Fluffy Jeffmads Oneshots (Modern)

9 - Acrophobia

President Washington and his best politicians had to be at a very important meeting in San Francisco, California, so, basically on the other side of the country. To get there soon enough, they had to take the president's private jet, much to Thomas' dislike. On board there would also be Madison and Hamilton. James wasn't a problem, though. It was Hamilton why Jefferson couldn't quite say anything about his fear of heights. Who wants their enemy to know one of your biggest secret fears?

When the four men where about to board the plane, Thomas quickly took James' hand and squeezed it tightly, intertwining their fingers. "Are you alright?" James asked him.

"Yeah," Thomas said, forcing a smile. "Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?" James could see the anxiousness in Thomas' eyes and gave him a concerned look.

"Mhm," the taller man answered rather quickly.

James knew arguing with Thomas isn't that easy, so he decided to leave the subject and responded with a simple "Alright then." Well, it sounded simple, but that doesn't mean he's still not worried.

Thomas and James found a place where they can sit next to each other without anyone bothering them. Thomas' nervousness grew with every second as he noticed everyone was seated and the plane was soon ready to take off. He fidgeted with his cravat, feeling his heartbeat becoming more rapidly. James pulled out a book from his bag and immediately looked at Thomas as he noticed how anxious he was. He put the book down on his lap and grabbed one of Thomas' hands, holding it with his other hand as well.

"Hey, Thomas, what's wrong?", James asked. For a moment, Thomas refused to look at his worried partner, inhaling deeply before responding. "J-James..." He finally looked at him. "I-I'm scared of heights..."

James' eyes widened. How could he not know about this? They've been friends for how long? They are now in a relationship for about two years, and Thomas hadn't even mentioned it once? Not only the fact that Thomas never told him startled the smaller Virginian, but also the case that the Thomas Jefferson was afraid of something else than messing things up between his loved ones. The Thomas Jefferson who always acted so fearless, so careless. It took James a moment to process that.

"Wha- For how long? Why have you never told me?" James asked carefully, yet concerned with a little bit of anger in his tone. "Why are you telling me this just now?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't say anything sooner. Hamilton would tease me about it for the rest of my life," Thomas responded, taking a quick glance at the other side of the plane where Hamilton sat. He then turned his attention back to James. "And I also didn't quite think it was necessary for you to know at any other time. It just...makes me feel weak and- and stupid and embarrassed," Thomas said sheepishly, looking down.

James' gaze softened as he put a hand on the other man's cheek. "Honey, it's okay to be scared. It's okay to have fears, everyone has them. Even Hamilton has a weakness, I assure you." He paused for a moment. "But...I remember you've been to France a few years ago. You must have already been on a plane before."

Thomas shook his head. "N-no...I kinda traveled there by ship. It took longer to get there, but at least I hadn't been ten thousand meters up in the air."

James thought for a moment before responding. "Well, I'm very sorry to tell you that there's no turning back now, dear. We have to go through this, together." James brought their hands close to his face and pressed his lips against Thomas' knuckles. "I'll be here, I'll be holding you through the entire flight and I promise nothing's gonna happen to you." James gave him a comforting smile before connecting their lips. "Thank you, darlin'," Thomas said.

The pilot turned around to face his passengers before heading towards his seat. "Alright, gentlemen. This is going to be a six-hours-flight, so I hope you'll enjoy it at least a bit." He left and closed the door behind him as Jefferson huffed at this irony.

Thomas squeaked a little as the engine started, feeling his entire body tensing even more. He tightened his grip on Madison's hand which actually hurt a bit now. 'This is going to be a loooong flight', James thought to himself, holding Thomas close. Through those six hours, James tried to think of things that could distract his partner or calm him down, not fully succeeding, but still being good enough.

A/N: Btw, pls tell me if I make mistakes, so I can correct them and learn from them :)

(774 words)