You're missing the best part of the day."

"The best part of my day is the sleeping part," Alice grumbled. But she pushed herself up against the head board and accepted the tray from Hatter. The plate was loaded with extra cheesy scrambled eggs, two slices of buttered toast, and four thick breakfast sausages.

"I can't eat all this, Hatter." Alice's stomach lurched at the sight of all that food. She didn't eat much breakfast, as a general rule. Hatter leaned forward and kissed her nose.

"That's mine. The toast is for you."

Alice couldn't help but laugh. She and Hatter sat side by side on the bed, eating and drinking their morning tea. Even if it was too early for her to be up, she couldn't help but be grateful that Hatter had gone through the trouble of making her breakfast in bed. He was always doing things like that.

"Are you ready for your un-birthday present?" Hatter asked, after he cleared away the tray.

"You're serious about this un-birthday thing?"

"I don't know your actual birthday, do I? I thought this would do just as well for now." Hatter grinned at her, and disappeared off into the living room.

Alice thought it was funny. She would go for weeks living a normal life, and then unexpectedly Wonderland would pop back up. It was kind of exciting, and she always welcomed the addition of a bit of magic into her day.

"Ta da!" Hatter swept back into the room, a small box in his hand. He sat back down on the bed and held the box out to Alice. "Happy un-birthday, my Alice."

Alice took the box, and turned it over and over in her hands. She made a show of shaking it, but Hatter could easily outwait her so she didn't push it. Besides, she really wanted to know what was inside.

"Oh, Hatter…"

It was a bracelet. Delicate links of gold were attached to a tiny, heart-shaped ruby.

"You like it?" Hatter asked, and Alice could see he looked anxious. Did he honestly think she wouldn't like it?

"It's beautiful!"

"You are my heart," Hatter said, fastening the bracelet around her wrist. "And now you have mine."

Alice threw her arms around Hatter and nuzzled against his neck. "I love you so much, Hatter."

"I love you, too," Hatter murmured against his hair.

*o*o*o*

When Alice came out of the shower and dressed for the day in drawstring lounge pants and a t-shirt, she found Hatter reading on the couch. She figured in another month or so he'd have read every book in the city, the way he was going. She came up behind him and removed his hat so she could kiss his head.

"November eleventh," she said. She sat next to Hatter, draping her legs over his.

"What's that?"

"My birthday," Alice explained. "It's on November eleventh."

"You'll put it on the calendar?" Hatter asked. He was still working on learning the months; things were a bit different in Wonderland. Alice kept a large calendar in the kitchen and marked all the important dates on it for Hatter, who checked off each day to help himself keep track.

"Of course." Alice ran a hand through her still-damp hair. "When is your birthday?"

Hatter shrugged. "I don't know when it is in your world."

"Do you even know how old you are?" Alice asked, curious. Hatter stiffened up, looked away.

"It doesn't matter," he said. Alice was confused.

"What's wrong? Hatter, how old are you?"

"Could you just…leave it alone, Alice!" Hatter was practically shouting at her. He got up from the couch and stalked around the living room. Now Alice was really concerned. This wasn't like Hatter at all.

"Hatter?"

"It's nothing. I'm sorry I yelled at you." He looked down at his feet, and Alice knew he must be feeling badly if he couldn't even look at her.

"No secrets, Hatter. We agreed. If something's bothering you, tell me."

Hatter sighed, and sat back next to her. He didn't touch her, though. "I don't want tell you how old I am."

Now Alice was confused again. "Why?" Why did Hatter look so fearful over something as silly as that? When he didn't say anything, she tried to think if they'd ever talked about how old he was. And then, like an echo, she remembered.

"Oysters don't even live that long."

"Okay. Um…so you're…what? Older than me? Is that the problem?"

Hatter nodded, looking miserable. Alice let out a breath, and squeezed his hand.

"I don't care how old you are, Hatter. I don't."

"Alice, I don't know how I'll age now that I'm in your world. Maybe it'll be the same as you, but I still could be on Wonderland time." Hatter pulled his hands away, rubbed them over his face.

There was fear then. Alice understood what he was trying to say. He could outlive her. The fear of loss was his this time, not hers; his fear that he would live to see her die. The same visions that the Tweedles had pulled out of his head.

"You know what I believe?" Alice put her hand on Hatter's face. "I believe that we're supposed to be together. And maybe that's only for one more day, and maybe it's forever, but I'll take what I can get."

Hatter looked at her finally, his eyes shining with tears. "I don't want to live one day without you."

Alice sat on his lap and wrapped herself around him, wanting to comfort as much as be comforted. She laid kisses on his face and ran her fingers through his hair and let him squeeze her until her ribs ached.

"Hatter," Alice murmured in his ear. "Think of everything we've been through. How many times did we almost die in Wonderland? But here we still are. I'm not going anywhere."

"I can't…I don't want to lose you." There were tears in Hatter's voice, and he kept his face buried in her hair.

"You won't," Alice promised. "I love you, with all my heart. That kind of love never dies, Hatter."

"I don't deserve you." Hatter pulled back, and gave Alice a small smile.

"You're right," Alice said. "You deserve better. But I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

As she'd intended, that got Hatter to really smile, enough for the dimple to peek out. She pressed a light kiss to his lips, and wiped the wetness from his cheeks. Her Hatter could be incredibly sensitive at times, and she loved that about him.

"I'm sorry I'm ruining your un-birthday."

"Hatter, I never even had one until I met you. It's not ruined." Alice considered the fact that she was still wrapped around him. "There is one thing that would make this day perfect, though."

"What's that?"

"You. Not being dressed."

Hatter gave her a full-fledged grin this time, and Alice knew they were going to be okay.

AN: This was originally part of my county fair story, but the tone didn't match up with the rest of that one-shot. So, even though I really wasn't going to touch on this particular topic at all, here I am doing it anyway! LOL! Please review and let me know what you think about it!

For another take on the "Oysters don't even live that long" line, check out Laialda's story For A Legend. It's sad, but beautiful.