Disclaimer: I make no profit from this. Ben and all of the other Lost characters do not belong to me. Izzi, however, is mine.
A/N-This is set in season 3 as the Others leave the Hydra to go back to their "home". Some things from the TV show may stay the same, some may not.
Chapter 7-The Kiss
Nine weeks. Roughly three months of working non-stop and she was finally done. The library had been a bigger undertaking than Izzi had expected. When Ethan had shown her the building she had been a little shocked. It had been in shambles, quite different from the perfect little houses that lined the village.
She never was one to turn down a challenge so she had thrown herself into her work. She would arrive at the library early in the morning and usually didn't leave until well after dark.
Izzi didn't mind working all of the time. It gave her time alone, away from everyone else in the village. In the time she had been there she didn't exactly make friends like she normally did. Back home she could approach anyone and be talking to them like they were old friends within minutes. But here, things were different. It wasn't that Izzi wasn't willing; she tried repeatedly when she first arrived. No, it wasn't her, it was everyone else. She couldn't get anyone to talk to her for more than a few words. Apart from Ethan and Juliet, who would throw her a glare every once in a while, everyone avoided her.
Her one saving grace was Ben. He didn't shun her or act like she wasn't even there. He went out of his way to make her feel welcome and she treasured him for that.
He came to see her in the library her first week. He said that he just wanted to check out the building but the longer he stayed the more Izzi thought he had come to see her.
Ben picked up right away on how she was feeling and tried to compensate for everyone else's behavior. He came to see her nearly every other day and would stay and talk with her for hours sometimes. Finally Izzi started handing him books he could shelf instead of standing around. He didn't seem to mind helping her do the small things that made Izzi's life a lot easier.
One day, about four weeks in, Ben had come in while Izzi was having trouble with the barcodes for the books. Somehow she had gotten her stacks confused and had put the wrong codes on at least two hundred books.
Frustrated with herself for not paying enough attention she threw down the lists and sat down on the floor with her back against an empty bookcase.
She heard Ben laughing before she saw him.
"You better be remembering some hilarious joke you heard earlier." She said leaning her head back and closing her eyes.
"It can't be that bad Izzi."
"Oh, it can't? Two hundred books Ben, two hundred. You know how long that will take me to fix?"
"It won't take so long if I help you." He said from right next to her.
Izzi opened her eyes to see Ben sitting next to her on the floor, "That's sweet, but you don't have to do that. It's my mess, I'll clean it up."
Ben leaned forward and grabbed her lists from the floor, "I know I don't need to help Izzi, I want to."
Izzi looked at him and smiled, "Okay, let's get to work."
It took them a while but they finally got the books back in order. As they had worked they had talked about anything and everything. Ben told her that truthfully he was thrilled about this new library. He had a love for reading that seemed to rival even Izzi's. She told him about her life before she came to the village. She talked about the things she missed; her family and her friends. Before they knew it the sun had set.
"Thank you so much for helping me with all this. I don't know how I will ever repay you."
Ben turned towards Izzi and looked straight into her eyes, "I know how you can repay me."
"Really, how?" she asked.
"Tomorrow night, you are going to come to my place for dinner." Izzi noticed that it wasn't a question.
"You can cook?"
"Of course."
"Okay, do you want me to bring anything?" she said pulling herself up from the floor.
Ben stood up as well and began walking to the door, "Just yourself," he called over his shoulder.
"Goodnight." Izzi said as he stepped out into the night.
Izzi watched Ben from the couch as he cleared the table. He had refused to let her help him clean up. She was ordered to relax in the living room until he was done. Ben hadn't been boasting; he was a wonderful cook. The longer she watched him the more she admired him. Here was this kind man who had reached out to her while she was here. He was incredibly intelligent, witty, and a true gentleman. But underneath all of that there was something else. Something Izzi didn't see much, but every so often she would say something that brought it to the surface just a bit. There was pride there all right, laced with a heavy dose of power. For some reason she thought this man was used to getting what he wanted.
Yes, he was very admirable, Izzi thought as she sipped her wine.
"Izelle?" Ben asked coming into the living room.
"Hmm?" she murmured.
"You're staring." He smirked as he sat next to her on the couch.
"Am I?" she asked noting how close he was to her. She mentally began to add up how many glasses of wine she'd had.
He looked at her then, for so long she was sure she was blushing. She just smiled at him, unsure what to do.
"Give me your hand." He said to her.
Without hesitating she held her free hand out to him. He took it and studied her palm. She half thought he was going to tell her fortune. What he did surprised her even more. He entwined his own fingers through hers and rested them both on his leg.
Benjamin Linus was holding her hand.
For some reason Izzi found this humorous which started her giggling. As she bent over laughing Ben watched her. He didn't release her hand and she didn't try to retrieve it. Somehow during her laughing spell, whether on purpose or not, she had moved herself even closer to Ben. If she was any closer she would be sitting on his lap.
Izzi banished the thought and really looked at Ben whose eyes had not left her since he claimed her hand. Her respect for the man grew. Any number of men she had dated would have made a serious move on her by now. It wouldn't have been hard. There had been a semi-romantic dinner and she had obviously had more wine than she realized. But not Ben. He was content to hold her hand and that meant the world to her.
"You are a good man Ben." She said to him.
Izzi saw a small smile grace his lips as she laid her head on his shoulder.
They sat together for what felt like hours, neither one needing to say a word. Izzi had never felt more comfortable with someone. Finally she glanced at the clock and saw that it was past midnight.
"I better go." She said sitting up.
Ben still didn't let go of her hand. He held it as he walked her to the door.
"Thank you for dinner Ben, it was wonderful." Izzi said not quite sure how to say goodbye.
"You're welcome Izelle." He said finally releasing her hand.
Izzi turned to find the doorknob but instead found herself turned around with her back against the door.
"What?" she asked confused.
Ben closed the distance between them effectively pinning her to the door. His eyes were on fire as he looked at Izzi.
"Ben?" she questioned quietly.
He didn't answer. He raised his hand to her face and ran his thumb over her cheekbone.
"Izelle." He said as he lowered his mouth to hers. His kiss wasn't sweet or tentative; he was claiming her and he made sure that she knew it.
