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Echoes
By: thunderings

Syfy's Alice, Hatter/Alice; There are times he fears that she regrets choosing him over a King.

a/n: Keyword to this piece: angst. Incredible angst. I wanted to explore the idea of Alice still retaining a bit of affection towards Jack, and how Hatter would be able to deal with it. (I totally swear I ship Hatter/Alice, even if it might not seem it)

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There are times when he catches her looking off into the distance, wistfully staring at nothing in particular; perchance musing over a hazy memory or feeling (or someone) now fading with time. He'll ask her if she's alright, and she'll smile lightly and kiss him gently on the cheek before answering:

"Of course? Why wouldn't I be?"

It's times like these that he wishes he could read her mind.

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There are times when they go out to some new place which she adores, and an employee will give him the one over and look at her questioningly.

"What happened to your other flame? The man with the blond hair and regal aura about him?"

It's times like these he wishes they had just stayed home.

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There are times when they're together, and they'll be joking and laughing and carrying on and she'll accidentally call him by another name.

"Stop making me laugh, Jack!"

She'll then spot her error and grow silent, inwardly scolding herself for such a mistake.

It's times like these he wishes he had a proper name.

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There are times out of the corner of his eye he'll see her glance a second too long at a man with blond hair.

It's times like these he wishes that man had never entered their life.

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And then there is a time when:

"I'm tired of this Alice! I…I hate worrying myself sick that maybe, just maybe, you regret choosing me over a king. I-I'll never be anything great. I'll never be the king that you truly do deserve. I'll always just be Hatter, a bloke with an affinity for hats and…and… tea, and that l-loves a woman so much it hurts him inside." His words are rushed and stammered out (and damn he's never been good at expressing himself) and full of a raw emotion that sends him reeling.

It's times like these he wishes:

That she didn't start crying and run into his arms (he hates seeing his Alice cry, because it truly does hurt him) and say how sorry she was. Her sobs echo in his ears and her tears stain his shirt and her hands are locked around his waist in a tight embrace.

"I don't regret choosing you over a king -don't think that for a minute," she whispers between an interlude of a sob, "There may be times that'll I'll think of him, but in the end he's just another memory that will become blurry with each and every passing day. You'll always be here, never leaving me, like a pulse or a heartbeat. Whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are made of the same thing."

(He could very well reply that her words are cliché and cheesy and straight out of a horrible romantic film, but his lips against hers is his response)

"You'll always be a king to me," she smiles against his chest.

(& she'll always be his queen)