A/N: Ok, so my down time has been a LOT longer than I expected. Sick family, big news, very little "me time" and just a parade of other things have just cut into my writing time. How rude! Anyway, here is the next chapter. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jayie of Akali for writing "The Madness of Love" and to Niphuria for reviewing that story and teaching me that the hat under the arm was Victorian for "I'd like to court you." So that balcony scene? Yeah ... thud.
As we snuggled together after our first lovemaking, I was filled with contentment. Cuddled in the arms of my beloved, I felt as though my life was finally complete. All the avoiding I had been doing in London, all the times I begged my mother to stop finding suitors, all the running I had done ... it had all led to this moment of perfection. Our wedding day was beautiful and it was all thanks to the wonderful man snuggling behind me.
And then I heard Tarrant sigh.
"Darling? What's wrong?" I asked.
"Alice, I feel as though I need to confess something," he replied.
Instantly, I tensed up. What could he possibly need to confess at this moment? Would this take away my moment of perfection? There was a little part of me that worried it was all too good to be true. Surely it wasn't ...
"It's nothing terrible, my sweetness," he quickly added, noting my stress apparently. "But it's something that I have wanted to tell you since before you battled the jabberwocky."
"All right ... what do you need to say?" I asked, turning around to face him.
"Alice, proposing seemingly random marriage to you was not my first plan."
I raised an eyebrow at him. The urge to panic was beginning to rise within me. If I wasn't the first plan, then what was I? Surely our love was worthy of an original plan, wasn't it?
"Beloved, let me explain. When you returned to Underland, I fell in love with you almost instantly. Of course, there was very little I could do about it, considering that you yourself were very little. And then there was that nasty business with being arrested and being in Salazen Grum and then I found you again and you were of course the right size and it was a good size, a great size, a right proper -"
"Hatter!" I said, putting a hand on his face.
"Alice," he muttered. "I'm fine. But when I saw you standing on the balcony at Marmoreal, I knew what I wanted. I wanted to court you ... properly."
"Court me?"
"Yes, yes, of course. I had wanted to woo you as a lady should be. If anyone is a lady, my cricket, then it is you! I walked out onto the balcony with my hat under my arm and all. But you unfortunately ... well, I don't think you turned around in time to see."
I paused. Did I notice the hat? I remembered him having it. I remembered him putting it down on the railing. But was he wearing it? After a quick thought (before Tarrant noticed my wandering), I realized that he certainly was not wearing it. He must have had it under his arm! Stupid, Alice! You were so stupid!
Tarrant cleared his throat. Apparently he had noticed my mind wandering. "And when I wanted to ask you, you insisted that Underland and everything here was just a dream. Well, I didn't think you would accept a courtship from a figment of your imagination, so I decided to wait."
"Oh, Tarrant, I'm so sorry!"
"No, cricket, I don't want you to be sorry! After all, the story does have a happy ending! A very happy one!" he said, waggling his eyebrows. "I still had the intentions of asking you properly after the battle, but then you drank the blood and I panicked. And when I saw that you were staying, I felt as though I had to act fast. It might have been my only chance. So, I skipped the courting and went straight to the marriage proposal."
I couldn't help but smile. The whole story was just something that was so ... so very ... Hatter.
"You were that sure of yourself?" I asked with a grin.
"Goodness no! I wasn't sure of anything. Well, except that of my love for you. That was the only thing that my mind knew without a doubt. All I had was hope. And the assurance of the White Queen that you would say yes."
My smile brightened. Of course she would be just as excited as Tarrant.
"Problem being that I liked entertaining the notion of walks in the garden with you, or presenting you with flowers, or calling upon you to reaffirm my intentions to marry you. This was something that I looked forward to since I was a lad and had it explained to me by my faither. I wanted our relationship to start off just that perfectly."
"Well, it does sound lovely, but I rather like this way as well."
Hatter beamed that bright, gap-toothed smile that gave light to my world.
I ran my fingers through his unruly hair. "So, why do you feel the need to confess this now, darling?"
"I really don't know. I feel as though you need to know that my intentions were never so brash. That I thought more of you than just rushing into a marriage. I wanted to do everything properly. At least, as best I could."
"Tarrant, haven't I already explained to you how much I dislike proper?"
My new husband smirked. "Well, yes, you have mentioned it. But this is different than wearing a corset or stockings or dancing that horrible dance you've mentioned. This is the rest of your life. This is quite important! This is -"
"Love, my sweet Hatter. It's love. Love needn't always be proper. As long as it is pure, then it is perfect. And I think our love is absolutely perfect. Wouldn't you agree?"
"I don't think I've agreed with anything so much in my entire life."
"And if we're being honest, Tarrant, getting married faster meant that we got to the ... marital activities sooner."
I don't believe I had ever seen him with such a wide grin. Chess would've been jealous!
"Now, do you still feel bad about not courting?" I asked.
"Well, no. I don't see how I could at this point. Tell me, Alice, how is it that you know exactly what to say to make me feel right as rain? Whether I am falling into the madness, or just upset at cold tea, you are always there to calm me, to keep me at balance. How is that?"
I paused. I honestly didn't know. I just did.
"Well, I suppose it's no different than how you make me feel better as well, Tarrant. If I'm feeling sad, or scared, or nervous about fighting a jabberwocky, well, you always have the words to set me straight just the same. It's just because we are perfect for each other. You are my soulmate. You are the missing part of my heart. Does that make sense?"
"Aye, ma bonnie lass. It makes perfect sense."
"Good. So, now that we are in agreement that marriage was probably a better course of action over courtship ... well, perhaps we could consider more marital activities?"
"Oh, ma naughty lass! I've never heard you make a better suggestion."
He leaned over me and began to kiss me in the most delicious way. Thank goodness for Plan B!
End note: Ok, like I said, I am SO sorry for the huge delay. I fixed up the previous *guh* 50 chapters, but now I have the task of getting them all reposted. And my new computer is being lame and not letting me edit them one last time. Ugh! And I do have to admit that the muse is not exactly coming around these days. But she did bang on my head about this hat/courting business. So, send some suggestions if you have any for future chapters! I would welcome the inspiration!
