Hope for Our Ass After All

t w e n t y - o n e

Alexander

Boy, oh boy, was Alex unprepared for this. This cute turtle-loving bastard had just asked him to spy on his friends—alone—with him. And HONEY. Alex was ready. They approached the restaurant—using an Uber so that neither Laf nor Herc would recognize the car they used—and slipped inside. Right away, they could see Herc and Laf, so John forced the waitress to seat them directly behind a wall so they could peer over the corner and see Herc and Laf reeeeal easy.

As they sat there, grinning and stalking the two who were fumbling nervously, John had the brilliant idea of sneaking underneath their fucking table and watching them from there.

Because that's not gonna be seen by anyone.

And Alex had the brilliant idea of agreeing to follow through with John's plan. The pair crept quietly across the floor of the restaurant, awkwardly trying not to trip all of the waiters as they passed. They slid underneath a table finally, trying to level their breathing and not burst out laughing. Suddenly, John goes, "Wait, since when was Hercules white and wore a dress?"

Alexander's eyes widen and he grabs John's arm. "Holy fuck, Johnnycake, that's not Herc. We're under the wrong table."

Suddenly, the people who were sitting at the table they were under started to stand up, and Alex almost shit himself. "We need to go. Now," he hissed, staring at John with stormy eyes. John glanced back. He was giggling.

"After they leave, we can go over to their table." Alex frowned at that, but didn't argue anymore.

—

They made it to Herc and Laf's table. The waitress came by and said something low and inaudible. Alex noticed Lafayette's feet shuffle uncomfortably and then the Frenchman started to yell.

"What's going on?" Alex hissed, grabbing John's arm. John had been staring at them, his body half-under and half-out of the table. "Some girl named Jess is hitting on Hercules and Lafayette is roasting her sorry ass," John reported.

Alex stifled a pathetic laugh. John and Alex crawled slowly out from under the table, across the floor—in the process, tripping "Jess"—and made it back to their table. They ordered drinks and sat the for a second, watching the pair chat.

Their conversation was tuned out by Alex. He was too busy staring at John, who was playing with his straw.

I think I see the Big Dipper, Alex murmured to himself, connecting the other's freckles in his head.

"Really? I saw Orion's Belt one morning when I had a hangover," John quipped, grinning.

Alex froze, laughing nervously. "Oh, haha, that's funny." He smiled quickly and groaned inwardly.

John's eyes stopped darting back toward Lafayette and Hercules. They remained focused on Alex, and Alex totally noticed. His face was burning.

They sat in silence, only speaking to order food. They ate in silence, and then paid the check, all the while staring at eachother.

They stood up, walking out the door without caring if Laf or Herc saw them.

They approached the street, Alex fumbling with his phone and stressfully getting a Uber.

Quiet.

Quiet.

Quiet.

"Alex!"

John's voice burned into Alexander's brain and he closed his eyes. He was kissing John, and the screech of surprise from John was gone—he was kissing back.

They broke apart, and Alex swallowed. "Hey, John," he whispered, pointing to the sky, "I think I see your freckles up there."

Some good old-fashioned fluff.
Thomas is gonna come in real soon, Eliza's crush on Alexander is going to pop up again, Angelica's aromanticness is not gonna change, and Peggy's gonna meet someone new

tune in next time, folks