Alphabet Love Story – Zeroing Out

She buys him pizza and he buys her coffee. She takes him to a fancy Japanese place and he invites her over and cooks his most impressive dish. They give and they take because neither wants to owe the other anything. Not out of spite, but for fear that that's all there is, favors and obligations and pity.

It doesn't take long, though, for that not-so-secret shared fear to ebb away. Somehow, Hatter stops wondering whether Alice feels indebted. Somewhere along the way, Alice stops worrying whether Hatter will ever come back.

There is a need between them to be free, to be them, to shake off destiny and live the way they want to.

So they stop wondering and they stop worrying and they start living, together, in a world of their own making.

They share stories and food and kisses and time.

Hatter hops between worlds as often as he can. The time difference wreaks havoc on his sleep cycle but he finds he doesn't mind nearly as much as he should.

Alice makes sure that she's got a plan every time he visits. There's never any real downtime between them because when they're not exploring the city or watching off-off-off Broadway plays, they're filling the space with narratives from their own lives.

Hatter tells her about growing up in a magical kingdom and chasing wild animals before he knew how dangerous the forests really were. Alice tells him about growing up in a busy city where they have practical things like cars and subways and no wild beasts whatsoever. The laughter between them is true and unburdened.

It takes months, almost a year, before lingering doubts are replaced entirely with growing happiness. It all comes together, settling just right, when they decide to get a place in the city. And one in Wonderland. And live between two worlds, in one of their own making.

Author's Note: Guys! I did it! I finally finished Alphabet Love Story. Super excited! I hope you enjoyed it and thank you to all of the follows, favorites and reviews!