Work Text:
“So, who are you?” Mad Hatter waited, the smoke from his cigarette dissipating into the air as he eyed the man before him from under the rim of his hat. Even among the denizens of Wonderland, the new comer seemed to have an air about him that did not sit quite well with the Hatter.
He was odd, different, in a way that Hatter could not exactly place. It made his fingers itch to pull out his gun, but to do what…
The new stranger was just standing there, blinking at him as if he hadn’t noticed Hatter there at all.
The blond man blinked around him, spun around to see if it was perhaps someone else that Hatter was speaking to before pointing at himself. Mad Hatter only took another long breath of his cigarette, wishing he could simply shoot at the man, but he couldn’t. After all, he could only kill someone who was threatening Alice and there had not been an Alice since the 88th one in a long while. It made him pause for a moment, wondering if perhaps this man was the new Alice, but that was impossible. There was something about this man that simply did not belong in Wonderland.
The man before him smiled a bit sheepishly, his long braid swaying as he bowed his head, scratching the back of it. His long coat blew in the wind as he finally introduced himself.
“My name…” He began slowly, pausing as if he had forgotten it momentarily then continuing. “… is Jack. Just… Jack.”
Mad Hatter exhaled, a cloud of smoke sliding out slowly from between his lips, his eyes narrowing. “Jack, then. Why are you here?” He inquired, wondering if this was a new player the White Rabbit had written in, but that still did not seem quite right in his mind. There was something off about this man, this Jack.
“Ah,” Jack began, looking around him once more at the people, the buildings and green eyes clouded over for the briefest of moments. “… I don’t know.” He finished in a murmur and for a moment he seemed broken. “I… didn’t want that world anymore.” He turned back to Hatter, smiling brightly as he clasped his hands behind his back, braid swaying once more. “Now, may I ask who you are and what this place is called?”
Mad Hatter contemplated a while, wondering if the Queen would cut off his head if he shot this man down where he stood. Wondered if the explanation that he had simply taken a pre-emptive strike against something he felt was off, dangerous. However, staring at the beguiling smiling face before him that held no other motive than simply wanting to be away from somewhere (where was he running from, Hatter wondered) he finally tossed the cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. This was Wonderland, where no one was obligated to tell anyone else what they had done in the past, what they were running from.
This was Wonderland. Everyone had ulterior motives.
“I’m called Mad Hatter. Welcome to Wonderland.”
Omake:
“Ah, Mad Hatter, I’ve noticed something that is rather hard to ignore.” Jack started one day while they were having tea in his newly opened shop. Decorative clocks of every shape, sizes and looks hung from the walls around them and displayed out by the windows were Jack’s favorite trinkets: pocket watches.
“Mm?” Hatter responded, adding a fourth scoop of sugar that had Jack wince mentally.
“I’ve noticed that your pocket watch is quite broken. I’ll gladly fix it for you!” Jack beamed.
“It’s not broken.” Hatter stated, adding yet another scoop of sugar, tasting his tea before he deemed it satisfactory. “It tells me the exact time perfectly.”
“But it always points at six o’clock, doesn’t it?” Jack pressed, frowning.
Hatter glanced over at his tea time companion as he drank his tea, savoring its sweetness before stating calmly as he placed the tea cup down. “It’s the only time that matters.”
Omake Part 2:
Not a month after Jack had entered Wonderland Mad Hatter found himself staring down a tall dark haired man with a dragging mantel and quietly and calmly asked (demanded) to know if there was a Jack Vessalius.
Wonderland had two Jacks, Mad Hatter wanted to say.
One, the Knave of Hearts and forbidden to speak any more than ten words at a time and the other a simple and harmless shop owner. There was, however, no one by the name of Jack Vessalius and if the second Jack had failed to offer Hatter his last name then Hatter was hardly lying when he had given the new comer his answer.
Apparently, his answer was unsatisfactory, but the man kept to himself, simply thanking Hatter before he moved on pass him, walking further into the streets with his dark hair and dark clothing. If Jack had seemed off to Hatter before, this man was simply overflowing with a hidden power that made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
“May I ask for your name?” Hatter asked, uncharacteristically polite, but the presence of the man before him seemed to demand obedience.
The man stopped, pausing in his steps and Hatter’s eyes narrowed, wondering if he was seeing things when the man’s shadow seemed to twist and flap before settling down to the confines of his form.
“… Glen Baskerville.” The stranger offered in that same calm and collected voice before continuing on his way.
As the man disappeared into the crowded streets, Mad Hatter reached into his coat pocket to pull out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a long, much needed drag.
It wasn’t his business what this Glen Baskerville was doing here in Wonderland searching for a Jack Vessalius. As long as neither of them planned to harm Alice it was none of his business, but he had a feeling that he really didn’t need to worry about Alice’s safety with those two around.
Exhaling loudly into the quite air, Hatter tipped down the rim of his hat, his eyes still following the dark head even among the denizens of Wonderland.
“… Welcome to Wonderland.” He muttered to no one.