Alice by heart one-shots

Butterflies

*Happy new year everyone!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I've officially been uploading these for a year now! Thank you to everyone who has read these and commented and added them to your reading lists, it means a lot to me :) I'm hoping to bring you more content in the year ahead, maybe a few bonus fics oooooooo :) And maybe if there's enough interest at some point I'll open up requests? Enjoy reading!*

Alice had always loved butterflies. Somehow she'd always known that the little winged creatures were special, and part of that was because they always seemed to be there on those sunny golden afternoons where wonderland magic happened. That day where she had first met Alfred she had been chasing a butterfly around the garden and when it had flown over the fence she'd climbed up to see where it was going. In the neighboring yard she'd found something much better than a butterfly, she'd found a friend. As the years went on between playing wonderland Alice and Alfred would watch the butterflies together, the way they fluttered softly against the pale blue world, like soft eyelashes against longing blue eyes. As the butterflies flew, the children grew and soon Alice and Alfred found that they were young adults. Alice was fourteen when she found that Alfred had become more than just a friend to her. He had become dear in a way that no one else could hold a candle to. It was a bright golden afternoon in early spring and they sat in Alfred's backyard, watching the roses and morning glories in the garden sway in the spring breeze. Alice traced her fingers over the gold lettering on her copy of "Alice in Wonderland" as she thought of all the hours, all the days she'd spent in this garden with Alfred, whom she so much more than loved. She loved him in a way that was more than just love, more than just golden afternoons, more than just wonderland. More than schoolchild jokes walking home together, more than strawberry jam filled biscuits at tea, more than old oak trees with old swings attached, more than soft white snowfall on Christmas, more than hazy sunsets in summer, more than all the words that poetry could provide, more than any storybook could say. Alice wasn't quite sure how she could tell him she loved him, she didn't know if he'd understand the level at which she cared. "Alice look" He smiled, breaking her from her thoughts. He pointed across the yard to an eternal blue butterfly. The way its wings fluttered so lightly, and the way the blue color felt so very deep left "eternal" the only word that could really describe it. And in that moment Alice knew, her love for Alfred was eternal. "You are my butterfly Alfred" Alice breathed softly, brushing her fingertips against his. He moved his fingers closer to hers and let them intertwine. They knew that they were more than they'd once been, they knew how dearly they held each other, and yet Alfred was too much the butterfly. And all the same he floated away.