I awoke to what felt like a dream: sun filtering through shutters in a large window in a large bedroom where I lay in its warm glow, my limbs tangled with a Frenchman who smelled of wildflowers and cinnamon, my head laid only separated from his chiseled chest by a thin button down.
I didn't think I could've imagined the scene better.
I wasn't sure how Lafayette and I ended up tangled in each other, but I wasn't complaining as I basked in the warmth and strange--though not unwelcome--musk of his body.
I hummed lightly in content as I pulled myself closer to him, feeling his light snores vibrate through his chest.
As I sighed lightly, the snores slowed, and I tilted my head up to look at Lafayette, leaving the strong wind outside the only noise reaching our ears.
Eventually, he cracked open one eye, giving me a teasing grin. "Who knew you were such a cuddler."
I let out a soft snort of laughter. "Everyone who 'as ever shared a bed with me, dork. Which includes you, on multiple occasions."
"Je ne me plains pas, amour," he murmured, pulling me closer, and I giggled.
We laid there in a peaceful silence for many moments, before I sighed, tilting my head up to look him in the eye.
"'Ey, Laf?"
He looked down at me, his brow creased. "Oui?"
"Can you tell me about Levi King? You know... ze man you... ?" I trailed off, looking at him with a comforting smile, and he sighed.
Was it fishing for compliments if it was only technically about me?
It didn't seem to matter though, as a small smile formed on Lafayette's lips at the thought of him, and he opened his mouth, hesitated and closed it again. "Y/N, I do not know zat you would want to--"
I groaned and shoved his chest. "Come on, Lafayette, you cannot simply tell me you are in love with someone one day and not tell me about zem ze next."
"I did not tell you about 'im, connard!" he laughed, shoving my shoulder, and I rolled onto my back with a groan.
"Lafayette," I whined, drawing out his name, and he looked at me with a fake pout.
"Y/N," he mimicked my tone, and I scoffed. "I... will tell you about 'im in due time, oui?
"Oh? And when is zat?" I asked, quirking up an eyebrow. He only shrugged.
"At some point. When I am not too busy enjoying being wrapped under a bed. And certainly not when I am too busy enjoying my personal heater." He grinned, pulling me back into him as I squirmed in his embrace, failing to suppress a smile of my own.
"Laf, you cannot be wrapped under a real bed; zat is not 'ow beds works," I pointed out with a poorly stifled laugh, and he tangled his legs in mine, shushing me as he buried his face in the side of my neck, and I found myself rolling onto my side to face away from him.
"Not now, amour, I am asleep, I cannot 'ear you." He only pulled me closer, and I twisted my torso under his arms, but let up as I felt his smile widen against the side of my neck.
"I guess I should be quiet, zen," I murmured with a smile, resting my head fully on the pillow as I relaxed in his embrace.
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I was more than happy to lay with him as he fell back asleep, though, despite it being late in the morning at that point. I could only imagine he was as sleep deprived as I was from the past several months.
It was less than an hour later when he was in deep sleep, and I squirmed out of his embrace, his arm that was around my waist falling to the mattress with a soft thud. I peeled the sheets off of myself before proceededing to the door, being very careful not to make much noise. As I reached the door, I glanced back at Lafayette and found myself paused in the doorway, a small smile forming on my lips as I folded my arms.
His hair was tousled and his mouth hanging slightly open as he lay curled in the sheets, a small puddle of drool forming on the pillow beneath him. With every breath he took, his chest rose and fell, and his dark eyelashes fluttered lightly. I couldn't help but notice the dark bags that had formed under his eyes, nor how his cheekbones were more prominent under his sunken face, nor the bulge in his shirt around his shoulder, which I winced at as I rememered the blood dripping down the side of his arm the day he had begun to need the bandages under the shirt. He looked different, even if just from the last time I saw him, and I hated to think about why.
"Hey." I jumped from my spot leaning against the side of the doorframe only to see Thomas standing next to me with two steaming mugs.
"Thomas," I said breathlessly, pressing a hand to my heart as though to slow it down, before lightly whacking his arm. "Do not scare me like that."
"At least you've started callin' me Thomas." He smiled as he held out one of the mugs to me. "Coffee?"
I matched his smile. "Your timing with zat is perfect."
"It's no problem." He glanced between me and Lafayette, who still hadn't stirred. "So should I leave you two, or...?"
"Non, I 'ave been meaning to 'ead downstairs and eat."
"Then you can join me." He lightly knocked his elbow against mine, and I began to walk with him down the hall. "So, you look like you had quite a night." He eyed my bedhead and shirt that had come unbuttoned in places, and my jaw dropped at the implication.
"Thomas--!"
"I mean, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised that he's still asleep, hmm?" He grinned at me, and I met his gaze with a glare.
"Or," I began, taking a sip of the coffee he'd given me to hide my red face, "He is tired after months at war, and my hair is messed up from sleeping poorly?
"I mean, I guess that's a possibility--"
"Tread lightly," I warned cutting him off, and his grin widened as he raised the hand not holding his mug in surrender.
"I was just gonna say 'and it makes perfect sense'."
"I am sure you were," I said, eyeing him dubiously and eliciting a chuckle from him.
What's the deal with you two, anyway? Courtin'?" Plannin' to get married after the war?"
My eyes widened as my face flushed at his words. "I-- Non, non, certainly not we are just friends."
"Oh yeah?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Oui, Thomas, we are just close. We 'ave been through a lot together."
"I mean, I'd gladly believe that was true, 'cause if he isn't, I wouldn't mind courtin' you," he said, and I glanced over at him with raised eyebrows just to see his wink, and I rolled my eyes. "But I don't know that watchin' each other sleep is so much of a 'just friends' thing."
I scowled. "It is like I said; we are just very close."
He nodded, but hesitated before asking, "Are you into him, though?"
"Thomas--"
"I'm just askin'!" he defended, despite simpering under my glare. "C'mon, Y/N, don't be like this."
I huffed. "Just friends, Thomas. That's it."
"That's not what I asked."
I looked at his expression--neither judging nor teasing, surprisingly--and bit my lip as I cast my gaze toward the floor. "Let's just go have breakfast."
I didn't look back at him, but didn't have to to know how smug he looked.
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After that, I went further down to the kitchen, and Thomas retreated to his room. Short stone steps lead me a down a steep staircase to the bottom floor of the mansion, tucked off to the side under the risen first floor.
Several rough slices of meat, poorly shaped rolls, and minutes searching for a skillet later, loud steps came thundering down the back staircase, and I raised my head from the food I had laid in a skillet upon the grate of the stove to cook, to find Thomas looking extremely concerned. I chuckled when I saw him standing there, but he, on the other hand, looked only surprised.
"Y/N? What are you doin' down here?" I scoffed as I turned completely to face him.
"Cooking, obviously?"
"You can cook?" I turned to see him raising a skeptical eyebrow, and I glared slightly.
"Oui, I can. I am a woman, what do you expect? And what do you sink I am doing right now?" I brought the eggs over to the skillet, cracking the first one in and letting it sizzle as it hit the metal.
He shrugged, timid for the first time I'd seen. "Well honestly darlin', you're not a lot like most women."
I raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bad thing?"
I had to bite back a laugh as his eyes widened and he tried to backtrack. "Oh! I-- no, no, it's a good thing!"
"Zen what is wrong about most women?" I had turned back to the stove at this point, my main priority not burning the bacon despite how much I wanted to see his face as I heard him begin to stutter.
"No-- I didn't mean... Women are--" He must have caught sight of my amused grin as he cut himself off, as the words that followed were, "You're just teasin' me, aren't you?"
"Only a little," I admitted, letting out the chuckle I'd been holding back.
"Ass," he muttered, and as I heard him push his chair in (he must've sat down while I was turned to the stove), he shoved me lightly, and I stumbled a few inches toward the stove.
"Thomas!" I exclaimed, backing away before whirling around to face his amused expression with surprise in my eyes. "You could 'ave pushed me into the stove, connard." I shoved his chest, and he gasped overdramatically.
"Did you just assault your host?" he asked with false indignation, and I simpered guiltily before he lunged at me, eliciting a yelp from me as I darted around the counter, hardly suppressing a giggle.
The kitchen wasn't very big, and there wasn't exactly much room for me to run, so with Thomas being as (unfortunately) fast as he was, my best bet was to try to clear the kitchen door. Right before I reached the doorway, his hands found my waist, pinning me up against the nearest wall. I yelped as my back hit the exposed brick.
"Now what were you sayin'?" He raised a teasing eyebrow, a mischievous glint in his eyes. I put on a fake pout, trying to convince myself that my pounding heart was due to the fact that I had been running and not, in fact, due to the fact that he was so close that I could see the flecks of gold in his dark brown eyes.
"You're a bully," I mumbled, swatting playfully at his hands on my waist, and he grinned, pulling closer to me still. I was practically molding myself into the wall behind me, my breath hitching as I realized we were toe-to-toe and I could feel his warm breath tickling my face. I bit my bottom lip and watched his gaze flicker down, lingering on my mouth for only a moment, before raising back to my eyes, all hint of teasing gone from his expression.
"I don't think you're complainin', darlin'," he murmured, his voice growing husky as his forehead came to rest against mine. I couldn't help my sharp inhale as his voice flickered across my lips, before it was replaced with his mouth moving against mine. My arms crept up his chest and hung around his neck as I arched away from the wall, pressing myself up against him.
Our lips moved together in a dance as my hands found their way up to his loose curls, letting my fingers tangle in the dark mass. His hand traveled down further, hitching under my right leg as I brought it up around his waist, pressing myself more ardently against him, before we pulled away, chests heaving as we tried to catch our breaths. I stared back into his dark eyes, the flecks of gold in his irises no longer twinkling as I realized what we'd just done.
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Lmao oops remember to vote if u want me to get rid of tjeffs
Actually guys just pls vote in general i require external motivation