Not only do I have other fanfics that I need to be writing, but I also have personal projects that I need to work on.

And yet here I am writing new fanfics and add-ons to one-shots.

I suck at maintaining things.

So here's the first time that Alice and Ace tried to meet together in a more intimate context. R&R!

-Static

/*\

The stars glittered in the night sky like diamonds, with the full moon letting off a bluish light that felt quite romantic. The trees rose up from the freezing ground like skeletal hands, and he couldn't remember ever feeling this cold. No, the Northern Territory was not a hospitable place. Faint outlines of scraggy cliffs peaked in the distance, and he himself was not that far away from a steep drop into a ravine. He was slightly uncomfortable being that close but...this was the only clearing with enough space.

Besides, if something were to happen - unlikely though it was - there would be no issue.

The woman he was meeting could fly.

Before he could let his mind wander, however, he needed to get warm.

/*\

She watched as he placed the branches and loose twigs in a circular formation. To this day, she did not know how he managed to collect all the necessities for survival within the frame of just a few seconds, but one moment, he had barely started a fire, and the next his tent had materialized out of nowhere.

From her vantage point she watched him sit on the ground and lean against a log. He then took out his flask, and after a long sip, he stared straight into the fire, relaxed and waiting,

He knew she was there, no less than she expected, so she lightly stepped out of from her hiding place within the trees. Her circlet shimmered in the light, the scales on her extra limbs glittering in a similar manner. The hem of her blue gown nearly touched the ice-cold dirt, and his eyes did not leave her own.

It had been a long time, since Alice had felt this uneasy in his presence. Now that she had her own Role, she could easily overpower him - she'd done it before - but this time...it was different. They'd been meeting for some time now, and those meetings had started getting a little more than friendly. They'd flirted, they'd kissed, she had even let him touch her however he wanted above the waist.

She knew she could win a fight with him, but that was on a physical level. Sure, she stood up to him plenty, but now that they were...whatever they were...she had learned that he could be persuasive when it struck him.

She wouldn't let him kiss her for weeks, and might not have given into the impulse for a good while longer had it not been for his words.

"Please, Alice? We've been meeting for a long time now, you know me, and you know that I love you." He had said, his ever-present smile adorning his face. Only he could use such phrase so lightly. She snorted,

"Presenting me with the clocks of men you've brutally murdered does not qualify as love." She responded harshly, though she herself wore a smile as well. He'd rolled his eyes and took her hand.

"As always, you misconstrued my words." And he brushed his lips over her knuckles. At this she could not help but to raise an eyebrow. "Those were not just the clocks of men I murdered, but of men who looked at you a little too...long, for my liking." A laugh bubbled up from her throat.

"Where did you get that, a bad romance novel?" She retorted. Though the blatant killings of Wonderland still perturbed her to no end, she had made her peace with it. After she had gained her Role, and understood the true relationship between clock and person...

Even when people were gunned down before her eyes, they didn't truly die. Not unless the clock was completely destroyed, as Julius had once told her. Though they were reborn as different people, they still held their most important memories, they still knew who they had been.

So it was fine. Even though it really wasn't.

Ace had grinned even wider, "Yes actually. I know you like that stuff, so I figured it was worth a try."

"You must be desperate to fall to such levels." She shot back playfully, her companion still holding onto her hand.

"Then you know how badly I want to kiss you." And the way he had looked at her, well she'd had no choice but to give in. His crimson irises glanced up at her through his absurdly long lashes, her hand still covering the lower sect of his face. His expression had looked relaxed, but even the muscles in his fingers had tensed. Then there was the scent.

Being something not quite human, Alice could detect Ace's emotions much more easily than if she was not a dragon. His humor, his energetic excitement over almost everything, his seemingly mild malice...and his adoration for her, his desire, and even more his uncertainty.

At this point in time, he had not been sure that she would accept him, and because she could so easily detect it, she knew that he was actively allowing her to know. He was keeping nothing from her, he was letting her see the vulnerability that he always kept so carefully hidden. He was trying to prove that his words were genuine.

She had actually been the one to lean forward and initiate that first kiss.

Tonight, he gave her that same half-lidded look.

He stood up and approached her, lightly pecking her lips as his hands fell to her waist.

"How are you tonight?" He asked softly, his customary greeting, letting absolutely nothing slip.

"Nervous," she answered honestly, "Excited too. Happy to see you." And she leaned into his chest while he laughed, the familiar ticking of his clock somewhat reassuring.

"That's always nice to hear." He responded.

"You?"

"What if I just said, 'ditto'?" She pulled away and looked at him, her eyebrows contorting in confusion,

"What's 'ditto'?" Alice questioned.

/*\

After answering her inquiry, Ace took hold of her hand and led her to the log. While he leaned on it from the ground, she sat atop the piece of rotting wood. Her tail curled around the log, and the end sat just a few centimeters from his side. They were close enough that he could rest his cheek against her leg, and as she let her fingers comb through his hair. For hours, all they did was talk, and the time changed from night to noon to evening to morning.

So far, it was just like any other visit.

Then it returned to nighttime. The second the sky darkened the tension returned.

They both knew what was to happen tonight, and though it was something they both agreed to on their last meeting...they were still nervous. Alice was at least. Where Ace had plenty of experience in such matters, she knew borderline nothing, which was something she was loathe to admit. Ace was probably feeling confident in his abilities, and she could smell the want radiating off his person.

As much as she loved him and trusted him...she did not want to be following his lead in this instance.

Ace stood up, pulling Alice with him. His fingers entangled with hers, and he kissed her, but this one was different. Where he was normally soft and distant, just barely brushing his lips against hers in a manner that seemed far too gentlemanly for him, now he was being far rougher. It was even more so than when he would hold her tightly to him and kiss her for what felt like hours. His hand had crept up her back, between her wings, and captured locks of her hair. The other was wrapped around her waist, and kept her solidly pinned to his chest. The message was quite clear.

This time, he wasn't letting go.

She had just been getting used to the new intensity when his mouth left hers. Now he was trailing fevered kisses down her neck and to her shoulder as she caught her breath and murmured her approval. So far this was still familiar territory, and then he...

Did he just bite her?

"Ow!" she exclaimed, instinctively pushing him away and glaring accusingly.

/*\

Ace was confused. He had thought things had been going quite well. She was humming happily and returning his affections eagerly, but then she randomly cried out and pulled away, nearly growling. Could...could she have changed her mind?

"What?" he asked, trying to repress the feelings of irritation and insecurity.

She had told him time and again that she wasn't going to leave him. Every visit after they had started getting close, he would toy with the idea of actually slitting her throat, or stabbing her in the heart. He didn't want to get jilted, nor did he like the idea of her being with another man. He wanted to know that, no matter what, she was his.

For he was already too much hers.

"What the Hell Ace?!" She growled, both hands on her shoulder protectively, "Why'd you bite me?!"

Wait, that was the problem? Did... Was she really that inexperienced?

"...You don't know why I bit you?" He asked, a little astounded. He knew she'd had romantic relationships before. First, with the scumbag from her own world. Then she had lived in Hatter Mansion for three months, with the biggest womanizer in Wonderland who he knew had been interested in her. Had no one ever shown her what it meant to be intimate? Even in so innocent a manner?

Were the kisses she had shared with him really all she knew?

He approached her carefully. She did not know the reasoning behind an action that didn't feel good, and so was reacting accordingly: like a wounded wild animal. Like a confused and hurt dragon.

"It means I love you." He murmured, lightly kissing her hair once he pulled off her scary spiked circlet. "It's...an impulse. It's something that happens when you start wanting something a little more intense than kissing."

"...I knew that one part would hurt, but aren't the other bits supposed to feel nice?" Ace was starting to get uncomfortable. Was she really so unaware?

Maybe tonight wasn't the night.

"It does feel nice," he argued, nuzzling her neck. "Some of it just takes getting used to."

"Really?" She asked, relaxing her body as he started kissing her again. Ace was feeling more confident.

"It does. Even the bites at a certain point." To this she did not respond. He had always reigned in the desire to use teeth because he knew that she probably wouldn't much appreciate it, at least not at first. Now that he knew she had never been aware of the concept of lovebites...

No, they would definitely have to wait some more. If she couldn't even tolerate the pain from a small bite, there was no way she'd survive a night in bed with him.

So he settled for kisses and snuggles, though he insisted it be in the tent.

/*\

Initially I didn't want to write anything concerning Alice's transition from virgin to lover - implication or otherwise - as I've heard it's a common thing to do. At the same time, I wanted my own version where nothing happened. I wanted a setting where she got new information and have it be positive with zero judgment or embarrassment, because that's how I feel it should be in real life. Ace probably wasn't the character for this project but...it strikes me that - like other people - if he likes someone enough, he'll be genuinely nice (e.g. Julius).

Please leave some reviews. :3

-Static