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You sat outside your family’s house, simply listening to the chirping of birds and taking in the sunlight that was shining through the clouds. It had been a long time since you had been able to enjoy yourself because your father’s business had been booming lately, and you had been asked to help. You give a content sigh. It was a peaceful day. A quiet day, and you thought it would continue this way. Turns out you were wrong.
“Y/n!” said a familiar voice. It did not take long before you turned your head toward the sound of footsteps with a smile. “John!” you replied, standing up. John Laurens had been your friend for a little under a year. You had met when he was drunk and had tried to flirt with you on his way home from a bar. The thought of how he met a new best friend always brought a smile to your face, you sometimes wondered if he had met anyone else in the same fashion.
“What brings you here?” You asked, as his footsteps came to a stop a little in front of you. “The Winter’s Ball” Laurens simply said with a smirk on his face. His answer confused you, but you soon understood what he meant. “The ball Washington throws in the winter?” You asked, earning you a nod from him. “And you’re telling me this because you will be attending?” you assumed, giving him a look to ask if you were correct. He shook his head and began leaning against the wall of your family’s house. “No. You’re not courting anyone” he said, giving you close to all the information you needed. “I was thinking you could look for someone at the ball as my plus one” he explained, a huge smile on his face.
You could not help but laugh at what he said. “John, I can’t dance. And if it becomes a problem I’ll just force you to court me” you said, taking a step closer to him. You often joked around with John when it came to courting since you never seemed to find anyone. “I’m sorry, but I don’t like you that way” he laughed, playfully pushing you away from him. You pretended to be harmed by his words by placing a hand over your heart and giving him a hurt expression, though it did not take long before you laughed and let your hand fall down to your side.
“Do you have any dresses you could wear at the ball?” he asked, causing you to pause for a moment to think about it. “Well I’ll probably need a better one for a fancy ball anyways” you concluded, which made him smile brightly. He grabbed your wrist and pulled you along with him as he started walking. “Then let’s go!”
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You could not believe you were at The Winter’s Ball. You had never had any high status, and yet here you were, at the ball Washington was holding. You felt out of place, but you knew this was necessary. You needed to find someone and to settle down, you at least needed to try.
As you came in, Laurens immediately began looking around. You did so as well, and what you saw was an ocean of people, at least in your eyes. Some were dancing with their partners to the beautiful music being played, and some were sitting at the many tables, conversing with one another.
You looked back at Laurens as he began pulling at your wrist to tell you that he was going somewhere and that he wanted you to follow. You began following him towards the many tables. “Are you looking for someone?” you asked, curious about why he was looking left and right like he wanted his eyes to land on something. “I’m looking for some friends, they are supposed to be here” he said, turning to you. “Oh, ok” you answered, before spotting something a little further away. “Hey, is that them?” you asked, pointing toward a table with three men. One of the men were waving in your direction, him having curly hair that was tied up.
John quickly looked in the direction you pointed, before a smile appeared on his face. “That’s them!” he replied as he began making his way toward them. You smiled at your tiny victory, you having found them before John, as you followed your friend toward the table of strangers.
You stood beside John as he began speaking with his friends. “So you finally decided to show up?” A man with darker skin than the rest said, looking at Laurens. “Yeah, though now that I’m here we can start this party!” John said loudly, attracting some attention from nearby tables.
“Well it’s not a party, it’s a ball” the same man who spoke before said. “We could make it a party?” said another man, leaning both his hands on the table as he slowly began standing up. You figured he was the shortest in the group, at least of the ones seated. “We could, but wouldn’t Washington get mad at you?” a French accent spoke, the one who waved at you and John earlier. “That’s true…” the short one said, slowly lowering himself down into his seat again. “Then I’ll do it!” John exclaimed, looking at the short man with a grin on his face.
“Where’s the alcohol in this place?” the darker skinned one asked the others loudly, and it got a little giggle out of you. They all seemed so set on having fun, and you could already tell they were great friends for John to have. “I believe I saw it earlier, but before that- Mon ami, who is this mademoiselle you have brought with you?” the French man asked, looking at you with a slight smirk on his face, most likely trying to look attractive. It was working.
“That’s right!” John said in realization. “Everyone, this is Y/n L/n” he said, motioning towards you. You felt everyone’s eyes on you but tried to not feel uncomfortable with the attention. You smiled and gave a slight wave of the hand to the group, earning a few smiles and waves back. “Y/n, this is Alexander Hamilton,” John said and made you look toward the short one, him having black hair that was tried up in a ponytail. “Hercules Mulligan,” You looked at the darker-skinned man, him looking bigger than the others. “I’m a tailor’s apprentice” he said, motioning toward himself. “and something Gilbert something Marquis de Lafayette.” You couldn’t help but laugh a little at John’s way of introducing the Frenchman. “I have the longest name” the man now dubbed “Something Something” laughed. “You can call me Lafayette” he said, making you nod with a huge smile on your face.
You had an amazing time with the men. You were all talking and laughing, most of them getting tipsy very fast. The topic of alcohol came quickly, as you got to know the hilarious story of how the ball allowed alcohol. Originally Washington had tried to keep alcohol away from the ball, as he knew things could get crazy if it was present, but people kept sneaking it in with them. Eventually, he gave up, and the rule was no more.
Throughout the conversations, you took an interest in the Frenchman. Not only was he handsome, but he seemed to be fun, and like he could stay loyal to a woman. These were all traits you were looking for. However, you could not shake the feeling he was too perfect. Anyone can keep dark secrets, and so you needed to make sure you did not begin showing feelings the first day you met him, just in case.
After a while, Hamilton decided to go socialize with others. The rest of you continued talking, but soon Hercules went off to flirt with the ladies. You could all tell he was drunk as he shouted about people needing to lock up their daughters and horses.
As you, Lafayette and John sat at the table talking, you noticed something. “Oh, I think someone’s interested in Hamilton” you pointed out, seeing a lady walk up to him. Both men at the table turned to look at Alexander at your words. “Yo! That’s a Schuyler!” John said, sounding amazed. “C'est! (It is!)” said Lafayette, sounding just as shocked as the other. You had a perfect view of a Schuyler sister walking up to him, and leading him to another. “Alexander is trying to get married before me ce petit- (that little-)”
“You’re not married?” you asked, interested. “Non. Are you?” he replied, sending a question straight back at you. “No, that’s why I came to this ball. I was hoping to find someone since I’ve had no luck with it” you said, looking away from him. “I can not believe a belle femme (beautiful woman) such as yourself isn’t married yet” he flirted, making you smile.
You paid little attention to John, but if you had paid attention to him, you would have noticed the massive grin he had on his face. “Alright” Laurens said, catching your attention as he stood up. He walked over to you, pulling you up from your seat, before walking over to the Frenchman and doing the same to him. “I see the way you two look at each other” he said slyly. “If you wanna be closer to each other all you have to do is go do what you do at a ball” he said, motioning toward all the dancing couples.
Those words made your nervousness come forth. If this man saw how bad you were at dancing, he was sure to think less of you. “J- John I really don’t think this is a good idea…” you said nervously, fidgeting with your hands. His eyes quickly moved to you. “No, it’s a great idea” he replied, winking at you. You gave him a confused look in response, which he ignored. “If the dame (lady) does not want to dance, I do not wish to force her” Lafayette said, and you swore you heard a hint of uneasiness in his voice. “Come on, you have a chance to get yourself a lady, now go. If it helps you can show Alexander you can marry before him” John encouraged Lafayette, making you blush brightly at his words. Did John really think this man liked you that way?
“D- D'accord (O- okay)” the French accent agreed, and you were bewildered that you just witnessed this seemingly confident man stutter. Either way, he led you out into the sea of lovers, his hand in yours. You were a nervous wreck, and would not move your feet without him leading you. However, it seemed he would not either. You both just stood there, staring at each other.
You did not know how many minutes passed before he decided to speak up. “Je suis désolé… (I’m sorry…)” the Frenchman suddenly said, making you confused. “I did not tell you before but… je ne peux pas danser” he explained, but this only increased your confusion. “I don’t know French” you said, earning an “oh” from him. “What I was saying was: I-… I can not dance” he explained once more, looking away from you. You could tell he was embarrassed, and you finally understood why he acted just as hesitant to dance as you. You could not help but give a light laugh. “I can’t dance either,” you said. Lafayette quickly looked back at you again. “Vraiment? Erm- really?” he said, looking surprised. “Yes” you answered, before moving closer to him. “Something Something” you joked, a smirk present on your face. This earned you a chuckle from Lafayette, something that sounded like music to your ears.
“Shall we try to learn to dance then?” he asked, taking a step back from you before reaching out his hand for you to take. “Yes, kind sir” you replied, placing your hand in his. You both stared down at your own feet as you clumsily waltzed around the room, conversing as you went.
You found you loved his voice, his accent casting a spell on you. You wanted to ask for him to teach you French, you wanted to ask for him to write you, and you had the urge to ask him to marry you before that Hamilton got the chance to marry. Over the course of the night, you realized you gained feelings for him, which was the first time you had ever gotten feelings for a man. This night was the best night of your life.
“Lafayette?” you said to the Frenchman, this being the first time you called his name. His head quickly perked up to look at you, and you found your face turning hot at what you were about to say. “I know this might be too soon. But I believe I have been looking for you my whole life. You are the most amazing man I have met, and I have only known you for less than one night. I guess what I’m trying to ask is, would you like to court me?” you asked, finding your own feet more interesting than his face at the moment.
You both just stood there for a little in silence, your dance coming to an end. Your regret grew by the second at the man’s quiet behavior, but you knew that if you spoke you would most likely say something idiotic. “I would love to, (Y/n)” he replied, a sweetness to his voice that calmed you, yet his words made you the happiest you had ever been. You looked up at him with your mouth agape, your evident shock showing, before your face lit up with joy. You could not help but hug the man, your happiness overflowing. “Merci (thank you)” you mumbled, a simple French word you had learned when you were little. You felt him pet your head, and you could imagine him smiling down at you, as you could not see him with the side of your face pressed to his chest.
You heard a screech of “It finally happened!” from Laurens, and you could imagine him shouting this in the face of a total stranger. The thought made you giggle, which caused Lafayette to chuckle. You both simply swayed together not-so-elegantly for the rest of the night, feeling like nothing but the two of you mattered at the moment.
You had always wondered how you would find your future lover. You had imagined how he would act, what he would look like. You had imagined what interests you would share, how your future would be together. But never had you ever thought a necessity for a courter would be being a bad dancer. Turns out that was the case, and now you have a Frenchman who is bad at dancing by your side for hopefully many years to come.