Work Text:
“And we all know why, Alex.”
Lafayette winked and before Alex could respond, they stood, dashing off to the small smattering of wood that had been deemed “the stage” after all these years. Alex glared at them across the fire, hating the smirk they were sending him, and jumped slightly when John’s hand rested over his knee.
He gave Lafayette one last glare before his eyes flickered over to meet John’s comforting gaze, the tension that had built up in his shoulders over his friend’s teasing immediately dissipating. Unconsciously, his hand covered John’s and he shook his head at John’s quizzical brow. John watched him for another moment before shrugging and turning toward Lafayette.
Lafayette cleared their throat, and the conversations gradually died down around the group until they had the majority of attention. ,p> “I hope everyone is enjoying themselves tonight, I do believe we have all earned it after the tres difficile tasks that our lovely Georges had planned for us,” Lafayette smiled affectionately at George, who nodded his head as a couple of people howled and whooped.
“I digress,” Lafayette continued, looking back at the crowd. “We have a special performer to end our campfire tonight; mon cheri John has been convinced to share his beautiful voice with you all. Appréciez votre bonne fortune.”
Alex blinked, and turned to John for an explanation, but before he could, John’s hand was leaving his knee, and he was walking toward the stage. Alex’s eyes followed John’s form, brain still trying to process what Lafayette had just said. John can sing? Since when?
Alex immediately missed John’s presence at his side, feeling a chill run down his spine at his absence despite the warm summer air. Lafayette hugged John when he reached the stage, kissing both his cheeks. They whispered something into his ear that made John blush and swat at Lafayette’s arm. Lafayette laughed and made their way back toward Alex, sitting down on the log beside him.
“What is wrong, mon ami?” Lafayette knocked their shoulder against Alex’s. He glanced over at Lafayette only for a moment, missing the smug smile they were sporting, before his eyes were glued to John again.
“John never told me he could sing,” Alex mumbled, watching as John picked up the guitar that had been sitting off to the side. How long had that been sitting there?
“Mmmm, it’s not something he talks about a lot,” Lafayette’s voice was tender, and Alex ripped his eyes away from John tuning the guitar to give them a quizzical glance.
“His father… Well you know what he’s like,” Lafayette trailed off with a sad smile. “Anyway, you could say it’s John’s secret talent,” they winked at Alex and he looked back to the stage where John was finishing up.
“That man doesn’t deserve John as his son,” Alex growled, and a comforting hand grasped his where it rested on his thigh.
John looked up from his guitar, and Alex’s heart clenched at how nervous looked, perched alone on stage log. Biting his lip, he scratched behind his ear, before he tuck his curls back. He had decided to leave his hair out of it’s usual pony tail that night, ringlets framing his face in abundance like a mane on a lion. Light reflected against his eyes, and danced across his tanned skin, illuminating his smattering of freckles Alex loved so much. John looked gorgeous in the glow of the fire, and the thought made Alex squirm and blush in his seat.
John cleared his throat softly, then cleared it again, louder, and everyone hushed. At their sudden attention, Alex could see John grow nervous again and he laughed awkwardly and glanced at his feet. When he looked back up, he locked eyes with Alex for a moment, and Alex tried to give what he hoped was a comforting smile, but John’s eyes snapped away a little too fast for Alex’s liking.
“As you all know, Lafayette is quite dramatic,” he was cut off by Lafayette interjecting an over dramatic, “hé!”
There was some laughter, and Alex felt warm again when he saw a genuine smile light up John’s face.
“Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by Laf’s overdramatic ass,” there was a few snickers and Lafayette rolled their eyes, smiling affectionately, “as they just proved my point, I don’t perform very often… So I’m kind of going off what they have to told me, so I apologize in advance if they’ve lied to make me feel better.”
John laughed again, and a dopy smile spread across his lips that made Alex’s toes curl. “Alright, here it goes…”
His eyes fluttered shut and he sucked in a deep breath, his fingers shifting on the neck of his guitar. A familiar melody floated out across the camp, one that caused Alex’s ears to twitch and eyes widen in shock when he realized what it was. He looked over at Lafayette, heart hammering, who’s eyes were closed, softly swaying to the soft tune.
Suddenly, the most beautiful voice Alex had ever heard cut through the air, and Alex’s head snapped back toward the stage.
“Quand, il me prend dans ses bras, il me parle tout bas, je vois la vie en rose.”
Alex’s jaw dropped open at the sound of his mother tongue hitting his ears. Since when did John speak french? He never said anything about that either. A rush of affection washed over Alex, and his heart hammered in his chest.
“Il me dit des mots d’amour, des mots de tous les jours, et ca me fait quelque chose,” John smiled softly as the words glided from his lips. His fingers danced across the strings of his guitar effortlessly, the instrument crooning beneath his touch.
John’s eyes snapped open, his eyes scanning the crowd before they locked onto Alex’s and he took another breath. “Il, est entré dans mon coeur, une part de bonheur, dont je connais la cause,” as he sang, he didn’t break eye contact with Alex, and his face seemed to flush under the light of the fire.
Alex was sure his heart was going to leap from his throat at any moment as the words John sung wafted over him. John’s eyes flickered away again, and Alex felt his face burning as he bit his lip. The intensity of the moment they had just shared startled Alexander, at first unable to understand the swooping feeling he felt deep in his stomach, and why despite the warm heat of the fire the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck were standing on edge.
“C’est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie, Ii me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie.”
As he sang the next verse, John’s eyes almost looked sad, and Alex felt the sudden urge to wrap him in his arms and protect him from the world, from whoever caused that sadness. Alex felt a sudden surge of anger fill him at the brief thought of why and who John would be singing this for. He bit his lip and watched John’s eyes flutter close again in contentment, before he recognized the emotions he had been feeling.
“Et dès que je l’aperçois, alors je sens en moi, mon coeur qui bat…” John’s voice trailed off, his guitar still singing softly as Alex’s mind whirled.
Why was he so irritated? And why wouldn’t his stomach stop doing somersaults? Was it something he ate? He must be sick, it was the only explanation… Then a thought flashed through Alexander’s mind, causing his world to stop. He was in love with his best friend, John Laurens.
Unfortunately, this epiphany didn’t help to quell the fluttering in his stomach, but only made Alex feel sicker. How could he have let this happen? His closest friend, and he was going to ruin their relationship. Of course, leave it to Alex to ruin anything good happening in his life.
Alex couldn’t stop berating himself, but there was a part of him that couldn’t help but feel excited at his realization. But how could he have not seen this sooner? Anyone would be stupid to not fall in love with someone as amazing, and gorgeous, and pure as John, himself clearly not exempt from this fact.
As his thoughts travelled a mild a minute, he refused to let one specific thought fully form, keeping it locked away in the deepest part of his mind; What if he likes me back? There was no way Alex could risk finding out.
Someone squeezing his hand shook him from his thoughts, and he realized everyone was clapping and whooping, John standing awkwardly, and blushing on stage. He must have finished. Alex looked over at Lafayette, who was giving him a soft smile.
“Are you alright, Alexander?” There was something alight in their eyes, almost like they knew what Alex had been thinking before they nudged him. Did you finally realize? The silent question hung between them.
Alex forced a smile, and opened his mouth to respond but Lafayette just tsked. “Do not lie to me, mon ami.”
Alex sighed and his shoulders slumped. Instead of lying, he avoided Lafayette’s unasked question and responded, “I didn’t know John could speak french.”
“Yes, and he’s quite good. He’s been fairly fluent for almost a year now, but I must admit, I did have to help him prepare this number,” Lafayette nodded to where he was on stage.
Alex’s brows raised at this information. “You helped him with this?”
Lafayette grinned. “I’m the one who pushed him to perform. Though,” they tilted their head and pursed their lips, “it wasn’t entirely my idea-“
Before Alex could ask Lafayette what they meant, they were interrupted when John shuffled back to Alex’s side, guitar in hand. Alex looked up at him, and they blinked at each other for a moment, John awkwardly kicking at the ground. Finally, they both laughed, defusing the tension. Lafayette watched them through dark eyes, analyzing their interaction, before they left, deciding to give them some privacy… where hopefully something would finally happen.
“So…” John trailed off, eyes flickering to Alex’s face, before returning to looking at his shoes.
“You have an incredible voice, John,” Alex felt himself blurting out, and the moment he said it he wanted to smother himself. He blushed, and John’s head snapped up, eyes wide, grin on his face.
“Really? Laf wasn’t lying?” his voice was so warm, so hopeful, Alex was so sure he might melt into a puddle of goo.
“They really really weren’t; I’ve never heard another voice like yours,” John flushed at the compliment, and laughed, scratching behind his ear. Up close, Alex could count every freckle spread across his cheeks.
The temptation to push a stray curl behind John’s ear was growing stronger by the moment, and Alex thought he was going to have to sit on his hands to refrain from touching him, his fingers twitching in his lap. There was a thick moment of silence between the two as people slowly made their way back to their cabins. Alex looked back at John, and was surprised to see his dark eyes watching him. Alex bit his lip and John’s eyes oh so briefly flickered down to his mouth.
Alex’s chest tightened, and he opened his mouth to speak when John beat him to it. “We should probably get back; we’ve got an early day tomorrow.”
Alex deflated as John stood, and he paused before following suit. “Uh, yeah I suppose that’s the smart thing to do.”
John looked back at Alex, a challenging smile on his lips and he cocked his head, “as opposed to what other idea, Alexander?”
Alex’s heart stopped for a moment - He couldn’t… be alluding to what Alex thought he was… could he?
His mouth flapped open and closed a few times as John continued to watch him. Then, a genuine smile broke out across John’s face and he laughed, a beautiful bell-like sound that Alex had come to adore.
Tension drained from Alex as John clapped him on the shoulder. “The great Alexander Hamilton, speechless. What a story this’ll make - I’ll be famous.”
Alex scoffed and they started their way back toward their cabin.
“Don’t be a dick, John.”
“You wouldn’t love me any other way, Alex.”