#madlaf

Once he turned the corner and ducked into the little niche of a cozy cafe, he pulled his ochre scarf below his chin, sighing as he left the winter-chilled air behind him. He allowed the scent of fresh coffee and seasonal spices to fill his nose as he stepped into line, and it didn’t take long before the attention of the barista was focused on him.

“I’ll take a dark chocolate mocha, hold the whipped cream.” He instructed quietly, offering the barista a nod in thanks as she went to prepare his drink and he took a seat in a booth by the window.

James was quiet as he waited for his drink, watching as the hustle and bustle carried each passersby throughout their day. He was happy that the café was quiet save for the instrumental carols that provided a classic, festive atmosphere to the little café. It was pleasant, although James would never fully admit it.

Soon, his name was called and he stood to collect his drink, his lips twitching upwards at the little pair of reindeer painted on the side of the cup as he returned to his seat.

He barely got a chance to bring the mug of warm chocolate to his lips before a familiar face stepped through the door.

“Jemmy! It’s good to see you,” Thomas called, walking past the counter to sit across from his friend, taking a moment to shake some snow out of his hair before he continued, “How’s the season been treating you?”

“It’s nothing that isn’t normal,” James replied with a small sigh as he set down his mug and leaned back in his seat, “I appreciate your concern, Thomas, but you shouldn’t worry yourself over me. We’re not kids anymore; I’ve mostly grown out of my asthma.”

Thomas gave him a bit of a strained smile as he folded his hands in front of him. He was bouncing his leg; James could feel the motion slightly shaking the table and creating little ripples in the surface of his mocha.

“Something on your mind?”

“Sort of,” Thomas began again, giving James another smile, this one nervous instead, “Are you busy at all today?”

“Not particularly, why?” James knew what Thomas’ tone meant. He was about to ask for a favour, or spring some social event on him. Or both.

“Do you remember Lafayette? I roomed with him when I was working in France a little while ago,” Thomas replied, tilting his head as he tapped his fingers on the table, “He actually just moved here last month, made fast friends with Alexander and his group too.”

“And you're telling me this because…?”

“I may or may not have already told him that you could go ice skating at Rockefeller with all of us today.”

And there it was. James could only sigh in response, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, “Thomas, you know I’m not exactly a social person.”

“I know, I know,” Thomas replied with a sigh of his own, looking down and away from James in shame, “But he really wants to meet you, Jemmy. I told him a lot about you back in France and he’s excited about this.”

“Don’t ‘Jemmy’ me now,” James muttered, turning his gaze to his mocha in an attempt to ignore the pouts and whines that Thomas was trying to persuade him with.

“Come on, Jemmy, just this once? For me? It’s only a couple of hours, and I’ll owe you big time…”

“Fine,” James relinquishes with a huff, “You better not forget about this favour either.”

He didn’t give Thomas time to respond before he stood, taking his mug with him as he approached the counter and cleared his throat to get the attention of the barista.

“Could you put this in a to-go cup?”

 *~*~*~*~*~*

 The Rockefeller Centre was busy enough any other time of year, packed with native New Yorkers and tourists alike. The holiday season only dialled up the crowds to eleven.

The Christmas tree, though it was still in the process of being decorated before its grand unveiling, still caught the gaze of the many from the grandeur of its sheer size. There were streams of people coming in and out of the stores surrounding the square, the buildings of which were all dressed up in festive colours and to market themselves for the holidays.

It was New York’s beautiful, chaotic, and imperfect celebrations were well underway.

“I still miss the South’s way of celebrating this season,” James muttered as he did his best to keep up with Thomas’ long strides while he struggled to swim upstream through the mass of people, “It’s much classier, and causes much less anxiety too.”

“As much as I agree with you, James,” Thomas replied with a shake of his head, looking down and back at his much shorter friend, “Try to keep your chin up, alright? We’re here to have fun with some friends.”

James only huffed in response, looking down at the cup he held in his gloved hands. He just hoped he’d get a chance to finish his mocha soon.

“Thomas, mon ami! I am so glad that you could make it.”

James looked up as another man began to approach them. His resemblance to Thomas was uncanny, and save for a few details of his face and the neat bun that held back his thick curls, they could have easily been identical twins.

“I always keep my promises, Lafayette, it’s nice to see you too.”

James watched as they shared a few more words he couldn’t make out, most likely because they weren’t in English, before they pressed a pair of quick pecks to each of each others’ cheeks. It confused him for a moment until he remembered something about French greetings, and then Lafayette’s attention was on him.

“And you must be le petit James! Thomas has talked a lot about you, I am glad to finally meet you in person.” Lafayette’s demeanour was sugar, spice, and everything nice.

James had to catch himself before the icy appearance he usually kept with strangers melted away. He sent a quick glance to Thomas to ask for a translation of the words he didn’t recognize, but when he received a shake of the head in response, he decided not to dwell on it.

“Thomas has said many things about you too,” James replied with a curt nod, shifting his mocha to his left hand so he could extend the other for a handshake, “It is nice to meet you too.”

Maybe Lafayette didn’t see James’ hand, or maybe he simply ignored it, because as he a warm laugh bubbled past his lips he leaned down and pressed two quick kisses to James’ cheeks.

Almost immediately heat rushed to his faced as he stared up at the Frenchman with a flustered gape, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water as he tried to find an appropriate response.

“Oh, mon Dieu! I am so sorry, James, I forgot- I was only trying to be polite. That is how I would greet friends back in France.” Lafayette quickly replied once he realized what he’d done, taking hold of James’ still-extended hand in his mitted grip as he continued to murmur apologies.

Thomas, who had been watching this scene unfold with a guileful grin, couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore, “Don’t worry about it, Laf. James doesn’t take offence that easily, right?”

In the moment James finally managed to collect himself, giving a simple nod in response as he tucked his hand back in his pocket, “Of course not. Uhm, are the others here too?”

At the change of topic Lafayette smiled again, offering a nod in response, “Yes, they’re already on the ice. I just wanted to wait for you two.”

“How sweet,” Thomas replied, giving the Frenchman’s shoulder a pat to grab his attention, “Why don’t we go grab ourselves some skates and get in on the action before they’re all tuckered out, hm?”

Lafayette smiled brighter this time with another nod as he followed Thomas to the little skate rental booth, going on to chat about something or other in his same sweet excitement.

James simply watched them leave, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he turned away to find a place by the boards where he could watch. It’s not like he had the skills to join in on the fun anyways, and here he finally got to enjoy his mocha.

He was quiet in his content as he sipped at the dark chocolate drink. It had lost some of its original heat, but it was still pleasant to hold and helped warm his chilled body. He turned his attention to the skaters a moment later, searching for the faces he recognized.

He saw Alexander and John laughing together as they ducked and wove between the other skaters in a rush to go nowhere. He watched for a moment as Burr stumbled for a moment before catching himself on Hercules, a giant of a man that looked a little out of place on the ice. Then, his gaze drifted back to Thomas and Lafayette, though he was only focused on the Frenchman.

James couldn’t help the way his lips twitched up in a smile. Lafayette’s eyes were warm, like the gentle glow of a candle on Christmas Eve. He watched the corners of the Frenchman’s eyes crinkle up as he laughed, and James felt himself mirroring the expression before he snapped himself out of his little daze.

“Get a hold of yourself, James.” He muttered, turning away as he finished off his mocha.

Still, he couldn’t help himself as he went back to watching Lafayette.

And that’s when their gazes met.

The Frenchman’s lips curled down into a frown, tilting his head in show of his confusion before he said a quick goodbye to Thomas and started to approach.

“Do you not want to join us, mon petit? I hope it is not because of me, I truly did not mean you any offence.”

“No, you’re alright,” James replied, hoping that it wasn’t noticable how his breath hitched when Lafayette touched his hand, “It’s just…”

“Is something the matter?”

James glanced away, clearing his throat. He tried to force down the embarrassed flush that tingled in his cheeks as he spoke, words not much more than a whisper, “… I can’t skate.”

Lafayette blinked for a moment, and James still didn’t look back at him before he heard sweet laughter bubble past the Frenchman’s lips. “If that is it, mon petit, then there is nothing you should worry about! Come, I will teach you.”

“I- I’m sorry?”

“I will teach you!” The Frenchman repeated with a beaming smile that James just couldn’t bring himself to say no to.

James’ cheeks were still warm with embarrassment as Lafayette hopped over the boards and held his hand, both figuratively and literally, through the process of renting and tying his skates before leading him to the edge of the rink.

“I’m not so sure about this…” James murmured. His steps were already shaky enough as he tiptoed behind the Frenchman, he didn’t know what would happen if he dared to step on the ice.

“Just don’t let go of my hands, yes? I will make sure you don’t fall.” Lafayette reassured, his words gentle and his smile as sweet as sugar.

James nodded, taking a wobbly step into the ice. He nearly slipped right out of the gate, but Lafayette was there, keeping his hands in his tight yet comfortable grip.

“See? It is not so hard. Just follow my lead, I will make sure you are alright.” Lafayette added with a soft laugh and a little smile. Sugar, spice, and everything nice.

James wasn’t sure if his legs were wobbling because of the skates or the fact that at this rate the Frenchman was going to make him melt.

He gave a small nod in response, smiling a little bit as he began to slowly glide forwards. Of course, Lafayette was doing most of the work, but he still let himself feel a little proud that he was getting somewhere.

James let his lips twitch up into a smile as he glanced up at Lafayette, and a different kind of heat flushed to his cheeks at how the Frenchman was looking back at him.

There was a gentle pride shining in his eyes as he smiled back down at James, giving his hands a little reassuring squeeze. He was nothing but genuine, soft and sweet in all his actions and words.

James couldn’t help the heat that flushed to his cheeks again and how his legs began to wobble. Whatever was left of his icy composure had long melted away, and apparently so did his balance.

“Oh Dieu!”

Lafayette wrapped his arms around James’ waist in an attempt to keep them both upright, but the Frenchman had already been knocked off balance. He fell back, landing flat on his backside with James pressed flush against his chest.

They slid to a stop a moment later, both staring at each other with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

James burst into laughter; it was all he could think to do in the moment. The sound rang clear like a bell as he relaxed against Lafayette’s chest. The Frenchman soon joined in, his own laughter a bright chiming sound that tickled James’ cheeks as it bubbled up from his chest.

“I’m sorry,” James began to speak, slowly calming down after taking a few deep breaths, “I don’t quite know what happened there.”

“It is quite alright, mon petit,” Lafayette replied, shaking his head. He was still laughing, though the chime had quieted down, “You did quite well for your first time, you should be proud.”

James smiled more with a quiet hum and a nod in response. He began to shift so that Lafayette would be able to stand again, and in turn, the Frenchman helped him back up onto his feet.

“I should repay you for doing all of this for me… Do you like hot chocolate? I know a good café that’s not far from here.”