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It all started with a normal piece of orange construction paper, cut out into a square with black outlining. With a purple pen, beautiful swooping letters had been written on with the utmost precision and care as the beginning was individualized especially for its readers. Tiny pumpkin stickers had been stuck into each of the four corners of the outline and on the outside of the envelope that held the paper soon enough. It was then stuck into a blue box and later transferred to a bag in a van. The letter would soon find its way to a bright purple and blue doormat in front of a flat number 29 in NYC.
A man with dark skin and a haircut barely shorter than himself stopped in front of the ridiculous doormat and picked up the letter addressed to ‘Mr. Thomas Jefferson & Mr. James Madison’ before unlocking the apartment door. He noticed the neatness of the entire room that he was certain used to be a nice lavender instead of bright pink. “Thomas….” Madison sighed as he set down his bag on the rainbow colored hooks hanging on the wall. It wasn’t uncommon to come home to see a new color for rooms in the house when it came to his boyfriend, it felt like there was a new bright and bold color every few days.
James recognized the swooping letters from the days when a close friend of theirs still served in office, though it wasn’t like he had a choice in staying since you could only keep the position for 8 years maximum. Smiling for the first or second time since he’d left for work earlier that day, he opened the envelope, pulling out its colored contents that could rival the halloween decorations hanging all around the flat.
“My dear James and Thomas, you have been invited to a Halloween Bash at the Washington Mansion on October 31th at 6pm. Costumes are preferred as there will be contests for the best and please be sure to keep it appropriate as we do welcome trick or treaters to our door. We hope to see you there, George and Martha Washington.” James read the invitation to himself as he walked towards the kitchen that, he noticed, was now neon blue with orange pumpkins decorating the walls. Thomas’s habit of painting when he was frustrated and ranting was somewhat of a mix of adorable and awe-inspiring to James.
While the poofy haired man was often angry, it gave him the absolute sense of concentration and practice for his art from a teenager when they first met to now. What started out as stick figures and hearts had grown to pumpkins shining and floating in the sky and faces that were so real, people would think it was a window. It made him both a bit happier and prouder of the man he was living with as it both provided a healthy escape from his anger or James’s tiredness and it was a secret the both of them kept.
‘It’s this artist kid upstairs, I pay him once in awhile to change up the room’s paint and decorations and he just goes wild on our walls.’ James remembered the small lie he’d told Aaron Burr once when he had come over for dinner and noticed the change in the picture he’d seen before. James snapped out of his thoughts and moved towards the fridge, putting a magnet on it and walking back towards the cupboards to get something to eat. Just as he reached for the cupboard that held the cereal, the front door crashed open and the thumps on their wooden floor vibrated to where he was.
“DARLING, YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW ARROGANT ALEXANDER HAMILTON WAS TODAY.” Madison only had to hear up until Alexander before moving his hand to reach for the cupboard full of macaroni and cheese.
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It was a few days later that Thomas, for the first time, noticed the invitation hanging on the fridge. He had woken up late for his job, but as he was usually late most other days and as yesterday was the only important day of the week, no one would probably mind. He hadn’t been surprised to find a note in front of him instead of his James when he woke up, his boyfriend was always a quiet person that kept to his routines. He loved that part of him, the part that could keep himself in line just as much, if not more, than the times he would be loud, but there was always the quiet resilience and opinions hidden in his lover.
Thomas stopped at the fridge to grab some of the leftover mac n cheese from the night before to notice the bright halloween colors. It took a second of reading the words, beautiful letters he hadn’t noticed he’d miss until he saw John Adam’s penmanship. He spied the date quickly, a halloween party night of sounded wonderful for a getaway(even though Hamilton’s chances of being there were extremely high) for him and James.
He pulled out his phone to text his darling and stared at the date and time displayed for a second. It was currently 10:24 on Monday, October 31st and it’s a good thing he wasn’t holding anything other than his phone because he started panicking right away. The next thing he knew, he was on the phone with James, “JEMMY, DARLING, WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THAT THE WASHINGTON HALLOWEEN BASH WAS TODAY?!”
“Tom, I’m sorry, I had only received it minutes before you had come in complaining about Hamilton again. I must have forgotten when I started dinner.” His darling’s voice was music to his ears, no matter how panicked he was, it calmed him down to hear the dulcet tones, over the phone or next to him. And with his calming down, he realized why he’d panicked for the most part.
“Do we even have costumes good enough for this party? What did we have planned for Halloween otherwise??” Jefferson, the consistently planning and quick on his feet kind of person he was, had no plans. No memories of plans or even a hint of an idea for anything came to mind.
Um, well, that was the thing: we never discussed it as I never brought it up and you never really remembered it.” His James sounded awkward as he brought up the undiscussed elephant in the room. While Thomas was still panicked about the situation, something about hearing his Jemmy made his confidence swell back into him. He could do this, get a costume in a matter of hours for him and James, it’d be no sweat.
“Got it, I’ll come up with something for us while you’re working. I’m sure that people are already anticipating my day off with their invitations.” Thomas spoke with a teasing arrogance as ideas for costumes already came to mind. Before James could even respond, positively or negatively, Thom had shouted, “LOVE YOU, JEMMY DARLING, BYE!” into the phone and ended the call.
“Closet, closet, closet. What shall I use you for?” Thomas had moved to the bedroom (covered with painted macaroni on blue as a compromise between the two) in a second and opened the closet, scanning its contents for anything that would stand out. As he spotted a flash of magenta hiding in the back, an idea flew into his mind and he just as quickly flew into the closet. He only needed two things for this to be perfect, and they were both hiding somewhere within.
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“Alright, you’re ready to go to the party.” Jefferson stepped back from James to look at his work. James was wearing a wonderful magenta color that complimented his skin tone and while it stood a little tall for him, it was easy enough to fold up.
“...This is just one of your suits.” James played with the jacket a little as the suit still smelled like Thomas somehow. It comforted him even though wearing something other than blue felt weird. He kept his eyes on his boyfriend, he was now wearing a blue suit that was too short for him(considering that he was way taller than James) and just looking at it made James want to kiss him.
“Well, you’ll be going as the best person in the room second to you.” Thomas took this chance to wink at his darling as he twirled in his suit, striking a pose as he did so.
“.....” James stayed silent with a poker face as he silently admired Thomas. Always cute, confident and over dramatic, he made James feel better about everything he’d ever do or had done. Madison took the time to slip his hand into his pocket, messing with the circular metal he’d been carrying around for a month.
“Let’s just get going to the party.” James mumbled while grabbing the new ‘James Madison’s’ hand, maybe being Thomas Jefferson for a night would finally give him some courage.
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Seeing the party in action was interesting enough for James to watch. Whether it was the pounding music, constant use of alcohol, lack of decorations or a combination of the three, something told James that Washington did not plan this party. Lafayette and Mulligan, who Thomas and James had been going over to greet until they saw them making out(they then quickly ran), were dressed as vampire and what looked to be Lafayette by Hercules. Washington was talking with his wife and a few other people whose names he failed to remember, he wasn’t looking as flattering as a pirate but it was interesting to see.
The Schuyler Sisters(or was it siblings considering Peggy wasn’t wearing a dress?) were truly the envy of all as they were each dressed in wonderful costumes of the Powerpuff Girls, only Peggy was wearing a matching set of a shirt and jeans. Angelica looked to be Blossom, Eliza as Bubbles and Peggy as a Buttercup of sorts, they really looked quite beautiful and perfect for Halloween. And the last people James Madison saw in front of him were the last ones he wanted to see, John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton as Buzz Lightyear and Woody.
“Well, if it isn’t ignorant Thomas Jefferson, still wrong as usual?” Alexander shouted over the music but like his steps, his words seemed wobbly; which mostly likely stemmed from lots of drinking. James already knew how the situation was going to go down from the second that Jefferson’s hair almost poofed even more. John seemed to get that feeling, too, as they both moved to try and get a hold of their partners at the same time.
“I’m about as wrong as you are sober, you stupid drunk.” Thomas shot back, growling slightly as he stared Alexander down. The two seemed intensely interested in arguing with each other as James couldn't tug hard enough on Thomas’s arm to pull him away. John’s efforts on the smaller Hamilton looked just about as futile.
“How bout you? How drunk did you have to be to wear that ridiculous get-up? Looks ugly as heck.” Alex sneered and from the fact that John now looked scared behind the man, Thomas was angrier than ever. James tugged harder to try and pull Thomas away.
“Tom, honey, we can just leave, Hamilton is drunk and it doesn't mat-”
“This get-up is my costume as my Jemmy, and it is the most beautiful thing in the world second to him! Take it back!” Thomas only seemed to get closer to Hamilton with every shout he made, only emphasizing the fight.
“Why take it back when it's 100% true??” Alex had crossed the line far too much as it appears, seconds later, Thomas’s arm had left James’s grip and was on a collision course with Alex’s face. Both Laurens and Madison gazed in horror as their significant others tousled with each other on the floor.
“Get Washington!” James shouted to Laurens over all the noise and tried to separate the two fighting on the floor that were slowly getting more attention. “Thomas, Thomas! Knock it off!!” He tried harder to get them apart before just dragging Thomas away from him completely.
“Let me back at him, he needs to shut up and apologize!” Thomas yelled as he kept wiggling to hopefully escape calmer man’s grip. Madison had quickly bent down and captured the man in a hug to try and calm him. It helped enough to stop the struggling and shouting as he seemed to be surprised.
“It's alright, Darling. There's no need to be angry.”
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Washington had intervened only a minute later, scolding both idiots for actually starting a scuffle in the middle of a party. He decided to have the simplest punishment be to have each couple sent outside at opposite ends of the house. John and Alex got to be set out front to silently(for Alex) hand out candy while Thomas and James got put in the backyard.
“I'm sorry.” Thomas started out their conversation of sitting outside by apologizing. Definitely a rare thing in either of their books, enough that James never expected it. “I got us both in trouble and kicked out of Washington’s party in the first 30 minutes.” He sighed as he ruffled a hand through his frizzy hair.
“It wasn't your fault, as much. Hamilton was being pretty rude to you, though I would appreciate it if you followed me when I tug on your arm from now on.” James chuckled slightly as he looked up towards the sky, a very starry night sky. It was a beautiful night and even though they were basically in adult timeout, he never seemed to love Thomas Jefferson more. He had fought for him, his honor and looks, him, James Madison. The quiet thoughtful one who people had once rarely noticed.
Thomas saw the stars, not in the sky, but simply in James’s eyes as he chuckled and looked around. His boyfriend, lover, best friend, lifeline, family, favorite person. The list grew and grew with every day they'd known each other for Thomas’s mind. They'd talk more and more and deeper and deeper he fell in love with the small man who seemed to have too many qualities and good things in his short stature. Something had always told him that this was the one, it spoke even louder now and he wouldn't ignore it any more.
“Jemmy, my darling. You've always been here for me, you've always listened, made me laugh and kept me together. Even though I never asked you.” James had been listening to Thomas, but hadn't truly looked over until he heard the sincerity and love in his voice when he said the last part. He jumped to his feet when he saw Thomas down on one knee right beside him. Was he actually- “You’ve backed me up through my stupidity, encouraged my talents and helped me to pursue my dreams. But there's one dream I've had yet to pursue.”
“Thomas…”
“The pursuit of happiness has always been one of the most important phrases to me and my own life. Until I met you, I never really knew what I was pursuing. I don't have a ring, but I know that there's no more time for me to waste if I want to be happy with you for the rest of my life. So, James Madison, would you do me the honor of being my husband?”
James had no words planned for this moment, very few even came to mind for him at that moment. Here was his boyfriend, no, his soulmate kneeling before him a blushing mess that he'd never seen before. He didn't bother to think for once, he was Thomas Jefferson for a night, why not act like him? He pulled Thomas up to his feet and pulled their lips together as quickly as quickly as he could. It was a bit messy as he had been rushing it but it felt hot and passionate as he shoved his love into it. He pulled a hand away to his pocket to pull out the ring he'd fiddled with earlier and slip it onto his fiancée’s left hand.
They pulled apart for the kiss to try and catch their breath and touched their foreheads together. They looked down at the ring as they just enjoyed each other’s presence. It looked like most rings, except for the special bowl of macaroni sitting on top. It was perfectly unique for the two of them and their relationship. “Yes, my darling. Yes.”
By the time Peggy came out to tell the two that they were welcome to come in whenever, they were kissing again. Peggy was about to shout at them to get a room when Peggy spotted the brand new ring on the Francophile’s left ring finger. Peggy squealed while pulling out their phone to snap a picture of the moment(more specifically the ring) and ran inside to tell her sisters and everyone else.