All I've Ever Wanted (Laurette)

Chapter 1

It was a sunny day, a bright day but it was gloomy because of the war that was raging on in the battlefields.  The war was a noble cause but it still made a bright summer's day as cold and deadly as a winter's night.  John Laurens was a young solider fighting in the revolutionary war, one of the best soldiers that had been recruited. He had speed, agility, and was great at improvising. He'd been in the war for almost a year now, and even though he was one of the best in the cause, people still saw him as a kid that needed protecting. True, John had a constant need for attention but for reasons no one else really understood. See, he was well past the marrying age of most men and he was longing for someone to love. He was desperate and growing rather clingy, the others not being able to handle it very well. But that would all change today, and things would change a lot. John came out of his tent, strapping a pistol into his holster.  When he came out of the tent, he heard a loud commotion near General Washington's tent.

"What's all this shouting about...?" He muttered as he walked over to the crowd.

When they saw John was trying to see what was going on, they moved out of the way so he could get to the front. When he finally could see what that excitement was all about, he found himself a bit stunned and surprised. Standing outside of Washington's tent was none other than Marquis de Lafayette himself, the famous Frenchman that talked France into helping them in the war. Beside Marquis was another man that he couldn't name, for he didn't know him but yet, but all the other men seemed to know him well.

"I can't believe we get to fight with France's best soldier!" Someone shouted excitedly.

Then Washington came over to Laurens and smacked him on the back, rather hard and chuckled, "Well men, don't forget, you're also working with the best soldier around." He said and all eyes were on John which caused him to blush from embarrassment. Everyone muttered an sarcastic agreement then scattered to resume their daily chores, Washington walking away as well. The only people left with him were Marquis and the other man. He took a shaky breath and walked over to them, holding a hand out to Marquis.

"Pardon this rather late introduction, my name is John Laurens; it will be an honor to fight alongside you sir Marquis de Lafayette." He said and smiled as Marquis shook hands with him.

Laurens

"Well it will be a pleasure to work with America's finest warrior. Je souhaite mieux vous connaître. And please, just call me Lafayette, no need to be so formal." He said before kissing my hand.

I blushed bright red and jumped slightly. I slowly pulled my hand back when someone puts an arm around my shoulders and laughs rather loudly, so loud it felt like my brain rattled around my head and left my ears ringing, my eyes spinning slightly. I heard a softer laugher but I couldn't really focus my eyes enough to see who was laughing at me.

"Nice to meet you, Laurens, my name is Hercules Mulligan!" A man shouted in my ear. I ignored the fact that he was informal in his introduction and looked at him, realizing it was the other man everyone was gawking about. He was pretty contrasting with Lafayette but I hadn't any room to talk, I was extremely different from them both. They were both tall, dark skinned, had facial hair, dark hair, and had way more experience than I had in fighting wars. I was short- okay very short, tan skinned, had long, light brown curly hair, and my face was a landfill of freckles but then again my whole body was covered in them so. I looked at Lafayette and examined him. He has black curly hair that was pulled back like mine, and he had shining hazel eyes. I had to admit it; he was a rather attractive man. I then looked at his friend who squeezed me tighter into a hug. He was tall, muscular, wore a bandana, and was obviously a loud mouth. He squeezed me even harder and I couldn't breathe, my face slightly turning blue.

"Hercules, mon amie! Let the man go before you kill him!" Lafayette snapped, his French accent was obviously very heavy in his speech. Hercules let me go and I gasped for air like a fish, a hand on my chest and I struggled to get my lungs to work again. Lafayette came over and put a hand on my shoulder. He smiled at me and I felt my heart beat slightly faster, he was just so charming. I moved away from them both and cleared my throat.

"I hope you two will be ready for our first surveillance rout this morning." I said and turned to walk away, heading back to my tent.

Lafayette's POV

I watched the small boy walk away, becoming curious about his history and how good he actually was on the battlefield. I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back a slight smile as I watched his hips move as he walked away, blushing slightly at my own staring. Hearing a slight chuckle, I glanced at Hercules and grinned, placing my arms behind my back as I walked after Laurens, Hercules following right behind me. I keep thinking back to the look on his face when I kissed his hand the first time. He looked shocked and surprised, his face looking even cuter with that bright pink blush on his perfect cheek bones. And the light that shined in his baby blue eyes really got me. I stopped outside his tent which he had disappeared into. As we stood and waited for Laurens to come back, the other soldiers that I figured had nothing on Laurens told me stories about how he is to the other men. This made me curious and made me grin more. Hercules and I listened to the stories about how clingy the young man would be and how he never actually stuck around and hung out with any of the men because no one really liked him for anything other than his skill. I started to feel bad for the boy, and felt a bit of anger rising up in his chest as these men continued to make fun of Laurens.

"Well, men, I would love to listen to more stories but I am afraid I need to collaborate with Laurens about tactics." I said, my wanting to get to know Laurens growing stronger now, to see if he was as bad as they said he was.

The soldiers went away and I lifted up the flap to the tent, stepping inside. I could tell Laurens hadn't heard me because he had his back turned and seemed to be writing a letter or an entry, speaking aloud what he was writing.

"Mister Laurens." I cleared my throat and watch him jump. He turned towards me and slamming close a journal, getting up from his chair.

"P-Please, just call me John or Laurens. You made your formal introduction; I believe you have the right to be informal now." He smiled and fixed his collar, then fixed the ribbon that was holding his hair back.

I nodded, keeping that in mind and watched him fix his hair. He had light brown, curly locks that were honestly beautiful. His loose pieces of hair framed his face perfectly and one curl was dangling down in the middle of his forehead. I smiled slightly and thought about how fun it would be to be in the same battalion as him.  He finished with his hair and put a hand on his pistol in his hostler.

"I do hope we become great friends, though I am not worthy to serve with you Sir Lafayette." He said in a kind, friendly tone but his words caused the corner of my mouth to twitch and almost lose my smile.

"Mon amie, please do not say you are unworthy to have a friend despite who it is. And please, you can just call me Lafayette. As you said, you had your formal introduction so it is alright to be informal." I said a bit sternly but I tried to be as kind as he was. He blushed slightly, out of embarrassment I suppose, and nodded a little. He walked to the tent's exit and I turned to follow him.

"The patrol shall be only three of us; General wishes for not that many to leave. I suppose it will be you, me, and –uh- Hercules." He said, pausing for a second to remember my dear friend's name.

"Well at least the General will have assurance that the job is going to get done right with the best of the camp going." I said, nudging him slightly to indicate that he was the best. That made him blush even more as he lifted the tent flap for me. As I stepped out of the tent I heard him say softly,

"I am nothing compared to your skill."

( Je souhaite mieux vous connaître- I would like to know you better

Mon Amie- My friend)