Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s a common misconception that every seven years we become a completely new person, all of our cells dying off and being replaced with a fresh set. While it is true that your cells die and get replaced periodically, there isn’t anything special about a seven year cycle. The typical lifespan for red blood cells is four months, while white blood cells can survive for over a year and skin cells replace themselves every two or three weeks. John Laurens was a medical professional, he knew the facts, but sometimes he couldn’t help believing the seven years myth to be true.

It had been nine years since the social worker showed up at his door informing him a woman he knew for only one night in college had died leaving behind a daughter, his daughter. Nine years since he met Alex, his fiancé, and nine years since he started raising Frances -  not on his own, but with the makeshift family he had managed to come by, made up of Alex and two of their best friends, Hercules and Lafayette. Over those nine years their family had grown, Alex officially introduced them all to the Schuyler sisters, who took to Frances immediately and offered their support as the girl grew. Frances admired them all, and John was thankful that she not only had three strong, independent women to look up to - but he had three wise women to lean on when Frances hit her teenage years.

It had only been nine years, but the Frances that stood before him now seemed like an entirely new person.

There had been a lot in those nine years. Some of them huge, such as Frances’s first major surgery - open heart surgery at the delicate age of five - and some a little smaller, but just as important, like Frances’s first school dance, her first crush, and the first of many awards won at school. John took them all in stride, finding his way around each new ‘first’ that presented itself as an obstacle, and it had essentially felt like smooth sailing for those nine years. He watched Frances grow and change into an intelligent young woman, brimming with wit that was up to par with Alexander’s. He watched his own relationship with Alexander grow, change into something stronger than he had ever imagined, and he still found himself staring at the engagement ring on his hand wondering how he managed to get so lucky. He watched their best friends follow a similar path, although they did not have such a lengthy engagement - Lafayette and Hercules were married within a year of their engagement - which added another first to the list, it was both John and Frances’s first wedding. Hercules designed Frances’s flower girl dress himself. It had been nine years full of excitement, joy, and their fair share of grief. Frances’s first pet, the death of Frances’s first pet - a hamster named Franklin.

And maybe the most terrifying first of all, in John’s mind at least.

Frances’s first date was on March 23. It was a Saturday, partly-cloudy, it rained in the early afternoon but it was clear by six-thirty that evening when fourteen year old Frances walked the three blocks to the nearest movie theatre, her purple dress ruffling in the wind and her hair pulled back into a French braid and eyes painted with the subtlest shades of bronze that Lafayette promised made her eyes pop. He was standing outside of the theatre, dressed in the classic teenage boy baggy pants and shirt. He complimented her dress, she complimented his cologne - she would realize years later that it was far too strong. They watched half the movie, in the back of the theatre, until he pulled the fake-yawn-arm-around-shoulders move and Frances swooned, a silent giggle bubbling up when he nosed at her cheek until she turned her head and he caught her lips in what would be her first kiss. It was a little too rough, his lips were chapped and the angle was weird and a little uncomfortable but Frances was floating.

She came home that night on Cloud Nine, leaving John and Alex confused - they thought she was just going to a movie with a couple of her friends. It wasn’t until John accidentally overheard her conversation with Lafayette in her room later that night, both giggling like teenage girls as they gossiped about her date -

“ Date ?!” John wasn’t sure if he wanted to be angry, or sick, but he was mostly just confused. Had Frances lied to him? “I thought you were going out with your friends? What the hell, you’re too young to be dating!”

“John, she’s fourteen,” Lafayette sighed, placing a comforting hand on the suddenly terrified girl’s shoulder, though he looked between the two with a bit of surprise. He hadn’t realized Frances had neglected to tell John, though it made sense. He had been expecting to find John moping about when he came over, whining about how his daughter was growing up as he tended to do. He had found the exact opposite, John and Alex had spent the night curled up on the couch as the three of them watched a movie - well, Lafayette watched it, he couldn’t imagine John and Alex had really caught that much of it.

“Exactly!” John ran a hand over his face, stepping into the room and crossing his arms, shifting into Stern Dad Mode™. “That’s too young to be dating, and especially too young to be lying about it. What if something had happened? Alex and I had no idea where you really were tonight!”

“Uncle Laf did,” Frances murmured. John’s eyes snapped to Lafayette, who matched his steely gaze. Frances may have been in the wrong for not telling her father, but he was sure John was about to punish her enough for that, Lafayette wanted her to have someone in her corner.

“Your uncle Laf and I will have our own talk about that later.” John looked back to Frances. “As for you, right now, you’re grounded. Until further notice-”

“Dad!”

“You can’t just lie to me about what you’re doing, Frances!” John ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. “I… you don’t need to be dating boys at your age anyway.”

“ What ? Dad, I’m -”

“ Don’t argue with me, young lady. No dating, especially not after this. That’s final. Lafayette, can I talk to you?” John spun on his heel, marching out of the room and into the kitchen. Lafayette gave Frances an apologetic look as he moved from the bed, kissing her forehead before getting his own ass chewed out by angry father John Laurens.

One Year Later…

Frances shoved her books into her locker with a little too much force, causing one to rebound right back and fall to the floor. What Frances hadn’t realized was that between finally getting her locker open and trying to get everything from her bag into it, someone had snuck down beside her to their own - now suffering the damage and softening Frances’s biology text’s fall. Frances let out a quiet gasp when she glanced down, seconds before the heavy book made contact with the shoulder of the unfortunate soul, “ Shit -- I’m so sorry!”

“ Ow - wha?” The other girl grabbed at her shoulder, looking down at the book before turning her face up to look at Frances. Her expression was a mix of shock and anger, brows drawn down sharply and dark eyes glaring - but Frances was taken aback by this new face, captivated for a moment by how strikingly attractive she was even as her glare was deepening, the feeling altogether new to Frances. She shook it away, leaning down to take the book that the girl was now holding up to her.

“I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t notice you were there and it just-” Frances stopped when the girl spoke, her voice even and smooth and just as enthralling as her appearance.

“It’s fine.” The girl turned back to her own locker, grabbing a book before pushing herself to her feet and slamming it shut. “Maybe watch what you’re doing next time.”

“Right, yeah,” Frances’s cheeks flushed, either in embarrassment over the book-dropping situation or in the way that the other girl’s brow quirked after Frances had been staring for a moment too long. Her eyes flicked down to the biology book still in Frances’s hand before returning to her face.

“So, are you a junior?” The question caught Frances off guard, and it must have shown on her face. “Biology, that’s a science course for junior year, right?”

“O-oh,” Frances felt her cheeks grow hotter as she ducked her head. “Uh, yeah, but I’m a sophomore. Taking it a year early. My dad’s a doctor, um, so I - uh, it’s always been one of my better subjects - I talked them into letting me take it a year early, so I can do AP next year and do an intro class for college credit senior year without having to do it at the same time as AP, and…” Frances trailed off, realizing she had started to ramble, and finally looked back up to find the other girl watching her, almost appearing impressed.

“I’m a junior and I totally suck at bio,” she laughed. “And my dad’s a lawyer, so he’s pretty useless when it comes to helping me with… most things.” Frances joined in a laugh at that, debating on whether or not to mention ‘ yeah, I get that, my other dad used to be a lawyer ’ and ultimately deciding on a different direction instead.

“I could help you?” Yes, Frances, offer to tutor a junior , she winced internally, hoping she hadn’t offended the girl with such an offer, but -

“Seriously?” The girl’s face lit up. “That’d be great. I’m shit in bio, honestly, I could use all the help I could get.”  

“Yeah, of course.” Frances felt a rush of relief and something else at the reaction, deciding to put that something else away for now as she held out her hand and offered a proper introduction, “I’m Frances.”

“Theodosia.” The girl took her hand with a grin. “But, call me Theo. Please.”

“Of course, Theo .” Even her name was gorgeous, and as they shook hands and Frances felt her skin tingle, she was beginning to think that maybe Theo was more than just aesthetically pleasing. The warning bell rang, saving her from having to think too hard. “We should get to class, but, um, meet here after school and we can work something out?”

“Yeah, of course,” Theo finally dropped her hand, adjusting the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “See you later, Frances.” She turned, her black hair whisking around her shoulders at the movement, and Frances had to take a couple of breaths before she regained a sense of herself and made her way to her own class. She didn’t pay that much attention to her classes for the remainder of the day, though. All she could think about was Theo, and her dark eyes that felt like they were boring into Frances’s very essence , her dark hair that cascaded over strong shoulders, and her lips that had been painted a pretty red for the day, smudged just a little at the corners but who was Frances to judge. Beauty upkeep had been such a hassle to Frances, she hardly bothered to wear makeup anymore, and she had made the decision at the beginning of last summer to cut her hair.

Lafayette had thrown a bit of a tantrum, having loved Frances’s curly locks to no end, but he had definitely grown to the new shorter do. And so had Frances, no longer having to do more than run a comb through it as it was cut short and tight in the back, just a bit longer toward the front with soft curls that swept across her forehead. It was the perfect look because it required little to no effort to look more than decent - but when she felt like trying she could straighten it, or steal some gel from her dad’s room and style it up. Today was a lazier day, she hadn’t even bothered to run a comb through it that morning, and her curls were a bit more unruly and - oh god, what if Theo had noticed and now thought she was incapable of basic hair care?

The bell rang, signaling the end of her last class, and Frances all but bolted out the door and back to her locker. She stuffed her things inside, thankful for the lack of homework for the day, and started fussing with her hair in the tiny mirror she had stuck in the inside of her locker. She mostly just did it because it seemed like every other girl was doing it, but at the moment she was grateful for her past self following the crowd.

“Got a hot date after school?” Theo’s voice over her shoulder caught Frances off guard and she started, turning to face the girl, cheeks burning and hair definitely not looking any better than it had. Theo giggled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Um, so, do you want to exchange numbers and-”

“Yeah, that sounds great!” Frances shrank back, realizing she had cut Theo off, but Theo just grinned and dug into her bag before extracting a cell phone and passing it off to Frances. Frances did the same, taking Theo’s phone and typing in her contact information.

“Would you care to take a picture?” Theo grabbed her phone back and tapped the screen a couple of times, holding it up as she asked the question. “I like having contact photos, I’m kind of weird about it…”

“Oh, no, that’s fine.” Frances glanced at herself in the tiny mirror again, she didn’t look her best but she figured it was good enough. She smiled as Theo held up the phone, a smile across her own lips where her red lipstick had definitely smudged a little more, and snapped a picture.

“Cute,” Theo grinned. Frances tried not to think too much into the comment, it was just a word, she didn’t mean it as anything more than an innocent compliment. A pink tint still found its way beneath Frances’s freckles and she looked away from Theo, rubbing her arm and rocking back on her heels. “Um, I have a club to get to soon so I should go - but I’ll text you?”

“Yeah, okay.” Frances’s voice was quiet and she offered a shy smile to the girl, who returned the gesture before waving and turning back down the hall. As soon as she was out of sight Frances grimaced. “ Yeah, okay ? That’s the best you could do. Pull yourself together, Laurens,” she muttered to herself, shutting her locker and making her way out of the school.

“Where’s Dad?” Frances dropped her book bag next to the couch, tucking her legs under herself as she settled in next to Alex, who was reading through some heavy looking files. He didn’t look up as she sat down, flipping a page and humming before finally responding.

“Working late, again.” His brows drew together as he continued reading, before adding, “Laf and Herc are coming over for dinner. Think they’re bringing Chinese or something, they don’t trust me to cook for you.”

“That’s fair enough,” Frances shrugged, leaning forward to snatch the television remote from the coffee table and settling back into the couch before flicking it on, keeping the volume low so it didn’t disturb Alex. “You tend to forget to cook dinner when Dad isn’t here.” Alex did look up at that, just long enough to stick his tongue out at the girl before looking back down. Frances giggled.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Alex closed the file in his lap and turned to face his daughter. “So, how was school? Learn anything interesting?”

Frances shrugged, eyes trained on the television as she tried to remember if she learned anything today. She spent the better half of the day distracted thinking about Theo, she couldn’t even recall what they had talked about in most of her classes. “Just your average, boring day of high school. I met this girl, though,” - Alex’s brow quirked at that, but he didn’t say anything - “and I think I’m going to start… tutoring her, I guess. In biology. She’s a junior.”

“Really? That’s exciting,” Alex slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. “Look at my girl, spreadin’ knowledge! I’m so proud.”

Frances crinkled her nose, pushing him away with a laugh, “Papa, chill.” Alex let go of her with his own laugh, ruffling her hair as she swatted at his arm.

“So, who is this girl? What’s she like?” Alex prodded.

“I don’t know,” Frances shrugged again. “Her name’s Theo, but we just met… I don’t really know her that well, except she’s really pretty and apparently sucks at biology.”

“Hmmm,” Alex hummed, scratching his chin, but the door swinging open seconds later saved Frances from any further interrogation. Lafayette spun into the room in his usual dramatic style, Hercules steps behind him carrying two paper bags.

“No need to fret, we have arrived to feed the children,” Lafayette practically sang as Hercules dropped the bags onto the coffee table. “Oh, Frances, you just keep getting more and more gorgeous by the day!” He dropped onto the couch between the pair, pressing a kiss to each of their cheeks in greeting before reaching forward to begin unpacking the food they had brought. Frances was grateful that the topic of Theo was not brought up again, as her mind kept drifting toward her and the thoughts just got more and more confusing.

A few hours later, with her stomach full of cheap and greasy New York City Chinese food, Frances stared at the dimly glowing stars on her ceiling. She still remembered putting them up when she was eight, Alex had bought them for her when she was in her ‘Space Phase’, and she had been so excited to sleep beneath the stars every night. Alex had even tried shaping them into constellations, though after forming the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and half of Aquarius (he felt that one necessary since it was her zodiac sign) he gave up and just held her up to stick them as she pleased. That was seven years ago, before she knew she’d be staring at these stars thinking about a girl she had only just met, all of her feelings a confusing stew in her chest.

She wasn’t forming a crush on Theo, she decided, but merely admired her beauty. She was almost a little jealous of her beauty, the girl’s tawny skin looked flawless and Frances could not stop thinking about that silky hair, what it would feel like between her fingers - wait. No. Frances rolled onto her side, tugging her blanket up to her chin and frowning at the wall. She didn’t need to put any more thought into this. Theo hadn’t even texted her yet, she had probably forgotten all about the dumb little sophomore that wanted to help her.

Frances shut her eyes, pushing Theo out of her mind and accepting a well-deserved night’s rest. She didn’t know it yet, but she would need it to face what tomorrow had in store for her.

Chapter Text

Frances tilted her head back as warm lips trailed over her jaw, her fingers slipping into the dark, silky strands of hair at the back of Theo’s head. She hummed, mouth stretching into a smile as she succumbed to the warmth that was Theo’s body over hers, Theo’s mouth working over her throat, tongue flicking out against the skin and moving up to her cheek -

“Breakfast! C’mon, Frances, get up.” Lights suddenly flooded the room and Frances winced, slowly becoming aware of the sharp paws digging into her chest and warm tongue lapping over her cheeks and chin. She blinked her eyes open, slightly disorientated as she brought a hand up to shield her face from her yorkie’s eager morning greeting. “Up and at ‘em, Fran. Papa and I gotta head to work early.”

“I’m up, I’m at ‘em,” Frances groaned, turning over to find John hanging tiredly in her doorway. “I’ll be out in ten?”

John nodded, accepting the girl’s word and shutting the door as he left. Frances flopped onto her back, letting out a long sigh as her mind ran back through the dream she had just woken up from. She was reeling, her body tingling just from the thought of being that close to Theo, and - shit .

Frances’s pet yorkie jumped back onto her chest, licking at her face again until Frances started scratching behind his ears and pushed herself up, causing the pup to move into her lap. “That was a… weird dream…” she murmured, looking down and catching the pup’s big, dark eyes. “Don’t look at me that way, Fillmore. It didn’t mean anything, she’s just…” Frances trailed off and Fillmore let out a short whine, placing his paw over her knee. “It was just a dream.” She repeated, more to convince herself than anything else. “C’mon, Fil. Gotta face the world.”

Frances shoved her blankets aside, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed and forcing herself onto her feet. She didn’t put much into her outfit for the day, feeling far too exhausted as she trudged toward her closet, and pulled on the first pair of jeans her hand touched. As she pulled a shirt of questionable cleanliness over her head she caught sight of herself in the mirror, noting that she definitely needed to do something to the hair that swept wildly around her head.

Note to self: Don’t sleep with wet hair again .

Her eyes ran over the rest of her outfit, jeans snug against newly forming hips that she cursed with every fiber of her being, and shirt loose enough that it hid the slight pudge of her stomach over the edge of her jeans, along with whatever semblance of a chest she had. (It wasn’t much, but unlike most of her classmates, she wasn’t exactly upset about that.) After a couple minutes of finger-combing her hair down into an acceptable do she deemed herself worthy of the public eye and made her way out of the room, Fillmore close on her heels.

“Good morning, my darling daughter!” John crooned, much more awake than he had been when he first woke Frances up as he wrapped her in a hug and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “How did you sleep? Papa made your favorite, cinnamon french toast.”

Frances frowned, brow furrowing as she pulled herself out of John’s embra ce and fell into a chair at the kitchen table, across from a brightly smiling Alex. A plate already sat in her usual spot, two pieces of french toast smothered in Nutella with a smiling face crafted out of banana slices and bacon sticking up from the top to mimic hair. She quirked a brow, looking between John and Alex. “Um… what’s going on?”

“Nothing, sweetheart. I just thought you’d like a nice breakfast, you know, start the day off right. To help combat these mid-week slumps.” Alex gave her a beaming smile before popping a piece of banana into his mouth and standing up. “Unfortunately, I’ve got to head into the office now. We’re going to pick you up after school today, alright?”

“O… kay…” Frances was not buying whatever story Alex was trying to spin, but let it slide for now. Alex grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair before bouncing between John and Frances, placing a kiss on each of their cheeks, and out of the apartment. Frances looked up at her father with a questioning look. “Nothing?”

“Can’t your dads just want to make you a nice breakfast?” John asked with a soft sigh. “I’ve got to leave in a minute, too - we just wanted to make sure you ate before school. Left to your own devices, you tend to be like your Papa and forget to eat.”

Frances considered his response before nodding, “Fair.” She grabbed a fork and cut a corner from the french toast, popping it into her mouth as she watched John buzz around the apartment to finish preparing for work. He finally returned to the kitchen to drop a kiss to her head, “Text me when you get to school, I’ll see you this evening. Love you.”

“Love you,” Frances replied through a mouthful of french toast and bacon, making John chuckle and shake his head before following Alex’s path out of the apartment. Frances turned back to her breakfast, finishing off the french toast and bacon before putting her plate into the sink. Fillmore followed her as she returned to her bedroom to gather her school supplies, almost forgetting her phone entirely until she realized it was still plugged in on her night stand. As she unplugged it, she noticed the mass amount of notifications and began scrolling through them.

j_jeffers liked your photo

4 New Facebook Notifications

iCloud Backup
This iPhone hasn’t been backed up in 34 weeks.

Theo
2 New Messages

Frances’s heart skipped as she saw the new message notification, quickly swiping it open.

From Theo: sorry its so late i hope this doesnt wake u - meet up at lunch tomorrow?

From Theo: if not thats chill we can work smt else out - lemme know? :)

Frances pulled the corner of her lip between her teeth, staring down at the texts for a long minute before pulling her thoughts together enough to reply.

To Theo: see you at lunch :)

With a new skip in her step and a smile stretched over her face, Frances slid her phone into her pocket and finished getting ready for the day. With the breakfast on top of the text from Theo, it was shaping up to be a surprisingly good day.

“She totally thinks something’s up.” Alex sighed, pressing into John’s side as they walked hand in hand down the sidewalk. John chuckled and pressed a sweet kiss to Alex’s temple, squeezing his hand.

“Don’t worry, babe, I handled it,” he assured the man with a sweet smile. “You can’t really blame her though, you’re ridiculous levels on unsubtle.”

Alex had the decency to look bashful, ducking his head and elbowing John’s ribs, making the other laugh. “I’m just excited.” His lips stretched into a grin just as wide as the one he’d been wearing at the breakfast table and he lifted John’s hand to press a kiss over his knuckles, taking a moment to admire the ring on his finger. It wasn’t too flashy, a simple silver band embedded with three diamonds. A symbol of the small family they had formed, a symbol of all that was and all that could be - a symbol for their future.

It was an equally simple proposal. Alex had wanted to go all out, he wanted to blow John away, but his own mouth got ahead of him. He was in the middle of planning the Proposal when he actually proposed - it was obviously not The Plan. It was their anniversary and Laf and Herc were watching Frances while John and Alex enjoyed a night out. Alex had the ring, he had the words, but he didn’t know when or where. It needed to be perfect , so he kept thinking on it. They had been together for six years - if he had waited this long, he could wait until the perfect moment.

That perfect moment, however, seemed to hit him like a semi in the middle of their dinner. John was laughing brightly at something Alex had said, his eyes crinkling at the corners and glinting with wetness as he fell back in his chair and held his stomach. Alex’s heart fluttered, his chest filling with a warmth that almost felt suffocating, in the best way, as he watched John wipe at the corner of his eye, nose scrunched and freckles standing out against reddened cheeks from the laughter. The words left his mouth before he thought twice, “I want to marry you.”

John’s laughter died down quickly, replaced with surprise that morphed into a gentle smile. “What?”

“Shit,” Alex murmured, dropping his eyes but running with the moment. “I… I was trying to find the perfect time, because you deserve… the perfect proposal, John Laurens - but every moment I spend with you is perfect and I want to keep living these perfect moments for the rest of my life. With you, and with Frances.” He hesitated for a split second before slipping out of his chair, taking John’s hand in his and dropping to a knee. It caught the attention of a few nearby diners, and Alex tried to ignore the eyes that were on them. “John Laurens, will you marry me?”

“It’s about time,” John muttered, pulling Alex up and into a rough kiss. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he hugged Alex close, both of them chuckling as several people around them began clapping. Alex leaned back, still kneeling in front of John, and reached up to brush a tear from beneath his eye with the pad of his thumb.

“Just to be clear… that’s a yes, right?” He asked seriously, his mouth stretching into a smile as John coughed out a wet laugh and nodded furiously.

It had been three years since the engagement, the wedding pushed further and further away as more things cropped up. Washington’s non-profit that helped provide Arts programs for the disadvantaged youths of the city had only continued to grow, until it morphed into After School programs across the city and Summer Camps when school wasn’t in session. After finishing residency and becoming an Attendant himself at the hospital, John and his friend and pediatrician, Dolley Payne, teamed up with Washington’s organization and started their own clinic. A children’s clinic that was able to, with the financial help from Washington’s organization, provide care for children in need at much lower costs to parents and guardians. On top of work, Frances had entered high school, entered her moody teenager phase, and entered a period of interest in boys. Through it all, they knew they wanted to have a wedding - they didn't want to just sign the papers in a courthouse and go on, they wanted to the big affair. 

It had been an eventful three years, but they finally felt like they had settled in and saved up enough for the wedding they wanted. Today was the day they picked the venue - both of them taking the day off to visit their top choices. They had settled on a date, May 19, several months away - but they had been planning little things for the past three years and were confident in pulling a wedding together in the next seven months.

“You still with me?” John’s voice broke Alex out of his reverie and he looked at the teasing smirk over John’s lips, darting forward to kiss it away. John chuckled as Alex fell back into step next to him, lifting his opposite hand to tap against Alex’s temple. “What’s going on up there?”

“Nothin’,” Alex hummed. “I’m just… really happy we’re finally doing this.” John beamed, squeezing Alex’s hand and pulling him closer as they descended the steps of a subway station.

“Hey, Frances!”

Frances’s attention was immediately drawn to the girl sitting near the back of the library, books spread out in front of her, and waving one manicured hand in the air - blatantly ignoring the glare she had earned from the librarian. Frances tried to hold back her grin as she made her way across the library.

Theo had her hair braided around her head like a crown and Frances tried not to notice how the style, partnered with the way her dark skin somehow glowed under the fluorescent lights, made her look three times more angelic than yesterday. Theo was the type that seemed to put a lot of thought into her day-to-day outfits - at least she had the two days Frances had known her. Today she wore a floral top with a sheer black jacket over it and a black skirt that fell loosely past her knees. She looked perfectly put together from her braids to the light pink sandals that twisted up her ankles. Frances felt a little self-conscious in her more tomboy-ish aesthetic. She gave the girl a friendly smile as she slid into the set next to her, pulling her books from her bag.

“How was your night?” Theo asked, voice softer now as Frances got situated. Frances shrugged a shoulder, sure that Theo didn’t truly care and was just trying to make conversation.

“It was alright.” I definitely didn’t lie awake thinking you and your stupidly gorgeous face and your stupidly amazing hair , Frances bit the inside of her cheek, glancing at Theo’s book so she could flip hers to the right page. “Just a typical night of chinese take-out and cuddling my dog.”

“Aww, you have a dog?” Frances looked up then to find Theo’s dark eyes shining, her smile genuine and wide, showing all of her teeth (just as stupidly gorgeous and perfect as her face and hair, typical). “I love dogs! But my dad won’t let me have one, it sucks - what breed? Do you have any pictures?”

“Uhm, yorkie.” Frances replied with a small smile, pulling her phone from her pocket and quickly finding a good picture of her pet before sitting it on the table between them. “His name’s Fillmore.”

Frances chuckled as Theo leaned over the screen, her eyes wide as she cooed.“ Aww ! Oh my god, yorkies are so cute ! He’s precious! How old is he?”

Frances continued answering Theo’s questions on her dog, a two year old yorkie pup that she had convinced John to get for her when she finished middle school, and proceeded to tell her about the other pets in her household; a speckled calico kitten named Anneliese that her uncle Laf had gotten her last summer and an African aquatic sideneck turtle named Knox that was technically John’s. Theo was enthralled by the animal talk, expressing her jealousy that Frances had three pets and her dad wouldn’t even let her have a fish .

“Aye, Theo!” A sharp voice cut into their conversation from across the library, followed by a harsh shush from the librarian. Frances’s head shot up just as two guys crossed the room toward their table, one tall and lanky, arms crossing over his broad chest as he came to a stop and face scrunching into a glare that was aimed directly at Frances. She shrank back in her chair, watching as he looked to Theo, expression softening just a bit. The other guy stood behind him, just a couple inches shorter, hands stuffed into his pockets and eyes trained on Theo. The first guy spoke again, “What’re you doin’ with… her?” He barely spared Frances a second glance, but it seared her skin either way. She felt like her Great Day had just hit the top of a coaster and was about to make The Drop.

“What’s it matter to you?” Theo responded, her tone noticeably different than how she had been speaking to Frances a moment before. Her voice had dropped, and was harder as she addressed the guy, which made Frances feel a little better.

“Maybe I’m curious about who my girl’s spendin’ time with,” the guy retorted, and Frances’s stomach fell. There was the drop. But why did that seem to bother her so much? Theo was gorgeous, of course she had a boyfriend, so why -

“I am not ‘your girl’, Jay,” Theo spat, rolling her eyes. Her entire body tensed, hands clasped tightly together in her lap, and it made Frances shoot her own glare at the guy. Theo had been so happy, laughing and excitedly discussing pets just moments ago - but this guy, Jay, whoever he was, had managed to flip a switch and put Theo on the defensive. She felt elated to hear that Theo wasn’t dating this prick - because Theo deserved better - and protective of this girl she’d just met all at once. “Frances and I were just -”

“Jus’ what? She already pullin’ you over to her side, Theo?” Jay snorted, looking between the two and Frances was immediately aware of how close they had been sitting.

“Don’t talk about shit you don’t know, Jay,” Theo muttered, chancing a glance at Frances before setting Jay with a hard glare. “She’s helpin’ me in bio, if you must know, so you can leave.”

“Shit I don’t know?” Jay outright laughed and pointed at Frances. “You seen that hair cut, T? She screams queer. Hell, considerin’ what she’s wearin’ I wouldn’t be shocked if she’s one those that decides she’s a ‘he’.”

That cut Frances the wrong way and her face twisted up in anger as Jay’s friend laughed from behind him. She finally spoke up, slamming her hand against the table top, “The longer you stand there, the lower I feel my IQ dropping and I’m trying to help Theo make it through this semester of biology - if you’d be so kind as to take your ignorance elsewhere and she can catch up with you later -”

“What’s your problem, Laurens?” Jay sneered, putting a hand down and leaning across the table until he was nearly in her face. “You think just ‘cause your daddy’s some fancy ass doctor you’re better than us?” Frances clenched her jaw, the hand still in her lap balling into a fist as she held Jay’s gaze evenly. She didn’t know this kid, save from vague memories of seeing him around the halls, and she wasn’t sure how he seemed to know so much about her, but she was already over this conversation.

“My dad has nothing to do with this,” she grit out through her teeth.

Jay straightened, arms crossing over his chest loosely again as he continued cooly, “‘Cause my old man knows quite a bit about yours - and his ‘boytoy’. They go around with their queer programs for little kids, it’s disgusting - ‘course their daughter would follow suit.”

“I’m not -” Frances began to argue, but it died in her throat as another laugh ripped through both Jay and the boy behind him. Jay wiped a finger beneath his eye and looked back at Theo, Frances’s blood was boiling at this point and both of her hands were curled tightly, fingernails digging into her palms.

“You better watch out, Theo, you don’t wanna catch anything from her or her da-”

Frances lurched forward, Jay stumbling back and gripping his jaw before the pain began to set into her knuckles. She felt hot, anger seeping through every pore, blood rushing so loud in her ears she didn’t hear Theo’s gasp, Jay’s cry, or even the librarian’s clacking heels against the linoleum as she rushed over. It was a blur as a hand clutched Frances’s forearm and she was being dragged out of the library, heart still beating rapidly against her ribs. She could feel her pulse in her throat, in her hand, in her stomach, and was barely aware of hot tears blurring her vision even further. It wasn’t until she was settled into a chair in the main office that she calmed down enough to realize what had just happened, that she had just clocked Jay in the jaw. She was surprised at herself, to say the least, and even more surprised to realize that she felt no regret.

After a lengthy talk with the principal, Frances was let out with a pink slip that assigned her two Saturday detentions rather than the three day suspension she should have faced for fighting. Luckily, the principal wasn’t as bigoted as Jay had proven to be and while she couldn’t admit it outright, Frances believed the principal was on her side. She accepted the slightly lighter punishment and returned to wait in the main office while they called her father, as she would also have to be sent home earlier today.

She fiddled with the hem of her shirt as she sat there, crossing and uncrossing her legs, watching the ticking of the clock before looking down at the slowly forming bruise along her knuckle.

“Frances?” Theo stood cautiously in the door of the main office, Frances’s book bag clutched in her hand. “Hey, uh… you left this in the library, I figured I’d bring it by. Are they sending you home?”

Frances nodded, hanging her head in shame as Theo stepped into the office and sat carefully in the chair next to hers, dropping the book bag at their feet. There was a tense silence between them until, “I’m sorry.”

“What?” Frances turned her head to look at Theo, brows drawn together, confused. Theo was staring at her own hands in her lap, why is she apologizing?

“For all the stuff that Jay said,” Theo clarified. “I… he’s usually not that much of a jerk, really. But that obviously doesn’t excuse him, I.. would say I hope he didn’t get to you, but…”

Frances surprised herself again when she chuckled. “Papa always says I’m a lot like my dad, really hot tempered.” She chewed the corner of her lip, eyes falling back to that bruise on her second knuckle. “I’m sorry for punching your friend.”

“I don’t think ‘friend’ is the right word,” Theo scoffed. “Our dad’s work together, that’s the only reason we even hang out ever. It was a forced friendship, and if we’re being honest - I’d rather have you as a friend than him.”

Theo’s words left Frances feeling warm and she smiled warmly at the other girl. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Theo smiled softly. “And if we’re being honest, I’m really glad you punched him - I’ve been wanting to do that since we were ten.” They both shared a laugh, until the principal stepped out of her office.

“Ms. Laurens, your father is on his way,” she announced, tilting her head when she saw Theo sitting next to her. “Ms. Burr, is there something I can help you with?”

“Oh, no, ma’am,” Theo shook her head, standing suddenly. “I was just bringing Frances her bag, it was left in the library.”

“That was kind of you, but you should head on to class, alright?” She turned back into her office and Theo relaxed, looking down at Frances.

“Am I going to see you tomorrow, or did you get suspended?” Theo asked, gesturing to the pink slip in her hand.

“Nah, I got two Saturdays,” Frances admitted. “I’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Great,” Theo grinned. “Maybe we should go somewhere off-campus tomorrow, to prevent anymore… lunch time duels.” Frances felt giddy at the idea of seeing Theo again tomorrow, and going somewhere for lunch with her. She nodded her agreement before the warning bell rang and Theo had to slip out of the office. Her day was shaping up to be more of a mid-week roller coaster than a mid-week slump Alex had predicted. She still felt ruffled and upset over Jay’s comments, but she was euphoric over Theo saying she wanted to be her friend . All of it was covered by the blanket of guilt that clung to the walls of her chest as John and Alex came through the door to the office.

“I - did she call both of you?” Frances shrank in her seat, chewing at her bottom lip. “I’m sorry…”

“She just called me,” John told her, and he was using his Disappointed Father voice, as Alex stepped aside to talk to the secretary and sign Frances out. “We were already together.”

“Why?” Frances frowned, watching John reach down to pick up her school bag and standing when he gestured for her to.

“Why don’t we save that story for later,” John guided Frances back out of the office with a hand over her back. “I’m more interested in why we got a call to come pick you up in the first place.” Frances ducked her head, feeling Alex’s presence join on her other side.

“I know she told you. I punched a kid.” Frances stared at her navy blue sneakers as they squeaked down the tiled hallway floor. She heard John sigh, his hand running through the short strands of hair at the back of her head.

“I’m sure there’s more to it than that,” Alex piped up, holding the front door open for the other two and Frances took in a deep breath as she stepped out into the cool October afternoon. She focused on her breathing and the bounce of her feet against the cement steps between the school entrance and the sidewalk. She knew John and Alex wouldn’t react well to hearing about some guy trying to get under her skin, could still recall several confrontations with other parents when kids teased or picked on her through grade school. While she had managed to build a timid friendship with Jane Jefferson years later, she still remembered the reason she switched schools not even halfway through kindergarten. Thankfully, neither of them had punched anymore teachers or parents - but it didn’t mean they remained on good terms.

John grabbed her shoulder gently as they hit the sidewalk, pulling her to a halt and catching her eyes. “Baby girl, what happened?”

“This guy was just being a jerk,” Frances muttered. “I was in the library with Theo and he came in running his mouth off, and I just… reacted. I know, I shouldn’t have, but I -”

“Have a short fuse,” Alex finished for her, a soft laugh in his voice, and John shot him a look over her head, Alex throwing his hands up innocently in response. “She got that from you.” Frances lifted the pink slip still clutched in her fingers, holding it out to John. He took it from her, studying it with a frown, not hiding his disappointment and Frances’s stomach fell to her knees. She hated being the reason that expression was there.

“I got two Saturday detentions,” she explained. Frances desperately wanted to change the subject, looking between John and Alex. “So… what were two doing together in the middle of the work day?”

John and Alex shared a look, John shrugging as he folded the pink paper into his pocket. “Might as well tell her now, she’s got to come with us for the rest of the day.”

Frances narrowed her eyes, trying to read the look shared between her fathers. “With you… where?”

John’s face softened as he watched Alex, who was slowly breaking out into a grin. “Wedding venues. We’re only going to look at a couple more places, but -”

“You’re finally getting married? Like a real wedding?” Frances lit up, her aching hand and guilty heart forgotten.

“May 19th,” Alex declared and Frances squealed and wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist, then pulled John into the hug as well. “We were going to tell you after school and show you where we chose - but it looks like you get to help us choose.”

The small family made their way through the final two venues, an older church with gorgeous stained glass windows and a more modern locale with floor to ceiling windows offering breathtaking views of the Hudson and Downtown Manhattan from the 21st floor. One look at Alex and Frances’s faces as they stood next to one of the windows, eyes wide and full of wonder as they took in the bustling city, and John knew they had made a decision. This was where they would officially bond their family together.

Chapter Text

After the emotional high of choosing the location for their wedding, John and Alex were brought back to the reality of their daughter being sent home for fighting. One stern talk later and Frances was grounded for the next two weeks, no electronics, no extra curriculars.

The grounding didn’t phase her much, so she didn’t argue. She didn’t try to tell them any more of what happened. She just accepted it. Frances was more of a loner, she didn’t have that many friends she hung out with outside of school. She had a couple friends in her classes, they were useful for getting notes or studying for a test together, but aside from that most of her nights were spent at home.

After dinner, John and Alex had fallen back into wedding planning mode, and Frances retreated to her room - where she now lay in the middle of her bed with Fillmore curled up next to her head, her eyes scanning over those once-glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling as all of the events of the day buzzed around in her mind.

Frances didn’t know who Jay was until today, and after her only encounter she didn’t want to know anything more about him. His words stuck in her skin like thorns, she couldn’t shake the twisting feeling in her gut at the thought of his words being true - they couldn’t be. She didn’t want them to be - but why? John was gay and Alex was bisexual, between those two, her two gay uncles, and one gay aunt it wasn’t as if had grown up in an environment that told her it wasn’t accepted. No, just like Jay said, it was almost... expected . She was expected to be gay, to be different from everyone - even more than she already was.  

But she wasn’t, she couldn’t be.

She was very obviously attracted to guys, she knew that. She had spent hours with some friends at school gushing over the guys in her class, she had watched Magic Mike with her aunts and thoroughly enjoyed it - and, the ultimate test in her mind, she had kissed a boy and she liked it. These were all unique to boys, she had never thought about a girl that way.

Until now - but Theo was very attractive, she didn’t have to be attracted to her to know that. She was a lot of things that Frances wasn’t - broad-shouldered and fit, symmetrical, with soft, dark hair well past her shoulders. Conventionally attractive.  Frances was awkwardly bony in areas and a bit too chubby in others, she had a belly that sat over the top of her pants and seemed to extend annoyingly farther than her chest. She was off center, definitely more legs than torso, and  definitely not the right proportions. Frances turned her head, pressing her forehead and nose into the fur of Fillmore’s back, one hand dropping to rest over her tummy.

She wasn’t obsessing over Theo’s looks because she was attracted to her, she was jealous of her, that had to be it. Since meeting her, she’d been comparing herself to the girl. Thinking of the two of them together - it was just another mental comparison, all things Theo is that Frances isn’t. Pretty, funny, and feminine -

Thankfully, Frances was jerked from her thoughts as her bedroom door creaked open, John’s head popping in and her cat, Anneliese, bolting through the open door and onto the bed.

“You’ve been awfully quiet in here,” he noted, taking in his daughter as she sat up, crossing her legs and stroking a hand down the cat’s back. “Can I come in?” She nodded, her eyes falling down to the cat now curled in her lap. John frowned at the silence, stepping into the room and sitting on the edge of her bed. “Everything alright, baby girl?”

“Yeah,” Frances glanced up, just for a moment, enough to catch the questioning look in John’s eyes. “I’ve just been thinkin’. You know, since I’m grounded… s’posed to be thinkin’ about what I did and everything…”

John sighed, “You know we don’t like punishing you, Frances -”

“I know, I - it’s totally fair, I punched a kid.” Frances dropped her gaze back to her lap, Anneliese now purring as the girl stroked behind her ears and Fillmore had readjusted himself until he was lying with his back pressed against the girl’s thigh.

“Yeah,” John fell silent for a moment before taking a breath. “What was that about anyway?”

Frances gave a half-hearted shrug, “I told you, he was being a jerk and I just… lashed out.”

“You don’t usually just… lash out, Fran, this guy must’ve really gotten under your skin…” John watched her carefully, hoping she wouldn’t take much prodding to open up. He knew they hadn’t gotten the full story, Frances had proven to be short tempered but she had more playground screaming matches than physical fights. They’d been called in for parent-teacher conferences regarding Frances’s argumentative nature and frequent classroom interruptions - but this was the first time since kindergarten that Frances had gotten into trouble for fighting.

“Yeah, he was being a total prick,” was all Frances offered.

“Language.” John shifted to face Frances fully, reaching out and tilting her chin up until she was finally looking at him. “If you’d like to talk about what happened, I’d like to hear it.”

Frances moved away from John’s touch, letting out a heavy sigh and staring at the floor. It was silent for a long moment, and John was just beginning to accept that he wasn’t getting answers tonight when Frances finally spoke up.

“I was in the library with Theo - the girl I told you all I was helping in bio - and I guess he was her friend, because he came in asking her why she was hanging out with me …” Frances drew her bottom lip between her teeth, paused. “Then he started telling her not to hang out with me, because I ‘scream queer’” - she sucked in a breath, willing the stinging behind her eyes to go away, she wasn’t going to offer any more tears to this - “a-and started talking about you and Papa, and just… he was a jerk, and I couldn’t just sit there while he was saying all of that crap about you and Papa and me . I’m not -”

She cut herself off, tears spilling over her cheeks despite her best effort as she let her last two words die in her throat. Like you . The words felt like acid, burning the back of her tongue, and tasted of poison. John had reached out again, started rubbing her back as he watched, waited, wondered if she’d finish her sentence. Frances swallowed the poisoned words, took a deep breath as they sliced their way down her windpipe and finally choked out some replacement, “I’m not sorry. For punching him, he deserved it. I should feel bad, but I don’t.”  

John shushed her and she let him pull her closer, buried her face in his shirt and settled into her father’s embrace. Her mind still tumbled with questions, and she couldn’t figure out exactly why those words burned her throat. I’m not like you . They were harsh, uncalled for, and still some nagging voice in her mind questioned how true they were.

“Shh, hey, it’s okay,” John murmured into her hair, rubbing her back just as he’d done since she was five. “I’m sorry, baby girl - even in one of the most accepting cities, you’ve still got people that think that way. You should fight them, but not with your fists. Take it from me, it hardly ever works out that well.”

Frances nodded against his chest, composing herself just enough to sit back up. Fillmore and Anneliese were watching her curiously, having been disturbed from their positions in the shuffle of bodies as Frances fell into John’s hold. Fillmore licked at Frances’s cheek and Anneliese started butting her head against Frances’s arm, purring, and the girl couldn’t help but chuckle at her pets’ concern.

“And no matter what those people say to you, you’ve always got a family back here that’s on your side. Even the animals,” John laughed. Another beat of silence, Frances petting both of her pets on the head before John spoke again. “You’re still grounded, but… maybe… the initial grounding was a little harsh…”

“No, you were -”

“Are you about to argue against me giving your phone back?” John quirked a brow, hand halfway to his pocket where he had put Frances’s phone earlier. “Besides, you’re still tutoring that girl, right? You’ve gotta keep in touch somehow.”

Frances fell silent, although she knew she deserved the initial punishment - she was ready to ground herself for losing control of her temper that easily. But when John slid the phone back into her hand, she didn’t argue, simply turned the power back on and thanked him. Any possible arguments died on her tongue when the phone came back to life, buzzing with a stream of texts from Theo, just the thought of the girl leaving her feeling lighter.

FROM: Theo

the worst part about you getting sent home is that you dont get to witness jay trying to explain how he got the shiner

It’s hilarious honestly

He tried to say he got into a fight w a sr over a parking space but finally settled on running into a door

Dont worry tho someone must have witnessed and spread the truth around [eyes emoji]

It was me i told everyone what happened - that jay was a dick and you decked him

I guess youve probably been punished for it tho and dont have your phone so it may be a while before you see these

I hope you dont get in too much trouble - but he did deserve it - im sorry he said all that crap

TO: Theo:

grounded for two weeks. But I told my dad everything that happened and got my phone back.

FROM: Theo:

she lives!!!!!!

So they didnt go too hard on you then?

TO: Theo:

Not as hard as they should have.

FROM: Theo:

hey he deserved it.

enough about jay tho - are we still on for lunch 2morro? or will hangin w me ruin your new street cred? [winky emoji]

TO: Theo:

Definitely still on. I’ll take the hit to my street cred. [winky emoji]

Frances buried her face in a pillow, grinning as she went over the messages again. Thinking about Theo left her mind buzzing with a million unanswerable questions, but actually talking to Theo soothed the uncertainty and loosened the knots in her stomach. And what that meant - well, Frances wasn’t going to let overthinking ruin a good thing just yet.

“You ready to blow this popsicle stand?” Theo’s voice was suddenly right next to Frances’s ear and Frances tried to ignore the shiver that ran down her spine.

“Are we eight?” She laughed, turning away from her notebook and smiling up at Theo. Theo stuck her tongue out, not helping her own case, but making Frances laugh again before she put her notebook into her bag and stood from the table she had been waiting at. “Where are we going?”

“Anywhere that isn’t here.” Theo grabbed Frances’s hand as they neared the entrance of the school and Frances felt like her very being was going to implode at the touch, she even dug her school ID out of her pocket with her opposite hand just to make sure they didn’t break the contact. Theo did let go once they passed the administrator stationed at the door and stepped out into the autumn air, Frances hid her disappointment beneath a shiver. “Do you know anywhere nearby?”

Frances followed Theo down the steps, racking her mind for any nearby locales she could suggest, but her mind was turning up blank. She really only knew a few places around the city, and most of those were because of Lafayette - which meant they were too far from the school to realistically get there and back within in their half hour lunch break, and they were far too expensive for two high schoolers. They paused once they hit the sidewalk, Theo seemed to be thinking just as hard as she watched a group of guys pass them and head down the sidewalk.

All that’s down there is that gross sandwich shop and… Frances lit up, turning to Theo with a small grin, trying not to look too excited. “Do you like frozen yogurt?”

Theo feigned shock at the question. “Do you know how upset my dad would be if he found out all I had for lunch was frozen yogurt?” As she spoke, her mouth turned up in a grin to match Frances’s. “Lead the way.”

The walk to the froyo shop was fairly short, it was positioned within perfect walking distance from most of the schools in the area - including every school Frances had ended up attending since the second half of kindergarten. She knew the path there like the back of her hand, it had become a sort of tradition to go there for almost any occasion - though she hadn’t been there in a while. It felt a little strange going without her family, this was their place and now she was holding the door open for a stranger, the tinkling of the bell over the door familiar but the wave of Theo’s perfume that overtook her senses as the girl walked in ahead of her entirely new.

“This is cute,” Theo commented, taking the store in. It was small, two booths in the back near the machines and a few tables closer to the door. The yogurt machines took up one side of the back, the toppings and sauces along the other, next to the register. A single worker stood behind the counter, a tall dark haired man that Frances knew was named Donnie, and he greeted Frances as they neared the back of the store.

“Well, look who’s grown enough to come in here all by herself,” Donnie’s cheeky smile and knowing glance at Theo made Frances want to hide in the booth. “Or with some new company.” Theo had turned to Frances with a questioning tilt of her brow.

“My... dads and I are regulars here,” Frances explained. “This is Donnie, he’s usually working when we come in. Donnie, this is my friend Theo. I thought I’d introduce someone new to this place.” She tried to keep her voice even and cool, but even she could hear the edge to it.

“No complaints here.” Donnie held his hands up, chuckling under his breath. “Your family has almost singlehandedly kept us in business, it’s about time you shared with some friends. We’ve got your favorite out today, you two enjoy.” He shot the girls a wink before sliding two medium-sized bowls over the counter to them. Frances scooped them both up, holding one out to Theo, and leading her back to the machines.

“So, what’s your favorite?” Theo asked as she looked over the various flavors offered, but cut Frances off with an excited look as she was about to answer. “Wait, wait, I wanna guess.” Theo stepped up to the line of machines, now studying them critically, looking back at Frances every so often. Her face was soft, observant, lips turned up at the corners and eyes darting between labels with a newfound focus. Frances felt her heart skip as she watched, waited for the other to come to a conclusion.

Theo finally came to a halt in front of a machine, one side labeled ‘Strawberry’ and the other labeled ‘Watermelon’. She pointed at the strawberry half, twisting back to look at Frances, who was already shaking her head slowly and stepping forward. She lifted her cup and pulled the other lever, filling her bowl with watermelon frozen yogurt.

“Wait, seriously?” Theo’s nose scrunched in disgust, but she was laughing. Her laughter melted over Frances like the caramel sauce she was about to pour over her yogurt. “Your favorite is watermelon?”

“Yeah, is that a problem?” Frances lifted a brow, challenging the other and winning another peal of laughter. Theo shook her head, silent as she moved to fill her own bowl with red velvet and followed Frances to the toppings station. She watched in amusement as Frances strategically decorated her yogurt, placing several gummy worms over the top before sprinkling on oreo crumbs and finally drizzling caramel sauce over the masterpiece. Theo kept hers simple, adding hot fudge and a square of brownie.

The girls paid and claimed one of the booths before Theo finally spoke up again. “What does watermelon even taste like? It’s literally just… water .”

“What do you mean? It tastes sweet, haven’t you ever had watermelon?”

“Yeah, but it just tasted like water. Chewy water.” Theo took a bite of her red velvet, shutting her eyes for a moment. “Oh my god , this is good - it’s rich. Watermelon isn’t rich, it’s… thin, and weak. How does it even make a good frozen yogurt flavor?”

“Excuse you,” Frances scoffed, scooping out half a spoonful of yogurt. “It’s artificial flavoring, so it’s like… exaggerated watermelon. Here, try it.” She held the spoon across the table and Theo eyed the light pink yogurt cautiously. Frances sighed, pushing it closer to Theo, “Come on, just taste it,” until Theo did lean forward and take the bite. Frances swallowed thickly, looking away as tingles erupted through her stomach at the sight and she not-so-subtly jerked her spoon back.

Theo smacked her lips together as she settled back in the booth, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head. “Oh man, I’m judging you so hard. That… that tastes like crayons. You’re eating straight wax.”

“Rude!” Frances was laughing though, because the way Theo twisted her face and stuck out her tongue was adorable. She immediately shoved another spoon of her own yogurt into her mouth, sighing at the much more satisfying flavor and wincing as she watched Frances take a spoonful of her crayon-tasting concoction.

“It must be all the other stuff in there.” Theo leaned on her elbows to study the rest of the ingredients with a frown. “Watermelon with chocolate? And caramel? Girl, do you have taste buds?”

“You just can’t handle my refined palate.” Frances stuck her tongue out and Theo giggled behind her hand, and that was how the remainder of their lunch went. They moved away from the topic of Frances’s questionable tastes to talk about other things, anything from school to their families. Frances was careful not to divulge too much, still not sure where Theo would stand with the whole ‘yeah, I was kind of raised by four men of various sexualities, none of which were straight - and one lesbian aunt’. Theo didn’t seem keen on going too deep into family talk either, not stating much more than the fact that she was an only child with a single dad that was a lawyer, and could be ridiculously strict at times.

By the end of the lunch hour, as they walked back to the school, everything felt clear for Frances. She enjoyed Theo’s company, she wasn’t ready to part ways after they stopped at their lockers. She felt an absence in her space once Theo was gone, and she was already thinking about the next time they’d see each other (after classes ended that day, most likely). She liked the way Theo made her feel, light and happy, and those tingles in her stomach could be more clearly described as butterflies . Theo gave her butterflies, and Theo listened to her talk, and Theo laughed at her jokes and teased her lightheartedly over her favorite flavors.

Frances liked Theo.

Shit .

Chapter Text

“It doesn’t really need to be that big, I guess,” John murmured, running the tip of his pen down the short list they had compiled for wedding invitations. It barely filled half a page, seeing as neither of them really had family to invite - most of the guests would ultimately be in the wedding party. Frances, Herc, Laf, and the Schuyler sisters were the first on the guest list, and where they found themselves stuck.

“Invite some of the nurses and doctors from the hospital,” Alex suggested. He rubbed his hand over John’s back, feeling the tension already beginning to build. He pressed a kiss to John’s temple, wrapping his arm around John’s shoulders and pulling the pen from his fingers. “And we can invite the Washingtons and some other people from my office, so that I can properly show off my amazing husband-to-be. Maybe Jen will finally believe you’re real and I’ve not just been making someone up every time she’s asked me out for the last five years.” John tilted his head to the side to look at Alex at that, brows furrowed and definitely a jealous glint in his eye. Alex chuckled and dropped at a kiss over the confused frown on his face until it turned up into a soft smile, “You’re about to take a hot commodity off the market for good, Mr. Laurens. How do you feel?”

John’s smile dropped and he quirked a brow. “Are you telling me you’ve been on the market for the past nine years?”

“Wha - I - no !” Alex stumbled over his words, which earned a laugh from John before he turned back to look at the guest list they had started. John’s forehead creased as his eyes scanned over the paper again and Alex frowned, watching him. He leaned in, pressing his lips to John’s temple again. “What’s going on up there?”

John was silent for a long moment. He turned, pressing his forehead against Alex’s and letting out a quiet sigh. “It just feels… wrong, not having my siblings’ names on a guest list for my wedding , you know?”

Alex bit the corner of his lip, one hand reaching out to trace over the side of John’s face. “You could,” he whispered. “They’re adults now, they can make their own decisions.”

John huffed, moving away from Alex and shaking his head. “It’s been over a decade, Alex - I probably couldn’t contact them if I tried… and they probably wouldn’t want to hear from me anyway, or come to my gay wedding.” He pushed his chair back sharply and stood, pulling papers together to clear off the mess they had made in his frustration. “It’s a stupid thought, I know they wouldn’t. It’d just be nice, you know.”

“Hey, hey,” Alex stood as well, grabbing John’s hands in his own and stopping his frantic motions. “It’s not stupid, I’m sorry, hey, sweetheart.” He brought John’s hands to his mouth, dropping kisses along his knuckles. John relaxed, slowly, until he fell into Alex’s arms and let the man continue dropping kisses over his cheeks and finally pecking him on the lips. “Why don’t you go on to bed? I’ll clean all this up and we can come back to it after a good night’s rest, alright?” John nodded, stealing another kiss. Alex gave him a soft smile, tapping him on the ass and earning a smile. “You go on, I’ll be in there in a minute.”

Alex watched John walk to their bedroom before turning back to the mess of papers scattered on the table, mostly just half-finished lists and ideas for the wedding. They had already decided long ago that Lafayette would take the lead in planning their wedding, and he was excited to do so, but they wanted to get most of their ideas together before unleashing him. He stacked them all together and placed them into a folder, sitting it on the corner of the table as he sat back down and pulled his laptop closer, chewing on his bottom lip as he coursed through several plans of action. He finally clicked into a new tab, the default google search bar staring back at him for a second before he typed in his first search.

“Papa?” Frances’s soft voice pulled Alex out of his google wormhole, he quickly shut the lid of his computer and turned his head to look at her.

“Yeah, sweetheart? I thought you went to bed.”

Frances ran a hand through her hair, scratching the back of her neck as she stepped closer. “I can’t sleep… Can I ask you something?”

Alex furrowed his brow at her timid question, turning to her with his full attention. “Of course, Frances. You can ask me anything, you know that.”

Frances stepped closer still, hands nervously wringing the hem of her sleep shirt as she stared at the floor. The silence stretched on as she inched forward, Alex waiting patiently for her to open up and Frances turning words over words in her mind before she finally, in a rushed whisper, asked, “When did you first know…” Her voice faltered and she cleared her throat, trying again. “When did you first know… that you were bi?”

Alex’s eyes widened a little, but he thought about the question seriously for a moment. “Well… I guess it was when I was a little younger than you - I mean, I didn’t know the word for it until I came to the States, but I knew there was something different between me and the other boys my age.”

Frances nodded, she appeared to be satisfied with the answer, half-turned out of the room before she paused. Alex watched as her mind turned, words working from her throat, and he could see how tense she was. She clasped her hands behind her back, eyes boring holes into the floor, “H-how did you know?”

“I… had a friend, that I realized I cared about in a way far from platonic,” Alex started slowly. He pulled out one of the chairs next to him, patting it gently. “Do you want to sit down, honey?”

Frances pulled in a breath before accepting the invitation, sitting on the edge of the chair and wrapping her arms around her middle. Her knuckles were going white from how hard she held onto her elbows and Alex tried to keep his voice gentle, posture open, wanting her to relax - but if this conversation was heading down the route he predicted, he knew this was going to be hard for her.

“It was mostly because of the way other guys around me were talking about girls - you know, about wanting to date them, sleep with them, about how good their lips or asses looked - I found myself thinking about those things when I looked at my friend, too. And not just him, but other guys. I never told anyone, we were already pretty outcast already, my brother and I - because we were bastard orphans -”

“You have a brother?” Frances’s arms fell a little, caught off guard by the new information, but she immediately tensed again, remembering her own vulnerability.

“I do. He stayed behind on the island after I left. We don’t exactly keep in touch that well - but that’s another story. After I came to the States, I met some people - particularly one girl who happened to be bisexual. She introduced me to some resources, and thankfully the family that took me in was fairly accepting - I really didn’t hash through it all until later in college, but. That’s when I first figured it out.” Alex studied Frances’s face, her eyes falling back to the floor as soon as they met his. Her mouth was drawn in a tight line, body rigid, and Alex rested a hand gently on her shoulder. “Were you just curious, or… is there something more you want to talk about?”

They sat through another pregnant pause, the only sound the ticking of the clock, the fan working in John and Alex’s room, and Frances trying to keep her breathing even as she stared intently at her feet. Alex waited - for once in his life patient.

“I… um, I think… I might be?” Frances’s voice was small, almost scared, and Alex squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. “I don’t… know… I don’t know… if I want to be…”

That tugged Alex’s chest the wrong way, a stinging already behind his eyes at the way her voice broke near the end. “Frances, you know your dad and I, Herc and Laf and the Schuylers, we all love you no matter what - your sexuality is just another facet of who you are, and who you are is a brilliant, amazing young woman that I’m very proud to call my daughter.”

Frances blinked, trying hard to fight against the tears building behind her lids. “I know, but… not everyone else will. No one else will, they already give me a hard time at school because of you two, I don’t-” Frances cut herself off, shoulders falling, and buried her face in her hands. I  don’t want to be like you. She hated that thought, the words alone making her sick, but it was true . She already felt outcast because of her family - things would only get worse if people knew their assumptions were right, that she was like them.

“Frances.” Alex’s voice was stern and when she glanced up to meet his eyes, they were serious. “Fight them.” Frances opened her mouth to argue, and Alex shook his head. “Seriously, there’s nothing wrong with you Frances. I promise. They’re the ones that are wrong, you’re perfect the way you are.”

She nodded despite her disbelief. “Thanks, Papa. I think I’m gonna go to bed now.” She let Alex place a kiss on her cheek before returning to her room and falling heavily into bed, letting her pillowcase soak up the tears that finally fell.

Alex watched her leave, waited until the door shut before he turned back to his laptop, a new fire burning beneath him. He was upset enough over the reminder of John’s family exiling him after he came out, and the way John’s face had fallen at the realization that his siblings would not be at his own wedding - he didn’t want Frances to face anything like that. Her family would never, but would she lose friendships? Or be teased and taunted more than the girl had had to deal with - all because of who her parents are? Alex was furious, fingers flying over the keyboard as he tried to do something , he wanted to fix some aspect of this shitty world his family had to live in.

Five minutes later, he found himself on the Facebook account of a woman, just four years younger than John, her profile picture showing a toothy smile and a spattering of freckles beneath a mane of wild curls. The similarities were striking, there were no questions he found who he was looking for as he continued to scan the profile.

Martha Laurens Ramsay

Born in Charleston, South Carolina

Lives in Albany, New York

Married to David Ramsay

She was closer than he expected, and he wondered why she wouldn’t have tried to get in touch with her brother. He didn’t think on it any longer, committing to his idea and clicking the messenger icon on her profile.

Alexander Hamilton: Hello, my name is Alexander Hamilton and I am currently engaged to your brother, John Laurens. At least, I hope I’ve gotten in touch with the correct Martha Laurens. I know there has been some bad blood in your family in re: John and his sexuality - but we are getting married in just a few months and I think it would mean a lot to John if you were able to be in attendance. If not, we can pretend this communication never happened and both go on with our separate lives - otherwise, feel free to message me back and I would be happy to give you more details. Thank you for taking the time to read this - I wish you and yours well. - AH

Alex hit enter before he could second guess himself, logging out and shutting his laptop immediately. If she replied he would get the notification on his phone, otherwise he could forget it happened. He quickly finished clearing off the table and shut off the lights, shedding his clothes before joining his partner in bed. John immediately wrapped himself around Alex, nuzzling into his neck, and Alex smiled, rubbing a hand over his back and letting sleep take him in the warm embrace.

Chapter Text

Alexander Hamilton: Hello, my name is Alexander Hamilton and I am currently engaged to your brother, John Laurens. At least, I hope I’ve gotten in touch with the correct Martha Laurens. I know there has been some bad blood in your family in re: John and his sexuality - but we are getting married in just a few months and I think it would mean a lot to John if you were able to be in attendance. If not, we can pretend this communication never happened and both go on with our separate lives - otherwise, feel free to message me back and I would be happy to give you more details. Thank you for taking the time to read this - I wish you and yours well. - AH

Martha read the message for what had to be the fifth time that morning, mouth dry as her eyes ran over the words that she had nearly memorized by this point. John? Getting married? It honestly wasn’t something she thought she’d hear, John never seemed the type to settle down into domesticity. Then again, it had been years since she had seen him, anything could have happened to change that. Maybe this Alexander was all it took to reign in her brother’s reckless behavior, to tie him down, maybe they would have their own family soon enough. She felt a tug in her chest at the thought, and at the idea of actually going to this wedding - seeing John again. She never thought she’d get the chance, not after the fall out of John coming out - she never thought he’d want to see any of them again.

She took a breath, her head was reeling. She clicked out of the message, instead opening Alexander’s profile. The man was handsome, his profile a picture of him grinning widely at whoever was behind the camera, eyes crinkled in the corners and filled with so much affection - she wondered if that smile had been aimed at her brother.

Alexander Hamilton

Lives in New York City, New York

Engaged to John Laurens

The cursor hovered over the familiar name for what felt like an eternity before she finally built up the nerve to click, the page re-loading and pulling up a new face - but a face she’d recognize anywhere. Her breath caught for a moment, John looked older, his hair had grown longer, but it was still the same boy she’d grown up with. Freckles scattered across the bridge of his nose that matched her own, eyes she knew he got from their mother, and a smile so bright - she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him that happy in person. Alexander was in the picture with him, pulling a cheesy grin with his eyes squeezed shut, as well as an unfamiliar face - a young girl, she appeared to be around fourteen, the same age as Katherine. Her smile matched John’s down to the lines encasing their grins, her hair frizzy around her head, and Martha really didn’t need to question who she was - it felt obvious. John had a daughter?

She returned to the initial message. She missed her brother and if she was being offered the chance to reconnect with him, should she pass it up? She pulled in a breath.

Martha Laurens Ramsay: Hello Alexander, thank you for reaching out to me. Congratulations on your engagement! I’m not sure how much John would truly appreciate my presence, but I would like the chance to reconnect with my older brother - if at all possible. I’m going to be in the city in just a few days for business - would it be possible for us to meet for coffee? The three of us?

She let out a breath, watching the message send, staring at it as if she would get an immediate response. She was just about to close out, put it out of her mind for the moment, when another message did come through.

Alexander Hamilton: John is going to be pretty busy in the coming week with work, unfortunately - but I would be able to meet with you, if just the two of us is alright?

She considered the message, wondered for just a moment what John’s job was now, but ultimately decided this was probably for the best - maybe John wasn’t quite ready to see her again, and she wasn’t entirely sure if she was prepared to face him yet.

Martha Laurens: That sounds great. I can message you later and we’ll set a date?

Alexander Hamilton: Perfect - thank you, Martha.

Alex gnawed at his lower lip as he read through the conversation, heart beating erratically in his chest - he was going to meet John’s sister, and he hadn’t even told John he’d contacted her yet. But she wanted to be in John’s life again, at least she had said as much. That was a good sign, right? Alex slammed his laptop closed as John stepped into the room.

“Everything alright, babe?” John asked, searching him with curiosity. Alex forced a bright grin, standing to press a sweet kiss to his lips.

“Everything’s perfect, love.” Another kiss and John melted into it, smiling as he grabbed Alex’s hips and pulled him closer.

“Gross, guys, it’s seven in the morning!” Frances cried, covering her eyes as she moved through the room. The men broke apart, both watching her now as she slung her backpack over her shoulder.

“It is,” John started, eyes narrowing. “So what are you doing leaving at seven in the morning?”

“Uh, school?” Frances didn’t look at him, pointedly avoiding both of them as she double checked her bag. “I have a, uh, project. I need to meet with my group before school starts.”

Alex laughed. “Now that sounds fake, but okay.”

“Papa!”

“What, isn’t that what the kids say now?” Frances shot Alex a glare, though it softened a little as their eyes met and they were both reminded of their conversation last night. She dropped her gaze, zipping up her bag and reaching for the door.

“See you after school, love you, have a good day at work.” She was gone before they fully processed her sentence, the door slamming behind her, and they exchanged a concerned look.

“Do you think she’s okay?” John asked quietly, eyes still lingering on the door as if she’d walk back in and explain. Alex debated on telling John what Frances had told him last night, ultimately deciding to let her talk to John in her own time. He couldn’t betray her trust.

“She’ll come to us if she’s not,” Alex tried to sound reassuring, though he wasn’t entirely sure of that himself. John sighed, nodding and pressing a kiss to Alex’s forehead.

Frances tried to ignore how hard her heart was beating in her chest, for a moment she wondered if it was starting to have problems again. Theo leaned closer to reach a book and Frances caught a deep lungful of her perfume and her heart fluttered again - no, this had nothing to do with her health and everything to do with Theo. Shit. Her skin prickled, face and neck heating up, and she prayed it wasn’t a noticeable flush - luckily, Theo kept her eyes on her book and Frances was able to take a couple breaths to calm herself down.

“What are you doing tomorrow night?” Theo asked about ten minutes later, and the flush was back over Frances’s cheeks, eyes widening in surprise.

“Uh… I… nothing, why?” She scolded herself internally for the stuttered sentence, but returned her focus to Theo. The other girl closed her book, sitting it aside as she flipped her head around to smile at Frances. Shit .

“Jay’s throwing a party, you should come.”

Frances’s brain stopped or short circuited or - something , but she couldn’t think of anything beyond Theo’s bright smile, cheeks rounded and glowing, and she just asked Frances out ? Frances was almost positive that she had died and ascended to some version of gay girl heaven. Shit .

No, she didn’t ask Frances out - she invited a friend to a party, in a completely platonic manner because Theo wasn’t interested in girls, and neither was Frances . At least, she hoped that if she kept telling herself that it would be true.

“Fran? You alright?” Frances snapped out of the daze when Theo spoke up again, one fine brow quirked in question now.

“Yeah, sorry,” Frances tried to shake away the lingering embarrassment and thought about the invitation. “Um… would going to Jay’s party really be a good idea?” Theo waved off the concern.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep his ass in line.” She nudged Frances’ shoulder, still grinning, and Frances’ breath caught in her throat. Stop . “It’s gonna be a huge crowd anyway - shouldn’t have any problems avoiding him.”

“A huge crowd?” Frances’ concerns suddenly shifted from her feelings for Theo to a crowded house party, she had never been a huge fan of large crowds - but if it meant she got to spend time with Theo outside of studying and school…

“Oh, yeah,” Theo continued with a soft laugh. “Thomas and James are going out of town for some business trip or something, and Dolley’s visiting family - so Jane and Jay are throwing this huge thing at Jay’s place.”

“... Jane Jefferson?” Frances was on better terms with her kindergarten bully at this point, but not to the point that she really kept tabs on her. Or knew that she was friendly with Theo?

“Yeah, all our dads work together so we’ve kind of been forced to be friends.” Theo shrugged. “But the parties are worth it at least, Jay’s a dick but he knows how to throw a good house party.”

“My dad punched Jane’s dad in the face when we were younger,” Frances admitted quietly, not even realizing she was saying it until Theo looked at her, surprised.

“Shit, seriously?” Theo was delighted and Frances laughed, nodding. “Your dad is the ‘prick’ Thomas is always yellin’ about? Oh my god, I knew there was a reason I liked you, Fran.”

Frances’ heart skipped again, her throat feeling tight, but she stamped the feelings down as Theo regained her composure and looked up at her. “So, will you come to the party with me?

Frances nodded, returning her grin. “Yeah, I’ll try.” Theo threw an arm around Frances’ shoulders in a sort of hug as she let out soft exclamation, and Frances tried not to explode in her own skin.

“I can’t believe Burr is back on the team!” John winced as the front door slammed, a headache already working its way into his temples. He had gotten a few texts earlier in the day, though it was a busy day for the ER so he couldn’t reply with much more than a few emojis or short, encouraging words. He was ready for the full-fledged rant the moment Alex came through the door, but he wasn’t so prepared for the volume.

“Tell me all about it, baby,” John opened his arm, gesturing for Alex to sit next to him on the couch and Alex immediately took the invitation, snuggling into John’s side. “Just.. maybe at a lower decibel, please?”

“Of course, sorry,” Alex sighed, letting John rub his shoulder and work some of the anger out of his system. He had been angry all day, he was tired - but he could not stand working with Aaron Burr. He was a fine man, smart and a hard worker, but he was annoying to work with . Alex was sure they could have been friends if they had never had to work together, but Burr was the most indecisive, spineless man Alex had ever had the displeasure of sharing office space with and now Washington had hired him. “What’s next? Jefferson becoming one of our lawyers? I’ll scream, I swear. I saw Madison in the office the other day - I swear to god, if it was an interview -”

“Alex, relax,” John rubbed his back soothingly. “Isn’t Burr a good lawyer? Won’t having a good lawyer help you all out?”

“ I’m a good lawyer!” Alex exclaimed. “He could have asked me-”

“You already have a job, Alex,” John reminded him. “Washington isn’t going to pull you out of financials, you’re good at what you do.” Alex ruffled, crossing his arms and glaring at the ground because John was right. Of course John was right, but that didn’t change that he was pissed that it had to be Burr of all people - he had left the firm to work with Washington and get away from him.

“I don’t see how he can defend anyone when he can’t even defend himself,” Alex muttered and John chuckled, the sound making Alex feel better rather than upsetting him further - thankfully. John kissed his cheek, pulling him closer, and Alex let him. “Where’s Frances?”

“With Laf.” John trailed his fingers along Alex’s side, slowly inching beneath the hem of his shirt. “They went to pick up some dinner… should be gone for a bit longer…” Alex let out a soft gasp as John’s mouth found its way to his neck, his hand broad and warm on his lower back.

“John Laurens,” Alex whispered, scandalized. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?” Rather than answering, John nipped at Alex’s collarbone and pressed closer to him. Alex certainly wasn’t complaining, happy to forget his frustrations as he followed John back to their bedroom.

“How did your project go?” Alex’s question caught Frances off guard, causing the girl to look up from where she had been scooting some peas over her plate, confused. She caught on a moment later, remembering her white lie from this morning, and tried to save it.

“Great. We got it finished, just in time.” She shot him a smile to really sell it, but knew from his expression he wasn’t buying it. John didn’t seem phased at all, pulling apart a chicken leg and chewing at it slowly. His headache had finally hit him, throbbing in his temples and all he wanted to do was sleep it off. Alex insisted he have dinner at least, but even his family’s quiet voices were too much.

“So,” Frances spoke up, quickly lowering her volume when she saw John wince, but needing to change the subject to one that may work in her favor. “Can I go out tomorrow night?”

“With who?” John asked immediately, looking over the table at her, watching her carefully. Frances shrugged one shoulder, eyes dropping to her plate.

“Just a.. Friend.” She didn’t admit even to herself how much she wanted that to change. John narrowed his eyes.

“Where to?” He continued, and Frances tried to hide her fidgeting. It didn’t work.

“We’re just going to go hang out a friend’s house,” which wasn’t technically a lie. She merely omitted that this ‘hang out’ was actually a house party partially hosted by Thomas Jefferson’s daughter. John frowned at her for a long moment.

“You know you’re not allowed to date -”

“This isn’t a date,” she argued immediately, which didn’t make her look any less guilty of trying to cover up another date. It was true, it wasn’t , but part of her wished it was.

“You’re too young for a boyfriend” - Alex and Frances both flinched, but John was squeezing his eyes shut tightly to fend off a worsening headache and didn’t notice - “and you know that.”

“ Dad , I just want to hang out with some friends,” Frances insisted.

“Frances, the last time you -”

“That was, like, a year ago, Dad, I’m not -”

“Jesus, Fran, we can talk about this tomorrow.” John’s tone was final and he slapped an open palm on the table for emphasis, regretting it immediately after. “I can’t do this right now.” He pushed his chair back, wincing as it scraped the tile. “I’m going to bed, goodnight.” And after pressing a kiss to each of their heads and final ‘I love you’, John retreated from the kitchen and conversation.

“He’s just grumpy cause he has a headache,” Alex finally spoke, and another pause stretched between them before he continued. “Who is she?”

“Who?” Frances put her focus back on her plate, scraping at a pile of mashed potatoes with her fork now to avoid meeting Alex’s eyes. Alex sighed.

“You don’t have to tell me… but if you want to, I’m always here to listen.”

The silence grew too heavy for Frances, she felt like she was suffocating on her unspoken words, syllables unwilling to leave her lips no matter how much she needed them to. “I have homework to do.” A lie, another lie, but it got her out of there. She cleared her plate, tossing it into the sink with little grace before retreating to her own room and leaving Alex to finish the rest of dinner clean up.

It gave him time to think, at least. Given the events of the past two days, he had a lot of that to do.

Chapter Text

Frances tugged at the hem of her shirt, the fabric soft between her fingers and working to soothe her nerves as she followed Theo down the street, through the busy night. Her lip felt raw from how hard she has been chewing at it, every little noise putting her on edge as she slowly came to terms with what she was doing. She had snuck out, unsure just how thankful she should be for Alex’s impenetrable focus once he was working on a project, and now she was going to a party with Theo. A party she knew neither of her dads would want her attending, but it was an opportunity to spend time with Theo outside of school walls - how could she honestly say no?

“You alright, Fran?” Theo’s soft voice cut through the panic in her mind, her eyes focusing in on Theo’s smile, bright and excited. She forced a smile of her own, nodding, and clearing her throat.

“Yeah, it’s just…” she shrugged a shoulder, trying to sound nonchalant about it but her voice wavered, “I’ve never.. Snuck out before, or anything. I mean, there was one time, I just kind of… fibbed about where I was going, but then my dad overhead me talking with my uncle and found out and -” Frances cut herself off with a breathy, embarrassed laugh, dropping her eyes to the concrete sidewalk beneath her feet. Theo’s hand, warm and comforting, slipped into her own, drawing her attention back to the girl.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Theo pulled them to a stop, shifting out of the flow of foot traffic and turning to Frances. “We can turn back if you’re not really feeling it anymore, you know? A ‘JeffMads’ party isn’t really a ‘once in a lifetime’ affair.”

Frances considered it for a moment, almost taking the out, but shook her head. She wasn’t going to give up that easily, not after making it this far, not with Theo’s hand squeezing her own. “No, it’s okay, I’m totally… feeling it. Just, feeling a little nervous?”

“It’s gonna be fine, kid,” Theo promised, pulling them forward again. They walked in silence a bit further before Frances piped up again, mostly just wanting Theo to keep talking to her. It calmed her down, kept her out of her own thoughts, which were beginning to twist violently again.

“So, Jane and Jay - they throw these parties often?”

Theo laughed, “Oh yeah. Thomas, James, and Dolley are out of town a lot - honestly, between you and me, I’m not so sure Thomas and James really have that many ‘business trips’. And they became a lot more frequent after Thomas lost his wife.”

Frances considered this for a moment, before realizing what Theo was hinting at. “Are you saying…?”

Theo just shrugged, giving her a secretive little smirk, “If the shoe fits…”

Alex had several reports due by the end of the night, budgets that needed revising, plans that needed to be approved for the future of the program. He set up a workstation at the kitchen table, spending most of the evening there and really only getting up to refill his coffee mug. Frances had interrupted him once, to say goodnight, and he quickly fell back into his work. It wasn’t until he felt soft kisses along his shoulder that his focus was pulled once again, head turning to find that John had arrived home from his late shift.

“Time?” Alex murmured, rubbing at his eyes that were suddenly burning from staring at his laptop screen.

“Just past one,” John responded, wrapping his arms around Alex’s shoulders and pressing kisses into his hair. “You and Frances eat?”

“Before I started working.”

“She go to bed?” Alex just nodded, not actually sure when Frances had gone to bed. It could have been hours ago, or maybe just moments. John hummed. “Good, I’m gonna go check on her. You wrap it up, you need to get some rest, too.”

“But,” Alex started to whine, cut off immediately by John tutting.

“I’m sure you’ve been working all night, find a place to stop and come to bed with me.” Alex sighed, accepting his defeat (after years of arguing with John, he had learned it was best not to), and started saving and closing out various tabs and documents as John made his way down the hall to Frances’s room. Alex was just shutting his laptop and putting his coffee mug in the dishwasher when John returned to the room, panicked. “Where’s Frances?”

“Is she not in her room?” Alex furrowed his brow, sorting through his memory, and he clearly remembered saying goodnight to her and watching her go off to bed.

“ No .” John charged across the room, grabbing his phone from where he had dropped it on the table and unlocking it quickly.

“...Bathroom? Maybe she’s -” John put his hand up to silence him, pressing the phone to his ear. The room fell silent, save for the soft ringing Alex could hear coming from the phone.

It went to voicemail.

“Frances, where are you? Pick up your damn phone.” He hung up, dropping the phone back onto the table and running his hands over his face. “Did she tell you she was going out?”

“I - no, John, the last time I saw her she said she was going to bed.” Alex stepped forward, trying to reach out and comfort his partner, but John’s glare deterred him.

“Obviously that was a lie,” he snapped. “What the hell , Alexander, we live on the fifth floor - she didn’t sneak out the window, she had to have walked right past you to get to the door.”

“I - I was working -”

“Is your work really more important than our daughter? Christ,” John shook his head, turning away and grabbing for the jacket he had taken off and draped over a chair. His head was swimming with worry and disbelief and anger, he was exhausted from work but adrenaline had already kicked in alongside the panic of not knowing where Frances was. He knew somewhere inside of him that his anger at Alex was misplaced, but he was too frustrated and stubborn to admit it, instead heading for the door.

“John, I’m -”

“Save it, Alexander.” His full name spitting from John’s lips stung, he recoiled, guilt setting in as he pressed back against the counter and watched John fumble with his phone before opening the front door.

“Where are you going?” Alex asked quickly, beginning to cross the room, reaching for his own jacket so he could go with him.

“I’m going to find my kid.”  John didn’t turn around, didn’t stop, just shouted his response before slamming the door shut and leaving Alex behind.

Frances wouldn’t call herself a lightweight - but it was apparent very quickly that she did not have the same tolerance as her peers. Theo had gotten them both a drink when they arrived, neatly avoiding Jay and his gang and muttering under her breath that she was too sober to deal with them. Now Theo was on her third while Frances was still nursing her first, both of them curled up in a corner of the room and observing the rest of the group. It wasn’t the type of house party Frances had seen in movies, people were scattered through the living room in clumps, at varying levels of intoxication, talking under the soft hum of whatever playlist filled the room.

“So this is all I’ve been missing?” Frances murmured, the drink making her hyper aware of Theo leaning closer to hear her. Frances was sitting in an armchair, Theo perched on the arm, but now she nudged at Frances’s shoulder until the other girl scooched over and there was enough room for Theo to drop down onto the cushion with her. Theo’s entire right side was pressed against Frances and she felt like she could scream, overwhelmed from the alcohol and Theo’s perfume and warm skin. She hadn’t even realized that Theo was talking, but finally focused on her smooth voice right next to her ear.

“... and I’m pretty sure Jane has been trying to get that since day one, honestly.” Theo hummed, pressing her forehead against the side of Frances’s head, and let out a soft chuckle. “You didn’t listen to a word I just said did you?”

“Sorry,” Frances breathed, hardly because Theo was leaning so close it was beginning to feel like a hard task.

“You doin’ okay, kid?” Theo sounded truly concerned, her smile dropped as she turned more to look Frances in the eye. So close that Frances could see the lights reflecting off of the warm brown irises, dark, deep, and inviting. So close that Frances could see where her lipstick had smudged just slightly off her top lip from drinking. So close that it would only take the slightest movement to close the inches between them, and what booze had worked its way through her system was only encouraging her further. “Fran?”

Frances snapped her head back, blinking a few times before clearing her throat and nodding. “Yeah, ‘m fine.” She took another sip from her cup, hoping it would cover the blush that ran over her cheeks, but Theo’s eyes ran over her face as a wide grin stretched across her lips and Frances knew it didn’t.

“You’re cute when you blush, y’know? Not sayin’ much, you’re pretty cute all the time.” Theo took another drink as well, looking away back over her shoulder at the rest of the party. The crowd had grown a little more and someone had changed the music, so it was less indie and more pop dance remixes.

Frances was thankful that Theo was seemingly distracted because she could feel her blush deepening. Her head was beginning to spin, probably from the alcohol but she felt like it was from the compliment. Did Theo mean that? Or was it just in a friendly, completely no-homo way? Frances wasn’t sure she could handle knowing the truth, but she wanted it to be meant in a very, very homo way.

She had managed to finish off the rest of her drink before Theo finally turned her attention away from the crowd. Theo didn’t say anything more, but she took Frances’s hand and pulled her up, helped steady her as she swayed on her feet, and led her away from their secluded little corner. Frances wasn’t sure where Theo was taking her, didn’t have the time to ask before they were stopped by an all-too familiar face.

“I see you brought your girlfriend, Theodosia.” Jay didn’t sound as smug as he was trying to look, his words slurring just this side of too much, but Frances could tell his attempt at a smirk was meant to be more vicious. She ducked her head, missing the glare Theo shot at the boy.

“Shut the fuck your mouth, Jay,” Theo snapped. Her hand tightened in Frances’s and Frances felt her heart kick. She was waiting for the inevitable ‘she’s not my girlfriend’, but it never came and she felt a little relieved by that.

“We’re goin’ to the basement, you wanna come? You can even bring her.” Jay gestured to Frances, who had slowly moved behind Theo to have no part in the encounter. Theo started to shake her head and Jay clicked his tongue, “You know you want to. I’m sure even someone like Laurens could handle it.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Theo narrowed her eyes at the boy, and Frances felt a spark of heat through her body, shooting from the palm of her hand pressed against Theo’s and down every nerve ending.

“C’mon, you know -” Jay stopped himself, presumably because of the glare centered on him. He rolled his eyes, “Whatever, you know where to find us when you’re done with this little… gay-cation.”

Jay left and Theo turned to Frances, an apology on her lips, but it never fell because before Frances knew exactly what she was doing there were warm lips against hers, a gasp of breath stolen from their shared air, and Theo’s fingers tightening around her hand once again. It was over as soon as it started, Frances’s face burning as she realized I just did that . Theo’s face had softened after the encounter with Jay, but her lips remained parted and eyes wide with a shocked sort of gaze.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Frances’s mind was spinning, not from the drink this time, apology after apology tumbling over one another on their way to be voiced. Her mouth opened and closed around words that wouldn’t come out, stuck just behind her tongue, refusing to touch the lips still burning from that kiss.

“I think we should get you home, kid.” Theo finally spoke and Frances’s heart sank, but she nodded her agreement, let Theo pull her out of the house and back into the cold night air.

“How do you lose a kid , Alexander?” Angelica shoved past Alex and into the apartment, looking around for a moment before turning back as Alex shut the door and slumped against it.

“Angie, thank god you’re here, thank you for-”

“I’m not here for you, Hamilton,” Angelica snapped, taking another look down the hall. “Where’s John?”

Alex wilted further, curling in on himself and staring at his feet. “He went out to look for her, pretty sure Laf is out with him now.”

“You’re goddamn lucky Laf isn’t the one that came over here, you wouldn’t have survived the night.” Angelica crossed her arms. “Did she say anything about going out tonight?”

“ No , Angie, I think if she had mentioned going somewhere I would have remembered.” Alex huffed.

“Yet you don’t remember her walking right past you to get to the front door.”

Alex fell in on himself, taking a deep breath and trying to remain calm, though it was getting harder. His hands were beginning to shake. “Look, I get it, I fucked up. Can we move past that and just find her? We can bring back the Hamilton Salt Squad once she’s safe and back home.”

Angelica’s expression softened as she watched Alex press his fists against his thighs, continuing to breathe as evenly as he could. “Maybe not tonight, but did she mention anything earlier this week? Maybe some friends hanging out? Asked to go somewhere and you two said no?”

Alex shook his head slowly, racking his brain, trying to remember but he couldn’t think of anything past I fucked up and She’s gone and My fault . His mind was turning with worse and worse scenarios of a teenage girl being lost and alone in New York City, wandering the streets, even if she was just a couple blocks from home how would they know if anything happened?

“Alexander, breathe.”

Angelica’s voice faded behind his own thoughts screaming through his skull, twisting down his throat, and kicking through his stomach. His hands shook, even as he felt a softer grip over them, felt himself being led away from the door, lowered to the couch. He didn’t feel as unsteady, the firm cushions beneath him, but he still felt uneasy, uneven, guilty, and scared. A door opened and shut in the distance, but Alex couldn’t pull his focus to it. Couldn’t pull his focus away from his own mistakes, and his own worries, everything swirling in a dizzying pool of emotions and stinging his eyes and burning his lungs.

“No luck but Laf is going to try that Find My Phone feature, see if we can figure out where she is-” John stopped himself when he saw Angelica kneeling in front of Alex, who sat on the edge of the couch, back straight and fingers clenching at his knees. “Shit, what happened? What’s wrong? Laf, you can use Alex’s computer, it’s on the dining table.” John waved him toward the kitchen before dropping down next to Angelica.

“Panic attack, I think,” Angelica murmured, rubbing a soothing circles with her thumb over the back of Alex’s hand. It wasn’t doing anything. “He hasn’t said anything, he’s just…”

“Yeah, okay,” John nodded, chewing at his lower lip as he turned his attention to Alex. “Alex, honey, you’re safe, okay? You’re at home, you’re safe, you’re okay. Baby, can you hear me?”

John continued to repeat himself, until Alex finally seemed to come around again a couple minutes later. He let out a soft whine in response, nodding when John asked if he could hear him again.

“Can I hug you?” John asked, and Alex gave another nod, slumping against John when he wrapped his arms around his shoulders. “You’re okay, honey, just breathe. I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier, it’s not your fault she snuck out, but we’re going to find her. She’s going to be okay - punished severely, but okay.”

“John,” Laf stepped out of the kitchen. “I found her phone, she is on the route back here.” Everyone in the room seemed to let out a sigh of relief, Alex burying his face into the fabric of John’s scrubs, hating the too-clean smell of hospital clinging to the fabric but comforted by the warm woods-and-honey smell of John underneath.

“I’m sorry I didn’t pay more attention,” he whispered, and John shushed him.

“It’s okay,” John pressed a kiss into his hair. “Things happen. She’s a teenager now, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that she’s sneaking out.” He glanced up at Laf. “And you’re sure she didn’t say anything to you?”

“Non, not a word.” Lafayette frowned. “Nor to Hercules, we are just as in the dark as you.”

“What about that...” Alex lifted his head, suddenly remembering the conversation from dinner just a few nights ago and looking up at John. “She asked to go to someone’s house, but you told her no, do you think that…”

“That’s probably it,” Angelica nodded. “Why’d you tell her no?”

“She’s too young to be dating -”

“You wouldn’t let her go on a date? John, she’s fifteen.”

“Fifteen is too young to date, especially if she’s going to resort to sneaking out to do so when I tell her no.” John huffed, shaking his head. “If she’s going out, I want to know who with and where to. If she can’t provide that information, she’s not going.”

“And I always thought Alex would be the helicopter parent,” Angelica muttered, throwing her hands up when she caught the glare from John. “She’s growing up, John, you’ve got to let her.”

John just huffed again, shaking his head and pulling Alex closer to himself. He didn’t need lectured on his parenting style, he just needed his daughter home and his family back together.

Theo and Frances came to a stop outside of the building, Frances completely unwilling to let go of Theo’s hand but knowing she had to.

“You gonna make it back in okay?” Theo asked, not seeming too eager to break the contact either.

“Yeah, they’re probably in bed by now.” Frances swallowed thickly, all she had been able to think about since they left the party was the feeling of Theo’s mouth against hers and how much she wanted that again. They hadn’t said anything, apart from Theo quietly asking Frances to confirm directions, on the walk back, and Frances finally felt calm enough to form a proper sentence. “I’m sorry for kissing you.”

Frances wasn’t sure what she expected, but it wasn’t Theo’s barking laughter. Her face flushed again, stomach sinking, she hadn’t thought the kiss was laughable -

“Don’t apologize.” Theo told her, shaking her head. “Seriously. Only apologize for things you regret - unless, you do regret it?”

“Wha - I - no, I-”

Theo grinned. “Good.” She glanced back at the building, checked the time on her phone, and finally let go of Frances’s hand. “You should get up there. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

Frances watched Theo make her way down the street, relishing the last few good moments of the night as the cool autumn air whipped around her. She didn’t know the shit show she was about to step into, but at least she could live in this moment for a second longer.

Chapter Text

Hello, hello, hello Frienditos.

I first and foremost want to apologize for such a long hiatus! As some of you may know, my life kind of fell into a giant shit storm. My mom passed away, I fell into a pretty horrible depression - but here we are, finally emerging on the other side!

I'm posting this update to inform you of two things:

1, I have not forgotten about this story. I have not forgotten about you. And I'm so, so, so grateful for everyone that's left comments, that's followed this since Domestic Life, and that have had the patience to wait for me to come back and left me kind words here or on tumblr in the midst of the storm of life. You are wonderful readers, and I love you all very much. I am not abandoning the domestic life 'verse, or the Hamilton fandom, or you.

But what is happening? That brings me to...

2, this story isn't what I want it to be. I had a plan in the beginning, and then it diverged because I started Writing to Cope - which is never bad, but it resulted in this taking an unexpected direction I wasn't ready for. It no longer became the story I wanted to tell, and while that's okay to me most of the time, I'm back in a different headspace and I don't know how to move forward. So what does that mean?

I'm taking a break from Domestic Life. I'm actually plotting out a couple other stories I wanna write, and I'm going to come back to this. I'm going to re-work it entirely. I'm going to give you the story I want to tell and the story you deserve to read. I'll keep this up, with a preface for any newcomers, so you can keep the updates on here and I'll update this AGAIN when I do come back. I know many of you loved this, and I do, too, but I think I can tell it better and I hope you'll give me the chance.

So, while we wait, while I work things out for myself, I am working on a couple more stories, I'll continue to post one-shots and I'll be filling prompts on Tumblr. I'm not gone, so I hope you take a chance to enjoy my other writing. And I'll see you back here some day.

As always, you can come talk to me on Tumblr @hypeulesnochilligan

Love you all,

Pip

Chapter Text

The reboot is here friends. 

this story is no longer relevant to the domestic life universe. 

C L I C K H E R E to continue 

OR H E R E

A N Y W H E R E