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Alex supposed that, at this point, it could hardly be considered hinting. That would just be insulting to both his and Thomas's intelligence, and although Alex was a patient man, regardless of what his boyfriend or all of his friends or all of his co-workers thought, he was beginning to get slightly restless. Alex had tried being subtle - hell, he had even tried all the pointers that were mostly directed to middle aged women - but nothing worked, because Thomas was acting goddamn oblivious.
Which was unfair, because being oblivious was Alex's job.
He supposed that he could always propose, yet, unsurprisingly, his stubbornness had got in his way. Unfortunately, this also meant that his friends - even Lafayette, who had been fixed upon being everybody's flower girl since his and Hercules's wedding. This was how he ended up in John's apartment, face down on the couch, and complaining so masterfully that it would make an undecided Burr back away. After he paused his rant (because, unluckily, breathing was necessary for humans), he was promptly interrupted.
"Damn, son, give it time." Hercules quipped, looking mildly alarmed and as though he was trying to back away from Alex and the sheer force of his frustration. Alex lifted his face to fix Hercules a stony glare before resting his head against the chosen pillow.
"I have 'given it time' for decades-" He began, gesturing his hands wildly and unable to see the effects dueto the fact that he was refusing to look at anything. His dramatics, however, were taken painfully forgranted, as both John and Hercules snorted.
"Literally one week." John contradicted, which caused Alex to briefly wonder when all of his friends became traitors.
"-and still, I am without a ring." He announced, putting as much tired exasperation into his voice as possible. "I am ring-less. I am not ring-full. I am lacking ringly-ness-"
"Laf, he's doing it again." Hercules shouted, and Alex didnt even have to look up to know that Hercules would be regarding him with both concern and anxiety. There was a loud sigh, distinctly Lafayette, and the sound of movement through John's kitchen. Alex shifted, scowling, so that he could face Lafayette properly when he received a lecture.
"Alexander, cher, I know that you are unhappy with your progress, but you are perfectly aware that making up words scare Hercules." Lafayette tutted, hands crossed and pressed to his chest. Hercules beamed at Lafayette, which only caused Alex's glare to darken.
"Snitch." He snapped over at Hercules. In response, he was told to go and do something rather rude yet physically impossible, but at least it had Lafayette briefly on his side.
"Language." Lafayette chided, swatting Hercules's arm and ignoring the pout he received. He gave a small sigh, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like him being surrounded by children. Alex was about to object - he's thirty, damn it, and he stopped being twenty years ago - but Lafayette sensed the brewing storm and smoothly cut off his protest. "What flavor of ice cream do you want?"
"Vanilla." Alex sighed, flopping back down so that his face was mostly obscured and voice muffled. "Just like my cold, sad, vanilla life"
"That's the spirit!" John grinned, nudging his shoulder. Alex had to strain to hear him, because Lafayette suddenly developed a fit of coughing that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
Five minutes of complaining later (and being rudely interrupted by more suspicious coughing fits and quips), Lafayette had returned with four bowls. As expected, Alex was the only person that had chosen vanilla.
"I'm just like you, vanilla ice cream." Alex mused, voice developing a rather mournful edge. He idly picked up some with his spoon, before dropping it back down into the bowl with a sigh. "Always failing. The last pick of the paying customer."
This time, Lafayette didn't even try to hide his laughter. He started snorting, which set Hercules off. Alex glared at both of them, which only made them laugh harder and unfortunately - his best, most trusted friend - finally cracked and joined in the laughter. Grudgingly, and no matter how much he tried to bite it back, a small smile formed on his face. Maybe he was being dramatic. A few seconds later, John calmed down enough to ask, "So, what did you try and do this time?"
Alex grimaced.
Three Hours Earlier:
This plan was foolproof. There was no way in hell he could fail - and, much to the protests of both Eliza ("Alex, it's a bad idea,") and Angelica ("At least record it so I can blackmail you,") Alex was going to go through with it.
Unfortunately, however, it meant sacrificing his dignity. If - or, more likely, when - it worked, the results would definitely justify the means. Thomas had said - really early on in their relationship, at their first anniversary (and a year wasn't a long time, regardless of what Lafayette said) - that he was open to marriage. Now, Alex was too, and Thomas now took the time to be painfully, obliviously unaware of Alex's attempts.
Granted, singing Single Lady as loudly as possible wasn't exactly obvious. Maybe he should make up his lyrics, to make sure that Thomas understood his point? He dismissed that idea, because despite the fact that he was awesome at singing, it would be embarrassing to do that.
Thankfully, his awkwardness didn't last long, as Thomas slowly opened the door to their bedroom, looking both alarmed and amused. "Are you singing?"
"Yeah." Alex announced happily. He grinned at Thomas, allowing a bit of pride to shine through. "I'm great, aren't I?
"No, you're shit at it, but it's adorable." Thomas retorted, though there was no bite to his words whatsoever. Alex scowled, squaring his shoulders and trying to make himself look less short.
"I'm not adorable-" He began, crossing his arms close to his chest. Thomas didn't even bother to bite back his smirk at having easily frustrated Alex, which caused Alex to huff loudly.
"-you're a badass, a fierce politician, a formidable ex-lawyer and I should be afraid." Thomas finished flatly. Then, as though to add insult to injury, he adopted a look of mock nervousness, though his voice was still a flat deadpan. "Truly, I'm quaking with fear."
"Good." Alex snapped. He didn't care if he was - possibly - acting a bit dramatic, but regardless, Thomas was amused.
"That was sarcasm, Alex." Thomas offered, raising an eyebrow. Alex muttered something quietly, mostly a handful of choiced swear words to add to the melodrama.
"I know." He eventually settled on saying.
"Do you?" Thomas inquired, voice slipping into the same lazy drawl it always did whenever he was trying to aggrieve Alex a bit more. "Sometimes, you can be a bit oblivious."
Alex gasped, hand flying to his heart to underline how scandalized he was. Thomas, of course, smirked in response, because even though he was Alex's boyfriend, he was still a bastard. Alex eventually snapped, "So can you!"
"Alexander Oblivious Hamilton." Thomas stated slowly, as though he was trying out the syllables to see how they fitted together. Alex huffed dramatically, throwing his hands up as though he no longer knew why the hell he was trying. Thomas laughed, a soft and genuine sound, and pressed Alex close to his chest. Alex rested his head against Thomas's chest, allowing the comforting familiarity to calm him.
His first thought was damn it, I want to marry this bastard.
"Princess Bride?" Thomas asked, voice overly polite, after a few seconds of just holding each other and breathing. Alex grinned.
"As you wish." He quoted flatly, voice slightly muffled, and causing a small, almost disappointed sigh. He shifted back to look at Thomas's expression. His heart still stuttered when he saw the soft, endeared smile that Thomas wore, and knew that he was returning it with one of his own.
"You're so lame, Alex." Thomas muttered, voice far too fond to even slightly offend Alex. Alex, of course, pretended to be deeply wounded, but it was an act that Thomas saw right through. In response, Thomas gave rather exaggerated apology.
Before the ending of the movie - prolonged greatly by Alex dramatically reciting the words and Thomas pausing, telling Alex to shut up, and rewinding to the part that Alex had just talked over - Thomas had received a phone call from Madison about picking up something. It meant that Thomas had to leave (and damn if Alex didn't want to protest, Madison was Thomas's friend and he needed to respect that), which left Alex on his own.
He decided not to watch the end of the movie. The Princess Bride was a them thing, and it just felt weird to watch it on his own.
Present:
"So both Angelica and Eliza told you it was a bad idea?" Hercules asked, slowly, as though Alex was a young child and needed even the most simplest things explained to him.
"Yes." Alex stated.
"And you still went along with it?" John continued Hercules's line of questioning off with raised eyebrows, as though he was shocked at Alex doing something that several had warned against.
"Yes." Alex repeated.
"Mon dieu." Lafayette finished off, shaking his head empathetically and scrubbing the back of his hand across his face. Alex frowned, because he wanted sympathy, not judgment. "God bless Thomas for being able to put up with you."
"God bless Alex for being able to put up with Jef - Thomas." John retorted, and Alex gave John a supporting thumbs up. Nobody truly thought that he had to 'put up' with Thomas - even John, who still treated him with a large amount of cautious suspicion. A comfortable silence fell across the group, only when Lafayette's phone buzzed, indicating a text. Automatically, Alex reached over to retrieve it, intent on passing it to Lafayette.
This was the wrong thing to do.
Lafayette shrieked loudly, causing Alex to yelp and recoil from the phone. Hercules shouted a word of warning, at Alex, as though he had almost detonated a bomb, and dived across the room to grab it, dramatically throwing it to Lafayette. John breathed a small sigh of relief, one that Alex didn't notice as he was busy being shocked from the sheer force of the reaction he had received.
"What the fuck, Laf?" Alex demanded, placing a hand over his heart as though trying to calm his pulse. There was a long pause, in which John cleared his throat and Lafayette exchanged significant looks with Hercules.
"Desole, I do not know what came over me." Lafayette laughed, a little to forced, with a vice-like grip in his phone. Lafayette quickly read the text. His entire face lit up, and he clapped his hands loudly together, before masking his delight. "However, I must go and - watch John's plates."
"Watch John's plates." Alex repeated with a frown, at the same time John inquired sharply, "What the fuck, Laf?"
"Oui! It is a very sad story - a plate thief has been breaking into apartments like John's." Lafayette's words were quick fire, so fast that Alex would have to ask him to repeat himself many times if he ever had a chance to remember it all. Alex didn't seem fully convinced, so Lafayette demanded, arms crossed and insulted, "Are you calling me a liar?"
"No?" Alex offered, glancing to see if John was as confused as he was. Luckily, John was, and they exchanged completely bewildered looks.
"Well, it is true!" Lafayette insisted, throwing his hands up into the air as though asking some divine spirit why nobody believed him. "Growing up - the plate thief, as in - he never had plates of his own."
"Yes!" Hercules agreed loudly, causing Lafayette to startle. Hercules seemed unprepared at having everyone's eyes directed to him at once, so he shrugged, and slowly said, almost as though he was asking a question, "Which is why it is his life mission to steal plates from apartments."
"Now, if there are no more doubts from supposed friends-" Lafayette shot Alex a harsh glower that was far more intimidating than Alex wanted to admit. "I will go and watch John's plates."
Hercules nodded, as though he was agreeing, before his eyes widened and he jumped out of the chair. He cleared his throat. "I will help you watch John's plates."
"Can I help watch my-" John began.
"No." Hercules and Lafayette said in unison. Alex blinked, watching as both Lafayette and Hercules hurried to the kitchen, to supposedly watch plates. John didn't seem confused, merely offended, and he sat back with a huff and crossed arms.
"Do you know what's going on with them?" Alex inquired flatly, raising an eyebrow. John froze, as though he had just forgotten that Alex was there, before offering a rather out of place laugh.
"Lafayette's lock screen is really embarrassing." John shrugged. Alex frowned, glancing at the closed kitchen door, as though the pair in question would suddenly materialize, before looking back and frowning.
"Seriously?" He asked, lowering his voice so that the others couldn't hear. This seemed to be slightly strange to John, as he took a few seconds to understand why Alex was being more quiet. His eyes, however, widened in comprehension when it clicked.
"Yeah." John agreed quickly. He offered an almost sheepish grin. "As in, they almost threw me out of the window when I tried to look at one of his texts."
As soon as John said that, the kitchen door was loudly opened. Both Alex and John jolted upright, startled at being caught discussing Lafayette's lock screen. Lafayette marched forwards, phone nowhere in sight, and dragged Alex - by the collar, much to his vocal protests - to the door. "Right, out!"
Alex stared at him for several seconds, before finally catching up with what was happening. He looks at John, who seemed unaffected by the entirety of the proceedings, then at Hercules, who appeared to be deeply impatient. "You're kicking me out of John's apartment?"
"Yes. Now, out!" He waved exaggeratedly at the front door. When Alex still didn't move, Lafayette rolled his eyes, opened the door very slowly as though it was delicate, and gestured again. "Allé, Alexander, go!"
Alex blinked, backing out of John's apartment, and flinching when the door almost slammed in his face. He scowled at the oak, knowing that the effects of his dramatics were completely lost.
One minute of standing still and wondering what the hell had just happened, plus a twelve minute walk home:
Alex opened the door to his and Thomas's house. He shrugged out of his hoodie, placing it on one of the nearby hangers before walking into the living room.
"You're back." Thomas observed. Alex briefly considered making a statement about comparing Thomas to Sherlock Holmes, but opted to settle on:
"Lafayette is weird."
Thomas looked at him, slightly confused, before offering a shrug. "He's French." Alex scoffed, trying not to dignify that statement with a laugh and almost failing. "Do you want to watch the last of our movie?"
"As you-"
"Say 'as you wish' one more time, Alex." Thomas mock-threatened, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. A few seconds of pause fell between them. Alex tried to hold back his grin.
"-wish." Alex finished off quietly.
"Upstairs." Thomas replied, sounding bored, but the slight quirk to his lips completely gave him away. "I need to get something ready."
Alex merely grinned in response, mouthing 'as you wish' at Thomas and ignoring the unimpressed glare he was given. As soon as he entered their bedroom, though, he frowned. On the screen was a paused video. Hesitantly, he pressed play, because he was curious.
The first video was of him and Thomas laughing at something - he didn't recognise where they where, or what date it was. Rather gingerly, he sat down on their bed, brows furrowing and eyes focused. The scene cut short to a different one - one of them slow dancing at some office party. Alex felt something tighten in his chest, because he immediately identified it as the first time he had said 'I love you'. At the time, he had tried to take it back, embarrassed and damn near terrified that Thomas wouldn't say it back, but - he did. The video continued to play, displaying various scenes of him and Thomas together, and he could feel the damn tears threatening to spill, but he didn't care.
The last one, however, was new. It was of James and Thomas - and, judging by the occasional, unopinionated mutter - being recorded by Burr. Thomas looked equal parts exited and nervous. James was grinning, damn near beaming as he gave a supportive nudge to Thomas, and a rather cheesy thumbs up. Thomas offered a small grin at the camera, before stating, "Let's hope he likes it."
The camera turned sharply towards a jewellers, before cutting off.
Alex's heart promptly stoped.
He stared, unable to think, mind stumbling over what the hell just happened. Alex quickly stood up, eyes wide and staring at a blank screen. When he heard the sound of a door behind him opening, he turned sharply. "You-" Alex cut himself off.
Thomas offered a small smile. He moved forward, taking one of his hands and - shit, that was a ring, holy shit, Alex felt completely unprepared for this. He blinked, slowly, pulse racing.
"Will you-"
"Yes." Alex blurted out. He grimaced, trying to ignore his embarrassment. Thomas grinned, eyes soft.
"Let me finish my sentence, damn." Thomas said, lacking any heat whatsoever. Alex would've laughed if he wasn't distracted by the racing of his own heart. "Will you marry-"
"Yes. Sorry." Alex cut himself off again, beaming at Thomas. "Yes."
"So impatient." Thomas shook his head in mock disapproval, but the grin he was wearing completely broke that affect. Carefully, Thomas placed the ring on his finger - damn it, he was close to crying again - and Alex quickly moved to hug Thomas. His heart felt far lighter than he could imagine, especially when Thomas whispered, "I love you."
"I love you, too." Alex muttered back, because he really fucking did.