Jericho Bermuda from Alice in the Country of Diamonds

Your head hurt... Your body hurt. Where were you? You opened your eyes, but all you could see was blackness. You tried to move, but your body wouldn't respond to you. Where you paralyzed?!

The last thing you remembered was walking home from school after dark. Where you kidnapped? But you don't remember being attacked... Could your attackers have drugged you? That might make more sense.

Just then, you could hear footsteps coming closer to where you were; faint voices slowly growing louder. You quickly closed your eyes to fake sleep as a door opened, spreading light into the dark room you were being held in.

"We just found her in the middle of the road, boss. None of the boys recognize her, but she has a face."

"She's an outsider...?"

"We think so. No one's checked to see if she has a heart yet. We were kinda hoping she would wake up by now so we could ask her instead."

"Go find Alice, she should be able to tell if this girl is an outsider or not. I'll stay here to keep watch."

It took every little ounce of self control you had not to shake in fear. What were these men talking about? They were going to check your heart, they wanted to know why you had a face? What was going on here?!

"I know you're awake." The second voice said, much closer to you now than he was before. "You can stop acting. I know you must be scared, but everything will be alright. You're not in danger."

Slowly, you opened your eyes to look at the man. He had dark brown hair, teal colored eyes, and a strong face. His right cheek had a few scars as well, but it only added to his charms.

"There, that's better now. Can you tell me your name?"

"...(Y/N)."

"Do you remember how you got here?" You shook your head slightly, staring at him curiously. "Alright, that's okay. What's the last thing you remember, Miss (Y/N)?"

"W-walking back home from school... I was staying late to study, but then next thing I know, I'm waking up here."

The man nodded slightly, sighing. "You must have fallen down a rabbit hole then... Peter or Sydney probably forgot to close it."

You frowned slightly, tilting your head in confusion. "What are you talking about...? A rabbit hole can't be that big."

The man stared at you for a while then chuckled. "Don't worry about it, I'll explain later. Right now, you just rest up. A girl will come in here and help you get all sorted out." He gave you a kind smile and placed a hand on your head. He turned around and began walking out of the room when you reached out and grabbed his arm.

"W-wait...! Don't go, please... I don't want to be alone here..."

He looked hesitant, but agreed. You didn't know why, but you felt safer with him by your side... and by feeling safe, you slipped back into a peaceful sleep.

Months past after you had been dropped into Wonderland, in the country of Diamonds. At least, you thought that it had been months... The time in this strange world passed very strangely. It was morning one second, then it could turn back into night, or jump all the way to evening. It took you more than a little time to get used to it, but at least you no longer had to follow the normal rules of sleep from the 'normal world'.

You loved this world, and the people you had met there. The Bloody Twins, Dee and Dum were two of your favorites, even if they were a little perverted at times. And Ace was so cute when he was jealous of you getting close to Julius...! You and Nightmare had become very close friends as well. You even spent time with the assassin sent to kill Nightmare, Grey. Crysta had scared you at first, no matter how cute she may seem, she was always trying to turn you into one of her many ice sculptures. And Crysta's assistant, Sidney Black was too mean to you as well... So you mainly stayed away from the Palace. Blood Dupre wasn't so bad, but he was more of a perv than the twins were, and his right hand man Eliot March was far too trigger happy to get too close to. But you still visited them for nighttime tea parties so you and Alice could talk.

You had learned that you and Alice were what the people of this world called 'outsiders', and that no one born in this world had a heart in their chest. Strangely enough, everyone had clocks instead; but you weren't going to even try to figure out how that worked. Well... Almost everyone had clocks.

Jericho Bermuda, the man that had stayed with you the night you first came to this world. He owned two territories, which was a big thing in this world. There was the Museum, where you lived with him; and the Graveyard, where his underlings worked. Jericho was one of the nicest people you knew in this world, so when you found out that he was the leader of one of the biggest mafia organizations here, you were shocked to say the least. What was even more surprising was when you learned that he was a 'Dead Man Walking'. Jericho no longer had a clock in his chest, meaning that if he even fell asleep, he wouldn't wake up...

It worried you, because you had grown feelings for the man. Sure, he was thirty-five years old while you were (Y/A), but who cared? Age isn't important when it comes to love. But you were worried that he didn't think of you the same way... What would an amazing man like him see in a child like you?

You sighed as you pushed the food around on your plate. It was lonely eating by yourself, but Jericho was on a raid and the staff at the Museum were all busy with clean up after closing. There was nothing for you to do...

You gave up on eating and threw the food away before going to draw a bath for yourself, the bathroom was amazing here...! You were normally into showers, but that kind of invention has yet to make it to this world it would seem.

You entered into the large room, with the pool-like bathtub in the ground. You went to the controls on the wall and started to fill the tub up with warm water as you undressed.

You slowly slid into the water, enjoying the warmth of the aqua pura. You could feel all your stress melting away and your body relaxing. You loved taking baths now when the tub was as big as a public pool.

Your relaxation time soon came to an end though. The door to the bathroom slammed open, causing you to give out a short scream. You sunk low in the water to hide, but a shadow slowly started to creep into the room towards you. You covered your body but the shadow kept creeping closer and closer to you, putting a sickeningly sweet scent in the air. You felt your eyes slowly closing, despite your desperate efforts to stay awake.

With the last of your strength, you muttered out the name of the person you wanted more than anything to rescue you right now, before you vision went black.

"Jericho..."

.

.

.

Your head was pounding as your body felt numb... What had happened? You couldn't remember. It had to have been something bad though.

You sat up in the very uncomfortable bed you were in, quickly noting that you were no longer in the Museum. You were now in a cell; a cold, dark, muggy cell with large iron bars across the door.

"An enemy mob must have kidnapped me... Ha, if they think they can use me to get to Jericho, they've got another thing coming...!" It was a lie. You knew that Jericho would to anything to protect you. He's said so in the beginning and proven it more than once already. As long as they had you, Jericho would willingly become their puppet to keep you safe.

"Are you finally awake now~?" A sultry voice asked from the other side of the door. A faceless woman appeared with long black hair and tight Japanese-styled clothes. A sinister smirk was playing off her bright red lips. All in all, she looked like she belonged in a Red Light District. "You don't think that man will save you, hm~? I wouldn't be too sure~ He threw a fight when he found you missing~"

Your eyes widened as you got up from the bed and started to walk to the door when your legs gave out on you, sending you down to the floor.

"Oh ho ho~ Careful~ The drugs we gave you aren't to be taken lightly~ You'll be very dizzy for a while~"

You were a lot more than 'dizzy', that was for sure... Your body felt like lead. You could barely move as you became more aware of yourself.

"Now that you are nearly completely paralyzed, all that's left to do is wait for Jericho to come~!"

You growled under your breath, wanting nothing more than to run at that lady and claw her pretty little face up. But that would have to wait until this drug wore off and the door to your cell was open. All your time with the mob boss, and you had no idea how to get out of a cell or even pick a lock. You didn't really know much about illegal things...

In the middle of your sulking, the room you were in, as well as the whole building, rumbled harshly. Your eyes widened as the lady giggled in excitement. She giggled... Like a little school girl. It annoyed you to no end; but on the other hand, her entire being annoyed you.

"It sounds like he's her-"

The sound of a gunshot cut her off.

"Just shut up, lady. Your voice is making my ears bleed." The all too familiar voice you loved said.

"Jericho...!"

The cell door opened and brought your beloved mob boss into your view. "(Y/N), I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner. Are you alright?" Worry coated his voice as he stepped inside, kneeling next to you and gently picking you up in his arms.

"I'm fine, they just drugged me earlier and the effects are getting to me now. I can't move."

He nodded slightly as he stood up, walking out of the cell. "It's alright, I know what they used. It'll wear off soon. Let's get you back home."

The trip back to the Museum was mostly quiet. Jericho's men had blown up the enemy's building so that they would 'know their place' or something like that. You felt bad for the surrounding businesses that received part of the shock-wave; but as you watched them all, they seemed to recover just fine.

You also felt bad that Jericho had to carry you all the way back. You kept apologizing to him, but he only chuckled and said you were as light as a feather to him.

Once back at the Museum, he helped you get comfortable as best he could without changing your clothes (that you were glad someone put on you in your capture).

"I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble, Jericho." You apologized for the umpteenth time.

"I've already told you not to worry about it, so don't. You're no trouble at all. Though... to be honest... I was terrified when I learnt that you were taken. If anything, I should be apologizing for dragging you into this mess."

"No...! You didn't drag me into anything! I-"

"Please, let me finish." You nodded your head slightly, the only movement you were able of, as you watched him. "I brought you into the illegal side of this world. You may not think so, but I did. Someone overheard me talking with one of my men, they discovered what my weakness was..."

Through his confession, he had avoided eye contact. But he took a breath and looked at you as he spoke again. "I love you, (Y/N). I always have. And it's not that you're an outsider. I love you for who you are, not where you came from."

Your heart fluttered, your cheeks turning red. You couldn't believe what you were hearing. "R-Really...?"

"Really."

You forced your body to move, every fiber of your being screaming for you to hug him. You sat up and wrapped your arms around him, smiling as you felt him do the same.

"I'm glad you feel the same, Jericho... You have no idea how happy this makes me...!"

"I think I do, actually. Because I feel the same happiness now."

He pulled back from the hug slightly, his hand gliding up your back to your head, cupping your cheek. Slowly, ever so slowly, he started leaning toward you. You closed your eyes, a sign for him that you wanted this.

You could feel his soft lips press against yours. You tried to memorize every crevice of his perfect lips you've dreamed about kissing for so long now.

He deepened the kiss only slightly, but still kept it sweet as he pulled back and smiled at you. Your mind was partially blank as you tried to think of something to say.

"Um... th-thank you for coming to get me today."

A light chuckle escaped him as if he knew what he had done to your brain. "I'll always come for you."

*___________*

Hoped you all liked the second chapter to this! I promised my friend I'd have it out yesterday, but school and Netflix got in the way of that. So here I am! Up since 6am to finish this, and finally posting it at 7:06am! In my defense, Netflix got in the way again. That's why it took an hour.

Anyway, I got my first request the other day, so I'm going to be working on Hitman!Jones next for.... I need to find your name... I'll find your name later, I'm going back to bed now.

Ciao~ ❤️