sorry for hatterhare posting (again. How many times has it been in the last few days?) but does it ever make anyone else sad to see Hatter portrayed on his own and without the slightest mention of Haigha? Like, I know he’s the more popular character but it always feels like something is… missing.
I have come to realize of late that this was basically a polycule and the mouse was the group flirt/glue. If we ever had shipping wars, it was completely unnecessary and pointless. They were all into each other. I’ve caught stills of so many canonically shippy moments at this point while collecting material for references for my Mad T Party projects. I wonder how many of us knew back then that this was a polycule?
Just a little fic of Tim Burton and McGee's March Hares. I love how similar yet different they are, with one having almost destroyed his Wonderland in response to his trauma and the other just kind of remaining his silly self albeit with more hypervigilance. So naturally I wanted to see them have some tea together.
The air around the tea table was… well, it wasn't so much tense as it was awkward.
The smaller, scruffier, gray hare would twitch with every sudden movement the taller, half mechanical brown hare made. The brown hare had to be especially conscious of the clock hand he fashioned as a replacement for his left arm, for Thackery would flinch if it was raised even slightly. Not that Hare could blame him; one wrong move and it could cut pretty easily.
Each hare took turns sizing the other up, the lankier and partially organic of the two only being able to imagine what the other one thought of him. To Hare, the sight of Thackery stirred something in him he wasn't quite sure he could put a name to. It wasn't familiar, not quite, but it did make him wonder what his own life could've been like if some things had been different. Why, he wasn't sure. Perhaps because this other hare had the same accent as him.
Thackery was focused on his own tea cup, gazing into it for what Hare decided was a few seconds too long. Hare cleared his throat and immediately Thackery stiffened as his golden eyes were taken off the tea cup and pasted nervously onto Hare's own gaze. Well, now Hare felt sorry for making such a gesture.
“Erm… Sugar, if yeh wouldn't mind,” Hare spoke, trying to keep his voice neutral.
Thackery moved almost too quickly for Hare see, the bowl of cubes in his little gray paws before either seemed to notice.
“Two lumps?”
“Two lumps.”
Before Hare could think about how the two seemed to like their tea just the same, he was pelted in the nose by two cubes of sugar which then landed perfectly into his cup of tea. Thackery couldn't help but fall into a fit of laughter at the sight before Hare, falling into old habits, shot Thackery a glare. Thackery’s laughter died immediately, the smaller hare dipping his head down and freezing as his ears drooped to the sides of his head. Hare's own ears stiffened as he realized what he'd just done, clearing his throat while glancing away.
“Thank yeh,” Hare uttered.
Thackery's posture relaxed before he took a sip of his own tea. Hare followed suit, keeping his gaze away from the smaller hare to avoid offending or frightening him further.
Hare wondered if Thackery's fur ever felt the singe of fire, or if his Hatter was anywhere near as raving mad as his own. Hare tried to recall what that brief period after the fire was like, before Hatter experimented on him and his dear Dormy. Maybe that's what the scruffy gray hare reminded him of.
Hare's softened gaze might've been off of Thackery for too long, as when he looked at the other hare again Thackery was standing on the table and directly in front of him. Thackery reached for the bolt on one of Hare's ears before jumping backwards upon realizing Hare's eyes were back on him. Hare watched as Thackery gathered a bunch of tea pots in one spot on the table and ducked behind them on all fours, visibly shaking.
“Ah won't hurt yeh,” Hare stated. “Ah don't like yeh touchin’ where yeh like, but Ah won't hurt yeh for it.”
Thackery looked up from his admittedly pathetic hiding spot, giving a curious hum as he lifted one of his ears. He lifted a shaky paw and pointed at Hare, his mouth opening before he could quite formulate words.
“Tha-th-that… in yer ears, and yer head,” Thackery began, gesturing to the top of his own head before pointing to his own left arm. “An’ that, an’ yer legs… Where did yeh get all that?”
Hare would've spat out his tea if he'd just taken a sip. His own ears drooped slightly at the question. Silence fell upon the tea table for seconds neither of them could count. Finally, Hare let out a sigh as he set his cup down.
“Where Ah live, everyone went mad,” he began to explain, twiddling his fingers on the table. “Someone that… turned out to be most cruel, more cruel than mad, did all this to me.”
Thackery sat up and gasped.
“Th’ Red Queen?”
Hare glanced away, knitting his brows.
“Somethin’ like that.”
Hare exhaled, feeling as if he'd been holding his breath for hours even though it'd only been a moment. He picked up his tea cup again and took another sip.
“So… What ‘appened to yeh?”
“Ooooh…” Thackery gripped the edges of his jacket tightly, his eyes shifting as his nose twitched. “Horunvendush Day…”
“Beg yer pardon?”
“Horunvendush Day… When th’ Red Queen took over! Card soldiers k-killing, kidnapping… The worst was the Jabberwocky, with his… his flames! Fire everywhere!”
Thackery shook, pulling down on his ears as he explained and his golden eyes widened. Hare leaned in, nodding sympathetically. So, this other hare had seen fire after all. The poor bastard.
Thackery released his long ears and took a small ceramic pitcher in his paws, offering it to Hare.
“Cream?”
Hare offered his tea cup, Thackery pouring the creamer into it carefully. Both watched the color of Hare's tea change from nearly black to a softer brown before Thackery took the creamer away. Hare lifted his tea cup to his furry lips and sipped it. Now it was too sweet, but he said nothing.
“Ah’m sorry aboot… Horun… Horunvin… about that day,” Hare remarked. “Really Ah am.”
“Ah'm sorry, too,” Thackery replied. “Aboot yer missing arm and legs. An’ th-that thing on yer head.”
“Don't be.”
Hare sometimes wondered if his actions towards his own Wonderland justified his own disfigurement. Even if Hatter destroyed his body long before the Infernal Train took shape, the fact that Hare even had it in him to do something like that often made him think he deserved to suffer. But… Thackery didn't need to know about all that. Hare set his cup down and gently tapped his monocle with his fingers.
“Th’ thing on my ‘ead keeps this in place,” Hare said. “See?”
“Ah, fancy!” Thackery remarked with a chuckle. “That's quite lovely on yeh!”
“Thank yeh.”
Hare, becoming conscious of how he looked, adjusted his monocle using the reflection in his tea. When it looked satisfactory, he glanced over at Thackery once more, who now had his gaze fixed on a scone he was seemingly about to offer. At least he wasn't scared anymore.
