Alexander reread the letter in his hand, silently worrying over what might be the cause or reason behind it. It was a letter from John Laurens, asking to meet that night that he received some time ago. While he and Laurens often met up places in secret (from Eliza, at least), this letter had a more serious tone to it. Laurens wasn't serious often, so it was concerning him more than it should have been. It was Laurens for crying out loud. It couldn't be too bad, right? Alex sighed, putting the letter in his bag and then going to the stairs after shutting the door to his study. It was nighttime after all and he assumed Eliza was sleeping in their bedroom. He made it to the door, moving through the silence that was taking over the living room. He gripped the handle, breathing in silently. He was almost there. He just had to-
"Alexander? Where are going? It's almost the middle of the night!"
Damn, he almost made it. Alexander took a deep breath and turned to face his wife. Eliza was wearing a questioning look on her face, hands folded on her stomach. He tried thinking of a reason as to why he would be leaving the house. He was a fantastic writer, he should be able to think of something.
"Well, I thought I needed a walk to clear my mind. There's a lot of work for me to do, especially with the war coming to a climax." He replied to his wife, hoping she'd buy it. She just gave a sigh, looking a bit concerned.
"I still don't want you to go, you know," She began, letting her own personal thoughts take over for a moment before she shook her head. "But, I can't stop you even if I wanted. Don't wear yourself thin, alright? If you're really going back, I can't have you going into battle, not at your best."
"I know, I know," Alexander smiled at his wife, walking over and giving her a kiss on the cheek to reassure her. Eliza just smiled at his, connecting their heads for a moment. "I'm going to be just fine. Don't you worry."
After exchanging a quick goodbye, Alexander turned and left his residence. He sighed deeply once he was out of there, beginning to walk to the place where Laurens wanted to meet. He wondered how he even got into this situation. He did meet Laurens before he met Eliza, but he somehow still got himself stuck in this mess. He felt bad for doing it his wife, but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't suppress the feelings he had for the other male. But, he'd been doing it for so long. And a part of him felt like Eliza knew already. But, he'd never go and say it unless he really had to. Maybe sometime in the future, but this was what he had to do for the time being.
Upon arriving, Alexander looked around the area. It was an overhang hidden by a few trees that Laurens had found at some point in the past. He shared it with Alexander and it became their secret spot to get away from the world for a while when they could both manage it. Below, there was the ocean that always looked amazing in the moonlight. Speaking of the moon, it was full tonight, making quite a beautiful sight. He gave a smile and a sigh, relaxing some from his previous worries. He then glanced towards the edge of the overhang, seeing Laurens sitting down near it as he stared into the night. He walked towards him, smiling some to himself. Laurens heard footsteps and turned, grinning when he saw Alexander.
"Yo, Alex," He greeted happily, patting the spot next to him. Alexander plopped down next to him, leaning over and giving him a hug.
"Hey, you." Alex greeted in turn, the other giving him a kiss on the forehead.
After parting after they both felt content with the greeting, they turned their attention to the moon in front of them. It was reflecting in Lauren's eyes, causing them to shine quite nicely. Alexander found himself looking into those more than the moon. He diverted his gaze to the ground when Laurens looked over at him.
"So, how are ya?" Laurens inquired with a hum, seemingly in a cheery mood.
"I'm good, I suppose. As good as I can be with our upcoming battle." Alex responded. "A lot of work comes with being a right-hand man."
"Well, you're quite the avid writer and soldier. You can handle it!"
"Heh, thanks, love. How're you?"
"Oh, don't worry about me! I'm fine!"
"That's splendid. You seem awful chipper this particular night."
"Well, I have to be. Especially tonight."
"...What do you mean by that?"
Laurens fell silent for a moment, looking back out towards the moon. Alexander was awaiting a response, but it looked like the other didn't plan to give one just yet. Instead, he reached on the other side of him, grabbing a basket that Alexander had somehow yet to notice.
"Let's eat, shall we?" Laurens suggested, beginning to dig into the bag.
"Laurens, this is getting kind of concerning and-" He was interrupted when the other pushed a sandwich into his face. He reluctantly took the sandwich, looking it over idly.
It took a minute, but Alexander slowly began to eat what was given to him. He had some water beside him, chewing slowly as his mind raced with thoughts about what could be the purpose of this meeting be. He was a little frightened that it was something bad, but, he was broken out his thoughts quickly by the other.
"Nice night tonight, don't ya think?" Laurens hummed, finishing his sandwich awfully fast, leaning back on his arms a bit. Alex blinked, looking back out at the moon as he tried finishing his sandwich a little faster.
"Yeah, I would say so. Quite nice." Alex mumbled in response.
It was a nice night, he had to admit. One of the better ones since there didn't seem to be any chances of anything going wrong. No sudden clouds, the temperature was just right, the area was void of any animals that could terrorize them. Alex gave a small smile to all the perfect factors as he analyzed them over in his mind.
"So, how are you?" Alex blinked, coming out of his thoughts when Laurens spoke again. He could've sworn Laurens already asked that question, but he decided to just go along with it despite it being strange.
"Well, I'm alright, I suppose? How are you, Laurens?"
"I'm good, I'm good! Did you like your sandwich?"
"Why, yes, I did-"
"Great! I spent some time trying to make it perfect. Write anything lately?"
"Come on, you know me. Of course, I've been writing. Especially with the-"
"That's good. How about-"
"Laurens, slow down! What's with the rapid question asking? I can barely finish a sentence! You're acting quite strange."
Laurens stared at him for a moment and Alex swore he saw the other's jovial expression dim in the slightest. He looked down and took a deep breath, mumbling something. From what Alex heard, he was not pleased in the slightest. His face just went blank as he suddenly had a little trouble breathing."
"What...what did you just say?" Alex had to force out. Laurens looked up at him, sighing a little as he knew this would be the other's reaction.
"I'm leaving for South Carolina in the morning." He repeated himself, not removing his gaze from the other. Alex covered his mouth in slight shock.
While he knew they were about to go into battle, he wasn't expecting the other to be leaving him so soon. And he wasn't going with him, so he was clearly fearing the worst. He looked like he was about to begin crying, so the other wrapped his arm around him and pulled him close.
"Hey, hey, don't worry," Laurens soothed quietly. "It'll be fine. We're going to win this. And we'll be able to live without worrying about shedding blood all the time."
"I know, it's just...I can't help it. Honestly, I'm scared. All of us are splitting up and who knows when we're going to see one another again. Then I have a kid coming and helping out Washington directly is tiring." He spilled out his worries. "I just...don't want to lose anyone."
"And you won't," Laurens assured him. As much as he wanted to, he didn't want to promise Alex something he relatively had no control over.
The two sat in silence for the rest of their time upon the hilltop. Eventually, it was around the time Laurens should be getting ready for South Carolina. They both slowly and reluctantly packed up their things and then stood facing one another. Laurens leaned forward and planted a kiss on Alex, the shorter male returning said affection. It lasted a long time, but shorter than they both wanted. They hugged another time before parting reluctantly, holding hands.
"Stay safe, love," Alex whispered to him, giving Laurens' hand a squeeze. Laurens returned said squeeze and then couldn't help but to give the other's head a kiss.
"I'll see you when the war is over," Laurens whispered back.
To prevent himself from not moving from his current spot, Laurens turned and ran into the direction of his home after letting go of Alex's hand. Alex held said hand after him, slowly dropping it with a sigh. He turned to go home. Eliza must be worried at this point and would probably question him when he got back. He didn't mind though, his thoughts being focused on Laurens. But, then he smiled, shaking his head. It was Laurens, of course, he'd be alright. He was one of the most ambitious people Alex knew. There was no need to worry about him, he'd be fine. He went back home without another thought.
"...Alexander? Alexander, are you alright?"
Alexander didn't respond to Eliza's question, staring down at the letter that he had been writing to John Laurens before she came in. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks and clenched the pen in his hand so hard that he felt it crack. He breathed a shaky sigh, shaking his head before steeling himself. He wasn't going to sit around and waste time on tears. Instead, he breathed out a single sentence.
"I have so much work to do."