We're all mad here

Indie RP 21+ Mun: Tiff FC: Johnny Depp

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

“I’d love playing doctor with you, but she holds a grudge.” It didn’t seem worth it to see his cat bleeding. Molly was a fiercely loyal friend, but he wouldn’t want to cross her either. Hatter was somewhere in the middle of his friends in wanting to return to Wonderland and wanting to leave it behind completely. Most of his memories of home were far from fond, but it was still his home even if he could no longer live in it. If there was a way to set it right, he would, but since that wasn’t in his power, he’d work on making things right for his friends here in Fableton. He filled a plate and took a seat, tucking one foot up onto the chair with him because he could never just sit on anything. “How was the rest of your day?”

“That she does, and you’d be playing doctor often,” the cat was well aware of how fierce Molly could be, and he normally was all for it unless it was directed at him. He had enough with Alice to deal with without adding his friend to the mix of mad women in his life. Ches tried not to be too vocal in his distaste of where they were these days, knowing it did no good to rage against it. He let it go as much as he could as often, settling into his life with Hatter that he wasn’t sure they would have gotten had they remained in Wonderland. “Ah, educational and important,” he got up and went to gather a thick envelope, setting it on the table before sitting back in his chair. “The paperwork for Alice was ready,” he informed him, still curious that he of all creatures was essentially signing up to be a father of sorts. 

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

Hatter would have found it hard to believe that coming from anyone else, but Cheshire had proven it time and again by staying even when things got complicated. Strange didn’t even begin to cover it sometimes. His self-control was admirable and a little frustrating, and he gave a playful groan of protest when the other man’s weight lifted off him even though he’d just agreed to it.

He grabbed his hands and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet, snorting lightly at the comment. “We won’t tell her you said that.” He slid an arm comfortably around Cheshire’s shoulders on their way to the kitchen and then stepped away to start unloading containers. It was hard to go wrong with Tiana’s, and he’d chosen a variety of dishes so there was plenty to share.

“Not unless you wish to play nurse when she pops me a good one,” which she might do, or he simply wouldn’t hear from her for a very long time. Mal-Molly Molly Molly. It was a refrain he still occasionally caught himself having to do. She had separated herself from Mallymkun and started over, which was all well and good for her. Far better fit than a teapot, anyway.

He grabbed silverware from a drawer as Hatter unpacked the various containers, taking a deep breath of all the smells. He did enjoy the food that came with Fableton, at least. He grabbed a pair of plates so they could load whatever bits and pieces they wanted of everything. 

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

He tipped his head lightly into the touch. It was something he doubted he’d ever grow tired of. “A little too much sometimes, I think,” he agreed. If madness and baggage were substance, then he had it in spades. He swallowed beneath the light brush of fingers as he pulled away, resisting the urge to pull him back down and keep him there for a while.

He heaved a sigh instead, but it was impossible not to smile back at that smile, or the casual possessive. He very much enjoyed being Cheshire’s anything. “Dinner then,” he agreed, and then after a pause. “Let’s not wake Alice though.” Even if they woke her, there was no guarantee she would eat right now. He tended to just leave the fridge and cupboards well-stocked for whenever she decided she was hungry.

“I’m quite alright with that, I rather like it” which was the whole truth of it. There was little of Hatter that he didn’t like, really, since they were strange together. He’d been by his side through madness and loss and sanity. The cat was rather proud of himself for the excellent self-control he was exhibiting.

Ches leaned down and nipped lightly at Hatter’s jaw before pulling back and holding his hands out to pull Hatter with him. “Quiet as a Mallymkun,” he chuckled lightly as they steadied themselves. He wrapped his arm around his waist and walked with him to the kitchen. 

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

There were plenty of things to like about Cheshire besides being nice, and Hatter hoped it was the same for him. Nice was typically a placeholder quality, a thing people said when they didn’t have anything better to say. He trusted his boyfriend as an honest source though, if not unbiased. If Cheshire said nice, he meant it.

The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile. “Mmnmm. Better because I’m not just talk.” His smile widened slightly. He nuzzled Ches’s nose in return and then tipped his head up for a proper kiss, his hand sliding further into his hair. The fact that he was allowed to do that didn’t fail to send a little thrill through him.

Cheshire enjoyed the sight of Hatter’s smile and brushed him thumb lightly along the soft skin just behind his ear. It was nice mostly just because he could and he knew the other man would enjoy it. “You’ve always had more substance than that,” he admitted with a low chuckle.

He pressed into the kiss with a content sound, his thumb sliding to rest under his chin to keep his head in place. It wasn’t something he thought he would get used to or ever stop enjoying immensely. Regretfully, he pulled back and brushed his thumb along Hatter’s throat. “Dinner, my Hat,” he reminded him with a slow smile. 

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

“A perfect week,” he agreed with a grin. Hatter liked in-between meals that weren’t exactly meals, so brunch worked for him. Also tea time, midnight snack, and elevensies. Plus if you said brunch a lot of times really fast, it started to sound ridiculous.

“I’m very nice,” he chuckled, sounding defensive but not actually defensive. He was very nice to his employees, at least. He could be a passive aggressive little shit with people he didn’t like. Nowhere near Cheshire-level mischief though. “Why, thank you. I made this hat myself.” He wasn’t wearing a hat. He curled his fingers into Cheshire’s hair. “You look very handsome yourself.”

“The nicest,” he agreed, knowing that wasn’t a title he himself would ever hold. He’d been told so repeatedly by Alice and it was one of the few things he wouldn’t argue with her about. He had plenty of other topics to choose from for that, after all. It never got boring, but it did get loud.

“Quite a fabulous hat,” he flicked Hatter’s hair playfully before sliding his fingers through it. “Though all of your hats are fabulous.” He liked the ones he could sit on the best, normally. He tipped his head into the touch and a purr rumbled out despite being human!Ches. “Flatterer,” he shook his head and leaned down to brush his nose against his.

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

“Maybe we should stop them on tea time,” he quipped. It had happened to him before, but he was quite mad at the time, so he didn’t think he’d properly enjoyed it. “That wouldn’t be the weirdest thing we’ve seen here.” He yawned, stretching his arms over his head. Despite the hard floor, it was cozy here in the sun. He could see why Cheshire enjoyed it.

“I’m working on it. I want him to stay though,” he chuckled. Oof. A soft huff of breath escaped him when suddenly there was something much heavier than a cat on his chest. He grinned though, resettling himself with the added weight, and curled his arms around his waist. “Well, hello.”

“Tea time with one day on brunch,” he decided with a chuckle. He happened to like brunch, mostly by the sheer ridiculousness of the word, but also because it was a practice he could get behind. “No, no it wouldn’t,” he grinned, glad that Hatter enjoyed his chosen sunspot as much as he did. There was something to be said for the coziness of it, even if one did normally have to lay on the floor. 

“Sooooooo nice?” He scrunched his nose a little bit though he quickly smoothed it back into something somewhat respectable. Ches put his elbows on either side of Hatter’s head, grinning easily and settling into the hold. “Hello, Hatter,” he murmured, “You look dapper.”

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

“She was bound to sleep sometime. I think.” He gave a wry smile. Alice defied pretty much every expectation, including normal human sleeping, eating, and hygiene patterns, but Hatter couldn’t bring himself to be too hard on her. As far as they could tell, she’d been trapped in a deteriorating nonsense world for over a year, possibly longer. It was bound to make anyone mad, as he knew full well. He held out hope that Alice might come back to herself the way he had now that she was free of Wonderland, but he’d also accepted that the changes might be irreversible. He’d stand by her either way.

“Maybe we can send her outside next time it rains.” It wasn’t a perfect solution for getting Alice to wash her hair, but the whole situation had forced them to be creative. He lifted a hand to scratch behind his ears when the cat settled on his chest. “The shop is good. I think Barrel could handle things on his own just fine, but he’s not confident enough yet.” Hatter was willing to give him some more time to get comfortable, within reason. Eventually, he needed to be able to leave the shop in someone else’s hands. “I picked up dinner on my way home.”

“It only took entirely too long, the clocks were running out of time,” he pointed out with a toothy grin. He really didn’t mind so much all of Alice’s madness, after all they had all had some share in their own at some point. Still did, to that point. A part of him ached for what Alice had gone through without any tether to anything familiar. At least she had the pair of them now, and that was what genuinely counted.

“Maybe. Tell her the rain’s falling the wrong way,” he suggested with a low chuckle, his tail swishing in consideration. His eyes drifted shut when the scratches started and he let a purr rumble before he playfully started making biscuits into Hatter’s shirt. “I’m sure you can find some way to help that along, a poke a prod,” he mused. A little hum escaped him and with a soft whumph of air, the cat turned into a man who was grinning down at Hatter, “Food, it is.”

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet​:

Even for Hatter, who was at least partially mad on his best day, Alice was a lot to handle. Moving in together was an adjustment for all of them, and it was hard to say who he felt worse for at any given moment. It bounced rapidly between Alice for having to live with her madness and Cheshire for having to live with Alice. Hatter himself was tentatively happy and very very tired. He didn’t sleep well at the best of times, and Alice’s noise didn’t help with that. But he was used to running on catnaps and strong black tea, and he’d put up with a lot worse for his friends.

Now that they were settled and most of the boxes were unpacked (because Hatter’s organizational goblins were especially vicious at night), with more canceled classes and closed shop days than either of them would have liked, they were trying to settle into at least a semblance of a routine for Alice’s sake. Hatter had almost finished training a new clerk for the shop, which would give him a little more flexibility in his schedule.

He’d picked up takeout from Tiana’s on his way home after work so they’d have one less thing to worry about that night. Far from comforting, he found the silence of the house faintly ominous when he arrived. He settled his hat on the hat/coat/whatever Alice happened to stick in there rack and left the food on the table to investigate. If Alice had knocked herself out or was merely sleeping was impossible to say; her chest rose and fell evenly with her breaths, so he wasn’t too worried. Cheshire, of course, would be found in his office or in the largest patch of sunshine. Hatter lay down on the floor next to him, tucking his hands under his head. “Pleasant day, cat?”

Settling into his patch of sunshine, Cheshire let out a contented little noise. As the silence prevailed, he found himself drifting away. His head filled with all the best kinds of nonsense as he pushed any pending responsibilities as far from his mind as possible. It wasn’t that he disliked the responsibility or their living situation, it was simply that he had to decompress. If he didn’t, he became rather terrible to deal with for the people around him and that wasn’t something he wanted Hatter to have to deal with.

Hearing the door, he let himself have the satisfaction of a smug, feline smile. Tucked into a perfect kitty loaf, Ches turned his head without picking it up to look at Hatter when he joined him on the floor. “Relatively pleasant. The silence is new and entirely welcome after the day we’ve had, though blonde curls make a wonderful springboard even if a bar of soap is almost entirely necessary afterward.”

Standing up, Cheshire gave a big stretch before plopping himself onto Hatter’s chest, his face pushing into the other man’s chin. “How was the shop?”

[a-cheshire-reality]

Up on top of a bookcase, Ches let his tail hang down, swishing back and forth like the pendulum of a clock, if a clock pendulum had a sassy curl and flick that kicked in with every bang or wild laugh that echoed through the house. He considered calling Bigby and just letting the phone play all of the noises incessantly into his voicemail but when he realized how far away the phone was and that he would need thumbs or his human face, decided it was entirely too much effort. A different idea sprang into his head and he jumped off the bookcase before racing into Alice’s room and spring boarding off of her head onto the light hanging in the center, shooting her a wide Cheshire smile before jumping back out of her room leaving her to curse him and slam the door.

Feeling smug and pleased with himself, he went to go find the largest patch of sunshine in the house, pleased when silence began to reign. “Oh good, maybe she knocked herself unconscious,” he mused. He adored Alice, truly, but he didn’t have the patience of his Hatter, not with people or places or things.

[a-cheshire-reality]

Cheshire looked at the person in front of him, instantly deciding to simply be contrary. Not because they had done anything to warrant it, simply to entertain himself. “Why? I could, but I don’t think I will, whatever it is. Whyever it is. Whichever? However.”

[xmadnesslikegravity]

don’t step on the mome raths | the cat & the hat

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

“Who would ever suggest such a thing.” He huffed another quiet laugh, which was all he had the breath for. Cardio wasn’t really a part of Hatter’s lifestyle, nor was weight-lifting, but he could certainly appreciate the aesthetic of watching Cheshire lifting things and sweating and such so he wasn’t having the worst time. There were far more benefits to the whole process than downfalls.

He startled at the noise, his grip slipping. He might have managed to keep his hold if not for Cheshire’s end plummeting, and the couch landed on the floor with a thud, hopefully missing both sets of feet. He tilted his head to gaze up at the ceiling and then back down at the couch. “I think it should go right there,” he observed dryly. Then Cheshire caught his eye and he grinned back, reaching out to smooth his hair. It hadn’t actually puffed up like an angry cat’s, but the mental image was there.

Cheshire shook his head against the breathless sound of Hatter’s voice. It made the entire process of hard work far more enjoyable, but it wasn’t something to dwell on in that moment. When Hatter reached over to smooth his hair, he didn’t quite manage to stop his eyes from fluttering shut at the touch. He would certainly never admit to leaning into the touch.

“I’m entirely satisfied if it remains right there,” he finally agreed. When Alice bounded into the room, he looked at her with a cocked eyebrow before she stubbornly looked them over for a moment before giving them a smug look and bounding back out.·“Why do I feel as though we have a teenage daughter?”

[xmadnesslikegravity]

don’t step on the mome raths | the cat & the hat

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

Hatter didn’t have a lot of criteria for a place to live, but they agreed on the major things. He preferred to stay in Wonderland as well, and a little extra space would be helpful all around, though he was somewhat leery of it. He liked the closed, reassuring exactness of his space above the shop, but he also hated it sometimes. Since he couldn’t make up his mind either way, it seemed silly to include it in their search.

He was smiling too, since the worst thing Alice seemed to be doing right now was slamming doors. The house could survive that. It widened a bit more at his comment, and he huffed another breath as they cleared the door. Hatter, for one, was not very well made for lifting things heavier than a box of tea tins. “We’ll have plenty of that. Living room,” he agreed with a short nod, slow steps taking them in that direction.

Ches couldn’t help but watch and appreciate, even as he knew his partner was struggling with the lifting. He wasn’t much better, but he was stubborn enough to refuse to show it. “Character is hardly something we lack,” the words were dry with something between self-deprecation and amusement. Making his way with Hatter, they managed to get the couch into the living room.

A particularly sharp slam from above their heads had Cheshire’s end dropping to the floor as he shot his head up to glare lightly at the ceiling. He looked like a feline whose fur had been ruffled the long way for a moment before he shook his head and soothed his hair back down. He shot Hatter a brief apologetic glance for dropping his half of the work before simply grinning.

[xmadnesslikegravity]

don’t step on the mome raths | the cat & the hat

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

@a-cheshire-reality

Hatter was a little surprised by how easily he and Cheshire had managed to find a suitable place for them and Alice to live. It had taken a couple weeks of looking, but given how long it could have gone on, he wasn’t complaining. The little house in Wonderland was close enough to the shop to walk but far enough removed from its neighbors so that Alice’s theatrics likely wouldn’t be as noticeable, and there was space enough for her to wander outside. He never wanted her to feel like she was trapped somewhere again.

It was going to require some coats of paint and some small repairs, but for now, the moving process was taking up enough of their attention. It was amazing how much random stuff could accumulate over a couple of years–hats, books, teacups, jackets. He huffed a breath as he and Ches attempted to maneuver something large and heavy through the front door. “A little left.” He winced at the minor crunching sound that followed, his gaze flicking toward the doorjamb. That was either bad for the heavy thing or bad for the door. “My bad. The other left.”

Cheshire had been oddly exacting, yet not, when they had been searching for a place to live. Moving outside of Wonderland was simply not an option in the cat’s mind, as he insisted on keeping what little ties to home they had. And space. Distance from all of the... normal... as normal as Fableton truly was, any way. But he found he enjoyed the place they had ultimately settled on, and had to fight an all too soft smile as Alice ran through the place, opening and closing doors as she explored it all before deciding which place she liked best. 

He forced himself to return his attention to the task at hand, shifting at Hatter’s voice and wrinkling his nose. He looked at the door and at the furniture in their hands and shrugged. “Character, love, simply adding character.” He tipped his end with a small grunt to finish easing it through the door. “Living room?”

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

“Fair enough,” he agreed with a nod. Alice’s space should be Alice’s space. He sensed she hadn’t had much of it where she was from. “Furnished, then?”

Cheshire tipped his head as he thought about it before nodding, “If we can find one we like.”

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

“Honestly? I don’t care if she fingerpaints the whole damn room herself.” He sighed lightly, a small smile twitching his lips. Alice had been through a lot. At the very least, she should have the freedom to design her own room. "What else do you think we’ll need?“

“I just wouldn’t venture near her space much, but she should be allowed to find a way to be happy,” he agreed with a slight nod. Thinking about it, he chuckled, “A larger dinner table... and perhaps a larger couch.”

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

Hatter was halfway to being a grandmother already. He served tea and cookies, rarely left the house, and didn’t like kids making a mess of his shop. “My eyes are burning already,” he chuckled.

He laughed a bit and nodded in agreement, “Perhaps we can get her to agree to elegant wide stripes in only two colors? Ridiculous colors in everything else?”

[a-cheshire-reality]

madnessmost-discreet·:

“Thank Story we aren’t grandmas.” He wouldn’t put it past Alice to find a way to destroy a couch, but he didn’t care that much. The little shiver made him smile. “Yeah, I think she should help. Find a place she’s comfortable. Paint her room a neon, eye-murdering rainbow.” It would be her home too, and they couldn’t very well leave her alone while they went looking.

“Thank Story,” he agreed with a rumbling chuckle of amusement, unable to imagine either of them grey and on a walker with tennis balls on the end. Mad scooter races, probably. “Every wall a different color, or even a multitude of colors,” he agreed, knowing all too well how much of Alice’s choices had been taken from her.