DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN/HAVE CREATED ALICE IN WONDERLAND OR ANY AFFILIATED CHARACTERS. (c) Tim Burton and Lewis Carroll. ;) But for now, they're mine!! :D

At first, Alice didn't know what she was feeling. Surprise came first, then confusion. There was a hint of joy and then a hint of worry. They swirled themselves around her to the point where she was feeling quite dizzy. It was a similar notion as to the one she felt when she opened the door into Wonderland. She was opening a door into foreign territory. Something she knew very well of but hadn't ventured into. She wondered, was she in love as well? Alice knew that love wasn't what she had shared with Hamish, so she knew that it was a possibility that it was present now with the Mad Hatter.

It was hard trying to define love for Alice. She tried thinking about her father's compassion for her, as it was for the Mad Hatter's. Was that the same type of love? Did it fit up? She had read about love as well, but it wasn't exactly like what she was experiencing now.

She liked the Mad Hatter very much though. He was a wonderful friend who definitely cared about her as well. She thought about that, and the feelings she had felt when he had jumped in to save her from the Jabberwocky that Frabjous day. He had risked his life at all times for her. They had spent good moments together, yet also quiet moments such as these in which their emotions were set off to do whatever they pleased. Alice liked those moments too though.

Truthfully, ever since she had met the Mad Hatter, she had found herself wanting to be with him the most out of any Wonderland creature. The one thing she remembered the most about him were his eyes. Green, a deep, rich green. They were expressive and absolutely captivating. She…was captivated…by him…? She bit her lower lip in contemplation.

The Mad Hatter normally wasn't a very patient person, but for now, he waited for her response. She seemed a little caught-off-guard by the statement, and the hatter was sympathetic for some part. Perhaps it had been a bit too early to ask…too abrupt? He began worrying silently to himself again.

Another side of his worry was that she would say she didn't love him back, and that one phrase would send him spiraling into his madness forever. She kept him sane…for the most part…and he had finally told her how he truly felt about her. He did and would do anything for her, not because she was the Alice in the Oraculum…but because he loved her. He wanted to make sure that everything was perfect for her in every situation, and he wanted to hold her hands like this everyday.

Everyday, during the past year, he had been looking at his own hands. They were cold and empty. However, whenever they met up with her hands…Alice's hands…they were warm and full…they had something to hold onto. His ears missed hearing her sweet laughter and soothing voice, and he missed touching her tender face; even the slightest of touches eased him. The Mad Hatter pushed his mind from his fantasies. He hoped, at least, that his statement didn't dash their chances of still being friends. He tensed up, as he saw Alice's lips part slightly.

"Hatter, I'm afraid I don't quite know what love truly is." She spoke softly. He felt his heart drop.

"But…" She stopped his falling heart and immediately restored it.

"I'm willing to find out, if you're willing to teach me." She glanced up at him with eyes that calmed his worry and made him give a small smile himself.

"I'd be happy to help a young lady, such as yourself, in need." He gently pulled up one of the hands he had been holding onto and kissed it lightly. Alice boldly stood on her tippy-toes and kissed him properly. She was determined to uncover all the feelings she had hid away from the hatter. They had been covered by the dusts of time, but she was already beginning to blow them off. The rays of the sun were finally swallowed up, and darkness began to fall rapidly around them.

Neither of them saw the change though.

He rested his arms carefully on her waist, and she pulled his head closer to hers, confident that this was the path that she wanted to take. Alice was being more aggressive than the hatter himself, and he found this surprising. After all her thinking, she was surer than ever before. Even though they had kissed lightly earlier that day, this kiss was different. They both knew the other's feelings, and there wasn't a guess and check sort of feeling that burdened them. Alice felt light and airy…like she was falling down; down the rabbit hole into madness…but it was a good madness, something she openly welcomed. When they finally pulled away, their eyes still held the same sparkle they had been touched with when the sun was visible. They were full of life and eager to spill out all the feelings that were bottled up. The Mad Hatter opened his mouth to say something, before hearing a sharp yell.

"Hatter? Alice? Are you two here?" Mallymkun's shrill voice pierced the invisible realm they had been floating in.

"Look, there they are." The White Queen assured them, relieved to have finally found the both of them. Alice's mother clasped her hands in relief from behind her.

"Oh dear, Alice! You've been gone for the whole day! What on earth were you doing?" She rushed over to her daughter's side and checked her all over.

"Mother, please…I'm fine." Alice insisted, as her mother fussed about her. Her mother finally realized the hatter next to her.

"Ah…Mr. Hatter, was it? Did you just find my daughter?" She questioned him. Alice gave a quick, side glance at him. He hesitated only slightly.

"Well…as a matter of fact, I've…been with her the whole time." He confessed. Alice's mother looked at Alice in a puzzled manner.

"The whole time?" Her voice was wary for she knew what sort of nonsensical things young people could get into.

"For the most part…" He replied more hastily than before, giving Alice an unsure look. The White Queen shared glances with a few of the Wonderland creatures at her side knowing that he had done what he had came to do. Alice felt her mother grasp her hand.

"Any who, I thank you all for searching for Alice. We'll be off." She tugged firmly on Alice and began to pull her away. Everyone snapped their heads to the hatter's direction, anxious to see his reaction. Alice saw the Mad Hatter's saddening eyes stare straight into hers. They were still green, but they were clearly dulled; stripped from all of their previous light, for he knew, that he could not intervene in the way he would have preferred. He was a gentleman; one who prided himself in being polite whenever he could stop being too mad…and one who had lost too many things before … He had dragged through the days without her painfully, and he couldn't bear another second without her. Just seeing her today was enough to restore his spirits.

Unbeknownst to Alice, he had been extremely moody in Wonderland by himself. The Wonderland creatures were aware of this and were the ones that suggested that they visit Alice for his sake. He had spent countless nights with nightmares and hearing voices that would scare him incredibly so. Tea time wasn't as fun, and he was silent, lips drawn tightly at all times. He would burst out in rage and sadness all too often, and even hatting the royal court, the queen, and all of Wonderland wasn't enough to make him the slightest bit happier. His whole life…his world fell apart when she wasn't around, but it was so easy to mend with a single smile or laugh from Alice.

The cold pain that had wounded him the day she left began to slowly creep back. He felt a chill travel throughout his body and winced almost unnoticeably in the brief feeling. Alice saw the lines of hurt that were creased in his facial features, and she felt her own soul cry out for him.

Silently, his eyes begged her to follow him. To follow him into a different place. To follow him into…love. Together. It broke Alice's heart. She stopped her mother.

"Mother…I have…something I'd like to tell you." Her voice wavered slightly. Her mother looked concerned.

"Yes, dear? What is it?"

"Mother…I'm in love." She told her breathlessly. There was a silence. Everyone focused on Alice's mother. The woman stuttered a little, as she spoke.

"That's…wonderful, Alice. Who, may I ask, are you in love with?" Her mother's eyes glanced at the hatter for a split-second, still at a loss of words. The Mad Hatter dropped his gaze. Alice bravely pulled away from her mother's hold and walked over to the man she believed was, although the maddest of the bunch, the one she loved. She needed him, and he needed her. It was a relationship that gave and took. Her eyes managed to meet his own. His eyes flickered in slight hope, as she took up his hands in her own.

"Mother…" Alice turned to face her mother…facing reality and a society that beat down anything that it wasn't accustomed to. A society where she didn't fit in.

"Mother, I love this man right here." She spoke without a single hesitation or fear. Her eyes were sharp and a clear-blue that pierced into her mother's grayed ones. Her mother's hands were shaking, jaw dropped.

"Alice? You love this hatter?"

"He's not just a hatter, Mother. He's the best hatter I've ever met and the most humane person ever." Alice strongly justified. Her mother had been waiting for the day when Alice would find a lover for herself, and the hatter seemed like an acceptable man, but she was unsure. She had never seen this man with Alice at all until today.

"Mrs. Kingsley…I love your daughter more than anything." The Mad Hatter's voice was low and soft, but the true meaning behind his voice was all too evident. Alice glanced back up at the hatter, and she found him smiling a little.

"Do you know him that well?" Her mother questioned Alice a little dumbly.

"Yes, of course I do." Alice replied; a little shocked that her mother would suggest that she would fall in love with any random person.

"So what is it, Alice? What's the problem? Why did you tell me this now?" Her mother was confused beyond belief. Alice took a deep breath, sighing.

"Mother, I want to go away with my hatter. I want to spend the rest of my life with him…" She lost herself in the Mad Hatter's eyes once again, trailing her sentence off. Alice felt her breathing and heart rate quicken, as she pulled him into a kiss. The hatter cupped her sweet face with his hands and continued the kiss. Every encounter with her…every decadent touch was treasured by him, and this kiss was another dizzying one that made him feel that close to going even madder for her. They moved their mouths in sync with the other, making the most of what little breath they had.

She loved him. She had said it. She had said it to herself the whole time she was in Wonderland, but she hadn't even paid attention to it…now though…now she realized how much she had hid away, how much she had shunned from herself, locking her heart away. The hatter was all too exceptional at unlocking it though. He had made her laugh, made her smile, made her dance…made her love…

AN: :D Aww, don't you all love kisses? This is making up for that whole time in Wonderland where they ABSOLUTELY DIDN'T KISS AT ALL. D; It was so dissapointing. :( These kisses just make me feel so much better about these two. ;D lol. Hope this chapter is loved by all you readers who really tell me whether or not I'm good at writing. :P (which I'm not really, but it's nice to hear lies...I'm sure Alice wouldn't like them too much though. XD) ENJOY & DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW. :) It just makes Alice a slight bit madder for the hatter. ;)

PS: I was reading through the chapters, and to clarify a little tidbit way in the back, the different land that Alice landed on was somewhere in Canada in North America. I know this might be historically incorrect, but NO WAY SHE'S GOING TO CHINA AND LEAVING THE MAD HATTER. D: lol, at least in my mind. :D

OKAY, SORRY FOR RANTING. :P