"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"John Laurens, we will NOT give Philip a turtle for his third birthday!"

"Y/N Hamilton, what do you mean, WE? I am giving it to Philip, not YOU."

"I say WE, because you and I are stuck together until my back gets better!"

"Well, jokes on you, because I already got the turtle!"

"John!"

Y/N let out an annoyed groan and buried her face in her hands. John only grinned innocently at her while he then got up and ducked to get something out from under the bed. A small cage, and in it was the turtle.

"Isn't it cute? I called it Mr Turtle," John proudly announced, before his smile fell and he went into thought "But wait, shouldn't Philip name it if it's going to be his...?"

"Yes, John, that is usually how it works. But you can't possibly give a three year old child a turtle!", Y/N sighed in frustration and fell back onto the bed, laying an arm over her eyes. Sometimes she wondered how this South Carolinian soldier could be such a child.

Y/N tensed when she suddenly felt pressure on her stomach. When that pressure seemed to move up, she realized that John must've placed the turtle on her stomach.

Slowly she dropped her arm and looked down to watch the turtle as it slowly crawled up to her face. Then she turned her gaze to John, who watched his turtle with an excited grin, his brown eyes glowing in delight.

Y/N found herself smiling a little. Never before had she seen John as happy as he was now. And all because of a turtle.

Carefully, Y/N then picked up the turtle and pushed herself up into a sitting position, before placing Mr Turtle in her lap and beckoning for John to sit beside her. John immediately obeyed and sat down, his eyes never leaving Mr Turtle.

Y/N studied John's facial features as he stared at his turtle. The way his eyes lit up whenever Mr Turtle seemed to do something he deemed adorable. The hundreds of freckles that adorned his face. The smile on his lips that seemed to grow bigger with every second passing.

"Y/N, just look at him, isn't he precious?", John asked, his eyes not leaving Mr Turtle, as he then began to crawl over into John's lap.

When John seemed to notice that Y/N didn't look at Mr Turtle, the freckled soldier looked up, only to find her staring at him. Y/N needed a moment to realize that John caught her staring, before she abruptly turned her attention down to Mr Turtle, who now laid in John's lap for a moment, before deciding to crawl back to Y/N.

Y/N watched Mr Turtle, a blush creeping up her neck and covering her ears. 

Now it was John's turn to stare at Y/N. He found her blush adorable. It suited her, as she was usually so tough and harsh, it was a rare sight and he wanted to enjoy every moment he got to witness it.

He smiled softly at the small, barely noticeable dimples that formed when Y/N smiled. She didn't even have to show the brightest of smiles to reveal those dimples. And then the way her blue eyes would begin to shine whenever she would smile. 

John felt his heart skip a beat when Y/N giggled at something that Mr Turtle did, which he didn't see. What was this? He didn't know.

"I think we should ask Alex and Eliza if they think that this is a good idea," Y/N softly spoke up after some more minutes of silence, which she had spent staring at Mr Turtle and John staring at her.

"Yeah," John only whispered, his eyes. not leaving Y/N.

Y/N turned her head to the freckled male beside her and watched him for a moment in silence, before she asked "Could you take Mr Turtle off of my lap? I can't get up or walk with him when I need to hold onto you."

John quickly nodded and took Mr Turtle from her lap and set him back in his cage. John had made Mr Turtle's cage extra cozy with a tiny blanket and tiny pillows as well as of course a bowl with food and something to drink.

John then took Y/N's hands and gently pulled her up to her feet, slowly, careful not to hurt her. He knew that she was still in pain from time to time. He knew she didn't want him to know but he knew anyways.

Y/N breathed in and out deeply, getting used to the pain for a couple of seconds as she now stood again, before concentrating on John before her. Looking up at him, she found him staring at her with worry in his eyes.

"John, I'm fine," Y/N said softly and smiled at him, to which John replied "I know that there are moment's when you are in pain, you can't hide it from me." "What do you mean?", Y/N asked, as if to imply she had no clue of what he was talking about.

"I know that your back still hurts. It worries me and it scares me. It's been years now ever since that happened and your back still hasn't gotten better. The only progress you make is being able to walk for a few meters and then breaking down again because your legs can't carry you," John said.

"It will go away, eventually," Y/N spoke and brushed a strand of John's loose locks behind his ear, before she rested her hand on his cheek. She smiled a little as she felt John lean into her hand.

"We've been together like this for a long time now, so that gives me all the reason to take care of you and to worry about you," John quietly spoke up and glanced at Y/N with something beside worry in his eyes, though Y/N couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

Y/N chuckled softly and smiled at him "Don't worry about me, okay? Worry doesn't suit you."

In protest, John now pouted. Y/N giggled at his reaction and said "Oh come on, John, wipe that frown off your face for me, would you?" But John wouldn't budge. And so Y/N got to her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.

John was surely surprised by that action, that was written all over his face when Y/N pulled back and giggled at him. Slowly, his surprised look faded and slowly Y/N's laughter died down.

In the blink of an eye John had his lips pressed against Y/N's again, soft and tender, but when she even motioned to kiss back, the kiss became more passionate, more loving, more filled with lust.

Carefully, slowly, John set Y/N back down onto the bed again and she let him.

What a fitting coincidence that Alexander and Eliza had taken Philip out to visit his aunts.