#winterfest2026

It was a lovely crisp and clear winter night. The kind that burned when you drew in a breath from how refreshing and clean it felt. Several inches of snow covered the ground, but the paths had been cleared in the park so it could be enjoyed by all. The air was chilled and filled with the scent of hot fried foods and drinks from nearby carts. There was music and laughter all around as adults and children talked as they whizzed past, but Alice couldn’t pay attention to any of it as she was distracted by the grown man before her.

While he’d added a loose scarf and gloves to his leather jacket for the evening, Alice had been unable to convince him to abandon his preferred ‘form over function’ stylish hats for a nice knit beanie. He complained that they pushed his hair flat in ways that felt funny without the hair product he used to tame it when they had dinner with her mother. He did find her own toque style beanie to be adorable on her however, and she had to admit the black fedora he wore tonight did look very dashing with the navy blue band matching his blue gradient scarf.

Though none of his clothing would matter if he couldn’t keep balance and stand up straight.

“I thought you said you knew how to ice skate?” She asked as Hatter flailed before grabbing onto her again.

“Yeah, and I can,” Hatter stressed and gestured at his feet, “It’s these horrid skates you’ve got here! They’re giant and got my feet all locked up so I can’t move ‘em right.”

When he’d claimed to be an excellent skater after the first snow, Alice had thought it would make for a fun date night to take him to the Central Park rink. The Rockefeller one was much smaller and always crowded with tourists, so she thought a nice leisurely night time skate and then cozying up with a warm drink and a movie after would be a perfect winter date night.

Hatter had seemed genuinely excited when they’d arrived, but she hadn’t missed the intense look he’d given the rental skates before putting on a confident smile and walking to an open bench to put them on. Once they’d gotten on the ice he’d taken a minute to lightly shift his feet back and forth while holding onto the wall with a frown. He’d made one push forward and hummed thoughtfully before gesturing for her to lead the way.

It seemed to be going fine, if a bit slow, and Alice had just reached out to offer her hand at the turn when he’d suddenly lost his balance. He'd flailed wildly before grabbing onto her and nearly knocking them both down. She’d slowly guided him over to the wall and that’s where they’d been for the last few minutes while he tried to get his balance back.

Alice smirked, “I’m pretty sure the thick rigid boot is for safety reasons. You know, so you don’t twist an ankle and hurt yourself.”

Given what she'd seen so far, she wasn’t sure she believed he had the expertise he’d originally claimed to posses. Hatter had never directly lied about anything before though, so she couldn’t see him starting now. He’d been a little misleading or hadn’t shared information when they’d first met for sure, but never an outright lie that he could be easily caught up by. Especially not since following after her and needing so much help himself at learning her world and city. He was usually excited by the new things in her world, and had a dozen or more questions over anything he found strange. So there was no reason to think that he’d suddenly start lying this many months in.

He may have exaggerated to look good though. That she’d believe.

Hatter gave her a very unamused look. “We’re already doin’ something dangerous by tryin’ to glide on ice with blades on our feet but yeah, let’s think of the safety of my ankle when I fall on my arse ‘cause I can’t move properly. That’s some nice logic.”

Alice chuckled, “I think I can get you a butt pad if you’re that worried about falling.” She pulled herself to him and tilted her head up. He took the invitation and leaned down to meet her in a quick kiss. “Or I can get you a skating cone to partner with,” she murmured with a coy smile.

With a glance to the side, they could see a pair of small children -desperately holding and leaning onto large orange traffic cones- slowly skating forward under an adult’s watchful eye. “No,” Hatter stated as he looked back at her, “Absolutely not. I will go arse over tea kettle first on these terrible skates before I use… that. I know what I’m doin’, I swear. I just… need some time and practice is all.”

“Guess it’s up to me to be your skating cone then,” Alice offered and Hatter smiled before he leaned down to give her another kiss.

“Better than any bit of plastic you are. Can’t think of anything -or anyone- I’d trust more to lead me in this mad city of yours.”

Alice hummed and pulled back, “I better be.” He smirked and she skated backwards to give him some space. “Alright, let's see you shuffle your way to me and then we’ll try another turn.”

He slowly did so, and Alice cheered him on but he didn’t seem as thrilled about the praise as he normally did. They made it through a few slow laps as the night went on with Hatter only occasionally flailing his arms if they went too fast but otherwise having a nice time.

As they walked back to his apartment to wind down with a movie, Alice didn’t miss the thoughtful and planning look he got during the occasional stretch of silence. He was quick to toss it off whenever she remarked about it, insisting he was just planning his own date night to match hers. She didn’t quite believe that’s all there was to it, but after a warm cuddle on the couch with tea and a movie -that was interrupted by acts of a more intimate nature- the curiosity slipped away in favor of focusing on the now.

------

Plink. Plink.

Plink.

Carol put her slotted spoon down and frowned at the widow by the dining table. “Alice?” she called, and it only took a second for her to answer back so she continued, “Do you hear something over by the window?”

Alice came into view as she walked out of the living room and towards the large window. She furrowed her brow at it and said, “No, but maybe it was just some icicles melting?

Another plink sounded as something hit the window, and Carol walked over to help investigate as Alice began to look around. Before she could get there, her daughter spotted something outside and smiled. It was a happy tender thing that Carol wasn’t sure Alice would ever get back after her father had disappeared, and she had a good guess as to the cause.

Alice unlocked the window and pushed it open. The rush of cold air hit them both and Carol shivered as she tightened her cardigan around her. Looking down at the street, her suspicions were confirmed as she saw her daughter’s boyfriend, David Hatter, standing there. He was all bundled up for the cold, baring his fedora like hat that his hair looked like it was trying to escape from and left his ears exposed and red, and stood near a parked car in the street. The young man waved up at them with big sweeping arms.

“Alice!” he shouted excitedly, beaming widely. He then noticed herself and tipped his hat at her as he inclined his head, “Ma’am.”

“I keep telling you David, it’s just Carol,” she shouted back down with a fond smile of her own. He was an odd mix of polite and flirtatious, and she could see why Alice found him charming.

Her reply made him grin for some reason, as it did every time she insisted he just call her by her first name. It made Alice shake her head or roll her eyes when he did, but neither explained their little personal joke. One day she’d get the real story about how these two met -the man had clearly never worked a day of his life at a construction site- but it really didn’t matter. He made her daughter happy and brought her out of a self-destructive pattern of keeping partners at a distrustful distance that she’d previously worried Alice would never break free from. Not to mention he'd survived what had been 'kiss of death' for Alice's relationships that was meeting her for dinner over a dozen times by now. There was a lot Carol could let go stressing over to see her daughter finally happy and free from the impact of Robert’s abandonment. 

“What are you doing?” Alice asked incredulously, “And why are you throwing pebbles at the window? We could’ve just buzzed you up!”

“It’s a surprise!” he insisted, “And I didn’t want you tryin’ to back out by claimin’ I should just stay in with ya once I’d made it up there. Now come down! I’ve got somethin’ to show you!”

She chuckled at Alice’s sigh, but she didn’t miss the pleased smile she was fighting either. “Hatter, we’re about to have dinner,” Alice told him, “Why don’t you join us? Come up and eat and we can do your surprise after!”

David lost some of his smile as he glanced her way, “Yeah. Sure. I- I suppose we could do that first. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Carol rolled her eyes before pushing Alice aside. “Don’t worry about it David. It’s just a normal boring dinner, nothing special. She’ll be right down!” He grinned again and shouted his thanks. Carol nodded as she pulled the window shut before turning and rubbing her arms. “Brrr that’s chilly. Make sure you bundle up sweetheart.”

“Mom,” Alice huffed and crossed her arms, “What’d you do that for? What about dinner? I’m sure whatever thing he’s found and wants to show me can wait.”

“Alice,” Carol sighed and placed her hands on her hips as she gave her daughter a knowing look, “Don’t use me as an excuse. It’s just pasta with jarred sauce for goodness sake. Nothing you haven’t had a million times. Go have fun on a spontaneous date with your boyfriend.”

Alice hesitated, looking like the adult side was at war with that playful child-like side that David miraculously brought out in her, before she slowly smiled and gave her a hug. “Okay, but I’ll be back later so save me a plate.”

Carol rolled her eyes and agreed as she watched her daughter bound off and get ready to go outside with a spring in her step. She’d put her portion in the fridge as it would no doubt be reheated later this week. With a knowing smile to herself, Carol considered the quiet evening ahead of her and looked forward to hearing about whatever delightful date David had arranged whenever she finally saw Alice tomorrow.

------

“Cheers, thanks very much,” Hatter smiled as he paid the street vendor and took the steaming paper cup from them before turning to her. “Here we are. A bit of a treat to get us started since I’ve delayed your supper,” he said and Alice smiled as she accepted it.

“Cocoa and not tea?” she asked as he offered his hand. She laced her gloved fingers with his own and he smirked before giving a light tug to direct her further into Central Park. “I’m shocked.”

Hatter grinned and stole her cup for a sip, humming in pleasure before giving it back, “They’d not have anythin’ to my standards in their little bags. Your melted chocolate drink is a much better use of my coin.”

“Oh yeah. The hot milk really elevates the ‘swiss miss’ packet compared to dried leaves in hot water,” Alice teased before she took a sip. She hummed contently after and he sent her a knowing smirk. Okay, maybe they had a nicer mix as it did taste richer, but she wasn’t about to admit that to him.

“I can just as easily keep it for myself if you’re gonna be like that,” he stated and leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek and stole her drink for another sip before focusing back on the walk.

They took turns with the hot cocoa while she tried to get him to reveal what was so important, but he kept frustratingly quiet about it. She eventually sighed and just enjoyed the look of the glistening sunset glow on the snow. They'd just thrown away the empty cup when the ice rink came into view and Alice laughed.

“This is your surprise? I wouldn’t think you’d want to go skating again so soon since you had such a hard time last week,” she said and looked at him curiously, “You haven’t been practicing since then just to prove you actually can skate, have you?”

“Nope,” he replied, popping the ‘p’ sound and poking the space in front of her face like he meant to boop her nose. “Like I told ya before, I can skate, and I lucked into findin’ a proper pair so I can show you that I do know what I’m doing.”

Alice sent him a look, “It’s really okay if you don’t know how. I’m not going to think less of you for being a bad skater.” They came to a stop a few feet away from the rink entrance and she turned to face him with hooded as she took a hold of his scarf. “There’s plenty of other things you’re very good at after all,” she flirted and pulled firmly on his scarf.

He smirked and took the hint, meeting her half way for a brief but promising kiss. “Well this will just be another to add to my lengthy list of very good qualities then won’t it?

She let out a chuckle and released him. He really didn’t need to do all of this, but in a way it was cute. Clearly he wanted her to think highly of him, and was determined to prove himself. She already did of course, but she enjoyed the warm feeling it gave her that he kept wanting to prove his worth. 

Hatter took her hand again and paid the rink fee, but only rented skates for her. She shot him a curious look, but he’d simply gestured for her to wait and directed them to one of the many open benches after getting her skates. She sat down and watched him unzip his jacket to reveal a leather bag with something inside. Distracted and curious, Alice watched as Hatter opened the drawstring bag and removed what appeared to be the bottom metal blade of a pair of skates. Though that wasn’t exactly right as they were clearly made to attach to shoes and not adapted to do so. Something about them seemed familiar too. Like they were old while looking brand new. Hatter grinned at her, clearly pleased by their existence, and expertly slid his foot into one and began to adjust and secure it to his shoe with the very new looking leather straps.

Alice put her own skates on finally and couldn’t help smiling at his delight. “Well those look incredibly unsafe. Where did you find them?” she asked.

“I’ll have you know, I found ‘em in one of your shops,” he said and then stood on his strange skates, beaming with delight, “and who needs safety when I can finally move?” Hatter easily walked back and forth on them before coming back to her and grabbing their shoes. He made a considering sound as he looked at the long line to drop off their shoes before saying, “Bit of a wait. You head on out and I’ll find you, alright?”

“You sure?” she asked with a raised eyebrow as she tied her last skate and stood up next to him. “I don’t mind waiting.”

He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. “Positive.”

Alice smiled and shook her head, but did as he asked.

The rink was slowly filling up with more skaters as night crept in, but there was enough room for her to pick up a little speed without needing to help balance anyone this time. She performed a few crossovers, skating backwards into a turn or two, and made it about three laps around before she spotted him. Alice was skating backwards at the time and his speed instantly caught her eye. Unlike a few nights ago, Hatter was clearly having no trouble balancing or picking up speed as he made a beeline towards her. If anything those skates almost looked invisible on his feet, and his long hunched forward strides made it look like running on the ice.

He grinned when she finally looked at his face and she knew her surprise was easy to see. With practiced ease she stood as she slowed to a stop, and was worried Hatter might zoom past her at his speed, but he came to a hard stop instead, spraying her with a wave of ice shavings.

“Hey!”

“See!” He cried in delight and pushed off to the side to circle her, “I told ya I can skate!”

Alice pursed her lips in an effort to fight the smile at the sight of his unchecked joy as she gestured to the mock snow on her clothes. “Right, sorry,” he said and stopped to help brush her off, “Just wanted to show ya I’m not awful at this and got excited.”

She huffed out a laugh, “Yeah, I can tell by the surprise spray of white. That happens a lot when men get too excited.”

His grin shifted to a smirk as he stood back up and then moved smoothly to nonchalance with a shrug, “Wouldn’t know anythin’ about that. First time I’ve done it meself.”

“Oh, yeah?” Alice remarked as the grin finally won and and she looked him up and down, “That’s not how I remember it going a few months-”

“Hey!”

They both turned to see an older man in a black and white striped coat come to a gentle stop near them. He frowned at Hatter and pointed at him, “No speed skating, and no spraying. If I gotta warn ya again, yer out. Capiche?”

“Sorry,” Hatter said and held up his hands, “Won’t happen again. I promise!”

“Good,” the man nodded and then smirked as he gestured between them, “And stop canoodling too. We’re a family friendly rink. Stopping’s for the outer edges, or the center. Yer a hazard standing around like this.” He pushed off and merged back in with the flow of skaters. Hatter was leaning away with a confused look as he watched him go before facing her again.

“Canoodle? I’ve not heard that one yet. Fun word though. Does he mean flirting?”

“Pretty much,” Alice smiled and grabbed his hand before pulling them back into the flow, “It’s a word used for light kissing and cuddling.”

He made a considering sound before smirking at her, “Seems a bit strange to label brushing white spray off someone using such a term. Course your world's all odds ends as far as I’m concerned.”

Alice chuckled and then smiled at him, “Right. My world's the crazy one with weird customs and not, ya know, the world of magic and oddities.”

“Glad ya can finally admit it.”

She grinned and shook her head as he gave her their joined hands a squeeze. Alice looked down at them and admired his easy glide from his almost invisible skates as she did. “Okay, so what are those skates and where did you find them?”

“Shop had ‘em labelled as ice skates, and they’re the same kind I used back home,” he said with a shrug.

“Okay, but they’re not normal and clearly not safe,” Alice rebutted, “What kind of shop did you find them in?”

“They're... ya know, safe-ish. No worse than your own really, but what's important is I can finally move my feet in the way I’m used to,” he countered, “and I found ‘em in one of your pre-owned things shops. Like the kind we went clothes shoppin’ at to find things I’d like.”

“A thrift store?”

Hatter scrunched his face and tilted his head back and forth, “No. It was…Oh what’s your word for fancy old things? You’ve said it before. Like…like the things your Mum has in her cabinet of curiosities.”

“Things in her curio cabinet?” Alice asked with no small amount of uncertainty, and Hatter made a noise of confirmation. She thought about it before offering, “Antiques? You went to an antiques store?”

“Yes!” Hatter grinned and snapped at her, “That’s the one! Loads of things I knew were in there, so I’d gone in for a browse and-”

He gestured down at his feet, “Ta da! A bit of luck considering we’d come here just the day before, and the shop owner connected me with his mate to fix ‘em up so I could use ‘em. Just picked ‘em up this mornin’ and wanted to show ya that I truly could skate. I could tell you didn’t believe me, and I can’t say I can blame you with those terrible boot skates lockin’ my feet in place and makin’ me look like a right fool.”

Alice had looked incredulously between him and his skates while he’d talked until it finally clicked where she’d seen those kinds of skates before. Paintings at the museum of skaters. Victorian skaters. He was using genuine antique Victorian skates. Of course he was. She had to laugh from the absurdity of it or else she might actually go crazy.

When she looked back up at him, Hatter was smiling happily -clearly proud of his find- but it was starting to fall as he noticed her concern. She gave his hand a squeeze to reassure him before steering them off to the nearest bit of wall and out of the way. Not wanting to worry him, she pulled him down for a quick kiss that had him smiling again.

“Careful with those. You’ll get us tossed out for actually canoodling this time,” he teased and she smiled back up at him.

“We’ll be fine,” she rolled her eyes, “But are you sure those things aren’t gonna fall apart on you? That kind of skate is easily over one hundred years old. Honestly I’m shocked the guard or whatever he was didn’t notice and kick us out. They can’t possibly meet modern safety standards.”

“Yeah, no, they’re right ways round and everythin'," he insisted and lifted a foot up for her to see. They did look secure and sturdy. “Took ‘em for a test first thing. Really got some speed with no one around at lunch time. Haven’t been able to do that since last Winter on a canal run.”

Alice squinted her eyes in thought. “Canal run? Did- did you used to skate on that suspended river in the city?”

“'Course,” he confirmed with a smile and a shrug, “It’s why I bothered to learn. Once I could skate decently I’d make it down to the boat to hide contraband fast as a Cheshire could blink in the winter if I suspected a raid was comin’. Quick and easy to remove the skates too so they’d not know I’d even been gone.”

“Ah,” she nodded. It made sense that he would be so defensive about his skills if it was something he was proud of. Which reminded her of her thoughts from when they arrived and she took a steadying breath as she gave his hands a squeeze. “Well I’m sorry for making it feel like I didn’t believe you last week,” she apologized, “You don’t have to prove anything to me. I knew you weren’t lying. I just thought you might’ve exaggerated a little. Either to look good or to not turn down a date.”

Hatter smirked as he squinted his eyes at her, “Me? Exaggerate?” He scrunched his nose up and teased, “Doesn’t sound like somethin’ I’d ever do.”

Alice chuckled and rolled her eyes again, “Right. Never.”

He tilted his head in a mock nod as he smiled, “Glad we agree.” Hatter leaned down and kissed her, and Alice pulled on his scarf to keep him there longer and enjoy the moment. Eventually he pulled back enough to murmur against her lips, “You’re really askin’ for us to get tossed out with this flagrant disregard for the canoodling rules.”

“Yeah well, you know how I feel about tyrants.”

Hatter laughed loudly as she released her hold on his scarf before grinning down at her. “That I do. Lucky for you that I… am also a fan of skirtin’ the rules,” he commented. His eyes sparkled with delighted mischief as he pulled them back out into the crowd of skaters. The guard or whatever he was in the striped jacket made eye contact as he breezed past them, and Hatter gave him a jaunty wave as he added “So your secret’s safe with me.”

“Could even say you just…wave at them as you skate on by,” Alice joked and Hatter grinned at her.

“Precisely,” he agreed and kissed her gloved hand. Alice squeezed it in return and they shared a soft smile before contracting on skating again. “Since I’ve stolen you away from your Mum’s cooking tonight,” he continued, “I was thinkin’ we could go to this new pizza place I’ve found whenever you’re ready to leave.”

“Oh yeah? Not another one of those chain locations is it?”

“Nope,” he stated, “I’ve done just as you advised and found a tiny little place that looks like it could barely fit five people in it but they’ve got tables for twenty.”

Alice chuckled, “Well maybe we’ll take it to go and eat at your place with a roomy interior like that. Was there something on the menu you wanted to try that caught your attention, or did it just smell good?”

“Both really,” Hatter admitted and when he looked over there was a mischievous glint in his eye, “ya see…they’ve got pizza with egg fried rice.”

There was something familiar about that combination and it took Alice a few seconds to remember their conversation on his boat from months ago. She barked out a laugh, “Seriously?”

His smirk grew to a grin, “Of course! Did we not just establish how I never exaggerate?”

Alice stared at him with no small amount of amused suspicion, but he merely squeezed her hand and smirked again before looking ahead as the pushed through a turn.

She was pretty confident he was exaggerating. Though this was New York, so maybe he’d actually found a place willing to create such a concoction. Stranger things had certainly happened in this city, much less to her specifically. Remembering her mom’s advice that got her out and on this impromptu date to begin with, Alice decided to let them do a few more laps before asking to leave.