I'm very sorry it took so long everyone, I've just been holding onto this chapter for a little while because I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, but it's been too long and I need to move on to the next part, so here you go.

Chapter 3 - Cat Napping

Jefferson wasn't really sure what Rumplestiltskin was to him. He was fairly sure he was not a friend, but they were more friendly with each other than typical business partners. There were not boss and worker, because Jefferson didn't feel that he was indebted to the imp in any way. Quite the opposite actually, even though Rumplestiltskin was permanently on the upper hand. They weren't even drinking partners, due to the extremely surprising fact that Rumplestiltskin claimed that he did not drink for pleasure.

They were- benefactors perhaps. Jefferson acquired things that Rumplestiltskin requested, and Rumplestiltskin assured that Jefferson was well funded for his efforts and his more casual pursuits. They were not friends though. Surely they couldn't have been. They had nothing in common, and enjoyed none of the same things.

On a few rare occasions Jefferson had tried to convince his scaly, uptight benefactor to unwind with a little wine and some women, but he'd only sipped his wine casually throughout the night and studiously avoided all women Jefferson nudged his way. He tapped his feet to the music but kept to the shadows of pubs, hidden and out of sight to anyone not paying particular attention. He watched bar patrons and brooded, allowing Jefferson to enjoy himself, then helping him home and waiting with him to heal his hangover the next morning.

One even fewer occasions, Rumplestiltskin had tentatively and probably unknowingly engaged Jefferson in his own hobbies. He showed him his books of charms and curses, letting him loan one so that he could put a small curse on his piggish neighbor. Rumplestiltskin had beamed and pressed for details when Jefferson returned the book and reported that the curse was successful. He had also told a few stories of his own travels to other places and realms, eventually convincing Jefferson to expand his hat with more portals.

They taught each other as well. Jefferson taught Rumplestiltskin how to engage other people from other lands more appropriately than he had been, and he taught Jefferson some light self defense with a sword in his castle gardens. They would sometimes spend whole days together talking and exchanging theories of magic and mayhem, but Jefferson just couldn't see them as friends.

For one thing, Rumplestiltskin was likely the most wicked, cruel, vile, and hideous beast to ever exist. He was cunning and evil and manipulative and cross with the world. Jefferson was more light-hearted and whimsical, keeping himself without burdens or commitments. He was as free as the wind, but Rumplestiltskin came with more baggage than anyone could have possibly ever known.

And also, just as much as Jefferson tried to push the imps buttons by stretching his demands, Rumplestiltskin was never fazed by his attempts at prodding. He was patient with him, but he was far from with anyone else. He treated Jefferson like an exception, which boiled the hatter's blood like he couldn't believe. And the twisted little imp took joy in testing him, pulling at strings and pushing him around, sending him on near impossible quests to retrieve the most obscure of objects from tiny dragon's eggs to glowing golden rings.

And oh how they bantered. The two men treated their verbal battles like a sport, meticulously picking fun at and making up teasing nicknames for each other. They were certainly not friends.

But one bright and beautiful afternoon Jefferson trudged up the dank and stiflingly dark stairs to the Dark One's workroom-laboratory in the far tower in the west wing of his large mountain castle, and he found something he was definitely not expecting to find. He entered the room and announced his presence boldly, but there was no response. The room was dead silent, creating an atmosphere of abandonment like no one had stepped foot in the place in decades.

"Stiltskin?" The hatter called out, scanning the room. The place was in its normal state of chaotic order, the tables were strewn with ingredients of all kinds, poisons and elixirs, as well as parchment and ink and quills and notes and ledgers. He had whole bookcases full of his notebooks that he kept, his own observations and studies that he preformed on magical reactions and processes. There were a few cups of tea and plates or bowls of meals he had taken while working that sat abandoned at various spots around the room. He hadn't taken time to clean, meaning he hadn't left the room in days.

"The door at the bottom of the tower was unlocked and you weren't anywhere else in the castle so I know you're here." Jefferson stated to the empty room, waiting for the imp to suddenly appear, camouflaged in a corner or something, seated on the window ledge or perched somewhere absurd reading an old entry in one of his books. But he was nowhere.

"If you're going to try to spook me this is a poor way to go about it. Very lazy and unprofessional I'd say." Jefferson scolded the empty space. There was still no response, and something inside him actually began to worry. What if he had simply vanished, and he was never seen again? Surely people would rejoice for weeks at his absence, but Jefferson would be left with nothing. He hadn't realized how far he'd come since his chance meeting with the scaly creature, and nor had he ever desired going back to his life of crime and poverty. No. He wasn't thinking rationally. The Dark One wouldn't simply disappear.

"Look, I got you that- Ortheo-whachama-call-it fossil thing you had to have, If you don't come out I'm going to throw it out the window and steal all your gold. I do know where you keep it you know." He threatened, fishing the long black and white spear-like fossil from his satchel and marching toward the window.

"I mean it, I'll toss it right out this-" He was interrupted by an unexpected snag as his foot collided with something that didn't give and he quickly started rocketing toward the ground. He held out his hands and braced for impact, but he fell onto something soft, and that soft thing instantly started to move and make sounds.

"What? What's- going on here? Who- who's there?!" Rumplestiltskin's agitated voice snapped groggily as Jefferson realized he had fallen on top of the sorcerer. He pushed himself up off of the smaller man and sat next to him as the magician blinked and sat up as well. He had been lying down on the floor. In one of his hands was a book on magical runes, and in the other was an empty vial that had been corked tightly. He stared at Jefferson with confusion and they both tried to make since of what had happened.

"Hatter? What are you doing here? I didn't expect you back from Siluria until Tuesday." He questioned, sitting cross-legged on the stone floor and scratching his tousled and unruly hair. Overall he looked truly comical, and Jefferson was astounded at what he had quite literally stumbled upon.

"It is Tuesday." Jefferson smirked, fully recovered from the fall and now trying very hard not to laugh as he kneeled in front of a very perplexed and freshly woken Rumplestiltskin.

"Impossible." The imp scowled, looking around the room like it had changed. Jefferson allowed himself to chuckle, then placed a hand on the sorcerer's shoulder to get his full attention.

"Stiltskin, I think you fell asleep on the floor." He broke the news lightly, expecting Rumplestiltskin to deny the whole thing and to stand and storm away to pout, but he didn't. He raised his eyebrows and stared at Jefferson in shock. He looked down at himself, then at the floor where he had been laying.

"Oh-." He murmured, swallowing and then trying to get his feet underneath him, but failing. Jefferson stood and helped him up, hoisting him up with a brotherly assistance.

"Thank you Hatter for- finding me. I should um- probably get back to work um-" He frantically scanned the room, trying to make since of his surroundings and looking thoroughly embarrassed. There were tears in his eyes.

"Hey are you-, Are you okay Stiltskin?" Jefferson questioned, craning his neck to look at Rumplestiltskin's face. He continued to avoid eye contact, but nodded sheepishly.

"I'm fine it's just- not the first time." He sputtered uselessly. Jefferson scowled.

"Come on. You need to go to bed and get some real sleep." Rumplestiltskin shook his head and walked away from the haberdasher, waving his hands and denying everything determinedly.

"No no, I'm fine I just need to- get back to work." He tried to convince, but it was feeble and uncertain, so Jefferson persisted.

"You need to sleep." Jefferson stressed, following the imp as he tried to retreat from table to table.

"I'm the Dark One. I am the most powerful being in the seven realms, I don't need you to tell me wether or not I need sleep." Rumplestiltskin argued. Jefferson stopped and held out the fossil.

"I got you that, Ortho-thing." He announced, Rumplestiltskin took the bait and returned to the Hatter's side, taking the fossil from his hands and inspecting it.

"It's called an orthoceras, and it's about 420 million years old, so I should hope you kept it from getting damaged."

"Well it might have cracked a bit when I tripped over you." Jefferson joked, but Rumplestiltskin didn't seem to hear. He was too busy yawning as he placed the polished fossil down on a table and then leaned both hands on it to steady himself. Jefferson walked forward again and placed a hand on the imp's leather vest.

"Alright look, I've known you for quite some time now Stiltskin, and I think I've figured out what you're like most of the time, and this is not you. So how about we go downstairs, I'll fix us some tea, and we can chat for a little while alright?" He offered, knowing the imp couldn't resist the promise of tea. He looked apprehensive for a brief moment before giving in and excepting the invitation, stepping away from his work and walking down the tower staircase with Jefferson steadying him the whole way down.

It didn't take long for Rumplestiltskin to fall asleep again, only this time it was in an armchair instead of the floor, and he now had a cup of warm tea and a roll of bread in his stomach. Jefferson smiled as the man dozed, his head leaning on the armrest and his body curled up like a cat in the seat of the large chair. He knew he shouldn't have been so pleased with himself. Anyone could fix some tea and chat with someone in front of a fire for a while until that exhausted someone drifted off into a solid sleep, but he knew somewhere inside him that Rumplestiltskin had no one else who would do him such a kindness, or any kindness at all for that matter. He was pleased that he had the chance to be that someone, even if the sorcerer probably didn't deserve anyone's compassion.

After sitting in silence for a while, watching the fire dance and flicker in the fireplace, Jefferson stood, and took the tea tray to the kitchen, and returned with a blanket from the laundry. He draped the thick quilt over the dozing sorcerer and then crept away as inconspicuously as he could. He grabbed himself a few spools of gold from beside the old spinning wheel and made his leave of the castle.

He was unsure how to take in what had just occurred between them. The average man would have no business taking care of a mere benefactor, that service was reserved for friends and family. Rumplestiltskin had no family, and Jefferson was pretty sure that they were not friends. Jefferson really wasn't sure what Rumplestiltskin was to him.

I really love the idea of Hatter and Rumple being friends, but I have a really hard time writing him. I feel like he was underused, but what secondary characters on ONCE aren't right? I still don't have a Beta so hopefully Spell Check and I caught everything.

Thank you to Ryunn Kazan, VyeLoyomBrightwarrior, Serenity Prime, Mew Sakura the Cyniclon, and Anaweyfor your amazing reviews and a big thank you to all of you for reading and favoriteing or following. I'm really looking forward to writing the next chapter. Does anyone want to guess who'll be finding poor little Rumple next time?

Anyway, let me know what you think and I'll be getting the next chapter as soon as I can. Please review because I really love to hear from you! Thanks again!