Several hours later that same night, we were on the road with our horses in the dead of dusk, sharing what were likely the most random stories from our childhood in an effort to stay awake as we rode.
"Alright, alright, enough about my three-legged cat!" I made an effort to deadpan, but as he was still doubled over laughing it was extremely difficult. "Lafayette!"
He grinned at me as he finally sat back up straight, steering his horse closer to York. "Oh, come on. When you 'ave a three legged cat that still managed to get stuck in a tree, you cannot blame me for laughing at it."
I whacked his knee. "Leave Tottie alone! She's done nothing to merit your ridicule, asshole."
"If zis was my story, would you be laughing?" He gave me a pointed but teasing look, and I pursed my lips.
"I mean, I--" I cut myself off as he raised his eyebrows with skepticism, and huffed. "You're the worst."
"You can say it, but zat does not mean you believe it, mon amie." He shrugged, and I huffed.
"Whatever, Lafayette. Also, at least whisper; I'm pretty sure Maria's asleep back there." I jerked my head toward the girl who had long since slumped against my back, and he nodded. "Anyway, I feel like all we talk about is my strange past. What about you? Your time at the training grounds? Before that?"
He sighed, running a hand through his (unusually free) hair. "I... well, I would say I 'ave lost a lot since leaving ze training grounds. Ze last time I was zere was ze best few months of my life. We really did not do much training."
I chuckled. "Well what are training grounds for? I mean, certainly not for training."
"Exactly!" he laughed, "but non, it was with mes amis who were already in battle, who were given a month or so off."
"Well I'm not sure about you, but I don't think this gives me much of a window into the life of Lafayette." I shrugged, and he rolled his eyes.
"Do not be so impatient, I am getting zere."
"Well hurry it up! You're acting like we have all night," I whined, and he scoffed.
"I would flick you if I was close enough to do it." I rolled my eyes that time. "Anyway, eet was an amazing month. I..." --his voice faltered, if only sightly, and I inhaled sharply-- "I fell in love."
I swallowed the lump in my throat, doing my very best to bite back a grin. "In a month? At the training ground?"
He chuckled lightly, and I raised an eyebrow. "Oui, I know it sounds unlikely. But zere was a woman zere, 'er name was Y/N, and I do not know how to describe, at least not in this language."
"Have you forgotten I speak French?" He raised an eyebrow at me, and I nodded. "Shoot."
He pursed his lips. "Sort of like... retrouvailles, but with someone you 'ave never met before. Are you know?"
I opened my mouth to speak, but just shut it in frustration when I didn't know how to respond at first. "I mean... even though that's the worst description you could've given, I think I really do know what you mean. LIke you met them a month ago, but it just felt like reuniting with someone you've known all your life."
He nodded slowly, a small smile growing on his lips. "Oui. I 'ave really only felt that way with one other person."
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "And who's that?"
He gave me a timid smile, brushing a hair out of his face as he sighed. "Y--"
A gunshot rang out.
Both our heads snapped forward, eyes widening at the sudden sound as my hand instinctively flew to the pistol I had at my hip. Maria grumbled several inaudible words, yawning as she sat up behind me.
"Wusgoinon?"
I swallowed roughly. "Stay calm."
"Why? Why do I need to stay calm? What's happening?" Her tone grew steadily more panicked, and I sighed.
"It's... a gunshot. Far from us. We don't know if it's anyone who would be looking to hurt us, but we just have to stay on guard as we ride through here," I explained, drawing in a shaky breath.
"You mean we're still going through!?"
I winced slightly; I could imagine her terrified expression well enough without having to see it. "It's not a huge risk we're taking, but it is a necessary one."
"King, are you sure?" Lafayette's voice wavered as I glanced over at him, and I gave him a concerned nod.
My eyes widened once again as from the gunshot stemmed hoofbeats, headed in our direction. I heard my own sharp inhale accompanied by that from the two people around me.
"Sounds like we don't have a choice," I muttered before spurring York into just a walk, trying to remain as natural as possible as we approached whoever was headed our way.
Several minutes passed, and while the hoofbeats remained consistent, we didn't cross paths with anyone, hostile or otherwise. At some point, I began to question what I'd heard, and if it had really been in front of me, but that's when I spotted them--two redcoats on horseback galloping toward us at full speed.
I bit down hard into my bottom lip. Would they dare attack when we had a child with us? I couldn't imagine. But with redcoats, we could never be sure.
It was a matter of minutes before we finally met, and they essentially skidded to a halt upon finding us. We went to continue through, but the wider man drew his pistol and cocked it, and I found myself staring into the barrel of a gun. I gulped.
"I-is there something you... you need, sir?" I asked, trying to give him a small smile.
"Don't even try it," he snarled, "you know very well this is a stickup."
The other one (with the extremely long nose) was quick to draw his gun as well. "You best empty those big bags you been carrying, or we just gonna have to shoot ya."
My eyes widened. The bags. The battle plans. We certainly couldn't afford to lose them to these men. Lafayette and I shared a panicked glance, and my hand crept to my pistol.
"I'm afraid there's nothing in there that you'd find all that exciting," I responded as calmly as I could manage. He huffed.
"I'd like to judge that for myself."
And I took a deep breath, and it one fluid motion, twisted his gun upwards while drawing mine with my other hand and aiming at his partner.
"No can do," I hissed, "now get out of here before I shoot you both."
He chuckled dryly. "You think you've got us? Oh boy, what kind of robbers would we be if we didn't carry knives, hmm?" With that, he drew a dagger from his bag, and I gulped. "Now, would you rather lose the contents of that bag or your right hand?"
I cocked the pistol in my left hand. "I'll shoot your partner," I shakily threatened. He smiled maliciously.
"And he'll shoot yours. Your point being?"
I sighed. "Alright. Alright, I'll comply." I lowered my left arm, holstering the gun I held, and with my right arm, yanked his from his hand. He opened his mouth to rebuke me, but I rolled my eyes before cutting him off. "You'll forgive me if I don't entirely trust you," I scowled before turning away and swinging my leg over the side of York's saddle to dismount.
As I turned to my left, I saw Lafayette's panicked expression; he stared at me as though I was going insane. And with the plan I had, maybe I was. But it was worth the attempt.
I shifted the pistol to my left hand as I went to open the satchel that hung around York's neck. I untied the pocket with shaking hands: a slow, tedious process which was not helped by the fact that a gun was in the way of my fingers. And just before I finally picked at the knot, I spun on my heels, clutching the pistol in both hands, and shot at the man near Lafayette.
It was at that moment that all hell broke loose.
I yanked our bag shut, darting away from the spot where I'd been standing just as I heard something hit the ground behind me. I turned to see what it was but not before a burning pain shot through my back, sending me to my knees in agony. I faintly saw Lafayette draw his sword, all but ready to dive towards the man with murder in his eyes. I also mildly processed that bullet I'd fired had hit the man's partner, and he was then incapacitated.
But what I noticed most of all, in the front of my vision as I dropped to the ground, was the redcoat's dagger, now stained red with my blood dripping to the dry earth below it. I could hear commotion above me, on the horses, but paid it no mind until I heard a pair of boots hit the ground, and like that I was up. I felt like all hell, blood gushed from the wound in my back, and my vision was less than up to par, but I stood, ready to fight the redcoat in spite of it all.
As I faced him, though, my eyes widened at the sight of him cocking a pistol, aimed directly at me. I reached for my gun to counter his, I swallowed roughly upon finding my holster empty. I held up the gun I'd taken from him, cocking it and immediately attempting to shoot.
Nothing.
I pulled the trigger several more times, my heart pounding through my chest at the impossible situation.
I cursed the one time I'd left my sword un-holstered and opted for a pistol, as it seemed to have brought me to my end, and as though he could read my thoughts, the malicious smile of the redcoat's lips grew.
"Looks to me like you've met your end," he taunted, "when it really didn't even have to be like this. You could've quietly given us the bag, but no. You had to go and get yourself killed." He let out a dry chuckle as his looming figure approached me. "Then again, I don't really have to kill you. But it's just so much more fun this way, no?" He only came closer as I stifled tears, not letting my final moments be those of weakness. It was as the muzzle of the gun was pressed to the bridge of my nose that I nearly broke.
In the end, though, I didn't have to.
The uneven metal of the gun scraped my nose as it was jerked away from me, and the man staggered sideways, shaken by the blow to the side of his head. I nearly cried in relief, as the man cursed and turned to Lafayette, aiming an unsteady punch to wherever he could reach. The punch wasn't so much of a punch, as it turned out. The gun additionally made jagged contact with Lafayette's cheek as the man stumbled forwards, simply from the weight of his own blow. It was at that moment that I jammed my heel into the back of his leg, making his knees buckle as he fell backwards at my feet.
Of course, he scrambled to stand, but Lafayette was quick to draw his sword, holding it menacingly at the man's throat, and the unspoken threat was enough to make him back down. I bent down to yank the gun from his hand for the second time, sure to secure it in my holster so it couldn't again fall into his grasp. It was then that Lafayette spoke.
"You will continue on. You will not bother us any further, and if you do, we will not show you ze amount of mercy I am about to by sparing your life." He raised his arm slightly, the flat of the blade under his chin pushing it up, digging into the skin just far enough to break it. He gasped as blood rolled down his neck, and Lafayette swallowed hard. "Now go, tend to your wounded friend, and leave us, but do not forget us. I will spare you zis once, but never again."
He nodded frantically, or at least as much as he could without pushing his chin back into the cold metal that lie against it. Lafayette wiped the blade on the man's shirt before resheathing it, and turning back to his horse as the man scampered back to his horse and his friend. He mounted without another word, and Lafayette was quick to return to my side.
"Are you alright, mon amie?" His brow was knit in concern as his hand rested on my shoulder, and I tried to smile, though it was much more of a grimace.
"I mean, other than the huge cut in my back, yeah." I chuckled weakly, and his eyes widened.
"Levi!" I swallowed roughly as he ran a hand through his hair, as additionally the redcoats rode off. "We-- you-- this cannot--" he huffed, "We are must do something!"
"Laf, I'm fine." He gave me a warning look as I tried to shrug it off, and I sighed, "Look, there's a town just up ahead, we can go there, and I can get patched up. Deal?"
He pursed his lips. "'Ow do you know there is a town up ahead?"
I furrowed my brow, staring at him as I tried to figure out if he was serious. "You... you can literally see it from here." His eyebrows shot up as he turned around.
"Oh."
"Yeah." I sighed as I turned to once again mount my horse, but found a very distinct lack of a twelve-year-old in a red dress. My eyes widened. "Laf! Where's Maria?"
"Ah!" He turned to the thin forest around us, whipping his head back and forth in slight confusion. "Maria! It is safe!"
That was when you saw her hobble out from behind a thick oak, hand pressed to her face as she looked at me in utter distress. I sighed. "I... am sorry you had to witness that," I breathed, running a hand through my hair, and she smiled weakly.
"No, no, I'm fine, just possibly sick."
I matched her expression, trying not to look desperate. "Alright. Can you, y'know, get on the horse? We kinda need to get to town as soon as possible."
Her eyes widened at the sight of the blood on my hands. "Oh! Yeah, yeah let's go." I helped her onto the horse after she rushed over to me, climbing on after her. To my left I saw Lafayette watching me with an easy smile.
"Ready?"
I nodded, and sighed as I spurred York's side and he started forward at a trot. "Hey, Laf?"
He looked over at me with his eyebrows raised. "Hm?"
"I just want to thank you for making sure Maria was out of that. It could've been a much worse situation if you hadn't."
He smiled. "It is of course. But you know, she did do much of it for 'erself, I just 'ad to get 'er off the 'orse."
"Either way. Thank you."
"Tojours, mon amie."
✧ ✧ ✧ ✧
The town up ahead turned out to be uptown New York City, and Lafayette, Maria, and I checked in at an inn for a few hours to get some genuine rest and get patched up. Lafayette, being the overplanner he was, had a medkit in the bag he brought with him, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes as he pulled it out with a grin.
Maria was out instantly. I supposed enough trauma in one night could cause that kind of fatigue, but even more than an hour later, I was still shaking with adrenaline.
"Zis is going to sting, mon amie," Lafayette murmured as he rested a hand on my shoulder. The cut had turned out to be fairly deep, a gash in my lower back. The only lucky part was that it was my lower back, so he didn't have to see my chest wrap to fix it. I screwed up my face into a grimace at the words, but nodded, giving him permission to go ahead. Still, as the alcohol met the cut flesh on my back, I gasped through gritted teeth at the intense burning, arching my back slightly as I balled my fists.
"'Ey, you are okay. You are alright, Levi, it will being over soon." As he continued dabbing at the wound, I knew it was more than certainly a lie, as after he cleaned it he still had to sew the gash shut. Then again, I was sure it couldn't be as bad as what I was going through, the alcohol searing through my nerves hotter and sharper than if I'd been stabbed one thousand times. I bit down hard and squeezed my eyes shut, unable to stop the tears that rolled down my cheeks.
It was at the point when I was doing everything I could not to cry out, when I was muttering incoherent curses and quite nearly sobbing, when spots began to dance in my vision, that he was finally done cleaning it.
He whispered the confirmation to me, and I let out the breath I'd been holding, and released the tension from every muscle in my body. I couldn't even wince as the needle from the quite likely botched stitches began running through my flesh, as my back had become a mass of dull, throbbing pain, and at that point, all I could do was wait.
"Laf?" I breathed. His hands stalled, and I could heard his breath hitch.
"Oui, Levi?"
I sighed slightly. "Again, I want to thank you."
He chuckled lightly, continuing on my back. "Oh, what for zis time?"
I rolled my eyes at his teasing tone, biting my lip. "Well, for quite literally saving my life back there. And of course, for being willing to come here and sew up my back instead of getting the sleep I know you so desperately need."
"It is nothing. You would 'ave done ze same for me." I glanced back to see his reassuring smile, and I sighed.
"I would've. But that's not the point. I didn't have to; you did. And you did it. So, again, I want to thank you." He nodded, and I turned my head back around.
"You are welcome, Levi. As long as I can count on you to do ze same when it 'appens to me, hm?"
I chuckled lightly. "Of course. What kind of person would I be if I wouldn't?"
"A worse one zan me." I could almost hear the smirk in his voice as he continued. "Then again, who is not a worse person zan me, hm?"
I had to roll my eyes at that. "You know, if you weren't sewing up my back right now, I would turn around and whack you." I glanced behind me, glaring playfully, and he shrugged.
"I would probably deserve it." He glanced up to meet my eyes, and his nonchalant expression quickly transformed into a grin, and though I shook my head, mine did as well. "Anyway, I am just about done with your back."
I winced slightly as I felt him yank the thread, and for a moment it dug into my wounded back, before it loosened again, and I heard him walk back to the medkit on the desk.
"Is it done, Laf?" I asked, and he nodded.
"I am just 'ave to bandage it. So sit up."
I turned back around, and his arms immediately came around me, wrapping the gaze around my stomach to cover my lower back. I winced slightly at the pressure, but eventually the dull throb from the wound decreased, and he finished bandaging it.
"Alright," he said as he tucked the end of the gauze into the rest of the wrap, "it is done, but you should probably not move all zat much. I am not a professional; we can find one at training camp when weare arrive to speak to ze general, non?"
"Yeah." I pulled my shirt back down, and turned on the bed to face Lafayette, only to realize that his nose was still cut.
Not to mention only inches from my face.
My eyes widened slightly, and my hand ghosted across his cheek. "Laf, you're bleeding."
He gave me a weak smile, shrugging it off. "It is nothing. Especially compared to what you 'ave just gone through."
"Still, it's a cut," I argued, "At least let me disinfect it."
He huffed but didn't protest as I grabbed the rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball, wetting it slightly before pressing it to his face, dabbing away the blood. He winced slightly, but took it well altogether as I leaned in to wipe the blood from the corner of his eye, and felt his hand cupping my jaw. My eyes widened slightly as I saw how he was looking at me, and I lowered my hand with the cotton ball. His other hand went to my waist, and mine crept onto the nape of his neck.
"Laf," I protested halfheartedly, and he bit his lip, his face drawing closer to mine.
"We shouldn't," I breathed.
"You are right." He didn't seem to care, though, as his breath fanned onto my lower lip, his eyes fluttering closed as the space between us became nearly nonexistent.
A knock at the door.
We jumped apart, eyes wide as we sat on opposite sides of the bed and shared a panicked look. Maria yawned quietly, stretching as she pulled herself up. "G'morning."
"Morning, Maria," I muttered, trying to ignore the layers of regret running through my head as the knock sounded again. With a sigh, Lafayette stood up to open it.
"Who is zere?" he demanded, and a moment passed before we heard a voice from the other side.
"Alright, yeah, this one's full." Whoever was on the other side wasn't addressing us, but clearly someone with them as two pairs of footsteps started down the hall away from us. We both let out sighs.
"You can go back to sleep, Maria; I think I'm going to," I muttered, before turning to Lafayette with a flat expression. "It's probably best if you do too. We still have about an hour to ride before we reach camp, and additionally have to find Maria's house before we even head down. You'll need the rest."
His countenance was incredibly downcast as he nodded, and while I could see he was trying, he did an incredibly poor job hiding it. He didn't respond to me but only climbed into the third bed in the room, and I sighed before lowering myself onto my stomach.
We had messed up.
We had messed everything up.
---
Wow sorry I haven't updated, I really haven't been in a good place, but can I tell you guys how happy I am rn?
My skin is clear(ish), I have all As at the end of the semester, it's Christmas, my parents have come to terms with my sexuality, and the girl I like likes me back. It's an 11/10 day.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, with any luck I'll have another up before new years! Happy holidays! And if you don't celebrate any religious holidays throughout the season (or at all), happy almost-new-year!