Fearless // Lafayette x Reader

23. She Heads for Home

Ok but the last author's note was just referring to stranger things s2 in a rly dramatic way bc im extra like that😂 sorry for the confusion lol im just a smol potato overexcited about her tv shows

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She catapulted herself into Lafayette's arms, latching onto him and melting into his embrace. They squeezed each other so tight their circulation was almost cut off, swaying and crying and stroking each other's hair in the deluge. Both afraid to let go, afraid that they had come so close to separating forever a moment ago that if they broke apart, they'd never embrace again.

Finally she lifted her face from his shoulder, brushing wet pieces of hair from his face.

"We're okay," he said, almost as though it were a question.

"We're okay," she answered breathlessly.

And then they laughed. They laughed and cried at the same time, tears dripping down their faces and being swept away in the wind.

At that moment, the girl remembered that they weren't alone. After giving another tight hug to Laf, she turned and wiggled out of his grip, making her way over to Sanders and his men.

She opened her mouth, and a thousand questions flooded out.

"Sanders? How did you get here so fast? How did you find us, where did you get that gun? How did you know to shoot him? Why -"

The old man chuckled, his gun now safely in its holster. "Slow down, 'ere, (Y/N). Lemme answer the easiest question firs' - I knew to shoot 'em because he was right bout to shoot you."

The girl laughed again - tearful, relived laughter - and threw her arms around the old man's neck.

"Thank you," she whispered. She could feel him nodding his head in response, rubbing her back slightly.

"You, ah...you know this man?" Lafayette asked from behind, clearly confused.

The two released each other. The old man squinted up at the sky, frowning. "You two oughta come inside - pourin' like mad, now. I'll explain everythin' you want t'know once you both get warmed up."

Lafayette put a protective arm around the girl as the group made their way through the mud to the tiny harbor house.

~~~

The minute they'd changed into new clothes, started the fire, and sat down wrapped in warm blankets, (Y/N) looked at Sanders expectantly.

He held up a hand to stop her flow of questions and turned to Lafayette.

"I think we better let (Y/N) tell it from the beginning," he suggested.

And so she began her tale. She began with the moment she got on the ship and when she got to the stations. She told them about Henry, about Jack, about her visit to Hercules'. She explained how she got away, how she made it to Sanders', and how she discovered he was American and that he took her to France.

When she finished, it was silent.

Then Sanders began speaking.

"I was jus' about halfway back to th' English harbor after droppin' (Y/N) off with th' French," he told them, twisting his hands together in a slightly anxious way. "I was fixin' to take a nap when I heard th' rowboat comin' up behind me. 'Course I turned around and was pretty relieved to see it was two of my good friends, but they looked right scared.

"Course, I asked 'em what the matter was, and they told me all frantic-like - 'the Lafayette manor's gone up in flames!' I'd heard about General Lafayette before, an' that he was in th' same branch as (L/N) here, so I put th' two together and determined that was where you'd be stayin'. I also figured you were in some sorta trouble.