Tea Time, an Alice in Wonderland fic
Jul. 23rd, 2010 11:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cortanaSummary: He waits for her Return. Again.
Author’s Notes: I’ve read some wonderfully angsty fics about how Tarrant is handling Alice’s departure at the end of the movie. This, however, is decidedly less angst-filled. As always, I’d love to know what you think.
The Hatter sipped on his tea, calmly ducking his head as a cup came whizzing by, courtesy of the Hare across the table from him. Now that his friend seemed content to throw sugar cubes to the dormouse, he let his mind slip into its investigation about things starting with the letter M.
Morning.
Marvelous.
Magnificent.
Alice.
He frowned. Her name didn’t start with an M--Did it?
“There he goes again,” Mallymkun complained, her hand on her hip. “She’s not comin‘ back, ya know.”
“Who?” cried Thackery as he tossed a scone in her direction.
“Alice,” the mouse replied, annoyed. It wasn’t as if the Hatter hadn’t been waiting endlessly for her since her Departure.
“Oh yes, Alice,” the Hare muttered. He held up his half-broken cup, looking at the Hatter through the bottom.
Tarrant frowned at his friend and looked directly Mally, “She will be here.”
A frown passed over her face. She knew when Hatter was in one of his Alice-moods the best thing to do was to ignore it, but she couldn’t let her friend hold onto the delusion the girl was coming back, no matter how Mad he was.
“No, she won’t. She’s gone now, Tarrant. You heard it from Absalem himself,” she said as gently as possible. “She’s off explorin’ her world.”
Despite her attempt to carefully remind him of the butterfly’s report, the Hatter’s eyes glowed orange. Thackery held up his broken cup, shielding himself from the impending rage.
“I was there when he gave his report, his testimony, his update, his--”
The shattering of a tea cup pulled him out of his rampage.
His eyes focused back on the mouse. “I’m fine,” he squeaked. He refilled his teacup with the closest pot. “I know she’ll come back. She said she would.” And her word was good enough for the Hatter.
“Well, how long are you willin’ to wait?” asked Mall with a huff.
He thought about it for a second. “What number is infinity?”
“Why that would be seventy-two, I think,” offered Thackery.
The Hatter nodded, pleased with his friend’s answer. “Then I shall wait that long. I’ve certainly waited longer for her,” he reminded the mouse. He looked at his watch. “Time for a clean cup. Move down!” He slid into the chair at the head of the table. It was his favorite chair; it was the one he had been in when Alice returned after her long Absence.
“Sugar?” inquired the Hare.
“Of course,” he said, catching the hurled cube with practiced ease. As he dropped in in his cup, he realized with a great sadness that he didn’t know how Grown-Up Alice took her tea or her toast or her--
“Hatter!” interrupted Mally.
He realized with a giggle that he must have been saying his thoughts out loud. He must be Madder than he thought. “Thank you,” he said.
A rustle from the woods momentarily halted the tea party. It was probably that slurvish cat, the Hatter thought distastefully. He reached up and held onto his hat tightly, just to be careful.
Thackery was distracted from the distraction by the strong urge to dip his pocket watch in his cup of tea. The Hatter was about to join in the fun when a blur of blue caught his attention.
Surely it hadn’t been infinity already.
Surely it couldn’t be--
Alice.
Yet there she was, a normal size for once, running towards the tea party with a smile on her face. She stopped at the end of the table as the Hatter walked across it, his green eyes shining. A smile flittered on her lips as she watched him step haphazardly on the miscellaneous cups and saucers, eager to reach her.
“Am I late?” she asked breathlessly as he jumped off the table to stand next to her.
“No,” he said, smiling, “you’re right on time.”
Author’s Notes: I’ve read some wonderfully angsty fics about how Tarrant is handling Alice’s departure at the end of the movie. This, however, is decidedly less angst-filled. As always, I’d love to know what you think.
The Hatter sipped on his tea, calmly ducking his head as a cup came whizzing by, courtesy of the Hare across the table from him. Now that his friend seemed content to throw sugar cubes to the dormouse, he let his mind slip into its investigation about things starting with the letter M.
Morning.
Marvelous.
Magnificent.
Alice.
He frowned. Her name didn’t start with an M--Did it?
“There he goes again,” Mallymkun complained, her hand on her hip. “She’s not comin‘ back, ya know.”
“Who?” cried Thackery as he tossed a scone in her direction.
“Alice,” the mouse replied, annoyed. It wasn’t as if the Hatter hadn’t been waiting endlessly for her since her Departure.
“Oh yes, Alice,” the Hare muttered. He held up his half-broken cup, looking at the Hatter through the bottom.
Tarrant frowned at his friend and looked directly Mally, “She will be here.”
A frown passed over her face. She knew when Hatter was in one of his Alice-moods the best thing to do was to ignore it, but she couldn’t let her friend hold onto the delusion the girl was coming back, no matter how Mad he was.
“No, she won’t. She’s gone now, Tarrant. You heard it from Absalem himself,” she said as gently as possible. “She’s off explorin’ her world.”
Despite her attempt to carefully remind him of the butterfly’s report, the Hatter’s eyes glowed orange. Thackery held up his broken cup, shielding himself from the impending rage.
“I was there when he gave his report, his testimony, his update, his--”
The shattering of a tea cup pulled him out of his rampage.
His eyes focused back on the mouse. “I’m fine,” he squeaked. He refilled his teacup with the closest pot. “I know she’ll come back. She said she would.” And her word was good enough for the Hatter.
“Well, how long are you willin’ to wait?” asked Mall with a huff.
He thought about it for a second. “What number is infinity?”
“Why that would be seventy-two, I think,” offered Thackery.
The Hatter nodded, pleased with his friend’s answer. “Then I shall wait that long. I’ve certainly waited longer for her,” he reminded the mouse. He looked at his watch. “Time for a clean cup. Move down!” He slid into the chair at the head of the table. It was his favorite chair; it was the one he had been in when Alice returned after her long Absence.
“Sugar?” inquired the Hare.
“Of course,” he said, catching the hurled cube with practiced ease. As he dropped in in his cup, he realized with a great sadness that he didn’t know how Grown-Up Alice took her tea or her toast or her--
“Hatter!” interrupted Mally.
He realized with a giggle that he must have been saying his thoughts out loud. He must be Madder than he thought. “Thank you,” he said.
A rustle from the woods momentarily halted the tea party. It was probably that slurvish cat, the Hatter thought distastefully. He reached up and held onto his hat tightly, just to be careful.
Thackery was distracted from the distraction by the strong urge to dip his pocket watch in his cup of tea. The Hatter was about to join in the fun when a blur of blue caught his attention.
Surely it hadn’t been infinity already.
Surely it couldn’t be--
Alice.
Yet there she was, a normal size for once, running towards the tea party with a smile on her face. She stopped at the end of the table as the Hatter walked across it, his green eyes shining. A smile flittered on her lips as she watched him step haphazardly on the miscellaneous cups and saucers, eager to reach her.
“Am I late?” she asked breathlessly as he jumped off the table to stand next to her.
“No,” he said, smiling, “you’re right on time.”
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-23 06:40 pm (UTC)Thank you for sharing!
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Date: 2010-07-23 07:02 pm (UTC)Beautiful job, thanks for writing and sharing! :)
~bastet
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Date: 2010-07-24 12:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-24 05:22 pm (UTC)"Seventy two, I think"
LOL. Cute. Still not a hatter/alice fan but this was nice. Very in-character, too, for JD's Hatter. Well done love :D
no subject
Date: 2010-07-24 05:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-24 05:38 pm (UTC)Glad you enjoyed the story!
no subject
Date: 2010-07-24 05:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-24 05:43 pm (UTC)The infinity exchange was what I wrote first (and my fav part of the fic). And I have no idea where the number 72 came from. I just wrote it because if I thought about it too much I would have spent five hours trying to decide what, exactly, the perfect number for infinity was. LOL
I'm just glad my Muse is finally working with me...speaking of which, when am I going to get some new fic from you, chickie? It's been nearly two months since you've posted any...
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Date: 2010-07-24 05:56 pm (UTC)Yeah, this was a cute fic :D LOL
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Date: 2010-07-24 06:31 pm (UTC)You know, I don't think I've seen an episode of Atlantis since it went off the air. I'm a very bad fangirl, indeed. (Though I might buy the books when they come out this year...hopefully, it will inspire the Atlantis!Muse in me...we'll see, LOL)
Have you seen Toy Story 3 yet?
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Date: 2010-07-24 06:55 pm (UTC)Haha. I've watched a couple of episodes... watched them at various cons but haven't sat down and watched a marathon or anything. I fancy watching Sunday. I'm in the mood for a cry, lol.
No, not seen it yet. i'm taking my next door neighbor's grandchildren to see it... me and a four and two year old. oh God, can you imagine??? HAHAHAH. Oh dear :(
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Date: 2010-07-24 07:13 pm (UTC)LOL, two and four...that's tough, especially if they are hyper. But, have hope! Autumn's our little firecracker and she sat through the whole movie without a problem. Just make sure they have plenty of candy to keep them busy, LOL
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Date: 2010-07-27 12:21 pm (UTC)So, I'm sorry this is late:
I love this adorably hopeful and faith-filled Tarrant! I. Just. Do. *gapes at ceiling whilst in her Happy Place*
"There he goes again!" *giggles* Oh, my, I can soooooo picture that scene.
Thackery relying on the power of the cup to save him from Hatter-Rage! Bwhahaha! And, hey, here's a random thought: Perhaps the distortion caused in the space time continuum by the broken bottom of a tea cup allows one to enjoy X-ray vision? *grabs for broken cup and aims at Tarrant!* That bowtie has no secrets from me! Bwhahaha! *ahem* Moving along...
72!! It's my new favorite number. Hey-hey! I'm playin' that baby in the lotto!
Tarrant grabs onto his hat... just in case The Cat is Lurking nearby! (^__~) Oh, how did you fit so much delightfulness in such a short fic? Genius, I say! Genius!
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Date: 2010-07-27 04:20 pm (UTC)I thought he needed a little Hope after he looked so Crestfallen at the end of the movie. (Can I say how much I love this fandom and using the power of the Capital Letters when necessary? LOL)
ROFL, X-ray vision via a broken tea cup! I am so glad I wasn't taking a drink as I read that because my poor computer would have gotten soaked.
Thank you so much for taking the time to drop a note...your feedback is Epic. I am flattered. Seriously. :D
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Date: 2010-07-28 05:55 am (UTC)Capital letter are so Necessary when writing about the Mad Hatter. They just Are.
Writing feedback is good for me. For my waistline: let's burn off those chocolate calories, ladies! *tik-a-tik-a-tik-a...* For my mental health: let's ignore the fact that we're experiencing a writer's blockage, hrm? For my word processor: Is she gone? *shifty eyes* Right, time to reboot and relax. Ahhhh....
Etc. etc. (^__~)
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Date: 2010-07-28 04:32 pm (UTC)I saw on
And, my goodness, how fast do you write anyway? Those Plot Bunnies must have been bouncing in your head quite...vigoriously
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Date: 2010-07-29 08:33 am (UTC)Ahem, OK, I'm back!
Yup, starting to post Book 3. With all the wrestling I'm doing with the remainder of the book, I knew I'd need something to motivate me and energize me and such and sharing ficage tends to get the job done... most of the time.
How fast do I write? Gosh, I dunno. When I'm having a great day, I whip out like 10 pages. When I'm not, I write half a page, glare at it for a bit, then kick it over to my "crapola" text file and start over. *sigh*
But yes. Vigorious bouncing plot bunnies... BATMAN!!! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) (^__~)
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Date: 2010-08-14 03:45 pm (UTC)"What number is infinity?"
*melts* @-@
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Date: 2010-08-15 05:11 am (UTC)That does seem to be the favorite part of most everyone. (Myself included. :D :D )