"I have a list of possible candidates for you to consider, Nightmare-sama"

"Some other time, Gray", - incubus has the audacity to wave his hand dismissively.

Still, Gray Ringmarc doesn't budge from his spot beside the desk. "I am afraid I must insist"

"I am sure you've done a fair amount of scouting for possible Mrs. Gottschalks", - says incubus in that infuriatingly breezy manner of his, - "But I have no interest whatsoever in anyone you've chosen to present me this time"

Prepared for this less-than-welcome reaction, Gray just rearranges the leather folders he's holding.

Incubus glares. "We both know what my response shall be, Gray"

Unperturbed, Gray fishes a file out of one of the folders in his hands. "I am under the impression you may want to consider this one"

Nightmare eyes the file with disbelief. "Let me guess. Someone's daughter or niece, perhaps? Good-looking, wealthy, accomplished in all sorts of lady-like things? You are aware this is a waste of time"

Nonplussed by such an unenthusiastic response, Gray calmly puts the file on the desk, for his superior to inspect.

"I have confidence in this one"

With a grunt, Nightmare finally pulls the file closer and opens it.

A second later surprise washes off whatever reluctance there was on his face.

"Alice?"

"Miss Alice Liddell", - Gray starts formally, - "As you can easily understand, her origins make any background check a bit complicated, but I put together what I could in here"

With this, he carefully slides the rest of the folders onto the desk. Considering how true was what he said about Alice, he still took pride in all he managed to gather.

"I am more surprised you've decided to suggest her at all, if honest", - incubus finally pries his eye from the document and looks straight at Gray. The look makes the former assassin involuntarily straighten up a bit.

"It shouldn't come out as such a surprise, sir. Alice is, after all, the only female you've ever shown any interest in. Naturally, I would consider her"

"She isn't the kind of girl you usually pick for me", - taking all things into account, Nightmare looks calm. Far too calm for Gray's liking. But he'd bet his best knife set this suggestion of his isn't a mistake on his part. He'd stand his ground, even if Nightmare-sama pretends he doesn't see the reasons behind it.

"She is coming from a good home", - Gray says evenly, - "Even if it isn't a part of Clover's nobility"

"But she has no powerful relatives or wealth to speak of", - Nightmare points out. - "You were pretty keen that any bride of mine should be well-off"

"It is true, but there's simply no one better connected than miss Alice. We both know that"

"She surely managed to become friends with all of the Role Holders", - Nightmare agrees.

"As well as many faceless", - Gray goes on. - "If anyone dares to protest on that behalf, I will personally silence them"

He pats a knife-holder on his sleeve and continues.

"Also you are not exactly hurting, sir, as you yourself pointed out many times in the past. Your bride doesn't have to bring a dowry to add to your riches"

"Look at you, suddenly taking a full turn on your priorities", - incubus mutters, but it isn't true irritation, much to Gray's relief.

"Most importantly she seems the right kind of woman for you, my lord"

"And what kind of woman would that be?", - incubus asks, genuinely curious.

"Strong-willed, yet kind; smart, interesting, lovely", - Gray immediately says, - "The one you'll never grow tired of, the one who will keep you on your toes at all times"

"The one who can make me do things, you mean"

Gray allows himself to smile. "Your work ethics improved considerably ever since she joined us"

Nightmare glares at him again. "She sure was quick to learn from you. You two are going to drive me to an early grave, I can so see it"

"But most importantly", - Gray keeps on going as if not hearing, - "you are fond of her, sir. Like you've never been of anyone else"

This makes incubus go silent.

Did you really think it would go unnoticed, Nightmare-sama?, Gray briefly wonders. Impossible to have eyes and not to see how incubus acted around the girl. The looks, the sighs, the bragging. All those mountains of done paperwork now carefully put away.

Each bottle of medicine drank.

"She won't see it as such a good idea"

Gray blinks. He did expect some denying from his whimsical boss, but apparently, he didn't give incubus enough credit. Nightmare-sama sounded like someone who long ago accepted his feelings.

"Why wouldn't she? She seems fond of you", - Gray rakes his brain, but can't find anything to contradict this notion. Again something obvious for anyone who could observe the two – how Alice would always go out of her way for the sake of the dream demon. How eager she was to help him, how ready she was to spend her free time baking him scones as a reward for all work done. Gray was almost certain she sometimes lost some of the card games they played on purpose.

None of these read as foolproof signs of favour in his boss's mind, because Nightmare-sama just shakes his head grimly. "She may care, but it is not enough to convince her to marry me. In her eyes, I am not a husband material"

"If you can hear her think all that, then you can put this information to good use and try and change her mind", - Gray challenges.

"Change her mind?", - Nightmare blinks as if the idea seems completely foreign to him.

Gray suppresses a sigh. Sometimes he forgets that out of the two of them it is him, who has more experience with the romance (even if his own hardly applies to this particular setting)

"Woman's feelings aren't set in stone. One can always aspire to change them"

"Is it what you've read in some romance novel?", - Nightmare is unimpressed, - "That's not how it works with Alice"

Inside Gray bristles. Nightmare-sama was well aware of his literature preferences, yet never let go of one episode when Gray did pick up a romance novel (a cringe-worthy book) by mistake. Still, he keeps his temper in check.

"I bet when you first met her, her thoughts were very different from now"

At this incubus again goes silent. He seems to be looking inside himself now, where perhaps, he sees again how their paths first crossed.

"She thought me eery"

His words fall like stones. Heavy. Gray can feel how this was something that bothered incubus. "I suppose, that impression didn't last for long?"

The question makes incubus slightly perk up. "She did change her estimation of my character at some point"

"And that is a proof enough she might do it again", - seeing an impatient look on his superior's face, Gray goes on, - "If she thought you eery at first, but still became closely acquainted with you, nothing is stopping you from trying to develop your relationship further"

Incubus clicks his tongue impatiently. "You don't get it. She hates the mere idea of romance. If I approach her with even remotely amorous intentions, she'd flee the Tower"

"But you aren't offering her romance. It's a marriage we speak about"

Nightmare just stares at his subordinate in mute shock. "But I would never marry a woman I'm not in love with!"

"Alice doesn't need to know this", - hearing his boss admit something like this (even if Gray always suspected the dream demon to be a hopeless romantic at heart), was still a bit shaking. Nightmare Gottschalk in love. Easier to imagine him going to a hospital, honestly.

Yet, here he was, doing things Gray never imagined he'd see his self-centered, spoiled superior do. He won't let this go to waste, Gray swears inwardly. All this consideration, all this longing – he'd do his part in making this union happen.

So Gray presses on. - "There are plenty of couples who marry without love involved. Especially people of your status"

These words make incubus contemplate for some seconds. "It may work" - he admits, - "She won't read between the lines if I present her things this way"

Gray barely suppresses his smile. "I think so too"

"But she'd fire a barrage of questions", - Nightmare runs a hand through his hair, already exasperated over a conversation that was yet to happen, - "I am certain of it. She will question every little thing to death"

"You can certainly avoid an interrogation if you put your mind into it", - says Gray pointedly. "However, I think I can assist"

"How exactly?", - Nightmare throws him another look of his.

"Well, by asking on your behalf of course"

"And what, pray tell me, would that achieve?" - incubus asks imploringly, - "She's not thinking about me in that way, Gray"

"All the more reason to give her more to think about", - Gray fires back.

For a minute or so they simply stare at each other.

"You've been complaining about her not giving you enough thought, sir. If that's the case, the proposal would certainly be something she'd ponder about", - Gray dares to point out eventually.

"To find more reasons to refuse me"

"Or to see you in a different light"

Again silence. Gray never thought he'd have to try so hard to convince the dream demon to act on his desires, but this unexpected consideration of his boss only fueled his determination. If Nightmare-sama truly felt so strongly about this girl, all the more reason to act on it.

"Alice.. seems like a girl who has never been properly courted before", - he starts carefully.

"She dated once", - Nightmare supplies dully, his expression cold. Whatever the story there, Gray wisely decides not to ask.

"And that relationship failed spectacularly, from what I've gathered", - hearing no confirmation from incubus, Gray becomes worried, - "Or is she, perhaps.. Still hung up on that ex of hers?"

To his relief, his boss shakes his head. "Thankfully, that is in the past. But that bastard truly destroyed any belief in romance in her heart"

"Which you can rekindle by showing her what it means to be loved", - Gray finishes, serious.

"To be loved?", - incubus repeats the words, as if not completely comprehending them.

"Isn't it the case?", - Gray casually asks. - "Isn't this why you want to ask her to marry you?"

"Yes", - the word falls from his boss's lips. It comes out so simply, so surely that for one long moment Gray Ringmarc (the Lizard, the deadliest knife-wielder in the four realms, the one who has had so many affairs in his past, who wants for nothing) just can't help a small pang of jealousy. Love. Does he know what it is? He is used to being honest with himself and knows the answer is negative.

But what a curious thing, love.

Beside him dream demon smiles and Gray has a disconcerting feeling his mind-shield just slipped for a moment or two, allowing his superior to peek inside.

But even if that is the case, in a rare display of tact, incubus says something else entirely.

"I wonder which flowers I should pick"

"Ha?", - still expecting some kind of a biting remark, Gray's response is not his best one. Nightmare sends him a pointed look.

"Flowers. For Alice. I am of the opinion that no proposal should go without flowers"

Gray lets go of a breath he's been holding. "I thought it was a ring that a groom-to-be carries with them?"

Nightmare shakes his head. "Have you forgotten already what I've said not a minute ago? I got to be discreet. Or Alice will go and live somewhere else"

Oh. Perhaps, he did make a blunder here. Gray nods.

"Of course, I'd get her a proper ring as well", - Nightmare continues talking, and Gray wonders if inside his brilliant mind incubus can already envision the perfect ring, - "But we should start small. Flowers should be fine"

"What about roses then?", - Gray suggests. Somewhere in his files, it is stated that Alice likes roses, hence her visits to Heart Castle and Hatter's Mansion.

Incubus scowls. "I will not have it look as if I've taken some from Red Queen's maze. Alice deserves way better than that"

"There is hardly any need for common thievery. Clover has thousands of varieties, sir", - Gray recalls all of the flower stands one inevitably stumble upon whenever taking a stroll in town.

This seems to satisfy his superior, who gives a sharp nod. "I will be at the library then. Each flower has a meaning of its own and I'd rather not alert her with something too obvious", - he says, returning the file back to its respective folder, - "And you should take care for Alice not to see these"

Gray bows. "I shall put these away, sir"

Author's notes: this takes place sometime during CnKnA, before the proposal scene (which is, in my humble opinion, the absolute best Alice ever gets as far as proposals go).