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Chapter Text

     "And...there!" A fire sprang to life underneath the logs in the firepit. The sticks crackled and burned as the flames licked at the rocks surrounding them. Alexander smiled appreciatively, poking at the now flaming logs with a long stick.

     "And that's why I had you do it!" he said, looking at John, who had just stepped back from the fire, still holding a match. He tossed it into the flames and smiled. 

     "I'm sure you could have started a fire." Alex shook his head.

     "Nope." He turned toward the tent and headed inside. John chuckled and turned toward the tent as well. Alex emerged a minute later wearing his jacket. "What?" he asked, in response to the look he was given. "It's cold!" John just smirked and put an arm around his boyfriend. They just stood there for a moment, Alex leaning into John, who ruffled his hair in response. After a while, the fire sputtered slightly as the rainclouds over them began to empty their water supply. Both men looked up in surprise. Alexander yelped as a raindrop fell in his eye. He grabbed John's arm and began to pull him towards the car. John shook his head. 

     "It's not that bad," he said, dragging Alex back towards the tent. "It shouldn't pour or anything. I checked the forecast." Alexander groaned as he was pushed unceremoniously into the tent. John followed him, zipping the flap of the tent. He then sat in front of it and pulled Alex into his lap to watch the rain. They sat like that for a long time, and the sun dropped lower in the sky. The fire smoked and sizzled as it was slowly extinguished by the rain, which was falling a bit harder now. After a while, Alex broke the silence with a sigh.

     "Think it'll rain all night?" John shrugged.

     "Maybe. If it gets too bad we can head into the car though," he added quickly, suddenly remembering how much Alex hated storms. 

     "I'll be fine," Alex said, knowing what John was thinking. He sighed again. "I just hoped these few days would be fun. I had some stuff planned..." John smiled and kissed the top of Alexander's head.

     "I guess Mother Nature had an agenda of her own, huh?" Alex nodded glumly.

     "Yeah..."

     "Hey, I don't mind. We still get to spend time together. That's what I was looking forward to the most." Finally, Alex smiled too. 

     "Well, if you're happy, I'm happy." He leaned his head back to let John plant a kiss on his lips. Looking back at the rain, he leaned into John and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Hey guys.... So I may not be uploading the content for each day on the correct day. I've been having some family issues, so I don't know when I'll write. There may be a few days when I post extra for a few days ahead, and days when I don't post at all. Letting you know ahead of time. Love you all! 🖤

Chapter Text

     "I hate you!" A ringing silence fell over the room. Tears cascaded down Alexander's cheeks. They fell thicker and harder the instant the words tumbled from his lips. "No! God, no I don't hate you! I'm sorry!" John's face had gone blank. There were no tears falling from his eyes. Alexander stood rooted to the spot, afraid to move, but terrified of what would happen if he didn't. John was the one to break the silence. 

     "I'm leaving."

     "No!" The desperation in the shout was clear. Alexander's voice broke in the middle of the syllable. Breaking free of the invisible bonds that seemed to hold his body, he stepped forward and grabbed John's hand. Alex's voice may have broken earlier, but his heart surely shattered when John roughly pulled his hand away.

     "I said I'm leaving!" With that, the door slammed shut behind John, leaving Alex to collapse to the floor, sobbing into his hands.

     John strode blindly down the street, the tears he had hidden so well were now pouring down his face. Not knowing where he intended to go, he allowed his feet to direct him along a route he knew well. As he turned down yet another street, he played the words over in his mind. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you... He blocked out the apology that had followed the words, he blocked out the image of Alexander on the ground that he had seen when he glanced through the window after slamming the door. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you... Almost running into the door he managed to get himself to, he tried to wipe his face, but it was no use, the tears kept coming. No matter, he'd understand. Lifting a hand he pressed lightly on the doorbell, hearing it echo inside the house.

     "Mon Dieu!" Lafayette opened the door not five seconds after the bell stopped ringing. "What happened? Come in, John! Please!" John did not look up at all, but he knew Laf had seen the tears on his face. It seemed he hadn't moved, because a few seconds later, a gentle hand grabbed his arm and guided him to the couch, where he sat down. John looked up to see Lafayette looking at him concernedly, holding out a cup of tea. "I just made some." John blinked a few times, then took it, only then realizing that his hands were shaking. Lafayette sat next to him, unsure whether or not to get closer. John set the tea on the table by the couch, leaning into Laf.

     "Thank you," he muttered quietly. Laf nodded and put a gentle arm around his friend. Tears were flowing down John's face again. After a while, he sat up, his breathing slowed. 

     "Do you want to talk?" Lafayette asked quietly. John shrugged.

     "Alex and I fought..." he said simply. Lafayette drew in a quiet breath filled with understanding.

     "Ah..."

     "Yeah... I don't honestly even remember what we were fighting about. I just..." he paused. "I just hope we aren't drifting away from each other or anything. This is the second time we've fought in three days! The last one wasn't this bad, but..." he trailed off, unsure of what he was going to say next. "I just don't want our relationship to fall apart," he finished, looking at Laf, who was thoughtful. After a minute of quiet contemplation, the young Frenchman spoke.

     "No, I don't believe you and Alexander are 'drifting away' as you said. I think you two simply need some time away from each other. Of course," he added quickly, "I think you both had better apologize first. I don't pretend to know what exactly happened, but you should try to contact him. If I know Alexander like I do, he'll be worried sick." John jumped up.

     "Shit!" he exclaimed. "I didn't even think of that! Thank God I have my phone in my pocket!" Lafayette watched as John quickly drew out his phone and pulled up Alexander's contact, then he stopped. "Should I call him? Or just text...?" His friend merely shrugged. 

     "It's up to you. What would you prefer if it were you?" he asked, his voice sincere. John thought for a moment. Calls are so much easier to communicate over, besides, Alex might not have his phone up loud, so a single text ping might not notify him anyway. Still, it would be a little awkward...ah, screw it. He hit the call button, and Lafayette politely stood and left the room as the phone began ringing.

     Alex was tired. He hadn't moved since John left, and the crying had made him exhausted. He just wanted to see John and apologize. The phone rang, and Alex halfheartedly glanced at the screen on the coffee table. When he spotted the caller ID, however, he lunged for his phone, nearly spilling a long-forgotten mug of coffee onto it in his eagerness. He tapped the "accept call"  button three times before the screen accepted the command. 

     "Alexander?"

     "John!? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean what I said! I-" John cut him off by saying one word.

     "Alexander," he repeated, louder this time, and more assertive. "I'm not upset with you, not in the slightest. You don't need to apologize, and actually...I'm sorry."

     "What?! Nonono! Don't apologize!"

     "I yelled too... I stormed out of the house for God's sake!" There was silence for a moment.

     "So...Where are you?" John smiled. Of course, he'd wonder.

     "I'm at Laf's place."

     "I'll be there in ten." There was a sudden pause, during which Alexander's hesitation was almost palpable. "Unless you don't want..." he trailed off and John smiled.

     "Can't wait to see you." Alex hung up quickly and sprinted outside, not thinking to take the car.

     The doorbell rang, and John jumped up, opening the door even before the bell had stopped echoing. Both men just stood there for a moment, looking into each other's eyes, wondering the same thing: Will he forgive me?  Then John opened his arms and Alexander ran into them. Lafayette watched from his spot in the kitchen, happy that his friends were back together. Did he mind being the third wheel in his own home? Not at all. Not if it meant those two were happy. Alexander stepped back after a minute or two, a few stray tears falling down his face. 

     "I'm sorry," he muttered quietly. John brushed the tears from Alexander's face with his thumb. 

     "Don't be."

     Lafayette smiled from the kitchen and sipped his own tea. No, there is no way these two could fall apart, he thought, watching John pull Alex in for a kiss. They simply fit together too well.

Chapter Text

     The screech of the smoke alarm tore through the house. John bolted upright in bed. He quickly realized Alex wasn't next to him and ran into the kitchen to find a sheepish looking Alex standing at the stove, waving a towel near the smoking oven. Not saying a word, John rolled his eyes and opened the oven door, letting the smoke pour out. He crossed to the kitchen window, throwing it open, then turned on all of the fans in the house. Finally, he grabbed a baking sheet and began to wave it near the smoke alarm, trying to get it to shut the hell up! A few minutes passed, and the alarm had gone off a few more times, resulting in a (quite frankly adorable) scream from Alex and some yelling at the alarm from John. A tray of burnt cookies was extracted from the oven. Finally, the smoke was cleared and the men sat at the kitchen table, staring at each other, Alex quite embarrassed, and John rather exasperated.

     "And that," John said finally, sounding quite tired. "Is why you don't get to bake." 

     "Okay look, you can't cook either!"

     "I said bake, not cook..."

     "Well, you can't do either one!!"

     "You're the one who just set the damn fire alarm off, Alex!!!" To anyone else, this conversation would have sounded heated and angry, and yet... both participants were grinning.

     "Okay! It was because I got distracted... I was also trying to bake. I can cook...regular...food..." Alex trailed off, knowing that for one, this was not true, and two... why the hell would you call it just "regular food?" They're called meals. John crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, smirking.

     "Prove it," he said simply. "Make dinner tonight, preferably without burning the house down!" Alex hesitated, then...

     "F...Fine. Fine, I will." Alex sat back in his chair, looking defiant. John smirked.

     "I'm holding you to that," he said, standing up to go change. 

     The day passed quickly, a bit too quickly for Alex's liking. On the way home from the office, he dropped by the store to pick something up. Start off easy, he thought, tossing the item in the bag. John came home, kissing Alex on the cheek, then heading into the shared room to finish something on the computer. 

     A while later, John sniffed the air. Was that the lingering smell of smoke from this morning? No... This was new. He rolled his eyes and shut his laptop, swinging his legs off the bed. Walking into the kitchen, he saw Alex vigorously typing at his computer at the kitchen table. John cleared his throat lightly. Alex looked up into his boyfriend's eyes, then at the oven, then to his laptop, and finally back to the oven. His eyes widened. 

     "Shit!" he cried, opening the oven door. A burnt version of a frozen, store-bought pizza was revealed, and Alex nearly grabbed the pan with his bare hand. He noticed just in time and grabbed an oven mitt, sliding it onto his hand, then taking the sheet out of the oven. John chuckled as Alex looked dejectedly at the sheet that he had set on the table.

     "Is that dinner?" John asked cheekily. Alex just looked at him.

     "Oh shut up!" John laughed again.

     "Okay, okay! You got distracted, huh?"

     "Yeah, it was something for work..." After a long pause, John said what they were both thinking,

     "Take-out?" Alex nodded sadly.

     "Yeah, I guess. Hey, at least I tried, okay? You wouldn't even go near the stove after you burnt those pancakes!" John chose to ignore this, and rolled his eyes, pulling his phone out to order a real pizza, leaving Alex to clean up the burnt mess that was supposed to be dinner. As the phone rang, he leaned over to Alex.

     "So...this proves my point I guess...We don't let you near anything hot. Ever." Alex looked upset for a second, then smirked.

     "I guess I can't be near you then." John blushed and turned away. He'd really walked right into that one, hadn't he? Alex just chuckled, pleased with himself. Then the fire alarm sounded. Again. 

Chapter Text

     "Hey, John? What's this?" Alex and John were cleaning out their shared apartment, which had previously belonged to John alone. Currently, they were working on the attic, the part they had both been dreading all day. Alex was digging through a large cardboard box. He pulled out a smaller, rectangular, black box, and held it up for John to see. John came over to look, then gasped when he saw it. 

     "That's one of my old cassette tapes!" Alex rolled his eyes.

     "I know what a cassette tape is. Why do you have it and what's on it?" 

     "I think if we figured out what's on it, we'll figure out why I was keeping it! I wish we knew someone with a player..." It was Alex's turn to gasp.

     "We might actually!" John looked at him in disbelief. 

     "If you can find a working cassette player in ten minutes, I'll give you ten bucks. It has to play video. I think this one has film in it." John said, peering into the tape.

     "Say no more," Alex said, pulling out his phone. "You'd better get your wallet ready." John huffed and took a sip from his water bottle.

     "Good luck with that." Alex raised an eyebrow, holding the phone to his ear and grinning.

     "Hey, Peggy." John almost choked on his water. 

     "I still cannot believe that Peggy has a working cassette player," John said a while later as they drove to the Schuylers' house.

     "It's Peggy, isn't it? She collects all kinds of old shit like that!" Alex replied, not taking his eyes off the road. John shrugged in response. When they reached the house, Alex rang the doorbell. Peggy opened the door quickly. 

     "Hey, guys!" she yelled, pulling them both into a tight hug. "Come on you two!" she said, looking suddenly disappointed. "You guys don't talk to me for a week and then suddenly you need a favor?" she grinned.

     "Actually, It was A-" John tried, but Peggy cut him off. 

     "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Get in here!" Peggy Schuyler was nothing if not a complete ball of energy. The sheer amount of yellow she wore only added to the brightness that seemed to follow her everywhere. "Angie! 'Liza! They're here!" she called, brushing through the room towards another. The two other Schuylers came down the stairs. Eliza was in a beautiful periwinkle dress, and her sister Angelica in a pink crop top and jeans. They were almost immediately on top of the boys, hugging them. 

     "We haven't seen you two in so long!" Eliza cried, relinquishing Alex and looking him over.

     "You two doing well?" Angelica asked, after stepping back from embracing John, who nodded. 

     "Yeah, not bad!" he said. "You three?"

     "We're alright," Eliza answered. "How's L-" Peggy poked her head back into the room.

     "Psst! Come on you two! I set it up!" Alex and John looked at each other and the Schuylers, shrugged, then followed Peggy. 

     The boys ducked through a sheet hanging over a doorway to find a dimly lit room, kind of like a theater. There were pillows on the floor and popcorn in between them. It looked like they were about to have a movie marathon, not just watch a small cassette tape to figure out what's on it. This was a thought John decided to voice. Peggy brushed it off.

     "Just give me the tape." Alex pulled it out of his bag and handed it to Peggy. She put the tape in the player, then pressed a few buttons. A TV lit up as Peggy connected it, and they were met with the quite adorable sight of a pint-sized John Laurens. 

     "Nope!" John yelled, as Alex and Peggy started to laugh and 'aww'. He jumped up to eject the tape, but Peggy grabbed his arm to pull him down.

     "I spent forever setting this up. We're watching all of it. Besides...look at dat wittle face!" John went red, but sat back down, his head buried in his hands. Alex, still laughing, wrapped his arms around John, who was thoroughly embarrassed. It only got worse for him. Hearing Eliza's sparkling laugh, he looked up to discover that Peggy had brought her sisters into the room as well! John wasn't missing much on the video. It was a couple minutes worth of film of him running around outside, in some sprinklers. So of course, little three-year-old John was shirtless. Something he knew Alex would never shut up about.

      A few minutes later, Eliza leaned over, tapping John on the back. 

     "It's over, John." He looked up just in time to see his little self blow a kiss at the camera. John groaned and buried his face into Alex's chest as his boyfriend hugged him. The rest of the room broke out into "awwww"s. 

     "Well," said Peggy, getting up to remove the tape. "Now you know what's on it! And we all do too!" There was laughter from around the room. "And I'd say you had good reason to keep it!" She added, handing the tape to Alex, who snorted, then placed it back in his bag. John just hugged Alex tighter in embarrassment, before raising a hand in the air to flip off the rest of the room.

Chapter Text

     "Do you have to go?" John asked sadly. Alex turned around from the bed, on which sat his suitcase, half packed. Taking one look at John's sad face, Alex immediately wished he could reject the invitation he had gotten from the company. It would be a trip to LA, but it would last about three months, and Alex could tell John would be sad. Hell, he already was sad! 

     "I'm sorry, Jackie," he said, pulling John in for a hug. "I don't want to go, baby, but you know I have to." John nodded. 

     "I know," he replied. "I'm gonna miss you."

     "I'm gonna miss you too. I'll write to you when I can!" John smiled.

     "Promise?"

     "Promise."

     A week had gone by, and John was lonely. Lafayette would be coming over in a while to play some board games, but the wait was killing him! He had just sat down to read, however, when the doorbell rang. John jumped out of his chair and rushed to the door. He smiled when he opened it to see the grinning face of his best friend. 

     "John!" Lafayette cried by way of greeting. 

     "Laf!" John called back, opening the door. Good to see you, man!" Lafayette stepped inside. 

     "It is good to see you too!" John motioned for his friend to sit on the couch, which he did, tossing a small stack of papers and envelopes onto the coffee table as he sat. John looked at the small pile quizzically, sitting next to Laf. "Oh, I got your mail out of your box for you," Lafayette said casually. "It is nothing much, just a few ads, a letter from Alexander, som-" 

     "Wait, what?!" John sprang for the pile of papers. Laf smiled.

     "I thought you would be interested," he said. John dug through the papers until he found the envelope. A plain, regular-sized envelope, addressed in blue pen. John tore it open and read through it. As he read, his face flushed suddenly crimson. but he kept his eyes fixedly on the paper. He did tilt the paper slightly away from Lafayette, who hid a chuckle. "Can I read it?" he asked cheekily, once John had tucked the letter back in its envelope. John hesitated as expected. 

     "S-Sure!" he said awkwardly, handing it to Lafayette, but his friend pushed it away.

     "No, no. I was only teasing because I saw you blush. It is your mail after all." John grimaced. Alex had used some...colorful language at the very end of the letter. What's the worst that could happen? Laf would tease him? Okay, whatever.

     "No, you can if you want," he said casually. "I know you miss him too." Lafayette grinned, taking the envelope and extracting the letter. It was much the same old Alexander. Complaining about the people of LA and how "no one can drive to save their life!" or how the people at the first meeting had not been at all personable... etc. etc. As he reached the end, his eyes widened for a split second before he burst out laughing.

    "Mon Dieu! Il y a de l'amour de l'air..." he said slyly, folding the letter up and handing it to John. (Il y a de l'amour de l'air... = There is some love in the air...) John wasn't fluent in French, but he knew that little saying. So fittingly, he smacked Lafayette on the arm. His friend only laughed harder. "I'll make sure to mention that to Alexander when he returns..." John's face flushed. 

     "Don't you dare!"

     "Are you going to respond to that?" Lafayette asked, still laughing. John blushed harder.

     "Shut up, Laf!" John was thoroughly embarrassed at this point. Laughing, but embarrassed. 

     "Alright! Alright! I'll stop!"

     "Thank you!" John rolled his eyes, sounding exasperated. "Now how about those games?" Lafayette nodded.

     "Sure. Should we start with chess?"

     "Oh, you're on! I've played against Alex enough to not be awful." Lafayette snorted with laughter.

     "Well, good luck!"

     About a week later, in a different house, in a different state, in a different timezone, Alexander read his boyfriend's reply. He burst into silent laughter when he read what had happened with his letter. It took him the better part of two minutes to curb his amusement, all the while trying not to wake his neighbors. It was late there after all. It was even later back home though. Checking his watch, he realized that even though it was almost 2 AM, (still a bit early in his book) it was going on 5 AM in NYC. He'd be getting up in a half-hour if he were at home, not having slept much, but he'd wake up with John by his side. That was what he missed most. Glancing at the letter again, his eyes flicked to his computer. He could do that tomorrow. He was already quite a bit ahead. Turning the small desk lamp on, he took out a sheet of paper to write back to John.

Because John came before work. Always.

Chapter Text

 John strode down the street, snow blowing gently in his face. His eyes teared up and stung in the cold evening air. His hand kept a tight grip on the small box inside his pocket. He'd been preparing for this moment for months. Saving for the ring, planning the moment... All he needed now was for Alex to say yes. After 8 years, he thought, Say yes. Please let him say yes...

     "Will you marry me?" Alexander froze, his hand over his mouth. There was about three seconds of pure, shocked, silence, but to John, it felt like an eternity. On one knee, waiting... The silence was getting to him, and his hand began shaking slightly in anxiety. Alex slowly lowered his own hand, still in shock. Suddenly he leaned forward and pulled John into a standing position and into his arms for a kiss. John pulled away quickly. Alex did too, looking worried.

     "Why won't you kiss me?" he asked quietly. 

     "You haven't said yes..." 

     "Yes, John! Yes! Of course I will! Now kiss me, dammit!" John shoved the ring in his pocket and pulled Alex in, a tear of happiness tracing its way down his face. 

     "You scared me," John said quietly after they broke apart. Alex was still hugging him, his head nestled in the taller man's chest

     "I thought you knew I'd say yes," Alex replied, looking up into John's eyes.

     "I didn't think you would..." John admitted.

     "Why wouldn't I? You're so perfect..." Alex muttered, hugging John tighter.

     About a week later, Alex was at work. He was sitting at his desk, typing on his computer, when Lafayette walked in. 

     "It's good to see you back, Alex! You haven't taken a day off in such a long time!"

     "Good to see you too!" Alex responded, extending his hand. Lafayette took it, pulling his friend into a hug, which was warmly returned. As the young Frenchman released Alex's hand, he finally noticed. 

     "Alexander!" he cried, looking at the ring. "Did John finally ask?!" Alex grinned. Of course, Laf had known what John was planning, just not when it would happen.

     "Yep," he said shortly. 

     "And you said yes?!" Laf was excited. Alex rolled his eyes.

     "No, I turned him down," he said sarcastically. "Of course I said yes! How could I not?" Lafayette seemed barely able to contain his excitement. Finally, he composed himself. 

     "Well, congratulations you two," he said finally. He stood there awkwardly for a minute, before turning to head out of the room. 

     "Thanks, Laf!" Alex called after him, smiling. He looked down at the gold band on his finger. Life was definitely changing, and fast. But really... he didn't mind. He had John with him, and that was all he needed.

Chapter Text

     April 1st. The toss-up day. It could be fine, it could be a total nightmare. Especially if you live with a definite prankster. And John certainly did.

     "Alexander!" He yelled, having stepped out of bed onto strips of literal duct tape. His feet had gotten tangled, and he fell onto the cold, unforgiving, wooden floor. Hearing a chuckle from downstairs, he scowled and followed the sound. Alex was in the kitchen, fully dressed and... cooking? 

     "Morning, John. I see you found the tape? Rather... I heard you fall." John tried to look angry, but he failed at the sight of Alex's face.

     "Yeah," he laughed. "I did." Alex grinned. 

     "Well, I'm making breakfast to make up for that. Don't worry," he added, smirking. "I won't put anything in the food." 

     "It's not that I'm worried about," John quipped, turning to head back upstairs. "Don't burn the house down!"

     John headed back downstairs, dressed, and with a trick of his own up his sleeve. Sitting at the table, he watched Alex set down two plates of bacon and eggs. They were surprisingly not burnt. Alex saw the look on John's face and shrugged.

     "I got lucky," Alex said. John smirked and Alex set a cup of coffee in front of him. John pushed it back towards his boyfriend shaking his head. 

     "Just water this morning," he said, standing up. Alex gave him a weird look as he got up, filled a small cup with water and sat back down, taking a sip. 

     "I don't think you can actually run on just water..."

     "No, you couldn't. You're the one who stays awake for days at a time!" Alex rolled his eyes and set to eating. A few minutes later, there was a splash as that little cup was knocked off the table when John reached for the salt. 

     "Nice," Alex muttered. John chuckled and stood to grab a paper towel. Kneeling down, he began to wipe up the water. Then he stopped, turning his vision to Alexander's shoes. Alex was focused on his phone, and he didn't notice as John untied the laces of both his shoes, only to tie them together. "What's taking you?" Alex asked, making John jump. 

     "Uh, I need another paper towel." He stood up and tore off another towel, doing his best to hide a smirk. Standing up, he let a bit of his grin show. "We'd better get going." Alex looked at his watch.

     "Aw shit!" He jumped up and promptly fell as he tried to take a sprinting step. John burst out laughing. 

     "That was definitely worth it!" he laughed, watching Alex struggle to a sitting position and work on untying his shoes. 

     "Come on, man! Not funny! I'm gonna be late!" John laughed harder. 

     "No. No, you're not! I set your watch ahead an hour last night!" Alex's scowl turned into a grin.

     "Oh, you're clever..." John merely grinned. 

     "I didn't forget about today. I just hoped you would have." Alexander just shook his head and returned to struggling with the double knot that John had tied. John bent down to help, and Alex twitched away, falling on his side. John burst out laughing again as Alex quickly moved away from that spot, the arm of his shirt soaked. "And that is why I got water instead of coffee." Alex sighed.

     "Well, thank you for that!" He finally got the knot untied and stood up. "I'll set up payback! Just you wait!" John grabbed a third paper towel to soak up the water that he left.

     "Oh, I'm so scared..." He didn't notice the mischievous grin on Alexander's face as he left the room, as if he already had an idea. Today was going to be fun... 

Chapter Text

     John nodded at the man, who saluted quickly and left. The door shut and John looked over his shoulder into the house for Alex. The piece of fabric in his arms felt much heavier than it used to. Alexander didn't know about his service, and maybe it should stay that way. He didn't know how Alex would react. He might be mad that John had forgotten to mention it before and simply didn't deem it important to be said now... Questions were going to be asked, and John wasn't in the mood for that. No matter what aspect of that job they were about. His hand moved unconsciously to his side. Even the scar was almost gone now...

     "John?" The young man in question froze as Alex's voice drifted to him from the other room. "Who was it?"

     "No one! Just-" Think fast, John!  "Just a delivery person." He internally smacked himself on the forehead. Of all the possible answers he could have given, that one? Seriously? Well, it wasn't technically a lie... Alex walked into the room and John froze.  

     "John? What's that?" Walking over to John and seeing the look on his face, Alex gently leaned his head on John's shoulder, trying to provide any possible comfort from whatever was going on in his boyfriend's mind. As he did this, he saw the logo on the blue uniform, and his head perked up. "You served?" he asked, walking around to face John, who seemed to snap out of his reverie and looked down.

     "Wh-What? Oh... yeah." There was no point hiding it. Alex had seen the uniform now, what was the worst that could happen? 

     "I did too, but... John, what's the matter? You look nervous." 

     "Uh, it-it's nothing. I just... I don't like talking about it." Flashes, searing pain, screaming, explosions. His eyes glazed over as his memories overtook him. 

     "Why not?" John barely heard the question. The memories in his head were louder than anything in the outside world. "John?" Alex asked again. A bit more concerned. "Why not, baby?"

     "Because I was shot, alright!?" Silence blanketed the room following the exclamation. Tears sprang to John's eyes as he realized what he'd yelled. "I-I mean-" Alex reached up and placed a hand on John's face, he looked worried, but it was clear that he wasn't going to press it further. John averted his eyes and let the tears fall, wrapping his arms around Alex. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to yell." Alex looked up into John's eyes. 

     "That's not what I'm worried about, John," he said. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but, you know you can, right?" John nodded. "I served too, so I understand somewhat." No, you don't! John wanted to yell. He was shaking and he felt out of control. It had been so long since he had remembered any of this, everything seemed to press in around him and he wanted to shrink in on himself. Slowly, his drifting mind settled on one thing, Alex's touch. This was what brought him back to reality. When he had pushed all memories, with the corresponding regret, fear, and sadness away, he hugged Alex back, as tightly as he could, leaning his head on top of Alexander's.

     "Thank you."

Chapter Text

     The warm smell of fresh coffee washed over the couple as they walked into the small coffee shop. Lafayette waved at his friends from behind the counter, and Alex and John waved back. Finding a table for three, they sat down. In a few minutes, Lafayette came over to them, holding two cups, passing one to Alex and the other to John. 

     "Thanks, Laf!" they said at the same time.

     "Pas de problème, mes amis!" Lafayette replied, smiling. (No problem, my friends!) He sat down at the empty seat. "Are you waiting for someone else?" Alex and John shared a quick glance and a smile. 

     "Yeah, just a friend of ours," Alex said, grinning. Lafayette nodded. They all continued chatting until someone else walked in. Lafayette looked up as the bells over the door rang. The customer was broad-shouldered and muscular, his blue eyes were piercing as they looked around. When he saw Alex and John at the table, however, his face lit up, and his eyes grew friendlier. 

     "Alex, John!" the man called. The men looked up and grinned at each other, then the new arrival.

     "Hey Herc!" they called. Alex motioned for Hercules to come over, which he did. Lafayette jumped up quickly, hoping no one would see his slightly reddening face. 

     "Here you go," he muttered. Hercules nodded and sat down, smiling. "Can I get you anything?"

     "Well, what do you recommend?" Lafayette paused. Alex saw the flustered look on his friend's face and came to his rescue. 

     "Try the iced caramel Macchiato. No one makes it like Lafayette." Lafayette's face reddened a little more at the praise.

     "Alright," Hercules shrugged. "I'll try that." Lafayette nodded and turned away. "Thanks!" Hercules called. John turned to grin at Alexander. They both had seen the blush that had come over Lafayette's face. High-fiving under the table, they looked back at Hercules, whose face also had a small tint of red. "Shit..." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "The waiter's kinda cute..." John did his best to suppress a smile. 

     "I think his feelings are the same about the new customer," he teased. Hercules shook his head.

     "Nah," he said casually. "I doubt it." Alex jumped up.

     "Hold on a second. I'll be right back," he said, heading to the counter.

     "What was that?" Alex muttered in French to a still-blushing Lafayette. "You went red in an instant!"

     "It was nothing, Alexander!" Laf replied hastily, still avoiding eye contact.

     "He's not taken..." Alex muttered slyly. He saw Lafayette stiffen slightly. "And he's gay." Lafayette actually spilled a little of the milk from the carton he held. Alex smirked. "Thought so," he said. "He also says you're cute..." Lafayette bit his lip.

     "I just don't know what to do!" he said anxiously. I'd like to get to know him at the very least. Maybe-"

     "Put your number on the cup," Alex cut in. "I'll make sure he calls you." Lafayette looked nervous, then nodded. Alex grinned and headed back to the table, giving John a thumbs-up over Hercules's head. Lafayette finished making the drink, then scrawled his number on the side with a sharpie before he could change his mind. Bringing the cup over to the table, he set it in front of Hercules, who smiled warmly. 

     "Thank you!" he said. Lafayette seemed to relax a little once he saw the smile, which he returned. 

     "Of course," he said, mentally and verbally switching back to English. "Anything else for you three?" John shook his head.

     "No, we'd better get going. We'll drop by again soon though!" Lafayette nodded and turned back to the counter. Hercules took a sip of the coffee as the three of them walked out of the shop.

     "Damn... this is good!" he said, looking at it. He froze when he saw the number. "Alex...?" he asked slowly. "Did you...?"

     "Oh, come on," John said. "You know it's his number. Why don't you call him later?" Hercules nodded and took out his phone to type in the number.

     "You don't have to ask me twice," he said, putting the phone back in his pocket. Alex and John grinned at each other, then reached out to take each other's hands.  Lafayette was going to be very happy to get a phone call later...

Chapter Text

     "Alex? Alex? Alexander!" Alex jumped and opened his eyes.

     "Wh-What?" He sat up, only to realize that he'd fallen asleep at his desk, in the office, the computer screen glowing in front of him. John shut the laptop and looked at Alex. 

     "How many more times am I going to have to pick you up from work again?" he asked, exasperated, but with an endearing smile on his face.

     "Until I'm fired," Alex responded, his words slurred together slightly from exhaustion, making him sound half-drunk instead of half-asleep. John grinned. Half-asleep or fully awake, Alex could still come up with witty quips. 

     "Right. Well, come on. Let's just get you home."

     "Nooooo!" Alex whined, sitting up and opening his laptop again, only to have it closed on his hands. 

     "Nuh-uh," John muttered, helping Alex stand. "Home. Now." Alex groaned as he was pulled into a standing position. "Think you can make it down the stairs?" John asked. Alex nodded, and, miraculously, he did make it. There was a vague white noise in the back of Alex's mind, and he shook his head to clear it as John signed him out, though it did nothing. Only once the door was opened and a drop of water fell gently onto his face, did Alex realize what the white noise was. Rain. Water. Storm. Wind. Hurricane. Alex pulled back from the threshold, suddenly wide awake.

     "No!" he cried, backing away from the door even further. John turned around quickly. 

     "Alex? What is it, angel?" Alex kept backing away until he hit the wall, at which point he slid down it, curling in on himself. John shut the door and rushed over to Alexander. "Alex? Alex, look at me." Alexander was shaking and his eyes were unfocused. John didn't know what was going on, but he reached for Alex's hand and squeezed it gently. The gesture was returned ever so slightly. Alex's breathing was becoming more and more erratic and unstable, so John gently pulled Alex's hand up to his own chest and began to breathe deeply. "Come on, angel. Breathe with me, in for five counts... out for five counts." He felt Alex try to copy the breath, but he was too trapped inside his own head to do much. "It's okay. You're okay, you're safe, Alexander. Focus on my voice. I'm going to count, okay? Just focus on my voice and breathe with me. In...2...3...4. Out...2...3...4. You're doing great, keep going. In..."

     A few minutes of this passed, and Alex began to ease out of his memories and fear and back into the present. His breaths had evened out, though John was still counting with him, encouraging him to breathe. The storm had returned to white noise in the back of his head. While it was annoying, and became sharper if he focused, he could tolerate it for now. Slowly, he nodded and let his hand slide from under John's. Alex felt a hand under his chin and his head was tilted up toward's John's face. His boyfriend's expression was a mixture of fear, concern, love, patience...

     "I-I'm okay," Alex said, barely above a whisper. "For now," he added, even quieter. 

     "Are you sure?" John asked. "Please don't tell me you're fine if you aren't. Of all times to do that... not now." Alex nodded again.

     "I know. I think I'm okay." John helped him rise shakily to his feet. 

     "Do you want to talk about it?"

     "Maybe later after we get home..." Alex dreaded returning to the rain outside. After that reaction for one single drop...

     "Was it the storm?" Alex jumped. Of course, John didn't know what had caused this, he just wanted to help. That fact alone made Alex want to curl up in his boyfriend's arms and never be let go. No matter what was happening, John was going to be there, whether he understood it or not. 

     "Y-Yeah," Alex muttered, a little embarrassed. It only struck him now how childish his fear seemed. He really was like a small child, afraid of the loud thunder. A small child afraid of the rising waters and flooding...

     "Alex!" John's shout brought him back. "Stay with me, angel." Angel. Something John had called him for a long time. John had said it a few times earlier, but he heard it clearly for the first time this evening. That brought a sudden sense of familiarity and comfort, and Alex relaxed. As he did so, he was suddenly reminded of how tired he was. John placed his hands on Alex's shoulders to steady him. "Let's get you to sleep," he said. "You need rest. You can explain tomorrow if you feel up to it, alright?" All Alex could do was give a weak nod. His exhaustion was catching up to him all at once. "Do you want me to carry you?" John asked, only half-jokingly. Alex shrugged, and John gently lifted Alexander into his arms and left the building. Without an umbrella, the rain cascaded easily over both of them. John had taken off his jacket and laid it over Alex to keep as much water off him as possible, though it didn't cover his face. The rain brought a new sensation to Alex, it had always been a symbol of bad. Sadness, fear, loss... Now it was almost refreshing. John's presence and love seemed to strip away the feelings that Alex associated with rain, and reveal its cleansing, cooling nature. Now it wasn't a storm, it wasn't a hurricane, it wasn't even a reminder of the past. It was simply rain. There was still a weight pressing on his shoulders each time a raindrop landed on him, but it was much lighter and easier to bear. Once he had explained it all to John, maybe the pressure would finally leave.

Snuggling into the warmth of John's chest, he closed his eyes and relaxed. Letting sleep finally claim him.

Chapter Text

     There was a yell as the ice splintered underneath John. Alexander jumped up, his book falling to the ground. There was a heart-stopping pause, then a bang, like an explosion, and a splash. Alex hesitated for a split second, then ran across the ice, remembering just in time to lay on his stomach near the hole, to avoid breaking the ice further. Even so, there was an ominous cracking as he lay down. John struggled desperately in the icy water, frantically gasping for air. Alex reached down, trying to get ahold of John, but his hands kept slipping on the man's jacket. The jacket, as well as his many other layers of clothing, and heavy shoes, were dragging him down, pulling him under. The freezing water splashed everywhere, and John nearly choked as it rushed in his mouth during a terrified, involuntary gasp for air. Alex finally managed to get a firm grip on the jacket after a while. It could have been seconds, or it could have been full minutes with the way John was struggling. Alex pulled him out and onto the solid ice as quickly as he could. He was coughing and shivering violently. Without a second thought, Alex stood, heedless of the cracking ice beneath him. Picking up John, he practically sprinted off the frozen lake. The moment he set foot on solid ground, the rest of the ice seemed to explode, exposing the deadly waters beneath. Alexander didn't look back. He had half a mind to call desperately for help, but that would achieve nothing. There was no one around. It would be best to save his breath for running and just get John home as quickly as possible.

     "Hey, Alex?"

     "Hm?" 

     "I'm going to go walk around for a little bit, okay?" 

     "Okay! Want me to come with you?"

     "No, you can stay if you want."  John sat up slowly, lifting his head off Alex's lap. The bench was comfortable, and he liked the feeling of Alex stroking his hair, but he could only sit still for so long. Alex crossed his legs and glanced at John, smiling. John grinned and walked to the edge of the frozen lake.

     "Be careful." John looked back at Alex who hadn't even glanced up from his book when he called his warning. 

     "I'm not stupid," John said, rolling his eyes. He walked away from the pond, and Alex's focus was drawn to the book once more, though his eyes hadn't left it. After a while of walking, John had wandered back to the lake. He placed one foot tentatively on the ice. There was no give, and it felt solid. Carefully, he transferred all of his weight onto it, and it held! He walked across the ice gingerly. There was no particular goal in his mind, just an aimless, fun venture. The minute he got distracted, however, there was a crack beneath him and he stopped in his tracks, crying out instinctively. There was a split second of relief, then, just cold. Penetrating, freezing cold...

     Alexander glanced down at the shivering bundle in his arms. His brow furrowed in concern. John was nearly unconscious. Small whimpering noises fell from his lips, which were slowly turning blue. Alex picked up his pace, making it to the door of the apartment in half the time it usually would have taken him. Laying John gently on the bed, Alex ran into the bathroom, and turned on the faucet in the bathtub, filling it with warm water. He hesitated for only a second before stripping John's soaking clothes off and carrying him to the bathroom. John whimpered at the sudden heat as he was lowered slowly into the water. Alex gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pitiful sound and focus on avoiding John's body going into shock from the temperature change. 

     "I know, I know, baby," he muttered. "But we have to get you warm..." Once he had set John down, a few hours were spent slowly adding warmer and warmer water, so he'd hopefully regain at least a little body heat.

     A while later, the water had been drained, and the smallest bit of color had returned to John's pale cheeks. After drying him off thoroughly and wrapping him in a towel and a multitude of blankets, Alex had laid John back on the bed and was making hot tea in the kitchen. When he returned, John was sitting up, still shivering hard.  

     "Alex?" he asked, looking up. "Wh-what happened?" Alex swallowed hard, biting his lip. 

     "We were at the park... with the frozen lake." John looked confused for a moment, then a glimmer of understanding dawned on his face, quickly replaced by dismay. 

     "I-I fell in?" he asked. Alex nodded and handed him the tea. 

     "Yes. Drink this," he said. "Should help at least a little more..." John took the mug and sipped from it. He nearly spilled the hot liquid as his body gave another involuntary shiver. 

     "Thanks," he muttered, as Alex took the cup and set it on the bedside table. Alex nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed, next to John. He bit his lip nervously as he gently took his boyfriend's hand. It was still far too cold. Wasn't skin to skin contact supposedly the best thing you could do for someone in this situation? He blushed profusely at the thought, looking down. "You okay?" John's voice made him jump. 

      "Yeah. I'm alright." For now, he just pulled John closer through the blankets, hoping to transfer as much body heat as he could. John leaned his head on Alex's shoulder, and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the piercing chill coursing through his body and the light blush on his face. "Well, I'll be fine as long as you stay warm," Alex added suddenly. John felt him smile, and he did the same.

     "I'll do my best."

Chapter Text

     John walked quietly down the stairs, trying not to disturb the figure on the couch. That figure was, of course, Alexander. He was hunched over some paper at the coffee table, writing furiously. Why he had decided to work there instead of in his room, John couldn't think. Alex had made this obscure decision over nine hours ago and had been working since 3 AM. Reaching the couch, John glanced over Alexander's shoulder. The paper he was writing seemed to be a response to some boring political article.

     "Alex?" John said quietly. Alex continued scratching away with his pen. Crossing out a word here, adding a few there... "Alex?" John repeated, louder this time. Alexander glanced up quickly. 

     "Hm? Oh, hey John. What is it?" John wanted to yell at Alexander to go to sleep. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and had bags under them. No doubt he hadn't slept in over 24 hours... but of course, Alex wouldn't listen, no matter how much John protested. He'd tried enough times to know that. 

     "You've been at this for hours," he said instead. "Take a break and let's go on a walk or something." Alex stretched and looked at the clock above the TV in front of him. 

      "Woah!" he exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. "I've been working longer than I thought!" He glanced at John's pleading face and knew in an instant that he should have slept last night. John could tell, and he wasn't happy about it. The least he could do was take a break if John wanted him to. "Yeah, we can take a walk." John smiled. 

     "Great! Let's go to the park!" Alex grinned and stood up. 

     "Sounds good to me."

     The cool air washed over the men as they walked to the park only a few blocks from their house. Winter was melting away rapidly, blanketing the warm feeling of Spring lightly over New York City. Alex nudged John, pointing at the lake sitting peacefully in the center of the park. 

     "Planning to fall in again?" he joked. John shuddered involuntarily.

     "Don't," he said, looking anywhere but the lake. The blue water shimmered innocently in the sunlight. "That was awful. I don't want to remember that." Alex's smile dropped. 

     "I'm sorry, baby. Yeah, I shouldn't have said anything. At least it's not frozen over now. It's actually probably warm..."

     "Don't even think about testing it, Alexander," John warned as Alex looked out over the lake. Alex grinned and turned back to John. 

     "I won't," he said, rolling his eyes. 

     A few minutes later, the pair found themselves on the same bench as they had occupied before. Only this time, Alex was laying on John's lap, whereas it had been reversed about a month ago. Alex fought to stay awake as John lovingly stroked his hair. The taller man looked out over the water, trying to shove all memories of that particular winter's day out of his head. He looked down to see Alexander struggling to keep his eyes open. John grinned at how stubborn his boyfriend could be. 

     "Go to sleep, angel," he muttered quietly, brushing his hand over Alex's cheek.

     "No," Alex responded, even quieter. The exhaustion in his voice was clear. John rolled his eyes, smiling fondly.

     "Stop being so stubborn, Alexander. Just rest for a while." Alexander made a noise that clearly expressed his dislike of John's particular instruction, but he finally allowed his eyes to flutter shut. John chuckled as Alex fell asleep almost instantly. A short while passed, and John had leaned his head back onto the bench, closing his eyes as well. It was so much more uncomfortable than laying on Alex's lap, he thought, pouting. Oh well, if this was what it took to get Alex to go to sleep, he was all for it. He looked around as he heard birdsong from a distant tree. Glancing around, he tried to locate the bird. "Come on, little guy. Where are you?" he muttered to himself. As if responding, a small American robin hopped onto the low branch of a tree in front of John, continuing its song. "Well, hey there!" The robin kept chirping away as John watched it, smiling. If Alex were awake, the bird probably wouldn't have shown itself, scared away by Alexander's persistent chatter. The robin continued for a good few minutes before hopping away onto another tree. John chuckled, looking down at Alex again. As he did so, the young man slowly opened his eyes. "Well good morning!" John said. Alex sat up quickly.

     "What!? I really fell asleep? Oh, come on!" John smiled. 

     "Of course you did! You haven't slept in forever." Alexander rolled his eyes and stood up, yawning. 

     "Whatever, let's go home." John stood as well, glancing around. "What are you looking for?" Alex asked.

     "Oh, nothing. Just a bird. You missed a little concert when you fell asleep." Alex chuckled. 

     "You're so cute," was all he said as he turned to walk down the path. John sprinted a few steps to follow Alex before hearing a chirp from above him. He stopped and glanced up at the bird. It trilled once, then flew away. John smiled, knowing somehow that it had been the same bird from before. He stood there for a moment, looking around the Spring-filled park, then turned again to catch up to Alex.

Chapter Text

     "Alex!" John called upstairs. There was no answer. Alex had secluded himself in the bedroom since this morning. It was now almost 5 PM and Alex hadn't come out to eat, nor drink, nor use the restroom. This wasn't unusual, but it certainly wasn't good. John wanted to get him out of the room, even just to watch a movie or something. "Alex?" he called again. Rolling his eyes, he stood up, sure that Alex had fallen asleep at his computer, yet again. He made his way up the stairs, and sure enough, he heard a soft snore from the bedroom. Chuckling, he opened the bedroom door to a small surprise. Alexander was not asleep at his desk, the way he could normally be found mid-week in the afternoon. He was actually asleep in the queen-sized bed in the far corner of the room by the window. John raised his eyebrows, asking a silent question of the room. The room, predictably, did not answer. Walking over to the bed, John gently laid a hand on Alex's forehead. He's not running a fever. That's practically the only time he'll sleep willingly! And even then he's stubborn. John just sat there for a while, gazing down at Alexander's relaxed features. After a minute or so, he playfully poked his boyfriend's cheek, half-hoping he'd wake up, and half-hoping he wouldn't. As chance had it, he did wake up. 

     "Wha-?" Alex muttered sleepily. 

     "Hey there," John said, raising an eyebrow. 

     "The one time I try to be responsible and actually take a nap, you decide to wake me up?" Alex grumbled in response, rolling over. John laughed.

     "I'm guessing you don't want to get up then?" Alex shook his head. "Well, that's a first." John chuckled as he rolled onto the bed next to Alex, tossing an arm over him. "Well, you don't have to," he muttered, gently falling asleep as well, his head pressed against Alex's back.

Chapter Text

     General Washington was used to the sounds of the battlefield. He was accustomed to the consistent gunshots and cannon fire. He was not, however, accustomed to the piercing scream that rang out over the field on that particular Summer's day. His men never cried out. That was something he prided them on, though he'd never put a man down for doing so unless it compromised their position. Therefore, hearing the scream caused him great concern. Even more so when he registered who it came from.

Chapter Text

         John looked over his shoulder at Alex as he climbed onto the emerald train car. Alex grinned and waved. John smiled a little, then turned his back on the station. He was heading to Virginia for a week for a med conference. Never having been on a train before, he was a little nervous. It couldn't be that bad though. He headed to a compartment and shut himself inside. He looked out into the station at Alex, who waved again and blew a little kiss. John chuckled and blew one back before settling into the seat. It wasn't long before the train began to move forward and slowly pick up speed.  He sat up quickly, looking out the window, keeping his eyes on the station until the train rounded a bend and it was out of sight. John sat back in his seat, sighing. He had a long seven hours ahead of him. Leaning his head back on the seat, he slipped gently into sleep. 

     After a couple of hours, he sat up, yawning. He looked at his watch, then sighed, disappointedly. He still had five more hours to go. He pulled a small clipboard out of the bag at his feet. Setting it on his lap, he drew out a pen as well. He simply sat for a minute, thinking up the draft for the letter he was about to write. Something to Alex that he'd mail once he got to Monticello. Something along the lines of "I got here alright. The train ride was nice, though boring. How are you? I miss you already. Love you." though hopefully more eloquent than that. When he finished thinking, he set the pen on the paper. He could barely write the beginning of the letter, however, because of the vibrations of the train. It shook gently underneath him, making the pen slide and distort every word he wrote. Sighing again, he set the clipboard and pen down again, gazing out of the window at the scenery. The trees up ahead seemed to move slowly towards him, flashing past, then slowly drifting away. It sort of seemed like a lifetime. You could always look back at what you've done, what you've seen, you can always look forward to the future. The present, however, moves too fast to fully comprehend. Yet, it's the most important. Those trees that move too fast to focus on are what show you exactly where you are, not the ones ahead of you. You aren't there yet. He shook his head, clearing it. It had only been a few hours, yet he really did miss Alexander already. Alex had gone on many business trips before, and John was always lonely. But there was something different about actually being the one leaving. When Alex left, John understood that he had to go, but that he'd be back. Now that he was leaving, there was almost a sense of guilt about him. He cleared his head again. There was nothing to be guilty for. He'd be back soon, just like Alex always was. 

     Two more hours. Two more hours and he could see Alex again. The conference had gone well and all, but John just wanted to get home. The letter he had wanted to write on the train got mailed eventually, and he got a reply the day before he was due to head back to New York. He pulled Alex's response from his bag and read it yet again.

      My dear John, 

              I'm glad to hear you arrived alright. The train ride was nice? Really? I've never liked trains, and honestly, you're lucky I didn't come with you! You would have told me to shut up so many times that you'd probably speak more than me in the end! I'm doing well, but I miss you too. Is this how you feel every time I leave for a business trip? I should stop doing that so much! I don't know when you'll get this, but I hope you read it soon. I can't wait to see you again. 

                                                                                                                      With so much love,

                                                                                                                                      ~A. Ham

     John chuckled and placed the letter back in his bag. Alex was always the tiniest bit formal. Even his letters had that certain business-like formality. The only time that Alex's words were completely free of any formality at all was when they were alone together. When no one else was around but John, Alex could become himself. John smiled and relaxed in his seat. 

     Stepping off the engine, John scoured the crowd for the familiar face of Alexander. Finally, he spotted it and ran towards it. 

     "Alex!" he called. Alex turned toward the sound and his face lit up.

     "John!" The men ran towards each other like children, each embracing the other as tightly as he was capable when they met. After a long while of hugging, John tugged Alex's face up to his for a kiss. Alex smiled and obliged. The kiss that followed lasted for a solid minute. 

     "I didn't know you missed me that much," John said when they finally broke apart. Alex grinned.

     "How could I not?" he asked. It was John's turn to smile, pulling Alex back in, heedless of the turning heads. It was so good to be back home.

Chapter Text

     Alex turned his head at the sound of a stifled cough. He leaned across the couch to gently poke John in the shoulder. John turned his head. 

     "You okay?" Alex asked, trying to sound nonchalant. John rolled his eyes. 

     "I'm fine, Alex," he said, grinning and turning back toward the TV. "It was just a cough. Don't overreact, silly." Alex shrugged and turned back toward the screen as well. Not ten minutes later, John suddenly burst into a full-on coughing fit, doubling over without warning. 

     "John?!" Alex was at his side immediately, rubbing his back. 

     "I-I'm fine," John managed after a minute. Alex shook his head.

     "Nuh-uh. Don't try to fool me, of all people, with that lie," he said. John sighed. 

     "Okay, maybe I don't feel so well," he admitted. "I just didn't want to tell you because, well... I know how you get when I'm sick..." Alex swallowed nervously. So he had noticed. Anytime John got sick, Alex got increasingly nervous and jumpy, as well as very protective and worried. It always reminded him of what he went through with his mother and how she had passed, but he had lived. Alex cleared his throat. 

     "No, no, it doesn't affect me like that anymore," he lied. John didn't look too convinced, but he smiled anyway.

     "Well then. Carry me to the bedroom?" he asked, making grabby hands at Alex. The young man grinned and picked John up off the couch so quickly that he yelped in surprise.

     "You betcha."

     No, no, you aren't going to worry this time. He'll be fine, Alex thought rapidly, carrying John up the stairs. When he got to the top, he was about to playfully drop John onto the bed, but he realized just in time that his boyfriend was already asleep. Alex smiled and sat on the edge of the bed, just holding John for a while, and trying to think about anything but his mother. A few minutes passed, and Alex laid John down and covered him. He suppressed a smile at just how adorable and small John looked. Not bothering to change, he crawled under the covers himself and hugged John into his chest. 

     A few hours later, Alex was woken by movement on the other side of the bed. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. John cringed when he saw Alex awake.

     "Sorry, Alex," he said sheepishly. "I was trying not to wake you."

     "No, no, it's okay. What did you need, baby?"

     "I was going to get another blanket." Alex paused, then leaned over to place a hand on John's forehead, and he flinched away. "I'm fine," he protested. Alex gave him a scolding look. Rolling his eyes, John leaned forward into Alex's hand, relaxing into his cool touch. Alex pulled his hand away quickly. John wasn't just too warm, he was burning up.

     "You definitely have a fever," he said, keeping his voice steady. "I'll be right back." With that, Alex was gone. He walked into the kitchen, grabbing a small cup and filling it with water. Doing his best to ignore the shaking in his hands, he grabbed two Ibuprofen from behind the mirror in the downstairs bathroom. Going back upstairs, he handed the pills and water to John, who was now sitting against the headboard. "Take these and I'll get your blanket," he said. John swallowed the pills quickly and drained the cup. As Alex headed back downstairs, he nearly dropped the cup because of his trembling hands. He set the cup on the edge of the counter and suddenly everything around him blurred.

Mom... don't go, please.

I won't, sweetheart. I'll be here for you.

Mom... mom? No! No, please! Don't die, please! No! Mom!

     He didn't realize what had happened until he felt himself hit the floor. Even then, one moment of lucidity, then he was suffocating in memories again.

     "Alex?" John's voice barely reached Alexander. He couldn't draw in a single steady breath. He was shaking violently, and the memories... the memories wouldn't stop coming. His mother slipped away from him again and again. "Alex?!" John called out again. There was no response yet again. Tossing the covers off himself, he stood up, shivering suddenly at the cold wooden floor. Screw being sick, he had to make sure Alex was okay. Coming down the stairs, he headed into the hallway. Alex was on the ground in front of the hall closet. Kneeling next to him, John laid a hand on Alexander's shoulder. He was shaking hard and his eyes were glazed. It had never been this bad before! "Come on, hon. Snap out of it. It's okay, it's just me. Come on, angel. It's alright. Look at me, Alexander." His name is what did it. Alex's head snapped up, and his eyes cleared. 

     "Where-?" John smiled gently and brushed his hand down the side of Alex's face, cupping his cheek. He shivered again when his hot skin touched Alex's cool face.  

     "You're okay, Alexander." Everything rushed back on Alex's mind at once and he stood. 

     "Wait! I'm sorry, you shouldn't have gotten up. I just need to- I'm sorry, John, I-" John placed a finger on Alex's lips, quieting him.

     "It's okay, angel. We're both okay. Now, how about we get that blanket and head back upstairs? It's late." Alex hesitated for a moment before nodding. 

     The pair grabbed a few blankets from the closet and walked back upstairs. Getting comfortable, John laid his head on Alex's chest and allowed the smaller man to toy with his hair. He knew this always calmed Alex down. It worked miracles sometimes. 

     "Y'know," John said after a minute. "After this, you're probably gonna get sick too..." Alex shrugged. 

     "If that's going to happen anyway, can I kiss you?" John laughed, then adjusted to allow Alexander to kiss him. 

     Sure enough, within the next two weeks, Alex began coming down with the same symptoms John had. Of course, being Alexander, he did the best he could to hide it. Once John figured it out however, there was quite a lot of cuddling and soup, as well as restraining Alexander from rushing to his computer every chance he got. It would take a lot to get Alex to admit it, but John was certainly a much better caretaker. That could be due to the fact that he's had a lot of practice, what with Alexander's sleeping and eating habits and all... Alex was nearly asleep when John kissed the top of his head lightly, making him look up with a pouty face. 

     "I wanna kiss you properly!" he whined. John smiled. 

     "Oh, hell no. We are not falling into a cycle of this because of you." Alex shrugged.

     "Eh. Worth a shot."

Chapter Text

     Alex knocked a few times on the door to John's dorm room. It was 8:00 on Halloween, and they were headed to a little party that one of their friends was throwing. Not with their roommates, however. Alexander's roommate, Hercules was staying back to "study" with John's roommate, Lafayette. Of course, as that pair was also dating, there were some questions about what would be happening tonight, and it was probably not studying... Alex knocked again. "John?!" He planned to jumpscare his boyfriend when he came out of the dorm. He adjusted the devil horns on his head and sighed. Hearing the click of a door, he turned around to see Hercules standing sheepishly by the door of their room.

     "Oh! Uh... sorry, Alex," He said awkwardly. "I thought you and John had left already." Alex shrugged.

     "Nah, he hasn't even come out yet... But I'm sure you have a key?" he asked slyly. Hercules blushed a deep shade of red. 

     "I...Uh... maybe...?" Alex laughed.

     "Thought so." He froze when he felt something touch his shoulder. Slowly turning his head, he was met with dark, empty eyes, and a face of the palest white. Alex shrieked in a very undignified manner and stepped backward, only to trip over his own feet and fall. Then he heard the laughter. It was a mix of two laughs he knew well. Cautiously, he looked up and saw the creature remove its mask. Alex stood up and smacked John in the arm, hard. John only laughed harder, and Alex glanced over at Hercules, who was also laughing. 

     "You should have seen your face!" John said, once his laughter had died down slightly.

     "You're a dick, you know that!?" Alex yelled, punching John in the arm again.

     "Eh, but you love me," John said, shrugging. Alex grinned in spite of himself.

     "That I do." 

     "I can't believe that worked!" Hercules chimed in, still laughing. Alex turned to him, confused.

     "You... you guys planned that?" he asked. John nodded.

     "He was supposed to get you to turn around, and I was going to jumpscare you." He snickered. "I didn't expect you to scream that high pitched though," he added. Alex turned nearly as red as Hercules had a minute ago. 

     "If you ever mention that to anyone, I'll-"

     "You'll what, short stack?" John teased. Alex huffed and looked away. John caught him around the waist and placed a kiss on his temple. "Anyway, should we get going?" Alex nodded, still blushing furiously. 

     "Yeah. I think Herc wants to, uh," he glanced at his friend. "Study with Laf." John chuckled as Hercules blushed as well. Alex smirked. "Come on, then," he said, tugging John with him. 

     "Yeah. Laf's waiting. He couldn't wait to see you," John added over his shoulder, smirking as well. Hercules pointedly looked anywhere but at Alex and John as they walked down the narrow hallway. Still blushing, he entered the room and shut the door.

Chapter Text

     Alex yawned and plodded down the stairs, rubbing his eyes. He sniffed the air and grinned at John as he hopped onto the floor from the last step.

     "Waffles?" he asked. John grinned and forked the fluffy, golden waffle onto a plate. 

     "Yep," he replied. "Not yours though." Alex groaned.

     "Oh come on!" he said. "You know I can't cook!" 

     "Well isn't that a shame? You can make toast though." With that, John sat on the couch, set the plate on his lap, and turned on the TV. Alex plopped down next to him and tried to grab a quarter of the waffle, but John slapped his hand away. "Hey! What did I say?" Alex just sighed and put on his puppy eyes.

     "Please?" he begged. "Look, it's my day off, babe. Cut me some slack." John just chuckled. 

     "Nope. You can make toast, go ahead." 

     "Do you seriously want to take the chance of me setting something on fire?" This made John pause. Alex grinned a little bit and glanced over at his boyfriend. John slowly pushed the plate towards Alex, allowing him to take a quarter. He did so, and sat back peacefully, nibbling on it. John chuckled again.

     "You're adorable, you know? Yet still terrifying."

     "Terrifying?" Alex asked. "What do you mean?"

     "You literally could have burned the house down if I had let you make toast," John responded, grinning. "And you probably would have," he added. Alex shrugged. He had his waffle now, and he was happy.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯  I tried. XD There's your first one. LOL

The next one is based a little bit on a different story I've written. (Little shameful self-promo here:) It's called "A New York Christmas" and all you really need to know from it is that John and Alex aren't married, but they have adopted a lil boy. Namely: Philip. Philip is nine and he's the cutest. 

     "Daddy?" The little boy's voice rang out from the kitchen. John got up from his seat on the couch and walked into the kitchen, kneeling down by the boy.

     "Yeah, kiddo? What is it?" Philip pointed at a bottle with a long skinny neck, high up on a shelf.

     "What's that?" John screamed internally. Philip was pointing at the one bottle of wine that they kept in the house. They rarely ever touched it, but Alex had gotten a small glass last night and apparently hadn't put it back in the cupboard. John grabbed it and put it away.

     "Nothing, Pip. Just something for me and your dad. Not for you, kiddo.

     "But what is it?" Philip asked again, ever the inquisitive. Just like Alex, John thought fondly.

     "It's a drink. But you don't want that. It doesn't taste good." He made a face as he spoke, and Philip laughed. 

     "Then is it medicine?" he asked. John laughed. Philip was a bit too close there.

     "You... could say that," he said. If that was what kept him from wanting it... Philip stuck out his tongue.

     "Yucky," he said, before walking off to his room. John sighed and stood up, smiling slightly. He was really going to have to yell at Alex later, but for now, he'd consider himself lucky that Philip hadn't asked more.

Chapter Text

     John walked quietly up the stairs, suppressing his laughter as best he could. A screeching noise was coming from the bedroom which Alexander currently occupied. Still laughing hard, he tapped gently on the door. The screeching noise stopped abruptly, and there was a muffled "one second!" from behind the door. Alex opened it a crack.

     "Yeah?" he asked. his face tinted with a hint of red. 

     "Was... was that-?" John could barely speak for laughing. "Was that a violin?" he finally managed. Alex glanced back into the room. 

     "Maaaaaaybe?" he said, and John laughed again. "What?! I just thought I'd try my hand at it! Peggy had one and said I could borrow it if I took care of it."

     "Sawing at the strings like that isn't taking care of it, Alexander," John said, grinning. Alex crossed his arms.

     "Okay! You know what? Fine. You try to do better than me!" John raised an eyebrow. 

     "Challenge accepted." Walking over to the bed where Alex had placed the instrument, John brushed his fingers along the carved wood. A few particular childhood memories rushed to the forefront of this mind and he picked up the violin, plucking the strings. "Well, first of all, it's not tuned, Alex... no wonder you sounded terrible." Alex pouted while John gently turned the pegs at the top of the instrument, plucking each string when he adjusted it. Finally, he set the instrument on his shoulder. "She didn't happen to lend you a shoulder rest, did she?" John asked, struggling to place the instrument comfortably. 

     "A what?" Alex asked, looking confused.

     "Oh, nevermind." John raised the bow and drew it gently over the A string. The pleasant note rang over both the men's ears. Alex rolled his eyes.

     "Impressive, John... You can play a note."

     "Better than you can do," John quipped. With that, he played a few measures of a song they both knew: Fields of Gold. When he paused, Alex smiled. 

     "Well go on then, show-off. Keep playing." John did, and a few minutes later, Alex was sitting on the bed, grinning, as John drew the bow to a stop at its very tip. He held that position until Alex smirked and begun clapping slowly. "Where'd you learn that?" he asked.

     "Self-taught?"

     "Okay, rich kid," Alex muttered.

     "Eh. Far from it actually."Alex just rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to play it again?" he asked. Alex smiled.

     "Why not?" John nodded, smiling, and raised the instrument onto his shoulder once more.

Chapter Text

Hey guys. Sorry I didn't get a chapter out last night. I think my posting schedule will be weird for a while. I've honestly given up on being on time at all... I'll try to get new chapters done as soon as I can, but right now, I really need to focus on school for a while, because it's getting a bit stressful. At least  I might be able to catch up on sleep. I love writing for you guys, and I love seeing your comments every morning when I wake up. You all are amazing, and I feel like I had an obligation to let you know that you might not get a new chapter every day. I'm really really sorry. :(

Chapter Text

     Slowly, Alex opened his eyes. He had been sleeping peacefully just moments before, and suddenly he was awake. Something must have woken him. But what? Sitting up, he realized it was a bit hard to see. He rubbed his eyes and felt something burn them. Blinking his eyes open yet again, nothing had changed. The air seemed thicker, and there was a smell... rancid almost, ash-like... FIRE! He jumped into action, shaking John awake.

     "Hm? Wha-?" John muttered. Still half asleep. 

     "Fire, John. Wake up, now," Alex said, keeping his voice steady. John sat up quickly, looking around. 

     "What?!" he yelled, standing up. "Come on, we have to go!" He grabbed Alex's wrist and tugged him toward the bedroom door. Alex couldn't help but follow him.

     "Wait!" he called, just before John opened the door. His yell made John pause just long enough for Alex to jump in front of him,  and press his hand to the door. This was something that he'd read about somewhere. There was no heat, meaning there was no fire on the other side of the door. Turning the knob, he flung the door open, and more smoke poured into the room, sending them both into a small coughing fit. The stairwell was clear, though the flames licking at the bottom of the steps told them that it soon would not be. He sprinted down the stairs, pulling John behind him. They were nearly at the door when the fire alarm finally sounded. What took it so long, neither of them knew. The piercing noise startled Alexander, causing him to stumble. John paused for a split second, ensuring that Alex was alright, before grabbing his hand and leading him to the front door, opening it, and making it outside. The cooler air washed over the two men. They hadn't realized just how hot it had been inside, but now they were out of the house, the cool air was a huge relief. If only for a while. A few minutes later, their pulses had slowed a bit, and they had finally stopped coughing. Suddenly, Alexander's eyes widened, and he mouthed something that John couldn't understand. He looked quickly between John and the blazing house for a split second, then bolted back towards it.

     "Alexander!" John called out desperately. He paused for a split second, instinct taking over, telling him not to run toward the fire. So much in him said not to go, but love shoved it all to the back of his mind, and he ran after Alex.

     Bursting through the front door again, Alex glanced frantically around the flaming first floor, before sprinting to the second. The picture! I have to find that picture! The one positive thing he had from his childhood was an unframed picture of his mother. He kept it in the top drawer of a wooden nightstand next to the bed. Running towards the small nightstand, he yanked the drawer open and quickly grabbed the photo, holding it to his chest. He was breathing hard, slightly from the sprint, slightly out of fear, but mostly from the intense heat. His labored breaths had drawn copious amounts of smoke and ash into his lungs, and when he turned to leave, he suddenly began coughing again. His vision swam as he suddenly collapsed on the floor, his head leaning on the side of the bed. Was his blurring vision just an illusion from the heat? Trying to pull himself to his feet, his head spun again. He was coughing harder now and he felt the small photograph slip from his fingers. Though he moved quickly to catch it, the small piece of paper slid across the floor. 

     "No!" he cried out, his voice faltering and weak. Barely able to see with his stinging eyes, he managed to make out some figure coming rapidly up the stairs. It called his name, and Alex's fogged mind recognized him. John made his way toward him, gently picking him up. Coughing from the smoke, sweating from the heat, Alex still somehow managed to find the energy to writhe in John's arms. "No! No, I need to get that photo! John, please!" he begged. He was able to catch one last glance at the stairwell, the flames climbing ever higher, before the smoke pulled his mind from him, and he fell limp.

     He woke up coughing again. He could practically feel the smoke coating his lungs. John's hand was immediately on top of his. As the coughing subsided, he looked around, everything was white. The white bed, white sheets, white walls... a hospital! Just like he and his mother had been in when she... wait! His mother! He sat up quickly, ignoring the pain in his chest.

     "The picture!" he yelled, unconscious of his own rough voice and the burning in his throat from the smoke. He was desperate to know about the little image. "John, where is it? Oh, please tell me you got the picture!" John held up a hand to calm his boyfriend. 

     "What, this one?" he asked, holding up the small 3x4. Alex's face was pure relief as he took the picture gently into his hands and looked at it. 

     "Thank you." The small whisper fell from his mouth. There was no force or volume behind it, just air. All his focus was on the image. The pretty young woman stared back at him through the paper. John nodded, laying his hand on Alex's arm. A few minutes went by, during which a few policemen came by to talk to John and inform him of exactly what had happened. Turned out there was something wrong with their fuse box and the fire had been electrically started. A while of discussion passed and the police left. Alex seemed not to have been aware that anything was happening. He was too trapped in his own head. Finally, he looked up. "Thank you," he said again, though a bit louder this time. He winced when he heard his own voice, and felt the fire in his throat as though for the first time.

     "Of course. That was why you ran back in after all. By the way," John added, his voice almost stern. "That was really stupid of you, Alexander." Alex looked down, ashamed.

     "I-I know, but-"

     "No, just listen. You got lucky, you only got a few mild burns and a hell of a lot of ash in your throat. But... you scared me, Alex. You really scared me..." Alex bit his lip, about to apologize, when he noticed something. John was slightly nursing his left arm.

     "Are you alright?!" he asked, immediately worried. John looked down and quickly adjusted, wincing as he did so.

     "I'm fine. I just got burned a bit reaching for the photo. It slid under the dresser. It'll be fine." Alex got the distinct impression that he was lying and that the burn was a lot worse than he was showing. John was gritting his teeth and he kept glancing down at his arm, clearly in pain. John always was a terrible liar, but Alex decided not to pursue the subject any further. 

     "I'm sorry," was all he said. Sorry for running back in, sorry for scaring you, sorry for getting you hurt... he wanted to add, but he didn't. He'd spoken enough already. That was made clear when John sat next to him and wrapped his uninjured arm around him.

     "Don't be. You're alright, so I'll be alright." Alex nodded and leaned into John. "Get some rest. I'll be here. I promise you." Alex nodded again and allowed another, more peaceful sleep to claim him.

Chapter Text

Hey guys. Again, I'm so so sorry for leaving you all hanging in the middle of the prompt month. I just have so many ideas that I want to write, and I've been writing a lot. I'm really into writing one particular Hamilton story right now that I'm uploading onto Ao3. (Little shameful self-promo here:) It's called Two Bullets, One Fire if you want to check it out... Anyway, my point is this. I do intend to finish off the prompt list, but maybe once school is officially done and if I get stuck on what to write. I wish I had all the time in the day to write for you guys because you all are so supportive and I love you all, but sadly, I don't have all that time. If you check back here sometime around the last week of May, I might have something up. Until then I'll mainly be working on Two Bullets, One Fire in my spare time. I promise I'll write more here, just maybe not soon. I'm so sorry again, but I hope to see some of you on my other stuff! (If you want... no pressure!)

This is just a tiny snippet about the other story. If you're not interested, you don't have to read this:

Two Bullets, One Fire is a little fic based off a roleplay. If you like reading Protective!Washington or Dad!Washington, you'll probably like it. Not to give too much away, but here's a general summary (The exact one posted on the story):

When both Washington and Hamilton are injured in the middle of a scouting mission, they find themselves lost in the forest. It's dark, and it'll be difficult to find their way back to camp, so they decide to wait out the night. Complications arise, and roles are tossed back and forth. Alexander must tend to Washington as the other man both has, and will do for him. (Aaaand... bonding ensues)

So that's my new work! Maybe check it out if it sounds like something you'd like.

(Pls no hate about the self-promo... I did say you didn't have to read it, though you always have a choice. Just wanna get something out there that I'm really proud of.)

Chapter Text

The warm summer sun fell over the shoulders of the young couple sitting on the pier. Alexander and John sat at the very edge, toes dipped in the warm lake water. They were waiting for their friends, Lafayette, and Hercules, to show up. Those two were also a couple, courtesy of Alexander, when he’d introduced them some months earlier. A few more minutes passed before a voice they knew well came from behind them. 

“Yo! You guys got here early!” Alex and John turned around at hearing Hercules. They stood up together, grinning, and heading toward the man. Lafayette followed behind him, smiling as well. 

“Hey, you two!” Alex called, hugging both his friends in turn. 

“Yeah, we left a bit early,” John said, doing the same. After he pulled back, he looked out at the water. “So, who’s going in first?” Everyone shrugged. There was a short silence before Lafayette realized that Hercules was standing just a little too close to the edge and nudged him in easily. Hercules gave a short yell as he fell in. His friends flinched away from the splash, laughing. His head broke the surface of the water a second later, grinning. 

“Oh, you’re going to regret that!” he said. Lafayette chuckled.

“Oh really? What are you going to do? Pull me in?” he asked, leaning down teasingly. Hercules rolled his eyes before shooting out an arm and tugging his boyfriend in, catching him by surprise. Alex and John just stood there, laughing, as the two got into a little tussle, ending with Lafayette seated happily on Hercules’s shoulders. 

“Come on in, you two! It’s warm!” Hercules called, before Lafayette dunked him under. John looked at Alex, shrugging, before looking back into the water. 

“Hey, wait…” Alex looked at his boyfriend, confused.

“What?” John was looking straight down into the water at his reflection, and it took him a moment to answer Alex.

“Is my hair really that poofy?” he asked finally. Alex snorted with laughter. 

“Just get in the water!” he said, shoving his boyfriend off the pier. John caught Alex by the wrist as he fell, dragging Alex into the water with him. The shorter man emerged from the water a moment later, spluttering indignantly. “Hey! I was supposed to shove you in! Not the other way around!” John just shrugged in response, casually splashing Alex, who splashed him back. Soon enough, all four of them were trying their hardest to drench the others, despite them all being soaked already. 

A few hours later, they climbed out of the lake. The sun had begun to sink lower in the sky, dropping the temperature a few degrees and making them shiver lightly. When Alex had finished drying off, he tossed his towel at John. It hit its mark, landing directly on the taller man’s head. 

“What was that for?” John asked, a bit disgruntled. Alex shrugged and went to retrieve his towel, ruffling John’s hair in the process.

“Oh, and by the way, yes. Your hair is just that fluffy,” he said. John laughed.

“I didn’t say fluffy, I said poofy!” Alex just rolled his eyes in response.

“Oh whatever,” he said, teasingly nudging John. John did the same, and soon they were playfully shoving each other around the pier. Lafayette and Hercules rolled their eyes at their friends and began to walk. Suddenly there was a small shriek from behind them. They looked back just in time to see John fall in the lake again, despite just having gotten dried off. Alex, laughing and apologizing at the same time, helped John back onto the pier. “Well,” Alex said, “Your hair isn’t poofy anymore.”

“You’re lucky I love you, or you’d be in the lake again too,” John grumbled.

Chapter Text

John laid peacefully on Alexander's lap, watching some show play on tv. Alex wasn't really paying attention to the screen, and neither was John. Alex just sat playing with John's hair, as John relaxed into him, eyes closed, enjoying it. Suddenly, they both jumped as John's cell phone began to ring.

"Aw shit," John muttered. "I forgot to put it on silent. Sorry." Alex just waved it off.

"No, no, it's okay!" he said, settling back into the couch and waiting for John to put his head back. The phone continued to ring, and John paused when he looked at the caller ID.

"What...? Dad?" He looked back at Alex for a moment. "Sorry, I might need to take this…" 

"Go ahead, don't worry about it." John nodded and accepted the call, leaving the room. Alex thought for a moment. John's dad almost never called. He didn't text either. This wasn't a special occasion, like a birthday or holiday, so he couldn't figure out what this surprise contact might have been for. 

He didn't wonder for long. John returned after a few minutes. His eyes were red, and a few tears had fallen from them. He was pale and seemed to be very distracted. Alex jumped up, running to his boyfriend and quickly pulling him into a hug, that was only returned lightly. "What's wrong, baby? What happened?" When John spoke, his voice was fragile, quiet, disbelieving. He seemed in shock.

"My mom… She's… She's dead." Alex felt himself freeze. 

“Oh, John…” he breathed finally, hugging John tighter. Alex was panicking slightly. He’d been so young when his own mother had died, he didn’t know what to do for John. He didn’t know whether he’d want to talk or stay silent, think about it or be distracted, open up or keep it hidden… When he was orphaned, he didn’t have much choice to talk to anyone, but John did, and Alex wasn’t sure how to begin to provide it. 

When John spoke, the weight of what he was saying seemed to crash down on him. He gasped almost inaudibly as everything sort of settled around him. Alex caught him as his legs gave out and he nearly fell. Carrying his boyfriend over to the couch, Alex placed a kiss on John's forehead. John was crying harder now, almost shuddering with the sobs. He leaned into Alex as the younger man played with his hair.

Nearly an hour passed in that position before John spoke again. 

"I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean t-" Alex shook his head.

"You have nothing to apologise for, John. If you want to just sit like this for another hour, I'll sit with you. Hell, if you want to sit like this for another day I'll sit with you. What do you want me to do?" John settled back in Alex's arms, letting his thoughts drift for a while. When they finally settled back on the matter at hand, he felt his eyes burn again. As tears began forming again, he leaned his head on Alex's chest.

"Just hold me. Please."

Chapter Text

"Hey, John! Can you read over this for me?" Alex called into the other room, setting his pen down for the first time in hours. John came into the living room, seeming intrigued.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Nothing interesting. Just a political address." John just nodded in response. Alex pushed the paper over to his boyfriend, who began to read it over. Alex liked watching John's eyes as he read. Not only could he see John's initial reactions in his eyes, but they were just so pretty. They lit up when he read a sentence he liked, and became extremely thoughtful at other times. Rolling his eyes at his own cheesy thoughts, Alex looked back at the paper, trying to guess where John was reading. His attention was then drawn to his boyfriend's right hand. His fingers drummed the desk absentmindedly. Alex looked at the black band circling John's middle finger. "You know, you've never told me what that's from," he said after a moment, pointing at the ring. Catching a glimpse of an engraving, he adjusted a bit to see. "And who's James? Someone I should know about…?" he teased. John looked up from the paper.

"What? O-Oh…" Looking down at the ring, he froze, his eyes seeming to glaze over with tears. Alex cocked his head, concerned. 

"John? What's wrong, babe?" Alex gasped a bit as John suddenly seemed to fold in on himself, leaning heavily on the desk. The tears finally fell from his eyes. Alexander stood up, wrapping his arms around John and walking to the couch. Sitting down and setting John on his lap, Alex gently stroked John's hair. "Hey, hey it's okay. What's wrong?" John didn't answer, he was still too distraught to speak. Alex understood, pulling his boyfriend closer.

After a few minutes, John sat up, wiping his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" he apologized shakily. Alex shook his head quickly.

"No, no! Don't apologise! I probably shouldn't have asked anyway." John shrugged, then hesitated for a second before speaking.

"James was my brother…" Recognizing the past tense, Alex braced himself to hear about whatever had happened. Provided John wanted to discuss it of course, which it seemed he did, because he continued. "He died when I was 21. A couple of years before we met. James was... he was 10." Pausing for a moment, he pursed his lips, and looked down, trying to avoid crying again. His attempts failed however, when Alex began rubbing slow, comforting circles on his back. He let the tears fall from his eyes as he continued, haltingly. "I-I was supposed to be looking after him. He was my responsibility… I wasn't home at the t-time. He was just playing around. I-I think he was trying to climb on the house. He tried to jump over to the ledge below my window, but he… he fell… and he hit his head." John stopped speaking for a moment to steady his voice. Alex let a few tears fall from his eyes as well. That had to have been awful. John continued. "I remember coming home and going into the yard…" He had to stop again as he recalled the painful memory. Alex squeezed his boyfriend's hand comfortingly. "He died a few hours later," John concluded, looking at the ring. "This ring is a sort of tribute to him. It also reminds me to be extremely careful when I promise to take care of someone, like him, or you. It's my fault he's dead. If I'd just been there-"

"Don't blame yourself," Alex cut him off. "Of course this wasn't your fault."

"How can you say that?!" John said, speaking far louder than he meant to. Sighing and squeezing his eyes shut, he leaned against the back of the couch. He ran his fingers over the engraving of the letters, thinking about his little brother. Finally, Alex broke the silence.

"Even if it was your fault, which it isn't, you can't change what happened, can you? So stop beating yourself up about it. The ring can remind you of him, but you shouldn't let it encourage you to blame yourself." John hesitated.

"I-I guess… I still think- nevermind." He looked away, fiddling with the ring. He knew he could never get rid of the guilt he had, but he supposed he could try to stop actively blaming himself for the events. As he thought, he leaned into Alex, allowing his boyfriend to gently play with his hair and comfort him. Crying that hard had exhausted him, and he soon found his eyes slipping shut as he drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Alright. So I'm working on these I swear! But it has just now recently hit me how many writing projects I have... At least five large projects for sure, I'm not sure whether to count a couple of others as projects... So chapters won't be out often. I hate to do this to you all... I know my schedule is shit in general, and I hate to keep you guys on your toes for a random update that may or may not even be decent because it may or may not have been written at 3 AM... So here's my official apology, because I really am sorry. :( I really do love you guys so much. You probably can't tell, But I have gained a lot of confidence in my writing since starting this series (and others that I recognize some of you in the comments of as well), so I really appreciate you guys. <3 <3 <3 <3

On a (slightly) brighter note, I need some reader input from you all! I want you guys to have some say in these next chapters here.

So... I've been planning out my last few chapters and here are a couple things.

One, I gotta make the next two chapters HELLA fluffy, because they are the last fluff chapters in this collection, and there are 7 more chapters total...

Two, now you know there will be angst (and a bit of whump), I want to know who you think I should torture with what. I won't say them in order, but the general plotlines I need to know who to use for are: broken bone, illness, and nightmare (a specific nightmare I have planned out).

The last two chapters are going to be connected. In them, Person A is gonna get hurt both physically and mentally, but mostly mentally, and person B will just get severely physically injured. 

So please, join me in evil fanfic writer, and tell me who gets tormented with broken bone, who gets illness, and who gets nightmare, as well as which one of the bois is in which spot for the last two chapters! 

Slight spoiler alert: Happy ending for the collection. I definitely love angst and whump, but... I will definitely end the series happy. :) Still, I want to hear your input!!!

Again, thank you all so SO  freaking much, I love you all, and stay safe. <3

Chapter Text

October 28th. 1:00 AM. New York City

“John, wake up,” Alex whispered next to John's ear. John groaned and rolled over.

“What do you want, Alexander?” he murmured sleepily. “It’s… what time even is it? And… why are you dressed?” Alex was indeed fully dressed and standing next to John’s side of the bed. 

“I can’t tell you yet, but you have to get up,” he said, sounding far too awake for one in the morning. John groaned and looked at the luminous clock on the bedside table. 

“Alex… It’s one AM… What is this?” Alex sighed. 

“I know, I know, but trust me. It has to be this early. Come on, please?” John looked away, but not before Alex used his pleading puppy-dog eyes. He sighed in resignation.

“Okay, fine. You win,” he said, sitting up groggily. Alex clapped in excitement.

“Yes! Now, come on! Get a shirt on. I promise it won’t take too long, and it’s not like you have work tomorrow- er, today.” Tossing his boyfriend a “why do I put up with this?” look, John stood up and went to go find a shirt to toss on. 

“Can you tell me what the hell this is for now?” John asked. They were in the car, and they’d been driving for a good twenty minutes. The lights of the city were beginning to fade as they drove further from civilization. 

“Well, I can tell you that it’s for your birthday, but I can’t tell you what it is quite yet,” Alex said slyly. “Don't worry, we’re almost to the spot I had in mind.” John rolled his eyes and leaned back in the seat.

"Fine," he sighed "Just wake me up when we get there." 

John was woken up only five minutes later, by a gentle tap on his shoulder. 

“We’re here,” Alex whispered. “Come on, get out of the car.” John sighed, unclipping his seatbelt and stepping out of the car. He shivered in the cool night air, looking around. They seemed to be in some deserted parking lot. A project started far from the city, and abandoned long ago. It was quite dark, meaning many more stars were visible here. As he gazed at the stars, a short streak of light burst across the sky. A shooting star.

“Did you see that, Alex?” he asked quietly, still looking up. Getting no response, he looked back at Alexander, to see his boyfriend grinning widely at him.

“Yes. Yes, I did. Go ahead, make a wish! Hopefully, you’ll get to see a lot more of those. Tonight is the peak of this meteor shower. That’s why I brought you here. I know it isn't much but… Happy birthday, John." John smiled at Alexander, and when he'd finished speaking, he pulled Alexander into a kiss. After a moment, he leaned back.

"Thank you."

A couple of hours had passed since those words had been spoken. Both young men were now stretched out on the asphalt, on top of a large blanket Alexander had brought. They grinned and looked at each other when yet another streak of light traced a path across their vision. 

“Have you been keeping track of your wishes?” Alex teased softly. John chuckled. 

“Yeah, I’ve only made a few though. Only on the brightest ones.”

“Wanna tell me what they are?” Alex asked, rolling over and pecking John on the nose. John laughed and sat up. 

“I can’t! Then they won’t come true!” he said, grinning. Alex rolled his eyes, matching the expression on John’s face.

“Oh, you don't believe that, do you?”

“Well, I’ll tell you the one that I know will come true,” John said, turning to face Alexander. Alex raised his eyebrows. 

“And what’s that?”

“I wished that I’d get a kiss from you,” John said, leaning forward. Alex, however, pulled back, smirking. 

“Just for that, I won’t kiss you,” he teased.

“Oh, come on!” John whined. “You can’t keep that up forever!” Alex smiled and wrapped a hand around the back of John’s head, entangling his hand through John’s curls and pulling him closer. 

“It seems you’re right. I couldn’t even last a minute,” he said, bringing his lips up to John’s. 

A while passed before they broke apart. 

“So,” Alex whispered. “Can you tell me what any of your other wishes were? Maybe I can make those come true as well, he said, toying with the button on the collar of John’s shirt. John laughed, tilting Alex’s head up so their eyes met.

“How about I wish that you’ll stop dragging me out of bed at one AM to drive for half an hour?!” he asked, still laughing. 

“I wouldn’t waste a wish on that. It’s never going to happen,” Alex said, leaning in to kiss John again.