- Hercules -

Staying home with Laf wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Sure, it was weird to not go out or leave the apartment, but I had his company and that was enough for me.

We passed a lot of time watching movies and starting new TV shows. He taught me how to cook some traditional French recipes with our freshly delivered groceries, and we invited Alex and John over to hang out and keep us company. Overall, this whole thing didn't seem so bad.

As much as it was fine for me, I knew that Laf was having a difficult time with everything. He was awake constantly, similar to how I was sleepless while he was in King's custody. I woke up to find him gone from next to me, pacing around the living room, his phone in his hand. He jumped and was startled at any odd noises and practically dove for a phone whenever it rang, desperately hoping it was the police station calling about King.

I felt bad for him. I couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of stress and fear he's facing right now. I know that I made the right choice by telling him that we could stay in and not go anywhere.

Today, we had decided to take a break from our movie and TV marathons and read some books. The past few days were so filled with watching a screen that we both agreed that our brains were probably melting. We had the idea to have Alex and John stop at the library for us and get Laf's favorite book and mine. We were going to swap so that we could both experience each other's favorite.

So here we were, sitting on the couch in my living room with him curled on one side and me stretched across the other, our phones on the coffee table in front of us along with some snacks and of course, more books for later on. I was just about to start Chapter 7 of my book when my phone suddenly began to ring.

I jumped a little, almost losing my spot in the book as I scrambled for my phone, knowing that the longer it took me to answer, the more stress Laf had.

"Hello?" I said, not checking who had called before answering and greeting them.

"Hello, is this Hercules Mulligan or um... Mar-keys of Lafayette?" A woman asked, obviously very confused by Laf's excessively long full name and pronunciation.

"Yes, this is Hercules Mulligan speaking. May I ask who is calling?" I said. Once I said my name, Laf perked up a little more, and I couldn't help but hope that it was the police station the way he was hoping it was too.

"This is the Chatham Police Department. We have an update on the status of your case." She told me. I felt my heart leap in my chest and I looked to Laf before putting my phone on speaker.

"What's the update?" I asked. He glanced up to me and we waited for her answer.

"The suspect, Mister George King, from New York, is now in police custody. He is currently being questioned and they will call you in a few days to have you come in. They recommend you start searching for a lawyer for this court case, but they think it'll be a breeze for you guys." She said. Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly what we needed to hear. I saw a small smile begin to creep across Laf's face, and more than anything, I wanted to kiss him.

"That's great news, thank you so much. Have a great day." I told her before hanging up and tossing my phone onto the couch.

"Oh my God." Laf said, giggling a little bit.

"Oh my God!" I said, running my hands across my head with a smile.

"They got him, you're safe now. They got him." I said as Laf came closer to me. I held my arms out, allowing him to fall into them. I kissed the top of his head and he began to speak.

"I can't believe it. I don't have to worry anymore, we can go out! They found him, and we can win this." He said, sitting up a little bit.

"We're totally gonna win this. We've got you, Sam, and Alex and John could maybe be considered witnesses, King ran from the cops so they know he knows he messed up. There's no shot he can get away with this." I told him.

"Let's go celebrate." Laf said, somewhat unexpectedly. He was smiling so brightly, I knew I couldn't say no.

"You really want to?" I asked, just to be sure. He nodded.

"Yes, mon cher. Let's get Alex and John and go do something fun. I know how badly you want to stop sitting around here." He said.

"No, no, it's okay. I don't want you to force yourself to go out just because I want to leave. We can go out but only if you really do want to, okay?" I told him. He shook his head.

"I'm not forcing myself to leave, I want to. I want to go out with our friends and get food and get a little drunk at an overpriced, crowded bar. I want to live a little bit, do you understand what I mean?" He said. His eyes were so bright and excited. How could I ever say no to that?

"Alright. I'll give them a call. I'm sure they'll be up to it. Who doesn't like getting a little drunk on a Friday night, huh?" I said, laughing a little. He smiled and thanked me gleefully, stopping for a moment to give me a kiss, which I gladly accepted.

John answered just phone right away, the way he always does. That's what we all love about John - he never fails to answer and always wants to help. He'll drop whatever he's doing to help out a friend. Him and Alex are both like that. They've been so great during our little safety quarantine.

"Hey, Herc. What's up, do you guys need anything?" He asked right away. I could hear Alex in the background, talking about something.

"Sort of. We got some really good news today, King is in police custody." I began. John must've put the phone on speaker because him and Alex both began speaking at the same time, before they both laughed and paused, and then spoke again at the same time.

"That's so great!" John said, as Alex said essentially the same thing.

"I know, we're super happy about it. So we wanted to celebrate tonight by, Laf, you tell them." I said, letting him speak.

"Wanna go get some food and get a little drunk somewhere? Somewhere as in, not Herc's apartment?" He asked with a small laugh. Alex and John laughed too before Alex answered.

"I'm totally down for that. Let us know the details and we'll be there!"

We said our goodbyes and I texted Alex and John the details before we got up to get ready to go.

Before we knew it, we were crammed in a booth at a Mexican restaurant down the street with Alex and John across from us, scanning the menu. We had ordered margaritas, of course, and were picking at some chips and salsa while we waited for the waiter to come back for our entree orders.

Laf looked so bright, so alive. He was so animated and joyous as he caught up with Alex and John for probably the third time this week, telling them stories about what we'd been up to and the shows we'd been watching and all our kitchen mishaps.

I felt so much - wait - was this love? I could feel my heart and my stomach practically overflowing with butterflies, such a warm feeling inside me every time I looked at him and listened to him speak and hearing his laugh, oh, his laugh. It was music to my ears.

So in that Mexican restaurant down the street from the apartment we'd been holed up in for over a week, I pondered silently if this was love I was feeling.

I felt a connection so strongly to him, as if we'd met in another life somewhere. I knew it was fast, but we'd been through a lot together so far. He got kidnapped and I saved him, for God's sake.

Throughout our night, over chips and salsa, tacos and enchiladas, celebration shots and beers, I kept looking back to him and feeling this same feeling. I know him, we're connected.

His drunken kiss on my cheek at the end of the night and his confirmation of my mutual feeling, his little slurred "I love you" as we tumbled onto my mattress in exhaustion, was what sealed the deal.

Whether we were connected in another life or not, whether we had an invisible string tied to both his finger and mine, I knew for sure that Lafayette was undeniably my soulmate.

And I was desperately in love with him.

a/n: awww love
i feel like this isn't my best chapter but that's what happens when you have depression and therefore no motivation :)