Chapter Text
After lunch, Alex and John explored about half of the aquarium, slowly taking their planned route to the turtle encounter. John was bouncing with excitement as soon as the doors opened to a rather large room. The time was 2:45 when they arrived at the doors to the turtles’ habitat. Alexander heard John mumbling to himself (barely), when they were met by a very optimistic looking boy.
His hair was short, slicked back, and he wore the aquarium staff t-shirt.
“Mr Hamilton! Mr Laurens!” the young man stuck his hand out eagerly to shake both of theirs. “I’ve been waiting for your arrival!”
John looked puzzled. “We’re early, are we not?”
The boy laughed. “Well, you’re early for the scheduled time, but since you’re the only two in this session, I haven’t had anyone here to entertain,”
“Only two in the session?”
“John, judging by how the rest of this day has gone so far, you should know that things like this are bound to happen,” Alexander put his hands on his hips and giggled.
John blushed, a blur of embarrassment - and his hands - covering his face.
“Please, come in!”
~~~~~~
“This is Lucy, she's a green sea turtle.” The boy, Jake was his name, explained while he fed the turtle a small fish. “She used to live all the way in California, but they had her shipped here because her old aquarium closed down. They hadn't been taking care of their animals,” his voice was soft while he spoke of the rather large creature treading water in front of them.
The three men were sitting waist deep in warm water, Alex clinging to John closely. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but being so close to a turtle in its’ own domain - a turtle who could probably knock Alexander over with a nudge of his shell - well, that made him nervous, if only a little. John must have sensed his nerves, and held his boyfriend’s hand while he bent down to graze his fingertips across the turtle's shell.
“See this scar right here?” Jake pointed to a folding portion of scar tissues on her neck. “She was actually bit by a shark who she shared her old enclosure with. The shark was thought to me very gentle and not a predator, but…” he shook his head, giving the gentle turtle another fish. “They obviously had no idea what they were talking about.”
“Apparently not,” John frowned. “Poor thing,” Lucy seemed open and loving to John’s touch.
“She's gotten along really well with some of the other turtles we have here, but she obviously needs a lot more space, due to her size.”
Yes, the exhibit was indeed huge. It covered the vast expanse of a large room, the water went underground, and there was a makeshift beach for the turtle to bask on. Plenty of room for the one little girl. The exhibit was surrounded by a glass wall, that went up to about waist height.
John couldn't believe he was sitting in the shallow water with a sea turtle, actually feeling the ridges of her shell, watching her head retract into her shell when something spooked her. She was magnificent. Gentle, yet strong at the same time. Nothing could get better than this; Alexander next to him, gently holding his hand in the water. He may have been shaking slightly, but it was still cute. John knew this wasn't exactly Alexander’s forte, being in swim trunks in the same water with a sea turtle that rivaled his size. To John, it was the nicest gesture.
“Looks like she wants to go for a swim.” Jake noted as Lucy slowly slid deeper into the water. “Let's join her!”
Was this really allowed? Was John really about to do this? To swim next to one of the most glorious creatures he'd ever been in the presence of. His eyes widened as he withdrew his shirt, standing up to follow Jake into the water.
Alex stood back, leaving the water, in favor of searching through his bag for his phone. He hadn't checked it at all that day, and his lock screen was covered in messages from his secret group chat.
From French Baguette at 10:56am
Please try to keep the public displays of affection to minimum, it makes people uncomfortable
From Betsey <3 at 10:59am
Why would you even mention that, Laf?
From French Baguette at 11:02am
Just wanting to keep them wholesome in the public eye.
From The Tailor at 11:04am
He has a point, ‘Liza. They tend to kiss a lot in public.
From Betsey <3 at 11:05am
That's because they're in love!!
From French Baguette at 11:10am
Yes well, at the very least they could, how you say, keep it in their pants when in public.
From Betsey <3 at 11:18am
Lafayette, it isn't their fault you managed to find them in the shower during college, maybe you should have just kept to yourself
From French Baguette at 11:19am
ELIZA NOBODY CAN IGNORE THOSE NOISES THEY WERE AS THOUGH THE CRUSTS OF THE EARTH OPENED AND THE DEVIL WAS SHOUTING AT US MORTALS
From The Tailor at 11:35am
Laf has a point, ‘Liza. They are kinda rowdy. Anybody who has shared a room with either of them would know that.
From Betsey <3 at 12:02pm
I refuse to associate with you two for the rest of the day.
An amused smile crept across Alex’s face as he continued to scroll through their conversation.
From French Baguette at 12:38pm
Eliza I can see you glancing at us, why are you ignoring me
From Betsey <3 at 12:39pm
Not associating with you for the rest of the day
His friends.
From The Tailor at 12:40pm
‘Liza come ooonnn… I know you can hear me from there. I have a piece of cake for you if you come over here
Betsey <3 has left the ground conversation.
Alex tried his hardest to stifle his giggle.
From The Tailor at 12:51pm
I didn't have any cake
Betsey <3 has been added to the grip conversation.
Much to Alexander’s surprise, his phone buzzed in his hand.
From French Baguette at 3:36pm
Alexander, my petite lion, have you asked our dear John yet?
From Betsey <3 at 3:37pm
For some reason I feel like we would have pictures if he did.
At 3:37pm
Also, why am I back in this group chat
Alex decided it was enough, and he opened up his camera, finally remember why he had gotten his phone in the first place. He snapped a quick picture of John in the water, his face merely inches away from the sea turtle, and sent it to his friends.
To The FederalFam at 3:40pm
[Image attached]
I think he's having a good time.
“Alex!” John called to him, his lips tightened into a pout. “Get in here!”
“I don't know, John, that turtle is really-”
“Gentle.” John finished his sentence for him, an expectant look on his face. “She is very gentle.”
Damn. Alexander knew there was no way of getting out of this one. He pulled his shirt off and hastily made it back into the water. He stopped as soon as the water reached his shoulders, for the sake of wanting to remain planted on the sand underneath him. Also…
“What are you waiting for?” John must have noticed his hesitation and Alexander scoffed.
“Not everybody can be six feet tall, John. And I…” his voice shrunk, a rare action for the small man. “I can't swim,” he blushed and looked away from the astonished eyes of Jake, who was silently feeding Lucy.
John’s eyes softened and he extended a warm hand out to his boyfriend, who gently grasped it in return. He pulled slowly, and Alexander lost his grip on the floor, but was supported completely by John. The sight was cute, nonetheless, again.
They spent a good hour in the waters with Lucy and Jake, learning things about her, about her species, about the ocean in general, and even a little bit about Jake’s life. The boy was certainly well educated on most any topic John had thrown at him. They ranged from sea turtles to whales, to sharks, to sea pressures, to migration patterns, to gestation periods, to- well, a lot. By the time the two got in dry clothing (changing once again in the bathroom), they were thoroughly impressed.
“Mr Laurens, Mr Hamilton,” Jake shook both of their hands once again, a look of awe covering his face as he thought through who was in his presence. “It has been an honor to have you here, and I wish you both the best of luck in the future.” His smile was warm and sincere.
Hamilton was the first to answer quickly, nodding his head. “It was an honor to get such a great presentation from such an intelligible man like yourself,” Jake’s eyes lit up. “You clearly know what you’re talking about here.”
“Gosh, thank you, sir, that means-”
“Jake, your next group is here,” a woman smiled politely from the other end of the room. Jake nodded his head and gave his thanks to John and Alex one more time before shuffling off to greet his new group.
The two men stood there, looking into each other’s eyes for a moment, before sharing a gentle kiss.
~~~~~~~~~
“You know, Alexander, this has been the best day,” Alex nodded his agreement, intently watching a jellyfish bounce in the water.
They both smelled faintly of salt water, but the scent was endearing to John. He gladly welcomed it.
“Excuse me, this is the one hour mark, one hour until the aquarium closes.” a very kind voice over the intercom stated. Alexander's heart sped up and he could feel the color flush from his face.
“We should go check out the last little bit of the aquarium,” John’s gentle voice brought him back and Alex flashed him one of his signature I'm-so-nervous-I-could-throw-up smiles.
Without another word they left the Jellyfish exhibits, still using the trail they had mapped out earlier in the day. With each step, Alex felt heavier, he felt the heat kicking in around him. Where in the world was this all day?
“Alexander, my love, are you alright?”
“Hm?” He pretended to be oblivious. “Oh, yes, I'm fine,” Alex winced as he heard his voice shake audibly, and knew John wasn't having any of it.
To John, this was only more reason to be suspicious. All day long, people had said such weird things to them. The interaction with Jake had gone normally enough, until he had mentioned something about their good luck together. John had shrugged it off as a kind gesture towards the two, a way of everyone perhaps showing their kindness towards the Secretary of the Treasury and his significant other. Still, though, all of it seemed rather… far fetched.
“Alexander,” John paused, trying to carefully word his inquiry. “ All day today… people have been acting really strange.”
With the hand that wasn't locked with John’s, Alex thumbed at the object in his front jacket pocket, before humming - a way of trying to soothe himself. “You think so?”
“Well yes, you haven't noticed?”
He shrugged, leading the way at a bit of a faster pace, to their destination.
“I suppose I haven't been able to pay attention much, I've been much too distracted by your beautiful eyes.”
John blushed and shoved his side playfully. Their last exhibit of the day was gorgeous. It was a long tube like hallway, completely made out of glass (except for the bottom of course). Inside the tank were countless species of fish, peaceful sharks, sting rays, a few smaller turtles and so on. The sight took John’s breath away, and he leaned on the metal bar in front of the glass - his eyes wide - placing a hand against the cold, curved surface.
In that moment, Alexander finally felt the weight of what he was about to do. Was this really something John would take kindly to? Was this something that he would laugh at? Did John actually love him in that way? So many thoughts flashed through his mind, and his stomach turned. Nobody was around, but Alexander knew why.
“Hey, John..?” he took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Listen, I want to ask you a question.”
“Yes?” The man at the glass turned around to give Alex his full attention.
Oh my god, look at his eyes again. “Umm, okay… John, obviously you mean a lot to me, I love you like I've never loved anyone before. You're the most perfect man and… shit, I had this all planned out,” he scratched his head nervously and reached out to hold one of John’s hands. Seriously, how had he managed to keep his cool all day long?
John's face was cautious, and he backed up against the metal bar behind him. “Alex…”
“Usually, I know what to say, and I usually have everything planned out, but… this is what you do to me, Laurens! You manage to steal every single word from my brain, I'm rendered speechless when I'm with you,”
It’s not that hard, just do it.
“It’s hard for me to imagine living this life without you, having to go through every single day without your love and support. I don’t want to go through my life like that, so…” Alexander got down on his knee and pulled out the little velvet box from his jacket, revealing the beautiful band inside.
“Oh my god…”
“John Laurens, will you marry me?”
There was a silence in the air that left an awful feeling in the pit of Alex’s stomach. John was staring at him, wide eyed, and speechless.
“Yes! Yes, a million times yes!” John practically fell into Alex’s lap, wrapping his arms around his neck tightly. More ‘yes yes yes’ comments were mumbled into his neck and Alex released a breath blissfully. A bright flash went off and Laurens jumped, lost his balance - he would have fallen off completely if Alex hadn't caught him.
“What the hel-”
“Congratulations!” a chorus of employees clapped as Jessica took far too many photos.
A hand gripped at John’s heart, which was still pounding through his chest. “They knew this entire day?”
“This has been planned out from the moment we stepped through the door, my dear Laurens.”
Blush covered John’s face, and he pulled his boyfri- fiancé in for a passionate kiss.
~~~~~~~~
“That's a cute one,” John pointed at the screen as Alex continued to flip through photos that the staff had taken at the aquarium.
“I like this one. Your curls look great,” Hamilton absentmindedly massaged John's head, which lay peacefully in his lap. The turtle enthusiast was perfectly content on their couch, his right hand carefully grazing the beautiful silver band around his finger.
“I think that one,” John pointed, and Alex stopped swiping. “My butt looks so good right there,”
“On the contrary, John, your butt always looks fantastic.”
A light tint of blush covered his cheeks and he very gently nudged Alex’s leg. “Regardless of when my butt does and doesn’t look good, let's send that one,”
Alex chuckled and sent the photo to their group chat - the one that John was a part of.
To The FederalFam at 9:51pm
[Image Attached]
I think he liked it.
From Betsey <3 at 9:52pm
YES!! SUCESS!
From The Tailor at 9:52pm
Congratulations, guys! That was the hardest thing to keep hidden
From My Turtle <3 at 9:54pm
Definitely one of the best days I've had in a very long time, babe <3
To The FederalFam at 9:55pm
Agreed, my dear!
From French Baguette at 9:59pm
Yes, félicitations à vous, but the important question is did you buy me a stuffed shark like I asked
There was a stiff silence in the room as both men read the message.
“You promised Laf a shark?”
“I may have mentioned it.”
There was yet another long pause.
“We didn't get a stuffed shark, did we, Alex?”
“I am sorry that you will so soon be a widow, my Dear Laurens,”