Hamilton / Lams Oneshots

Warm Blue Eyes (Laurens) [Runaway AU]

It was cold, even though it was August, it was so cold that I was shivering, even with my jacket. My lungs were burning from the cold wind pressing into them as I ran, hoping with each step that I would avoid tripping in the dark. I had been running for what felt like hours, and probably was, though I had no way of telling. I could vaguely see the silhouettes of the trees and fences to each side of the path I was running down, but my head was spinning, and my eyes were playing all kinds of tricks on me when I tried to focus on the shadows. I tried desperately to stay collected, to stop my pounding heart from jumping out of my chest.

Finally, I could see the lights of a farmhouse, small and distant, but so familiar that I nearly let out a squeak of relief. Faster now, I ran towards the lone building, hoping to find a stay for the night in the barn or even just behind a woodstack.

My legs were close to giving out when I reached the barn door and carefully pulled it open. If I had been relieved before, I nearly fainted of happiness now, though in reality it was most likely my lack of energy. Without making a sound, I slipped into the barn, where I was greeted with warmth and the quiet sounds of horses dozing in their stall.

It was pitch black in the barn, and so I didn't dare to take another step, instead fumbling in my jacket pocket for a match. When it lit, I saw the inside of the barn with almost blinding clarity - of course, it was only a match, and everything looked fuzzy, but after the several hours of running through the dark with only the stars peeking down from the sky it was everything I could've wished for.

The barn wasn't big, with a door leading to the horses' stall and another leading to what I assumed was the main house, and a ladder leading up to the hayloft. One of the horses peeked its head through over the door to greet me, but quickly found that I was of no interest to it and disappeared again.

I couldn't let myself be seen by the owners, and while crawling in with the horses seemed like a cozy option, I decided not to disturb their peace any further. I blew out my match and felt my way to the ladder, needing two hands to balance my way up, I let myself trust in my sense of touch instead of indulging in that comforting light. One step at a time, I climbed up the wooden ladder, feeling for the old iron bolts that were used to fixate the steps, so that I would avoid crashing down if one was missing.

I nearly fell forward when the pattern stopped and the wall opened up to the storage room above. I crawled onto the wooden floor of the loft and collapsed onto my knees, shaking slightly. A fear of heights had never really been an issue for me, but it was a far different story in the dark. I was concious of the dark ledge behind me, and so it didn't keep me at the edge for long. I lightly waved my arm around me to secure my space, not wanting to start a fire if a bale was all too close, then lit another match.

There was no need for my worry, it turned out. The loft was nearly empty, with a larger pile of loose hay in the corner and a row of it along the wall. There were few farmers who still processed their hay the old fashioned way, mostly old men, the stricter kind who wouldn't let go of their habits too quickly. Even more reason not to get caught, I imagined the consequences wouldn't be mild.

I failed to inspect the rest of the hayloft as I felt my adrenaline calm down and exhaustion overwhelm my body. Fearing that my knees would give out, I simply crawled over to the pile in the corner and blew out my match before dropping down into the hay. Not even two minutes later, I was dead asleep.

~

It wasn't even five in the morning when I woke up, as the light of day was not yet falling through the window. It was cold still, but the hay beneath me let me want to stay curled up like this forever. Eyes closed, I thought of how much it reminded me of home, a warm bed and the gentle hand of my sister or mother on my shoulder, coming to wake me in case I wasn't up yet...