You glanced around quickly before you made your way over to the quaint little cottage you’ve been spying on for the past few weeks. You had no idea who owned the cottage, but by the looks of it, they had to have something worth of value inside. Yesterday, you overheard the man inside tell the little girl - who you found out to be his daughter - to be safe when she traveled to her friend's house for the weekend, while he had to go take care of business. So today was the perfect opportunity for you.
Taking one last glance behind you, you pulled out your lock-picking kit and managed to jimmy the lock with no resistance. Grabbing your satchel, you slipped inside before any prying eyes caught the wind of what you were doing. Once safely inside, you quickly started with the dresser next to the door, only to be caught red-handed, by the owner of the house.
“I was wondering when you were going to show up. Tea?” The man said as he prepared two mugs anyways.
“Who are you? What?” At first, you were terrified that you were stupid enough to get caught, but now you were confused. Who in the hell offers a thief tea in the middle of what was supposed to be a robbery?
“Jefferson, welcome to my lovely home. You know, the one you’ve been keeping tabs on for the past few weeks.” Jefferson replied as he leaned against the wall making no move to restrain you due to your previous actions.
“You’re not going to report me to the Queen’s guards?” You asked him as you gripped onto your bag, fully prepared to make a run for it. Instead, he just shrugged, quirking an eyebrow at you.
“Why would I want to turn you over to the Queen, when instead I want to get to know you Y/N?” You jerked your gaze to him, stunned beyond belief. “How do you know who I am?”
“You’re not the only one who’s been keeping tabs on someone,” Jefferson said, as he pushed himself off the wall and sauntered over to you, backing you up against the wall. He slowly slid off the satchel from your shoulder and trailed his hands up your arms resting one on the wall beside your head, while the other traced along the length of your neck. “Now either you can leave empty handed or,” he leaned in closer as his pointer finger ran across the lace of the rim of your bodice sending chills down your spine as it skimmed across the swell of your breast, before dipping down your cleavage to hook onto the silver pendant you found in the dresser.
“You can join me for tea. Your choice.” You gulped when his face was just inches from you, the crackling fire making his eyes darker and more enchanting.
“And what would we do after...tea?” You asked huskily as your breaths mingled. “Oh, I think we can come up with something,” Jefferson said as he closed the distance, crashing his mouth onto yours as you snagged your hands in his hair. You never expected this outcome, but you were glad you decided to rob this place when you did.
Jefferson was once again frustrated that his hat wasn’t working and that Emma Swan was unable to make it work. And you knew very well what was going on in his head and if he didn’t sit down and breath for five minutes he was going to drive you up the walls. Lucky for you, you knew how to change that.
“I just don’t understand Y/N! She has magic, why can’t she just believe it!” Jefferson huffed out for the hundredth time today, you nodded in agreement as you placed the tea bags into your respective mugs and let it stew for a bit. So you leaned on the doorway facing the living room watching as Jefferson paced back and forth.
Oh, how you loved this man, your adorable Mad Hatter. “Sweetie I have a question for you and it’s very important that you answer it.” He stopped pacing and faced you, quirking his eyebrow as a silent ‘please continue’. Crossing your arms, you put on a serious face, “What did the hat say to the tie?” you asked him.
“Uh, what?” He asked you back as he looked at you confused. You repeated the question again, making it as serious as you could. “I, I have no idea. Care to elaborate?”
“You hang around here….I’ll go on ahead.” You knew it was a terrible joke and took all your willpower not to smile at how stupid it was. Jefferson’s face remained stoic, but then grew into a smile as he let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head in amusement. You soon joined him as you made your way over to him.
“That was terrible, but thank you Y/N.” He wrapped his arms around you, resting his forehead against yours. “The hat will work Jefferson. It’ll work when the time is right, we just need to have faith in Emma. This is all still very new for her, and we’ll be here for when she does.” You kissed him softly before heading towards the kitchen.
“Now, come get your tea that your very loving and diligent girlfriend made for you.” You smiled as you heard him follow you. You weren’t sure when the hat was going to work again, but you were going to be there to support Jefferson as much as you could.
