Nothing /// Mullette Asylum Fic

5 - Jeffmads Gets Gay

Like 5 years ago

Thomas
Thomas ran excitedly into the kitchen, bouncing up and down as he grabbed his food and bounded over to his friend James Madison.
"Hi, Jemmy", he chirped, sliding into the seat next to him.
James offered a small wave in return, smiling softly. He signed slowly so Thomas, who was still learning, could decipher what he was saying. "Have you met the new kid yet?" James asked.

Thomas shook his head.
The current residents of Floor 1 were Marquis de Lafayette, John Laurens, Thomas himself, James, John Adams, George King and Samuel Seabury. A young nurse named Angelica Schuyler had joined them last week.
"Have you?" Thomas asked.
James nodded. "Something tells me that you won't like him."
Thomas scoffed. "I'll try my best to like him."

The new kid joined them at lunch.
Thomas excitedly bounded over to him. "Hi", he waved. "I'm Thomas Jefferson."
The boy looked up and took a deep breath. "My name is Alexander Hamilton and there's a million things I haven't done, but just you wait. I grew up in the Caribbean until a hurricane came and destroyed everything and I moved to America. I was sent over here to live in this hospital for my PTSD and depression-"

Thomas blinked.
Hamilton kept talking.
Thomas got up and cutting Hamilton's rant short, gave him a sarcastic smile before sitting back next to James who was silently shaking with laughter.
"Shut up", Thomas grumbled.
James' hands were shaking so much it was hard to make out what he signed but it was something like "I literally can't talk, what's the point in telling me to shut up?"

"You sarcastic meanie", Thomas teased, before launching himself at Madison and tickling him.
The tickle fight turned into an all out war.
Thomas ended up winning, panting for breath and straddling a red-faced James.
"I win", he grinned.
"Cheater", James signed with one hand (Thomas sat on the other), which was a pretty impressive feat.
"Am not!"
"Are too!"

A small crowd had gathered to watch the fight. John was wheezing and gripped onto a scared-looking Lafayette.
"Mes-amis, you are not hurt, non?" the Frenchman asked worriedly.
"Nah, it's alright Laf, we were just playing", Thomas laughed, getting off James and holding out a hand to help the smaller boy up.
James took it and got up, smiling all the way.

The Present

Thomas grinned at the memory.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around to see James angrily signing at him. "You're mixing the whites and the darks!"
Thomas looked around, startled. He had completely forgotten what the heck he was doing. Laundry. He was on laundry duty with James. Right.
He had known James for years, and had long since accepted that he was kinda a little bit gay for him. Just a smidge. He hummed happily as he pulled all the laundry out of the machine again and restarted, separating whites from colors.

When all was said and done, Thomas pulled on James' shirt to get him to follow. He knew that James wasn't very comfortable with hand-holding, to him it was the equivalent of nailing his mouth shut.

James
"Where are we going?" James queried.
"To do things!" Thomas screeched, running excitedly ahead.
James followed calmly, giving a small smile and wave to Hercules who was talking quietly with a drained-looking Lafayette. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but neither of them spoke sign language and Thomas was sprinting on ahead.
He rushed after the taller man, wheezing slightly.

Thomas had stopped at the delivery entrance, where workers in trucks brought food and other supplies to the hospital. Normally it was locked until Delivery Day, but Thomas pulled out a badly bent paperclip and fit it into the padlock. With a snap, it opened and he beckoned James inside.
It was dark in the airy room. James' breath hitched in his throat and he grabbed Thomas' arm. The place was sized like a warehouse with two large garage doors on either side of the door they came through.

"Come on", Thomas whispered. It was out of place to speak loudly in a spacious and empty place like this.
There was a normal-sized door beside each of the garage doors, a fire exit. Thomas headed to the one on the left and went to open it, but James stopped him.
"Won't the alarm go off?" he asked worriedly.
Thomas chuckled. "Don't worry, Jemmy. I broke the alarm for this door a while back and nobody realized."
James nodded and Thomas pushed down the bar, opening the door. His jaw dropped. Outside was a field with a road running next to it. They were in a countryside, lush green fields as far as the eye could see.

James was stunned. They had only been let outside once before, when George King lit a fire in the kitchen tryin to prove he was a good cook and they had been evacuated outside. Because it was a small fire, only the ground floor were evacuated. James remembered the expressions on the others' faces as they took in the scenery. Lafayette had almost cried with joy, Eliza and Peggy had a grass fight, Alex and John lay on their backs in the grass with Lafayette, the three excitedly marveling the view. James and Thomas had stood together, savoring the fresh air.

"What do you think?" Thomas asked quietly. James turned to him. He had an excited smile on his face.
"It's amazing", he admitted.
Thomas smiled and lay down on his back, James following suit, facing the smaller boy so he could see his hands.

"We could just run away", James signed after a while. "Run away together and enjoy the outside world."
"How romantic", Thomas smirked, making James blush. He sighed. "We can't Jemmy. We can't abandon the others. We don't know where we are, we're in the middle of nowhere for all we know. We don't know when we'd get to civilization or if we'd find food. Lafayette especially wouldn't be able to last."
They lay in silence for a while, James daydreaming as he gazed into Thomas' eyes.

"I don't want to be trapped here forever though", James signed eventually, a frown prominent on his face.
Thomas' face brightened. "We don't have to be!" he exclaimed. "People can be discharged from here!" he explained when he saw James' confused face. "Remember John Adams? He got better and was let out! I'm due to be released in a few years and I could take you with me!"
James blinked. "You'd really take me with you?" he asked.
Thomas reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Of course I would, Jemmy. You're my best friend."
James winced internally. Friendzoned. Oh well. Like Thomas would be interested in someone like him.

The two talked for a bit, about the past, present and future, staying up to watch the sun set and returning inside for dinner.
"Hey, Jemmy?" Thomas asked nervously.
James looked at him.
"Could we, ya know, keep this between us? Please?"
James nodded, giving him a small smile.
"Thanks, Jemmy!" Thomas sang, pulling on his shirt and skipping towards the kitchen.
James followed, smiling all the way.