You slowly leaned in, and Thayne seemed to automatically move in to do the same. You cautiously pressed your lips to his. Thayne leaned in closer. You still had a hand threaded in his hair and you used it to pull him even closer. You pulled back way too quick for your liking. “You know, it seems like such a hassle to get out blankets and pillows when my bed is large enough for both of us.” You commented, you hands were toying with the edges of a jacket Thayne had one. He smiled.

“By all means, lead the way.” He said with a smirk. You rolled your eyes but stood and grabbed his hand. You lead him to your room and right to the bed. It wasn’t long before your found yourself laid on your back with Thayne hovering over you. “You sure?” He asked. You grinned and nodded.

—

You were not drunk enough last night to warrant the headache you had today. You were also cold. To try and warm up, your curled up a bit more. Then you realized exactly why you were cold. You didn’t have any clothes on. Great. A one-night-stand. You silently prayed that whoever it was had left once you finished. But you couldn’t remember bringing any stranger back to your place. You shifted, pulling lightly on the covers. The resisted, meaning that someone was still here. You had your back to them. So you took a deep breath and mentally prepared yourself to see who you slept with and to ask them to leave. You sat up and turned and your brain seemed to stop working.

Thayne was laying there. He was fast sleep. The covers were draped across his stomach and his torso was bare. He obviously wasn’t wearing a shirt and you could guess what it was like under the covers as well. His hair was sticking up wildly, whether from sleep or wild sex, you weren’t sure. But you had to resist the urge to reach out and fix it. The softness of his hair was the first memory of last night to resurface. It was quickly followed by the kissing. Which lead to everything else.

You had sex with Thayne Jasperson. “Holy shit.” You said. And accidentally said it loud enough to wake up the aforementioned person. Thayne grumbled and shifted, clearly waking up. You hurried to grab the blankets and pull them up to cover your chest. Thayne opened his eyes and looked to you. His confusion was obvious. He stared at you for a minute before his eyes widened and he sat up quickly.

“Shit.” He said, being cautious about keeping the blankets firmly covering his lap. “We had sex last night.”

“Yep.” You said, equally awkwardly. Neither of you knew exactly what to say next. “Look, can you like, close your eyes for a minute? I’m going to grab clothes and go get dressed in the bathroom. While I do that, you can find your clothes from last night.”

“I mean, do I really have to close my eyes? After last night?” He asked.

“Well no, but don’t make this more awkward than it needs to be.” You pleaded.

“Fair enough, I probably would’ve closed my eyes anyway.” He said. He closed his eyes and covered them with his hands for good measures. You quickly grabbed some under garments and a tee shirt and sweatpants. You slipped out of the room and went to close the door. You paused when it was open just a sliver. “Ok, I’m out. You can get dressed.” Then shut the door.

As you got dressed you thought the night over. Why did you kiss him? You liked Thayne, but not romantically and not sexually either. At least you didn’t think so. But apparently part of you wanted him in a romantic or sexual way. He was a good friend. And you wanted him to remain that way. But that seemed unlikely now. You exited the bathroom and walked over to your bedroom door and knocked lightly. “Yeah, I’m dressed. Come on in.” He was sitting on the bed, fully clothed except for his socks which he was pulling on. “So…what now?” He asked. WIth his socks fully pulled on, he reached up and ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it to the right.

“What do you wanna do?” You asked. You wanted to forget this ever happened, but you didn’t want to offend Thayne either. You didn’t even know how he felt about this.

“Honestly? It wasn’t bad.” He commented with a  smirk. It earned a tiny smile and amused eye roll from you. “But it isn’t worth fucking up our friendship. That is way more valuable to me.” He said with a small, sincere smile. You sighed in relief.

“I feel the same way. So…can we both pretend this never happened?”

“I can if you can.” He answered.

“Good. Then we tell no one and go about our lives like it never happened. What happened last night stays between the two of us.”

“Deal.” He said.

—

You and Thayne easily forgot about the whole situation. You fell back into routine and your friends were none the wiser. It was great. Until it wasn’t.

You tried to tell yourself not to freak out when your period was late. It wasn’t always on time, sometimes it was a day or two late. It happened. Then it was a week late. Now it was two weeks late. And you were so fucking worried. You left rehearsal rather quickly and went to a drug store to buy a test. Hell, you bought two just so you could be sure. After an agonizing two minute wait, the first test confirmed you were pregnant. That couldn’t be right. So you tried the other test. And after waiting another eternal two minutes, you had the same results.

You leaned back against the wall in the bathroom. Then you slid down until you were sitting on the floor. You were pregnant. And Thayne was the father. So much for forgetting it ever happened. The idea of an abortion popped into your head. But there was no way you could go through something like that and keep it from Thayne. He was your closest friend. And since he was your closest friend, he knew that you hadn’t slept with anyone else lately. At least not close enough for them to be the parent of the baby. Adoption was an option, but Thayne would have to agree to that too. And you’d be pregnant for nine months.

The show! You’d have to go on maternity leave and stop performing.

“Fuck.” You mumbled to no one in particular. This was a mess.

Thayne had a right to know. But for now, you wouldn’t tell anyone. There was no sign of you showing. The only reason you knew is because you missed your period. No one else should know that. You tossed the used tests and boxes in the plastic bag you received from the drug store and tossed them in the dumpster. If your friends came over, they didn’t need to see those in the trash.

At rehearsal the next day, you watched Thayne. Usually, you were amused by his antics and behaviors. Now you studied him and tried to see him as a dad. He was joking with Jazzy and Anthony. You knew he’d care for a kid. That was obvious. But could he raise one? Could you? Were the two of you remotely ready for the responsibility? You didn’t think so. But would Thayne be willing to give up his child? Would you?

You sighed. How were the two of you going to get through this? How were you going to tell Thayne? “You ok?” Thayne asked, walking over to you.

“Yeah.” You smiled but it didn’t reach your eyes. And Thayne, being your closest friend, noticed. He gave you a questioning stare. “I’m just thinking. That’s all.” Thayne sat down next to you.

“Need a second opinion or good listener?” He asked.

“Yeah. Are you going to point me in the right direction?” You teased with a smile.

Thayne gasped dramatically and put a hand in his chest in mock offense. “And here I was, trying to be nice and helpful.” You laughed at him. Typical Thayne. Typical concerned, friendly, funny, kind Thayne. He wasn’t a bad guy. There were worse people you could’ve slept with. After all, Thayne could be easy to love. But again, there was no connection between the two of you. Even though you kinda wished there was right now. “Seriously though.” Thayne said, pulling your attention back. “Do you need to vent or want advice?”

“No, I’m good.” You said.

“You sure? You seemed really lost in your head earlier.” He was so kind and so concerned.

“I’m ok, Thayne. I promise. But thank you.” You reached out and hugged him, and he reciprocated. He was so nice. And you were gonna end up testing the boundaries of that kindness when you told him you were pregnant. You just had to figure how when and how exactly you planned to do that.

—

Did you need to announce your pregnancy to someone if you weren’t dating or trying to have a child together? You didn’t really feel like you needed to, but you knew Thayne would like some cute announcement. But this wasn’t exactly the happy occasion that most pregnancies were. You and Thayne shouldn’t have slept together. You and Thayne weren’t trying to have a child. This whole things was a mess and an accident.

You were constantly lost in your thoughts and Thayne noticed. He was constantly asking if you were ok. And you were constantly telling him that you were. You constantly felt guilt at not telling him the truth. You were worried about this pregnancy. And Thayne needed to know about it.

Thayne found you after rehearsal one day. “Alright, you’re coming over tonight.” He announced.

“I am?”

“Yep. You’ve been moping around and lost in your thoughts for a couple weeks now. You don’t want to tell me about it, and that’s fine. You don’t have to. But I want you to come over and relax. Take your mind off of it for a night.” He instructed.

Absentmindedly, you placed your hand on your stomach. You couldn’t turn Thayne’s plans down. He would grow even more suspicious. “Alright, Thayne. Sounds like fun.” Thayne smiled brightly.

“We’ll head over to my place whenever you are ready to leave.” Thayne said happily. So you quickly packed up and followed Thayne outside. You rode the subway and were at Thayne’s house after a very short time. You immediately dropped onto Thayne’s couch. Thayne on the other hand ran to the kitchen. He emerged a few minutes later, carefully cradling and balancing a large amount of junk food and snacks in his arms. He dropped them on the coffee table in front of the couch. “Alright. Do we want beer, wine, or some mixed drinks?” He asked, starting to head back to the kitchen.

“Uhm…can we have water or soda?” You asked instead. Thayne stopped and turned to you. His expression was pure confusion. The two of you tended to at least have a few drinks when you got together. You never got drunk, but you always had something to drink. You needed to find an excuse quickly. “It’s just…last time we had drinks it didn’t end well.” You fumbled. It wasn’t the best excuse. However, you and Thayne avoided talking about that night. So you weren’t surprised when Thayne blushed and nodded before ducking back into the kitchen. He came back with some soda and water which he also deposited on the coffee table. “There we go.” He plopped down next to you. “Dumb Netflix movies?” You nodded.

So you and Thayne ate, talked, watched movies, made fun of dumb movies. At some point you wandered to Thayne’s room and retrieved a blanket. You sat back down and shared it with Thayne. When you yawned loudly, Thayne shifted so you were both lying on the couch sideways. He was behind you with an arm wrapped around your waist to keep you safely on the couch. This type of closeness wasn’t unusual for you two. However, you couldn’t help but think it was different now.

You both drifted off while you laid on the couch. At some point you both shifted. When Thayne woke up he was lying on his back on the couch You were more or less on top of him. He felt his cheeks heat and turn slightly pink, but he made no move to push you off. You were comfortable and sound asleep as well. He didn’t mind at all.

You had been so distant lately, stuck in your own mind. Thayne desperately wanted to know why. But you didn’t seem inclined to tell him, which was your right. He wouldn’t push you. However, you never kept anything significant secrets from him. It wasn’t that you told him everything, but you told him a lot of things. And anything that was this important, anything that kept you lost in thought, you shared with him. He would help you. So why not now?

Thayne absentmindedly toyed with the strands of your hair. His mind kept, unfortunately, drifting back to that night. You had been playing with his hair all night. He enjoyed it. He enjoyed it a lot. He had a crush on you for a while. But you clearly didn’t care about him that way, you were friends. So he never pushed it. But he felt damn guilty about that night. He felt like he took advantage of you. You were both drunk, or at least tipsy, so maybe both of you were to blame. But Thayne would continue to feel bad about it. And shortly after that night, you started to close off and keep something from him.

For now, he figured he better sleep. He didn’t want his thoughts to be swirling and churning like they so often ended up doing. Every time he thought to his feelings or that night, things got so confusing. So he decided to just close his eyes and sleep. He did, however, tighten his hold on you slightly, doing whatever he could to keep you close.

—

You watched from off-stage as Thayne climbed up on his literal soap box. You watched him perform with all his heart. He loved his job. You had decided that tonight you would tell him you were expecting. It’d be hard to keep it a secret much longer anyway. You performance ended, you took your final bows. Afterwards, back off-stage, you grabbed Thayne’s sleeve. “Hey, can we talk before once we’re out of costume?” You asked.

“Of course.” He said. Thayne changed quickly, and hurried to find you. Once he found you, you had already changed your clothes. You were pacing anxiously. “You ok?” Thayne asked as he walked in.

“Oh, sorta?” It sounded more like a question. “Can you shut the door behind you?” You asked.

“Sure.” Thayne replied and did just that. He went and sat on the couch in the room. “You seem really anxious, Y/N. You can tell me anything, and I know you know that. So what’s going on?” He asked.

You wanted to sit, but you had to be moving. You had too much energy to sit still. “I uh…I wanted to talk to you. I wanna start by saying that I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while. I just, well I didn’t know how to bring this topic up.” You sighed and anxiously raked a hand through your hair. “You had every right to know what I’m about to tell you. I didn’t really mean to keep it from you, I just…”

Thayne stood up. “You just didn’t know how to tell me.” Thayne helpfully finished for you. You nodded. You were wringing your hands together now. Thayne stepped forward and held your hands in his, keeping you from wringing them. Instead you squeezed his hands. “Y/N, just tell me what’s going on. What have you been not telling me?” His voice was so kind and gentle. You mumbled out a response but Thayne couldn’t hear you. “What?” He asked.

You sighed. You fixed your eyes firmly on your shoes. “Thayne, I’m pregnant.” It was still soft, but Thayne definitely had to hear you. He took in a sharp breath. Then his grip on your hands went slack, your hands slipped out of his grip. You chanced a look up at him. He had taken a shocked step back from you and his expression was complete and utter shock. “I…I…I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. I guess, I’m sorry. For not telling you mostly. I didn’t know how and I’m sorry.” Thayne was staring at the ground now, looking like he was trying to understand what you had said to him. You on the other hand were waiting for him to say anything. He looked up at you. He looked confused, shocked, and, above all, hurt. “Fuck, I’m so fucking sorry.” You grabbed your things and hurried out of the room. Thayne didn’t even try to stop you.

—

You rushed out of the room. Thayne didn’t even know what he would stay to make you stay. He dropped back onto the couch. He knew that it was his child. You hadn’t slept with anyone else that he knew of. And with what you said, he deserved to know, it was pretty obvious what it meant.

Well, fuck. They fucked up. Thayne could handle being your friend. That was easy. But he couldn’t handle raising a kid with some strange sort of shared custody. He couldn’t possibly hope to be a father and have you be a mother but not be anything more. Then Thayne thought of something. Did you even want to keep the kid? It wasn’t up to Thayne, it was up to you what they did.

Why did they have sex? Why did you get into this mess? He wanted to raise that kid. But he wanted you to want that too. He wanted to raise the kid with you. Not alongside you. Not with shared custody or anything like that. He wanted to raise their kid with you. But what did you want?

Thayne sighed. The only way to handle this was to talk. A conversation that clearly neither of you were equipped for. Thayne only hoped he could convey exactly what he wanted. But he still had to figure out exactly what he wanted and how to explain it. He decided to walk to a nearby store and purchase chocolate. Then he got a cab and went to your house. He hesitantly knocked.

You opened the door. Your hair was wild and you eyes were red and wet. You had been crying. “Hey.” He said lamely. “Can I come in?” You hesitated. You wanted to slam the door in his face and lock him out until you calmed down. But damn, you needed to talk. You held the door open and let him in. You went to your couch and sat down, you wrapped yourself in a blanket and curled up. You tried to make yourself small and secure. Thayne reached into his bag and held out a chocolate bar with a smile.

You let out a small, surprised laugh. “Thanks. Always thoughtful.” You said with a smile.

“Of course.” He replied. He sat on the opposite side of the couch. He sat facing you, and sat with his legs criss-crossed like a child sits on the floor. “So…we gotta talk.”

“Yeah, I guess…” You toyed with the edge of the blanket. “Do you want an explanation for why I didn’t tell you or…”

Thayne dismissively waved a hand. “Nah. I understand why you waited to tell me. Why it was hard for you to tell me. But there is something I do want to know.” You stared at him, waiting for him to say exactly what that was. “What do you want to do about this?”

You blinked. You hadn’t actually expected this. You thought this would be screaming and fighting and defending your own points. But…Thayne was curious about your wants. “I…I don’t know, Thayne.”

“Ok…uhm…do you want to raise this child? Or…” He hesitated. “Do you want to put the kid up for adoption? Or…what other options are there?”

“Are we even ready to raise a child? Either of us?” You asked. Thayne hung his head. You assumed his was thinking, letting the truth of your statement sink in. However, he was dejected that this was a situation in which the two of you were separate. Neither of you were ready to raise a child, Thayne knew that. But what if you were a unified force?

“Maybe not.” Thayne agreed. “But…” Again he hesitated. “Look, if you don’t want to raise…our child, then I will.”

You stared at him with wide eyes. “You…You will?” You stuttered.

Thayne shrugged a smiled a little. “Yeah. It’s terrifying, sure. But that’s my kid. It was my actions that brought this kid into existence, so I’m partially responsible. And I’ve sorta always wanted to be a dad.” It was gonna break his heart to raise a child without you to help him, but it would have to be done.

“But…by that logic I’m also responsible too. I mean, obviously we’re both responsible. But all the duty shouldn’t fall on you.”

“I’m not saying that. I’m just will to accept that responsibility.” Thayne commented with a shrug.

“Thayne, I don’t want to get rid of this child.” You laid a hand on your stomach. “But I’m not sure I’m ready for one.”

“Me either, certainly not alone.” He said before he could stop himself. “What if we tried it together?”

“Like, shared custody?” You asked.

Thayne let out a frustrated noise and ran a hand through his hair. “Not…exactly. Something…more…” Thayne kept searching for the right way to phrase it. He didn’t want to come on too strong, but he wanted you to finally see his side of things. “Structured?” He ventured. You gave him a confused look, clearly not understanding him. “Fine, I’ll just say it then. A family.” He sighed. “You, me, and a baby makes three.” He shrugged.

“No.” You shook your head. Thayne tried not to let the way his heart shattered show. “Look, us working together might be the best solution. But we can’t be a family. I don’t want to be a family just because of this child. It will only make matters worse and end poorly in the future.”

“Oh.” Thayne squeaked out, realizing why you bluntly shot him down. “Y/N, I don’t want to…” He slowed. Well, time for the truth to come out. He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to have a family with you only because of this child. But that’s an unforeseen bonus.” He scooted closer to you. “I’ve uh, I’ve had a massive crush on you for a while. The night we slept together still bothers me. I mean, I sorta feel like I took advantage of you.”

“Thayne, we both consented to that. Albeit, we were slightly tipsy, but I think we were clear enough to know what we were getting into.”

“True, but I’ll still feel guilty.” He said with a small smile.

“Wait.” You stopped him from saying more. “You have a crush on me?”

Thayne’s smile grew. “Yeah. I know this is totally sudden. Have I really hid it that well?” He asked doubtfully. So you thought, really thought, about it.

“Wow.” You said in realization. “I’m dense.”

“Look, we got a few months here before our lives change forever. And I know that a few months isn’t enough time to know for sure whether we can make a relationship last. But it can give us a good idea of how well we work together. In the few months we have, can we maybe try dating, see how it goes? Maybe it will end horribly, then we can come up with a new plan. But, what if it ends wonderfully? Isn’t that worth trying? Give me a shot. Give us a shot at having a family.” He urged. His voice never changed from his soft and caring tone, except maybe sneaking a little pleading in there. He smirked. “That would be enough.” He sang.

You burst out laughing. You think Thayne’s smile at your laughter was the brightest smile you’d ever seen from him. “That’s better.” Thayne remarked about you laughing instead of moping. You smiled at Thayne and considered his offer. He always loved you. Did you always love him? You would’ve said no earlier. Thayne was trying not to fidget. “Look, Y/N, I don’t mean to pressure you. But I’d like to have some sort of answer.”

You smiled and leaned in and kissed him softly. It was much better than your tipsy kiss. Thayne practically melted into the kiss, and against you. His lips slipped into a smile even as you kissed. It caused a smile to pull at your lips as you pulled away. “Not that I didn’t really enjoy that, but should we slow things down?” Thayne asked.

“Thayne, we already spend time together in things that are practically dates. And we’ve also already slept together. I think kissing is just fine.” You reasoned.

“Well then, I’m not opposed to do it again.” He said with his bring smile. He captured your lips with his once more.

—

Thayne was overly ecstatic at the prospect of being a father. It wasn’t long before you started planning to announce to the cast that you were expecting. Thayne wanted it to be cute announcement. You pooled your paychecks and got a new place to live. Two bedrooms. Next you started looking into what furniture you needed for a child.

It wasn’t long before your relationship with Thayne became known among the cast. It was after a performance, the curtain fell and you gave Thayne a hug. That in itself wasn’t strange. But Thayne pulled back and kissed you soundly. You didn’t care you were at work with co-workers who were unaware of the development of your relationship. You melted into the embrace and returned the kiss willingly.

The two of you pulled apart as a low whistle sounded. You looked around Thayne and found a number of cast members (including Anthony who you suspected of whistling) staring at the two of you. There were a mix of surprised, suggestive, and questioning stares. “Uh, surprise?” You said. Luckily everyone was happy for the two of you. Shortly after was when the two of you moved into your new place together.

A few days later, Thayne found you sprawled out on the bed. “What’s wrong?” He asked. “We gotta get to work soon.”

“We need to tell the cast, Thayne.” You said, looking over at him but not sitting up on the bed.

“I know.” He said. He climbed on the bed and sat criss-cross right behind you. He re-situated both of you so your head was in his lap. “What brought this on today?” He asked, playing with your hair.

You gestured vaguely in the direction of your closet. “I have nothing to wear that doesn’t make it painfully obvious that I’m pregnant.” You complained. “I’m getting fat.”

“Oh shush.” Thayne chided lightly. “You’re beautiful.” He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to the tip of your nose. Then he got off the bed and went to the closet. The next thing you knew, a shirt landed on your face. You sat up and looked at the shirt that was tossed your way. It was one of Thayne’s. “I think that should hide the evidence.” He said. He walked forward and leaned on the bed, one hand on either side of you. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to your lips. He pulled away after a moment, but stayed leaning in close. “Should we tell them today?” He asked.

You sighed. “Probably. I can get away with wearing your shirt for a day. But if I started doing that indefinitely it might get a little suspicious.” You quickly shed your pajama top and tossed Thayne’s shirt on. It was large enough to hide your growing stomach. The two of your headed to work, idling still trying to come up with an announcement. You hadn’t figured out how you planned to tell the crew yet. Thayne still wanted to have a big announcement but neither of you came up with one that wasn’t cliche and that would work well with the crew. So it seemed like you’d be winging it.

You walked into the theatre with a few people making comments about you wearing Thayne’s shirt. You stopped by your dressing room, depositing your things. “Lin first?” You asked Thayne.

“Sounds like a good place to start.” So the two of you went to Lin’s dressing room. It was just your luck that Chris and Jonathan happened to be in the dressing room talking to Lin. You looked at Thayne, silently asking if you should ask them to leave. He just shrugged. After all, they’d know soon enough anyway.

“So, uh, I…or I guess we having something to say.” You awkwardly started. Damn it, why hadn’t you planned something? Jonathan, damn him, was already smirking. It seemed he had already figured it out. Chris was calculating, probably figuring it out but also seeing an issue with the fact that the two of you hadn’t been together for long. Lin was merely looking at you, waiting for you to say what you needed. “Uhm…so…” You trailed off.

Thayne wrapped his arms around your torso. “Y/N is trying to say she’s pregnant.” He said bluntly.

“Uh, yeah. That.” You said, shocked at Thayne’s bluntness. Then again, he was excited about this.

“And Thayne is…?” Chris asked. You nodded.

Jonathan’s smirk never faltered. Lin’s expression grew equally as confused as Chris’s. “Wait. You guys have only been together for a few weeks…” The question hung in the air.

“Yeah…” Thayne trailed off.

“How far along are you?” Chris asked.

“Uh…more than a few weeks.” You offered hesitantly.

Lin and Chris shared a look. They looked back to Jonathan who merely shrugged. “When the hell did this happen?” Lin asked. They weren’t mad, just confused.

“Drinks night. About two months ago.” You said with a deep blush. A quick glance at Thayne showed he was also sporting a light blush as well. The three men were silent for a moment before Lin let out a surprised chuckle. The other two men let out chuckles in response then they were laughing. The tension immediately left the room and you and Thayne chuckled too.

“Told you.” Jonathan said after the laughing subsided.

“Huh?” Thayne said.

“Oh, I tried to tell these two that there was something going on between you two long before we were told.”

“Well, it wasn’t like we were dating or—” Jonathan silenced you as he held up a hand.

“You two wouldn’t have slept together if there wasn’t something there.” He said with certainty. Thayne shrugged, which you felt due to his arms still being around him.

“Do the rest of the cast know yet?” Lin asked.

“Nope.” You said.

“You guys are the first.” Thayne added. “Who’s next?” So the two of you continued through the rest of the cast. Anthony and Jasmine congratulated the two of you. Daveed and Oak drilled you like Lin, Chris, and Jonathan had. Pippa and Renee asked all sorts of questions like if you knew the gender yet. Leslie also merely offered a heartfelt congratulations. That left the ensemble members. “Should we track them down one at a time or tell them all at once?”

At this point you were ready for this announcing thing to be over. “All at once, please?” You answered.

“Of course.” Thayne pressed a kiss to your forehead as he sensed your annoyance. “Almost done.” He commented. He detoured to the snack table to get both of you a much needed chocolate fix. You found the assembled ensemble members. “We need to talk to you guys.” Thayne announced loud enough for you to gain the attention of all the members. They turned and looked at you. Thayne gave you a glance as well. You sighed, not knowing how to tell them. Thayne read your mood well. He stood behind you with his hands on your shoulders. “Basically…guess who’s going to be a father?” He asked with a smile. You shot him a look over your shoulder. “And I suppose I should add, guess who’s going to be a mother? Guess who’s going to be parents?” He amended.

The entire ensemble was excited. You had a lot of them ask you questions but eventually you and Thayne had to pull away. You hid away in your dressing room. You collapsed on the couch in the dressing room. “That was exhausting.” You said. Thayne sat down beside you. He leaned over and laid his head in your lap. You absentmindedly toyed with his hair, pleased you could freely do so now without worrying about what would happen in response to the action.

“I hate to break it to you, Y/N, but as soon as that kid is born then things will be even more exhausting.” He commented.

You sighed, that was true. “What are we gonna do when this little one gets here?” You asked rhetorically.

“Love them.” Thayne answered anyway. “We will give them all the love we can. That’s what good parents do and that’s what makes a family.”

—

-Ten Years Later-

You stared at the reception hall. Ten years. Hamilton premiered ten years ago. It was a reunion of sorts. Tomorrow there would be news reporters and performances. Today, there was a gather of former cast members. Like a class reunion, but better. Cast members and their families were all getting together today. It was shaping up to be a fun night.

You walked inside. Instantly you were greeted by noise. Then, Lin walked up to you. He was so famous now. But to you, he was still a dork who wrote a Tony Award winning musical about Alexander Hamilton. He was also still your friend. You noticed his two boys running around as well, playing with the other kids present. Lin greeted you with a hug, pointed you toward the free food being offered, and invited you to mingle around with your old friends. And that’s what you did.

Main cast and ensemble members. Nearly everyone was here. Everyone was commenting how ten years ago seemed so long, yet it passed in the blink of an eye. And you couldn’t agree more. So much had happened to you in ten years. You scanned the crowd once more for blonde hair and a blinding smile. You sighed again as you failed to see it. You knew why Thayne wasn’t here. But…you had hoped.

Instead, you focused on talking to those who showed up. After all, you hadn’t seen some of these people in ten years. You were talking to Jonathon Groff, catching up with him. Then, suddenly, “Mommy!” You spun as you saw your little girl running toward you. Riley had her dad’s hair color and his bright smile. You crouched and gave her a hug. “Hi, Jonathon.” She greeted happily. Jonathan smiled and waved in response.

“Sorry we’re so late.” Thayne said, walking in behind her. He pulled you into a kiss, you couldn’t help but smile against his lips. He pulled back with a smile of his own. “Traffic is awful. But, we made it.”

“Things went ok?” You asked.

“Yep.” He said with a smile. “Ren got his booster shots and is ready for kindergarten.” Thayne said and looked to the little boy who was holding his hand. Your son. Almost a spitting image of his father. Lin greeted Thayne and your kids both. They exchanged idle chatter for a brief moment. “Hey uh Lin, there’s free food right?” You and Lin both rolled your eyes thinking back to Thayne constantly raiding the snack table at Hamilton. But Lin pointed out the table anyway. Thayne put a hand on each of your children’s shoulders. “Come on, if we hurry then your mom can’t limit how many cookies we get.” The three of them ran off before you could say anything. You just shook your head and watched them with a fond smile.

“Where’s the pacifier?!” Thayne questioned as he rushed around the hospital room trying to gather all of your things so that the two of you could leave.

“Thayne...” You stood up with your baby in your arms and neared Thayne. You bounced the baby in your arms softly so that she would stay calm.

“Where’s her bag?” Thayne whipped around, the bag he was looking for was in his hand. “Have you seen her bag?”

“Look at me. Calm down.” You chuckled and stopped bouncing your daughter just to put a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. “The bag is in your hand, my love.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a little worked up.” Thayne looked down at your daughter and chuckled when she cooed at him. “I think we actually have everything. Let’s get out of here, and finally take our little girl home.”

You smiled happily, “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One Year Later

“What do you think her first words might be?” Thayne inquired, laying in bed next to you watching the city come alive from your shared room.

Your daughter was asleep for the moment.

“I don’t know…” You sat up, “Hamilton?”

Thayne laughed for a second then stopped. “Wait… That’s actually possible.”

You rolled out of bed and headed towards the door, “Coffee and pancakes?”

“Yes, please. I’ll get the baby.”

Today was the first day since you and Thayne went back to work that you both had a day off during the week, and you were going make the best of it.

“Pancakes for you, Mr. Seabury.” You said as you set Thayne’s plate down next to his designated mug, as he kept your daughter interested in her own little pancakes. She took the pancake from Thayne’s hand and giggled at it playfully.

“Thank you, my darling, Y/n.” He smiled and pulled you towards him as you went back towards the stove. “Would you like to dance?”

“I’d love to.” You took his hand in your and spun him out so that both of your arms were wide open.

He spun you back towards him, “Is something burning?”

Your eyes widened and you ran back towards the stove, after not being able to find the spatula, you tried to take off the burning pancake from the hot plate with your hands. That proved to be a bad idea.

“Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot.” You exclaimed, throwing it up in the air with every word. With the last ‘Hot’ the pancake didn’t fall back into your hands again. Instead…

“Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot.” Thayne threw the pancake up and up while you tried to shake the heat off your hands.

It wasn’t working.

Finally, Thayne threw the pancake up and it landed on the floor.

Your hands shook with pain, “Why didn’t I just do that it in the first place?”

“I don’t know...”

Your daughter laughed loudly at her parents shenanigans, and bit into her little pancakes.  

“What so funny, Chocolate Chip?” Thanye fake pouted, putting his hands on his hips. You turned off the stove and shook your head, bending down to pick up the burnt pancake, carefully.

She giggled again, “Mama. Papa. Funny.”

You gasped and dropped the pancake again. Thayne looked at you for confirmation of what just happened. 

Your daughter had just said her first words.

Masterlist

tagging: 

So about a week later, you were over at Thayne's house. He had asked you to come early. "What do I need to wear?" He asked.

"Uh gym shorts or wind pants or sweat pants. And then a tee shirt." You answered with a shrug. Thayne kept digging through his dresser with a small grumble. He finally pulled out a pair of sweat pants and grabbed a tee shirt from his closet. He scrambled to his bathroom to change.

At the studio there were lots of kids your age. But you and Thayne stayed to the side of the studio and talked to each other. Eventually your attention was called to your teacher. She started instructing and directing. When you paired off you and Thayne immediately faced each other. He had a small smile on his face. "See? You like this." You accused.

"OK it doesn't completely suck." He admitted. The two of you started the dance when commanded. Thayne was, as you expected, a brilliant dancer. He caught on quickly and moved with grace and composure.

You and him had dance class together for two years. "What do you mean you're quitting?!" Thayne asked as you lounged on your couch one day over summer break. It was the middle of the night. Thayne had come over to spend the night as your parents were out of town. They knew about the plans but had nothing against it. You and Thayne had been friends for years and it didn't seem to be progressing any further.

"I mean I'm quitting."

"Why?" He asked.

"Thayne look, college is two years away. I need to focus to get in. I need to work on homework more than dancing." You shrugged. It wasn't that you didn't want to keep dancing, you loved it. But you had to be rational here.

"But I wanna keep going." Thayne said.

"Then keep going." You said with a small laugh. "You're a natural so you should keep going."

"It won't be as fun without you there." He grumbled.

"Sorry, but I have to think logically. You know I want to get into NYU. It's expensive. I need to get some scholarships." You tried to explain.

"I know, but I don't want to go if you're not there." He sighed.

"Thayne, please keep going. You're a great dancer. Don't stop because I'm not there." You begged. He had so much promise.

"Alright. But if it's miserable without you then I'm quitting." He huffed in agreement. You figured that would be enough and settled back, leaning against him.

Two years later and you tossed your square cap into the air. You caught it easily. You looked over and found Thayne smiling widely in your direction. You exited the room of the ceremony and ran towards Thayne. You jumped at him and he wrapped his arms around you holding you in a hug. "We're done!" You shouted happily. "We did it!"

Thayne laughed and swung you back and forth gently. "Yeah we did." He put you down finally but was still smiling. “And you got into NYU.” He said and playfully tapped your nose. You wrinkled up your nose but you were smiling happily at him. “After you horribly abandoned me at dance.” He said with a fake dramatic sigh.

“Oh you’re fine.” You told him.

The two of you spent the summer together, rarely leaving each other’s side. You admit you cried one the last day together. You had been friends for years and now you wouldn’t see him for a long while. He hugged you while he sobbed. “Hey, we’ll be fine.” He told you. “I swear, I’ll make my way out to NYU to see you ok?”

“You better.” You stuttered around some sobs.

“I will.”

—

4 Years Later:

You growled and tossed you pen onto you text book. Why did you think this was a good idea? You had so many history courses that it was all blurring together. That and the fact that you finally got a dorm to yourself. It seemed like a good idea at the time, now the silence was overpowering you. You were going mad. You needed to get out of the dorm for a bit. So you dressed for going out and left, grabbing your keys for the dorm before hand.

You just started walking. You had no real destination, just to get air and leave the dorm room. You ended up at some coffee shop you hadn’t been to before. It wasn’t too busy and you spent a bit of time just watching the people who came and went, enjoying the calm of it. Eventually, you grew bored and pulled out your phone. You scrolled through some social media, mostly uninterested. “Holy shit…” You glanced up at the sound of the voice. Your eyes widened and you pushed your chair back and stood up to face the man.

“Thayne?!” You asked in shock. He smiled at you. He had same dirty blonde hair but a bit longer and the strands curled at the ends. He had it all swept to the right and he lifted his hand to rake it through his hair and again to the right. He had the lightest growth of stubble, as if he just didn’t shave this morning. You smiled at your friend.

“Y/N! What are you doing here?” He asked happily.

“I uh…I needed to get out of my dorm. I just walked and found this café. What are you doing here?” You asked.

“I work not too far from here.” He said. “On Broadway.” He added sheepishly.

You looked at him in surprise. “Broadway?” you asked.

“I’m not a lead or anything. I’m part of ensemble and I have one song of my own. That’s it. I guess those dance classes did me some good.” He said happily.

“You’re welcome.” You teased.

“Yeah, yeah.” He grumbled. “How are things?” You both sat down, him across form you.

“A little stressful.” You said with a shrug. Then you remembered something and kicked his leg.

“Ow!”

“You never came to visit! For four years Thayne!” You shouted. Then you shrank in on yourself in slight embarrassment as people turned to stare.

“I’m sorry.” He said genuinely. “I got busy and then Broadway happened and…I just didn’t know if you’d want to see me again. I was just your stupid friend from high school.” He mumbled.

“Of course I wanted to see you!” You said, again rather loudly. “Thayne, I missed you. It was a kind of lonely four years. I made friends but none of those friendships were as good as ours.”

“Ok, well I need your phone.” You handed it to him and he inputted his number, apparently a new one. “Text me sometime and we’ll meet up. I gotta run, we have rehearsal.”

“Ok, I hope to see you soon.” He stood with a smile and pulled you into a hug.

“We will. Promise.”

“Keep it this time.” You ordered with a smile.

—

It was a few months later that Thayne texted, wanting to know what dorm you lived in. You texted back your dorm and asked why. He never responded, which worried you with Thayne. But about an hour later, there was a pounding on the door. You opened it up and found Thayne standing there with a smile.

“Here!” He handed you a slip of paper. You glanced at it with a raised brow.

“What’s this?”

“I know you love history so I figured you’d like to come see the musical I’m in. It’s about Alexander and Eliza Hamilton. So I requested another ticket.” He shifted in the doorway, a bit nervous. You looked at the paper again.

“Wait. This is tonight.” You realized.

“Yeah but I think you’d like it. Please come.” He begged. You glanced back at you desk cluttered with text books. You had homework but Thayne really wanted you to go. So you pushed him out of your room.

“Give me five minutes to get ready.”

—

You sat in the theatre seats anxiously bouncing your leg. You kept glancing down at the Playbill, reading Thayne’s blurb. The lights on the stage fell and you were immediately pulled into the story you knew so well. But this was better. It was choreographed and sung and brilliant. You muffled a laugh as you watched Thayne climb on soap box and proclaim the word of the king. He was nothing like the historical Samuel Seabury so it was slightly funny. But when he finished you clapped and cheered the loudest.

Afterwards, a stage hand came to get you. At Thayne’s request. So you followed her up on stage, into the wings, and back where the cast a crew were scattering about. She led you to a door and told you to wait for Thayne to come out. So you leaned against a table and you saw the man who played Jefferson approaching. “Oh hi.” You said and stepped in front of him. “You did a great job.”

“Oh, thank you…who are you?” He asked.

“Oh duh, I’m Y/N L/N. Thayne invited me.” You introduced.

“Well, it’s a pleasure. I’m Daveed Diggs.” He held out his hand so you accepted the handshake. You talked idle chatter until the door opened and Thayne walked out. You grinned and ran forward into a hug like you had done at graduation so many years ago.

“You did amazingly!” You said happily.

“I’m pretty sure I heard you specifically cheering above all the others.” He chuckled as he set you down. He started spinning you in an perfect waltz, one the two of you had perfected long ago. You smiled and laughed. He spun you and you both, knowing each other, slowed to a stop.

You glanced over and noticed the playwright, Lin. “Is that the guy who wrote the musical?” You asked Thayne.

“Lin? Yeah.” Thayne smiled and nodded toward Lin. “Ge ahead and talk to him. I know you want to talk to him about all the historical aspects.” You smiled and ran off.

“So Thayne?” Daveed asked. “How long have you have a girlfriend and not tell us?”

“Huh?” Thayne cocked his head in confusion. “Y/N isn’t my girlfriend.” Daveed gave Thayne an unconvinced look. “Look, we were good friends in high school. She is majoring in history so I figured she’d like the show.”

“So…is she available?” Daveed asked.

“I uh…I guess I don’t know.” Thayne shrugged. “I never asked her.”

“I guess I’ll find out then. What can I talk to her about?” Daveed pressed.

“What?” Thayne fumbled.

“What does she like? Well besides history.”

“Uh, we did a dance class a few years back.” Thayne offered awkwardly.

“Cool, I can talk about my choreography.” Daveed said.

“Daveed, you don’t actually do your choreography.” Thayne said.

“I know, I do dances I came up with. I can talk about that. See what she thinks.” Daveed walked off toward you but was stopped by Anthony.

“That’s a stupid idea.” Anthony said.

“Why?” Daveed asked.

“Cause, even if Y/N and Thayne aren’t officially together they are basically an item.”

“Then why can't they see that they're meant for each other?” Daveed asked. Anthony shrugged. “That’s what I’m going to make them see.”

“By making Thayne jealous?” Anthony asked.

“Exactly.” Daveed flashed his friend a grin and then approached you. “Y/N, I had a question.” Daveed cut in.

Lin excused himself and walked off. “What do need?” You asked.

“So Thayne said you used to dance?”

You nodded, a bit sheepishly. “I haven’t for a while though so please don’t ask me to dance.” You insisted.

Daveed cocked his head in slight confusion, his hair bouncing with the movement. “But you and Thayne did a masterful waltz back there.” He commented.

“Oh, we were dance partners in class. We kind of have a rhythm I guess.” You shrugged.

“Well anyway, I was wondering what you thought of the dances during What Did I Miss?”

“They were great. Why?” You asked curiously.

“Well, I kind of made them up. I couldn’t actually do what the choreographer asked so he told me to make something up. Can you maybe give me any tips to make my dance better?”

—

Thayne hung back and watched you talk to Daveed. The two of you were laughing and smiling and seemed to enjoy your conversation. So Thayne stalked off, found the table of desserts, and ate quite a few cookies before Jon pulled him from the table. “I know you love cookies but you need to slow down.”

“I don’t wanna.” Thayne grumbled.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jon asked.

“Its…just…I…nothing.” Thayne finally grumbled after failing to come up with a reasonable explanation.

“Use your words. Something is bugging you.” Jon insisted.

“I brought a friend today but she’s spending more time with Daveed and I guess I just feel ignored.” Thayne sighed, hating how petty he sounded.

“She?” Jon asked, much more interested.

“Yeah…she’s a friend of mine from high school. Why?”

Jon started snickering. “Some one is jealous.” Jon singsonged.

“What? No I’m not.” Thayne said defensively.

“Dude, go and talk to her. Now. And by talk I mean let her know you like her. Don’t sit by.”

“I never told her before. How can I do that now?” Thayne asked.

“Before?”

“Why else do you think I took dance lessons?” Jon shot him a glare. “Sorry. But I said I never considered Broadway until I took those classes. I took them because Y/N asked me to. I’ve liked her for a long time. I just can’t tell her.”

“Would you rather lose her?” Jon asked. “Because that’s what you risk with your silence.”

Thayne pondered it and ran through the backstage corridors and found you still talking with Daveed. “Sorry Daveed. I need to talk to Y/N for a second.” Thayne said while panting.

“Did you run back over here?” You asked as Daveed walked off, seeming pleased about something.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“I need to talk to you. Uh…come on.” He pulled you into a vacated dressing room. Daveed’s, judging by the throw pillow that looked like his character, Thomas Jefferson. “So I uh need to tell you something. I’ve not told you before and for good reason I think. But I feel like maybe I should now.”

“Thayne, your rambling.” You told him with a small smile. You’d seen him flustered before and he would babble when he got nervous. It was a little endearing.

“I am?” You nodded. “Oh well…I uh…”

“What?” You asked. “Thayne you can tell me.” You urged and walked closer. Thayne surged forward and cupped your face in his hands before pressing his lips to yours. You arms went around him immediately.

“I like you.” He mumbled against your lips. “For so damn long.” He kissed you again, trying to pull you impossibly closer. Thayne stepped back, lips still attached, and pulled you with him. He sat on the couch and you let out a small squeak as you fell onto his lap, straddling him. He pulled back and swept hair from your face and left his hands resting on your cheeks, merely beaming at you.

“So…how long is ‘so damn long?’” You asked. His face turned slightly confused and he tilted his head to the side, thinking.

“I uh…don’t know.” He said.

“How do you not know?” You asked with a laugh.

“I’ve been friends with you for a long time. It just slowly developed into l-” He seemed to stop himself. “Into feelings.” He finally said.

“Ok, now what were you really gonna say?” You asked. You leaned your forehead against his.

“Love. Developed in love.” He closed his eyes, not wanting to see your reaction. Which was shock that quickly turned elation. You leaned in for a kiss, a deep ad passionate one. He quickly responded, a hand in your hair and another around your waist.

You broke the kiss. “I love you too.” You mumbled against his lips. He pulled back fully and beamed at you once more. Then pulled you into another kiss. You sprang apart as the door to the dressing room opened. Daveed stilled in the doorway.

“I was just getting my bag.” He said and walked in to grab his duffle bag. He paused in the doorway while leaving. “While I’m glad you guys have worked through your sexual tension, please don’t…ya know,” He waved his hand around in a vague gesture. “On my couch. I sleep there sometimes.” He then left the room and shut the door.

“Well, we should probably move to a different room.” Thayne teased with a wink.

You stood up and held out a hand. “Let’s go then.”

Tagging:

Lin stepped back, and you stepped forward.

“I’m not good with words, so I…” You struggled with the box in your arms. Lin stepped forward to help you. You quickly thanked him. “I-I brought donuts…”

You showed them the contents on the box.

“I CALL FIRST DIBS!” A man, you recognized as Oak from his pictures (you had done your research), chirped up. He barreled towards you and the boxes. Soon the rest of the cast followed. They took one of the boxes and started fighting over who would get what.

“BOSS COMING THROUGH!” Lin proclaimed and the cast parted like the red sea to let him through. Lin took his time to pick out his donuts, and promptly walked away with a smile on his face. The cast then restarted their fight for the pastries. After those ran out, Groff turned to you and took another box from your arms.

“LONG LIVE THE KING!” He yelled as he ran away from the angry mob of cast members.

“CATCH HIM! HE HAS MY BEAR CLAW!” Tommy yelled and the mob followed Jonathan off of the stage. This left you and another person laughing hysterically at the cast’s actions. You turned to see the other person and recognized him as Thayne Jasperson.

He stepped forward and reached out his hand nervously, “Hi, I’m Thayne.”

You blinked, looking for words to say, “Donut.”

“Donut?” Thayne’s head cocked to the side.

“Donut.” You opened the last box and showed the donuts to him.

“Oh… Donut!” Thayne smiled, and reached into the box to take one of the donuts. He then sat on the edge of the stage, and patted the space next to him. You nodded and took a donut for yourself, and sat down next to him.

The two of you sat there, and talked. You told him how you came to find this job, he told you about the cast, and how accepting they were. He told you of stories, fans would never know, that made you laugh the hardest.

“You know, you’re doing a great job.” Thayne said after your last burst of laughter settled down.

“Thanks.” You smiled. “But, so far, I’ve only brought donuts.”

“And with those donuts you’ve won the hearts of the whole cast! At least mine.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Maybe I’ll bring donuts more often.”

“Okay, Donut.”

You smiled at your new nickname.

At that moment you knew you had a friend, and over the next year, it slowly turned into something more.

-----------------------------------------------

“Hey, Donut.” You heard Thayne’s voice in your ear and soon you felt arms wrap around your waist.

You sighed and wriggled out of his grasp, “Thayne, you have 15 minutes to places and you are not in costume, or miked! Shoo! Away! To your dressing room!”

“Listen to your girlfriend, Thayne.” Jazzy teased as she walked by in her Peggy costume.

“Thayne and Y/n sitting in the tree…” Anthony taunted. You rolled your eyes, but blushed.

“Ohhhh Y/n is blushing..” Daveed announced and your face became even redder.

“But seriously, you guys should really get together.” Pippa voiced her opinion.

“As the kids say, I ship it.” Lin spoke up.

“Another thing the kids say, I’m the captain of this ship.” Alex smiled, proud of himself that he knew this.

“Just get to places!” You huffed and pushed Thayne towards his dressing room.

They laughed and followed your directions to get to places.

Once getting Thayne to his dressing room, you looked around to see if there was anyone in the halls.

Thayne chuckled, “Are we ever going to tell them about us?”

You smiled, and nodded, “Yeah, I just wanna see them suffer a little more. Now, I’m serious, get ready.”

You turned and started to walk away when Thayne pulled your back. “Kiss?”

You smiled and moved the microphone, on your headset, to peck him on the lips. “Break a leg.”

“Wait, I have a present for you!” Thayne went into his room and came out with a pink box from your favorite bakery, the one from the first day you met. He opened it, and inside was a donut. “Donut for Donut.”

You giggled and took the box from him. “I’ll eat it at intermission. Thank you. Get ready.”

“Just make sure no one else does.” Thayne warned.

You scoffed, “You know what happens when people try to take my food.”

“Right.” Thayne smiled his signature smile. “Love you.”

You smile and gave him another peck. “Love you too.”

His door closed and you sighed in content as you walked down the hall towards the green room.

You put the donut in the fridge and left the room to oversee last minute stage lights and soundchecks.

------------------------------------------

“I AM NOT THROWING AWAY MY SHOT!” The last note hit, and the lights shut off.Clapping from the audience erupted, and the cast exited the stage while intermission was announced.

You gave a few high fives to your cast mates along with good jobs. You walked towards the green room, ready to eat your donut. You entered and heard arguing.

“-YOU’RE STILL EATING IT?!”

“Thayne. Calm down, dude, it’s just a donut.” Jon tried to reason.

“THAT IS NOT JUST A DONUT! THAT’S MY MARRIAGE PROPOSAL!” Thayne fumed.

Then the cast went wild with questions.

“TO WHO?!”

“YOU’RE DATING SOMEONE?!”

“Thayne?” You spoke and somehow everyone heard you over the excited screaming. The room went quiet. Thayne looked from Jon, and his face softened.

Oak looked in between the two of you, “Holy shit, it’s Y/n.”

“Y/n, I- I didn’t mean for you to find out this way. I meant for you to eat the donut and find-”

One of the assistant stage managers came in the green room, “Five min-”

“SHHHHHHHHH!” The whole of the cast sounded.

“I think you might want this.” Jon said quickly handing Thayne the diamond ring.

Thayne smiled and got down on one knee. He didn’t even get the chance to ask.

“Yes! Yes!” You exclaimed.

The room broke out in cheers.

Thayne slipped on the ring, after cleaning it, and you both shared a passionate kiss.

Who knew that a few boxes of donuts would lead to new family, friendships, and love.

The doors opened and the sound of Billboard Chart’s: Top 40’s songs played overhead. Crashing pins and cheering sounded out from your right.

You looked over to see a Lin and Jon cheering excitedly. You looked down the alley and saw that one of them had gotten a strike. Thayne pulled you towards them, announcing your arrival by joining in with the cheering.

“Oak!” He let go of your hand to greet a man you assumed was Oak.

“Thayne! Perfect timing!” Oak boomed. “We we’re just about to start a new game!”

Oak was seated at the scoreboard thing pressing buttons to start a new game.

“Great, you can add me and Y/n.” Thayne told him.

Oak turned around upon hearing your name. He caught your eye and smiled. “Are you Y/n?”

You nodded, too scared to trust your voice.

Oak stood up and you fully realized how tall he was. He shook your hand.  “It’s nice to meet you.  We’ve been begging Thayne to bring you around. He never shuts up about you. Hey, everyone! Meet Y/n!”

“Y/n?!” Everyone exclaimed, collectively turning towards you and Thayne.

“Oh my god, she’s real!” One of them, you couldn’t see who (probably Anthony), exclaimed and you we’re immediately surrounded.

Questions shot out of the cast’s mouths and you tried to answer as many as you could, saying hi, and giving hugs. Thayne watched from the side smiling affectionately at you. He was happy that the cast like you and that you had, somewhat, come out of your shell.

Pretty soon, Oak had finished entering all the names and you were up first.

“Go, Y/n!” Daveed chanted from the crowd as you picked up your ball.  The chant was followed by some encouraging whooping.

You took a deep breath and walked forward. You took aim, letting your arm sling back, then forward again. You let go and the ball hit the floor and started tumbling down the alley.

It seemed as if the whole group went quiet as your ball hit the pins. all of them went down, except for number 6. It wobbled for a few seconds, looking like it was going to keep standing, then at the last second it toppled over and onto the floor with a clank.

The group erupted into cheers, and you jumped up and down with joy. “Yes!” You exclaimed.

Pippa laughed a bit at this and said, “She’s a keeper, Thayne.”

Thayne smiled lovingly, and nodded, “I know.”

@a-blog-of-hamilton-and-writing​ - here it is lovely!!

You went and changed into your normal outfit and sought out Thayne. He was, of course, at the snack table. He was laughing at something Gregory was saying. He raked a hand through his dark blonde hair, sweeping it to the right. You walked up and snatched a half eaten cookie from him. “Hey!” He protested in a whinny tone. “I was gonna eat that!” He complained as you took a bite out of it.

“Well good thing you love me.” You responded before leaning in and pressing a kiss to his cheek. He reached out, grabbed the last of the cookie and shoved it in his mouth. “Do you ever stop eating?” You asked him as he chewed up the cookie. He swallowed it and smiled at you. You shook your head with a smile and grabbed your stuff and went to leave the theater. Thayne grabbed his stuff and walked along side of you, fingers threaded with yours.

Some time after being home, you and Thayne climbed in bed. You curled up next to him as his arm came to wrap around you. He pressed a kiss to the top of you head. “Good night, Y/N.” He told you.

“Good night, Thayne.” You fell asleep laying against Thayne, his arm holding you tightly against him. You woke up like that in the middle of the night. You grimaced as you realized your mouth was dry, as well as your throat. You sat up, pulling away from Thayne. He mumbled and blinked awake.

“Y/N?” He asked in a sleepy voice.

“I just need some water. Go back to sleep.” You leaned down and kissed him softly. You pulled back and he smiled a bit before his eyes fluttered shut again. So you waltzed down to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. You downed it only to find out it did very little for the dry, sticky feeling left in your mouth. You abesnt-mindly breathed in through your nose. You found out your nose was plugged and it sent you into a coughing fit. You drank another glass of water and rummaged for some cold medicine. You took some and plodded back up to the room. You crawled under the covers and went to curl back against Thayne but stopped. You were clearly getting sick and didn’t want to make Thayne sick as well. He loved performing in Hamilton, if he was sick he wouldn’t be able to. So you turned your back on your boyfriend and curled into a ball to go back to sleep.

—

When Thayne woke up there wasn’t the usual warmth of someone against his side. He blearily looked around and saw you on the other side of the bed. You were curled up in a ball, preserving your own heat. He scooted closer and ran a hand lightly up and down your arm. You murmured and turned toward the touch. You blinked and were greeted with Thayne looking down at you. “You ok?” He asked.

You furrowed your brow in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I be?” You asked. You could hear your voice sound weird to your own ears. You were clearly sick now. You coughed and pulled yourself into a sitting position. Thayne rubbed your back.

“You’re sick.” He stated, not asked. You nodded pathetically and resisted the urge to lean against Thayne. “Come here.” He insisted ad tried to tug you closer to him. You protested and fought against him. “What?” He asked as he stilled.

“I’m just tried. I just wanna go back to sleep.” You insisted. You flopped backwards onto the pillows instead. Thayne made a pondering noise but didn't say anything else. Your sickness drove you back into sleep quickly. When you next woke up Thayne was shaking you lightly. You looked up at him, his hair was hanging down slightly obstructing his vision. He took his hand and swept to the side again. “Hm?” You sleepily mumbled.

“I made you some tea.” He explained. “It should be good for your throat.” You couldn’t argue so you sat up. You noticed the time and gasped in shock which cause another fit of coughing. “Y/N, are you alright?” He asked. He sat next to you and went to rub your back but you jumped from the bed and went across the room. You coughed a few more times and took a deep breath when the fit passed.

“What are you still doing here?” You asked him. He cocked his head in confusion. “You’re missing the matinee.”

“Yeah. I called Lin and told him neither of us would be there.” He explained.

“Why?” You asked, slightly angrily. This caused your voice to squeak and another round of coughing to happen.

“That’s why.” Thayne said referring to your coughing. “You can’t sing so clearly we couldn’t go to the show. But you seemed pissed and you’re distancing yourself and I don’t know why.”

“Thayne, you could still do the show. You’re fine. Go. Make it to the evening showing.” You urged.

“Y/N, I’m not gonna leave you while your sick. Why would I do that?”

“Thayne, I’m trying to keep you from getting sick. I know how much you love performing so I want you to be able to.” You explained, slightly irritated.

Thayne stood up and walked over to you. “You wanna know how much I care about the show?” He asked. You simply cocked your head to the side. He leaned in and kissed you soundly. He even walked forward until you were pressed back against the wall with Thayne blacking the way forward. He pulled back after a few moments. You gasped, trying to resupply your lungs with oxygen. “I love you way more then any show. I want to stay here and help you get better. I wouldn’t enjoy performing if you weren’t beside me and were instead laying here at home sick.”

“It’s just a cold, I can take care of myself.” You mumbled but all the fight had left you.

“I know you can.” Thayne said. “But I want to help. Now come on.” Thane grabbed you hands and pulled you back over to the bed and practically pushed you so you were sitting on the bed once more. He handed you the mug, the tea was now cool enough to drink but still warm enough to help your throat. Thayne jumped up onto the bed on his side. The two of you talked while you drank the tea. Thayne took the mug when he finished and headed to the kitchen. You laid down, your back to Thayne’s side of the bed. When Thayne came back he just wrapped an arm around your waist and spooned you from behind. You dozed off easily.

—

It had been a week and neither of you had been back to the theater. You stood in the kitchen and stirred the tea in front of you. You tapped the spoon again the edge of the mug as you finished stirring, knocking the excess tea off the spoon. You dropped the spoon in the sink and walked to the bedroom. You placed the mug on the bedside table and sat down next to Thayne who was fast asleep. You started running your fingers through his soft hair. He hummed as he woke up, though it was scratchy. “Wake up, sleepyhead.” You said quietly and cheerfully. He opened his eyes and sniffed before sighing and grabbing a tissue. He blew his nose and you laughed when he let out a disgusted groan. “You know, you didn’t have to kiss me.”

He sat up so he could drink his tea. “Oh no. This is all your fault.” He blamed, his voice a little distorted due to congestion.

“How is it my fault?” You asked with a laugh.

“You stole my cookie and took a bite out of it. You contaminated my cookie with your germs.” He said and then began pouting.

“Oh you’ll be fine.” You said. You kissed the top of his head and took his mug when he drank all the tea. “Now get some more sleep.”

“Fine, but I still blame you.” He grumbled.

He sighed and sent another text to you. He didn’t want to be clingy but you usually didn’t stop texting without reason. He was just concerned. He tried to watch the show again but was too distracted by staring at his silent phone. That’s when the ‘Breaking News’ interrupted.

“This just in,” the female news anchor began. “A bank in New York being robbed. Currently the robber has hostages inside the bank, those being bank employees and a few people who were stopped at the bank. The cops are working to negotiate with the robber and rescue the hostages.” The screen switched to an on-site reporter who was standing in front of the bank. Your bank. The bank you had just mentioned reaching.

Thayne was up and out of the door without listening to anything else. However, there was very little he could do at the crime scene. It mostly consisted of pacing back and forth, waiting for any news. Eventually the police came to an agreement. Paramedics went in next to check and make sure no one was wounded. You came out a few minutes later.

“Y/N!” You looked over toward the voice and saw Thayne running toward you. His usually calm dark, blonde hair was sticking up. It looked like he’d been running his fingers through it. Also, his constant smile was replaced with a look of pure worry. He wrapped you up in hug. “You’re ok. Thank goodness.” He breathed.

“How did you…?” You asked, still dazed and terrified.

“You had told me you were at the bank. Then I couldn’t get ahold of you. Then the news reported the story. I was so scared. I came here until you were released.” He explained. Then the shock of the events wore off, leaving you just scared. You started crying. Thayne held you through the tears. As it calmed to sniffles, he pulled away to look at you. He swiped his thumbs under your eyes to wipe the tears away. “Do you want me to drive you home?” He asked. You nodded.

So Thayne did just that. He drove and chattered about anything, trying to distract you. It would’ve worked if your mind would stop replaying the sound of gunshots over and over. You finally got home and you still hadn’t said much. “Are you ok Y/N?” Thayne asked.

“Uh…I will be. Eventually.” You answered.

“Well…I guess I’ll head out then.” He said. You grabbed his hand before he could even take a step.

“Please stay.” You begged. “Just for tonight.”

He smiled softly. “Of course.”

Thayne took the couch, even though you offered to sleep there. He said you needed to sleep in your own bed. You wished it made a difference. Every time you closed your eyes it was like you were back at the bank. You heard the men shouting and the gun firing. It freaked you out. You weren’t sure how you fell asleep but you did. That was unhelpful and you were transported back to the bank in your dreams. — Thayne shifted uncomfortably on the couch. He was willing to stay if you needed him. He just couldn’t sleep. He heard some rustling from your room and sat up a bit. He was about to lay down but then the noise started up again and didn’t cease. So he stood from the couch and walked to your room.

You were moving around a bit in your bed, but clearly dreaming as you didn’t notice him in the doorway. He quietly walked in, not wanting to wake you and scare you. When he got closer he could hear quiet whimpers coming from you, as well as a few quiet 'no’s slip past your lips.

Thayne gently laid a hand on your shoulder. “Y/N.” He said, his voice at a level that was louder than a whisper but not quite full volume. “You need to wake up.” He urged as he gently shook you back and forth. Your eyes shot up and you bolted upright. Thayne stepped back in shock. “Sorry but you were-”

“Having a nightmare.” You cut him off. “I know.” You sniffed as you felt tears stinging your eyes again. “Thayne. Can I ask you to do something? It’s alright to say no.”

“What?” He asked.

“Can you stay in here with me? Like share the bed with me?” You asked awkwardly. “I just can’t fall asleep easily and maybe if there was someone here I felt safe with then I could.”

“Y-yeah. Sure.” Thayne stuttered awkwardly.

“Seriously. If you don’t want to you don’t have to.” You urged.

“No. It’s fine.” Thayne said quickly. He crawled into bed next to you. Without asking for permission you clung to his side. He didn’t seem to mind as he lifted his arm up and around you. You fell asleep easier. You still dreamt of the bank but this time Thayne was there the whole time. Instead if a robbery it was like a trip to the bank with a friend. — Thayne left the next day but you found yourself wishing he hadn’t. You couldn’t sleep without dreaming of the bank and waking up scared and alone. It was starting to take its toll.

You had received an email from Lin telling you that you didn’t need to come back to work right away. But you wanted to. Without having anything to do, you just refocused on the robbery. Thayne called you at least once a day and texted constantly, but there were always three hours when he couldn’t be reached. You felt like just seeing him might help. So you decided to go to work.

You took the subway, to tired to drive. Being around so many strangers now made you nervous and you watched each of then warily. You breathed a sigh of relief as you stepped out of the train car, and then the station. You weren’t entirely at ease until you were inside the door of the Richard Roger’s theater. At least here, you knew everyone. You smiled when you saw Thayne approaching you. However, it fell when you saw his worried expression. “Y/N? Why are you here? Didn’t you get Lin’s email? You didn’t have to come in.” He asked. It seemed he’d already raided the snack table and had a cookie in hand.

“Yeah I know. But I wanted to. I can’t sit at home and do nothing. It’s driving me nuts.” You explained.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yes.” You glanced at his costume. It wasn’t the ensemble dress or Seabury’s outfit. “You understudying?” You asked. You reached out and took the cookie from him to prevent him from ruining the costume. He grumbled slightly.

“Yeah! Laurens and Philip!” He said with a wide smile, his unhappiness about losing his food vanishing.

“Need a hand with the costume?” You asked him as you ate the cookie you stole.

He smiled and was about to answer but paused and seemed to think about it. “Ya know, why don’t you go see if any ensemble members need help?” He suggested.

“You sure?” You asked him.

“Yeah. Go ahead.” He said with a tiny smile. He watched you walk off, hoping that the ensemble wouldn’t be too much work. Thayne walked off to the dressing room he was sharing with Oak for the day. He grumbled as he fiddled with all the pieces of the Laurens outfit.

“Why don’t you ask Y/N for help?” Oak asked.

Thayne huffed. “I guess.” He stalked off and found you. “So maybe I do need help.” He admitted embarrassed.

You just smiled. “Alright. Let’s go.” You herded him off to his room and helped to get the outfit ready. “There! All done.” You covered your mouth as you yawned loudly.

“You ok?” Thayne asked.

“Yeah. Fine.” You said before yawning again.

“No you’re not. Lie down on the couch. Get some sleep.” He instructed with a light push toward the sofa in the room.

“No…” You whined. “I don’t want to sleep. I’m not tired.”

Thayne laughed at you. “Yes you are. Come on.” He grabbed your wrists and walked over to the couch. He sat down and pulled you down next to him. You laid back, resting your head on his lap. He started running his fingers through your hair. You felt yourself drift off, pulling back into the same hellish dream of the bank. Before you could wake yourself up in terror, Thayne moved around and stood up. The movements woke you up as well. “Oh sorry. But I gotta go to stage. Stay here, get some more rest.”

“But I-” You started.

“Look, most people expected you to be gone today. You can stay in here, no problem.” He explained. “Please rest.” He ran his hand over the top of your head and down through your hair once more.

You relented and laid back down and watched Thayne walk out. You shifted, trying to get comfortable. You let your eyes slip shut but as soon as you were enveloped in darkness you could swear you heard gunshots once more. You sat up on the couch, breaths shallow. The duration of the show was awful. Every time you drifted off, you saw the bank once more. As intermission ticked closer, the dressing room door was flung open and you shot upright once more.

“Oh. Sorry.” Thayne said sheepishly.

You smiled sleepily. “It’s fine.” You said.

He smiled at you. “You’re still tired.” He said, a statement and not a question.

“That obvious?” You asked as you rubbed a hand over your eyes.

“Yeah. You look really sleepy.” He commented he turned away from you. “It’s kinda cute.” He mumbled.

You cheeks went pink but you shook your head. “I’m not sleepy. I’m exhausted.” You yawned again.

“Yeah. What’s that about?” Thayne asked.

“It’s nothing.” You mumbled as you laid down again. You immediately drifted off, only to wake up with a gasp only minutes later.

“Y/N?” Thayne asked from in front of his make-up counter. He spun and leaned back against it and looked at you.

“Just a bad dream.” You brushed off.

Thayne opened his mouth to comment but was cut off as the door open. “Thayne, you need to go grab your Philip outfit.” Oak said. Thayne glanced back at you but slipped from the room.

You laid on the couch but refused to fall asleep until the guys went back to places. You did keep your eyes shut though, so they wouldn’t bother you. And it worked. Well, until you felt a hand brush over the top of your head once more. The gentleness of it let you know it was Thayne. You stiffened slightly as you felt him press a soft kiss to your forehead. Then you heard the door open and shut. Your eyes opened and you stared at the door. You flopped back on the couch, too tired to process the action.

You fell into restless sleep again, waking up each time only minutes after getting to sleep. You woke once more, gasping in fear. It shouldn’t still be scaring you, but it was. You let out a frustrated noise and slammed a fist against the couch. You were so tired by now, it was awful. You grew more annoyed as you felt some tears sting again. You knew it was because you were tired but you couldn’t help it.

The door opened again and Thayne and Oak walked in. You sniffed and looked up at them. “I’m uh…I’m gonna go see Daveed for a sec.” Oak mumbled as he slipped from the room as he noticed your emotional state.

Thayne came over and sat next to you and pulled you into a hug. “Y/N, what’s wrong?” You weakly shook your head from where it was nuzzled against his chest. It was stupid. “Babe, you have a problem, please, let me help.” He begged. You didn’t even bother asking why he called you 'babe.’ Honestly, you didn’t really process with how tired you were.

“It’s just…I can’t sleep. If I do, I dream I’m back in that bank. And when I close my eyes I hear gunshots again.” You explained.

Thayne hugged you tighter and pressed a kiss to the top of your head once more. “Is there anything I can do to help?” He asked.

“Well actually…” You bit your bottom lip nervously. “You know what, never mind.”

“Y/N, what do you need?” He asked again.

“It’s just, that first night, I slept better with you there. I was hoping maybe you could come back to my place so I could actually sleep.” You mumbled.

Thayne just smiled. “It would be my pleasure.” Thayne drove you home and followed you to your room. Without hesitating, he crawled under the covers and you cuddled up to his side as if it was a routine.

It did become a routine. It was if Thayne moved in without you asking. He kept the nightmares at bay and you slowly started to feel like yourself again. You were cuddling in the couch one night watching some reality TV show, cop shows were still a bit much. “Hey Thayne?” You asked. He hummed in acknowledgement. “Why’d you come and help me? Like, you’ve basically moved in.”

He looked at you a bit nervously. “Do you want me to leave?” He asked.

“Well I mean, you can if you want. I don’t want you to but you know you can leave if you want to.”

“Yeah but I don’t want to.” He mumbled.

“Why not?” You pressed. He response was to lean in and press a short kiss to your lips. You just blinked back in surprise as your response.

He sighed. “Look, when I heard the news report I got scared. Like, heart pounding scared. I almost lost you. And it wasn’t until then that I realized how much I really like you. I’m not losing you again. Or, I’m gonna do everything in my power so I never get that close to losing you again.” Thayne finally admitted.

You leaned forward and kissed him much more soundly than he had kissed you. “Thank you.” You told him.

“For telling you that?” He asked.

“No. For being here and protecting me.” You answered with a laugh. Thayne smiled and kissed you again.

Finally rehearsal ended. So he began packing his things and chatting with a few other cast members. He gave them a small wave as they walked off. He stuffed the last of his things in his bag as he heard from behind him, “Hey Thayne. Do you have a minute?”

“Uh…” He drew it out as he finished zipping his backpack. “Yeah!” He lifted the backpack up and onto his shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Well ya see, I uh…I kinda like you. Not kind of like you, I do like you. And I guess I was wondering if you wanted to get supper or something.” You stuttered, catching Thayne off guard.

He felt his face slip into one of shock. “Oh. I’m uh…I’m sorry Y/N. I don’t really like you like that. Shit, I feel awful. Was I leading you on or something?” He asked, panicked.

You blinked at him. “Um no. No it was my fault. Just, uh just forget it, alright?” You quickly spun and walked away from him. He wanted to call out to you but didn’t know what to say. So he watched you walk away, feeling awful.

The whole night Thayne paced in his house wondering about what happened. Had he led you on? Or did you just like him for who he was? That only made Thayne feel worse, finding someone who liked you for who you were was difficult. And then there was one question he couldn’t find an answer to. Why did he regret his answer?

Sure he made you feel embarrassed but there was something else too. And he couldn’t figure out what it was.

The next day at work was awful. You avoided him at all costs. He was missing talking to you especially since you were side-by-side often. He decided he’d try to apologize at the start of rehearsal. Except Jon was by your side the whole time, he stayed there until Tommy called him out on it.

Jon shot you a silly face and you giggled. Thayne watched the short exchange with a weird feeling. It couldn’t be envy right? That’s insane. But he certainly didn’t like witnessing how close you two were. Thayne shook his head before focusing on the music. At least he knew what to do and how to act when the music was there. — A few months passed. Thayne was able to have some small talk with you again. It was stiff and awkward but it was a start. It wasn’t until he was at the snack table one day that he finally stopped to really think.

“They have to be.” Anthony was saying.

“I’m not saying they’re not. I’m just saying that it’s not my place to speculate.” Chris shot back. “Look, if you’re so curious then just ask.”

Anthony pondered for a minute. “Maybe I should just ask Daveed. He’d know.”

“What’re you guys talking about?” Thayne asked before taking a bite out of a cookie.

“Y/N and Jon.” Anthony answered. “They’re awfully close. I think they’re probably a thing. Chris refuses to add his input.” Anthony and Chris walked off, leaving Thayne behind lost in his thoughts. He wandered around backstage. He’d go to his dressing room but it was shared with the other male ensamble members. He found a relatively quiet section and sat down against the wall, still thinking.

He didn’t know what was wrong. But he was just, irritated. After thinking, he realized his issue. “Huh. Jon and Y/N…why do I have a problem with this.” He wondered aloud. “I don’t like her like that right? I mean, I turned her down. Her and Jon have always been close, she deserved to be with someone who cares about her. I guess…” He trailed off. He checked the time and sighed. He needed to go get ready. After all, costumes were in.

He put on the white clothes that he’d be wearing for most of the show. Then he slipped the coat over it. Blue with red trim and gold buttons. He walked out of the dressing room, still mulling over his previous issue. He was adjusting the sleeve of his coat and glanced over.

His stomach twisted a bit as he noticed you helping Jon with his coat. Then he looked at you. Holy shit. “Oh. Oh no she’s cute. Oh no I fucked up.” He muttered to himself. Cute didn’t even cover it. You were breathtaking.

“You ok there Thayne?” Jasmine asked, breaking him out of his shock.

“What? Oh yeah.” Then he noticed she was also dressed up. “Oh hey. Nice dress Jazzy.” He said. “Apparently all the girls are out to look great today.” He said. Jasmine cocked her head to the side as Thayne walked off. She glanced over to where he was staring. Her eyes widened in realization as she noticed you standing there.

“Oh he’s totally hooked.” She muttered.

Thayne was walking to his spot and you were passing. He couldn’t let you walk by without saying anything. “Hey Y/N.” He called out. You spun to look at him with slight confusion. He hated that the two of you talking was so strange that it confused you. But it was partially his fault. “You look great.” He said. It was no where near accurate, but anything else would seem weird.

“Oh why thank you.” You dipped into a curtsy making Thayne smile a bit. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“No seriously.” Thayne said. He didn’t even register that you complimented him because he wanted you to know he was serious about how good you looked. “You look…” He paused. He didn’t want to seem weird. “You look beautiful.” He finally settled on.

You cheeks turned pink and you stared at your shoes. “Thanks Thayne.” You muttered. He smiled at you and walked off to his spot. He may have tripped while dating a few times because he was distracted. So after rehearsal he sought out Lin.

“Lin!” He shouted as he saw him. Lin slowed and waited for Thayne. “I have question. How hard is it to change background dancers at this point?”

“Is there a problem between you and your partner for the songs we did today?” Lin, ever the dad of the group, asked.

“Yes. No! It’s more so that I’d rather have a different dance partner.” Thayne rattled.

“Who?” Lin asked. Thayne paused. I mean, Lin wouldn’t tell anyone. Hopefully. Unfortunately he didn’t get a chance to decide before Jasmine walked up, after hearing everything.

“Y/N I bet.” She said while she leaned on Thayne’s shoulder.

“What?” Lin asked with a happy laugh.

Thayne didn’t say anything, just stood there throughly embarrassed. “Oh he was definitely hooked since he saw her in that ball gown.” Jasmine said. She walked off as Anthony called out to her.

“Ok look, yeah it Y/N. I just want to be here partner in one song. Preferably those.” Thayne explained. “Please Lin!” He’d resort to begging if it got him what he wanted. What he really really wanted.

“Look I’m fine with it but you have to talk to Andy about it.” Lin answered.

“Oh ok.” So Thayne took off to find Andy. And he eventually found him. With Tommy. “Hey. Can I uh…can I talk to Andy for a sec?” He awkwardly asked. Tommy merely nodded and walked off.

“What do you need Thayne?” He asked.

“It’s not too hard to switch around a few of us background dancers is it?” Thayne asked.

“In theory, no. Not on these three songs anyway. If we move the guys around then it’s just getting used to having a different partner. The steps are all the same, just in a different spot.” Andy explained.

“So you could do it?” Thayne asked hopefully.

“I supposed.” Andy shrugged. “Why?”

“Well you see…” — Thayne was thrilled his slightly insane plan actually worked. He half expected it to fall flat. But Andy actually moved some dancers around. Meaning he’d be able to dance with you, maybe even hold a conversation. He noticed your eyes widened a fraction when he came to stand in front of you. But you schooled your features and allowed him to lead the way through the waltz. Until Andy called cut. “Rua! Come on!” He chided.

You let out a small laugh. “Oh man. Jon’s in trouble.” You singsonged with fake horror lacing your voice. Thayne felt that ping of jealousy again.

“So you and Rua huh?” He decided to ask. It was pretty obvious, but at least this way he’d know for sure. After all, Anthony was only speculating.

“What? Oh no! We’re friends.” You said hastily.

“Seriously?!” He couldn’t help but happily ask. “I mean, cause you guys are so close so I figured you were together.” He added.

“Nope.” You told him.

“Alright!” Andy called before Thayne could say anything. “From the top!” So you started over. And Thayne couldn’t keep the smile off his face while you danced. Even during a break, he was still smiling. He wandered off to find his bag and water bottle.

“So Thayne.” Jasmine said from behind him. “You weren’t in your usual spot.” She said with slight accusation.

“Uh yeah…I guess Andy wanted me somewhere else.” He hoped she wouldn’t push it, but it was Jasmine after all.

“Oh come on Thayne. This whole switching thing was all you wasn’t it?” She asked. Thayne stayed silent, unfortunately that was more than a good enough answer. “Ask the girl out.” She commanded.

“But she asked me out. Like a few months ago, and I turned her down. Now she avoids me at all costs.” He responded. “Heck, she’s out of here before I’m even packed up.”

Jasmine studied him as he took a large gulp of water. As he screwed the cap on she took it from his hands. She stuffed all of his things back in his bag. “There, now you’re packed early.”

“Ok, now how the hell do I get the chance to talk to her with out Jon there?” He challenged.

She sighed in annoyance, as if this was the simplest thing ever. “Ask him to help you. Better yet, ask him to make up an excuse so you can give Y/N a ride home. Why do guys find it so hard to ask for help?” She muttered.

“That…might just work.” Thayne reasoned. He gave Jasmine a hug. “Thanks Jazzy.”

“Thank me if you actually get together with her.” She told him with a smile.

They all returned to their places, Thayne a bit more distracted this time. He was mulling over his plan. Still, it was hard to focus on anything with you singing right in front of you.

After rehearsal, he abandoned his things to go find Jon. Luckily he caught him while Y/N was still gone. “Jon!” He yelled. The man stopped and turned to see who called his name. His features grew slightly cold when he saw Thayne. “I uh…I need a favor.”

“What?” Jon asked, trying to be as civil as possible.

“I need to you to come up with a reason that you can’t give Y/N a ride home so I can give her a ride.” Thayne explained, hoping Jon would help.

“And why should I?” Jon shot back.

“Please Jon. I need you to do this.” He begged. He was begging a lot lately.

“Why would I do that? Why would I help you with this? You crushed her you know that right?” Jon snapped. Thayne cringed. He didn’t know just how much he hurt you.

“I know. And I feel awful. I want to fix it.” He quickly explained.

“How on earth could you fix this?” Jon asked.

“Look I like her! I want to ask her out. If I get shot down that’d be fair, I’d deserve it. But I have a slight chance, I need to take it.” Thayne explained. Jon cocked his head to the side, calculating. Before he could responded you walked up.

“Hey Jon. Hey there Dance Partner.” You addressed Thayne with a smile.

“Oh hey Y/N.” Thayne responded. He didn’t know if Jon was planning to help or not, but he was practically going to force him. “So Jon here was just telling me that he can’t take you home. He asked me to give you a ride instead.”

“Why can’t he give me a ride?” You specially asked Thayne.

“Uh some kind of appointment. Right, Jon?” He asked hopefully. He really needed Jon to go along with this.

Jon coughed but responded, “Uh yeah. Eye doctor, I completely spaced it before. Sorry.”

“So you’re gonna give me a ride home?” You asked Thayne.

“Yep!” And honestly, he couldn’t keep from smiling if he tried. So far so good. “Just let me change and grab my stuff.” He walked off calmly but practically sprinted to the dressing room as soon as he was out of sight. He took off his costume as quickly as he could without damaging it. He went to find his stuff but passed Jasmine on the way. “Jazzy!” He called. He ran over and hugged her once more. “You’re genius. Thanks again!”