Chapter Text
Two men sat on the grass of a hill. Stars twinkled in the vast, dark sky above. The air was cold, late December weather. It was quiet. There was a certain uncomfortable tension to the silence, however.
“You worry too much, really,” the dark-haired man said, "It's not like I’m going to die.”
“You very well could,” said the other, “Charles, you could just apologize. That's what you should do.”
“I said what I said,” Charles shrugged, “I’ll be fine, Samuel.”
Samuel fundamentally disagreed with even the concept of duels. There was no situation in which the best way to solve an argument was by shooting at each other. Technically it was a last resort, the seconds would try to compromise, but Samuel thought even that was too much.
Charles was stubborn. Samuel knew that. That was part of what worried him. Charles had told Samuel he had no intention of apologizing for what he had said about Washington. Nearly an hour had passed of Samuel trying to convince him it would be better before he gave up.
Samuel sighed, “You’ll be fine, of course, laying in a box in the ground. Are you going to a family plot or can I put you by my church? There's not a graveyard there yet, but I’m sure I could make it happen.”
“I’m not going to die! Not yet, anyway. But if I do, don’t put me in a churchyard,” Charles snorted.
Samuel rolled his eyes, “You’re not taking this seriously.”
“Nope.”
“Ugh.”
Samuel looked back up at the stars. Everything would be fine, he tried to convince himself. A loving God, one who made stars like these, wouldn’t take Samuel’s friend from him.
They should have been heading home around then. It was dark. Both he and Charles needed sleep. He didn’t want to go home. Samuel didn’t think he could sleep if he did. It felt like maybe he’d not have to see tomorrow if he didn’t go to sleep. He wouldn’t have to go to Charles’s duel, and he wouldn’t have to take care of whoever got shot, and he wouldn’t have to process it if that person was Charles.
That wouldn’t work, however. Day would come, and the duel would happen, and it would be much better for them both if they were well rested.
Samuel let himself stare at the stars for a couple more moments, trying to pick out any of the constellations. He pointed at three stars lined up, connecting them to the others in the constellation, “There’s Orion.”
Charles nodded, though his eyes weren’t on the constellation. He was looking at something else in the sky.
“Charles?”
“Canis minor,” Charles said, pointing.
Samuel laughed a little at that. He had learned that Charles loved dogs. It was oddly charming.
If either of them wanted to get to bed by a somewhat reasonable time, they needed to go. Samuel couldn’t keep stalling. They could spend time together later. Standing and brushing himself off, Samuel looked at Charles and offered his hand to help him up. Charles gave his thanks, letting his hand linger on Samuel’s.
Charles looked at Samuel one last time, “Look, don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. Alright?”
Samuel hesitated for a moment, resisting the urge to argue back. He knew it wouldn’t change Charles’s mind. He nodded, “Alright.”
The pair split to go to their respective homes. Samuel was a little less worried than he had been. Charles could handle it, he was sure. He was able to sleep that night.