To Be or Not to Be | hamilton

sixteen : lafayette

{mentions of self-harm and weight loss, violence}

Lafayette considered himself a flighter. But, when Alexander bust the door down and charged into the dorm, he knew he had to fight.

Alexander ran towards Henry and the fading-fast Mulligan, and Lafayette ran towards John.

"You aren't high," John whispered shakily as Lafayette helped him up.

"It's about control, being high," he responded, but dropped the topic when he saw John's doubt and fear. "Are you okay?" John pointed at his stomach. Lafayette frowned. "We need to leave."

John shook his head numbly.

"A little help?!" Alexander let loose a strangled cry, and Lafayette and John both looked up.

Henry was now straddling Mulligan, still abusing him. Alexander was being choked with his other hand.

Mulligan was frighteningly still. Lafayette paled, and John began to cry.

"T-this is my f-fault..."

"Non. It is his fault." Lafayette cocked his head to Henry. "Go find somewhere safe and hide. A... hôtel ." He turned and ran to the tangle of bodies, leaving John to fend for himself.

John began to panic.

Alexander was never a violent drunk; but he was feisty sober. So, lucky for him and unlucky for Henry, he was sober. He was high off his ass, but he could control that.

But even with his temper and ability to fight, Henry was tougher. The man was a psychopath! There was no way he had only four limbs. He'd be hit in the face then kicked in the groin. He'd fall, but the closing grip on his neck kept him up and most certainly was causing a bruise. It was a losing battle- he was beginning to feel faint.

And suddenly there was Lafayette, his poof of hair taking over his vision. He would've smiled if he wasn't in pain.

His world went black.

}{

Lafayette awoke in the hospital, connected to an IV drip, his head full of cotton. John and Eliza were talking by his bedside, occasionally glancing at the cot next to him. Lafayette looked over and saw a passed-out Alexander."

"Good morning," Eliza laughed as she saw he was awake. She nudged John, who blushed and looked down, playing with the frayed seams of his sleeves. Lafayette winced when he knew what John was hiding under those sleeves.

"T-thank you... for saving us..."

Lafayette chuckled. "Think nothing of it."

Eliza, who was capable of speech and heard the story, began to recap what happened: After Lafayette attacked Henry, John went into a panic and called 911. That made him the hero. The noise distracted Henry, who immediately left Mulligan and Alexander. He went over to his son and knocked him out, giving him a broken arm and concussion. Easily fixed, though John was in pain. While that was happening, Lafayette performed CPR on Mulligan. He was now in critical condition. Alexander was expected to make a speedy recovery, although the drugs in all three men constituted more issues later down the road. When they got to the hospital, John called Eliza and brought her there, to have a shoulder to lean on. Henry was taken back to prison, where he would not be bailed out of again.

"Wow..."

"Yes," Eliza sighed. "I should have been there."

"Nobody knew he was such a pyschopath. John... you had to live with him..."

John shook his head without responding.

Eliza put her hand on his shoulder. "We don't need to talk about this."

John nearly fainted in relief, but the flinch when Eliza touched him did not go unnoticed by Lafayette. Lafayette squinted at him when he did as such, his worry taking over him, and noticed he lost weight. Oh, God. He didn't bring that up.

"A... are you... are you going back to Hamilton?"

Eliza sighed. "You really don't know, do you?"

"N-no..."

Eliza moved her hair back, smiling at John. "He's gay. I've forgiven him, but I can't love him. After all, it's you he loves. Not me. What he did for you was an act of heroism, nothing short. I have forgiven him for that, but I see we could never truly be happy, because he never loved me the way he loves you. I will support you two all the way, should a relationship arise."

Lafayette laughed to himself, knowing his scandal with Maria (which he pridefully ended). He waited for John to respond, noticing Burr walk in the room silently. Lafayette frowned when he saw him flanked by Madison and Jefferson, but chose not to say anything to his friends.

"I..." John thought. Unconsciously, he had known Alexander for a year. Consciously, maybe a month combined- but he had known of Alexander for years. Was that enough time for love to arise? He felt for Alexander, but he didn't know if that was a romantic feeling. He imagined holding hands with Alexander, a man who wouldn't hurt him. Imagined kissing him. John smiled to himself, something he would later realise he hadn't done in all his lifetime. "I think I'd like that."

"Well, what a happy family reunion," Madison said from behind them.