Male/Ftm Reader x Random, Book 2

Tenth day of Christmas (John Laurens x male!reader)

(John's POV)

I was awoken by the sound of pounding on my door. I quickly grabbed and lit an oil lamp.

"Hold on, hold on, give me a moment," I shouted as I opened the door to reveal a British soldier at my door. "How may I help you?" I asked.

"I was told by my general to quarter in your house for the next fortnight." The soldier said before pushing past me to enter my home. "Do not worry, I will compensate you at the end of the fortnight."

"Hey! You can not just barge into my house and expect me to be okay with you living here for two weeks!" I shouted as he took off his boots and such.

"Actually, according to the Quartering Act of 1765, I can stay in your house." The soldier stated.

"No! That act was only about paying for the army, not actually housing you!" I replied.

"Wow. You are the first person who actually knows what that act says." He said looking up in surprise.

" I should know what it says, I am a lawyer," I replied, setting the lamp down.

"Well, may I please stay here? My general is looking for me and he will have me sent back to Britain in chains if he finds me." He pleaded.

"I thought you just said that he told you to stay here." I retorted.

"Well, I lied okay? I've only done this once more and it worked that time. Also, I didn't plan on meeting anyone who knew what the Quartering act even said." He replied.

"Fine, you can stay as long as you tell me why your General wants your head so bad," I said sitting down at the table.

"Well you see, I defected from my garrison and if I go back he'll send me home as a traitor and they'll kill me."

"Well, why did you defect?"

"Because. Because about a month ago we faced off with a garrison of American soldiers. We were obviously losing and so we retreated. I ran into the woods and there I encountered an American soldier. He was badly wounded, but he still tried to shoot me. I wanted to help him but I also didn't want to be killed, so I shot him. I shot him dead." He explained while staring at the ground. "I tried to shake it off and forget about it, but you never forget. How they look, right after you kill them, the look on their face. I had nightmares after that, and I couldn't take it anymore, so I defected."

I stayed quiet and nodded solemnly.

"Well, I suppose that that reason is as good as any," I said finally breaking the silence. "You can sleep on the cot in the basement," I said picking up the candle and leading him downstairs.

"Really? Thank you, Mr."

"Laurens, John Laurens."

"Thank you, Mr. Laurens."

"Please, call me John."

"Thank you, John."

"And what is your name?"

"Oh, (Y/n)(Y/l/n) sir."

"Okay well, here you are (Y/n). Breakfast is at 5:30 sharp, then you will help me with house chores." I stated then started to walk up the stairs.

"You are very kind John." He replied.

The next morning I was making breakfast when I heard someone walk up the stairs. I was about to grab my rifle when I remembered the events of last night.

"Good morning (Y/n)." I said to the man walking up the stairs.

"Good Morning John."

"You are just in time for breakfast. Here, eat quickly, we have a lot of work to do." I replied, setting the plate in front of him.

After breakfast, I lent him a change of clothes and we began to clean the house. I dusted while he scrubbed the floors. Then he washed the carpets and I cleaned the kitchen. We did a few other simple tasks inside before we moved outside to work on the garden. I trimmed the hedges and he tended to the flowers in the front garden.

Finally, we finished all our tasks and went back inside to have supper. He made us the meal and once we finished, it was off to bed.

We went on like this for about a week until one night when I couldn't sleep. I lit a candle so as not to waste oil and made my way to the kitchen.

I nearly screamed when I found (Y/n) sitting at the table in the dark. He apologized profusely for waking me and started back down to the basement before I could call him back.

"(Y/n), come back, you didn't wake me up, I just couldn't sleep."

"Oh, would you like some warm milk?" He asked standing up to make me some.

"No thank you, but some company would be nice," I admitted. "So why are you up?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Nightmare." He stated simply.

"Do you get them often?" I asked rather stupidly.

"Yeah, every night since I left the garrison." He said with a sigh.

"Have you slept at all since you got here?" I asked a tad worried.

"A few hours here and there. Enough to keep me going." He replied, rubbing his eyes.

"Why don't I make you a cup of tea, that always helps me sleep at night." I offered walking over to the cabinet.

"Not to be inconsiderate John, but you Americans can not seem to make tea correctly." He stated a bit sheepishly.

"Trust me (Y/n), you will like it," I assured him as I made the drink.

We talked for a bit while the tea was steeping. Soon enough we both had a cup of tea in our hands.

"Go ahead, give it a try!" I insisted, eager to see his reaction.

He seemed a bit hesitant, but he did as he was told. His face lit up with surprise once he tried it.

"This is amazing, just like my mother used to make." He said in amazement. "You must tell me how you make it! I can never get the ratio correct."

"Agh, agh, agh, a magician never gives up his secrets," I said with a wink.

"Well, I have no idea how you did it, but the tea is wonderful." He said.

Soon enough we had both finished our cups, and wasted about an hour worth of candle wax. But I did not mind, it was nice to have someone to talk to.

"It's too bad that I have to leave in a week." He said offhandedly.

"What if you stayed a little longer than two weeks?" I replied, grabbing both of our cups and placing them in the bin to wash.

"How much longer would you suggest?" He asked.

"How about you stay as long as you want," I replied, a bit embarrassed at my abrupt response.

"That sounds, wonderful, thank you, John." He said, and I could hear him stand up and walk toward the basement.

"You know, it is getting old, and it must be freezing down there, why don't you sleep in my bed tonight," I said not turning around to look at him.

"I wouldn't want to impose." He replied. I could hear the embarrassment in his voice.

"No, I insist," I said turning around and smiling at him.

"Well, if you insist, then who am I to argue." He responded. An embarrassed smile rose to his face. "But you do realize that it is the middle of summer." He said.

"Does that mean you would rather sleep in the basement?" I asked, a bit worried.

"No, not at all, it just means that you don't have to make up excuses for me to sleep in your bed." He said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, it is getting really late so we really should get to bed," I said leading the way into my bedroom. (Y/n) followed close behind.

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A/n: #10! I hope ya'll enjoyed it.  I am quite partial to John, he just seemed so sweet. Anyway, see you all tomorrow!