Alice, as it turned out, was an incredibly tactile person. Well, at least as far as Hatter, a fairly solitary person, was concerned. (He had a sneaky suspicion that Daddy issues were involved.) She would absently brush the tips of her fingers across his nearest limb or twine their arms together or hold her hand out, trusting he would be there to take it.
It was the last of these that truly unnerved him. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be there for her. Never, not once, in all his long years had anyone ever trusted him like that.
AN: Sorry I've been gone so long, RL will do that to you.