"Want another slice?"
"No, I can't eat anything else or I might explode," Alice stated before taking a sip of her soda.
It was Friday, Alice and Hatter's regular date-night. They had gone to the local cinema that played classic movies during weekend matinees (this week they watched Casablanca) then went to Luigi's Pizzeria, where they ordered their regular large pizza, half extra-cheese, half peppers, onions and pineapple.
Luigi's had been one of Alice's favorite restaurants since she was a child; her parents often took her there to celebrate good grades or used it as a bribe if she was good at a doctor's visit. Alice had been excited to introduce Hatter to the place and was thrilled when he took to it so quickly, declaring it the "best eatery on either side of the mirror" (much to the confusion of other restaurant patrons).
"Do you have a couple o' quarters, love?"
"I might."
Hatter gave Alice his best puppy dog eyes and pouted lips. Alice huffed before she began digging through her purse.
"I'll give you some coins, but you have to promise that you'll wait in line patiently and let the actual children play the games too."
"Really love, what do you take me for? Of course, I'll let the littl' ones play."
Taking the coins from his girlfriend's outstretched hand, Hatter flashed her a dazzling smile before kissing her quickly and practically running off towards the ancient arcade games.
Alice glanced at her watch conscious of allowing Hatter only a specific amount of playtime. She busied herself with organizing the products on the table; parmesan cheese and oregano were moved to the side, paper plates were stacked, ice cubes were picked out of glasses and eaten.
It was several minutes later, after Alice had gotten the remaining pizza wrapped up to take home, that Hatter reappeared totting a small crying boy with him.
"Oh God," Alice mumbled. "What did you do?"
"Nothin'! He's lost, I think."
The boy sniffled and through his running nose and falling tears, Alice heard him say something about wanting his mommy. Alice's heart lurched for the poor boy.
"Hey, c'mon lad, stiff upper lip," Hatter said as he bent down to the boys eye level. "What's your name, son?"
"Jonathan," the boy stuttered, wiping his nose on his sleeve.
"Well, Jonathan my boy, how 'bout we take a seat and try and find your mum."
Hatter steered Jonathan to the table and sat him down before turning to Alice and asking for more quarters. Alice's eyebrows shot up and her lips pursed into a thin line.
"You've got to be kidding me," she whispered harshly. "This little boy is missing his—"
"Jus' one minute," Hatter exclaimed once he had his hands on a few coins.
He took off in the direction of the arcade games, leaving Alice shocked and fuming. Taking a second to compose herself, Alice slid into the seat across from Jonathan and plastered on what she hoped was a comforting smile. She had never been too good with children if she had do anything other than teach them karate.
"Um, okay, hey sweetheart. Um, where was the last place you saw your mom?"
"She was watching me play the videogames."
"Okay, did she say she was going anywhere?"
"No!" Jonathan yelped. "I turned around to ask her if she saw the cool move I did and she—and she—and she was gone!"
The boy burst into a fresh set of tears as Hatter reappeared throwing the pair at the table a friendly smile.
"Hey buddy, here you go this should take the edge off while we look for your mum."
Hatter grinned at Jonathan as he reached into his pants pocket and removed a handful of hard candies and placed them in the center. The boy dove for several butterscotch ones, cramming them into his mouth all at once. He tried to get out a 'thank you', but Hatter just winked.
Alice quirked an eyebrow at her beau, but he just smiled back at her. It served her right for thinking that he would run off to play videogames when this poor boy needed help; she knew him better than that and she was slightly ashamed that she had thought differently. She had forgotten all about the candy machines in the arcade. Jonathan's eyes had lit up at the candy and for a moment he was able to forget about his troubles, all because of Hatter.
"So lad, what's your mum look like?"
"Pretty."
"Well what kind of pretty? Pretty like my friend Alice here or a different kind?"
"My mom has yellow hair."
"Oh a blonde, hm? That doesn't really narrow it down," Hatter mumbled, glancing at Alice for any suggestions.
"Why don't we go talk to the manager and see if he can make an announcement or something? I mean I'm sure his mother's looking for him."
"Right, okay. Go talk to the manager and I'll entertain our new friend here."
Alice nodded and made her way up to the front counter. As she waited for the pimply faced teenage waiter to return with the manager, she glanced back over to the table and smiled; Hatter was in the middle of some elaborate slight of hand magic tricks that were keeping Jonathan immensely entertained.
A shout of "Jonathan, thank God!" broke Alice's revere. She watched as a young blonde woman, not too much older than herself, ran past Hatter to wrap Jonathan up in a huge hug. The woman peppered kisses on his face, as the boy tried to break free of her grasp, and seemed to be afraid to let go of him for fear of him disappearing.
As Alice rejoined the group she could hear the mother thanking Hatter for finding and looking out for her son.
"I just—oh—I was just so terrified when I couldn't find him. Thank you so much. I don't know how I could repay you, I don't have a lot of money, but—"
"Don't worry about it ma'am. If I had kids I would hope someone would do the same for me."
"Again, thank you so much. Say thank you Jonathan."
"Thanks Mr. Hatter!"
"No problem, kid! Be good!"
With that the mother escorted Jonathan from the pizzeria, leaving nothing more for Alice and Hatter to do than gather their belongings and head home. As the couple strolled down the street towards their apartment Hatter couldn't help but notice the coy glances Alice kept sending his way.
"What's on your mind, love?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothing, you just never cease to amaze me."
Hatter smiled, but didn't press any further.
"It's just that, the way you handled Jonathan, was pretty amazing. You took the initiative in helping him and you were even able to calm him down and take his mind off things. I'm really impressed."
Hatter cleared his throat before responding, cursing the blush that was staining his cheeks.
"Well, glad you got a kick out of it."
"No, Hatter, I can't believe how good you were with that little boy. You really helped and related to him."
"Thanks," Hatter mumbled, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into his side as they walked.
There was a lull in the conversation as the two simply enjoyed being with each other. As they reached their apartment building and made their way to their floor, Alice reached over and entwined her hand with Hatter's.
"You'd make a great father."
Hatter raised an eyebrow and shot her his one-dimpled smile. "Nice to hear."
Later in the night, after routines were complete and cold pizza was eaten, Alice and Hatter curled up together in bed.
"Hatter?"
"Mmm."
"Do you ever think about the future?" Alice questioned as she rolled onto her side to face him in the dark.
"The future or our future? 'Cause I can honestly say that one of those options is more important to me than the other."
Alice remained quiet, urging him to continue.
"Yeah, love, I do. You've said plenty of times that you're not the marrying kind and I accept that because I accept you. Whatever happens will happen."
A sigh escaped Alice before she could stop; she knew, even in the dark, that Hatter's eyebrows had risen.
"Seeing you with that boy," she whispered, "has made me think that maybe I can be the marrying kind, that I can have a family, as long as that family is with you."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. This development is new for me though, so perhaps we can just take this slow."
"Of course. We'll see where this goes."
Hatter pulled Alice close, wrapping his arms around her, and placed several butterfly kisses across her face. Rubbing her cheek with his thumb, Hatter mumbled, "How 'bout we seal our future with a kiss? Just for fun?"
Alice smiled, a real smile, the kind she reserved only for Hatter, as he covered her lips with his in a passionate kiss. Their future suddenly seemed very bright.
This was the final prompt! I just wanted to give special thanks to all those who put the story on favorites and story alerts or put me on author alert, but an even bigger thanks to all those who reviewed; you guys are what kept me going! Thank you! :)