amrev_intrigues | Private Storyline 9

Private Storyline 9

Three days after their liaison in the woods, Timothy Edwards visits camp. He comes with some excuse--ministering to the men, and as famous as he is, he is not turned away. Of course, he must be there to see Burr. To seek him out after months of letters not adequately returned. And the winter location of the army is no secret.

He is given quarter nearby, and he makes sure to rub elbows with the officers, inserting himself into affairs in a manner that must, to anyone else, seem unobtrusive. But Burr knows him too well to read it as anything else--elbowing in, showing Aaron that he isn't free, even here. Not much time to be alone with him, with all the work, and little Theo, but he finds the time.

When Hamilton must leave for a meeting just before breakfast, and Burr is rocking Theo to sleep, he slips into their chamber. Burr thinks at first he is Laurens, so does not rise, until the voice startles him.

"You would think I were a stranger," Edwards says, smiling. Burr jumps. Theo startles, crying. "For all my nephew greets me. Do I not have leave to meet my granddaughter, whom I have read so much about?"

"Of course not uncle," Burr says, but he makes no move to hand her over, fussing at her as she cries. "It is just that I am terribly busy here, and I was not sure you would want to see her."

"Why ever wouldn't I? It is the Christian thing to do, is it not?" follows Burr about the room until he is cornered, and Burr can do nothing but hold Theo close and Edwards pulls at the blanket, gazes at her scrunched face. "I should say she looks like her father, but I understand there is some confusion regarding the matter."

"Uncle--" Burr protests, face hot. "There is no confusion, I--" swallows, stops. Feels like a child, so quickly. "You read about the affair from Paine's pen, did you not? It was all true, what he wrote."

"Mr. Paine has the habit of exaggerating, as we both know. Don't play dumb, boy. He would worship America sooner than god, and would hide sin in the interest of patriotism. I raised you better." A little hiss, leaning in close, and Burr turns, shielding Theo around the curve of his shoulder.

"What's done is done. I am married now--does that not please you?"

"No, I am not pleased by you parading this matter, our family's shame, in front of everyone to satisfy your petty pride. I shall not hold the girl accountable, as she is a victim in this, but you have shown yourself to lack any shred of common sense or decency."

"So what? Is that why you've come, to take me away?" A little mocking laugh, and Edwards' face darkens. He won't hit Burr here, with a child. But if he did it would be no large matter. He would be within his rights to.

"An Omega at war," he scoffs. "It was my fault really. To let you come here with no way to defend yourself against lust and greed."

"You have no say in the matter. I am my own man, and I have a family, and you would do your best to put us from your mind."

"We cannot all dismiss notions of duty. I took you on as my charge, raised you at great cost to myself, when I had already so many children to look after. Educated you, when others would not have, clothed you. Allowed you to range outside the home, when clearly I should not have. Why do you take pleasure in hurting our family? Have we not done enough for you?"

Theo lets out another wail, louder this time. Burr cannot slip around Edwards as he grows louder, and his heart is pounding, as he shrinks into the corner. Always so small, then and now. And if Edwards did decide to punish Aaron, one of the old beatings, that left him sore and blackened for days, he would not be able to protect Theo.

Edwards raises a hand, and Burr flinches back hard, knocks his head on the wall and nearly goes tumbling. Edwards grabs his arm, wrenches him back up, forward, enough that his muscles burn.

"Keep your feet, boy. They have no use for cowards in war."

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Hamilton sighs. He knows full well there is no being rid of these men until they are fully gone. Burr's naivete strikes again.

"Love," says Hamilton, "dear, darling, you have a mind of surpassing quality, and why you, at times, fail entirely to engage it is beyond me." It is a little exasperated, though terribly fond. "He has been humiliated in front of two guards, the commander of the Continental forces, someone he believes to belong to him, and a bastard whoreson -- his object has not been attained -- and he must leave with his tail tucked, when he expected to resume his control over you. Have there been similar incidents before? What did he do then?"

Yes, similar instances, when Burr has run away, or done something humiliating. Like expressing a contrary opinion before one of Edward's fellows. Yet at the end he had attained his goal, gotten Burr back, and still--

"He would beat me like a sack," Burr says, and his grip tightens on Theodosia, and he lifts her up, leans her against his chest, while his other hand holds the cold rag to his eye. "Or he would shut me up in the cellar for a day or two, or make me kneel for hours in the prayer room." But usually some combination of those things together.

Yet he doesn't see what there is to be done. If the man has his sights set on Burr, nothing can be done but rebuke him. And it is likely he will stew, will ignore Burr and wait for him to come crawling back in shame, and yet--he hadn't done that, when Burr ran away. Had boarded a ship after him, threatened to drag him down from the mast and let the sailors have a turn thrashing him.

"I don't see what there is to be done. We have no recourse, until he does something truly drastic. He is very respected, Hamilton. He is the son of the most influential theologian who ever set foot in the colonies."

Hamilton thinks, privately, that he should have killed the man. Or should find a way to do it now. He can't be particularly far away -- and yet, a frantic search and a frantic gunshot will just mean he hangs for murder.

"A high position means a long fall," says Hamilton, ominously. "I agree that we have no power to act overtly against him, but neither does he have the power to act overtly against yourself and Theo." He swoops in and kisses her on the crown of the head, and she shrieks happily, flailing a hand in his direction. This prompts him to do it again, and she squirms in joy. It is astonishing, how she is unable to contain any aspect of her emotions. "The marriage is legal, the license was proper, and we had publication. There was no fraudulent inducement or factum. Nor do we need to worry for subversion of anyone close to us, and kidnapping. Laurens and Lafayette would surely die for her, provided they didn't make everyone else die for trying to take her first."

"Ah, so you call me naive, and yet you agree there is nothing yet to be done?" Teasing, smacking Hamilton in the face with the now wet rag.

"I think Lafayette should only be complicit because he wants a chance to be near dear Theo. He would steal her I suspect, if he were given the chance." Tickles Theo's sides just to hear her laugh, then picks her up beneath the arm pits and swings her back and forth, before Alexander.

Finds himself giggling as she makes those delightful sounds, for all it pulls at his face. A sweet hurt, when he sees the joy and unrestrained love there in Hamilton.

"There is no question you are her father," Burr smiles. "All you would have to do is bring her before a court of law and make one of your faces at her, and her peals of laughter would be evidence enough." A bubbling in his chest, an excitement and happiness and love that threatens to choke him. When did he start loving her so much? So desperately? Picks her up and blows on her stomach.

"There may be nothing to be done, but we will have to, eventually," Hamilton tells him, fighting for seriousness in the face of such a lovely sight.

Burr may not be totally sensible of the compliment he pays Hamilton, with what he says next, but Hamilton is. He draws no attention to it, however, as such effusions of sentiment are moments he chooses to treasure.

"Ah, but what if," and he rubs his nose on Theo's, "a reasoned jurist could conclude that my countenance is extremely amusing, as a matter of law?"

"Then I am sure you will have great difficulty finding and respectable profession. Any judge would laugh you out of court, though I suppose as an army man you would continue to have used. You might show your face on the battlefield and distract the whole of the British army in such a way. Of course, you would not need any profession, as I could support you well enough, and keep you around as a trophy."

Moves into Hamilton's lap then, so that he can press their faces together. Theo on his chest, laying again Hamilton sideways. "You might find yourself having difficulty in more serious matters, however. How are you to seduce me to bed if the sight of you is singularly amusing?"

Edited 2022-05-28 21:29 (UTC)

"I thought omegas liked to find an alpha who could make them laugh," says Hamilton, faux-injured. "Are you saying this was no more than fiction?"

He kisses the tip of Burr's nose, and then his lips, carefully, gently.

"Though," he notes, "if having you in bed is my object, it seems you've done all the work for me." He encircles both of them in his arms. Precious, precious things.

A sigh; he releases some of the fitful anger and fear that has preoccupied him for days now. "For you, I would be a trophy."

"You are the one who brought me to this bed, Alexander. And I think it more and more likely that I will end up being your trophy, if you intend to have as many children as you tease about."

And he lets out a sigh then too, melts against him. He had hoped neither of them would have to deal with Edwards, and yet it seems more and more obvious the issue of the inheritance will cause them undue troubles.

"Thank you, for interposing yourself between us. That you threw him at all was impressive, for one so small. I suppose we really must deal with this inheritance issue sooner than later."

"Oh," says Hamilton, "did I throw him?" He honestly sounds a little surprised. "I thought more that I shoved him out of the way." He strokes Burr's hair, scratches a little at his scalp. "He doesn't weigh so much as a British gun, anyhow."

He makes a little hmm sound.

"Perhaps we can request leave. If the Montgomery family mounts a challenge to the codicil, the court will set a date and send you summons, and then we can respond."

"There isn't a better time, while we are at quarters, and stationary," Burr says, though he had initially insisted on remaining with the army. This is only to be a temporary leave, though. They can make it work, provided Washington does not need them overmuch.

"It was not so long ago you were overwhelmed by what was needed from you. Do you believe Washington could spare you? Us both?"

"It's too dangerous to travel in these temperatures," Hamilton disagrees. "If an unexpected snowstorm caught us out, we could all three freeze to death -- and Theo is the most vulnerable," he adds, just for the extra gut-punch. "We have to wait until thaw, at least. Besides, if they delayed proceedings for any reason, we would then be bound to stay, or potentially forfeit the claim." Better to have the court set the date and then bring them.

"I didn't mean straight away, but when the weather starts to turn, we might be able to handle the matter before the army breaks quarter here. We traveled through worse, when she was only a newborn. And when I was nearly bursting with her we braved that storm. If it were only me I should not worry for it--but you're right, we can't risk her. She's so delicate Hamilton. I can only think what might happen, if I were to take a tumble. If Edwards had punched me when I was holding her--that's what you walked in on, that day. I flinched back from him and nearly toppled. I could have crushed her, and then he started shaking us, and--"

Well, it is good that Hamilton walked in when he had.

"I would have defended you there," Hamilton says -- "Why did you protect him? It caused you such misery, and I was worried sick, I thought he would try to kidnap Theo, and so I couldn't spare an instant away from her side, or I would have pressed you further. He is not worth your protection, your esteem, or even filial loyalty -- and you are strong, now. You are not just my husband, you are a soldier in your own right. You can defend yourself against him." He is passionate, bursting with it. "And you know, don't you, that if you resort to defending yourself, I will be by your side, whatever consequences come?"

"I don't know," he says, because he doesn't. His daughter had been in danger and he would not have stuck back. Would have prostrated himself before Edwards, taken every punch and done only what he could to curl his body around Theo. "I don't know. It is to my shame." Clutches on with the hand not wrapped around her to the lapel of Hamilton's jacket, pushes further against him, though already there is no space between them.

"I struck him back once when I was a boy, when he was beating Sally, but it only made it worse. Not for me, though I did receive a sound thrashing, but for her as well. I should never have thought to overpower him, until--" Well, until never. Until now. After Quebec, perhaps. But it hadn't been a concern with Montygomery. For all Edwards insulted the man in the heat of their argument, he thinks the two should have liked one another. If they had managed to be married before his pregnancy became apparent, and if Montgomery had not learned how Edwards treated Burr.

"He has you trained," says Hamilton, softly. He sort of curls himself protectively around Burr, tightening his embrace. If Burr is a sun-flower, straining towards him, then he will cast his sun's warmth and light without restraint.

"And now, striking you is not so easy," Hamilton points out. "He knows you have a faithful guardian, and that, when others become involved, they support the right of an alpha husband over that of a childhood guardian -- as is legally proper. So what does he do when he can no longer resort to fist?"

He feels a sinking, a twist in the pit of his chest.

"I think we should find Mr. Paine," he says, "and ask for a publication or two, perhaps ostensibly to strike back at the British mockery about you."

"A faithful guardian," Burr echoes thoughtfully, fingertips playing at the skin of Hamilton's face. Feeling, memorizing what is already memorized.

"To what end?" Burr asks. "You seek in this way to legitimize us more? I should think Paine's pen tired of little familial drama, yet the man is worse than a tittering maid...a very good friend to us, still," he adds, after a moment.

"What do you fear, exactly?" What does he think Edwards can do to them, without the law on his side? Simply stir up trouble?

"If I were him," says Hamilton, "I would begin by attacking the foundation of the marriage. This is what he did, by attempting to persuade you to leave and repudiate me. Presumably his next tactic would be to try and subvert me, by bribery or threat; this he may not feel would be effective, given my response to his violence towards you. So, then, there would be grounds to legally attack the marriage -- some of which he has already implied. If you were not competent to engage in such a contract at the time it was made, then it could be nullified by the relevant court, and he seems to have already asserted that you are unfit."

He is calm and blunt as he goes through the tactics. They enrage him, and they are horrifying slights against Burr, but they must discuss the possibilities.

"I believe setting a foundation of your competence may be best. Clearly, fact and law are on our side. However, I do not doubt Mr. Edwards' ability to find a judge who might be on his."

"And I do not doubt a court's ability to prove the incompetence of an omega regardless of their mental state. Yet we have Washington on our side, which seems as good as having a king, so long as the discontent regarding his leadership doesn't go anywhere." And that could be a problem, a large enough one to be their undoing, in the future. If they were not careful.

"You could simply kill him," Burr says, "and save us a good deal of trouble. How exactly does Mr Paine settle this foundation! What Edwards says is true: my very simply being here with little Theo would be enough to establish my incompetence in some courts. There are letters I've received, accounts of what some say, upon reading the news. About how sordid it is, to have me or a child here. Small mumblings of outrage, and other things--that the continental army is in such shape it must depend on babies and omegas to fight its wars."

Hamilton -- wisely or unwisely -- skips any response to the remark about murder.

"We have other omegas in the army," Hamilton points out. "Just recently, one approached me to find a safe space for a heat. And I think Mr. Paine could characterize it as an army so safe, so genteel, so civilized, that a babe can be safe in its midst. They do so love to characterize us as savages."

He sighs, kissing Burr's temple. "Perhaps I am blinded, but I don't think it sordid. I think you foolishly brave."

Theo has begun to fuss a little bit, not hungry, he thinks, just tired. It's about time she went back to sleep, so Hamilton does his best to summon that protective scent, over both of them.

"Oh, perhaps you are getting a little better at controlling your scent," Burr says, as he sighs as relaxes against him. Theo looks so sweet and precious, cuddling against him to sleep, and if they are luckily she will be out for a few hours, at least.

"I'm sure Washington didn't mean us to retire for the rest of the day. We should return to work, but I admit I am very comfortable here. You make the most inviting cushion." Another little sigh, different from the first.

"I don't think it wise to leave me or the alone, especially not here in our cabin, until we know Edwards has departed."

"I have fewer sharp edges than the none-so-tender straw," murmurs Hamilton, into Burr's hair. "Let's quiet and let her calm, and then perhaps we can take a moment?" And there is unmistakable invitation in that last question.

"A moment for what?" Burr whispers, even as he leans forward and connects their lips--a slow kiss, licking inward, and wrapping his hands around the back of Hamilton's head to keep him from pulling back. He could use this, now. This small moment of affection.

Pulls away and allows Theo to calm, head on his heart.

"It won't be so long till she is too old for this," Burr mutters, stroking over her head. "I suppose we are lucky in having so many close by who are willing to watch her."

"It will be a while yet," says Hamilton. "And I have great faith in our powers of innovation and contrivance, should we desire intimacy."

It isn't long before she's starting to drool, mouth open, fast asleep. They usually have her in a little basket when she does, near but not too close by the fire. Hamilton gingerly extracts himself from under Burr and fetches it, settling the blanket inside.

"Make sure she's enough to keep her warm--don't smother her," Burr fusses, but when Hamilton is back in range of the bed he is something like an octopus, wrapping around Hamilton and rolling them onto the mattress, though he is quite disappointed to find that kissing too aggressively renews the pain in his face.

So instead he takes pleasure in working around Hamilton's jaw, sucking and kissing and nipping. No need to avoid marks, as they once had to, and he takes great pleasure in leaving these small evidences on his body.

"How do you want me?" He asks, when he pulls away with a gasp, fluttering his eyelashes, doing his best to look pretty.

"Every way," Hamilton murmurs, "always." Hamilton rolls Burr beneath him, and nudges under his chin to his gland, where he bites a bit more firmly, possessively. His -- his. Burr doesn't belong to his uncle. Burr belongs to him. "I want to lick out your cunt. I want you to forget today, this week, for pleasure."

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