Diametrically Opposed (Hamilton Agent AU)

We'll be ok

The blow brought him down on his knees, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Lafayette gasped for air, the sickening taste of blood filling his mouth. He spat on the floor to rid himself of the taste, but his tormentor wasn't finished. He yanked at the chain around Lafayette's neck, forcing him to look upward. John Jay was loving every second of his torture. Thomas Jefferson stood in the back of the room, watching, but not daring to look Lafayette in the eyes. 

John Jay gave a sinister smile towards Lafayette. 

"We're not finished." 

Jay laughed sadistically as he kicked Lafayette in the gut, causing Lafayette to double over in pain, coughing up blood. Thomas flinched at every blow. John Jay laughed one more time before leaving Thomas and Lafayette alone. Thomas looked down at the weaker man showing no emotion. Lafayette took in deep breaths, his lungs screaming for air, tears filling his eyes. His arms were shaking, struggling to keep himself up. Lafayette slowly looked up at Thomas, a look of hurt on his face. 

"T-thomas..." he sputtered, struggling to talk, "Why?" 

Thomas stared at Lafayette, his eyes cold, and without a word, left the room. 

Lafayette was left in the dark. 

*******************

The infirmary was dimly lit and there was a breeze from the open window. Peggy stared outside at the stars twinkling in twilight, holding a cup of warm tea in her hands. She was still shaken up from what had happened earlier. The sound of a door opening and footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, but she didn't turn. The footsteps stopped. 

"Peggy?" 

Peggy turned to see John, standing there in a white coat, harboring a worried look on his face. 

"Are you feeling ok? Are you hurt?" He sounded worried. 

Peggy forced a smile and waved, "No, no, I'm fine..." she trailed off. "How is everyone?"

John walked up to her and leaned on the wall next to her, staring out of the window. "Well, Angelica will be fine, she should wake up any minute now. I treated Alexander, if he can just sleep through the night he should be fine." 

"And Hercules?" Peggy asked. 

John sighed sadly. Never had he seen a man cry so much. "Herc's... asleep. For now. The sooner we get Laf back, the better off he'll be." He saw Peggy turn away. Peggy had always been empathetic towards her friends, this must have been killing her. "But I'm sure he'll be fine-" 

He stopped. She had been crying, he could tell. He lowered his voice to soothe her. 

"Hey, hey..." he walked closer towards her, "It's ok...what's been going on." 

Peggy continued to let tears stream down her face, "I said I wanted to fight, I said I wanted more action...but never like this. L-laf could be hurt, o-or w-worse..." She started to sob, covering her mouth with her hands. John's heart swelled. It hurt him to see her cry. 

He wrapped her in his arms, pulling her close, rocking her slightly. 

"It's ok, Peg, take it easy. Hear my heartbeat?" 

She nodded. 

"Breathe in time with it." He stroked her hair and waited until she felt comforted enough to pull away. 

"Thank you, John." she said shakily. She gave a humorless laugh at her behavior, "How do you do that so well?" 

John sighed, sitting down on the side of an unoccupied bed. "Well, I kinda learned it from being with Alexander." 

She sat next to him. "Alexander?" she said, confused. 

He took a deep breath and looked at her. He probably shouldn't tell her this, but he trusted her. 

"Alexander," he began, "has been my friend since we were nineteen. He had nowhere to stay in New York and I needed a roommate, and we became fast friends. Turned out that he needed a job, and there was an opening at the agency, so I got him the job. But, he carries a lot more baggage than he shows." He turned to Peggy and took her hand in his. He looked in her eyes. 

"Peg, I need you to promise to never tell anyone else this." 

Peggy nodded. 

"Ok," he sighed.

"Alexander is an immigrant from the Caribbean. He was born out of wedlock and his father beat his mother at every opportunity he got. He abandoned them when he was 10, and when he was 12 he and his mother got deathly ill, but couldn't afford the medicine. His mother died. He moved in with his cousin, who committed suicide a few months later, and his brother died. He tried to educate himself as much as possible, and ran a trading company by fourteen. When he was seventeen, a hurricane destroyed his town." 

Peggy covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my god, John, I didn't-" 

"No one knew. All of that tragedy leaves behind scars, ones that you can't see. After a few months living with him, I learned how to handle panic attacks. He has them often, usually when there's a bad storm. Alexander is the strongest man I know. That's why he loves his work so much. It distracts him from the pain. I know it's not healthy, but," he sighed, "he needs something to occupy him. Or someone. But until that day, Alexander will keep going." 

Peggy smiled, "Well, you know, I think Eliza is interested." 

Laurens straightened, humor dancing in his eyes. "Really?" 

"Oh yeah, you should totally see the way they look at each other. I think he should go for it. Eliza has always been a family girl." 

The two laughed and looked outside the window. Peggy rested her head on his shoulder, and John wrapped his arm around her. 

He smiled. 

"We're going to be ok."