When Alice awoke, she opened her eyes slowly, rubbing sleep away with her fists like a child. Slowly bringing herself to open them, she was surprised to find she was greeted with day. The room was bright and sunlight was seeping in from the windows, pouring over Jefferson's quaint dwelling and filling it with light. This irked her slightly, Alice had always prided herself on being an early riser – she was not known to waste the day by sleeping in. The woman rolled over and saw Jefferson, sitting at a desk, his body looming and scrunched over the hat.
Jefferson hadn't slept – he'd been working on the hat long before the sun had risen. He'd tried to sleep, sure, but the hat and Alice had entrenched themselves in his mind. He tried not thinking about them, trying to count sheep as his mother had taught him long ago, but to now use. They kept resurfacing in his mind and keeping him awake.
Looking over to observe Alice's sleeping form had not helped Jefferson's quest for sleep, either. Alice, snuggled up against a pillow, looked tranquil and serene. Her eyes were pressed together oh so gently, and her small, plump lips were opened the tiniest bit. Looking at Alice's sleeping form, Jefferson was filled with a fire and drive he'd never felt before. He wanted – no, he needed to help this girl. Whatever it took, he was going to get this girl home.
He ignored the nagging in the back of his mind that told him helping her meant losing her.
So Jefferson had pulled himself from his bed and had prodded and poked, examined and sewed the hat all night in a determined silence.
"Good morning, Hatter," she said, her voice groggy with sleep, but filled with a sunshine that made Jefferson's lips curl up in a small smile, secret smile. Jefferson, the long night's silence finally broken, shot up and turned around to face Alice. He smiled at her and opened his mouth to greet her, but his words tangled up in his throat as he took in her image. The afternoon sun was washing over Alice's body, making her blond hair glow and her intense blue eyes gleam. Alice, not noticing Jefferson's preoccupation with her appearance, stretched her lean arms and let out a soft moan before slumping back into bed.
Jefferson's mouth hung open dumbly for a few moments before his mind snapped back to attention. "You don't have to get up," Jefferson offered, cursing himself for not being able to think of something better to say to her.
Alice though, was pleased with his kind offer. "No, it's quite alright, I've slept in enough already," she said, gathering a bout of strength and throwing her legs across the bed to stand up. "Any progress with the hat?" she asked, sauntering over to Jefferson. Jefferson could not rip his eyes away from her hips, losing himself in Alice's graceful steps. He turned his back on Alice, hiding his furious blush and wracking his mind desperately for words, any words. Alice took no note of this, instead bending over Jefferson and draping her arms around his neck. As she rested her head on his shoulder, Jefferson prayed that she would by some miracle not notice his scarlet cheeks.
Thankfully, she did not. And if she did, she ignored it. Jefferson silently thanked her for that.
Gulping, Jefferson found his heart floating with feelings of nervousness and bliss. Jefferson's shoulders tingled at Alice's touch, and Jefferson was having a hard time ignoring the feeling. It didn't help that his stomach was filled with rapidly fluttering butterflies any time Alice was near him. "Um.. It's coming along," he said, managing to find the words after much struggle. He rotated the brim of the hat as if to inspect his work, wanting everything to be perfect for his lovely new friend. "I think I found what's wrong," he stated turning around to face her. "There was a loose seam, so I just to fixed that up. It should be in perfect condition, and ready for travel," he said with a smile.
Alice beamed, blessing him her immaculate grin. She laid a hand gently on his cheek, taking him slightly off guard, "Jefferson," she began, pausing as if searching for the right words, "Thank you." That was not enough, Alice told herself, and she looked up and into his eyes, "From the bottom of my heart, Jefferson, thank you. For everything you've done for me. If things were different... I wish..." she began to trail off. It was still not enough, she told herself, nothing would ever be enough to repay the debt she now owed this man. Jefferson took note of the sadness that swept over Alice's eyes, clouding them and dulling them. He had to restrain himself from professing his undying love – no, his fondness for her. Maybe she was just as sad at the idea of leaving as he was. Things were certainly different than they were the first time she had prepared to leave, something unspoken between them lingered in the air. They had formed a bond, one that had began germination with their first meeting, and as the time had passed it had blossomed into a strong bond.
For Jefferson, the bond was stronger than friendship. It was the strongest and most powerful bond he had ever experienced. He wasn't particularly sure how Alice felt. But just by looking at her, Jefferson knew he wanted to hold her in his arms, grab onto her and never let go, and he wanted to kiss her. God how he wanted to kiss her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and her lips were entrancing. Small and plump, constantly curved upwards into a rosy smile that lit up an entire room, Jefferson wanted nothing more than to know their taste, their feel. He wanted to have a real, passionate kiss. He wanted to wrap his arms around her waist, to feel the curves of her beautiful body.
Jefferson stood up, and Alice's hand drifted from his cheek to his shoulder. "You're welcome Alice, you're the first person... The first person that's ever paid me any mind," he said softly. Jefferson's eyes drifted to her lips, as it seemed they were inching closer and closer. When he looked up he saw her eyes gazing into his. Before Jefferson had the time to blush he decided to take a chance, for he may never get one again, and he leaned in quickly and pressed his lips to hers.
The kiss was chaste, but Alice leaned into him, grasping at the lapels of his vest, while Jefferson's hands hovered for a moment over her back, hesitant and scared, but told himself to take another risk – his last risk had, afterall, paid off. Slowly, he brought his arms to her lower back, and pulled her closer to him, wrapping her in his embrace.
Alice pulled away quickly, and pressed her hands to her lips, as if to confirm what had just happened. Her cheeks lit up like roses, and she was at a loss of both words and breath. Her blue gaze drifted to the ground, boring intensely and unwaveringly into it. Jefferson thought Alice was lost in her thoughts, he could almost hear the gears cranking in her mind.
"I'm sorry," Jefferson began to sputter, his embarrassment and shame nearly overwhelming him. "I shouldn't have-"
"No... Don't apologize," she said meeting his gaze. "I-... I should be getting back home," she said reaching to grab the hat. Jefferson felt his heart sink in despair, he had made a fool of himself, and he was losing the one woman he had ever cared for.
She paused for a moment, her mind still in shock from the kiss they had just shared. "Good-bye... Jefferson," she said sadly, fiddling with the hat in her hands. "We'll meet again," she said with a half-hearted tone of reassurance.
"Good-bye, Alice," he said trying to attempt a small smile, although he couldn't bring himself to look at her.
Alice hesitated a moment, before throwing the hat upon the ground and sending it spinning. She jumping into the swirling pit, and soon Alice and the hat were gone.
Jefferson's hands went to his forehead, and moved back to his hair in frustration. He felt so stupid. He was an idiot for ever thinking that someone, especially someone like Alice would ever reciprocate his feelings.
He moved back to his work desk to start putting away his sewing supplies, and was too distracted by his thoughts to notice the faint sound of a blowing wind and the footsteps that followed.
A hand grabbed his shoulder forcing him to turn around, before Jefferson could register what was happening he felt lips press against his, and his eyes were wide as he realized Alice was kissing him. Alice kissed him with determined force, and once the shock wore off, Jefferson brought his hands to her sides, and Alice threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. Alice deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue gently into his mouth, surprising Jefferson. Jefferson had never experienced a sensation as blissful as the feeling of Alice's mouth moving in sync against his, not that he had really had any experience in that area.
She released Jefferson's lips from her own, and rested her forehead against his. Jefferson, struggled to catch his breath, and stared intently at Alice, whose eyes were closed as she basked in the afterglow of their kiss.
She gave Jefferson a small peck before opening her eyes and pulling away from Jefferson's body ever so slightly, moving both of her hands to his shoulders.
"You-... You came back," Jefferson said, unable to contain the grin that grew on his lips, lighting up his features.
"I changed my mind," she said, lifting one of her hands to stroke Jefferson's hair. "Jefferson, I care for you."
Jefferson thought his heart was going to explode with glee.
"I care for you, too" he said with a goofy grin, and she smiled at him dazzlingly.
"I have to go back to Wonderland, just for a little while... But I'll come back," she started. "Unless," she started shyly, silently cursing herself for her weak tone, "You wanted to... I don't know... Come with me perhaps," she said glancing at him through her fair, blond eyelashes.
"Leave behind my life here? That sounds mad," he said.
"I'm sorry, it was a stupid idea," she said quickly, embarrassment clouding her features. She shrunk away from him slightly.
"Who ever said that being mad was a bad thing?" Jefferson said with a grin, and Alice, looking up at him suddenly, felt a grin on her own face. She giggled and jumped into his arms.
"Oh Jefferson! You are going to love Wonderland! But are you sure? That you want to leave your life here, that is?"
Jefferson pretended to think about this for a moment. "Well… It will certainly be hard leaving this glamorous life behind, but I'm sure the mushrooms will find someone else to waste their time picking them in my absence," he joked, "Should I pack a bag?"
"No, you shan't need one," she said grabbing his hand in hers, squeezing it affectionately, making Jefferson smile.
"Shall we, my Hatter?" she asked with the hat in hand.
"We shall," he said, watching Alice flick her wrist and send the hat spinning on the ground.
"Together?" She said turning to Jefferson.
"Of course," he said, and with that they both took a step into the spinning mass of darkness.
There was a definite difference in the way the two friends – lovers? (Jefferson wasn't sure what they were) – landed. Alice, having done this thousands of times, landed with the grace of a gymnast on her feet. She made it look easy with her nonchalance. Jefferson however, landed with a rather painful thud as his backside hit the floor hard. Jefferson blushed when he heard Alice's giggles and he stood up quickly. Jefferson was able to look around the room for the first time, and saw that the room was filled with various doors.
"These are all different worlds?" Jefferson asked in amazement.
"Yes," she said taking a few steps towards a large mirror.
Jefferson was silent for a moment, taking in his surroundings and taking a moment to examine each door. A few stuck out to him – the first being a rather childish looking door. It was white and had pink flowers painted on it. Another door was old-fashioned and regal, but also a deep gray. In fact, the area surrounding the doorway was gray, too, which was something Jefferson could not explain. And, of course, the mirror Alice approached caught his interest.
"Have you been to all of them?" he asked.
"Most of them." Alice said, shrugging her shoulders as if being a traveler of different worlds and dimensions was no big deal, it was something everyone did in their spare time. "I'd never been to yours. I haven't been traveling as much lately, with Wonderland being in such a state of chaos. One day though... I'm going to show you all the worlds that the universe has to offer." she said, her blue eyes taking on a hazy, dreamy luster.
"I look forward to it," Jefferson said, his voice trailing off as he met her gaze with an affectionate smile.
"Well this is it," she said gesturing towards a rather large and ornate mirror. "Are you ready?" she asked excitedly.
"I am," he said, and Alice lead him through the looking glass. Jefferson was surprised to see Alice seemingly melt into the mirror, and followed, experiencing a cool chill, and then a sweltering heat upon stepping into a vibrant and colorful world.
A SUPER SUPER HUGE THANKS TO SUPERCILIUM. He helped me out a ton in this chapter, and also to ViCtOrIoUsGaL41822 who has been helping me out along the way as well. The next chapter should be up soon, it's all written just needs to be edited. Review if you like!