Chapter Text
Alexander cursed as he watched the cannibals get closer, still with no idea to where Laurens had disappeared. “Fucking Laurens.” He looked around for a weapon and found a rusted machete leaning against a nearby hut, probably from one of their previous victims. He grabbed it and ran at the swarm of men. Maybe it was suicide, but Laf was his best friend and he wasn’t about to let him die without a fight.
As good as Alexander was with a sword, the sheer number of savages quickly overwhelmed him. He had managed to kill maybe twelve of the at least one hundred before one of them landed a hit with a spear, stabbing him in his shoulder.
“Shit!” He yelped in pain and cut into the savage that had injured him. He was losing. The machete swung wildly as the savages swarmed around him, ready to finish him off. He closed his eyes, waiting for the death that he felt had been following him around since he was young.
Suddenly, one of the savages yelled something. Immediately they stopped attacking Alexander and started to flee. When Alexander turned around, he saw why.
John Laurens was running at the tribe with a huge shield of fire, like some beautiful avenging angel. He chased after them, right on their heels, passing up Alexander and running the savages off until they were out of sight. Lafayette and Hercules ran over to Alexander. “Mon ami! Are you alright?”
Alexander looked at him in confusion. “How did you…escape?” He had lost a lot of blood and was losing more, fast. Laf removed his shirt (Alexander was not so out of it that he didn’t notice the way Hercules eyes Lafayette’s muscular torso) and wrapped it around Alexander’s shoulder as a fire-singed Laurens returned to them, out of breath and with a worried look in his eyes.
“Laurens cut us free when the tribe ran after you. Then he took part of one of their huts and lit it on fire to scare them away.”
Laurens nodded in agreement to Lafayette’s words as he approached. Alexander frowned. “Thank you for that. I suppose I owe you an…apology for calling you a coward.”
Laurens laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get that wound cleaned up, can’t have you dying on us.”
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“Fuck Laurens, can you be a little gentler? You’re doing it too fast.”
“Well if you would relax a little it wouldn’t hurt so much. Besides, it’s best if I just hurry up and get the worst of it over with.”
Laurens continued to quickly pour a small bottle of alcohol over Alex’s shoulder, which made Alex curse in pain. “I need to stitch it up anyways, and that’s gonna hurt worse, so here.” He shoved the rest of the liquor into Alexander’s hand. “Drink.”
“Why are you even helping me? Aren’t we fighting for the same treasure?”
Laurens blushed slightly but all he said was, “I have enough honor not to let you bleed to death. Besides, like you said, we are fighting for the same thing. Four is better than two, and clearly there is strength in numbers.”
Hamilton looked up at him in surprise. “Thank you,” he said softly.
The two captains sat on a log by a fire that Hercules had built. Night had fallen over the island and Lafayette and Mulligan were asleep on the ground. Alexander took a swig of his drink and winced again when John began to stitch Alexander’s wound. “So you just keep a medical bag on you all the time?” Alex nodded to the sack that John had around his waist. So far John had procured alcohol, a needle and thread, and clean bandages from the sack.
“It comes in handy for incidents like this,” he said simply as he finished the seven stitches he had put in Alexander’s shoulders. “Why would you even do something so utterly idiotic? Running at a tribe of cannibals, honestly.”
Alex shrugged with his good shoulder. “I’ve been faced with worse, never could seem to die.”
Laurens looked over at him. “What do you mean?”
Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe because he was tired, or maybe (and he would never admit this to himself) he was starting to like Laurens, but Alex decided to screw it and open up that can of worms. “When I was ten, my father abandoned us. My mom worked as much as she could, but she simply couldn’t support us both. I guess that was the start of my life of piracy.” Alexander gave a short laugh. “I began pickpocketing and stealing what I could. It wasn’t the best life, but it worked. Then two years later, we both got sick. My mother and I were laying in bed and she was holding me, and—” he coughed to hide the thickness in his voice. “She died, but I didn’t. Then that hurricane all those years ago, the really bad one? I was stuck here for that too. Once again, I couldn’t seem to die.” He took another swig of alcohol before returning it to Laurens, who drank as well.
Laurens looked at him with a strange look on his face. “I’m sorry.”
Alexander laughed again. “I don’t need your pity. It’s what’s made me who I am. It’s a pirate’s life for me.” He glanced at Laurens, who took a large gulp of liquor.
“I became a pirate after my father kicked me out of the house. We had a fight over how I like to live my life, and he told me to leave and never come back. So that’s what I did.”
Alexander frowned. “What do you mean, how you live your life?”
Laurens took a deep breath. “I prefer the company of men over women. When my father learned of this, he disowned me, called me a filthy bugger and a pansy. It was the only time I ever saw my mother cry. She begged me to stay, and I almost did. But when I tried to defend myself an got a punch to the jaw, I knew I just couldn’t do it. I ran out of the house without a six-pence to my name. Eventually I met a captain who needed a cabin boy. That’s where I learned that this kind of lifestyle is a lot more accepting of my tastes.”
Alexander nodded. He had learned this as well. He thought about everything John said and smiled ruefully. “So you became a pirate because you had no home either?”
John nodded. “That’s right.”
“I suppose we have something in common then.”
“I think we have more in common than you give us credit for, Captain Hamilton.”
He looked up at Laurens and suddenly noticed how close their faces were and he blushed. Laurens seemed to notice this too, and grew very quiet. They sat there for a moment, neither man breathing. Alexander looked at Laurens’ face and noticed just how handsome the man was. A scattering of freckles across sun-tanned skin that had started to blush as well. Those deep brown eyes full of mischief. Chestnut-brown curls that framed his lean face. For a moment, Alexander felt completely and utterly helpless.
Finally Laurens stood up, nearly falling over in the process. “Y-you should get some rest. I’ll take the first watch.”
Slightly disappointed, Alexander nodded and moved to find a semi-comfortable spot on the ground. “Right. Sorry.” He laid down, his mind reeling over what had just transpired and the implications of it. He glanced over at Laurens, who had taken a seat against a large tree. He went to say something, but the day seemed to catch up with him and he immediately fell into a deep sleep.