You had heard tales regarding Mad Hatter while you were running around Wonderland. You had never thought that they were true.

Every story painted the Hatter as a desperate man, but desperate for what was the question.

The Caterpillar had told you that he wanted revenge. You had asked why but he had silenced you.

The White Rabbit spun tales about how the Hatter had lost his favorite hat one day and was desperately trying to make a replica, which was what had driven him mad. You had asked why something so trivial as a favorite hat had driven him mad, and he had no answer.

Even the Red Queen, who claimed that he was desperate to be accepted into Wonderland through his hat making, could give no further explanation.

You knew that he was desperate and you knew that he was mad, but that wasn't enough for you. You always had to know the full story.

You had marched headfirst into the Caterpillar's lair to know his full story.

You had stormed the palace to discover the Rabbit's and the Queen's stories.

Now you were walking straight into the Hatter's home without hesitation. That was just how you operated.

When you walked in the very first thing you noticed were the hats. They were stacked so high that you had to stretch on your toes to see the ends of the numerous piles.

Hat, upon hat, upon hat, upon hat, upon hat filled the room.

And he was there, making more hats at a table filled with fabrics and accessories. He stitched and sewed and tied things onto the hat. His mouth moved frantically, creating small whispers haunting the room.

"Hello." You called out to the obviously desperate man.

Bloodshot eyes bounced up to find you, all alone and too much confidence to manage.

You didn't even flinch when you saw the pain in his eyes. You had seen it before, in thousands of eyes, and it was nothing new to you.

"Grace?" He asked, the desperation growing.

Now that one was new to you, and you shook your head.

"____" You said curiously.

And his head fell.

"Why get my hopes up then? Why come here then? Why do anything then?" And his voice grew quieter until his words were the quiet whispers you had heard before.

You had been on adventures before, but never with a mad man. You were still curious though and refused to give up.

"Who is Grace?" You asked.

And immediately you knew that you had made a mistake. His entire body tensed. His hands, which had been hard at work, ceased all movement. His eyes lost their presence.

It was as if he had disappeared into himself because he saw no other escape route.

You walked up to him and began to wave you hands in front of his face. He didn't move.

"Mr. Hatter...?"

And he snapped back to reality. Something was different in his eyes though. Instead of the senseless pain, they were hard and clouded with tears.

"Grace was stolen from me. She was all that I had left. She was my everything. And that beast stole her from me..." He growled.

A tear slipped onto his cheek, and you felt something inside of yourself. Something that you hadn't wanted to feel had been woken up by this man's grief.

And you knew now why you wandered.

"I lost a love too. A lot actually." You said while sitting yourself down on his table.

"I lost my family, I lost my friends, and I lost my home. I have nothing left but my stubbornness."

Your voice broke.

You couldn't stop wandering because you were afraid to be forced to mourn one more life taken from you. Silence was met with your declaration of pain.

You hated silence.

"Stay."

Three years later

"Jefferson?" You asked.

The entire room was in disarray, fabrics and accessories thrown all across the floor. Jefferson has just sold of the last hat that had been cluttering the floor yesterday. You had no clue how the place had become such a mess in a matter of one night.

He had been getting better. He was watching his daughter grow up and though he was still trying to get to her, he knew that if she was happy he could be too.

Now there were things all over the floor again and Jefferson wasn't anywhere in sight.

"____"

You jumped and turned to face Jefferson with annoyance.

You were caught speechless, though, when you found he was holding a hat. You winced, afraid that maybe he had made a hat that would take him to his daughter. Afraid that he wasn't going to take you with him.

Then he held out the hat to you.

"I wanted to do something special for you and I don't know how to do anything else. I hope you like it." He whispered.

You took the hat in your hand gently, and then something fell out of it. Your eyes followed the small thing that tumbled towards the floor.

Jefferson bent down and grabbed it off the floor, one knee touching the ground.

"I love you." You muttered, letting him slip the ring onto your finger.

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I love how cute that was. Guys this made me so happy :)