Who writes your story?

(Important announcement at the end!)

Lafayette and Hercules walked a little behind the two other boys as they made their way to the girls' dorm. The evening was calm, and Lafayette's thoughts were not. They whirled around his brain as he trudged forward, clutching his boyfriend's hand hard. Hercules' palm was warm in his – a source of heat in the cold air. He never, ever wanted to let go. Hercules had always been the brightest source of warmth in his life. Lafayette swallowed against the clump in his throat, the one that always formed when he thought about how close he'd been to having to leave him. Having to leave them all.
But he wasn't. No, he was staying. He wasn't walking across the yard to catch a flight back to France. He was walking across it to get to a party – a party that had been organized for him. Because his friends had been happy, so happy that he was staying. A smile drifted over his face as he repeated their names quietly to himself. Hercules, Alexander, John, Angelica, Eliza. Hell, even Jefferson and Madison and Burr. They'd stayed by his side through the past few weeks, even when he hadn't noticed it. Though the guilt of the pain he hadn't realized he'd caused them still drifted at the back of his mind at times, it was immensely outnumbered. By happiness. By gratefulness. By joy.
Lafayette stepped over the threshold of the building and could hardly believe his eyes. The stairway was draped in flags, paper triangles in blue and red and white. Even here they'd decorated. For him. Lafayette did not and never would have a name for the explosion of emotions that spread throughout him. He didn't have to though, because they were evident on his face. They had done this for him. His friends. Lafayette locked eyes with the boy who stood next to him, grinning, and tilted his face upwards. Hercules smirked even wider and then his lips were pressed to Laf's.
Lafayette was certain. He wasn't spending another year away from home.
He had just found it.

Hercules and Lafayette walked a little behind the two other boys as they made their way to the girls' dorm. The evening was calm, and for the first time in months, Hercules was too. His hand clutched Lafayette's tightly. The heat of his boyfriend's body warmed his own hand, spreading through his arm into his very core where it lay like a blanket around his heart. Lafayette was staying. He would stay right here, by his side. The past weeks had been … tough. Hercules swallowed, trying to push the thoughts away. The uncertainty, the worry. He'd known something was up. He just hadn't realized what. The stress, the pain and frustration in Laf's eyes. The long, lonely nights he'd been studying and the feverish, desperate kisses. He should have know.
He didn't blame Lafayette for it, for not telling him. He knew it had been hard for him. Not just hard, terrible. They'd had a long conversation about it. The despair and the panic he'd felt, the desperation at going back to a life that contained none of what he now valued as truly important. Hercules had held Lafayette as he'd cried and explained and apologize. Lafayette had held Hercules as he did the same. The memory of their bodies pressed together still ghosted over his arms. He should had been by Laf's side as he went through all of this. But the past was in the past, and no matter what it contained the future lay before them. The thought was nothing short of thrilling.
The two boys stepped over the threshold of the dorm and Lafayettes eyes widened at the decorations. The red and the white and the blue. The colors of his flags, both of them. Hercules grinned as his boyfriend's face fell. Lafayette turned towards him and Hercules was sure he'd never seen anything so beautiful in his life. His eyes were full of so many emotions that there was no telling where one ended and the other began. So Hercules did the only thing he could think of. He took Lafayette's face in his hands and pressed his lips to Laf's.
Nothing would pull them apart ever again.

Alexander and John walked a little in front of the two other boys and chatted eagerly. Their faces mirrored each other, both full of excitement. Lafayette had no idea how much time they'd spent planning this party and Alexander figured that was probably good. It would be so worth it though. Even as they stepped into the dorm house Alexander felt a rush of pride at the decorations the girls had put up. John whispered the sentence just as the thought crossed Alexander's mind.
"This is going to be awesome!"

"Come in!" Eliza said when she opened the door with a smile. The four smiled back and stepped inside. It was breathtaking. If they'd thought the entrance had been decorated well it was nothing compared to the apartment. Alexander could probably have spent the better part of an hour describing it, but opted for a mental summarization instead. There was a lot of French stuff, and there was a lot of American stuff. Everything was clad in the colours and stars, creating a whirlwind of patriotism and no way of telling what was supposed to represent which country.
It was perfect.

"Hello," Angelica said from where she stood bent over a small table. She was doing something with a bowl of liquid, but straightened up and turned towards them. "Welcome to our humble party," she grinned.
"Humble and humble," Hercules scoffed. "You truly outdid yourselves."
The two girls beamed.
Lafayette's voice was quiet as he spoke.
"You did all of this … for me?"
"Of course." Angelica shrugged as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
And to everyone in the room, it was.

The sound of the door bell had the whole party turn to the door. Angelica inclined her head to Eliza.
"Would you do the honours?"
She smirked at her sister.
"Leaving the dirty work to me, huh?"
"Perhaps I am."
Eliza strode towards the door. As she pressed down the handle Angelica quitely muttered: "Let the circus begin."
Because outside the door were some people they knew very well.
"Why are you here?" Alexander moaned. He grimaced, but his voice had no real bite to it. While no part of him liked seeing the smug face of Jefferson, and he wasn't too fond of the guy's friends, he had to admit it seemed appropriate that they were here. Even though he didn't want to acknowledge it, they had been a pivotal part of their lives. God damnit.
"We're here because we were invited," Jefferson said and swaggered into the room.
"And because we were told there'd be cake," Madison added with a small smile.
"Here I was," Lafayette grinned, "thinking you wanted to say congratulations or something."
Jefferson raised an eyebrow. "Remind me again why I'd be happy to have to see you for another year?"
Lafayette chuckled. "Because you love me, and I'm the greatest person ever?"
Jefferson snorted and, to Alexander's great surprise, pulled Lafayette into a massive hug.
"I'm happy you're staying, man," he murmured.
"Yeah," Lafayette answered and patted him on the back. "Me too."

"Okay," John said once the two let go. "I'm really happy for your budding friendship; even though I question you choice of acquaintances, Laf."
Jefferson rolled his eyes at him.
"However," John continued. "I have a much more burning question." He raised his eyes suggestively at the boy currently hiding away in the shadows.
"I see you've got a special someone at your side, Burr?"
The whole company simultaneously turned towards the poor guy. He cleared his throat.
"Well," he said and stepped into the light. Following him was the girl whose hand he was currently holding. She smiled pleasantly at them, which cause the corner of her eyes to crinkle up. Her hair was pulled up in two curly ponytails that cascaded down her shoulders and framed her tanned cheeks sprinkled with freckles. The brown of her eyes was as rich as melted chocolate.
Chocolate.
"I know you," Alexander gasped.
She laughed.
"I suppose you do. Christmas fair, right?"
Alexander nodded.
"Eh, right," Burr stammered, looking between the two before continuing. "For those of you who don't know, which I suppose is like two people at this point, this is Theodosia." He took a deep breath.
"My girlfriend."
Lafayette whistled.
"This is the girl Angelica asked you about at Halloween?"
Angelica nodded, a cocky smile on her lips. "It would seem that someone finally has admitted to his feelings."
Burr looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Theodosia's eyes sparkled with contained laughter.
"Aw come on," Alexander grinned. "No need to act so shy, Burr."
The boy rolled his eyes, but turned to give his girlfriend a peck on the cheek.
"So," he said and raised an eyebrow at Alexander. "Happy?"
Alexander brought his hands together in a slow applause. Burr pinched the bridge of his nose.

Angelica took control of the situation not long after that. She whisked the guests over to the dessert display, which was essentially a coffee table covered by a white cloth. It did the job.
"Okay so here's all the stuff." She waved a hand at it, her body language clearly conveying she considered it nothing but a small assembly of snacks. In reality there were two bowls of punch - one red and one blue, and a wide array of popcorn, cookies, chocolate dipped fruits and treats Alexander didn't even know the name of.
"I see you've decided to match the drinks to yourselves," Madison remarked with a nod to the girls. Eliza winked at him.
Indeed, Alexander suddenly realized. Angelica had ditched her normal pink attire in favour of a blood red dress, and Eliza had opted for dark blue instead of her usual pastel shade. They had definitely gone all out.
"Say," Jefferson inquired, "what had you done if the French flag just so happened to be purple, yellow, and green?"
Angelica laughed. "Let's be happy it's not. But on that topic–" She poured herself a glass of the deep blue liquor and gestured for the others to do the same. They obliged.
"A toast to Lafayette," she declared and raised her glass. Her eyes held Laf's gaze as she spoke. "To the approval of his visa and the coming year he'll be staying with us. To a year of friendship and laughter, and to memories yet to be made. To a year we'll all get to spend together." She smiled brilliantly. "To Lafayette!"
"To Lafayette!"
Lafayette was glowing, his eyes shining unnaturally bright. He looked around at them, standing there with raised glasses and smiles on their faces. All of them. He raised his own glass.
"To all of you," he said. "For making this the best year of my life, and to the year yet to come. For doing … all of this. Thank you!"
Ten glasses lifted in unison, and the ten of them drank.
To a toast they'd never forget.

"Shall we have a seat then?" Eliza suggested.
Noises of agreement rose from everyone.
"Is there a particular reason we need to be seated?" John asked.
Angelica just smiled. Her eyes gleamed. "You'll see."
The two girls disappeared into the kitchen while the others sat down at the dinner table. It was a miracle they all fit, but somehow they made it work. Jefferson and Madison claimed one side of the table, along with Burr and Theodosia. John, Alex, and Herc made for the other side along with Laf.
"No way." Hercules grinned at his boyfriend when he tried to sit down on the left-most chair. "You're sitting at the side." Herc gestured to the short end of the table. The place of honor.
"Come on, you guys are blowing this out of proportion," Lafayette laughed.
"We're not!"
After shaking his head Lafayette accepted the place. This was, after all, a night dedicated to him.

The party engaged in conversation that actually remained decently polite, probably thanks to Burr and Theodosia de-escalating any potential arguments before they began. Still, it seemed like a truce had been called for the night, and not even Alexander and Jefferson were at each other's throat. Well, at least not as much as they usually were.
"For tonight, Hamilton, I will tolerate your insufferable presence," Jefferson smirked.
"And for the sake of our company I will return the favour. Though I must say that my presence is infinitely better than–"
He was interrupted by the Schuyler sisters making their reappearance.
Between them they carried a large silver platter. On it stood a cake, if the word even made it justice. It filled the entire platter and was at least – at least – a foot tall. It was covered in thick stripes of frosting, a perfect replica of the French flag. It was magnificent.
Without a word they put it down on the table.
Lafayette's jaw dropped.
"You're kidding!"
"We're not," Eliza grinned. She disappeared back into the kitchen and returned with a cake slicer which she handed to him. "Will you do the honours?"
Lafayette was speechless as he grabbed the knife.
"Go on," Angelica urged him as she and Eliza took their seats, Eliza next to Theodosia and Angelica opposite Laf.
He took the knife, slicing into the side of the cake. As he lifted the piece he gasped.
"What?" Madison said.
Lafayette blinked. With a lopsided grin Angelica grabbed hold of the platter and spun it around for all to see.
The cake's exterior may have been decorated with French patriotism, but the inside was no less amazing. Created of shapes and layers of cake was an unmistakable pattern: a blue square, and red and white stripes.
It was the American flag.
The table erupted in cheers.

Eventually all of them got a piece of the cake, along with some wine Angelica realized she had in the cupboard.
"It's a white Vin Doux Naturel," she declared.
"Right," Alexander nodded. "Look, I speak French but that makes about as much sense to me as Elvish does."
She grinned. "Yeah me too. It sounds fancy though."
Eliza snorted. "Keep up this charade and people will actually start thinking you've got your life together, sis."
"Shut up!"

"Now, I'm curious," Hercules said. He waved his fork at Burr and Theodosia, who were currently trying to subtly hold hands under the table. "How did you two meet?"
Burr put his own fork down. He glanced at Theodisa.
"Go on," she said softly. "You can tell them."
"Okay." He took a deep breath.
"I was walking down a corridor from class, I don't really remember which one it was. Then suddenly I hear this loud sound followed by a yelp. So I go to investigate it and this guy just storms past me. Like an actual I'm-going-on-a-murder-spree prowl. Then I turn a corner and I see a girl kneeling on the floor.
"I'm incredibly confused right, but I realize she is crying. So I ask her if she is okay. She looks up at me with eyes full of tears and–" He gulped, the words caught in his throat. The table had fallen silent.
"She had this mark on her face, this giant red bruise. And I realized what that sound had been." Burr's voice was low.
Theodosia nodded. "That guy, his name was Marcus. He was my then-boyfriend. We– we had an argument. He got angry with me, angrier than usual. And he slapped me."
"It was..." Burr couldn't even finish the sentence.
"Horrible," Theodosia said instead. "I honestly never thought he'd– I mean, I never thought he'd actually hit me."
Burr's eyes had always been dark, but the blackness that swirled in them now was different. Denser.
Theodosia shrugged. "We don't have to go into the details, but Aaron helped me through that time. He pushed me to break up with the jerk, even though I was scared to do so. I couldn't have asked for a better friend." She smiled a small smile at him, and he smiled back. There was so much love conveyed in that moment that Alexander had to look away.
"Eventually I realized I'd fallen in love with him. We had an, eh, awkward date that wasn't really date and then I sorta just blurted it out. I was lucky he felt the same." She laughed. "So yeah, that's about it. It's a bit tragic but it had a better ending than I could had ever hoped for."
"You deserve all the happy endings in the world," Burr murmured.
"As do you."

"Now enough about us," Theodosia concluded. "Anyone else have any good stories?" She regarded them all over the rim of her glass as she took a sip. "I feel like I haven't been told half of the stuff you've been up to."
"Well," Alexander drawled. He shared a look with the three of his friends. "I think we have a few."

So they sat like that and they shared their stories. Alexander told them about how he'd first arrived at the college; cold, tired and lonely. How he'd walked into an unknown apartment building and been confronted with a shirtless guy in an American cape, his laughing friend and the cutest boy he'd ever seen. John told them about the immediate friendship, about the arguments about American cereal and their abuse of the hot chocolate machine. Jefferson made a snarky remark about terrible karaoke singing and Lafayette shot back with a story about mac 'n' cheese and raisin cookies. Hercules told them all about the insane task of making clothes for stuffed animals, and John laughed as he explained how Alex had somehow managed to forget that he spoke French. This caused Hercules to go off on a tangent about how some people should be considered towards those who don't understand the great language of baguettes and eiffel towers. Lafayette only smirked at him, asking if he really had that much against French? Hercules looked away and subconsciously touched his hand to the neckline of his shirt.

Angelica added to the conversation by explaining all about the Romeo and Juliet drama, which had Theodosia, and in fact everyone but two at the table, howling with laughter. Burr told her about a little mishap with a certain puppy and Lafayette promised her he'd let her meet Nenne sometime.
"As long as it doesn't entail me having to clean any more disgusting bathrooms," John muttered.
And Jefferson and Madison told them how they'd started dating, and they shared the stories of writing notes to their neighbours and screaming through walls. Theodosia added her own saga about how she'd met Alexander at the fair and helped him picked out chocolates - chocolates that eventually ended up being Laf's. They talked, and they laughed, and the sun set outside as the night arrived; but inside the lights burned golden and basked them in warmth.

John was in the middle of telling everyone about the time they'd messed up an entire science project with tape when Hercules tried to reach over the table to grab some cake. He succeeded, but the distance caused him to slice it at the strangest angle Alexander had ever seen anyone cut a cake.
"Wow," Lafayette laughed. "That may be the wonkiest line I've ever seen."
"What can I say," Hercules said with a wink. "Being straight is not one of my virtues."
Angelica had to cover her mouth to not spew liquid all over the table.
Hercules bowed to the best of his ability and straightened up. As he did so a golden chain feel out from around his neck.
"That's pretty," Eliza noted.
Hercules had tensed up. He slowly slid his plate into place and looked down. Around his neck hung a golden necklace with a small rectangle on it, fully visible for everyone to see.
Angelica cocked her head to her side. "Is that writing on it?"
Hercules' hands fluttered across the table. "Um, yeah."
She waited, but Hercules remained silent. Then Lafayette began to laugh softly.
"Since we're all spewing out tales of this and that we might as well explain this too."
Alexander finally added two and two together and sat bolt upright.
"Now this," he said, "is a story I want to hear!"

Hercules passed the ball to Lafayette, stating that this was his mess to sort out. After making sure the other guy was okay with the story being told Lafayette cracked his knuckles. And began.
"Okay so it's Christmas and the four of us decided we'd get each other gifts. So I was trying to get something for Herc but I couldn't find anything I was satisfied with. Eventually I just caved and bought him a backpack. Then as I was walking home I passed a jewelry shop thing and they had this "engrave something" holiday deal. It felt a bit like I was hit by a lightning bolt." He chuckled. "I walk inside and look at the things, trying to decide if and what I should get. Then I see this gold chain with a little platter on."
Hercules fingered his necklace. "I told the bastard to not get me anything too expensive," he muttered. "But oh no."
Laf grinned. "Sorry not sorry."
"Anyways I was just going to get our names, but it looked empty so I added a phrase." He paused for dramatic effect, and Alexander had to fight down the urge to shake him. It had been almost four months since he'd first wanted to find out what this mysterious gift was.
"So I got the phrase "Mon amour pour toi est éternel"." Lafayette blushed and looked away.
"Am I right to think that there is another story behind that phrase?" Theodosia asked.
"Yeah," Hercules mumbled.
There was a pause.
"You … want to hear it?"
There was a unanimous chorus of "Yeah, duh."
"Right. Okay." Hercules took a deep breath. Then he spoke very, very fast.
"I was sleeping, or at least Laf thought I was. So he kinda whispers that and I obviously had no clue what it meant but I didn't want to ask and reveal that I was awake so I just didn't say anything. The next day I go to look it up and it meant–"
"– my love for you is eternal," Lafayette explained. "Yeah I know it's cheesy shut up."
Hercules grinned. "So I just kinda went "I'll love you forever too" the next time I saw him and let me tell you that was the most epic reaction I've ever seen anyone have in my life."
"Scared the shit out if me is what you did," Lafayette muttered. He was avoiding meeting their eyes. "But yeah that's the story."
"Aw, that's so sweet," Eliza sighed.
Lafayette chuckled and smiled at his boyfriend.
"I guess it is."

The night progressed and, just like before, they continued talking. In the dim hour of the night people dared to utter their innermost hopes and dreams, and they talked about their futures. What they wanted to do, who they wanted to be. Their plans for the next year and the classes they'd take. At one point Lafayette pulled his phone out.
"Hey guys, I just remembered. I told my sister about this party and she wanted to know how it was. Is it okay if I take a picture for her?"
No one objected and so they all crammed into the frame. There were Madison and Jefferson, arms slung around each others shoulders. There were Burr and Theodosia, sitting cheek to cheek and grinning. Angelica had her arm around her sister and the two were crammed against John and Alexander who tried their best to squeeze into frame. Hercules leaned as far left as he could to allow Lafayette to be visible just at the edge. There was a mess of cake on the table and they were flushed and beaming. It was beautiful.
"Thank you." Laf grinned and pressed send. "I'd call her but she told me that if I woke her up she'd kill me." He flashed them the screen so they could see the convo, where one person had indeed made it quite clear that time zones were to be respected.
And that one person had a name Alexander recognized.
Ma chérie magnifique
The last piece of the puzzle fell into place in Alexander's brain. His sister.
It had been his sister all along.

"I'm gonna go and get some air," Alexander stated and rose from his chair.
"I'm coming with you," John said.
"There's a window over there," Angelica said and pointed at it. "You can open it, it is a bit stuffy in here."
The two boys did as they were told, leaning out over the frame to feel the cold air on their faces.
"It's kind of strange to hear everyone talk about what happened this year," John murmured as the sound of their friends talking and laughing drifted in from behind them. "Everyone has experienced it so differently."
"Yeah," Alexander agreed and rested his head on John's shoulder. John let his own fall down on top of Alexnader's. "I like the way I've experienced it though."
"Me too," John chuckled. "It's been good."
"It has." Alexander took John's hand. "Remember when we started? When we stood outside of college and realized we would spend the next four years of our lives here?"
"I do. It was a lot different then."
"It was. But I think it's lead somewhere good. I'm … happy."
"Same." John's thumb made small circles over the back of Alexander's hand. Behind them Jefferson groaned loudly at something Angelica said. Alexander could feel the vibrations of John laughing against his cheek.
"It's a bit weird," he said. "How much of a story depends on who's telling it."
"It is." John glanced behind them. "I wonder who will tell ours."
Alexander tore his gaze away from the stars, looking instead at their friends. There were smiles on their faces, and the atmosphere seemed to shimmer around them. His eyes strayed over to John's face. To the freckles, the soft curls and the deep colour of his eyes.
"In all honestly, I have no idea who will tell my story," Alexander admitted. "I don't think I can change that either. I don't know if they will think it's a good or bad one." He smiled, and John smiled back. In that moment, everything was fine. More than fine. Everything was exactly as it should be.
"I can't decide who will tell my story, but from now on I will make sure that I'm the one who writes it."

Hi! As promised, here is the big announcement for those of you who don't want to read through a lot of sappy text: This is the final chapter and officially the end of this fic.
I can't even begin to express how grateful I am that you've read all the way to here, but thank you. It's very appreciated. I hope the ending was satisfactory, but if you have any questions feel free to ask me! I'll do my best to answer. Again, thank you, and take care!

Now, because I can't stop myself I will write a longer goodbye here. I never thought I would ever write this whole thing. It all started with me having a flash idea of how these idiots could meet. I only wrote it down because I thought it was kind of entertaining. Then I figured I might as well publish it, but I never expected anyone to read it, much less leave a review on it. But then suddenly there were people reading it (to my great surprise), so I continued writing. I figured I would end it once the easter break I was on stopped, and so I did. That was the sudden end of New Roommates at 2 AM. Except I wanted to continue, so I figured I'd write a couple of one shots. Nothing big or long, just a few whenever I had the time.

Yeah, that blew out of proportion.

So here I am, almost a year later and finally ending it for real. It feels kind of weird in all honesty. I look at back on what I wrote a year ago and feel like I have grown a lot as a writer, at least I hope I have. It's been fun, incredibly fun, and incredibly valuable to me. So I'd like to say thank you for that, because if you hadn't read this I wouldn't have continued to write it. Like I said, I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am. So much of this story has been influenced by the messages I've gotten (on that note, thanks to AppleBagelUnicorn for suggesting the split pov, I hope it turned out to your liking :)). I honestly wish I could type out all the names here, but I'm afraid it would just turn into a gigantic list. So I'll just say that if you've supported me in any way, by messaging me or reading this, then you're the reason this thing exist.

With that being said, of course I can't write an end note without mentioning Pencilsketchanime; thank you for proofreading every time I ask you, pointing out when my French is lacking (let's face it, that's all the time), and for your friendship. It means the world to me. And obviously I have to mention all the people in my life whose habits, sayings and actions have wound up in this story. Cheers for doing weird things guys, it makes writing a lot easier.

It's been a rollercoaster of an experience for me, to actually commit to a piece writing. And I'm really happy with the result. I've learned so much, talked to new people (looking at you, GingerSprinkles and Ranger-Corpses), and hopefully put a smile on at least a few people's faces. I'll miss this. Still, an end is only the beginning of something new and I hope that I'll be able to write many other things in the near future. There are so many fandoms to be a part of, so many new worlds to explore. I hope you feel like this story got the closure it needed at least, if there's anything you wonder about feel free to ask me. Even if you've found this thing three years from now. If I see the message, I will answer you.

I hope each and every one of you have a great time and that you all get to write your own stories, either with pen and paper or by living them in real life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for this time. It has been awesome. Take care!