Lettie looked up from the workbench and sighed. Ben should have been back by now, but lately he had been working overtime with the king. She could tell he had been stressed out lately, and with Howl slithering out and planning his wedding, he couldn't uphold his half of Royal Wizardry. She shook her head in dismay, at whom she didn't know. Most likely herself, as she had wasted five minutes daydreaming about Ben-Wizard Suliman, she corrected. She had become much too attached to him. He was her teacher, and she his student. No mater how handsome he was, or how lovely his voice was in both speaking and singing, or how perfectly his suits fit. No, she, Lettie Hatter, would not worry about some fully-grown wizard who could take care of himself and was still not home after she had finished absolutely everything he had left for her. She could not yet fall asleep, so she might as well stay up, right?
It felt like she had barely fallen asleep on the chair when she heard him fit the key into the lock and slowly open the door. Ben blinked confusedly at her then staggered in, dragged down by the hours he had continuously not slept. She shot up and helped him get inside and put his coat away. He tried to fend her of, but to no avail. "Would you like some tea? Dinner? A snack? Anything?" she asked worriedly, watching his every move. "Tea sounds great," he mumbled, swaying slightly. She quickly put the kettle on the fire and walked him upstairs to his bedroom, hesitantly opening the door. She sat him on the bed and glanced around the room with Hatter curiosity, eyes flitting across the sparse walls, covered with only a rather large painting of what had to be the Welsh countryside. She plumped up his pillows and ran off when she heard the kettle whistle, pouring the water into his favorite mug. Lettie slowly carried it back, careful not to slosh any tea over the side. Gently, she set it down within reach of Ben's lengthy wingspan. He smiled gratefully as he sipped the tea and sank back into the pillows with a sigh and closed eyes. Lettie quietly filtered through his closet and laid out clothes for the next morning. She left the room with more than one glance back at the now sleeping wizard in the bed, which just so happened to be large enough for two people to sleep in. She sighed gustily before turning away and closing the physical door while trying her not-so-best at closing the metaphorical.
Sunlight filtered through the window, waking up Lettie, who rubbed her eyes and sat up with a jolt. Ben. Where was he? She quickly dressed and slowly opened the door to his room, finding the Royal Wizard sleeping deeply in his own bed, much to her relief. She walked downstairs and quietly started making breakfast, muttering darkly to herself after her initial relief wore off. "That stupid, idiotic, no-good wizard goes and overworks himself half to death ad then makes me help him! And it's not like I can resist his personality, oh no, that'd be like kicking a puppy into a puddle, and his gorgeous face doesn't help either, not at all, and his voice must have a thousand charms to sound that lovely and deep. That stupid idiot with his perfect-" Lettie walked into a rather tall, craggy obstacle in her path that had remained unnoticed for several minutes as she had kept her head down while muttering her monologue. Lettie bounced off the form and looked up to see the face of Wizard Suliman himself. She gulped, blushed, and backed away hurriedly, spewing apologies. Wizard Suliman held up a hand to stop her, smiling crookedly. "So, who is this idiot with the perfect…what? And when do I get to meet him?" he asked good naturedly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He couldn't remember much from last night, but someone had made tea-in his favorite mug, no less-and had laid out clothes for the next day. His eyes snapped open as he looked shrewdly at the young woman in front on him. She was the only one who could have taken care of him the night before. "Thank you for taking care of me last night. I could not have done it myself," he commented. Lettie blushed deeper, mumbling something incoherent. Ben then remembered that Lettie had not answered his previous question. "So, when will I meet this young gentleman that you seem so fond of?" he asked. "You've already met him," responded Lettie, unusually quietly. He grimaced internally, upset at himself for not seeing that she loved someone else. He had held hope at bay for as long as possible that her blushes whenever he complimented or somehow touched her meant something, instead of just general embarrassment. He, careful to hide his emotions, feigned happiness. "Oh? And who might he be?" he asked as cheerfully as possible. Lettie mumbled something and bushed. "What was that?" he asked. Lettie raised her head upon realizing that there was not much else she could do other than meet the dragon head on. "His name is Ben Suliman," she said before looking down at her hands and blushing a deep red. Ben blinked and processed this information before shock overcame his features. He was incredulous. Lettie-Lettie Hatter-was in love with Ben Suliman-him. What.
Lettie, wrongly misinterpreting his shocked facial expression, started to blink back tears. "I-I'm so sorry, I just couldn't help it, being around you so much, and I-I just," she stopped upon seeing a wide grin plaster itself on Ben's face. "Why-why are you smiling?" she asked, confused as to why he would do such a thing. Thinking back, he had been watching her an awful lot, which she attributed to him making sure she was correctly doing a spell, and constantly tripping over both objects and thin air whenever she walked into a room, which she attributed to balance issues and limited control of his limbs. At that moment, he had chosen to move his aforementioned limbs and wrap her in a bear hug and nuzzle his face in her dark hair. "Oh, Lettie," he sighed, rather content. "Um, Ben?" she asked, inhaling his previously undiscovered and rather wonderful smell of wood shavings as she melted into the hug. "So, you're not mad at me?" she asked tentatively, still concerned and slightly confused at this sudden turn of events. Ben stepped back and held her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "No, Lettie. You love me?" he asked, to which she nodded bashfully. "And I love you," he said, wrapping her up in another hug as they both smiled.