The Place to Be - John Laurens x male reader

Chapter 15

Hello there

It's taken me nearly a month, but I'm back. I'm on summer holidays now, so hopefully I can churn out a few more chapters in the 6 weeks.

Again, apologies if I switch tense halfway through.

John's POV

"God, I love you, John."

I stopped dead in my tracks, wondering whether I'd heard correctly. My heart felt like it had just given up on beating. 

Holy shit. Y/n hasn't noticed what he's said, probably because he's very tipsy.

Crap. He's drunk. He doesn't actually mean it. It's just a drunk slip of the mouth. He doesn't actually love me. Well, not romantically, anyway. He doesn't love me, he doesn't need me, he doesn't want me. Not like I want him.

Hercules and Lafayette don't seem very surprised. They do look a little uncomfortable, however.

Y/n seems rather confused.

"Let's - er, let's get back to where we're staying, alright?" Everyone nodded at Laf's comment and began to walk back. Herc and Laf were gripping onto each other to keep them upright. Y/n put his arm around me and dropped his head on my shoulder. I blushed, but still felt a little shocked from his statement.

There's no point in trying to ask him about it now, as both of us are a bit drunk. I'll try and remember to ask him about it in the morning.

I looked at his head on my shoulder, and wondered if he's asleep. His eyes were closed, but he was walking forward. He's trusting me to lead him. I don't think I've had anyone trust me that much before. It feels nice.

I cautiously placed my arm around his waist and tried to keep us both in a straight line.

All the teasing from Herc and Laf, the dance, the constant flirting, I do wonder if Y/n does actually like me back.

But I can't be too desperate. It might have just been friendly dancing. Flirting as friends. Jesus Christ, that would be embarrassing, if I'd misread the signs.

The moment I put my arm around his waist, Y/n let out a sound of content and nuzzled his head further into my shoulder. I hoped my collar bone didn't hurt on his cheek. He squeezed his eyes shut again and smiled. I looked down at him.

I kind of wanted to kiss him.

He just looked so happy and calm. Quite a lot different to the collected Lieutenant Washington I'd met on my first day in the army. He'd clearly got a lot more comfortable with me, which I was pleased about. I still saw him look at the bridge of my nose whenever I talked to him, however. I assumed that only the people very closest to him saw him look in their eyes. 

I tried to not feel slightly offended.

"We're here," Herc proclaimed, and Y/n's eyes shot open as he detached himself from me. Which is a shame. I had sort of hoped that we could have just kept walking like that forever, with his head on my shoulder.

***

"Good morning," a rather groggy Y/n walked into my room. I had been up for a while, reading in bed, but it looked like Y/n had only just woken up.

"Good morning, Y/n," I smiled. "How long have you been awake?"

"Few minutes," he grumbled back to me. "You look like you've been up for hours."

"You would be correct," I grinned, patting the bed next to me. Y/n looked at me and sat down. He looked adorable when he'd just woken up. He sighed as he placed his head on my shoulder, staring at the words on the page I was reading.

"What the hell even is this?" He asked, confused.

"It's Common Sense. By Thomas Paine?"

"Everyone's reading that nowadays."

"I think it's good," I muttered. Y/n laughed and placed his head on my shoulder. It made me blush slightly, even though I'd had his head there before.

"You're blushing," he giggled, poking a finger at my cheek. I rolled my eyes.

"Fuck off."

"Hey!" He exclaimed. "I'm just saying. You're cute when you blush."

"Are you hungover?" I asked, fighting the urge to drop my book and throw my arms around the boy.

"I didn't drink that much last night," he defended himself, sitting upright on the bed. "Which means I meant every word I said."

I paused, my fingers halfway to turning over a page. He meant it? That meant that he knew what he was talking about, and - he actually loved me? The look he gave me was enough to answer my question, as he was beaming at my stuttering face.

"You mean - you-"

"I don't think I was very subtle about it, mon cheri." He smirked, quickly pressing his lips to my cheek before walking out of the room.

My eyes stayed on the closed door for a few moments, in shock. My book lay forgotten as I rested my head upon the wall and tried to comprehend what had just happened. He kissed me on the cheek. I don't think I've ever had anyone kiss me on the cheek. Well, apart from my mother. It's not really something I'm used to.

I hear voices from behind the door, although I can't really decipher what they're saying. I can hear Y/n's voice, as well as Alex's. He must have arrived later in the night.

'I don't think I was very subtle about it'? Has he been obvious that he loved me back and I was too oblivious to notice? For God's sake, John, you could have dealt with this so much earlier. If he actually does love me back, then what will happen? It's not like we can actually get together. Men aren't supposed to court each other, and Y/n is still pretending to court Peggy anyway.

I may have to ask him about it.

I'm not entirely sure just yet what I'm going to do about it. But I must say, I'll deal with this one way or another. For better or worse. 

 I think I've waited long enough.

Thank you all for reading! My inspiration is kind of running low, so apologies if this chapter seemed bad or rushed, because it was. 

I'm in London right now. I actually went to see Hamilton in the Victoria Theatre! It was amazing and I loved it so much. I want to go and see it again, but alas, we don't have that kind of money. Ah well.

Thank you again!

- AngelOfMusic7