Chapter Text
It was a week later when James and Lafayette were finally seated in a flight to Virginia, James heart rate rising by the minute. Meeting your soulmate face to face for the first time just wasn't something you could possibly be prepared for in any way.
“Really, thank you, that you're coming. But you didn't need to. I'm familiar with enough with Virginia.”
“No problem, mon ami! I am missing my dear boyfriend anyway.” the French man smiled. Lafayette had told him about Hercules Mulligan a lot. He talked a lot in general, to say at least. The both of them had met incredibly early in life. Hercules was nearly seventeen, Lafayette only fifteen. On top of it, they had found themselves nearly in the same situation James and Thomas were in. Mulligan without any French knowledge in the middle of France with Lafayette's distressed parents, who barely spoke any English. After some difficulties Hercules had managed it to tell Lafayette's parents what they had to do and where he had to go. He and Lafayette had then met for the first time in New York City. All cliche soulmate-novel like. After they had met, and hopelessly fallen in love for that matter, Lafayette had decided to immediately move to New York, where he finished high school. They also went to the same college in D.C.. Actually it turned out, that Lafayette would visit the same university as he did. And so would Hercules, whom he had heard a lot of from both Hamilton and Lafayette, but had never personally met.
Over the few days he had spent in France and in Thomas body, he and Thomas had also managed to get into touch. And what should he say? Thomas was certainly something. Just like you heard, he was short tempered, sassy, witty and really intelligent. James couldn't have been happier with his soulmate. The fact that they both could talk about how stupid Hamilton's opinions were made it even better.
“You two are gonna be good soulmates.”
Lafayette's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he gave him a confused hum.
“This is the exact look, John and Alex would give me when me and Herc had just met. They would put their fingers in their mouths and gag. But we knew they were happy for us. And maybe a little bit envious.” Lafayette laughed, “Oh, Alex is never gonna let you live it down!”
James smiled. “There are a lot of things he won't ever let me live down, but at least I get something out of this one.”
Lafayette gave him a long look. “Thomas is gonna love you.”
A warm feeling spread in James chest.
* * *
“Madison, you son of a bitch!”
Now, weren't those nice first words to hear when you come home from a confusing week in France? Oh, how James loved his ex best friend.
“Hamilton, I have greatly missed your endearing voice.” he said before he even had to turn around and look at the person that was throwing insults at his head.
When he did turn around though, he was greeted with quite the picture. Alexander Hamilton in his usual messy bun, baggy pants and worn green jacket, but with a huge black eye gracing the left side of his face.
“You look a little stricken.” James pointed out with a nod to Hamilton's face.
“You got a good punch behind those waistcoats and sweater vests.” Hamilton mumbled and started walking beside him.
“I'm not really sure if that's actually my punch.”
“Whatever. So, Jefferson, huh?” Hamilton gave him an awkward look from the side.
“Yeah, Jefferson.”
“Man, that sucks.”
Wow, Hamilton still hadn't learned what was okay to say and what wasn't. Maybe James would have actually been offended at that if it hadn't been for the fact that it came out of the mouth of Alexander Hamilton. It's been ages since he had taken anything this man had said personally.
“I don't really think so. And if you would excuse me now, I'm on the way to meet my perfectly fine soulmate and I think you are about the least appropriate person to witness that.”
“Way to be an ass, Madison!” Alexander snorted. “But I didn't want to watch him shove his tongue down your throat anyway.”
James huffed and gave a nod nod to Hamilton as they proceeded to walk into different directions.
Thomas would be waiting at the outdoor tables on west campus, which was pretty much right next too James's dorm.
To be all honest it was still weird to walk on these long legs, but he was so much faster with using so much less effort!
James hands began to sweat as he stepped onto the west ground and he frantically looked all over the place. Maybe he should have been more specific with describing their meeting place. He just wanted to take out his phone to text Thomas and ask which exact table he was at, when he saw someone familiar sitting at the table closest to the dorm doors.
Seeing his own body from a different perspective was one of the weirdest things James had ever experienced. He was even shorter than he had imagined, but at lest Thomas had decided to put on a dress shirt and a waistcoat, so he looked quite decent. Blood rushed into James face at the thought of Thomas putting clothes on his body in the first place. He had surely seen him naked at some point.
Well, that meant they were even.
Thomas noticed James when he was about twenty more steps away from him. Unsure if to walk faster to get to him sooner or to walk slower to not seem eager. But his decision was taken from him when Thomas got up speed-walked in his direction.
They stopped about two feet apart from each other.
“I look hot from this far down.”
And James couldn't even be mad, he just had to laugh.
“Agreed.” he said and blushed faintly. “So, we touch each other now and then...?”
“Yeah, so...” Thomas opened his arms in an invitation to a hug.
James awkwardly bowed down, spread his arms and was mentally readying himself for the tingly feeling he had heard of when you got your own body back. But no mental readying could have ever prepared him for the feeling that washed over him as soon as his own arms wrapped around Thomas's body.
Heat spread inside him and his whole body felt like pins and needles spread all over him, but it wasn't bad. It felt exciting and warm and it was such a relief to feel familiar muscles and proportions again and when James found himself in his own body, leaning heavily against Thomas big, strong frame, James felt like home. When his mother had described the feeling of being home when she was with his dad to him all those years ago, he had rolled his yes, believing that was just something you ever felt in tacky romance novels, but Thomas was just so strangely familiar and warm and good smelling and home. He allowed himself to relish the feeling for a few more seconds until he let go so they could look at each other again.
“Hi.” Thomas smiled.
“Hey.” James answered just as dumbly, but added as an afterthought: “You were right, though.”
Thomas eyed him quizzically. “You do look hot from down here.”
They both just started laughing and it was the most natural thing in the world.
“I can't believe you dug out one of the two only sweaters I own and decided to put them on around the people I am going to go to university with for the next few years.” Thomas complained while looking down himself. It was in a joking tone, though.
“It's a Sunday morning, I can't believe that you are not wearing a sweater!” James shot back. “When are you coming back from France anyway?” James asked and hoped he didn't sound too desperate.
“When this year is over. So in what? One month? Three weeks?”
“Our timing really is shit.” James cited Lafayette and made Thomas laugh. Warm pride filled his chest at the thought that he was able to do so.
“Indeed. But we do have time right now.” Thomas responded and gave him a seducing smile.
“And this is the right time?”
“I've spend one entire week in immediate proximity to Hamilton and only got to punch him once, now is absolutely the right time!”
James was about to answer something clever when Thomas grabbed him by the front of his jacket pulled him up into a searing kiss. And god, Thomas had been right, it was definitely the right time now. The lips that were moving against his own were so soft and warm and when Thomas's tongue brushed softly against his lower lip James couldn't do anything but open up immediately. His hands found their places on Thomas's broad shoulders and gripped the fluffy fabric of the sweater. The moment was perfect and James wouldn't want to swap it for anything in the world. But this wouldn't be James Madison's and Thomas Jefferson's lives if a certain Alexander Hamilton didn't always manage to interrupt good things.
“Eww! Madison, I told you I do NOT want to see this! I live here too, you know!” Hamilton shouted and both James and Thomas turned their heads to to see him sticking his finger into his mouth. Next to him was John Laurens who giggled, but gave James an apologetic look. It wasn't like he hated James or anything. He just hated Thomas a little bit. Lafayette, who was walking a few meters behind them, holding hands with his boyfriend, waved at him.
“Got get some, Thomas!” he then yelled and winked violently at them.
Thomas just flipped him off while Hercules laughed “Shut it, you French baguette.” and pulled him up to Alexander and John.
“The next few years are not gonna be quiet.” James sighed and he watched the group of friends make their way to the dorms.
“Is that a problem?”
And James looked at Thomas, who was wearing a bright pink sweater and had messy curls all over his face and then he stretched his right hand which hurt a little from Thomas punching Hamilton a week ago and he thought back to the little drama that was going on at Twitter about them.
“Not really.”
A.Ham @HamMan · 5 h
Just watched @ThomsassPrettyson shove his
tongue down @ItsJMads throat!!
#ididnotneedtoseethis #imwashingmyeyesout
Eliiiiiiizaa @ElizabethSchuyler · 5 h
Oh, hush, Alex!! @HamMan
We all know you are a romantic at heart!
A.Ham @HamMan · 5 h
@ElizabethSchuyler I'm not
John Laurens @YoImJohnLaurens · 5 h
@ElizabethSchuyler @HamMan
I've still got those poems from freshmen year
Herc @aspyontheinside · 4 h
@YoImJohnLaurens @HamMan
Man, I loved these!!
#ididntknowsomanywordsrhymedwithfreckles
A.Ham @HamMan · 4 h
@ElizabethSchuyler @YoImJohnLaurens
@aspyontheinside
I hate all of you.
TJeff @ThomsassPrettyson · 2 min
@YoImJohnLaurens
We're willing to pay a great deal for these poems!