Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Alex stared at the screen with little interest as Seabury droned on for a new scheme for the company. After his own fairly successful speech (if he did say so himself), Alexander didn’t see the need for anybody else to speak. Alas, they lived in a democratic society, which meant everyone had the right to speak, even if they spouted nothing but stupidity. He felt a nudge to his shoulder and looked down to see Jefferson subtly sliding a purple sticky note towards him. Curiously, he snatched it quickly and pulled it to his lap so he could read it in secret. “God, I would pick your droning on’s more than this halfwit. At least what you have to say is somewhat intelligent” was written in the Southerner’s neat scrawl.

Alex chuckled despite himself and wrote: “Puh-lease, what I have to say makes far more sense than anything you could come up with. But I have to agree; anything Seabury says is jackshit.” Alex paused, contemplating for a moment. “Funny that, we actually agree on something… For once.” He folded his own sticky note, a light green shade, and slid it back to the man sitting next to him. It had become something of a habit between the two men.

The note passing had started a couple months ago, when Washington had issued a new rule stating that no one could speak until all speeches had been presented. Of course, this wasn’t a problem for anyone, except Hamilton and Jefferson, who would often debate and argue halfway through each other's speeches, and, in some rare instances, argue in between others people's speeches. Jefferson was the one who started the note system, first writing a detailed description of everything hamilton had done incorrectly. Alex was impressed, Thomas had managed to fit it on only three sticky notes. Alex would often write a witty retort and at least 50 reasons why he was in fact right, and Jefferson was plain wrong. The two men were rather discreet about it, and if anybody noticed, no one commented on it, preferring the private banter over the obnoxious screaming that halted a meeting in its tracks.

Jefferson slid his own signature purple sticky-note across. “Well, you would agree with me a lot more if you didn’t let your pride get in the way of correctness and truth.”

Alex looked up at Jefferson pointedly, raising an eyebrow incredulously, conveying “Seriously? ‘Correctness and truth’?” as if the two had telekinesis powers. He wrote back, “I could say the same about you.”

A distasteful clearing of the throat interrupted the two men, Alex looked up sheepishly to find Samuel Seabury glaring down at him and Thomas stifling a laugh. “What could possibly be more interesting at your crotch, than my presentation, Hamilton?”

Alex bit his lip in a silent apology as a few chuckles emanated around the room. Alex was about to retort but upon seeing Washington’s exasperated face, decided against it. Silently he motioned for the man to continue. Seabury returned to his presentation, barely passing a glance to Hamilton, who in turn used the opportunity to jot down “You owe me” to the note before sliding it towards Jefferson. How dare the man distract him? Alex ignored him for the rest of the meeting.

The thing about Jefferson was, the man was infuriating. If he had just stayed an arsehole who took to yelling at Hamilton as a pastime, then everything would still make sense. But no, Jefferson had to go out of his way to be semi-normal to him, and it had thrown Alex completely off-balance. He groaned to himself as he made his way into his office and opened up a small wooden box, quickly dumping several overbearingly coloured notes into it. He paused as his fingers brushed over the growing collection; why did he keep them?

He knew Jefferson didn’t keep the notes Alex wrote him, he’s seen the familiar green notes in the trash in Jefferson's office. They had no value to him besides a means to pass time, so why did Alex care so much? He shook his head; now wasn’t the time to be contemplating such matters anyway. He closed the box in a huff and pushed it to the back of the top drawer. He’d deal with his confusing feelings later.

The day was supposed to be over after the meeting, and already Alex could see his fellow workmates filing out and signing off, signifying the end of the week as people went home to enjoy their weekends. He supposed he should do the same, but he’d always found the evening was the best time to work; he had no plans anyway. Alex cracked his knuckles and sat back at his desk, drumming his fingers across the mahogany surface as he tried to think of what he was forgetting. Seemingly on cue, a head popped through the open doorway, his wild curls pulled back in a tight ponytail. “Mon ami, we are finished for the day.”

Alex looked up to his friend with a tired smile. “I know Laf, just give me an hour and I’ll be finished.”

Lafayette scowled, walking into the office and falling dramatically on the couch. “I don’t believe you for a second.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “You’re not going to move until I’m finished, are you?”

“Nope,” Lafayette replied smugly, popping the ‘p’ like an entitled teenager.

Alex felt his fingers slow down as he remembered what he needed - his mouth felt dry and his eyelids heavy. “At least go get me a coffee, will you?”

Laf clutched a hand to his heart. “You treat me like a slave boy!”

“Please?” Alex asked again, widening his eyes and forming a pout, attempting the most successful puppy dog expression known to mankind that would put even Kim Possible to shame.

Laf groaned. “Not the puppy eyes…”

Alex only pushed harder, his expression becoming more exaggerated as his muscles began to strain. He relished in the pain it caused his friend, who was visibly cracking in front of him.

“Ugh!” He flailed, his hands in the air. “Fine!” Lafayette stalked out of the office in a half-hearted huff. Alex knew he shouldn’t have used the expression against him, and he loved his friend dearly, but after the eventful meeting and his current musings, he just needed some time to himself. He sighed, leaning back into the chair, willing his mind to think of nothing but work.

He was not successful.

His mind went back to Jefferson. Honestly, he had no idea why he was thinking of the man so much lately. He’d already examined himself and decided that no, he most definitely didn’t like the guy. He was still the pompous, arrogant tool that flaunted himself off as if he owned the building (which technically speaking, he probably did). Whenever Alex thought about Jefferson, it was with unrestrained loathing, an emotion he could not quite pin on anybody else. Something so unique that it simply belonged to Jefferson.

Eliza had chuckled when he had tried to describe it to her, although he still didn’t know why.

He thought back to the notes. Why did he keep them? Why didn’t Jefferson keep them? Was it strange that Alex kept them, or was it strange that the other did not? He could no longer tell where he stood with Jefferson. He didn’t know what value to hold the notes, if they deserved any value at all. It was only so they could find some other form of arguing. Right? But why did they need to argue in the first place? Why were they so desperate for communication?

His thought process was brought to a halt when the loud noise of Heather Chandler's voice filled the room. Alex scurried around his desk, impatiently wishing to answer the call before the Heathers screamed “kicking nerd in the nose”. It was Eliza’s signature ringtone, one she herself had designated, and she almost never called whilst he was at work, unless it was important. Lafayette walked in with two mugs of coffee just as Alex shouted “eureka” and slammed the phone to his ear.

“Alex, hey!” Eliza cried from the phone, and immediately, Alex could hear the apprehension in her voice.

“Hey Betsey, what’s up?”

“Um, are you alone right now?”

Alex looked up and gestured at Laf to place his coffee on the desk, mouthing a silent apology before continuing. “Nah I’m not, Laf’s here with me.”

Eliza chuckled, “Of course he is. You are supposed to off by now, y’know.”

Alex spluttered, “I don’t know what you mean.”

Eliza sighed, her fragile demeanour from earlier returning. “You might as well put me on speaker then. I don’t want to be rude.”

Alex nodded and placed his phone on the desk, pressing the speaker icon. “Righto ‘Liza, you’re on speaker.”

“Bonjour Elizabeth!” Lafayette called from the couch, hugging his coffee mug possessively.

Eliza gave a nervous laugh. “Hey Laf.” She paused for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths. “Look Alex, I’m sorry for springing this on you, especially over the phone, and especially at such short but um, I’m in a bit of a pickle-”

“Say no more, what do you need?” Alex asked immediately. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for the people he loved.

Eliza sighed again. “So, my parents have met a man called John Andre…” She paused again, taking a shuddering breath. “They think it’s a nice idea to set him up with me.”

Lafayette frowned. “You have not yet told them?”

“No,” Eliza answered. “No, they can’t know. Alex you’ve met my dad, you know what he’s like.”

Alex nodded his head sadly, unfortunately for the Schuyler sisters, their father was not very accepting of homosexuality. “Yeah, I do.”

“Yeah, well exactly. They don’t understand why I don’t have a boyfriend yet so they’ve taken matters into their own hands.”

Alex grimaced, not liking where this story was going. “And..?”

“ImayhavetoldthemIwasdatingyou,” Eliza said in a high pitched rush.

It took a moment for Alex to register what Eliza said. Well. He certainly wasn’t expecting that. “You told them we were dating?” he asked, more out of confirmation than anything.

“Um… Yeah.”

Lafayette lost it in giggles. “Oh that is truly entertaining news, ma sœur.”

Eliza let out a huff. “Thanks for the support, Laf.”

“Non, non, I didn’t mean it like that! I just find it amusing that out of all the people you could’ve picked, you chose Alex, the gayest out of us all, to be your pretend boyfriend.”

“No, it makes sense. I mean, we’re incredibly close already.”

“That’s what I was thinking about when I said it,” Eliza added.

“What do you need me to do then to fool your parents?” Alex asked, already on board.

“Wait,” Eliza spoke incredulously. “I don’t need to convince you to help me out or whatever?”

Alex chuckled. “Of course not, I’m always willing to help you out.”

“Alex,” Eliza warned sternly. “I’m asking you to pretend to be in a hetero relationship with your best friend when we ourselves are gay.”

Laf spat out his coffee. “Excuse me? One of his best friends thank you very much!”

Eliza and Alex chuckled. “Again Betsey, what do you need me to do?”

Eliza sighed. “We need to be in a convincing relationship, post stuff on social media, be seen dating and stuff. You know the press will be around.”

Alex too, sighed. Being a Schuyler had many perks, however one of the downsides to being the daughter of a prominent celebrity talk show host was that the press was constantly engaged in you. Especially when the sisters had the same popularity rates and influence as the Kardashian sisters. “Yeah, I know.”

“So no one can know it’s a fake relationship besides us three and my sisters,” Eliza continued.

Both Lafayette and Alex bristled at that; it would mean lying to both John and Hercules, and somehow explaining how two gay people could have feelings for each other. Eliza, sensing his discomfort, continued, “Alex, you don’t have to, I wouldn’t expect you to. This would change your whole life just so I don’t have to deal with snobs coming after me. Really, it’s okay for you to say no.”

And even though Alex knew she genuinely meant that, he would not stand by. “No Eliza, I’ll do it. I love you, okay? I’m more than happy to help.”

Eliza let out a breath of relief. “Seriously?”

Alex nodded determinedly, a hint of a smile on his face. “Deadly.”

Alex could practically hear her grin as she said, “You two should come by my house tomorrow. At like, 8am. The press shouldn’t be lurking then.”

-/-

Alex met up with Eliza early the next day at her house. After knocking once she quickly ushered him inside. She lead him to the lounge room silently where he was met with three sleepy faces. Peggy was curled up against Angelica, mindlessly on her phone, Angelica had a blanket wrapped around herself as she stared blankly into a mug of black coffee, and Lafayette had simply passed out. Obviously, the three were not morning people. Eliza slightly shook Lafayette awake, only for him to groan about a lack of respect toward the French and roll around away from her.

“Okay, so it looks like Laf isn’t fully conscious yet,” Eliza declared after her fruitless attempts at waking him.

“Are any of us?” Peggy asked, her eyes not moving from her phone. Angelica simply nodded in agreement.

Alex sighed, plonking himself down next to Laf, the shift in the couch jerking the other man awake. “We’ve gotta discuss this plan. How are we going to execute it, pull it off, and…” he paused, not really wanting to say it just yet, “...end it.”

Eliza groaned, falling into an adjacent seat. “I shouldn’t have said anything, I should’ve just rolled with it-”

“No!” Angelica snapped, her eyes alight. Apparently a good rant was all that she needed to pull her from her stupor. She downed her coffee quickly before continuing. “Eliza, our parents and their entitlist ways need to be destroyed once and for all. This can show that we don’t need them to form our relationships and we’re independent enough to lead our own lives, goddammit.”

Everyone else was stunned to silence by the eldest sister's semi-rant. “Angelica is right.” Alex continued, “You guys are examples for other people, people look up to you. This will only do good until we persuade your parents that homosexuality is not only okay, but normal.”

Peggy sat up. “So, you’re going to prove to our homophobic parents, that homosexuality is normal, by being in a hetrosexual relationship?” she deadpanned, staring the three of them down.

Eliza groaned, falling on the loveseat beside Alexander, resting her head on his shoulder in despair. “What on earth was I thinking?” Alex patted her head reassuringly.  “All this because I’m pining over some girl.”

“An amazing girl,” Laf countered lazily rolling over and blearily looking over to Eliza and Alex. “amour sans frontières.”

Angelica shot Peggy a look. “Look, just think of the orphanage-"

"Oh god," Eliza groaned, "If dad finds out I'm gay we can kiss funding goodbye."

"Until we get on our feet, we need his money. Those kids are relying on us, Phillip, mini Angelica, Olive, they need us. How do you think revolutions are won?”

Alex gave a pointed look towards Angelica. “Revolutions? Seriously?”

Angelica shrugged. “Revolution, revelation; in this context they’re equally difficult to obtain.”

Eliza moaned in self-pity again and Alex went back to pat her head affectionately, her head shook as she took to mumbling something about how difficult this was just to have her family accept her. Peggy used the opportunity to quickly snap a picture, captioning it as “Love birds” before posting it to Snapchat.

“Peggy…” Angelica began in an accusing tone. “What are you doing?”

“We’re making this relationship legit right? Best place to start is social media.”

Alex groaned, “I don’t even have snapchat. How can I monitor it?”

Peggy squealed. “You finally have to get it! We can finally start that streak!”

Alex sighed, letting his head fall onto Eliza’s for comfort, who was still buried in his shoulder. Peggy took another picture captioning it with “Get a freaking room” before posting it.

Angelica whipped out her own phone, laughing at Peggy’s story. “Oh man, this is golden.”

Peggy sat down. “Now, for the press.”

-/-

Thomas slammed the tabloid on his coffee table at home, on the front it depicted Elizabeth Schuyler and Alexander Fucking Hamilton on the cover passionately making out for the press in front of the Schuyler household. He was livid. Thomas felt his body tingle with storming energy as he paced the bedroom, willing to disperse it somehow. His hands shook in pure unadulterated fury as he struggled to keep a level head, his thoughts a hurricane of why’s and how’s. He felt desolate, his heart clenching with every pace as he took furtive glances toward the offending article. His whole body slowly going numb as his knees gave way and he fell into a crumpled heap on the floor. How dare he...how dare that man string him on for months only to drop him for the admittedly gorgeous Schuyler sister.

How could Thomas amount to that? He knew the Schuyler's personally and knew what a kind, generous soul Eliza was. She was practically an angel, with the wit and looks to match. Raven hair, a pale complexion and an inviting smile; she was the modern, ethnic version of Snow White, fairest of them all, Thomas couldn’t even compare himself to her. He couldn’t amount to her level.

Thomas paused, glancing at the magazine again. He couldn’t be mad, he shouldn’t. Alexander was never his to pine over, the most civil they were, was when they were simply exchanging a couple of notes. Of course it meant nothing more to Alex other than just being polite. Alexander was his enemy at worst and his colleague at best. He had no right to hold an opinion over the man's personal life.

Thomas sighed. No amount of rationalising could soothe his aching heart.

He shot the article a glare as he stalked to his room. Moping was not how he had envisioned his Sunday, but after current events he could really see no other option. He sat on his bed in a huff, wrapping himself up in his collection of blankets and settling into his pile of pillows, essentially creating a nest. He picked up his phone and immediately called James (who had on speed dial), he answered within two rings.

“Hey Thomas,” James greeted cheerfully. “What’s up?”

Thomas laughed bitterly. “You obviously haven’t heard the news then.”

“News?”

“Alexan-” Thomas paused, recovering, he had never been caught saying Alex’s first name out loud. “Hamilton. He’s dating that Schuyler girl.”

James frown was evident in his voice as he spoke. “Who? Angelica?”

Thomas bit his lip. “No, the other one. The pretty one with the black hair.”

“Ah, Eliza.” There was a pause. “Wait? When did this happen?”

“The press found out yesterday apparently. It’s in every news publication today.”

James hummed. “Do you need me to come over?”

“No.” Thomas pouted. “I just needed to hear your voice.”

James only sighed in response. “Thomas…” he spoke cautiously. “Have you made yourself a nest?”

Thomas stopped for a moment, gathering his surroundings he exhaled softly. “Maybe..?”

James breathed in sharply, Thomas could practically see James resting his head on the wall and pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Thomas, I’m coming over okay. I’ll bring soup.”

Thomas just shook his head. “No, I just want ice-cream.”

“Vanilla?”

“What else?”

James hung up and no more than twenty minutes later, had let himself into Thomas’ apartment using his spare key, a tub of vanilla ice-cream in hand. He wandered over to Thomas’ room, only pausing to take a quick glance at the tabloid. Stealthily, he slid it under the front door, so it would be waiting for him to collect it later where he could throw it in the trash. There was no need for that toxicity to be surrounding his best friend right now.

He entered Thomas’ room slowly, blinking his eyes hard so he could adjust to the lack of light in the room. Thomas looked desolate. Dressed in bright purple polka-dot flannelette pyjamas, his hair flattened to one side from where he had been lying down, he was bundled up in a cluster of blankets and pillows, cocooning around him. It made him look small, weak, his doe-eyed expression mirroring the aura of the room perfectly. Thomas looked up at his friend lazily, his alert, inquisitive eyes glassed over as a hand rubbed his tear stricken face.

That’s strange. Since when had Thomas been crying?

Thomas watched James come over slowly, sitting at the foot of the bed, or rather, the cocoon as one physically could no longer see the bed. He handed over the tub and a big dessert spoon. “Vanilla bean.” James smiled, referring to the flavour of the ice-cream.

Thomas visibly somewhat lightened up, taking the tub greedily and beginning to consume the icy contents. James watched his friend for a moment before patting his knee. “Wanna talk about it?”

“No,” Thomas huffed.

James put his head in a hand. “Thomas, you’ve been in love with the guy for months now and-”

Thomas shut him up by shoving the spoon in his mouth. “I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

James licked the spoon clean, before pulling his head back to remove it. “That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t though. You can’t keep your feelings bottled up like this.”

“I certainly can,” Thomas countered. “I’ll become a mormon, and turn it off like a light switch.”

James groaned. “I don’t know where you heard that but that is not a healthy way to deal with emotions.”

“Sure it is.” Thomas shrugged nonchalantly. “Feelings are a curable curse. Just gotta turn it off.”

James bit his lip. “You’re being irrational.”

“Than what the hell am I supposed to do?” Thomas snapped, finally looking up from the ice-cream tub. He grimaced at James’ taken back expression. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.”

James sighed and patted Thomas’ knee in what he hoped was comforting. “Talking about it?”

Thomas rested his head against his nest, exasperated. “All I want to do is cuddle up in my nest, eat ice-cream and watch Once Upon a Time.”

James scrunched up his nose, “As long as it’s not after season 3, the writing really went downhill from there.”

Thomas furrowed his brows. “The Frozen plot was well written. Even though it was a cash grab.”

James raised an eyebrow. “The same plot with resurrected Zelena and the rape-child?”

Thomas paused. “Hmm, true.”

James chuckled. “Season 6 was fun though.”

“Nothing beats that sexual tension like season 1 though,” Thomas chimed, opening his laptop and logging into netflix.

“Sexual tension?”

Thomas rubbed his shoulder against James as the latter man settled into the nest. “Shut up. I like Regina and Emma okay.”

James laughed “Okay” as a random episode began to play.

Chapter Text

Thomas really didn’t want to go into work today, but still, he strolled on in with all the swagger and air of indifference he could muster. Internally, he felt like the human embodiment of death, his heart thrumming wildly as he wandered through the office halls to reach his desk. Ever since that damned magazine he felt as if his own feelings had been exposed, that one glance toward his way would practically scream “I CARE ABOUT ALEXANDER HAMILTON”. On top of that, his eyes were absolutely killing him; it seemed they didn’t want to co-operate with his contact lenses today and he was sure his eyes were flaming red in irritation if his own pain was any indication. He chewed on his lip in a futile attempt to calm his shaking nerves, people barely gave him a passing glance and those who did gave a nod in acknowledgement. No one suspected the storm that was raging inside. So far so good.

He made his way to the break room, hoping beyond all hope that some type of vanilla delicacy would be waiting for him so he could munch on it and wallow in self-pity. There was a suspicious crash as he made his way inside and Thomas felt his breath catch in his throat as he took in the room. Because there Alexander was, wearing an oversized green jumper that swallowed him whole, his hair fallen out and framing his face just right that it gave him the illusion of a halo, and cursing as he was bent down to pick up what Thomas could only assume were shards from a shattered coffee mug. The man was a tantalising sight.

Thomas shook his head to clear his thoughts and adopted his face into a convincing scowl. Hamilton had no right to look like that. None. “What’d ya do now Hamilton?”

The man visibly startled when Thomas spoke, violently whipping round to face him with wide doe eyes and a small pout, and no, no, Alex could not look at Thomas that way. Not at all.

Thomas forced himself to take a steadying breath, waving an air of superiority to deter any notion that he was anything but nonchalant. “You look like a kid who was just caught stealing a biscuit out of the cookie jar.”

Alex seemed to blink into the present, as though removed from a trance. He immediately scowled, collecting the remaining pieces on the bench into his hands. “If you must know, I dropped my mug.”

Thomas scoffed. “Well, that much seems obvious.”

“Y’know, Jefferson, if you have don’t have any reason to talk to me right now, I suggest you don’t,” Hamilton snapped, scooping the destroyed mug in the trash and storming past the taller man. Jefferson stood in the empty break room perplexed, wondering why Hamilton had suddenly lost it at him.

He was no longer hungry.

A head poked into the doorway. “Are you okay, Jefferson?”

Thomas turned to the voice immediately, seeing Angelica Schuyler. “Yeah, no. I’m okay.”

Angelica frowned. “I could’ve sworn I heard a crash…”

Thomas shrugged. “That was Hamilton. Broke his mug.”

Angelica sighed, “Yeah, this weekend has been a bit of a whirlwind for him.”

Thomas scoffed, his heart clenching as he attempted to not let his own pain show. “I’ll say. How long did it take for the press to find out?”

Angelica grimaced, “Yeah, that’s the thing. Alex hasn’t taken too well to all.”

Thomas felt his heart jump to his throat in concern, almost as soon as it occurred, he pushed the feeling back down. “I can only imagine.”

Angelica gave him a curious, but otherwise undecipherable look. “Yeah.” She paused. “I think I might go check up on him.”

Thomas nodded. “That’s probably a good idea.”

Angelica gave a small smile and nodded before turning and walking towards what he could presume was Alex’s office. Thomas slumped into the closest chair in defeat. He had to get his emotions in check. He was letting them run wild and consume his very soul. Every waking, conscious moment he had spent thinking about Alex. He couldn’t allow himself to do that. He couldn’t allow himself to compromise his feelings further. He blinked his eyes, feeling moisture on his cheeks. Since when had he been crying? Thomas scanned the room for a tissue box and ripped a tissue out of the closest compartment available, dabbing his eyes slightly to reduce the puffiness in his face. At least his eyes no longer stung. Small blessings.

Thomas groaned and heaved himself upwards and stalked towards his office. He needed a distraction, something to think about other than Alexander Fucking Hamilton. The hallway was quiet as he walked to the quiet corner that was his office, it seemed everyone had quieted after Hamilton's outburst.  He was one of the lucky few who had his own office in a private room, most of the higher ups did - including Hamilton, Angelica, James, Lafayette, John Adams, and Washington. It was something that made Burr practically green with envy about, but rumour had it that he would soon be sharing with James, something Thomas delighted in teasing his two friends about.  

He fell into the chair at his desk, absentmindedly scanning the office as he tried to cool his racing head. Everything was in its usual spot, the macaroni art of a mammoth next to his desk that his younger sister Elizabeth did a few years ago, the framed photo of Martha on his desk, his mini library of Shakespeare works that he was positive Adams kept stealing from, his growing collection of origami trees which he folded when he was bored, and his prized sleeping glass sheep paperweight - although he would never admit it.

He picked up the sheep and stared at it fondly, it had been a gift from Hamilton last year for secret santa. It hasn’t even been wrapped with only one of Hamilton's signature sticky notes stuck to it hastily. He had it stuck to his monitor, which read; “I saw this and thought of you, it looked like an airhead and so are you”. It was just so like the man, passive aggressive but endearing, especially since Alex had spent the time thinking up the rhyme. Thomas would feign it amused him to see evidence that Alex had thought about him, in reality, it left him flustered.

Thomas’ face screwed up in frustration, this was the exact opposite of what he should be doing. He was pathetic, finding every opportunity to helplessly pine over the Hamilton rather than diving himself into work like he should be doing if he wanted to get anything done. He placed the paperweight in his top drawer, not bearing to look at it whilst his emotions were all over the place. He could deal with heartache, he knew what it was like, he’d gone through it before. Cracking his knuckles and neck, Thomas logged in, ready to immerse himself in whatever needed to be completed.

-/-

Alex paced his office floor, wringing his hands. He’d made a mistake, a terrible unjustifiable mistake. He was a ball of nervous energy, like one snap and he would be overcome with residual stress from the weekend. He’d kept a brave face on Sunday, smiling for the camera and acting as calm as possible as the ravenous press followed himself and Eliza around town. He had an elevated respect for the sisters after enduring last weekend, he had no idea how they could deal with the press on a regular basis and keep a job and stable relationships. It was truly a feat of nature. But Alexander couldn’t deal with this stress, the overwhelming fear he had felt yesterday had seemed to consume him whole. No, he wasn’t cut out for this, and he had no way to tell them. God, how could he do this he-

A soft knock on the door erupted him from his panicking stupor.

Alex jumped at the noise, facing the door and calling, “Come in.” Angelica quickly snuck in and Alex felt himself crumble on the spot. “Angelica,” he breathed; he’d always been able to confide in her.

She instantly noticed his dishevelled state and in two strides, had her arms wrapped around him tightly, slowly leading him to the sofa. “Wanna talk about it?”

Alex shook himself in her shoulder slightly. “God, I don’t even know where to start.”

Angelica sat Alex down and snuggled up next to him, stroking his hair. “What about the mug?”

Alex groaned, “It was my favourite mug!”

Angelica gave him a sympathetic look. “The one that said ‘Gay, Small, and Angry’?”

Alex felt his heart break a bit at the reminder of his mug, it had been rainbow coloured, with the writing in obnoxious black block letters. He scowled. “Yes. That one.”

Angelica stroked his hair as Alex leaned into her side, allowing himself to feel comfortable against her, “And then fucking Jefferson had to show up. Which just made my day a whole lot brighter.”

Angelica hummed but said nothing; Thomas was her friend too after all. After a moments of silence she said, “I think if you gave him the chance Alex, you could be rather good friends with him.”

Alexander snorted, “Not likely.”

“He’s really not that bad. And you know how picky I am about the company I keep.”

“Which is why I don’t understand how you can stand his company.” Alex added bitterly.

“You’re being petulant Alexander.” Angelica teased, “Besides, was Jefferson really the problem?”

Alexander groaned, “He always has to freaking, I dunno, antagonise me.” He whined, “Why?”

Angelica snorted, “It’s not hard. You take his bait every time.”

“That’s because someone has to keep him in line, because no one else darn will.” He huffed.

“Yes but Alex, he isn’t the reason your mug broke, is it?”

Alex sighed, she was right, he knew that. “So,” Angelica began, more softly than earlier, “What happened?”

Her presence sent an element of calm through him, allowing him to gain some fathom of composure. “I guess I was just so overwhelmed and didn’t see what I was doing.” He muttered into her shoulder.

Angelica hummed, “What’s gotten you overwhelmed?”

“All of,” Alex gestured aimlessly in the air “All of this.”

“Jefferson?”

Alex huffed a laugh, “No, this this with Eliza.”

Angelica frowned, “You’re doubting your decision to be in a fake relationship with her? As much as I love her Alexander, you don’t need to feel compelled to-”

Alex huffed, “Not even that, I’m fine with it honestly. It’s just the media attention. It’s been a day and I feel like I’m being strangled!” He buried his head into the crook of her neck, “How do you deal with it?”

“Honestly? It’s just what we’ve grown up with,” Angelica sighed, pulling back slightly so she could look at Alexander's face, “Look Alex, you don’t have to feel obligated to continue this-”

“Of course I have to! Angelica we posed for the goddamn press, breaking it off would be a nightmare for you guys.”

“And this is a nightmare for you right now.” Angelica countered.

Alex bit his lip, his eyes downcast, “I’m not going to let Eliza down. I just need to find a way to deal with it.”

Angelica smiled, she knew there was a reason why she liked him the moment they met. His dedication to her sisters only matched her own, “You’re being incredibly brave Alexander.” She crooned.

Alex laughed, “And to think, moments ago I was thinking of ending it.”

She chuckled slightly,  before remembering the reason she was first looking for Alexander in the first place, “Oh that reminds me, the meeting’s been changed to 9:30.”

Alex groaned, “I swear if I have to listen to Seabury give that hate speech one more time-”

Angelica laughed, “Have some semblance of self-control Alex.” She ruffled his hair before standing to leave. She shot him a grin and walked out.

Alex sat there for a moment feeling rather lost. Whilst he was evidently calmer than earlier, he really didn’t feel any better about the situation. Maybe he should re-evaluate how they approached this ‘relationship’. This was what Angelica was good at, making a few comments, calming him down, then leaving, allowing Alex the time to think things over rationally. Alexander thought over how most relationships were portrayed and shared lately. They could be like a social media couple, giving the press exactly what they wanted the world to see.

Alexander stayed seated like this for just over twenty minutes, pondering to himself about ways he could go about this. It probably would’ve been wise to think about this before the plan was enacted, but alas it was better late than never. He checked the time, eyebrows shooting into his hairline in shock as he realised there was less than ten minutes until the meeting. Frantically he pounced to his desk, rummaging through the drawers to find the necessary documents he would need to smash Seabury to the ground. A good fight yes, that’s what he needed.

And he wouldn’t even have to think of Thomas either.

-/-

Alexander was thinking about Thomas.

Alex had been sitting there in the meeting, mindlessly fiddling with his pen as he tuned out another Lee rant, he really just hadn’t been in the mood to refute it, when the pompous asshole he had elected to not think about, passed him a note on his signature purple sticky note. Alex huffed, he couldn’t be bothered dealing with the man today, which was why he was so surprised when it simply read “are you okay?”

Alex paused for a moment. This was different. This was new. Uncharted territory. They didn’t talk to one another like this. Like they, god forbid, cared for one another. How the hell was he supposed to respond? This note was different than past ones. It was personal, it demonstrated something that had never been present in past notes. It suggested that this note held some sort of value. And now wasn’t that different? Alex chewed on his lip in thought, thinking of the various responses. There was the petulant, “awe you care~ <3” which was safe, made sense to their dynamic. But for some reason, Jefferson’s words sounded sincere and Alex didn’t want to diminish them.

“Hamilton.” He looked up seeing Washington’s eyes on him and Lee having long sat down, “Do you have a response?”

Alex inwardly groaned, he had spent so much effort over thinking the note that he hadn’t realised Lee had sat down, “N-no sir. I do not.”

Washington gave a raised eyebrow but said nothing as he nodded to Angelica to make her rebuttal instead. Alex quickly scribbled down “just a little overwhelmed” on his own sticky note before shoving the thing in Jefferson lap.

He attempted to pay attention to Angelica, truly, he did, but he couldn’t help but mull over the note to Jefferson. Why did he write that? Why was he honest? He mulled it over, hearing various snippets from Angelica “unorthodox” and “inhumane” as he attempted to smile at her encouragingly, all he could feel was a sense of dread, a pit of lead in his stomach at the thought of ‘oh shit, I was honest with Jefferson’.

He practically jumped as he felt a note stick to his trousers. He scanned around the room, grateful of the reckoning presence that was Angelica Schuyler and that all eyes were on her as she tore through each of Lee’s comments. If he had been confused about the last note he was absolutely flabbergasted at this, “That sucks, do you wanna talk about anything?”. What the hell did that mean? None of this made any sense. He was too exhausted to analyse what the man could possibly mean; he was just too surprised to see that he wasn’t tearing Alex through.

He slid his own green sticky note back to Jefferson cautiously, knowing he would regret confiding in him, “Eh, it’s mostly relationship stuff. The media, it’s kinda stressful is all.” He stole a glance at the other man, watching as his brows furrowed slightly as he read the note. He looked… Alex couldn’t place it. Something similar to disdain perhaps? But why would that be it?

Suddenly, another note was forcefully slammed onto his thigh. He winced as a tingling, stinging sensation reverberated on his leg. He picked up the note and almost scoffed aloud, “Oh right. Congratulations by the way.” Even through writing the words sounded clipped, forced. Of course Alex had been wrong, the notes had no real meaning behind them at all. They were just another excuse to pass the time.

Alex sighed writing “Thanks” before passing the note back to him, using the same paper Jefferson had. The man raised an eyebrow at Alex in question, before quickly writing a response on the same paper and handing it back. “Stick to your own paper pip-squeak.”

Alex almost laughed. This was better, this was normal. Banter, this was something he could work with. He pulled out his own sticky note, furiously writing back “You’re right, your sticky notes aren’t worthy of my words”

And when he watched Jefferson read the note, he could’ve sworn he saw the man's eyes sparkle with delight. Or it was his imagination. It was probably just Alexander's imagination. They passed these notes because they couldn’t verbally fight, why would Jefferson take enjoyment out of this? The man hated him. So why didn’t Alex hate him back?

He looked up to find the meeting had been adjourned and people were filing out. Angelica sent him a worried gaze and shot Lafayette a look before leaving the room, following the others. Alex looked around a noticed that Jefferson too had gone. Huh? That was interesting.

An obnoxious clearing of the throat forced Alex to refocus his energy on Lafayette. His friend looked at him with concern, sitting down next to him, “You have seemed rather frazzled today.”

Alex groaned, “Why does everyone feel the need to ask me if I’m alright?”

“Because we love you and are worried about you.” Lafayette took Alex’s hand in his own, “And it is clear that this arrangement has left you stressed.”

Alex grinned, “Actually, I think I’ve thought of a way to fix it.” He paused, “But we’ll need Peggy.”

It was Laf’s turn to groan, “Oh no, this cannot bode well.”

Chapter Text

Alex had ignored all forms of communication and social media since coming out. He giggled, coming out. Oh if only the world knew. So it was really no surprise that upon looking at his phone, he witnessed an influx of text messages and twitter notifications from his various friends and acquaintances. Peggy snatched his phone off of him in an instant, frowning, “Why haven’t you been talking to anyone ‘Lex?”

“Because I didn’t want to deal with this whirlwind just yet.”

Peggy scoffed, “You should’ve seen dad.” She put on a stoic expression, hunching her shoulders and in a mock voice went “I had to find out you were in a relationship from a magazine? Appalling!”

Alex sniggered, “That’s pretty accurate.”

Peggy jumped back into her usual demeanour, “Obviously it is, I’ve had to put up with the man my whole life.”

She sat down next to him, going through the texts, “Oh this is gold, read this.” She shoved the phone to Alex, showing his chat history with John.

Turtlez: Bitch wut

Turtlez: *sent image*

Turtlez: Explain

Turtlez: What in sweet hell has happened?

Turtlez: Why are you guys not gay?

Turtlez: Is this some sort of hell universe I’ve stumbled upon?

Turtlez: Is this the upside down?

Turtlez: dude.

Turtlez: I’m out fam

Turtlez: hmu when life makes sense

Alex groaned, he flicked to his personal chat with hercules.

4Horsez: Lex

4Horsez: wtf have you done now?

4Horsez: why am i reading about you and eliza being in a relationship?

4Horsez: whEN You’Re BOtH fLAmInG GayS?

4Horsez: I’m just,,,

4Horsez: I’m gonna sleep this weird dream away

4Horsez: it’ll all be chill

Even Aaron had sent him a text, which was surprising as he hadn’t been approached by him at the office today.

Hamburrger: I’m not one to judge, but this was rather sudden don’t you think?

Hamburrger: Anyway

Hamburrger: Welcome to the bisexual club.

Hamburrger: We have cookies.

Alex snorted, feeling himself calm down somewhat as he clicked Washington's tab.

Washing-machine: You look very happy Alexander.

Washing-machine: Don’t force anything you’re not ready for

Washing-machine: …Son

Alex almost had the urge to type back “notchason” out of sheer pettiness and habit but decided against it. Peggy stole the phone right out of Alexander's hand, “Now as your manager, I’m going to have access to all your social media m’kay?”

Alex spluttered, “Um what?”

“Alex, you have a nasty habit of never keeping your opinions to yourself.” She deadpanned, “You’re in the public eye now, you need to change course.”

“That’s a violation to my privacy! What about freedom of the press? Freedom of expression?”

Peggy laughed, “Hon, you’re not a news outlet, you just spout news. Well- opinions that is. And I’m not stopping you from expressing yourself, I’m stopping you from damaging yourself.”

Alexander huffed but caved anyway. Surrendering his phone to the youngest Schuyler.

 “Now, if this relationship is going to be predominantly social media based, we’re going to take a lot of pictures in advance-” She looked up from the phone, “And you have to get snapchat.”

“Snapchat is the cancer of social media.” Alex puffed.

Peggy recoiled harshly, as if he had just insulted her newborn, “Um, what was that?” She hissed venomously.

“You heard me.”

Peggy leapt from the couch, sprinting to the other side of the room and planting herself down on the loveseat in the sisters house, a wicked grin plastered on her face.

Alexander felt his blood run cold, “Peggy...?” He asked carefully, as if she were a wild beast he was attempting to tame, “What are you doing?”

Her grin didn’t falter as she began to rapidly type on the phone, “You really should change your passwords Lexi.”

His heart hammered in his chest, he decidedly did not like the sound of that, “What the hell do you mean?”

Peggy smirked up at him, tossing him his phone. Alex scrambled to catch it, his heart plummeting to his stomach as he looked at the little yellow logo with a white ghost, “You didn’t…”

“I certainly did.”

Alex let out an unholy screech as he jumped up to chase Peggy around the room. The exact opposite of a perfect time for Eliza and Lafayette to emerge from the kitchen with a tray of tea and biscuits. Alex and Peggy whizzed around the room, with the later jumping quickly to the side when she almost collided with her older sister, causing her to knock the Frenchman to the side, with an avalanche of shortbread falling to the floor.

The four of them froze, not entirely sure how to react. Alex smirked, letting out a loud laugh over what he classified as a victory, the rest soon followed suit as the previous tension dissipated. After all, laughter is contagious.

Lafayette looked at the fallen shortbread with disdain, “There goes the food.” He mused silently, holding reverence for the treats.

Eliza helped him back on his feet, “We still have the tea.”

Peggy scrunched up her nose, “This entire ordeal is very un-American.”

Alex snorted, “there’s literally only two Americans in the room right now” Lafayette laughed as he went back into the kitchen to get more biscuits, leaving Alex outnumbered.

“Three now.” Angelica sauntered in, after hearing the crash. She stared at the mess on the floor in disregard, “Why is it whenever I walk into a room some form of mess has been made?”

Eliza raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

Angelica raised her hand flippantly as she bent down to pick up the stray pieces of food with Peggy, “Alex broke his mug this morning.”

“Hey, that mess was well and truly clean before you came in looking for me.” He defended, plonking on the couch with a huff.

Eliza gave him a mug of tea as Lafayette emerged, a new tray of shortbread in hand, “You have an endless supply of shortbread yet you say it is un-American.” He smirked, placing the tray on the coffee table.

He was practically ignored as Eliza continued, “The mug you broke wouldn’t happen to be the ‘Gay, Small, and Angry’ one would it?”

Alex bit his lip, staring at the warm liquid in his hands, “Yeah.”

Eliza dropped to his side, wrapping her arms around him, “Oh that sucks Alex.” She whispered.

Peggy pulled out her phone and snapped it, writing “tfw you drop your favourite mug” before posting it, no one in the room realised.

Angelica sat on the loveseat, followed by Lafayette, “So anyway, why are we all here again? Didn’t we discuss the plan yesterday?”

Alex looked up from where he’d rested his head in the crook of Eliza’s neck, “That was before I realised the press were practically bloodthirsty hounds.”

Peggy snorted, “Well that would’ve been a rude awakening.”

“Anyway,” Lafayette continued before another chase commenced, “We think it may be best if the relationship was purely social media based rather than media based.”

Eliza furrowed her brows, “Were we not doing that anyway?”

“Eliza, what I think they mean is, the information the press gets is the same information everyone else gets.” Angelica clarified.

“Not just that,” Alex added, “More like, we take enough photos and stuff that we don’t really need to rely on the press. And they won’t be so hard done by to try and stalk us at our every move.”

“We should get a publication on our side though.” Angelica suggested pulling out her laptop from the coffee table to scroll through different news sites.

Alexander grinned, “The New York Post?”

“Isn’t that just as trashy as Fox news?” Lafayette asked, munching on some shortbread.

Eliza mixed some sugar into her tea, “Everything Rupert Murdoch owns is trash.”

Alexander scowled, “No, Murdoch sold it. It’s not trashy anymore.”

“Huh.” Angelica pulled up their website, “It’s actually pretty legitimate now.”

Peggy nodded, typing away on her phone, “So we bring in The New York Post?”

“Won’t focusing on some celebrity relationship keep up with their trashy reputation though?” Eliza asked, taking a sip of her tea elegantly.

Alex hummed, “Well, as one of Washington’s highest performing lawyers, I’m sure it will have some relevance.”

Peggy snorted, “You think too highly of yourself ‘Lex, no one cares about lawyers.”

“Except when there’s a scandal.” Lafayette added with a grin.

“There won’t be a scandal though, right Alex?” Eliza ascertained.

“Right.” He agreed immediately, “Besides, who else could we do?”

Angelica sighed, “Fine. I’ll call them. There’s probably something dad can do to help their reputation; he is a senator after all.”

Alexander grinned, finally they had a substantial plan.

-/-

Alexander, Angelica, and Eliza sat in a stuffy, overly heated office. The collar to his dress shirt scratched against his neck, and his tie strangled him – or maybe that was just nerves. His knee involuntarily jumped excessively as he attempted to wipe his clammy hands on his pants.

Eliza, sitting on his right, placed a hand on his knee, freezing it in place. He sent her a grateful smile which she returned in earnest. Angelica was busily texting on her phone, barely passing a glance to their surroundings.

The office was stylish to say the least, with glass walls and ivory carpeting. The mahogany desk stretched long with sleek glass covering. There were barely any decorations, a green fern sat in the corner, drooping from lack of water.

Alex focused his gaze on the skyline, the sky was deceptively blue, shouting that today was going to be a good day, with clouds that looked like white fairy floss rolling lazily across. It was a stark contrast to the angry city below, New York always seemed so high-strung. Normally Alexander loved it, a city that was as non-stop as he was, but today it seemed more of a curse than a blessing.

He heard her before he saw her, her red heels clicking against the floor on the way to the office. Peggy jumped up from where she had been leaning against a wall and scurried to the adjacent seat on Alexanders left. Eliza squeezed his knee in comfort and Angelica tucked her phone into her blazer’s pocket.

“Now, when Senator Phillip Schuyler called saying he would endorse our publication if we would partner with you-” Alex turned his head to follow the voice “-well, I just couldn’t believe our luck.” She sung.

Alexander squinted as she walked in, immediately distrusting her. A tall woman waltzed into the room with a grin plastered mechanically on her face. She wore wide rimmed red glasses which matched her painted lips. Her dark hair was thrown into a tight bun on her head making her the very picture of an Important Business Woman™. Her calculating eyes lit up upon contact with Alexander, who in turn, morphed his expression into a blank slate. “Why I don’t believe we’ve met!” She sung, extending her hand, “Alexi Darling, The New York Post.”

Alexander bit his tongue, placing his hand into hers. She gripped it tightly, shaking it vigorously without breaking her stare at him. Her grip tightened around his hand as she cocked her head in a challenge. He almost snorted, she was trying to assert her dominance over him. He pulled his hand from hers with ease, winking as her face momentarily fell.

She stood up straighter, eyeing Alexander carefully before her smile returned, far more artificial then earlier if that were possible. “My, what a grip you have!” she mused passive aggressively.

Alexander almost groaned, this was possibly the last person he wanted to deal with.

Angelica cleared her throat, drawing the reporter’s attention away, “If we could start, that’d be great.”

Alexi grinned, striding to her desk and sitting tall, stretching her arms out over the length of the table. He heard Eliza swallow slightly next to him and he had to admit, the reporter made for an imposing figure. “Where shall we start?”

Peggy coughed up, refusing to hide her glare, “Basically, our father will attempt to give The New York Post a decent reputation – if that’s possible, and in return will give you the information for what will surely be the most engaging relationship in New York.”

Alexi gave a condescending grin, “How old are you dear? I don’t think it is up to you to be making the bargaining.”

Eliza’s grip on Alexanders leg tightened, he could feel her anger radiating off her.

“If you’re going to be uncooperative, I’m sure we can find literally any other news publication,” Angelica snapped.

Alexi visibly paled, “Alright, alright.”

“Right,” Peggy continued, her voice deceptively sweet, “Anyway, we’ll send you images that we post that we believe is appropriate for publication-”

“And we’ll also give you exclusive content from both Alexanders and Eliza’s work,” Angelica added.

Eliza raised an eyebrow, “Would readers really be interested in that?”

Alexi inhaled sharply, “We’re trying to rebrand, gain are more intellectual demographic.”

“So in other words, yes, readers would be interested in that,” Angelica smiled.

“In return,” Peggy voiced, pretending the interruption hadn’t occurred, “you will make the relationship look natural and control the media coverage around the relationship.”

Alexi pursed her lips, nodding slightly, “And you believe our coverage of the relationship will change our branding?”

“It doesn’t matter if it will or won’t, our father’s endorsement will be all you need,” Angelica replied forcefully.

Alexi looked over to Alex, “What about you, your opinion on this?”

Alexander shrugged, “Honestly, I agree with them.”

Alexi pursed her lips, “Alright, fine. I’ll need to talk to my supervisor, but if all goes to plan, you’ve got a deal.”

Alex scanned the office and his gaze focused on the depressing fern in the corner. He could’ve sworn that is had been dying not 5 minutes ago and now, it had seemingly sprung back to life. He smiled softly, that must be a good sign.

-/-

“I’m not getting out of this car,” Alex huffed defiantly, staring at the front door to his apartment complex with disdain.

The drive from The New York Post had been relatively uneventful. Since the four of them were holed up in Angelica’s car, she had elected to drop Alex off home first.

“Alex,” Eliza giggled from the passenger seat, “it’s really not that bad.”

Alexander ripped his eyes away from his front porch to glare daggers at his best friend/girlfriend “Excuse me? John and Hercules are sitting at the door!”

Peggy jumped, pulling Alex down with her, “Careful,” she hissed, “John just looked up”

“Well yeah, an inconspicuous black Mercedes’s is eerily parked on the other side of the road. What did you expect?” Angelica quipped from the driver’s seat.

Eliza shook her head, reaching over to stroke Alexanders hair, “Jesus, you three are paranoid.”

Peggy snapped her head up ungracefully, “There is not a lot that scares me in life-” Angelica snorted, “-but,” Peggy hissed at the interruption, “no one wants to be on those two’s bad side.”

“One word Peggy; Spiders.”

Peggy whacked the eldest sister at the back of the head, “That wasn’t necessary.”

“Children please,” Eliza sighed, “You’re drawing attention to ourselves.”

Sure enough, upon looking up, Alexander saw two of his best friends casually strolling over, a smirk gracing Johns lips.

“Fuck,” Alex breathed, his heart pounding in his chest as he ducked under the window, with Peggy quickly following suit.

Hercules leaned against the car nonchalantly as John tapped the driver’s window.

Angelica sighed, giving her passengers a quick once-over. Eliza retracted her hand from Alex, and Peggy fiddled with one of the blankets, trying to use it to hide them further. Angelica groaned internally, winding down the window.

She perched her glasses at the tip of her nose, “That’s a terrible way to treat glass.”

Johns smirk widened, “Why if it isn’t the Schuyler sisters! I was wondering who would be rich enough to have a reflective tinted Mercedes.”

Hercules poked his head to the side, “What’re you guys doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Angelica retorted.

“Angelica, please,” Eliza whispered next to her. She bit her lip, internally wondering why she surrounded herself with hot-headed individuals.

John gave sly smirk, “Eliza! Long-time no-see. Last I saw you, you were gay.”

Hercules punched John in the shoulder, sending him a warning look, “Play nice.”

John raised an eyebrow, leaning into the window menacingly, “Care to explain?”

Angelica’s face contorted into a grin, she bubbled out with laughter, unable to pull off the “tough-guy” façade any longer. The others were quick to join in.

John leaned against the window frame, heaving, “Damn, what a trip.”

“You over sold it Laurens,” Angelica smirked playfully.

John put a hand to his chest in mock horror, “At least I sold it. You were laughing within 30 seconds.”

“But seriously, what are you guys doing here?” Herc asked, pulling John out of the window so he could peer in.”

Alex groaned, poking his head out from the blanket sheepishly, muffling the sounds of Peggy screaming something similar to “Jesus fucking Christ ‘Lex! Give us away will you?”

John’s evil grin returned, “Oh boy, do we have to talk to you.”

Chapter Text

Thomac-n-cheese: LAF

Thomac-n-cheese: PROS AND CONS OF MAKING PANCAKES RN

 

Glitterfrog: I

Glitterfrog: um

Glitterfrog: /why/ do you even want to make pancakes ??

 

Thomac-n-cheese: IM MAKING PANCAKESSS

 

Glitterfrog: dude no.

Glitterfrog: It’s literally almost 11pm

 

Thomac-n-cheese: DUDE YES

 

Glitterfrog: why tho ?

Glitterfrog: what is your motivation ??

 

Thomac-n-cheese: I ALMOST DROPPED AN EGG BUT EVERYTHING IS FINE

 

Glitterfrog: jfc

 

Thomac-n-cheese: IDK

Thomac-n-cheese: BC I CAN?

Thomac-n-cheese: LEFTOVER ADRENALINE AND MOTIVATION FROM WORK

“What the hell Laf?!” A shrill voice screeched. Lafayette looked up from his phone and a seemingly disturbed Thomas, to see a short angry man being cradled in the arms of a tall burly man.

Lafayette grinned. “Alexander, I was wondering when you would get home!”

Alex snaked out of Hercules’ hold. “How did you even get in here?” he seethed, his arms shaking as he took deep breaths.

Lafayette rummaged in his jean pocket silently cursing that they were so deep, before pulling out a pair of keys. ‘You gave them to me a year ago.”

Alex stared at him incredulously. “That’s how you’ve been getting into my house all this time?”

“Alex,” Hercules began, slightly concerned, “How did you think he was getting into your house?”

Alex shrugged, plonking himself down on the sofa besides the Frenchman, “I just thought I left the door unlocked.”

Hercules gaped at him incredulously. “You have the absolute worst self-preservation skills-”

“I second that!” a third voice called from the kitchen. Lafayette felt his heart freeze in anticipation, he knew that voice.

A mess of curly hair poked out from the the hallway, balancing a tray of vegetables in his hands. Lafayette felt as if time itself physically slowed down, the artificial light from the hallway illuminating the boy, causing his wiry baby hairs to create a halo around his face. His freckles danced across his skin as his soft facial features pulled into a frown. Lafayette wanted to run over and wipe it away instantly, if only to see the boy smile.

“You literally have nothing in your kitchen, Alex, what the hell?” John’s voice pulled Lafayette back to the present, time speeding up as though it was ringing in his ears.

Alex smiled sheepishly. “I’m not really home enough to really worry about stocking up.”

“Oh right-” Hercules wagged his eyebrows suggestively, “-cause you’re with your girlfriend.”

Alex groaned, collapsing into Lafayette’s shoulder to hide his inevitable blush. Lafayette sighed, pointedly looking away from John as he strolled over to sit on the floor directly in front of them – no use in staring.

Lafayette’s phone buzzed excessively on his knee. Before he could check it himself, John reached over and plucked the phone out of Lafayette’s reach, his fingers grazing on his knee slightly. His brows furrowed as he looked at the notifications and Lafayette thought it was simply the cutest thing in the world. “Who the hell is ‘thomac-n-cheese’ and why is he complaining about butter?”

Lafayette’s heart leapt into his throat as he scurried to secure his phone off of John. He closed his eyes, not bearing to look at the messages; this really wasn’t something he wanted to deal with.

Thomac-n-cheese: FUCKING BUTTER

Thomac-n-cheese: IT’S SO

Thomac-n-cheese: BIG

Thomac-n-cheese: AND

Thomac-n-cheese: FUCKING

Thomac-n-cheese: BLOCK

Thomac-n-cheese: OF BUTTER

 

“It is just Thomas,” Lafayette sighed, shutting off his phone. He could worry about his friend later. Let the guy amuse himself with baking for a bit; there were more pressing matters to deal with. “So,” he continued, “is this an interrogation about the relationship between Eliza and our petit lion?”

“Yup,” John supplied, popping a carrot strip into his mouth.

“All I want to know, is why you didn’t tell us and we had to find out from the freaking tabloids,” Herc passed off passive aggressively.

“And I want to know the rest.” John winked.

Alex bit his lip, looking at Lafayette for guidance. His mind perked with interest in thinking of the stories. “Well, you’re bi-sexual, non?”

Alexander smiled in relief. “Y-yeah. I am.”

“So does that mean I have to get you a new mug?” John asked.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck in shame. “I kinda dropped the other one anyway…”

John’s eye’s practically burst out of his skull giving him the most comical expression of shock, Lafayette thought it was beautiful. “Oh Alex you didn’t have to break it! You could’ve just given it to me.”

“I didn’t break it on purpose,” Alex retorted.

“Alright, alright,” Hercules set a hand on John’s shoulder, sensing the tension, “Alex, just tell us about you and Eliza, yeah?”

Alexander huffed, blowing some of the stray hair from his ponytail out of his eyes, “Honestly, I guess we’ve just been so close to one another, then push came to shove and bam. Here we are.”

John raised an eyebrow, Hercules looked unimpressed. “That’s it?”

Alex shrugged. “That’s it.”

Lafayette chuckled, reaching for a cucumber slice. “You could say it had been brewing for a while then.”

“That has to be, single handedly, the most boring start of a relationship I’ve ever heard,” John mused, snatching the cucumber from Lafayette’s hand and shoving it in his mouth with a smirk.

Alexander just shrugged again. “Well, it’s like Laf said. It’d been brewing for a while, I guess it was only natural.”

Lafayette smiled, shoving Alex playfully.

“Yeah, I’m not satisfied with that response but whatever,” Hercules said with disdain, reaching for a tomato.

Lafayette’s gut churned slightly; it felt wrong to be lying to his friends like this. It felt even worse at the realisation of how easily the lies came to him. He looked over at John, who was animatedly telling one of his passionate stories. He felt he really should pay attention but found himself entranced by the way his eyes sparked when he was excited, how his lips moved.

Damn. He had it bad.

He reached for his phone, willing for a distraction.

Glitterfrog: soooo

Glitterfrog: how are the pancakes going ?

 

Thomac-n-cheese: I cried into the batter bc Tim McGraw why ddi I go shuffle

 

Glitterfrog: wait…?

Glitterfrog: are you listening to Taylor Swift ??

 

Thomac-n-cheese: ofc

 

“I’m just saying,” John continued, “there are better jokes out there. Like my existence.”

Lafayette bit his lip, restraining himself as his friends laughed. He never liked the American self-deprecating humour; it made no sense to him. Why would John’s existence be a joke? He was everything.

Hercules reached for a cucumber. “What the hell Alex? How do you let vegetables go soggy?”

John slapped his hand, staring daggers towards the big man. “What’s wrong with my vegetables?” Alexander asked defensively, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest.

Lafayette giggled, ignoring his confusion towards John. “It is like a small kitten trying to take on a great dane.”

“Excuse you, I am a lion.”

“Y’know Alex, if you ate for once in your goddamn life, than you’d know that your vegetables are gross.” Hercules smirked.

Alexander raised an eyebrow; Jesus Christ, he was challenging him. “Oh, so you’re saying I don’t eat?”

John chuckled. “Alex, we have to force you to eat on a regular basis.”

“You don’t force me to, I just forget. It’s not like I’m purposely starving myself or anything,” he paused to take a cucumber slice from the bowl, eyeing Hercules as he slowly placed it in his mouth. Lafayette watched in amusement as his smallest friend’s face contorted into one of pure horror. “What the hell?” he screamed.

“Soggy vegetables!” Hercules cried with a grin, pumping his fist in the air.

“That had to be the slimiest thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

“That’s what she said,” John hummed, grabbing another carrot.

Lafayette blushed, looking away and refusing to think about the connotations behind that sentence.

“How on earth can you stomach that?” Alex asked.

John shrugged. “I like it.”

“How?” Hercules added, reaching for another tomato, the seemingly only item of food that wasn’t gross.

“Meh, food is food. It’s a yes from me.”

Lafayette shot back into the conversation. “Did you just quote a magic 8 ball?”

John raked his eyes over Lafayette’s face and gave him a steady wink.

Merde.

That boy was going to be the death of him, he didn’t need a magic 8 ball to work that out.

-/-

“So,” Alex called, dumping the remnants of the monstrosity calling themselves vegetables in the trash, “you’re just not going to go home?”

“Nah,” John chimed, leaning against the kitchen entrance, “Herc was my ride and I didn’t want to ask him to stay back longer. He has work tomorrow.”

“I have work tomorrow too y’know,” Alex deadpanned.

“Look me in the eye and tell me honestly that if I weren’t here, you’d be asleep.”

Alex grumbled to himself; John was right, in all honesty. He’d probably be up working on some sort of project than spending time with one of his best friends.

John grinned. “I’m not one to say I told you so but…”

Alex groaned, “Just say it.”

John winked. “Told you so.”

Alex pouted, slinking past John into the hallway toward the spare bedroom. John’s grin grew as he sprinted past. “I call top bunk!”

Alex laughed, stopping along the hallway to pull out more blankets from the linen cupboard. He was rather proud of his small linen cupboard, it was meticulously organised and more sorted out than the rest of his life combined. He pulled the quilt Hercules had knitted him and the fluffy blue one John had brought over one time that Alex had stolen and carried them to the spare bedroom.

John sat on the top bunk of the bunk bed, sitting cross legged and playing an honest to god, Nintendo DS.

“John,” Alex began slowly, placing the blankets on one of the camping beds in the corner, “Where the hell did you get a DS?”

John looked up at him with a grin, flashing the pink gaming device around like some prize. “I stole it off Peggy.”

Alex paused. “Y’know, I’m not even going to ask.”

John raised an eyebrow and glanced towards the blankets. “Is that my lucky fluff blanket?”

Alexander paled, shuffling over slightly to hide it from his friends view. “Why would you ask that?”

“That is my blanket!.”

“Nope.”

“Yes.”

“Of course it isn’t John, I wouldn’t steal from you.”

John rolled his eyes, sliding down the ladder. “You’re a fucking hoarder,” he spoke with a grin, waltzing over and snatching the blanket from behind Alex.

Alexander snorted. “I only keep around what you carelessly leave behind.”

John laughed, climbing back up the bed and curling up in his blanket. Alex followed suit, grabbing the blanket Hercules made him and snuggling up in the mountain of pillows in the bottom bunk. It was nice like this, just the two of them. Normally when Hercules and Lafayette were over, it would be a fight over the bottom bunk, because Alex could only afford one bunk bed and no one wanted to sleep on the camping bunks he’d brought to compensate a lack of a second bunk bed, and no one wanted to sleep on the top bunk because that meant they’d miss out on the action going on below. The bottom bunk was Alex’s favourite bed in the house, sometimes he’d hang a sheet up and pretend it was a cubby, it created the perfect working bubble, isolated from the rest of the world.

“Hey Alex,” he heard John whisper from the top bunk, “What do you reckon the deal is between Gilbert and Jefferson?”

Alex rolled over slightly, stretching himself out so John could hear him better. “They’re friends aren’t they?”

“Well I guess…” John began before stopping.

Alex bit his lip, was there something going on between them? Surely not. Why did Alex care anyway? Jefferson could be with who he pleased.

Wait, why was he thinking about Jefferson?

“It’s just,” John continued, “He kept texting the guy. They’ve got cutsie nicknames for each other and I just-“

“John!” Alex gasped, he couldn’t believe it, “Don’t tell me you like Lafayette?”

He heard John snort above him, “Of course I do, why wouldn’t I like one of my best friends?”

Alex groaned at his friends obvious deflecting nature, “No you turtle-obsessed-sunflower, I meant like like him.”

“Like like? Jesus Alex are we in kindergarten or something?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Answer the damn question Laurens.”

He heard John shuffle above him a loud crash emanating from the top bunk. “Yeah,” he breathed, “I do.”

Alex ignored the fact that John probably broke something and allowed a huge grin to stretch onto his face. “I ship it.”

“You arsehole, I can’t believe you didn’t know,” John chuckled.

“You’re not exactly the most obvious person dude,” Alex added.

“I don’t think he likes me back though,” John said softly, as if admitting defeat.

Alex tried to think back to whenever they’ve all hung out together, cursing himself for being so oblivious. “I mean,” John continued, “I ate your disgusting excuses of vegetables all seductive like and he didn’t even notice!”

Alex spluttered. “Wait, you’re telling me we had that whole vegetable kafuffle, because you were trying to act seductive?”

“I even winked at him Alex, winked!”

Alex laughed. “Oh man, I am so putting you two in compromising situations now.”

“It’s easy for you to say,” John huffed, “Now that your not-so-gay ass has a girlfriend.”

Alex swallowed, he’d have to get used to comments like that.

“Remind me to get you a new mug while we’re at it, since you broke the old one.”

“I know you’re hella salty and probably sarcastic but in the off chance you actually are buying me a new mug, I’ll be eternally grateful.” Alex supplied, rolling over.

There was nothing but comfortable silence between them, only jostled by the occasional shuffle on the mattresses. It put Alex at ease, allowing him to think about absolutely nothing. There was a soft buzz in the air that was only accomplished by the very essence that was John Laurens. The man was just a ball of energy, if Alex didn’t know him any better he’d say the guy was two-dimensional.

“Hey,” Alex breathed out after a while, “Don’t lose hope with Lafayette, yeah? I reckon you two would be pretty good together.”

Alex waited with baited breath in the silence.

“Thanks.”

Alexander smiled twisting again towards the window, allowing sleep to take over him.

-/-

Thomas had, had a good day. He had been more than productive, finishing not one but two proposals for Washington. He was buzzing with energy. His body a humming with adrenaline, giving him the will and wish to do something. Which was why he staring at pancake batter and screaming to Taylor Swift at the top of his lungs.

James shuffled out of the spare bedroom in a robe, a glare painted on his face. He’d come over at some point to help with a proposal before turning in early, not wanting to leave the house after 8pm. “Thomas,” he began coldly, “Why are you stress baking after midnight?”

Thomas turned to him with a grin. “This isn’t stress baking, this is-” He paused trying to find a word to adequately match his mood, “-energy baking!”

“And the screeching to Taylor Swift is…?”

“My dear Jemmy, I’m just basking in my queen’s beautiful voice.”

James groaned. “Dear god, you’re dunk aren’t you.”

Thomas felt his eyebrows practically fly off his face, “I’m stone cold sober.” A sly grin fell to his face as he added, “Just high on the zest of life.”

James physically dropped against the wall in despair. “Why the hell am I friends with you?”

“Because I make amazing pancakes and you won’t admit your secret love of Taylor Swift so you use me as an excuse to listen to her.”

“And with that, I’m going back to bed,” James deadpanned, turning swiftly and striding back to the spare bedroom.

Thomas chuckled flipping the pancakes in the pan, absentmindedly wondering if Alexander likes Taylor Swift.

Ugh. Why should it matter anyway?

He ignored those pestering thoughts, focusing on the afterglow of his productivity. He wasn’t a boastful man by any means but he was rather proud of himself. It had been the most productive he’d been since Alexander had started working at the firm.

Wait…

The realisation smacked him in the head like a bus, freezing him in place. He’d been so productive today because Alexander had been out of work, so he hadn’t been distracted. The pancakes sizzled in the pan which he practically ignored as he sprinted to his computer, flicking through his calendar to see how much work he got done.

He cringed at the logs, internally criticising himself for his lack of discipline. He’d have to be more cautious around the guy, pay more of an effort to ignore his crush. This had been getting out of hand.

He sighed, resting his head. He couldn’t possibly ignore this stupid crush on the small man. He’d basically encompassed the entire office by now, his entire office. From that stupid sheep to the notes they pass during meetings.

Thomas couldn’t help himself, the man was addicting. Like some cheesy twilight quote. What was it? Something about heroin.

That’s it, Alexander was like his own personal brand of heroin.

He scoffed at himself, that was possibly the cringiest thing he had ever thought of, Alex would surely laugh at him making twilight jokes.

Man, the guy would laugh at him for this pathetic crush first.

His heart clenched as he looked back towards the burning pancakes, suddenly cooking didn’t seem that much fun anymore. He sighed, switching off the stove and placing the remaining batter in the fridge. He collected the small pancakes in the pan and wandered to his room, munching on them in disdain. They tasted bitter in his mouth, reminding him of Alexander freaking Hamilton rather than the success he had felt ten minutes ago.

Alexander wasn’t his to pine over. He had to remind himself that too often now. This had better come to a stop. He crawled into bed, looking out the window. The light pollution from the city made it impossible to see the stars, but Thomas always liked to imagine them there. He hoped that wherever Alex was, he could see the sky too.

Chapter Text

Alex woke with a yawn, the morning sun streaming in through the window. He was in the blissful stage of waking up, where his body felt like jelly and his spine cracked satisfyingly. He smiled as the warm sun hit his face, the only part of his skin exposed under the mountain of blankets and pillows he was buried in. He breathed in deeply, feeling nothing but content seep through his body.

Until he noticed the music.

Alexander shuffled so his head was facing the top bunk, which he glared at angrily. “Is that Nintendo Dogs?”

Alex heard a snap and a shuffle from John, but otherwise silence.

He huffed, picking himself out from the cocoon he’d made so he could drag himself over to John. He pulled himself up and over to the ladder, working his tired limbs up the rickety object. He poked his head over the top, witnessing a sheepish John with large eyes peering at him warily in fear.

“John,” he repeated, “Did I, or did I not, just hear Nintendo Dogs?”

John bit his lip. “Maybe…”

“Even though,” Alex continued, “You have told me countless of times that you lost the game.”

John stayed silent.

“So,” Alex added in a deceptively calm voice, “We could no longer walk our dogs. So I let my dogs die , because your’s were going to die.”

John paled. “Wait, you actually let them die?”

Alex ground his teeth together, nodding. He couldn’t believe this guy. His supposed best friend. Had lied to him. About a freaking game. And now his dogs were dead.

“Even Jeffershit?”

Alex felt his heart break as he remembered the small German Shepard. He had named him after his not-so-enemy as a joke back in the day, but had grown so attached to the thing. It had given him such joy to see the pup so happy, to walk him whilst John walked his own dog Frances. It had been their bonding activity. Alex loved that dog as if it were real. He nodded slowly.

“Jesus, Alex, I didn’t think- I didn’t know-”

Alex climbed onto the bed, narrowly avoiding the popped out bar (oh, so that’s what broke last night) and snatched the DS out of John’s hand. He snapped it shut, dropping it onto the bottom bunk. John looked at him with wide eyes. “Hey, um, Alex, you’re shaking.”

Alexander paused, becoming consciously aware of his body violently shaking. Of his heart hammering in his chest, pounding ruthlessly in his ears. He sat backwards, falling slightly as his body’s nerves tingled in rage. It was too early for this.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, focusing on the air around him, the soft cotton of the sheets, the way the bed dipped slightly as John moved.

“Okay,” he breathed, opening his eyes slowly. “I think I’m calm.”

John gave a small grin. “We can adopt a Jeffershit 2.0?”

Alex shook his head, moving over to climb off the bunk. “Nah, can’t replace him. Now c’mon, let’s get breakfast.”

“You literally own no food, Alex,” John called after him, scurrying down the bunk bed.

Alex shrugged. “Well, I gotta go to work anyway, we can go out?”

John rolled his eyes, following Alexander into his bedroom. “I’d suggest going grocery shopping for you but that should be your girlfriend’s job.”

Alex bit his lip at the girlfriend remarks and huffed. “Again, I just forget to eat sometimes is all.”

John raised an eyebrow. “Actually, maybe we should just go together.”

“Honestly, you two know me best, that’d probably work,” Alex commented, ruffling through his closet. “Y’need clothes?”

John walked over to the dresser. “You keep all the clothes you steal in here, right?” Alex nodded without looking out of the closet, “Then there should be something in here for me then.”

Alexander hummed in agreement, ripping his pyjama shirt off to put on a simple grey button up. John snorted. “No sense of dignity, Alex.”

Alex turned to face him, wearing a blank expression, “We’ve known each other since college, we’ve seen each other in more compromising situations than this.”

John hummed in agreement, fishing out a pair of pants that hopefully belonged to him and a grey sweatshirt that definitely belonged to Hercules, if the size was anything to go by. “Well, I’m going to get changed in the spare room. I’ll meet you by the front door?”

Alex nodded shoo-ing his friend out with a laugh.

-/-

“I kid you not, this place has the best pancakes in town,” Alex beamed, guiding his friend into the small diner.

John looked around in awe. The diner had a 50’s theme with red booths, red seats, circular tables and a black and white checked floor. He practically squealed and sprinted to the closest booth, the leather squeaking as he slid inside. “This is so cool.”

Alexander chuckled as he sat opposite him, pulling out a menu from the side. “But seriously dude, the blueberry pancakes are to die for.”

“Pancakes!” John gasped. “Alex no, waffles all the way.”

“I literally brought you here for the pancakes,” Alex deadpanned.

“Any self-respecting 50’s diner will have waffles,” John replied indignantly, holding his chin up high.

“We do have waffles if you’re interested,” a voice called over. She had notable Spanish twang in her accent but otherwise it was wholly like a New Yorker.

Alex looked up, noticing a bubbly waitress with a mess of brown curls walking over. She had glittering brown eyes and bright smile, although she seemed evidently tired. Alexander immediately pegged her as a university student. “What can I get you?”

“You’re in college?” Alex asked, letting curiosity get the better of him.

The girl beamed. “Originally at Stanford, but I moved up to Columbia to stay close to my family.”

“Yo, that’s where we went!” John cried, high-fiving the girl.

“Oh that’s awesome!” She stuck out her hand. “Nina Rosario.”

“Alexander Hamilton.”

“John Laurens.”

“What’ll it be then boys?” she asked, whipping out her notepad.

“Well,” Alex gestured to John, “apparently he’ll be having waffles-”

“Too right I will.”

“And I’ll have some blueberry pancakes, please.”

“Sure thing! Coming right up. I wouldn’t give it longer than 20 minutes.” Nina turned with a wink, hurrying to the counter to relay the order to the chef.

Alex fiddled with the napkin dispenser, rolling it around as a comfortable silence fell between the two. It was a pastel blue with chrome edges, creating a contrast to the red that surrounded the store. John scanned the room with wide eyes, absorbing every aspect of the place frozen in time.

Alex glanced up, noticing the childlike wonder in his friend’s eyes. “Y’know,” he began casually, “you should bring Laf here.”

John jumped in his seat, his eyes popping out of his skull. “Um, what? What do you mean?” he spluttered, his voice high pitched as he attempted to stay calm.

“C’mon, this is the type of place he would go crazy over,” Alex added.

“Are you suggesting a date?” John asked warily.

“Anything is better than you trying to seductively eat vegetables again.”

“Is this you trying to put us into ‘compromising situations’, ‘cause if so this is the lamest way of doing so.”

“Don’t judge my brilliant plans.” Alexander pouted with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

John let out a dejected sigh. “Would he even like this place?”

“Honestly Laurens, which part of this store doesn’t just scream ‘Lafayette’?” Alex gestured around the store.

John nodded. “Mmm, I suppose so.”

There was a crash from the kitchen, knocking the two out of their conversation. The girl who had introduced herself as Nina emerged from the kitchen ashen faced, her hair matted with flour. She laughed guiltily. “So, turns out we had some waffles ready. Key word is had. But then the batter got knocked over and well…”

Alexander gasped. “At least tell me you have pancakes.”

She brightened immediately. “Of course, would you both like some?”

John grumbled something incoherent about how he absolutely could not take Lafayette to a place that could not serve waffles, but nodded dejectedly. She nodded, quickly disappearing behind the kitchen door, only to remerge with plate filled high.

Alexander felt his mouth water as she set the plates down at their table. Four pancakes were stacked neatly on each of their plates, a generous drizzle of maple syrup poured on top. The sweet scent of blueberries and brown sugar filled Alexander with nostalgic delight, reminiscent of every time he had eaten here – it would be a great place to take Eliza on their totally not faked dates.

“Those ones are on the house,” Nina nodded towards John, “since I destroyed the waffles.”

John smiled. “That’s actually really kind.”

“Enjoy, boys!” Nina winked, scurrying back to the kitchen to presumably clean up the mess.

John frowned at the food. “I don’t get it. What’s to enjoy out of this?”

Alexander stabbed his tower excitedly, childlike glee filling his heart. “Just try it.”

John sighed dramatically. Breaking off the smallest piece imaginable and placing it delicately in his mouth, exaggerating every movement to fully show how much of an effort it truly was. Alex watched in triumph as John’s eyes widened and a grin grew on his face, overtaking the gloomy attitude he had previously adopted.

“Well?”

John stabbed into his pancake pile aggressively. “I’m definitely bringing Laf here.”

-/-

Alexander sprinted to the office, the wind battering against his face as he dodged and weaved past stress-heavy New Yorkers. His heart pounded in his chest, ringing in his ears, as he raced against the clock. He was late, oh was he late. Goddammit going to the diner had been a terrible idea, he and John always lose track of time.

His breathing felt heavy as he continued up the street, he could just see the tall building of the office in the distance. He checked his watch, it read 8:58. He had two minutes, he could make it.

He hurried into the office, the marble building accentuating the sophisticated vibe Alexander always felt when he stepped inside – if it wasn’t for the sweat that stuck his suit to him like a second skin. He hurried to the lift, smashing the up button repeatedly. 8:59, Jesus Christ where was the time going?

The lift opened with a ding and Alex sprinted in, crashing into the back wall with his momentum. Pain flared in his shoulder, a throbbing sensation erupting down his arm. Alex groaned, leaning on his back, the cool metal of the elevator soothing him. His heart hammered wildly in his chest as he struggled through laboured breathing. His head felt dizzy as he leaned down, forcing all his upper body weight onto his knees. Alexander couldn’t remember the last time he had run so fast.

The shrill of his watch caused Alex to develop an overwhelming sense of trepidation. He swallowed nervously, dreading what he inevitably knew his watch would say.

9:00.

Damn, he was late.

Alexander exited the elevator on wobbly knee’s. He paused momentarily, 40 seconds late, that wasn’t a big deal… Right?

He hurried towards the main room, trying his hardest to dry the sweat glued to his body, he heard chatter as he entered, a flood of people surrounding the main offices. Alexander felt himself freeze, standing there was Jefferson, Angelica, Madison, Lafayette, Adams, Burr, hell even George Washington was there.

Angelica, sitting on a table, leant forward. “Alex, where have you been?” She gestured to the others, “We have been worried sick. Do you care to explain yourself?”

Alexander glanced at his watch quickly before stuttering. “I’m 70 seconds late it’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it.” He cursed himself, his voice had become high pitched.

Washington cocked his head slightly. “Hamilton, you will tell us and you will tell us now.”

Alexander exhaled, wondering what the best excuse would be. Breakfast? The diner? The pancakes? No… The waffles! “There was a problem at the diner.”

Washington practically leapt into the air, his fist almost pounding the roof. “Hot daymn!”

Alexander frowned. “Wait, were you guys betting on why I was late.”

Jefferson shrugged. “Hamilton, you’re normally 2 hours early, for you being a minute late most likely means you’re dead.”

Madison shuffled off. “If it’s any consolation,” He said in passing, “I predicted that you’d finally managed to have a decent night’s sleep.”

“That gives me no consolation.”

He shrugged, stalking after Jefferson.

“We even postponed the meeting for you.” Burr quipped, walking to his cubicle.

“9:30.” Angelic winked, patting him on the shoulder. “I thought you’d fallen into a sewer and were having terrible sex with a mole man.”

Lafayette coughed. “That was actually my idea but whatever, I was wrong anyway.”

“You three need to get back to work.” Adams snapped, turning to follow Washington who winked at Hamilton upon passing.

Angelica groaned. “I’ll see you two at the meeting then.” She stalked off to her own office, leaving just Lafayette and Alex together. Wordlessly. They walked together to their respective offices.

“So what happened at the diner.” Lafayette asked.

Alex chuckled. “Oh my god, okay so John – being the idiot he is, ordered waffles instead of pancakes and-”

“You were with John?”

“Yeah, he stayed the night and since I have no food we went out for breakfast.” Alex noticed Lafayette bristle slightly. Was it something he said? He shrugged it off. “You’d like it, it’s this cool 50’s style diner, they make the best pancakes.”

“Oh that sounds amazing!”

“See! Alex cried in exasperation. “John just had a go about how waffles are better than pancakes. But then the waiter – her name was Nina, she’s at Columbia actually, I think she dropped the bowl or something because she came out of the kitchen with flour everywhere saying she destroyed the waffle batter, so John ate the pancakes.”

Lafayette chuckled. “And?”

“He liked ‘em.”

Lafayette nodded in thought, leaving Alex at his office. “Fascinating.”

Alex walked dumbfounded into his office, he had no idea what was up with his friend, he’d have to ask later. He pulled at his tie, his throat felt constricted – as did the rest of his body, his suit felt like a second skin. He sat in his chair dejectedly, pulling out files for the meeting. He had no idea what the meeting was even about, or the purpose of having one. Maybe Jefferson would tell him, or he’d work it out for himself.

He packed an extra pad of sticky notes in his pocket – just in case.

-/-

Thomas drummed his fingers on the meeting table, staring at Alexander’s quickly scribbled out message . “What the fuck is this meeting supposed to be on?” . Thomas bit his lip, he hadn’t been paying enough attention to notice. He groaned internally, since when was it so difficult to write out a simple message. He wrote back slowly. “No clue.” And peeled off the sticky note cautiously, sliding towards Hamilton.

Angelica gave him a curious look from across the table, knitting her eyebrows together. He felt himself cough, his hair standing on the back of his neck. He doubted she would care about the notes, but it was embarrassing to be caught out nonetheless. He gave a toothy grin that even to him felt too forced and probably came off as a grimace, but with a twitch of her nose she looked away, focusing on Adams again. He felt himself breathe a sigh of relief.

Alexander slid a note back to him. “She’s totally caught us. Now I feel even more rebellious.” Thomas bit his lip, his breath coming in short gasps as he tried not to laugh. He couldn’t understand what was funny about the note, maybe because it came from Alexander, maybe because he implied they were being rebellious, maybe it was both. But it filled his heart with something akin to joy – and he liked it.

He stuffed the note in his pocket quickly, the idea of being caught dawning on him. He knew that giving notes to each other probably wasn’t that big of a deal, and Washington would probably embrace it if he realised it was the only reason those two were ever quiet – but this was something that was just between the two of them and the idea that someone could intrude… It made him feel attacked. He shook his head; these weren’t the thoughts to be having at this current moment. “What, never got enough rebellious experience as a teenager?”

Alexander frowned at him upon reading the note. His nose was crinkled slightly and his glasses fell a little as they could no longer balance. Whips of hair that had come loose from his pony tail, framing his face. He was adorable. He turned suddenly, scribbling in a sticky note and handing it back with ease. “Didn’t really have much time for that.”

Thomas didn’t understand, what did the guy mean? It was a cryptic message, did he have the right to intrude and ask further information? Every part of him was screaming yes. He wanted to know as much as he could about Alexander – within reason, he didn’t want to be some creepy stalker – to learn the inner workings that made up the person that was Alexander Hamilton. But the message was cryptid, and they weren’t even acquaintances at best. He tapped his pen on his knee, trying to dream up a response.

He paused, his body freezing as an idea burst into his mind. Did he dare? “Well then, I guess we’ll have to go out and get you some of those experiences then.”

With shaking hands Thomas passed he note back to him, his heart thumping madly. The note was too flirtatious; it was beyond how they normally spoke to one another. Alexander would think he was mad and never talk to him again. He felt sick as he watched Alex read the message, his eyes scanning over it again and again, as if he too was trying to gauge what was actually being said. Alexander pushed the note into his pocket.

Thomas sat there with bated breath as the meeting continued. The topic had changed from whatever Adams was spouting and had moved onto Burr. Thomas found himself engaging with some of his points, stuff about the equal representation the company should give women and increasing the pro bono cases for women in toxic relationships. They were valid points and judging by the approving grin painted on Angelica’s face, were things that would probably be implemented into the company. He kept catching himself glancing at Alexander, waiting for a reply. Had he come on too strong? Was it obvious that he flirted.

He wanted to bash his head against the table. The man was in a relationship for crying out loud! What the hell was Thomas thinking?

He almost jumped when Hamilton slammed a sticky note into his lap. Thomas couldn’t believe it. “You never know, I might just take you up on that offer.”

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit.

Had Thomas just successfully flirted?

Oh , he had to tell James.

Chapter Text

“We should go on a date.”

Alexander almost choked on his spaghetti. “Isn’t that what we’re doing?”

Angelica laughed. “Yeah, cause when you go on a date, it’s definitely at home with your fake girlfriends sisters hanging around.”

Peggy threw a tomato Angelica’s way – landing in the older sisters lap. “Shush, they’re about to do the tap routine.”

Eliza leaned her head against Alex, curling herself up on the couch. “Peggy, you’ve seen Newsies so many times I’m sure you have the entire musical memorised.”

“You’re entirely missing the point.” Peggy sighed. “This is a monumental moment in musical history, they convey all their rebellious, courageous emotions through tap dancing on newspaper. It’s the biggest fuck you towards Pulitzer – they’re legit dancing on his newspaper, like one might dance on ones grave. They’re saying their strike is going to kill the Newspaper industry and in turn, Pulitzer himself.”

“I can’t believe you get all of that out of a dance.” Alexander said, shovelling spaghetti sauce into his mouth.

“As Eliza was saying.” Angelica continued, munching on the tomato. “You two should go on a real, actual date.”

“Alexi Darling keeps pestering me about it.” Eliza groaned.

A strand of spaghetti slapped on Alexanders chin as he huffed out a laugh. “What would we even do?”

“Ooh!” Peggy jumped up, “You should go see a show!”

Angelica raised an eyebrow, smirking. “A show do you say?”

“Yeah, and take me!”

Eliza laughed. “Peggy, I’m sure you could see a show with one of your friends.”

Peggy grumbled. “It’s expensive.”

Angelica stretched. “Hon, you could afford a freaking island if you wanted to.”

Alexander wanted to roll his eyes. Damn rich people. Peggy threw another tomato, Alexander had no idea where she stashed them – considering they were eating spaghetti. “I could buy 100 islands with the money it would cost for a decent theatre ticket, and then dad would block me from the account.”

Angelica sighed. “Y’know, that’s actually a valid point.”

“Honestly, I was just thinking of going to the market or something, they have the best apples.” Eliza continued.

“You could just go to the store and get apples?” Peggy suggested. “They’d be cheaper too.”

Eliza shrugged. “Maria likes the market ones.”

Alexander felt a smirk grown on his face. “When am I going to meet this Maria anyway? I could totally be a third wheel on a date with you two.”

Eliza jumped in her seat, knocking some spaghetti sauce on the rug. “That’s a brilliant idea.”

Angelica frowned. “But what about that Reynolds guy?”

Eliza slumped back against Alexander. “Ah, right.”

“Wait, who on earth is Reynolds?” Alex asked.

Peggy paused the musical. “I second that.”

Eliza groaned. “He’s Maria’s possessive arse of an ex-husband, doesn’t know a restraining order when he’s handed one on a silver platter.”

“He’s brutal, and the restraining order isn’t enforced yet.” Angelica voiced dejectedly.

“Woah,” Peggy whispered, “That’s awful.”

Alexander felt himself tense, the idea of a relationship like that… It brought back long buried memories. “Does she have any way out?”

Eliza sighed. “She’s staying with her mum right now. She’s safe.”

“You should buy her the reddest apples, like Snow White red.” Peggy laughed, brightening the mood.

Eliza grinned. “That’s an amazing idea.”

Alex groaned jokingly. “You know we’re going to have to wake up early right. Like 5 am early so we can drive out there.”

She poked him light-heartedly in the rib. “Sounds like an adventure.”

Peggy laughed, turning the musical back on. “Now everyone, silence! They’re about to go fuck you.”

Angelica sighed. “This is a long freaking song.”

Peggy paused the musical again, rolling her eyes. “You’re a long freaking song.”

“Wow Peggy,” Alex chuckled, “That was an A grade comeback.”

Peggy shrugged. “By complaining about the song length, she implied there was something wrong with it. By calling her a long song, I took her definition of a long song being a boring thing and used it to define her – there go, she’s a boring individual.”

Angelica coughed. “That’s actually… Goddammit.”

Peggy winked, sashaying over to her older sister. She shoved her almost empty bowl of spaghetti in Angelica’s face. “Don’t be upsetti, have some spaghetti.”

Eliza and Alex cracked up. Angelica’s face contorted into look of utter horror, Peggy had given the ultimate come back. Using a meme against her. Eliza stole Peggy’s phone, snapping a photo of Angelica before she could compose herself. “I got a photo!”

Peggy jumped into the air. “Yes!”

Angelica gawked. “Elizabeth, my favourite sister, how could you betray me so?”

Eliza giggled, handing the phone to Alexander who stared at it grinning. Peggy wandered back to her seat triumphantly, putting on a mock David Attenborough voice. “And thus the wild Schuyler has been caught in a moment of confusion, one like we have never seen before. It is truly, a day to remember.”

“I’m disowning all of you.” Angelica huffed.

“You love us.” Eliza sung song.

Angelica let her lips perk up into a cheeky smile. “Yeah, I guess I kinda do.”

“Kinda?” Peggy gasped. “I’d expect you to worship me!”

Eliza patter her on the knee. “Let’s not be too melodramatic dear.”

“I’d hope you wouldn’t disown me at least, that’d make work very awkward.” Alexander commented.

Angelic pretended to think. “I suppose that’s right. I’d tolerate you, to keep the peace.”

“Geez, thanks.”

Angelica shrugged. “Better than what those two are getting.”

“I means – I guess…”

Eliza patted his knee. “Just take what you can get, love.”

“Um sis, we’re not dogs or anything, you don’t have to pat us.” Peggy stated awkwardly.

Angelica laughed. “Just take what you can get, love.”

“See, you can’t disown me. You copy my phrases.” Eliza giggled.

Angelica sighed dramatically. “I suppose that’s true, I guess I can’t disown you guys then.”

“Okay, now I’m about to press play. The next person who interrupts will be decapitated by yours truly and your tongue shall be forcibly removed.”

“Okay but if you’re already decapitating us then it won’t matter if you remove our tongues or not.” Alex countered.

“I’ll take your tongue out first, then decapitate you.”

“Such violence Peggy.” Angelica laughed.

Eliza snatched the remote from Peggy, pressing play before the conversation continued. She snuggled against Alex as the musical continued, Peggy mouthing along to the words enthusiastically. Alexander sighed, his heart softening in content. He loved these people, they were practically his family.  As he sat there, stroking Eliza’s head and watching Peggy jump in her seat, Angelica having a second serving of spaghetti, there was no place he would rather be.

-/-

James ripped Thomas off the oven. “No, I don’t trust you.”

Thomas huffed, stalking out of the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of wine. “I wasn’t the one who had to send out frantic texts to learn how to use their godforsaken oven.”

James laughed. “Thomas, we were thirteen.”

Thomas ignored him, selecting a bottle with ease. “My point stands.”

“It really doesn’t.”

Thomas debated with himself for a moment, staring at his collection. He replaced the bottle, getting a cheap sixteen-dollar wine off the shelf. He read through the label curiously, he himself would never buy something as degrading as cheap wine. He could only conclude that it must’ve been a gift. Replacing the wine for a cheap counterpart may have been undignified for him, but it was a small price to pay to get back at James and his impertinent comments about Thomas’ trustworthiness in the kitchen. James frowned at Thomas as he set the casserole onto the dining table. “Please tell me you didn’t grab some cheap as bottle just too spite me.”

Thomas shrugged. “I pride myself on my pettiness, it’s my only strength.”

James shook his head, chuckling. “That, and being basic.”

Thomas gasped dramatically. “Do not mock my love for pumpkin spice latte’s.”

“Anyway,” James interrupted, sitting down. “You literally pulled me out of the office yesterday to tell me you had something important and now I’m here – what’s up doc?”

Thomas tensed as he sat at the table, glaring at the bottle of wine. He spooned himself a large serving of the chicken casserole they had dutifully prepared together, exaggerating his movements to take as long as possible. God he was such a dork, why did he come up with the most elaborate ways to share news. It wasn’t even that important. It shouldn’t have been that important.

The casserole was intoxicatingly divine, the smell comforting Thomas nerves. He welcomed it as he made his way to the table, the chicken and Cajun spices creating an earthy atmosphere. He felt his mouth water, cooking with James always resulted in the best food.

“Thomas?”

“Okay so, it’s a bit of a long story.” He began slowly, pouring himself a generous amount of wine. James winced from across from his as Thomas poured more and more into the glass, almost filling it to the brim.

He sighed, guiding Thomas hand away from the glass. “If you’re going to get drunk, at least make it decent wine.”

Thomas frowned. “We have work tomorrow, I’m not going to get drunk.”

“You’re shaking.”

Thomas froze. His body was tingling all over. His back tensed, strained as his body went rigid. Shit. Why was he so stressed? This was James of all people. This was fine. “Sorry, I guess I’m just a bit jittery.”

“I can see that.”

Thomas took a large swig from the glass mechanically into his mouth, the liquid burning his throat. It was foul, utterly horrendous. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would own such a repulsive liquid, especially something as sophisticated as wine – or why it would be given as a gift to anyone. It was baffling. Wine was supposed to be tasted, to be smelt, to be enjoyed. Not to be some cheap caricature of something as refined as wine.

He took another mouthful.

“Thomas?”

“Sorry, sorry. I’m not an alcoholic I swear.” He began talking in between mouthfuls, attempting to procrastinate. “I suppose I should tell you the whole story. So y’know when Washington banned us from talking in meetings when it wasn’t our turn?”

He waited for a moment as James chewed a large piece. The room felt flat, an awkward silence taking hold as his friend held out a finger, Thomas waiting for him to slowly finish. “I really don’t see where this is going but yeah, I do.”

Thomas chuckled. “You literally could’ve nodded.”

James shrugged. “I dunno, I relish awkward silences.”

Thomas rolled his eyes half-heartedly. “Anyway, Alexan-Hamilton and I, we resorted to writing notes to each other-”

“Like fourth graders?”

“Pretty much,” Thomas said. “They started off as jibes like, ‘Oh your presentation was terrible’ or ‘the only thing that could’ve made that presentation worse was if you used comic sans’ but then – and I have no idea how it happened, but it’s just started to grow. Now it’s no longer scathing insults, it’s been more like witty banter.”

“Well, that’s an improvement,” James smiled, grabbing his glass of water to take a sip, “it’ll be nice to see you two civil around the office-“

“Then I flirted with him.

James choked, the water, spurting through his nose like a water fountain. He fell, clutching his nose as he leaned over the table, groaning in agony. Thomas leapt out his seat, the chair falling behind him as he ran to the man’s side and a grin stretched involuntarily across his face. “Shit, dude, are you alright?”

“Fire.” James coughed. “It feels like freaking fire.”

Thomas struggled to laugh as he propped James back into his his seat. The table was drenched in gross snot-water, the casserole and their bowls had been in the main spray zone. Looks like they wouldn’t be eating anymore. James rocked back and forth as Thomas found himself coughing into his elbow to dissipate the laughter. It was hilarious, pure, golden, childhood entertainment.

After a couple more moments of wheezing, James stilled, silently coughing. “I think I’m alright.”

“That was dramatic.” Thomas commented, cleaning up the bowls.

“Look, I forgive you for not telling me about the notes, but jesus Thomas. The guy’s in a relationship.”

Thomas groaned. “Don’t you think that I know that?” He sat abruptly, right next to James. “The thing is though, he reciprocated it.”

James looked as baffled as Thomas felt. “Wait, seriously? Thomas, you know that can’t mean anything-”

“But what if it does?”

“Thomas-”

“James.”

James sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Thomas squeezed his shoulder, his heart softening. James always looked out for him. “I won’t get in over my head. Being friends would be enough.”

“I hope so Thomas,” James warned, “Because this can get tricky.”

-/-

Burr shook his head. “I’m sorry sir, but I’m not putting up with them both.”

“Speak for yourself,” Alexander snapped, “Sir, Jefferson and I are more likely to break each- others necks before we get anything done.”

Washington sighed, flexing his hands at his desk. Thomas sat silent, the man already looked agitated and he didn’t wish to further provoke him. “Burr, you’re the one trying to push more pro bono plans for women in need, and you three are my best lawyers. Alexander, you have the experience to empathise with them, and Thomas you have more than enough experience. You’re either working together on this or not at all.”

Thomas almost leapt out of his seat. “Sir no, this case is the most interesting we’ve been given all year!”

“We can’t just let the girl down!” Alexander agreed.

“Then it’s settled,” Washington continued, “the three of you are working together on this.”

Hamilton stood first, gesturing to the others as they left Washington’s office. Thomas had to focus on making sure there wasn’t a spring in his step as he walked. He finally had a chance to work closely with Alexander! Sure, Burr would be there too, but Thomas would finally have an excuse to talk to Alex outside of their note passing in meetings. “I’ve been working on a similar case earlier this year, it’s not complete but we’re just waiting on the court system to catch up.” Burr commented as they went to his office.

“I have to admit Burr, I admire you and your commitment to this.”

Burr shrugged. “I’ve seen it enough in my life, what can happen to people trapped in toxic environments, and it’s so much easier for men to get out than women.”

“Burr the Feminist™.” Thomas chuckled.

“And proud of it.” Burr winked, displaying the most emotion Thomas had ever seen.

Thomas studied the folder in his hand. It was the standard, a plastic sleeve with papers of all the evidence they currently had. He felt like a detective as he unpacked it, spreading out the information across Burr’s bland desk – the only decoration was an image of a girl around their age, with tan skin a striking smile, as bright as her nose stud which glared against the camera’s flash. Her hair was in dreadlocks, framed around her face. Thomas swore he had seen her.

“My wife,” Burr explained when Thomas asked about it, “Theo. She’s been to the office a couple of times.”

“She’s incredible,” Alexander added, “Burr, you’re really punching above your weight.”

Burr smiled fondly to the image. “No one is worthy of her; I can’t believe she chose me.”

Thomas couldn’t help but smile softly. The man was so clearly in love that it was such a nice change to the forever stoic expression Burr adorned. He was what Thomas would describe as a man who practically worshiped the ground their significant other walked on. Thomas couldn’t imagine what that type of love felt like, he wondered if it was any different to friendship. He’d only had two close friends in his life, James, and a girl called Martha.

God he missed her.

Suddenly he wasn’t as envious, he supposed romantic love was rather similar to platonic love, full of devotion and nothing but loyalty. Still though, watching as Burr practically lit up when thinking about his wife, it was something to aspire to.

Alexander winced as he scanned the photos. “Man, this guy was brutal to her.”

“Actually,” Thomas commented, scanning the basic info sheet, “It was a girl who did this.”

Alexanders eyes widened comically. “Wait, a girl did this to another girl?”

“Women can be just as abusive as men, in both gay and heterosexual couples.” Burr mentioned. “Although, it’s just less likely to be physical abuse.”

“So, we’re formulating an argument?” Thomas confirmed.

Alexander picked up a document. “It says she’s going to be a silent witness, so all we’ll have to go on is what we’ve already been given.”

“This feels like one of those puzzle rooms.” Burr sighed.

“Oh that’s a great idea for a date!” Alex beamed. Thomas felt his heart sink. Right. The guy is in a relationship – with the Schuyler sister he could never amount to. He looked away, not wanting to see Alexander smile. How pathetic, he’d let himself get in this deep. He was digging himself an early grave.

“Actually, I could imagine you and Eliza in a puzzle room, that’s the type of thing you would do. I’m sure Eliza has the patience for it.” Burr observed.

“She would.” Alexander frowned suddenly. “No, I don’t think she’d be very interested in it in the first place, she can’t even play Cluedo.”

“Oh god,” Thomas breathed, “That’s devastating.”

“Truly.”

Alexander sighed. “So is the way of the world, such is the burden I must bear.”

“I would say that is melodramatic of you, but it really isn’t.” Thomas said. He was shocked, how could someone not enjoy Cluedo?

Alexander looked at him strangely. “Y’know, between the three of us, this is the most civil conversation we’ve ever had.”

Thomas paled. He was right. This was the first time that they hadn’t yelled at each other or even gotten annoyed with one another. “Huh,” Thomas marveled, “Maybe Washington was right after all.”

Chapter Text

Alexander saw double as he stared at the computer screen. His hands shook violently on the keyboard as he attempted to curb his withdrawal. He rocked back and forth in his chair, the incessant squeak soothing him as he attempted to write something down. He was dizzy, why was he so dizzy? Was he de-hydrated? No – it was far too early for that. The clock ticked obnoxiously on the wall, causing Alex to become acutely aware of the seconds passing by. Why couldn’t he concentrate? Why was he so tired?

There was an intolerable rapping on his office door that jerked him out of his thoughts. He shuffled quickly, moving papers and grabbing his glass of water to seem busy. “Come in!”

Angelica strode inside, a tray of coffee in hand and a stack of files in the other. She dropped the files on the table. “Washington wanted me to give you these,” she gestured to the files, “It’s for your lesbian abuse case.”

Alexander nodded, taking the files and flipping the first open, blinking furiously to curb his dizziness. He heard a deep sigh for Angelica.

“Let me guess, you haven’t had coffee?”

Alexander nodded numbly, his memory flashing to the pathetic excuse of a coffee machine that sat desolate in the staff room. It was probably still fuming and judging by Angelica’s apprehensive expression, sparks were probably still bursting from the machine. She set the tray on the table. “So it was you who broke the coffee machine?”

Alexander ogled the coffee, ignoring Angelica as she continued. “Do I even want to know how?”

Alexander winced, his mind taking him back to an hour ago when he first stumbled into the office. “I put the beans in the slot for the powder.”

Angelica groaned. “Coffee machine etiquette 101 Alex, do not, and I repeat, do not bring coffee beans into the workplace. No one puts them into the machine correctly.”

Alexander shrugged. “I can replace it.”

Angelica scoffed, taking out to cups from the tray. “No you can’t, most of your pay check goes to your abnormally high rent.”

“I’ll work something out.”

Angelica pushed the cups towards him. “Drink up buttercup, I’ll fix up your mess.”

“Wait, what? You will?” Alexander gawked.

“Honestly Alexander, the amount of coffee related items you break, I don’t know if I should trust you fixing this stuff up.”

He scowled. “I’ve only broken one machine, and one mug.”

Angelica nodded, stalking out of his office. “And that’s one machine and mug too many, dear.”

Alexander latched onto the first cardboard cup with shaky hands. He downed the beverage in 4 gulps, he embraced the tingling feeling that swept through his bones and jumpstarted his brain. He relaxed into his chair as he held the empty cup close to him, nursing it like a mother would a newborn baby – revelling in the effects of the coffee. It could be stronger, but still his body dropped into a relaxed hum, his heart beating wildly to the comfortable thrum he was used to. Ah, the sweet release of coffee – it was a godsend.

Or an Angelica-send, technically.

He sighed wearily at the time; 8:30am – he’d only been here for an hour and a half. The word document in front of him was blank; had there been any point showing up early if he had accomplished less than a procrastinating teenager on tumblr could?

He drummed his fingers on his desk as he picked up the second cup, sipping it leisurely. It was sweet with caramel flavouring enriching the beverage – but as far as Alexander could tell, there was no sugar. He didn’t expect to, but he enjoyed it. It even smelled sweet, like the inside of a 1950’s lolly factory – but more delicious than anything Alexander had tasted. It made him feel soft inside, his body melting into the warmth like jelly that wasn’t quite set.

He stared back at the screen, the word document coming back into focus. Placing the soothing beverage to the side, Alexander began typing, referring to the new files Angelica had placed on his desk. God – this girl had been cruel. He winced at the various amounts of injury’s the defendant held over the timeline of the relationship. Hospitalisations, witness statements, most of these weren’t even in the defendant’s testimony. This was going to be a difficult case – he could see why Washington needed Burr, Jefferson, and himself. As much as he hated to admit it, Burr was a better lawyer than him, and Jefferson was incredible. They could do this.

Time blurred as he typed away, writing out drafts and ideas for how to pursue the case. He chuckled to himself, imaging what Jefferson’s reaction would be to some of these. Hopefully things would be as smooth sailing as they were the other day when they were first given the case. Alex was amazed by how well they had worked together – honestly, it had been strange around the man lately. Not in a disappointing way, but rather it was more civil – and that confused him. It was probably a good thing though, as it meant that they should be more productive on working the case.

Alexander wrote pages, upon pages of notes, probably being more thorough

Angelica barged through the door with an exasperated look on her face. “Alexander, you need to get yourself an assistant, this is way below my pay grade.”

Alexander barely looked up from his computer screen – engrossed by his work. “I dunno what you mean.”

He heard her groan. “You have a meeting, with Aaron and Thomas… Like right now.”

Alexander scrambled to his feet. “Is it 11am already?”

“10:58, I’d get moving if I were you,” Angelica suggested. “And invest in an assistant, as much as I love checking up on you, I have my own work to do.”

Alexander nodded, clicking the print button furiously. “I owe you Angelica.”

She laughed. “You can repay me by sorting your life out.”

Alexander shuffled to the printer. “You know I’m too much of a hot mess to do so.”

“Mess? Yes. Hot?” Angelica hummed. “No, I don’t think so.”

Alexander pecked her on the cheek as he made a quick dash out of his office. “See, it’s thanks to friends like you that I don’t have a big ego.”

He heard Angelica laugh as he skidded down the hall, making mad sprint towards Jefferson office. He cursed himself as he made his way over, wishing Washington would just hurry up and give Burr the office with Madison. At least then it would be closer. Alas Jefferson’s office was bigger than Hamilton’s, and could accommodate for the three of them.

He skidded to a halt as he drew near Jefferson’s door, trying not to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“…Okay but the notepad, that’s a bit much.” That was Madison’s voice, Alex wasn’t surprised the man was in there.

“I dunno, the colour helps calm me down.” Jefferson responded, he seemed sad for some reason. Alexander wasn’t quite sure why he cared.

“Man, you’re whipped.”

He heard a scoff. “Since when have you ever used the term whipped?”

“There’s pretty much no other term I could use.”

Alexander felt awkward. Hearing about Jefferson’s romantic life made him feel oddly uncomfortable. He paused at the door, debating whether or not he should knock. It was rude to listen in – he knew that, but for some reason it was just so fascinating.

“Are you going to knock, or I?”

Alexander jumped at the sound of Burr’s voice. He turned sheepishly, hoping the other man hadn’t caught him eavesdropping. “I was literally just about you.”

Burr raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, sure you were.” He wrapped his knuckles lightly on the door, the voices inside freezing. There was a shuffling as the door opened, James Madison popping his head out.

“Is it 11am?”

Jefferson groaned inside. “Shit.”

“We could postpone the meeting if Jefferson’s not ready?” Burr suggested.

“No, no,” Jefferson called. “Come in.”

Madison squeezed through the door, nodding towards Burr. He turned to Alex, giving him a curious glance, before striding off to his own office.

They walked in, watching as Jefferson quickly stacked a couple of papers on the small circular table near the window in his office.  Scattered across the table were dozens of tiny paper cranes. Alexander looked at them fondly, they were somewhat endearing. Jefferson dropped the pile on the small bookshelf in the corner.

Burr ran his finger along the shelf, nodding approvingly when he found there was no dust. “Shakespeare?”

Jefferson hummed in response. “All of his works – well it should be. I have a sneaking suspicion that Adams keeps stealing my copies.”

Alexander lit up as he scurried to the bookshelf. “Have you read Macbeth?”

He heard Jefferson scoff behind him. “Have I read – have I read Macbeth? I’ve read all of his works, several times over.”

Alexander turned to him. “What were your thoughts?”

“It’s one of my favourites of his?”

Alexander was shocked. “Mine too.”

Alexander watched as Jefferson’s face contorted into a confusing comical expression. “Really? What is your least favourite?”

Alex’s face scrunched up. “Romeo and Juliet, easy.”

Jefferson’s face fell. “But it’s a tragic love story! Why do you think it’s so popular-”

“Exactly!” Alexander exclaimed. “It’s been done to death, and not only that-”

“Don’t you think that the reason it’s been done to death is due to its genius?” Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Besides, you can’t go blaming Shakespeare for that, it was the first story like that of its time-”

“I’m not blaming Shakespeare for that, what I’m saying is that the story is idiotic. There are no likeable characters, no-”

“No likeable characters?” Thomas gasped. “What about Mercutio?”

“Okay – other than him there aren’t any likeable characters. They’re all idiots! I mean, what type of idiot plan was that to fake Juliet’s death and not tell Romeo?” Alexander groaned.

“That’s the whole point of a tragedy, Ale-Hamilton. There’s supposed to be pain.”

“But it makes no sense.” Alexander seethed. “They had it coming.”

“Did you just quote Chicago?” Burr asked.

Alexander waved him off. “Okay, if Romeo and Juliet is so great, what’s your least favourite?”

Jefferson shrugged. “Richard the Third.”

Alexander felt himself offended. How could the man rate Romeo and Juliet above Richard the Third? At least the plotline to Richard the Third made some sort of sense. Jefferson rolled his eyes when Alex voiced his opinions. “It’s historically inaccurate. He never had a hunch-back, or a limp,” Thomas stressed. “He was the rightful heir to the throne and he never killed his nephews, brother, wife or father in law.”

“Jesus,” Burr breathed. “That sure is a lot of deaths.”

“Wait, how was he the rightful heir to the throne?” Alexander asked, confused.

Jefferson sighed dramatically. “Did you not do basic history? When King Edward – his brother, died, his kids were too young to rule. That made Richard the appropriate replacement.”

Alex rubbed his face. “Shakespeare only took the information that was written by the historian Thomas Moore.”

“Who was payed off to make the Tudors look good.” Thomas corrected. “That was the whole point of the play – Shakespeare wants to impress Queen Elizabeth the 1^st so wrote Richard the Third to make it look like the Tudors were rightful to take the throne.”

“Okay!” Burr affirmed. “Let’s save this conversation for after work hours? We have a case to work on.”

Alex slid into his seat, grumbling to himself. Romeo and Juliet, the man liked Romeo and Juliet! He could understand Jefferson’s distaste for Richard the Third, hell the guy had even convinced him –Wait. That was a first. Since was Alexander agreeing with Jefferson? Then there was the whole Macbeth thing – their favourite Shakespeare play was the same. Huh. Maybe they could be friends. It had to mean something.

Alexander let his anger subside. It wasn’t really anger; it had actually been rather exhilarating to debate with Jefferson – especially when the fate of the company wasn’t on the line. He looked over to Jefferson, who flashed him a small smile. Alex couldn’t help but reciprocate. It was nice somehow, acting like this. Having Jefferson in his life, it would be nice.

-/-

Alexander’s blood boiled. “No!” He body shook as he stood. “Jefferson that’s the most idiotic thing that’s ever come out of your mouth.”

Burr let his face fall into his hands, muttering about how it had been so calm earlier. “Hamilton, please sit down.”

“Yes Hamilton,” Jefferson leaned back into his chair, waving lazily. “Show us you can actually act mature.”

“We cannot go out of our way to find our defendant. She a silent witness for a reason. Don’t you know how traumatic these things can be?” Alexander cried.

“She’s given us barely anything to go on!” Jefferson waved to the scattered paper on the table. “All she needs to do is give us some information. She doesn’t have to go onto the stand or anything.”

Alex shook his head fervently, his chest heaving. “No. Not only would it be going against protocol; it’s just an arse move.”

“Alexander,” Burr insisted. “Please just sit down, you’re shaking.”

Alexander felt his gut clench as he stumbled back, his chair knocking to the floor. “I can’t believe this,” he seethed. He stumbled to the door, fury blurring his vision and making him see red. He felt his chest vibrate with anger as he threw the door open. “Until you get your shit together Jefferson, I refuse to work with you.”

With the strength of twenty-four rhino’s, he slammed the door behind him, hearing the hinges sequel in agony against the force. Alexander stormed to his office in blind rage, muttering to himself about incompetent southerners. He couldn’t believe Jefferson, was he so above the rest of society that he was just used to everyone bending to his every whim? Probably.

The thing is, Alexander didn’t even know where the rage had stemmed from. Just earlier they had been debating about Shakespeare and it had been enjoyable. Now though… Now Alexander was just furious. For weeks they had been getting on fine - not like friends, but civil at least. They hadn’t argued in months. Not properly at least, not like that.

Alexander groaned, collapsing onto his couch in despair. Why was he so worked up about this? He was used to the anger consuming him – but this was different. For some reason, it wasn’t just what Jefferson had said that affected him, it was the very idea that Jefferson thought that in the first place. Like somehow Jefferson opinion affected him personally. Since when had that happened?

He didn’t know why he cared. He shouldn’t of, and he certainly shouldn’t have made it into such a big deal. God – why did he care so much about what Jefferson thought about him? Why should it matter?

Alex wanted to his his head repeatedly against the wall. At least that would be productive. It probably wouldn’t stop the whirlwind of thoughts consuming his mind, or the rapid thrum of his heart vibrating in his chest.

Thomas had been kind – well civil at least. What had happened? It had been exciting. Those notes… Alexanders minds went to the wooden box that held his growing collection of obnoxiously magenta coloured sticky notes. At least he hoped it would continue to grow. This was potentially a knew connection in his life – he didn’t want to lose it.

Dammit.

Why did he care?

“Alexander!” His body froze all over, he did not want to deal with this right now. “I do hope you’re free, I would love an interview.”

Alex had to stop himself from groaning as he rolled over. Alexi Darling strolled into his office as if she owned it, flicking her brown pony tail behind her shoulder. He briefly wondered how many extensions she had. He felt his skin crawl as she situated herself opposite his desk. “I assume you are free since you’re not doing anything,” She sung.

He rolled his eyes, sitting up. She wore a shit eating grin plastered on her plastic face. Immediately, he knew she wouldn’t leave until she got what she wanted. “As long as it’s quick.”

“Delightful!” She cried, whipping out a notepad from her pocket and an old school audio recorder. “You don’t mind if I record this do you?”

“You’re going to whether I care or not, right?”

“It’s part of the process, so I can give my audience the most authentic representation of you.” Alexi explained with false sincerity.

Alexander leaned back into the couch. “Go ahead I guess.”

Her grin somehow grew wider. “Great!”  She shuffled the recorder, situating it on the floor next to her. “So to begin Alex – may I call you Alex, how are you?”

Alexander rolled his eyes, she made a note. “I’d prefer Alexander.”

“Of course Alex.” She nodded, her nose buried in her notepad.

Alexander bit his lip, it wouldn’t do well to lose it at her with a recording device in the room. “Now, it’s absolutely fascinating that you’re dating a Schuyler sister. How did you meet?”

Alexander immediately felt at ease as his memory flashed back to university. “It was the first day of uni actually,” He recalled. He laughed as his brain supplied the image of physically running into Eliza. “I ran into her – literally. Angelica wanted me to apologise immediately but instead I tried to fight her because I couldn’t understand why she was acting so entitled.”

“You didn’t know they were the Schuyler sisters?” She gasped, seemingly genuinely surprised.

Alexander felt himself tense. Damn, he wished he had someone else here. Probably Peggy – she’d be great at this. “Um no. I grew up in an isolated island in the Caribbean. I had other things to be concerned about than American celebrities.”

His gut tensed as he watched her scribble in her notepad. “Oh that’s fascinating. How were you good enough for Columbia University then?”

Alexander couldn’t help but chuckle – she’d done her research. “Scholarship, my island raised enough money to send me to New York and then I got the scholarship.”

“So Alex, you must be rather intelligent.”

Alexander eyed her suspiciously, that had to be a trick question. “I wouldn’t say intelligent, more like determined.” He supplied slowly.

Alexi squinted at him. “Interesting. So you ran into her – continue.”

“Anyway, so I didn’t know they were famous or anything. So – when I had a go at Angelica, they were both surprised that I didn’t ‘ooh’ or ‘ahh’ at them.”

“So in other words, you didn’t fawn over them.”

“Well no, I didn’t see any reason too.”

“Would you fawn over them now?” Alexi asked, a cheeky glint in her eye.

Alexander wanted to groan. Why was this lady so intent on trapping him? “Well to me, they’re just people. I love them, so I guess in that sense I would, but in the whole celebrity sense, I’ve never seen them like that – so no.”

Alexi huffed, scribbling in her notepad. Alex had to stop himself from grinning – he’d outsmarted her.

“So they embraced you then?”

“I don’t know for sure – I mean, I’m not them. But I guess they were just kinda relieved that I didn’t give them special treatment. We’ve been close ever since that day.”

Alexi leaned forward. “And what are you hoping to gain from this relationship?”

Alex coughed violently. What was her game? He practically spluttered at his answer. “I’m not sure what you mean? What do people normally gain out of a relationship?”

“Well the Schuyler’s are fairly influential individuals – they’re the Kardashians of New York. You’ve just joined the established Washington Law Firm correct? Do you want the prestige that comes with being connected to the Schulyer’s?”

Alex’s eyes popped out of his skull. “What? No! That’s not why I’m dating her at all. I’m with her because I care about her.”

Alexi tisked, scribbling in her notepad. She leaned down her chair and turned off the recording device – clearly unsatisfied. “This will be in our Saturday issue Alex, make sure to read it.” She chimed.

Alexander felt his spine tingle as she made her way out of the office. This had been a messed up day.

Chapter Text

Thomas groaned, ignoring the scattered paper and letting his head fall to the table with a resounding thump. He craved death, wanting nothing more than to crawl into a black pit and forget about all his troubles. He felt a hand – presumably Burr, pat his shoulder. “Well, considering you two haven’t fought in months, I thought that went rather well.”

Thomas just groaned again. No. That did not go well at all. He didn’t want to fight the guy, he wanted to be friends with the guy. There was a timid knock at the door and for one fleeting moment Thomas hoped it was Hamilton returning – but the man would never knock like that, it was more of his style to just barge in.

“I heard yelling.”

Thomas groaned in response as James shuffled in. He felt as if his whole body had deflated – all of his energy had been sapped.

“What happened?”

“That semblance of peace we were having, it finally reached breaking point.” Aaron explained.

Thomas groaned, he didn’t want to be reminded of it. His body closed in upon itself, all he wanted to do was crawl into a dark hole and die – his rotten corpse decomposed, the remains fuelling the barren landscape around him.

Lovely.

“Has he done anything besides groan?” James asked.

Thomas groaned petulantly again, just to spite him. He could practically hear Aarons eyes roll. “No.”

Thomas heard a chair scrape, screeching against the floor as James sat in the chair next to him. Carefully, James picked up his head, his concerned face looking into Thomas’ lazy eyes. “Thomas, I love you – but this infatuation has gone too far and you know it.”

Thomas ground his teeth together. “Just earlier you were teasing me about it.”

“I’m sorry..” Aaron said. “I’m lost.”

Thomas sighed. “Hamilton. He’s talking about Hamilton.”

“Oh? You’re crush on him?” Thomas’ jaw dropped at Aaron’s nonchalant attitude. “That wasn’t a secret.”

James laughed. “How on earth did you know?”

Thomas felt his skin prickle in goosebumps as Aaron eyed him down. “It’s the way you look at him. It’s the same way I look at Theo.”

James frowned at Thomas. “I knew you liked him… but love? Really?”

Thomas felt something heavy grow in his gut, making him feel nauseous. The walls seemed to close in on him as his friends stared him down. His heart thrummed in his chest, the sound drowning out his laboured breathing. The air seemed to fizzle out of existence, Thomas was choking and he didn’t know why. Wait – of course he did. He just didn’t want to admit it. It wasn’t care, what Thomas felt for Alexander was well beyond some sort of teenage crush.

Thomas clenched his hands on the table, willing his nerves into his fists. “Yes – and I fucking hate myself for it.”

Aaron grabbed one of Thomas’ hands. “I know that pain.” Thomas raised an eyebrow sceptically, waiting for the man to continue. “My wife – when we met, she was already married.” Burr shook his head. “We made a lot of mistakes.”

“What do you mean?”

Burr sighed. “Thomas, we had an affair. It was messy and-”

“But you two got married.”

“Yes,” Aaron breathed, “But her family still refuse to talk to us. It’s been two years.”

“Burr, where are you going with this?” James asked.

“She loves me, but she lost her family to be with me,” Aaron gripped Thomas’ hand, “Thomas, you don’t want to ask that of anyone – it will eat away at your soul. Hamilton – Alexander, he doesn’t have a family. The Schuler’s, they practically are his family. Even if you manage to woo him, it will come at a great cost.”

Thomas’ heart sunk. He knew Aaron was right, but hearing it out loud… was difficult. “What do I do?”

“You have to get over him.” James supplied.

Thomas rolled his eyes. “That much is obvious. But how?”

Aaron thought for a moment. “How about we brainstorm?”

Thomas nodded, standing on shaky knees to his desk to retrieve a pad of sticky notes. He threw them onto the table. “Will these do?”

James scowled at the pad. “Thomas, what colour are these?”

Thomas waved his hand in the air in dismissal. “It calms me down.”

Burr ignored the conversation, ripping a green sticky note off the pad and slamming it on the table. “Right, how does one get over someone?”

Thomas groaned as he sunk into his seat, his head falling onto the table. This was going to be a long afternoon.

-/-

Alexander and Eliza wandered through the markets blissfully, taking full advantage of the bright day. The sun shone warmly on the markets, giving the stalls a heavenly glow. Here, the autumn wind could not be felt, the stalls acting as a shield against the bitter cold. Alex was almost tempted to take off his coat, if it weren’t for the lingering fear that his fingers would go blue in the relentless wind beyond the stalls. But here the air was sweet, the smell of fruit in the air, citrus, peaches, and the ever present scent of hot chocolate wafting through the air. They would have to look for that later.

Eliza was wrapped up large brown coat, dragging on the floor slightly. Her hair was left out, flying in the wind as she hopped from stall to stall. Alex couldn’t help the love he felt for her as she flew from each stall in giddy excitement, her eyes lit up in pure joy. He was truly lucky to have a friend like her.

Alex stole a rouge peach from a stall as he ran to chase his friend, trying to catch up to her. He held it to the sky, the sun glowing behind the fruit. He marvelled at the softness of the skin;  it was practically perfect – another day and it would start to wrinkle. The soft fuzz scratched his cheek as he bit into it, the sweet juice trickling down his chin. It tasted of summer and warm days on the beach, warming Alexanders soul.

Eliza grinned as she took Alexanders hand, leading him over to a row of stalls filled with apples. He hardly payed attention to her speaking as he marvelled over the collection. “…all from around here...” she continued as his eyes glued to the fruit, never had he seen so many apples in his life. He felt his stomach grumble in anticipation and almost laughed as he watched Eliza steal a piece of cut apple from one of the various trays that littered the alley. He smiled as he bit into a particularly green apple, the tangy crunch momentarily overwhelming his senses. He had never tasted anything like these.

“Betsy,” he whispered almost reverently, “we have to get these.”

Eliza looked up from the selection of red apples the stall over, their skin shining parallel to Snow Whites own forbidden fruit. “Huh?”

“These apples!” Alex persisted, “there’s a godsend!”

Eliza brushed her fingers over the peach display as she shuffled over to him, slowly taking her own piece of apple off the rusting tray. The crunch of the apple breaking between her teeth resonated through the air as her nose crinkled slightly at the taste. “It’s kinda bitter.”

Alex clicked his tongue in distaste. “My dear Betsy, that simply isn’t true.”

Eliza chuckled, turning to the assistant who was stacking a row of red apples. “Excuse me, how much are these?”

The assistant smiled and Alexander could pinpoint the exact moment of their recognition. The assistant’s eyes widened comically, their mouth dropping into a perfect ‘o’ shape. It seemed as if they had frozen in time – like a statue. “I- um, they are-“

Alexander felt infinitely awkward, this was the first time someone had been star struck around him and he really didn’t know how to respond.

Eliza placed a hand on Alexanders arm, seemingly unaware of the vendor’s star-struck attitude. Why would she be though? She would be used to it by now. “My partner loves them.”

The vendor chuckled nervously as he lumbered over, wringing his hands in his apron. “Tha-that’s very kind of you to say, Ms. Schuyler.”

Eliza chuckled, squeezing Alexanders arm in reassurance. “Aw, I thought I’d done rather well coming in incognito.”

“Why miss y-you have! Ah-ah I just think it’s just because I’m seeing th-the two of you up close.” The old man stammered.

Eliza smiled. “That’s very sweet of you, sir.”

Alexander breathed in sharply, letting his nerves escape his body. “The apples?”

The vendor seemed to jump out of his awestruck trance. “Oh right, yes. The apples. Right. They’re about $5. For a kilo that is.”

Alex took a basket from the ground, sweeping the apples onto the table into it using his arm. It took quite a bit of effort, the basket becoming heavier as he decimated the display of green apples. He had no idea why he wanted so much, maybe it was a craving, maybe he just wanted something that was slightly sour. He watched them pile into the basket with delight, their green skin shining in the morning sun. Eliza stood aghast as Alex hobbled to the counter, the basket weighed down with literally half of the display. “you can’t be buying that much!”

The basket fell onto the bench with loud thump, shocking the old shop assistant. “That sure is a lot sir.”

Alexander held an apple in his hand, running his thumb over the skin. “They’re amazing!"

The shop assistant counted them, placing them into bags. “That’s about $15”.

Eliza’s eyes popped out of her skull comically.  She scurried up beside him, spluttering wildly. “3 kilos Alex? What’re you going to do with 3 kilos?”

He shrugged, thanking the man and taking the bags. “Dunno, I’ve always aspired to be the inspiration for some 8^th grade maths test.”

Eliza shook her head, a small smile gracing her face. “Sometimes I wonder how we’re friends.”

“Hey Eliza,” he grinned mischievously, “if I have 23 apples in one bag and 54 apples in another bag, how many apples do I have?”

Eliza groaned. “I can’t believe you’ve made yourself the stereotypical maths question man.”

“Next thing you know I’m hopping on a train and putting my apples on the next train going the opposite way going faster, I wonder how long it will take us to pass.”

“Please stop.”

Alex laughed wildly. “Never! Now let’s find a bunch of watermelons!”

“They don’t have watermelons.” Eliza deadpanned.

Alex froze, contemplating for a moment. “I suppose we could compare apples to peaches.

-/-

Alexander smiled as he looked through the various photo’s Eliza and himself had taken that day, ready to be sent to Alexi. There were various selfies and a lovely candid of Eliza taking a sip of hot chocolate. He sifted through the images, removing the dozens he had taken of the apples – one of which he was currently munching on.

Eliza was a truly beautiful person, even with an enormous trench coat that nearly hid her entire person. She radiated pure joy and kindness, it was something that was infectious. It was quiet moments like these where he realised how lucky he was to have Eliza in his life.

Then there were his friends. Hercules: a massive giant, a teddy bear. He was a man that would wrap Alex in a myriad of blankets and sit in in front of a fire just to keep him warm. John: He would be the one to build the fire in the first place. His infection smile, his carefree attitude, he once walked the length of the campus in college just to get Alex advil. Now that was care that could go unmeasured. And Lafayette: he’d bring the marshmallows, chocolate and biscuits – creating something as sweet as himself. That one was an actual bubble of joy, something Alexander had never encountered before. John, Hercules, Lafayette, all incredible, wonderful people. People who had carried him through college, kept him sane in times of distress. Their joyous souls. God, they seemed to radiate that same purity that Eliza had.

Angelica and Peggy were the same. They were people that would stick by Alex to the end, people who loved him unconditionally. With Eliza, the Schuyler Sisters were an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, they could take over the world if they wanted to. Honestly, the world would be better for it too.

Alexander consistently had no clue what he did to deserve such amazing people in his life. It extended to every aspect of his existence. Hell, even his proposed ‘enemies’ were amazing people. Like Tomas – actually, Alex didn’t know where he stood with Thomas lately. They had been kind, civil to one another. Borderline friends.

Then there were the sticky notes.

His thoughts returned to the wooden box he had tucked up in his office, the ever growing collection of magenta sticky notes piling inside it. He wanted to continue this relationship with him – whatever it was. It was something special that had developed between the two. Something private, that was just them. It was the only thing in Alexanders life that was a constant. He could always rely on the stick notes during tedious meetings. It gave him some semblance of normality; it gave him a reason to smile.

Was that why he cared so much when he argued with Thomas earlier?

No.

No way.

He wanted to impress him.

That was the thing about Thomas, like everyone in Alexanders life, he felt ungrateful, unworthy to have such amazing people in it – and that extended towards Thomas. He wanted Thomas to be in his life, not in a ‘you’re my enemy’ kind of way, but one that was more intimate, more personal than that.

He was an embodiment of everything Alexander desired to be. Well spoken, charismatic, can get work done on time without looking like legitimate trash.

It wasn’t just Alexander who had a high opinion of him, the whole firm did. The man demanded the very best out of everyone, and in turn gave what could only be described as superhuman strength. The mind that man had was one Alexander had never witness before, not in himself, in his friends, hell not even Angelica.

It was impossible not to admire the man. He walked as if the world stopped to acknowledge his presence. His hair was a crown of curls that dazzled Alexander into silence. Even the man’s obnoxious clothes did nothing but impress. One couldn’t help but respect Thomas’ confidence in himself to wear that magenta atrocity he calls a jacket in the first place.  

He didn’t know when he started thinking this way, maybe it had been slow – gradual, but now all Alexander wanted was to be in Thomas’ life.

When had that happened?

What the fuck?

He jumped from his spot on the couch, his phone clattering to the phone. He had to apologise for their argument, hopefully he could get things back on track. He raced to the front door in his haste to get to the office, there should be something there about Thomas’ address or phone number or something.

-/-

The office was quiet as he entered – unsurprisingly. It was a weekend after all. There was an eerie serenity over the office, like a blanket had been laid over it, preserving it like a time capsule. Alexander felt as if he was intruding. It wasn’t uncommon for him to come into work on a weekend, but this time was different.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

The air felt stale as he made his way to his own office. He’d only be here for ten minutes, long enough to get a phone number and that’s it.

Would calling him be creepy? The phone book was accessible too all employees, but it’s not like anyone actually used it. Especially not those two. They didn’t talk besides the sticky notes. They didn’t have the type of relationship where they would casually talk outside of necessity. Would calling him be weird then? Would Thomas hang up on him? Why was it plaguing him so much?

Alex shook his nerves out of his system as he bounced to his office, using every step to shake off nerves. He shouldn’t even be this nervous. Thomas was a colleague and Alexander was simply being the bigger man and closing the chapter on this argument.

Yeah, that didn’t even convince him.

There was a quiet humming as he wandered to his office. It was melodic, the sound instantly soothing Alexanders nerves. He slowed down his pace, walking slowly towards the sound.

It was curious, when Alexander found himself nearing Thomas’ office. He knew instantly that Thomas was in there. It would be the perfect time to apologise. Make up an excuse about how he came into work and noticed Thomas here. That wouldn’t be creepy would it?

Nah…

He crept up to Thomas’ office, not wanting to disturb him. His footsteps were soundless, Alexander briefly wondered if he’d wasted a brilliant career in dance. The door to Thomas’ office was wide open, the other man’s humming far more evident than earlier. The open door caused Alex to contemplate whether or not he should knock. The door was open, was he actually required to knock? He poked his head to the side to see how busy the other man was and-

Alexander couldn’t believe it.

Littered around the office were scrawling’s on green sticky notes.

The exact same kind Alexander had.

Alexander turned around violently, pressing his back against the wall. He was beyond confused. His heart thrummed wildly, pulsating in his ears as he tried to calm down. It made no sense. Why would Thomas have green sticky notes? What would he be using them for?

Alexander rushed out of the firm, forgetting the reason he had gone in the first place. He had so many questions and he didn’t know which one to ask first.

Chapter Text

Thomas paced the room, wine glass in hand as he examined all the sticky notes Aaron, James, and himself had written at work days ago. Green and purple sticky notes glared at him from all corners of the room, lining the walls like a mosaic of terrible plans and half-arsed ideas.

“I really don’t think this is the best plan,” James mused unhelpfully from the foot of Thomas’ bed, “and why are we in your room?”

“Because if I have someone over in the next 10 minutes I don’t want them to see this,” He gestured around the room in exasperation.

James groaned loudly, shuffling so he could sit comfortably in the centre of his friends bed – crossing his legs like a seven-year-old. “I still don’t think this is a good idea.”

Thomas sighed dejectedly, letting his head fall onto the wall closest to him. “It’s the only idea we’ve got.”

“Do you have it in you to be an arsehole?”

Thomas rolled his head to the side so he could effectively raise an eyebrow at James. “Angelica once bitch slapped me because I was rude to her, I can do it.”

“It doesn’t take much to set her off.”

Thomas choked on air. “Don’t let her hear you say that!”

James raised an arm into the air, exasperated. “That’s my point Thomas, you can’t even throw a jibe.”

Thomas rubbed his hand self-consciously. “Yeah… she slapped me pretty hard…”

“It’s been three years, are you still scared of her?”

“Deadly.”

James shrugged. “Yup I’m not surprised that it took you a year to be comfortable enough to be in the same room as her.”

“Well then, it’ll be good,” Thomas tried convincing himself, “Distancing myself from him. That’s a good thing. That’s the whole point.”

James raised an eyebrow, not convinced. “What about the current case you’re working on? You can’t be walking on eggshells around him.”

“I already am!”

“You know what I mean Thomas, if you’re acutely aware that you’re supposed to be nasty to him, that could halt your entire case. You two need to be able to co-operate.”

Thomas groaned, collapsing on the bed dramatically beside him, flailing his arms out to take up as much space as possible. His legs dangled limply off the edge of the bed, threatening to tip Thomas over. Maybe that would be a good thing, a crash on the floor would be just the rude awakening he needed. “I can be mature.”

James snorted. “Sure you can.”

He heard a cry from James as he hit him on the leg. The sense of satisfaction that bloomed in his chest was immediately snuffed out when James poked him in the ribs. “That wasn’t necessary.”

Thomas squealed, rolling over. He misjudged the amount of space he had on the bed, feeling himself slip, gravity forcing him downwards. Thomas’ heart leapt into his throat as he palmed at his bed sheets, trying to find something to grip on. He slid onto the floor uneasily, hitting his knee against one of the bed legs. He pulled his hands to his knee to cradle it, regretting it instantly as he lost his only security to fall off the bed gracefully. Instead, he plummeted to the floor, landing in a tangled mass of hair and limbs.

He groaned softly, his side ached, giving off a dull throb and his knee seemed to be screaming as he lay on his soft carpet in defeat. Above him, he heard James cackling madly, the springs in the mattress squeaking as James rolled around laughing.

Thomas lifted his head, letting it drop onto the edge of the bed. He glared at his best friend, like the power of a look alone would be enough to push him off too. James heaved, sitting upwards to help himself breathe, which had begun to sound like the wheeze of a cat before it embraced death. If it were any other person Thomas would be concerned, but this was James’ general laugh. “You done?”

James shook his head, still chuckling. “That was – I mean – that’s the, that really was – That was like, the best, the- the best thing I’ve seen – seen all day.”

Thomas rolled his eyes, standing up slowly and stretching. His limbs burned easily as he stood on his tiptoes, his arms in the air. He pulled his back, smiling as his joints popped back into place, making a satisfied crack along his spine. James winced. “Do you really have to do that.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow petulantly. “I just fell off the bed.”

James shrugged. “Doesn’t answer my question.”

Thomas took in a deep breath, accentuating every word pointedly as he spoke. “I fell off the bed.”

James jumped off the bed, rolling his eyes in mirth. “I’d say you plummeted off the bed but to each their own.”

Thomas could barely catch him as they sprinted to the kitchen

-/-

James looked at the dough like it’d just stepped on his toe. “Thomas… What the hell?”

The mixture was the consistency of a puddle, the food processor whizzing through it like water. Okay, so Thomas had done something wrong. “I followed the recipe.”

James shook his head, taking out the flour from the cupboard. “You added too much water. It said a few drops, not a few litres.”

He poured a mountain of flour into the mixture, taking no regard for the recipe. Thomas coughed. “You’re going to mess it up further!”

“Pastry isn’t supposed to be runny!”

Thomas groaned, heading to the liquor cabinet and getting a bottle of vodka. James raised an eyebrow at Thomas sceptically? “Um, we’re cooking.”

Thomas shrugged. “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, and it just so happens to be 6 o’clock here. I’m fine.” Thomas took out his favourite shot glass, a tacky thing that said “Reese’s Diner” in faded ink on the side. He had no idea how he had come to own it – he had no idea what Reese’s Diner actually was, but vodka was always a liquid that was supposed to be tacky. There was no eloquence to it, it just helped take the edge off. He downed a shot, relishing in how the liquid burnt his throat, making his eyes hurt. His brain hummed in enjoyment, the shouting concerning Alex dulling to a quiet murmur. He could handle that.

He downed another shot. Just in case.

James took the bottle off him, placing it to the side. “Nope, you’re not allowed to get drunk before dinner and you can’t hold your spirits.”

Thomas grumbled in annoyance but complied, the guy was right after all. He sat on the bench as James fixed up his mess, turning the liquid mess into actual pastry dough, setting it in the pan. Thomas let his legs dangle off the counter, occasionally hitting the cupboard doors below him, making little thumping sounds similar to his heart beat. Fast, thrumming in his ears.

Thomas thought about Alex. Jesus, what the hell was he going to do. That man was his kryptonite. Attraction – Thomas thought to himself, was something that happened on a subconscious level, an involuntary magnetism happening in a matter of seconds. When you looked at someone and were just utterly captivated by them. It was different to how he described being attractive. Sure, on a physical level he could appreciate beauty, James, Lafayette, Angelica, they were all gorgeous people. But it was Alexander that had really stopped the world. Thomas had always thought, when he’d see the person he would fall for, it would be like fireworks, colour drained from the rest of the world, focusing on that once person like they hold the universe in their hand. Like he was falling down into a never ending pit, and only they could pull him out. But it wasn’t like that at all. It was subtle.

Thomas had looked at Alex and felt his heart freeze. He looked down at his paper, and then up again. That’s how it went for the day, always finding himself staring and then hastily looking away. He was just… existing, like the very essence that just was Alexander just surrounded his world. When Thomas had first looked at his face, it wasn’t the golden freckles, the sparkling eyes, or even the avalanche of chocolate hair that cascaded down to his shoulders that had enraptured him. Rather, it was his imperfections that left him breathless, the awkward crook of his nose, the scar near his ear, the bags that hung heavily under his eyes. He was perfectly imperfect and Thomas adored him for it.

Then it was love. Invisible, weightless, hitting him like a goddamn bus. Every love he had felt previously – whilst certainly had been a form of love, was never something quite like this. Like a cloak had wrapped itself around him, securing him in it’s warm embrace.

Now whenever Thomas sees Alexander it’s like he’s losing himself – he must be in love or else he’s going mad. Every sin, every mistake, everything Thomas had ever done wrong just seems to melt away whenever Alex meets his glance. It’s subtle, filling Thomas with comfort. The type of feeling he could get swept away in.

And he had to get over the man.

James laughed. “Thomas, are you finished with your rant yet?”

Heat rose to Thomas’ cheeks, he wanted to hide. Had he been talking out loud?

“Every word,” James replied, “From ‘Alexander is my kryptonite’ to ‘let’s talk about the meaning of love – it’s a blanket!’.”

Thomas grabbed a lone tea-towel and swatted James with it. “I’m going through an existential crisis, cut me some slack.”

James sighed, vaguely rubbing Thomas’ knee as he thought. “Look, I think maybe this whole ‘be nasty to him’ plan might be the only option. You’re way over your head in this Thomas.”

Thomas groaned, taking the wine bottle from across James and taking a swig straight from it – the burning liquid cooling down his raging brain. James winced. “Really?”

Thomas sighed. “This is not going to be fun.”

-/-

Lafayette paced back and forth furiously, drilling a hole into his living room floor. He was nervous – no, that was an understatement. He was fucking terrified. A Tuesday evening was a perfectly reasonable time to have a date, right? Nothing out of the ordinary about that.

Who was he kidding himself.

Lafayette took shaky breaths, sprinting to his bedroom mirror. He looked decent enough. Black pants, nice shoes and a cute button up with small turtles printed on it. John would go mad for it.

And then hopefully, go mad for Lafayette too.

Lafayette took out his hair from his ponytail, letting his tight ringlets fall around his face. It was strange, seeing his hair out like this, he usually never left it out. He studied his face in the mirror, wondering if it actually looked okay. His skull felt heavy, like the weight of his hair was pulling his head downwards. He put it back up, he could experiment with his hair another day.

He went back to the living room, sitting on the couch in a rigid position, his body taut with nerves. It wasn’t a date. It was just wishful thinking. It was only breakfast – for dinner. No one had breakfast as a first date. It was only just hanging out.

Just the two of them.

No one else.

Oh God it was totally a date.

His phone vibrated in his back pocket, shocking Lafayette from his paranoia.

Thomac-n-cheese: fuck

Thomac-n-cheese: fuuuuieuuuiuuuu

Lafayette groaned slightly, what had Thomas done now?

Thomac-n-cheese: LAF I DONE FUCKED UP

Thomac-n-cheese: JFC I CAN’T FIND IT

 

Glitterfrog: . . .

Glitterfrog: I’m afraid to ask

 

Thomac-n-cheese: MY  C O N T A A A C T  LENSE

Thomac-n-cheese: MY EYES

Thomac-n-cheese: @KITCHEN SIMNKS Y

Lafayette rolled his eyes.

Glitterfrog: How do you even loose a contact lens? Does it just fall out or something?

Thomac-n-cheese: NO

Thomac-n-cheese: I DUNNO

Thomac-n-cheese: I

Thomac-n-cheese: I DUNNO

 

Glitterfrog: Thomas… Are you drunk?

 

Thomac-n-cheese: NO

Thomac-n-cheese: MAYBE

Thomac-n-cheese: LAF MY CONN TA C T  LENESESSSIES

Thomac-n-cheese: HOW DO U SPELL CONNTNACT LENSISIES SL

Thomac-n-cheese: C O N T

Thomac-n-cheese: CON

Thomac-n-cheese: UGH

 

Glitterfrog: Lens*

 

Thomac-n-cheese: STFU

Thomac-n-cheese: WHAT DO

 

Glitterfrog: I dunno Thomas, but I have to go soon

 

Thomac-n-cheese: FUCK

Thomac-n-cheese: NO

Thomac-n-cheese: I SPILT IT

Thomac-n-cheese: FUKC

 

Glitterfrog: . . .

Glitterfrog: Yup, I’m calling Angie

Lafayette sighed as his phone continued pinging, most likely Thomas continuing his rant. He pulled up Angelica’s contact info, hoping to God the woman would answer shortly.

She answered on the third ring. “Yo.”

Lafayette refused to beat around the bush. “Thomas is drunk.”

He heard a groan on the opposite end. “It’s 9pm. What the hell?”

Lafayette smirked in agreement. “He lost a contact lens.”

He heard Angelica groan a second time through the receiver. “Y’know, I’m not even going to question how. I’m guessing you’re telling me this so I can go over and help him?”

Lafayette felt guilt weigh in his stomach. “I’m sorry Angie, I would but I have plans…”

“What, like a date or something?”

Lafayette froze. “N-non, not really. Just a dinner with John. Well breakfast really. Breakfast for dinner.”

He heard Angelica shuffle around his house, presumably gathering her things to leave. “Sounds fun. You owe me dude.”

Lafayette laughed. “Even if I hadn’t called you would check on him.”

“Hmm yeah, that’s true.”

Angelica hung up, leaving Lafayette alone in his apartment again, his thoughts raging about whether or not it was a date. He drummed his fingers on the coffee table in thought – no, it wasn’t a date. Lafayette could never be so lucky.

But-

No.

No, it’s totally, most definitely, not a date.

But what if it is?

Lafayette wanted to scream, regretting saying yes to hanging out with John. But not really, the man was a sucker for anything John wanted. Lafayette jumped from the couch in an instant, bolting to the door as soon as he heard a knock. John stood there in all his effortless beauty, a nervous grin plastered on his face. The hall light behind him shone brightly, glowing the stray wisps of hair framing his face, giving him the effect of a halo. Seeing John, standing in his dark jeans and Nikes – it was like a clap of thunder, hard and loud, slapping him in the face. Seeing John like this, it was different than usual. Lafayette looked at John and didn’t see a man who had dressed up for a nice occasion, but rather a person he could just see chilling on the couch with, eating take out and watching some b-grade movie on Netflix. Being with John, it didn’t need to be a clap of thunder, monstrous and ever moving. But rather quiet, filled with vacuuming, laundry, and bills to pay. It was the first time Lafayette had really looked at someone and thought – I could just be with you forever and it would be okay.

It was a terrifying, but rather comforting thought.

John took Lafayette’s hand; it was somewhat clammy – like he was nervous. Lafayette could feel the energy buzzing off of John, like residual electricity from the thunder clap earlier on. “I hope you don’t mind,” John began, twiddling with a stray piece of hair with his other finger, “I’ve been listening to this new podcast – Alice Isn’t Dead, and well, now I’m paranoid the Thistle Man will come and eat me.”

Lafayette had no idea what John was talking about, instead he smiled softly and relished in holding Johns hand as they walked to wherever they were going on their not-maybe-date. The comfort of John being so close to him overwhelming his senses. “It sounds interesting, what’s it about?”

Lafayette would probably admit it to John later, but he didn’t pay much attention to what John said, instead just focused on the very embodiment that was John.

He could stay content like this, Lafayette believed. He picked up bits and pieces of what John said, “This amazing lesbian… omg and Sylvia… They legit break into a police station… oh man and the thistle man attacked her… it’s so scary… and the billboards… goddamn Alice…” but for Lafayette, all he cared about was that this podcast made John happy.

As they walked to the diner, their footsteps began a rhythm all on their own, matching the beating of their hearts. It was fast, surreal, like song. Finally John stopped, staring at Lafayette inquisitively. John’s eyes roamed down to Lafayette’s stopped, pausing quickly. A huge grin stretched across his face, “Jesus Laf! Your shirt is amazing! I love it – where did you get it?”

Yeah, Lafayette could definitely imagine spending many years with this kid.

Chapter Text

Thomas wept, staring down the kitchen sink drain in despair. His left eye hurt – no, it throbbed in his skull, the difference in seeing out his left eye verses barely seeing out of his right eye making him dizzy. His finger lazily traced the rim of the drain, goddamn he wanted his contact lensies back. Lesies? Lens? Who even knew anymore.

Thomas wobbled to the lounge room, maybe James could help him find his contact lens. He was still at the house, right? The house shook – James was snoring. It was like a mini Earthquake every time his smaller friend opened his mouth, or maybe it was just the dizziness spinning in Thomas’ brain.

James was curled up in a ball on the couch, tucked underneath a throw blanket that was large enough under James’ small frame to look like a legitimate bed sheet. Thomas giggled, poking James’ foot. The man didn’t wake.

“James,” he whispered, “James ya got- youu gotsa halp me Jamesy boi.” Thomas tried to accentuate each word properly, but found that his tongue – for whatever reason, didn’t want to co-operate. His mouth was slow, making it hard to form words. Thomas stared down the empty vodka bottle on the coffee table, squinting at it with half-blind fury. He hated being drunk.

James groaned, making a half arsed effort to shoo Thomas away. “Lemme sleep.” He grumbled into the pillow.

Thomas collapsed on top of James, burying his face into the pillow. “No.”

James groaned again, squirming lazily to get out from underneath the tall oaf that remained firmly planted above him. “You’re ‘ucking heafy.”

Thomas sniffled, marvelling at how the pillow soaked up the tears that had remained on his cheeks, damp trails imprinted into the cloth like his face was a stamp. “I lost ma contact thingy.”

“Your contact what?”

“Thingy! I dunno if it’s lesiesies or lenzz” Thomas laughed again, the zzz sound tickling his tongue.

James poked Thomas softly in the shoulder, having no energy to make it an actual attack. “Jus’ wear your glasses then.”

Thomas shook his head petulantly. “No, I looks ugly in them glasses. I haven’t worn them since college.”

James tried raised an eyebrow but failed, instead adopting a frown on his face. “What? Don’t you get your prescription updated?”

“Of course! Jus’ for my contacts. And well… I los’ my new glasses so I’ve only got my college ones.”

The front door rattled loudly. Thomas’ blood ran cold, he rolled off of James and onto the floor, hiding behind the couch. “James, whatz happenin’?”

James frowned, looking upwards. “Finally, you got off me.” He rolled over to the other side and fell back asleep.

Thomas rolled his eyes dramatically, but stayed crouched. So what if James wanted to die by whatever was breaking in. He scanned the room, looking for something – anything, to defend himself with. In a half blind haze, he reached out onto the coffee table for the empty vodka bottle. Maggie Simpson had used it as a weapon in the Simpsons movie, it’d be fine.

Thomas swallowed nervously as the front door creaked open and powerful footsteps entered the room, the clicking of heals echoing in the quiet space. “Thomas! It’s just me.”

Thomas instantly relaxed, a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding escaping him. He sighed softly, it was only Angelica.

Angelica – what was she doing here?

Thomas attempted to stand but found himself wobbling precariously, falling onto James. James hit him furiously. “Thomas! Die more quietly! Lemme sleep!”

Thomas heard a groan from the other room, followed by the clicking of Angelica heels getting louder. He rolled over slightly, to find her towering frame above him, giving an unamused scowl. “It’s a work night. Why on earth have you been drinking.”

Thomas shrugged, ignoring James as he attempted to push him off. “Love’s a bitch.”

Angelica sighed, her expression softening. “True that,” she helped lift him up, “c’mon then, let’s get you too bed.”

Thomas couldn’t believe Angelica was so strong, he was absolutely sure that she was basically carrying all his weight. She laughed when he commented on it. “I’ve done kick boxing since I was six, you pick up a few things.”

Thomas wasn’t sure if Angelica nudged him onto the bed or he collapsed onto it - but either way he found his head buried in his duvet, his butt sticking into the air and his arms awkwardly positioned like a flamingo’s legs. He rolled over, his head on the side looking at one of the sticky note painted walls. Angelica sighed, rolling him over further. “I’m not even going to question the post-it-notes on the walls?”

Thomas shrugged. “Love’s a bitch.”

“So you’ve said.”

Thomas rolled slightly in the bed, attempting to get comfortable. It felt like his body was falling through the floor as he shifted onto his back, stretching himself outwards like a cat. The room felt as though it was spinning around him with Angelica seeming like a haze above him, watching over him benevolently.

Yeah, Angelica – she was an amazing. He couldn’t believe she had somehow apparated into his house like this just to look after him. She was magical – like an angel. Thomas giggled, Angelica the angel.

“What’s funny?” Angelica asked, her eyes scanning the room. Thomas has no idea what she was looking for – looking at? Probably a photo of her. Angelica should be everywhere in his life. Lord knows he needed her.

He giggled again, talking in a sing-song voice. “You’re Angelica the angel!”

Angelica looked at him quizzically. “An angel you say? That’s a bit far-fetched.”

Thomas pouted. “Well, you’re no fairy godmother. You haven’t taken me to the ball so I can meet my true love.”

Angelica laughed. “And who would this true love be?”

Thomas’ heart hardened, and he felt his mood go sour. No, he didn’t want to think about that. He felt his chest clench, a conscious effort in an attempt to stay sane. It didn’t help much – it just made him depressed. “He’s not my true love now, I missed out.”

There was a shift in the bed as Angelica sat beside him, a hand rested on his shin. “Aw hon? It can’t have been too late.”

Thomas shook his head defiantly, the action causing the room to spin violently. He sat up, resting his head in his hands. Everything just hurt. His head throbbed ferociously, his brain fuzzed in and out of focus, and his left eye was the pain equivalent of screaming – but most of all, it was his heart that hurt the most. Something that Thomas’ alcohol riddled brain could neither describe or comprehend. It was like missing something that was never yours to begin with, like that feeling when you remember a friend you were once extraordinarily close to, but now you never spoke to. It just… hurt.

“It hurts Angelica,” he whispered, “it all just hurts.”

He didn’t know how it happened, one moment he was sitting silently, the next he was enveloped in a warm hug. His face was buried in Angelica’s hair as she wrapped her arms around him, securing him in place and stroking the back of his head. Angelica was soft – she smelt like lavender and vanilla and safety – it was moments like these where Thomas just felt completely at ease, despite how crazy the rest of the world was. It was nice being in her embrace - she truly was an angel.

Angelica set him down to rest, tucking Thomas in. His heart still hurt but for now he could set it aside and allow himself to wrap around his duvet like a burrito.

He didn’t even notice Angelica leave, pocketing a sticky note with her.

-/-

The sun was a stain on the very reality of life. Its light was the equivalent of a shriek, demanding all to be aware of its presence. Thomas groaned, pulling a pillow over his head to block out the suns glaring light. It was far too bright.

The next thing he registered was actual shrieking. Or rather – his persistent alarm, blaring at him for him to get out of bed and do something meaningful with his insignificant existence.

The fortress that was his skull cracked under the pressure, allowing the insufferable noise and light to destroy any sanity he had left. His skull ached, pounding violently. It was as though a collection of tiny elephants were doing the conga inside his brain.

Thomas poked his head out of the pillow, squinting into the light then immediately shutting his eyes – regretting the decision. A sole ray of sunlight had seared his eye, causing his brain to bleed.

With his eyes screwed shut, his head under the pathetic safety of the pillow, he palmed his hand over to the nightstand to turn off the alarm – which was still screaming at him. He felt his hand over something tall and cold, he didn’t recognise it being there. Ignoring it, he continued onwards, over a small container and what felt like a piece of paper until finally landing on the merciless offender. With the little might Thomas could muster, he slammed his hand on the alarm, shutting it off instantly.

Ah, the perks of using an actual alarm over his phone.

He sat up slowly, blinking as he took in the room, every aspect of it assaulting his senses. He felt dizzy, his eyes were in a pain Thomas could barely describe. It was so painful that words were beyond meaning. He let himself adjust to actually being conscious, with the disagreeable feeling you get when you’re about to die in five minutes. Which was fitting really, Thomas certainly felt like death.

Looking at the nightstand he smiled softly. Angelica had left him a glass of water and what he assumed was an aspirin bottle, and a note he couldn’t read for the life of him. He downed two pills quickly before stumbling towards the bathroom.

He stared at himself bleakly in the bathroom mirror, cursing his long-sightedness. His face was a fuzzy blotch in front of him. He could somewhat make out his face in the mirror, if the dark circles under his eyes were anything to go by he knew he was a mess. He opened the third draw to the bottom, pulling out his old college glasses. They wouldn’t be perfect, but they’d have to do.

Thomas took a shower, letting the hot water wash over his body. He felt the knots that he hadn’t realised had been in his back loosen, the feeling instantly relaxing him. Washing himself was like washing last night away, the booze, the self-pitying, the booze. Today was a new day, one in which Thomas wouldn’t allow himself to wallow in a pit of depression. His was woozy, he felt sick. Today was the day that started his “be an asshole to Alexander” plan in an attempt to get over him.

His didn’t deserve Alexander anyway.

After quickly showering and drying himself off he put his old glasses on, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his reflection. His hair was sticking in various angles he couldn’t begin to describe. The only way he could describe his face was blotchy. In some areas he was fine, but in others – like his cheeks, he looked like the human embodiment of death. The eye circles were worse than he thought they had been. The bags were a deep purple, one that could rival Alexander Hamilton himself.

Thomas caught himself, no – no more thinking about him.

Pulling out his liquid foundation (Rihanna truly was a goddess), he quickly slathered it over his face with his hands, not even bothering to get a brush. He took the concealer wand his sister had bought him and applied it to his eyes, from the sides that connected to the bridge of his nose to the actual bags themselves – then blended it with more concealer. It was a trick Angelica had taught him, one he was forever grateful for.

Sticking his glasses back on, he stared at his reflection curiously.  You could only tell of his mess like state if you looked closely – or if you questioned the tick black rimmed glasses balancing on his nose. But no one would do that.

He hoped.

Oh god how he hoped.

-/-

Angelica cornered Alexander in the hallway, pinning him against the wall “We need to talk.”

Alexander chuckled nervously, this didn’t bode well. “Are we breaking up? Why Angelica – we didn’t even have the chance to go out yet!”

Angelica shook her head, dragging Alexander back into his own office, leaving him to stumble after her. She slammed a small piece of paper on his desk. “Read it.”

Alexander swallowed in apprehension, leaning over to take a look. Angelica was acting all serious like and it disturbed him. Stuck poorly on his desk was a green sticky note, it had been crumpled and uncrumpled several times, leaving it with various creases everywhere. In a neat scrawl that Alexander immediately identified as Thomas handwriting (and how on earth could he do that?) it read “either way, get over Alexander fucking Hamilton”.

“Looks like your little crush on Thomas Jefferson isn’t unwarranted.”

Alexander spluttered. “I do not have a crush on Thomas goddamn Jefferson!”

He certainly didn’t. No way in hell. Alexander wanted to be… Maybe a friend or something? There was no way Alexander had any sort of romantic feelings towards Thom- Jefferson. Not in the slightest. The very idea… It repulsed him.

Angelica scoffed when he voiced his thoughts aloud. “Alright then, deny it all you want. But there is an attraction there – and you’re dating my sister so-“

“Fake dating.”

“Try telling the media that Alexander. I’m sure that Alexi brat would have a field day.” She pointed at the post-it-note. “This hasn’t been the first time I’ve seen stuff like this Alexander. Do you really think your note passing during meetings has slipped my notice?”

Alexander rubbed the back of his neck. “We just do it to communicate with one another ‘cause we can’t fight with each other verbally now.”

Angelica sighed, slumping onto the desk. “Look, I’ve nothing against you two, honestly you two getting together would solve so many issues in this office. I’m happy to set you guys up, but not whilst you’re dating my sister.”

“Fake dating.”

“You get my point.”

“And I don’t like Thomas,” Alexander continued, “He’s a pompous arsehole with an idiotic fashion sense and amazing hair. That’s it.”

Angelica shrugged. “Call it what you want to, but I smell horseshit.”

Alexander rolled his eyes in exasperation. Part of him was hoping that he wasn’t putting on this act to convince himself. God – a relationship with Thomas could never work out. They were too incompatible. Besides, the man was actually a shit.

Well not really, he was actually turning out to be rather sweet.

Shit.

“Look Angelica, right now all I care about is sticking it to your folks, helping Eliza out with whatever is happening with this Maria chick, and saving the orphanage. Even if I did care about dating, it certainly wouldn’t be with-“

Alexander caught himself gazing over to the open door, just as Thomas Jefferson strolled by. “Thomas wears glasses?” He said, interrupting his own sentence.

He tuned out Angelica’s obnoxious laughter as he stared at the man. He had never seen Thomas ruffled and today was no exception. He took languid steps to his office, the world slowing to a stop around him. Alexander couldn’t understand what was so intriguing about Thomas today.

It was the glasses, it had to be.

Angelica gave a triumphant smirk. “He had an incident with his contact lenses last night. Cute, isn’t it?”

Alexander barely registered what he was saying. “Yeah. I mean, no. Just like, in the conventional way y’know. Like he’s conventionally cute, but that doesn’t mean that I find him attractive.”

Angelica raised an eyebrow, her smirk growing. “Alright then, sure you’re not attracted to him. Don’t do anything stupid around him though Alexander. Remember, as far as anyone else is concerned, you’re still dating my sister.” She leaned forward hissing venevmously. “And if you hurt her, remember that I am one of the few people in the world who can murder you and leave no forensic evidence behind.”

Alexander swallowed nervously, he didn’t even try to deny it either.

-/-

Alexander couldn’t concentrate. Aaron Burr hummed an undecipherable tune next to him, muttering every now and again about some dog called Theodosia. If the noise weren’t bad enough, Thomas goddamn Jefferson sat across from him wearing his stupid glasses on his stupid face that made him look stupid cute.

No, no it didn’t. Because looking cute would imply that Alexander felt attracted to Thomas.

And he most certainly did not.

Thomas raised an eyebrow at him. “Hamilton, what on earth are you doing?”

Alexander couldn’t help himself. “You wear glasses.”

“Yup.”

“Why?”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “Why the hell does it concern you?”

Alexander backtracked a little, Thomas’ hostility coming out of no-where. “I thought I was just making conversation. None of us were talking – it was a little awkward.”

“Are you truly a toddler?” Thomas began, “Can you not sit in silence?”

Alexander tried not to feel confused, before they had started exchanging notes, this was the typical attitude they had towards each other. “I’m just wondering why you would buy a pair that ugly – I mean, it’s nicer than the rest of your face but still.”

Lies.

Aaron groaned. “Both of you, shut up and get to work.”

Thomas ignored him, cracking his neck in a display of disinterest. “Y’know Hamilton, I was expecting something wittier than an appearance insult – turns out you really are as dumb as you look.”

“You stooped as low as me.”

Thomas shook his head, picking up his file again. “Oh darlin’. Go buy a brain.”

Alexander felt the world freeze all over. Darling. It lingered around him like a stain. It wasn’t sweet or kind, but rather mocking and ruthless. He had no idea why Thomas’ words hurt so much. Why they caused his chest to clench or his guts to churn. He swallowed nervously, burring himself back into his work. There was no way he was thinking about this now.

He did not like Thomas Jefferson.

Then why did it hurt so much?

Chapter Text

Alexander didn’t know what he was expecting when Eliza told him they were visiting the orphanage she ran but this was not it. It looked like a large house, with a cute garden out the front with neatly trimmed hedges lining the driveways and a set of apartment mailboxes out the front. Gnomes and other garden ornaments littered the front yard in various fashions, making it seem like an old grandma lived in this house, not a bunch of foster kids.

Alexander was more excited than nervous; he still couldn’t believe they were doing this spontaneous trip. Eliza grinned at him from the driver’s seat as she parked the car on the driveway. “You’re going to love the kids.”

Alexander didn’t deny it.

As soon as they entered, Alexanders nose was assaulted with the smell of vanilla and cinnamon. His stomach rumbled, a small ache taking residence. He hadn’t realised how hungry he was until he smelled what he presumed to be the candle. “Peter Alexander,” Eliza announced, “has the best candles in the world and I’ll fight you on that.”

Alex frowned. “Aren’t they super expensive?”

Eliza shrugged. “They sponsor us, it’s not nearly enough though, they mostly just provide the kids with pyjamas.”

“Better than nothing though.”

“True.”

The inside of the house (was it even a house) was incredible and Alexander could tell that Eliza had spent a lot of time and effort making it seem as homely as possible. On the wall was a smiling portrait of each kid who was part of the orphanage, there was currently 121 portraits on display, all the kids smiling. One particularly stood out to him, it was a pair of kids, a girl and a boy. Both had freckles and a mane of curls. The boy caught his eye the most, he was holding a snake – they seemed to be at the zoo. “Who’s this?”

Eliza practically glowed as she grinned. “Oh, that’s Phillip and Angelica Swan. We found out they were siblings last year actually from those Ancestry DNA tests. They were both orphans at birth, we have no idea who the parents are.”

“Swan? Like Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time?”

Eliza laughed. “Omg, that’s great. We gotta tell them that.”

“You should totally get them to watch it – the show is amazing.” Alex agreed.

“Swan Queen all the way!” Eliza cheered, high-fiving Alexander.

They wandered down the hall which was littered with drawings and artworks from the various kids that had either stayed here or were currently staying here. Eliza pointed out a couple of them as they passed. “…We got a dog called Sweet Lips and she just had to draw him…”

The drawings were amazing. Various skill levels but all the same level of importance. There was a drawing of a flock of sheep, each with different coloured coats, another drawing had a boy riding a horse, winning a medal. It was truly humbling to see these drawings, it brought Alexander back to his own past, one that was probably just as lonely as these kids. He was glad that Eliza worked so diligently on the orphanage, giving these kids the life he never had.

They deserved it.

The two entered the communal space which was so loud Alexander thought he might go deaf. Inside, a collection of children were gathered around a TV, two of them clearly playing it. The kids were heavily invested, cheering the two other kids on. It was a spectacle, there were banners and streamers, reading things like “blow us all away”, “crush ‘em!”, and “make her go mad!”. Eliza laughed, “Ah, it’s the weekly Mario Kart competition.”

Upon closer inspection, Alexander was delighted to find that the two kids were playing Rainbow Road – the only good course in Mario Kart besides Coconut Mall. When he voiced these thoughts, Eliza crinkled up her nose in disgust. “No Alexander, no. Rainbow Road far surpasses any of the other courses, that’s why it’s in every generation of the game.”

“That’s because no one else appreciates the true beauty that is Coconut Mall.” Alexander countered with a smirk. He enjoyed light banter with Eliza, like every Schuyler she could give as good as she could get.

There was a whoop from one of the seats, a boy with curls jumping into the air. “Suck it Angelica!”

A cluster of children surrounding him began high-fiving and cheering, whilst the others slumped over, patting the girl on the back. “I’ll get you next time squirt, get on Moonview Highway, let’s see how you enjoy getting crushed – literally.”

Eliza stepped in. “Now, I hope crushed means how the cars get flattened on the course, and not how you’re going to physically crush him Angelica.”

There were plenty of cries of welcome, children embracing Eliza with open arms. Alexander was astounded, she seemed like Jesus or something, the children were just drawn to her like she had a magnetic field being a little too strong. It was a beautiful sight, filled with ecstatic children surrounding Eliza like a goddess. He couldn’t remember ever being attached to a social worker in his childhood, especially not like how these kids were attached to her. It truly showed how dedicated she was to these kids, how strong her impact was.

“Nah, she just can’t accept that she’ll never beat me at Rainbow Road.” Alexander looked closely at the kid. Freckles dusted his face and arms, his wild hair pulled in a ponytail. This must be Phillip.

Eliza laughed. “Angelica’ll get there. Just you wait.”

Another kid, a small girl with tight blonde curls shook her head ferociously. “No, no Ms Schuyler, Phillip is the bestest racer!”

Eliza crouched down to the girls level, sitting in a frog like stance. “Well Olive, that’s why Angelica needs to keep practising, so then she can become the bestest.”

The other girl – Angelica, stood up and stretched, taking Phillips Wii Remote. “We’re doing Moonview Highway, I’m gonna put you in your place kiddo.”

Phillip laughed. “You’re literally younger than me, should I be calling you kiddo?”

Angelica shrugged, going through the menu to find the new course.

Eliza stepped back, waving Alex over. He suddenly felt exposed, like he was intruding on something private. Maybe he shouldn’t be here – this was awkward. His heart hammered wildly as dozens of tiny eyes focused on him. “Eliza? Who’s this?”

Eliza grinned, walking over to Alex so she could drag him into the midst of the children. “This is Alexander Hamilton, he’s a very good friend of mine.”

A boy curled up at Phillips feet looked up from the book he was reading. “Oh! You’re the guy pretending to date Eliza so she can keep the orphanage open!”

It shocked Alex that Eliza had been so open with the kids, but at the same time he wasn’t too surprised. “Among other things yeah, mainly I just wanted to stick it to her homophobic dad.”

“How the hell do you make a statement supporting homosexuality by being in a hetero relationship?” Angelica quipped.

Eliza shrugged. “We’ve got a plan.”

No they didn’t.

“Oooh!” Another child said, “what’s the plan?”

They didn’t have a plan.

“It’s a secret, it’s going to knock your socks off.” Alexander said quickly, interrupting Eliza before she could speak.

Eliza visibly breathed out in relief, Alexander could relate. It seemed like around children adults had an unconscious urge to impress them – which could end very badly.

Eliza immediately brightened up. “Oh! These are the infamous Swan siblings!” She gestured to Angelica and Phillip, who were preparing another round on what looked to be Daisy Circuit. “Wait, what happened to Moonview Highway?”

Angelica shrugged. “Phillip didn’t wanna, and we haven’t done this course in a while.”

“So it will truly be a test of skill, rather than muscle memory.” Phillip said.

Alex sat down on the end of the couch. “See, you should do Coconut Road, that’s a fun one.”

Angelica pulled a face. “That’s so basic though, even a noob could do that course.”

“Trust us old man, we know what we’re doing.”

Alexander was in awe by the teenagers, who zipped through the course like it was no bodies business. He fully understood the hype the children had over this event, and why it was such a big deal. It was mesmerising, he barely registered the cries behind him of “make her go mad!” or “c’mon Phillip, blow us all away” or even, “c’mon Angelica, be the best racer!”. It was an intense battle of sibling rivalry; Alexander could feel the electricity in the air. The siblings were constantly fighting each other over first and second place, having left the other automated racers in the dust. He watched in anticipation as the young Angelica inched her way past Phillip, her Yoshi avatar whizzing past the Bowser Phillip was driving. Phillip was sitting forward, his back tense and eyes squinted as he drove on wards, leveling up next to her. Alexander’s heart caught in his throat as they neared the end of the final lap, the siblings neck and neck.

Angelica swerved sideways, collecting a prize and zooming back towards Phillip who was now ahead. Another kid cried in triumph as the wheel landed on a bullet. Angelica slammed her hand on the button, using the Bullet boost to fly past Phillip – who sat slack jawed as Angelica won the race, narrowly beating Phillip.

She jumped into the air, cheering. Alexander couldn’t help but feel her excitement, it was infectious. “You used a bullet!” Phillip cried, “how is that fair.”

Angelica shrugged. “I won fair and square, mister.”

Phillip laughed. “When you’re right, you’re right.”

Alex couldn’t believe it, Mario Kart always ended in intense feuds with his friends, yet these two were able to remain civil so easily. The crowd surrounding them dispersed, satisfied in the tie of wins between Phillip and Angelica. They could wait for a grand final next week.

Phillip leaned back into the couch after turning off the Wii console. “So Alexander, why’re you here?”

Angelica leaned in on Alexanders other side. “Yeah, no offense but it’s a bit weird.”

“I wanted to finally meet you guys, Eliza talks about you all the time.”

“Yeah, the unadoptable kids.” Angelica said bitterly, mostly to herself.

Alexander frowned, feeling the mood change. It was no longer light and pleasant, something dark had settled in. “Wait, what do you mean by that.”

“We’ve always been close, we found out we’re siblings last year but we still can’t find out anything about our biological parents. No one wants a teenager, and no one wants two. If we get adopted – or even fostered, it won’t be together.”

“Hence why we’re unadoptable.” Angelica concluded.

Something heavy sat in Alexanders gut, it was a familiar feeling he recognised from childhood. They had thought – they had thought that he was there for them. They were smart, it didn’t take them long to realise otherwise.

Alexander sighed. “Y’know, it’s probably for the best that you’re not fostered. There’s some messed up houses out there, and this place is pretty good.

“It is,” Phillip agreed, “but there’s always the knowledge that you were never good enough for someone.”

Alexanders blood ran cold. He knew the exact thought path Phillip was running down. He got off the couch so he could face both of them. “Now you listen to me. Someone not adopting you two – well that’s their loss. I was in the exact same situation as you once, albeit not in as nice of an institution, and I’ll tell you now, you grow up and you learn that the experiences you have here – they make you. You two Swans, you have your family. This family here. A family you have made, a family you’ve chosen. And you have each other. That’s incredible. At the end of the day, screw the people who abandoned you, they don’t deserve you.”

Neither of the Swans looked convinced. “Hm, either way dude, you’re alright.”

“Will you visit us again?” Angelica asked.

Alexander smiled, these kids were incredible, he was glad Eliza had introduced him to them. “Hell yeah I will, and I’m introducing you to Once Upon a Time.”

-/-

Alexander had never felt so awkward sitting next to Thomas. He gave furtive glances towards the sticky note he had snuck towards Thomas during the meeting. It had been a week since Thomas had worn glasses and his whole mood around Alex shifted. He couldn’t explain it, he had no way to understand it.

Aaron was pleased, a side case he was working on was looking to be successful. Alexander didn’t catch the name but apparently an irreversible restraining order was about to go through, permanently protecting his client. “Then she can finally move on with her life.” He said with a smile.

Angelica cheered, high-fiving him across the table. “Aaron, that’s amazing!”

Washington smiled towards Aaron, a rare occurrence between the two. “Angelica is right, this is revolutionary for our company, I’m sure this will be instrumental in your case with Thomas and Alexander.”

At the sound of his name, Alexander noticed Thomas’ head snap up from the sticky note – which he had been staring since Alex had slid it into his lap. “Yep, I agree.”

Alexander felt as though spiders were crawling up his spine. It seemed as though Thoma-Jefferson was purposely ignoring him. He didn’t understand. He wanted to talk to him properly, to understand these feelings he was having. If he could even describe it like that.

He thought of the kids in the orphanage, would it be rude to ask them for relationship advice? Probably – especially because he was fake dating Eliza.

He was surprised with how well it was turning out; he had excepted Alexi to release the article of his interview but it had yet to happen. Apparently she was waiting for other things to occur to create an entire issue dedicated to it. Which was… interesting to say the least.

The meeting continued with ease and Alexander found himself tuning it out. Why hadn’t Thomas replied to him yet? He had distinctly seen him pack a stack of post it notes in his pocket before coming in. Was he purposely ignoring him? Why would he be doing that?

Nothing made sense and Alexander wanted to scream.

He couldn’t help but stare at Thomas. Was Thomas actually attracted to him? Was he actually attracted to Thomas? Or did he just think so because he knew that Thomas was attracted to him. God he hated this. He wished Angelica had never confronted him all those days ago. It had felt like eons. Countless nights not sleeping, just wondering, just thinking. Thomas was undoubtedly attractive, Alexander had never denied that.

But now it was other things. Thomas was kind, and funny, and smart. He hadn’t realised how fun it was to banter with him, how much exileration he got out of a light hearted argument.

Now it had been a week without it.

Thomas had gone radio silent and Alexander had seen no other option but to try and confront him during their next meeting – which was now. Thomas continued to stare at the note which read “Please talk to me”. It was unnerving, Thomas still hadn’t said anything. What was going through that brain.

He was probably wondering why the hell Alex was so desperate.

Thomas slammed a sticky note onto Alexanders leg with the force of a slap and it took everything in him not to wince. It wasn’t particularly painful or anything – just strong. Anticipation bubbled in his chest – and fear. He had no idea what Thomas had written, what did he want.

“Meet me after the meeting”

It was written messily, with many phrases surrounding it crossed out and rewritten, like Thomas had been reconsidering what he should say.  He swallowed his nerves, instead focusing on the love eyes Charles Lee was Sending Samuel Seabury’s way, or was it Fredrick’s way? He could never tell with those three. Alexander briefly thought that he should pay attention to office gossip more often, but the thought soon flitted out of his find as Lafayette flicked his leg. “Pay attention.” He whispered.

Alexander almost laughed, Lafayette was always looking out for him. Maybe he could ask Lafayette about Thomas – no that wouldn’t work. He wouldn't approve of Alex pining over someone else whilst fake dating Eliza.

Goddammit.

It wasn’t until Lafayette physically picked Alexander out of his seat that he realised the meeting was over. “Alexander mon ami, are you alright? You keep losing focus.”

Alexander laughed in what he hoped was a relaxed manner. “Just off with the fairies.”

“Well, Washington asked you, Aaron, and Thomas to continue with the case tomorrow, take a break today and just work on filing your notes.’

Alexander’s brain fizzed – Thomas! He thanks Lafayette quickly, dashing out of the empty meeting room to find Thomas. Why didn’t he wait for him?

He slowed down to a leisurely pace, so as not to alert anyone. It wasn’t like they were doing anything wrong per-say, maybe it was just the nerves eating away at Alexanders soul that made him feel guilty.

Thomas’ office door was wide open, as if excepting Alexander – which of course he was. Alexander briefly wondered whether to knock or not but decided against it, he wouldn’t normally anyway.

Thomas’ office was dark, the lights out and the blinds pulled shut, it was practically impossible to see. Which was the excuse Alexander used as to why he didn’t realise Thomas wasn’t in his office.

Suddenly, he was pinned against the wall, his arms pulled by his side. “What the hell Hamilton?” Thomas hissed. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I don’t – I don’t understand-“

“No, no you don’t.” Thomas let go of him, going to his desk. “Hamilton, I’m sick of the fucking notes. You’re parasitical, I can’t go through one meeting without you pestering me.”

Alexander felt daggers to his heart.

Thomas rummaged through a draw, pulling out a small cardboard box. He handed it to Alexander. “I kept it all in case I could use anything as leverage against you but honestly, I just don’t care anymore. I have to put up with you in this case and I just can’t do it with anything else.

All the pieces that made up Alexanders world fell out of place, like they shattered. Any semblance of sanity Alexander held broke. It was a brutal stab in the back, everything breaking down a little.

“I-I didn’t realise that’s how you felt.”

“How else would I feel Hamilton? You’re insufferable. I tried humouring you, I tried putting up with you, but you’re impossible.”

So that’s all it had been. Alexander felt himself shake, blinking back wet tears. He supposed this is what heartbreak felt like. Of crushing anguish, of nausea swirling in his gut. His blood felt like tar, burning the oxygen that had taken residence in his lungs. A thin sheet of ice built itself around his heart, replicating the frailness of his feelings - feelings he had barely even come to accept. Which meant that he had truly liked Thomas and he hadn’t even realised. He turned around in a huff, he didn’t want Tho-Jefferson to see him like this. He clutched the box tightly. “Well if it’s any consolation Jefferson, I’m glad to be rid of you too.”

With that he stormed out of the office, hoping to God that this would be the end of his feelings.

Chapter Text

“Wait?” Lafayette spluttered, “He said what?”

Alexander fell onto the back of the couch, ignoring the flabbergasted expressions of John and Lafayette. “Y’know, this is the type of thing we need Herc for, we should kidnap him from the tailor-ship.”

“No Alex seriously,” John began, “What Jefferson said was awful!” He turned to Lafayette, “How can you put up with the guy?”

“He is not normally an arsehole.”

Alexander wanted to throw up. Jefferson’s words had hit him like a bullet, causing an onslaught of ideas that Alexander truly was a terrible person to be around. Betrayal felt funny to him, he hadn’t realised the phrase “stab you in the back” was so literally. His back ached, like he was Atlas with the world on his shoulders. Of course that wasn’t the case, Alexander only had his detrimental emotional baggage to carry. Bile sat unpleasantly in his throat, threatening to release at a moment’s notice. He just wanted to sleep – pretend the day never happened.

“I’m gonna punch him.” John hissed into the floor. He gripped Lafayette’s hand hard, causing him to wince. Alexander barely noticed, focusing on the floor. Looking up briefly he sighed, man, since when had they gotten all touchy feely?

Their friendship was reaching a whole new level. Maybe John would get what he wanted.

“Don’t punch him John.” Alexander sighed, “I don’t want you to hurt him.”

“Alexander,” Lafayette began slowly, “he said the most vile things to you.”

Alexander chuckled callously. “Oh yeah I know, I was there.” He paused, looking at his palms. “I’m just not good enough for him.”

John waved a hand in the air, accidentally knocking it into Lafayette’s nose. The latter cried out, flinging his hands into his nose to cradle it. John scurried closer to Lafayette’s side – if that was even possible, and cooed in his ear, muttering thousands of apologies.

Alexander on the other hand, doubled over in laughter. “That’s the best thing to happen all day!”

Although, to be fair, it wouldn’t be difficult.

John leaned back up, burring himself into Lafayette's side. He placed a hand on Alexanders knee. “Don’t say that Alexander, Jefferson’s just a prick is all.”

Alexander hadn’t realised he’d been speaking out loud.

Lafayette had a bemused expression. “You were.”

Or that.

John leaned into Lafayette, resting his head into the crook of his neck. “Look, who needs him anyway. It’s not like you’re in love with the guy – you have Eliza,” He gestured to himself, “and your amazing best friends.”

Alexander almost laughed out loud – it’s not like you were in love with the guy. Oh if only John knew how wrong he was. If only John had been right. Then Alex wouldn’t be in this pain in the first place.

Lafayette coughed slightly, sending Alex a look of reassurance. “Love, I think he had a squish on Thomas. Par conséquent, it does not matter if he has friends already or if he is in a relationship – he wants Thomas.”

Alexander breathed an air of relief, feeling the air change slightly to one of calm. He still didn’t understand why they couldn’t tell John or Hercules about the fake relationship. Then again –  he wasn’t going to argue when a woman’s safety and the fate of an orphanage hung in the balance of keeping the secret safe. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust the others, they just didn’t want to force the web of lies onto them. Besides, the cost of the secret being released was far too great.

It was a stressful burden.

He wondered what John’s reaction would be if he found out Lafayette kept a secret from him. Would it doom the crush he had on the Frenchman? For once, Alexander had no idea, he had no theories on the matter. He guessed he just didn’t care, his heart devoid of any empathy towards people in relationships – or potential relationships for that matter.

Alexanders heart ached. Of course he wanted Thomas. He wanted every fucking piece of the guy. As cliché as it sounded, he had never felt this way about anyone before. It was as though Alexander was in a vacuum and the only thing grounding him from flying into the sun was the very knowledge that Thomas existed. He needed to be with Thomas to ground him again. And Thomas goddamn Jefferson wanted nothing to do with him.

Alexander swallowed the bile down his throat, feeling as though he was forcing tar down. “I just really wanted to be his friend. I can’t even describe it. It’s like I’m in love with him, but not, at the same time.” Technically it was true, what he felt for Thomas was far beyond love. An indescribable feeling that grounded him to Earth.  And like an idiot he had denied it.

“So oui, a squish.” Lafayette concluded.

“I just- ”it was rare for Alexander to be at a loss for words, “I just don’t want to feel so pathetic.”

“Alex, you’re certainly not pathetic.” John began.

“If Thomas doesn’t want to be in your life, that’s his own loss.”

With his hand gripped on Lafayette’s knee, John pulled out his phone. “I’m calling Peggy, this is bullshit.”

Alex’s heart jumped in his throat. He didn’t need the sisters hearing about his issues, they had enough to deal with. With Maria, the Orphanage, securing funds from their father, Alexi. Man, compared to them Alex really was dealing with nothing. He didn’t want to burden them. “John, you really don’t have-”

“You won’t fucking believe this.” John began.

“Put it on speaker!” Lafayette hissed.

John manoeuvred his body, setting the phone on his and Lafayette’s knees. “Peggy, you’re on speaker!” Lafayette cried.

“That’s cool – oh wait-”

There was a shuffle and suddenly Angelica’s voiced cried through the phone. “You’re on speaker too, now – what happened?”

“Please don’t.” Alexander said, feeling defeated.

“Thomas called Alexander parasitical! Fucking laid it all out.” John said.

“Jesus.” Eliza breathed. “That’s… I’m speechless.”

Oh great, Eliza was there too.

“I’m going to gouge his eyes out with a spoon.” Peggy said, “All dramatic like, and feed his eyes to a bird and film them pecking at them. Then I’ll upload it to his brain and it will be the only thing he sees for the next three decades just before his untimely death.

Alexander rolled his eyes, ignoring the morbid path Peggy went down. “No you’re not Peggy, I doubt you could even damage his hair.”

“Oh bitch, I’m taking you up on that.”

John laughed. “Man, I’d love to see that.”

“We’re having a movie night!” Angelica declared suddenly.

Alexander tensed. All he wanted to do was cry into a pillow and wallow in self misery. “Herc is at work.”

“Oh, boo for him. More popcorn for me.” Peggy said and Alexander could swear that he heard her wink.

“Alex, Thomas is an actual dick face, you deserve to be around people who actually care about you-”

“Who love you!” Eliza interrupted.

Alex shook his head. “No, I just had a bad day at work, I don’t need this stuff.”

Peggy laughed. “Too late, we’re already in the car.

Alex groaned. “Jesus Christ, I’ll lock the door on you!”

“I’d like to see you try hon.” Angelica chuckled. She was right to, Alex could never keep her out. Man… she would be the perfect serial killer.

Alexander took a moment to be grateful that Angelica was on his side, he would hate to imagine what it would be like to be on her bad side.

“I’ve got my hard drive,” Peggy continued, “We’re watching Falsettos and that’s final.”

John whooped. “Hell yeah! I can get down to that.”

Lafayette rubbed his hands together. “I wouldn’t oppose.”

“Okay, but what about Herc? He’s working and we’re having a movie night? That’s not fair.” Alex argued.

Alex swore that they all shrugged at the same time, he could’ve sworn that he heard them all shrug at the same time. “He chose to do overtime.” Peggy said.

“I’ll text him,” Lafayette suggested, pulling out his phone, “so he can come if he wants.”

“Also John,” Peggy continued, “We still on for bowling next week?”

“Fuck yeah!” John laughed. “I’m going to destroy you!”

There was a swerve on the other end, followed by a fair amount of cursing courtesy of Angelica. “Righto Peggy, do your trash talk later, it’s a little hard to concentrate on driving.”

“See ya!” Peggy cried, hanging up.

Lafayette bumped John lightly. “I’m still going to be your cheerleader.”

“Always love, always.”

Alex groaned again, letting gravity drag him off the couch. “All I want to do is crawl up into a ball in bed and die. I don’t wanna deal with more people.”

Lafayette sighed. “Alexander, after a day you’ve had, you need some normally. Besides, we have not had a movie night in a while.”

“We watched Newsies the other week.”

John threw a hand to his heart dramatically. “You watched Newsies, without us?”

Alex shrugged, pulling himself upwards. “At least we’re watching Falsettos now. Help me move the couches.”

-/-

Alexander as curled up with Eliza on a lone couch together. Lafayette and John shared another couch and the other Schuyler sisters shared a collection of bean bags on the floor. Alex barely paid attention to the film, instead focusing on the bright colours of the clothing and Trina’s fun dancing during “I’m Breaking Down”. Alex had been strategic with what he said to the sisters, saying that Thomas’ comments had just been a particularly low blow and he’d just had an all-round shitty day at work. He didn’t want to say anything to make them feel guilty – nothing was their fault after all. But knowing them, they’d find a way to blame themselves and then do everything in their power to make it right.

Alex didn’t need that right now.

Peggy had a wide grin plastered on her face as she shovelled handfuls of popcorn into her mouth. She was like a vacuum cleaner, inhaling the food like she needed it to breathe. If it were anyone else, Alexander would find himself concerned. But it was Peggy – this was normal for her.

The atmosphere was calm, Eliza stroked Alex’s hair, playing with it absentmindedly. When looking at her he could tell that’s she wasn’t paying attention to the movie but rather, was off in her own little world. Alexander wondered what she was thinking about and wanted to ask but decided better of it. He hadn’t been entirely open with her today, he shouldn’t expect the same thing.

The door to the lounge room opened dramatically, almost flying of the hinges. The group jumped with a bolt, ready to sprint or attack at any second. Hercules Mulligan strolled in with a lazy smile. “I haven’t missed much, have I?”

He situated himself next to Peggy, periodically stealing her popcorn. Alex couldn’t help but laugh, it was such a typical thing to happen, it was almost normal.

It was in that moment that he realised, he did have squishes – but not on Thomas. Alexander realised that his love for his friends was as real, true, and powerful as anything he felt for Thomas. As he sat there, cuddled in Eliza’s embrace, he felt a sense of calm wash other him. Rolling over silently and running his fingers through Hercules hair, this was his life. It was calm, reasonable, and full of people who he loved and who loved him. For a moment, Alexander allowed himself to sit in peace, ignoring the harsh words and the dominating bullying Thomas had subjected him earlier that day. At this current moment in time, watching a tight nit family develop and grow, Alexander realised he had one of his own. It wasn’t conventional, and it was certainly unusual, but it was real.

Eliza was a ball of energy, vibrating like she was powering a mini solar system inside of head. She was bouncing on the spot, tapping her foot and twiddling with Alexanders hair.

Alex looked at her curiously. “We’ve heard enough about my drama, what’s up?”

Eliza’s face stretched into a grin. “I didn’t want to change the mood or anything, ‘cause it’s pretty calm right now.”

Angelica looked up, nudging Peggy to pause the movie. Her own face stretched into a smile. “Eliza yes we have to talk about it.”

John bothered to pick his head off of Lafayette’s shoulder. “My curiosity has been piqued. Do continue.”

“As has mine.” Hercules said, stealing the bowl of popcorn from Peggy.

Eliza breathed out slowly. “Can I stand?”

“Bitch make it as dramatic as you can!” Peggy said.

Eliza practically leaped off the couch, causing Alex to fall melodramatically half way off the couch. With his head upside down, he looked at the bubbliness in which Eliza walked, or rather – swayed. She was excited.

“Okay so, I know most of you know about Maria-”

“Your good friend.” Angelica interrupted.

“Right, exactly. Anyway so, she’s been in a shitty situation right. Like, her ex is a total stalker.”

“It’s crazy.” Peggy agreed unhelpfully.

“Anyway, she might finally be out of her shitty situation! You guys can finally meet her!” Alex was astonished, by the way they had spoken about her last time, he hadn’t expected anything like this to happen any time soon.

“Oh yeah!” Lafayette cried. “Aaron told us today at work!”

“Oh man,” Angelica said, ‘the guy is a goddamn legend if I’ve ever seen one.”

Alexander was lost. Since when had Aaron Burr gotten into the conversation> What did he have to do with Maria? He felt infinitely lost, regretting spending all those meetings focusing on Thomas rather than the actual meeting. Looking back on it, it was time wasted. It didn’t go anywhere – they’re not even friends.

God it hurt.

“For those that don’t work at Washington’s law firm,” Hercules interrupted, “What’s happened?”

“Wait-” Alexander interrupted, everything clicking. He felt like an idiot. “Burr was working her case?”

Angelica laughed. “Um yeah, why do you think he’s been so persistent on working pro bono cases and getting women the help they need.”

“Why do you think Washington put him on that new case with you and Thomas?” Lafayette supplied.

Alexander was shell shocked. He had missed so much. He felt anger and guilt swirl in his abdomen, eating away at his flesh. If he hadn’t had been so focused on Thomas, he would have known this already, He watched absentmindedly as Peggy and Hercules fought over the popcorn bowl and various people cheering for a girl they’ve never met. Alexander felt utterly lost, the tether that connected him to Earth snapped and suddenly, he was floating out into the vacuum of the void. Surely it wasn’t natural to be this attached to one particular person. It was like one day everything was fine and the next, Alexanders world had spun into chaos.

But he was happy for Maria, god was he happy for her. No one deserved to be in an unsafe environment – and the Schulyer’s would look after her as if she were their own. He had no doubt about that and he couldn’t wait to meet her. Instead his mind floated to Aaron Burr. For the first time Alex connected the various fragments he’d bothered to pay attention to during the meetings. Burr had always spoken about female rights.

The guy was a feminist after all.

But it was more than that, of course Burr would be passionate about this stuff. He was working with Maria, and judging by the way the sisters spoke about her, she was a force to be reckoned with. Anyone who worked with her would immediately strive to do right with the world. Alexander could attest to that and he hadn’t even met her yet.

Peggy cheered, sprinting away from Hercules in a rush, clutching onto the near empty popcorn bowl for dear life. She collapsed right on top of Alexander, crushing him into the cushions. “I’m safe!” She cried, “Alexander will protect me!”

Hercules laughed. “Oh my God, you got popcorn everywhere.”

Alexander looked at his couch in dismay. Indeed, Peggy had spilt the remaining popcorn all through the couch. Into the creases, the little nooks and crannies, anywhere a popcorn piece could fit – it was there. “This’ll be fun to clean.”

Peggy climbed off of him bashfully. “I’ll totally clean it for you.”

At that present moment however, Alexander couldn’t care less about the couch. He picked off a stray piece of popcorn and flicked it at her, laughing at her comical expression when it landed in her hair. He mouth was formed in a dramatic ‘o’, her eyes crossed as she attempted to look at the top of her head. “Serves you right.” He teased.

“I love this whole family thing,” John laughed, “but let’s get back to the movie.”

-/-

The movie was depressing to say the least. Alexander sat there, openly crying as Jason put a lone chess piece on the gravestone. Who would’ve thought the term “homosexual” would make Alexander weep with grief. He could have laughed at the symbolic nature of Whizzer.

“Ladies and Gentleman, Whizzer Brown, an accurate representation of love physically dying, as displayed by my own love life.”

Eliza pinched him in the arm and it dawned on him. Oh shit, none of them knew about his lunatic crush on Thomas Jefferson, and he was supposed to be dating Eliza.

“Y’know…” He continued slowly, “’cause we’re all gonna die in the end and turn to dust and then people will forget we ever lived cause existence is meaningless?”

John threw a pillow at him. “Save the existential bullshit for when I’m not crying.”

The others agreed with him, all except Angelica – who sat there with a curious expression on her face. She stared at Alexander intensely, as if trying to decipher him. Maybe he should tell her the truth  - but then again, she didn’t need to deal with it.

Right now, they grieved together.

But he could also grieve on his own.

Chapter Text

Thomas’ eyes strained as he attempted to read the document in front of him – a summary of notes provided by Burr. He regretted forgetting his glasses again today, silently blessing that he was seeing the optometrist this afternoon. His leg jittered under the table, Thomas was a container of nerves and the lid was about to burst off. The room was eerily quiet, nothing but the sound of men breathing. The gentle silence was punctured each time Hamilton pushed his pen, the aggravating click pinging throughout the room. Thomas’ eye involuntarily twitched each time the incessant clicking of Hamilton’s pen occurred - which was driving Thomas up the wall.

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, willing his pent up energy to disperse. He would not snap.

He would not snap.

Click.

Thomas’ peeled his eyes open, forcing himself not to glare at Hamilton. He focused back on the paper in front of him, wishing for the hours to tick by so he could finally see his optometrist.

Click.

Thomas placed a hand on his knee to calm his shaking leg, it was wounding him up, giving him energy he had no way to use. He felt the soft fabric of his pants on his palms, the coolness providing small comfort.

Click.

He rubbed his jaw with his other hand, resting the paper on the table, he hadn’t noticed it was clenched. It ached, his entire mouth throbbing. He faked a yawn to loosen his mouth, feeling a satisfying pop on both sides of his jaw. Burr raised an eyebrow at him – it must’ve been a loud pop.

Click.

Thomas stared back at the paper, his shoulder tense as he continued reading:  ‘…and we believe the defendant has a-’

Click.

He rolled his eyes, his stomach tense. ‘…believe the defendant has a-’

Click.

Thomas was acutely aware he was re-reading the same sentence over and over again, losing his place. His eyes scanned the document, painfully finding where he was supposed to be.

Click.

Thomas seethed, biting his lip. …‘the defendant has a-’

Click-

“Will you stop that?” Thomas roared, slamming his fist on the table.

Alexander placed then pen slowly onto the table and for a moment, Thomas felt a flash of regret wave through him. Alexander didn’t deserve to be spoken to like that.

“Of course Jefferson, I forgot how sensitive you were.”

Thomas barely registered Burr whisper “sweet Jesus” under his breath, Thomas’ own view being clouded by anger.

No – Alexander was right. Thomas deserved this talk. He deserved every fucking insult Alexander threw his way. Nonetheless…

“Hamilton, if you’re still bitter about what I said yesterday, then I believe that it’s really you who is the sensitive one here.”

Thomas swore Alexanders knuckles went white with the force he was using to grip the table. He practically spat. “What?”

Thomas chuckled mercilessly, his heart aching. This was the only way to get over him. “Careful Hamilton, you’re turning yourself white; isn’t that what a parasite does – change colours?”

Alexander practically leapt out of his chair. “Excuse me.”

Thomas shrugged, every part of his being screaming in protest. Alexander was livid, he was shaking in fury. His hands were hard fists at his sides, resembling misshapen hard boiled eggs. His back as hunched forwards, like in a snap second he was ready to pounce. Thomas felt nothing but anger towards himself, he hated causing Alexander distress. He wanted to grab the nearest blanket and wrap him up in it, holding the small man close – not be the cause for the anguish in the first place.

Alas, it was not meant to be. “Don’t tell me you’re deaf as well as sensitive?

“Thomas-” He had no idea what Burr was planning to say, perhaps it was a warning, or a foretelling, maybe even a joke, – he would never find out, for Alexander chose that moment to leap leapt him, his fist connecting with Thomas’ nose with a resounding crack. Thomas fell backwards into a set of cupboards behind him, the world spinning. All he could register was the fiery pain in his nose, blinding him. His ears rung ferociously, blocking out noise. He could vaguely see Burr holding Alexander, getting him to sit down. Through the fog that was his brain, Thomas wished he was the one doing that – not Burr.

Slowly he leaned himself off the cabinet, holding his head in his hand. He swayed, or rocked, or stood still – he wasn’t quite sure – as he blinked the world back into focus. It was almost like a sharp whoosh, but all too suddenly his ears inhaled the sound around him and the ringing ceased.

Burr was whispering to Alexander; Thomas could barely make out what he was saying. “…I know he’s a jerk…still an idiot…what if Washington…Eliza’s gonna be pissed…terrible example…”

Thomas groaned, stumbling to his chair. He collapsed into it, lolling his head back so he was gazing at the roof. It was blurry – everything was blurry, but he couldn’t tell his that was because he was blind or if he had been punched.

Oh yeah that’s right, Alexander punched him.

“Are you alright man?”

Thomas nodded in what he hopped was the general vicinity Burr was. “Thomas,” Burr crouched in front of him, holding up his hand, “how many fingers am I holding?”

Thomas almost rolled his eyes. “I’m not concussed you moron, just dizzy – and it’s three.”

Burr bit his lip in contempt. “It would be wise not to insult the person examining you.”

Thomas shrugged. “You’re not a doctor Burr, why should I trust anything you say anyway?”

“At this point Jefferson, the man is better than you.” Alexander piqued.

“Says the coward who punched me.” Thomas retorted.

Burr groaned. “If you two idiots start this up again I’m calling in a mediator.” He wiped Thomas’ nose, showing blood. Huh, maybe it was worse than Thomas originally thought. “Now,” Burr said, “how do we get this checked out without Washington finding out? I have no desire to get into trouble because of you two brainless halfwits.”

“Hercules has done some paramedic CPR courses,” Alexander suggested, “I can get him in here?”

Thomas laughed humourlessly. “Why would you want to help me?”

Alexander looked away, staring at the floor. His cheeks went red – was he… embarrassed? No, that couldn’t possibly be right.

Alexander cleared his throat, stretching – the flush in his cheeks was gone. “He can be the mediator, I’m not stupid enough to give myself the ability to punch you again. And oh, do I want to.”

“That’s reassuring.” Thomas said.

Burr wacked Thomas on the arm lightly. “Call him up Hamilton, if I have to put up with you two testosterone filled toddlers for five minutes more –  I’ll shoot you myself.”

-/-

“Well you’re lucky Alex is a terrible punch, it’s not broken.” Mulligan mused, crouching in front of Thomas in the office. He took a few swabs from his medical kit, cleaning up the excess blood. “It’s probably a mild concussion though, seeing as you can’t walk straight or read.”

“I need prescription glasses to see, prescription glasses I’m not wearing. I’m not concussed.”

“I’ve taken that into account, that’s why I say mildly rather than seriously.” Mulligan deadpanned. “You’ll be fine in a week.”

He turned away from Thomas, gesturing to Alexander to give him his hand. As Mulligan began treating Alexanders bruised fist he begun mediating. “So, you mind telling me what the fuck happened?”

Thomas shoved the bile that was crawling up his throat deep into his belly, this wasn’t the time for guilt. “I can’t help it if Hamilton is a sensitive parasite.”

He watched Mulligan visibly tense. “Oh, he did it again?” Alex looked away but nodded.  “Yup, I can understand why you punched him.” Mulligan muttered, mostly to Alexander but Thomas could easily hear. Thomas’ heart ached, so Mulligan s was aware of Thomas had said yesterday, which meant Alexander was hurt enough to tell people.

Goddammit.

“Look, it’s not my fault that Hamilton is an annoying brat.” Thomas shrugged, forcing the aching guilt deep into his stomach.

Alexander shot up, only to be forced back down by Mulligan. “Violence won’t solve anything Alex, he’d not worth it.”

“See, he’s a toddler – can only be reined in by an actual adult.”

Mulligan s turned to Thomas, raising an eyebrow. “May I ask, what do you get out of this?”

“Out of what?”

“Insulting Alexander, going out of your way to make him miserable-”

“He’s not making me miserable!” Alex interrupted, his eyebrows shooting into his hairline.

Thomas judged Alexander slowly, he looked physically uncomfortable. Like he was using all his energy to remain civil – like he was trying to prove something. But what was he trying to prove, who are he trying to impress. Thomas shook the thought from his mind – now wasn’t the time.

“Be that as it may,” Mulligan continued, “You must have a reason Thomas-”

“Jefferson. We’re not on a first name basis Mulligan.”

Mulligan almost rolled his eyes. “Okay then Jefferson, what do you get out of bullying Alex?”

Thomas froze, what the hell could he answer to that? He’s in love with Alexander and trying to get over him? Alexander has gotten to close to him and Thomas is a fucking mess who already has Eliza and she’s amazing and way out of Thomas’ league and so of course Alexander is with her and would never be with him. That if he’s not Alexanders enemy, then he’s not anything to Alexander and so being nasty and cruel is the only way to have Alexander in his life – because even if they’re enemies, they’re still something.

Yeah, that would surely go down well.

“Well, um-” Thomas really hadn’t thought of what to say, he had never been expected to be asked something like this before. “It’s amusing, it just entertainment is all.”

Fuck, that was a terrible reason.

Alexander paled, it was like something had broken inside of him. Thomas swallowed the pain and continued, this needed to happen. “That’s the only reason I give him the time of day at all, that kid has so much energy, it’s hilarious!’

Mulligan breathed in sharply. “That would certainly explain it then.”

Alexander stood. “You’re a terrible person, y’know that right. You’re genuinely so cruel and nasty – to think I wanted to be your friend!

Thomas felt his heart shatter, he was amazed it was still intact enough to do so. He forced a laugh, as cruel and heartless as Alexander imagined him to be. “Oh that’s funny, I can’t believe you think I would have the time of day for you.”

Hercules held out a hand to both of them, looking at Burr helplessly. “That’s enough from both of you, fighting will only make things worse.”

Burr looked up from the document he was editing. “He’s right, it’s incredibly unproductive.”

Jefferson lolled his head to burr, “Talk less and smile more.”

Alexander cracked a small smile, and for a moment, Thomas’ chest swirled with hope. Maybe not all was lost. He bit his lip, squashing the feeling down. “Hamilton, you’re showing a positive emotion, I just thought you were an angry gremlin.”

Alexander rolled his eyes. “And to think I thought you had a sense of humour Jefferson, seems I was wrong.”

Mulligan groaned, standing up. “Okay, what are you working on right now?”

Burr shrugged. “We’re proof reading each-others notes, we go to court in two months.”

Mulligan pulled up a chair and sat in between Thomas and Alexander. “For the rest of the day, whenever you two give each other a piece of paper, I’m reading through it first. Nothing but professionalism between you two.” He stared down Thomas. “Understand?”

Alexander grumbled something about not being a toddler but Thomas was too terrified of Mulligan to care. The man could probably snap him in half like a twig if he wanted to.

Burr looked at Hercules curiously. “This will be detrimental to your health, you know that right?”

Mulligan laughed. “Man, I know I’m going to need therapy after this.”

-/-

Dr. Cosway was as gorgeous as she was smart and Thomas felt his breath catch in his throat every time he looked at her. In another life he supposed the two would have made a nice couple. As he walked into the Optometrists office, he put the thought to the side. He wasn’t the type of person to have a rebound relationship – besides, Dr Cosway was the best optometrist he’d found and he definitely wasn’t going to jeopardise that.

Dr Cosway lead him to her surgery room. “How are you today Thomas?”

“Yeah I’m alright.”

“So what were you after today?”

“Just a new prescription, I’ve lost my glasses and contact lenses.”

She laughed, staring at the lopsided glasses sitting precariously on Thomas’ face that he had picked up on his way after work. “I can tell.”

She ushered him into her office, guiding him to a chair. He was confused, all he needed was a new prescription, he didn’t understand why he had to undergo tests.

“It’s routine,” Dr Cosway replied when Thomas voiced his confusion, “to see if your prescription has changed.”

“Ah.” He replied, intelligently.

He sat in the office as she rummaged through her cabinets for a file. He briefly thought of Alexander, he had a cabinet similar to this, he not only hating electronic files, he didn’t trust them in the slightest.

God, he had to stop thinking about Alexander, it wasn’t good for his health.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Dr Cosway mused, pulling out a file.

“Like what?”

Dr. Cosway turned, raising an eyebrow. “Like that. I just happen to like physical files more than electronic.”

Thomas laughed. “Oh, I was just thinking about a colleague who’s the same.”

Dr. Cosway smiled. “Ah, I trust he’s a good colleague?”

“Oh he’s amazing,” Thomas gushed, “the best in his field. He does incredible things for people every day and I don’t even think he realises.”

Dr Cosway smiled, “So you spend a lot of time with him then.

Oh, how Thomas wished he could. “Nah, here at home I drink and read, and drink and read, and drink.”

Dr. Cosway’s eyebrows shot up. “Surely not?”

No but he was certainly close to it. “Of course not, that was a joke.”

“Ah.” Dr. Cosway didn’t laugh. Thomas felt exposed, like something had gone askew in the room. He fidgeted uncomfortably, hoping whatever feeling had enveloped him would pass.

She closed his file. “You’re not experiencing any eye pains?”

“Only a headache.”

“Ah yes, that would be from the strain of your eyes – perfectly natural. Nothing else out of the ordinary?”

Thomas thought for a moment, his social life was out of the ordinary, his romantic life was out of the ordinary – but he doubted that was what she meant. “No, besides not being able to see, everything’s fine.”

Dr. Cosway laughed, ushering him to a chair opposite the wall. “So I’m going to roll with the fact that you don’t have any eye diseases as there’s nothing out of the ordinary and you’re just here on routine.” She pulled down a magnifying contraption, pushing it in front of his eyes. “We’re going to do a simple vision test today, just for the prescription.”

Thomas nodded with some difficulty, seeing as a contraption was in front of his face.

Dr Cosway walked to the wall and hung a chart with a series of letters on it, each getting smaller as the lines progressed. “Can you read the letters for me?”

Thomas swallowed, his unsettled nerves twisting into balls in his stomach. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, no not nervous – tense.  He knew it was irrational but he felt as though the doctor was judging him, as if one stuff up and he was done for. He took a deep breath and continued.

He read the letters with some difficulty. Dr. Cosway came back and pulled up the glass, only to replace it with another. This continued many times until Thomas could read every letter clearly.

She took a new chart and placed it in the corner of the room. “Now your peripheral vision.”

Again they continued, Thomas attempting to read the letters and when failing, having the glass replaced. Each time he failed a wave of disappointment would crash into him, knocking him off centre. It was a constant reminder of why he was a failure of a human. He couldn’t even read right. He could only imagine the anguish he was causing Dr. Cosway, this would have to have been tedious for her. He was always like that, being a nuisance.

No wonder Alexander hated him.

And there it was again, he was thinking about Alexander when he specifically shouldn’t have been. It was distracting, here he was trying to get glasses and all he could think about was Alexander. Although, Alexander had stared the last time he wore glasses…

That wasn’t the point.

He need new glasses.

And he was annoying the doctor.

Finally, Dr. Cosway was satisfied. She pulled the contraption from him and ushered him back to his original seat. “Now were you after contacts as well as glasses?”

“Ah yeah, that’d be preferable.”

Dr. Cosway nodded, pulling out a notebook with a series of empty scripts written in them. She scribbled out a prescription for Thomas, ripping out the page dramatically. With a wave of her hand, she handed it to him. “If you go to the front desk you should be able to get a pair. We’re running low on contact lenses though so they may not have them.”

Thomas thanked her and left, silently thankful the ordeal was over. He released a breath, the tension in his body dissipating. He knew he had been stressed, but he didn’t realise how so until he left. It was like a weight had been lifted off his chest and he could breathe again.

Thomas was giddy as he entered the store, he loved this bit – getting new glasses. He scoffed at the prescription, it had barely changed. He waved off a store attendant who asked if he needed help – he knew where he was going.

He studied the glasses quizzically, there was a nice selection. A pair of red ones with circle frames screamed 70’s and made him feel faint. Another fair was a dark blue pair, similar to a librarian. However, it was another pair that caught his eye, a black pair with a box like design – similar to 3D movie glasses. He took the pair off the rack and tried them on.

Damn, he looked good.

He pulled many a face in the mirror, trying all angles with the pair of glasses. It was like trying on a new pair of shoes for the first time – he loved them.

Buying them was a breeze, as predicted the contact lenses wouldn’t be in for a few days but that was okay. The wore the glasses out of the store and ignored the figurative burning whole in his pocket where his hundreds of dollars had once been.

Chapter Text

Grapes.

Thomas Jefferson wanted grapes.

No, not want.

Crave.

Thomas Jefferson craved grapes.

He rolled to the side of bed, pawing for his glasses. His new glasses.

Nice.

Fumbling and trying not to trip over his own two feet, he made his way to the kitchen, still adjusting to being awake. He shoved his to-go mug under the espresso machine and pressed the on button, the machine would do the rest.

Lazily, he collapsed onto the counter, he hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep lately. Endless nights of nothing but his own mind screaming at him in agony, over the tiniest details of the day. Thomas found himself overanalysing every aspect of his existence, he couldn’t stop the thoughts. He suspected he was becoming an insomniac. Being in love does that to a man.

The warm scent of coffee filled the room as the espresso machine grinded the coffee bean and transformed them into the liquid drug Thomas consumed more than was probably healthy. He breathed it in, allowing the familiar smell to fill his soul. It was comforting.

Frothing the milk needed for is cappuccino, he briefly wondered why he even drank the stuff. It woke him up of course, but he was starting to expect it was just the placebo effect. He supposed his body was almost immune to the stuff – after all, he’d been drinking this by the bottle since he was thirteen.

Still though, he was content with his homemade cappuccino – it reminded him of his family, the good parts of it anyway.

What did he come out here for again?

Right, grapes.

He crouched down to check the crisper, his knees cracking – god he was getting old, finding in dismay that there were none! A twisted ball buried in Thomas’ gut, he wanted some grapes goddammit.

Begrudgingly, he got changed – his only motivation being the perusal of grapes. He checked himself out in the mirror, he looked good today. His magenta blazer was custom made, fitting his figure perfectly. Somehow, it both accentuated his muscles but still made him look trim. Jeez, he’d need to hit the gym soon, he’d been neglecting it. He buttoned it over a dark grey collared shirt and black dress pants – also custom made.

Today he felt attractive.

Today he felt confident.

Thomas jogged to the store, buying his grapes with ease. The check-out lady was a sweet girl, with tight curls and red lips. She had said her name was Maria. He should’ve flirted with her, asked for her number

Maybe in another life.

But as of now, he was strolling down the busy streets of New York towards the prestigious Washington’s Law firm, a bag of green grapes in hand.

Seeing was underrated, so very underrated. Thomas marvelled at the tress as he walked to work, the immaculate details of the leaves shining in the sunny morning. He had not been without glasses long so he was surprised he had forgotten so much. It was almost like an epiphany – but towards nature. Just an overwhelming appreciation for it.

Like, it existed, it was here.

And it was a goddamn miracle.

He sipped his cappuccino slowly as he slipped into the office, dodging the elevator and taking the stairs. Thomas had a strange paranoia about elevators, he always thought they would crash whilst he was in them – he avoided them when he could.

A sense of relief washed over him as he made his way to his office, he was blessed to have his own space to himself.

Oh.

Walking in, the office was a mess. Belongings were still skewed on the cabinet Alexander had thrown him into, papers were littered over the table and his desk had a precariously stacked tower of files Thomas had yet to sort through. Thomas huffed, sitting his coffee, grapes and bag on his desk. Slowly he organised his office. Fixing up the various knickknacks on the cabinet and straightening the paper on his desk. He looked at the files in contempt – he’d make Burr do it. He picked up the files and dropped them neatly into a bag, sitting it beside his desk.

He fell into his chair, idly swinging on it from side to side. He sat there complacent, thinking of what he had to do yet.

Right, a bowl for the grapes.

He opened his drawer where he knew a bowl would be. His fingers brushed over something familiar as he rummaged through it – he had to clean this. Curious, he pulled it out.

His heart clenched and the all too recognisable ache in his gut returned. It was the sheep paperweight. Thomas closed his eyes, breathing out slowly and willing himself not to react. He couldn’t allow himself to do that anymore. Slowly he put the paperweight back into the drawer and slammed it shut. He’d get a bowl from the breakroom then.

Picking up his bag of grapes he stalked to the breakroom.

“Thomas?” James asked, greeting Thomas as he entered, “Why do you have a random bag of grapes?”

Thomas shrugged. “I had a craving.”

There was a crash from the opposite end of the room, across from Thomas sat Alexander and Lafayette. Lafayette waved, beaming at him and Alexander…

Alexander looked helpless.

He knew he shouldn’t, he knew this was a bad idea, he knew this was the exact opposite of what he should be doing – but Thomas was upset. He wanted Alexander to know exactly what he was missing out on – even if Alexander didn’t even know it.

He grinned to Lafayette and slowly, popped a grape into his mouth.

“Thomas mon ami, throw us a grape!” Lafayette said.

Thomas walked over, taking furtive glances towards Alexander, who couldn’t take his eyes of him.

“My friend, you know I have a terrible aim, just take one from the bag.” He dropped it onto the table, purposely refusing to look at Alexander.

Lafayette took one and ate it quickly. “Oh these are good, did you grow these?”

“Nah, I just bought them this morning, I just came in to grab a bowl.”

Lafayette nudged Alexander. “Try one.”

Thomas took that moment the lean in and take a grape for himself, his hand lightly brushing Alexanders. His skin erupted in sparks where he had touched Alexander, something akin to an electric shock.

Goddamn.

The latter freeze, looking like a dear caught in headlights. Thomas stared him down, taking another grape and slowly, carefully, placing it in his mouth.

Alexander gulped.

Thomas stretched backwards, nerves eating away inside of him. He just wanted to run into his office and hide for the day. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, it was both thrilling and nerve wracking at the same time.

Lafayette, seemingly and thankfully oblivious to the tension, took another handful. “Thomas, did you buy a new pair of glasses?”

Alexander bit his lip before ducking his head behind his drink bottle, drinking from it as though his life depended on it.

Ah, the glasses. That’s why Alexander was staring.

Thomas nodded, turning back to Lafayette. “Yeah, I lost my contacts so I thought it time to go to the optometrist anyway – she gave me a new prescription.”

“They suit you mon ami, although you make anything look good.” He gestured to Thomas’ outfit.

Thomas winked to Lafayette, seeing Alexanders face turn into a frown in the corner of his eye? Was alexander jealous? Surely not. “Glad you appreciate it,”

A loud slam occurred from the centre of the table, Thomas looked down to see James had thumped a bowl there – looking like he was about to strangle Thomas. “Here’s the bowl you were going to get Thomas.” James raised an eyebrow in warning in a way that only James could accomplish. It was indescribable, Thomas often joked that, that look could pierce fear into the hearts of warriors.

…And best friends.

Thomas nodded, swiftly picking all the grapes off the stems and pouring it into the bowl. “Thank you James, I should get back – lots of work to do!”

James nodded. “Let me walk you.”

Shit.

There was an intense silence between the pair as they walked back to Thomas’ office. Thomas felt like he was a trapped animal in a glass cage, on display for the world to see and deeply vulnerable.

James opened Thomas’ door and ushered him in, as if ushering a child into a grandparents house – like it wasn’t Thomas’ own damn office.

“What were you thinking?” James seethed as soon as the door was closed.

Thomas swallowed, he knew playing dumb was a bad idea. “What do you mean?”

James rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you’re playing dumb with me.” He gestured to the door. “With that, with Hamilton.”

Thomas groaned, collapsing into the nearest chair. “I don’t know Jemmy, I’m a stupid idiot in love and I guess for a moment – for a moment, I just want Alexander to want me.”

James sighed, pulling up chair and sitting across from Thomas. He gripped Thomas’ hands tightly. “I know it hurts, and its Alexander’s loss that he can’t be with you. One day Thomas, you’re going to find someone amazing and completely worth your time. By Alexander – Alexander isn’t it.”

Thomas breathed out softly. He knew James was right, he always was. It didn’t make the news any easier to bear.

“That flirting, you’re sending mixed signals. Don’t let Alexander think it’s okay to exploit you – because it’s not.”

He was right, again.

“Thomas, look at me.” James cupped Thomas chin softly, lifting his head up so they could look at each other. “Thomas, you’re my best friend, and I hate how you’re basing your self-worth on what this boy thinks of you. You’re worth so much more than you could possibly comprehend.”

Thomas didn’t know what to say, James was not often a sap, so the sincerity of his words made Thomas feel soft inside.

James patted Thomas’ back and stood up. “I’ve got an idea on how to see your plan to fruition, we could try on Monday, plan it out over the weekend? We’ll need Aaron.”

God Thomas loved James, who could ask for a better friend.

-/-

“Could you repeat that Alexander?”

“I would like to request to be removed from the case with Jefferson and Burr. Quite frankly sir with all the experience Burr has, he’s a better lawyer than me, and I feel deeply uncomfortable around Jefferson.”

Washington nodded in thought. “If you don’t mind me asking Alexander, in what way does Jefferson make you feel uncomfortable.”

Alexander swallowed. He couldn’t say that the man was too attractive and downright awful for his own good and Alex just wanted to slap or kiss that smug grin off of him. He was supposed to be in love with Eliza after all. “It’s awkward sir, because we fight too often to be productive. I feel like I can’t work my best around him.” That was still honest… and believable.

Washington sighed. “Alexander, that’s why I put the two of together. You believe you work at your worst around him but I see that you work at your best – so does Jefferson. You challenge each other, cause each other to strive to be better. You see the flaws in each other’s arguments and don’t hesitate to point them out. To create a solid case, I need you too together. Besides, whilst Burr is a good lawyer, you’re our companies best – you would be the last person I traded out of the team.”

On any other day, in any other circumstance, Alexander would have been thrilled to hear his mentor compliment him like that, but Alexanxder’s mind was too focused on Thomas goddamn Jefferson. “All due respect sir, but that’s a bunch of crap.”

Washington looked stunned. “What?”

Alexander rolled his eyes, pulling out a sheet of paper. “This is a graph of the amount of wins our company has had, Burr has contributed to 16%, I’ve only contributed to 14%, as has Jefferson. Burr is clearly better.”

Washington shook his head in shock. “I never thought I’d see you defend Burr.”

“The guy could shoot me if he wanted to sir, I keep an itemised list of everything I know about him.”

“That’s… very thorough.”

Alexander laughed nervously. “That was a joke sir, I just looked through our companies data, I may not be a fan of Burr but I can’t deny fact.”

“Yes but son, Burr does divorce claims mostly, easy wins. I’d be concerned if his numbers were lower. He does the simplest cases you can whip up in a month flat, where couples just want the easiest settlement plan.” He pointed to Alexanders spot in the graph. “You, on the other hand, do some of our hardest hitting cases, fault divorce, trespass of the person, and our criminal cases. Most lawyers with your workload only achieve an overall win rate for their company by 6-9%. Alexander-“ he looked up, “You are my best lawyer.”

“Besides,” he shrugged, “That whole Reynolds affair was Burrs first big case, you have more experience than him – he just has the most recent. You’re the best team for the job so unless you have a valid complaint son, I’m afraid I can’t do anything.”

Alexander sighed. “Thanks anyway, I guess.”

“Son, go home, rejuvenate, and when you come back you’ll be raring to go.” Washington patted Alexander on the back with a smile. “I believe in you.”

Part of him was chuffed that Washington went to some great lengths to prove to Alexander that he was a god lawyer, but none of it stuck. All he wanted was Thomas Jefferson to stay as far away from him as possible.

He stalked out of Washington’s office to his car, he’d never left work early, he wondered if anyone would notice. He was only leaving an hour early, it wasn’t significant or anything – and that would just be time he’d be forced to spend with Burr.

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, wondering where to go to spend his extra free time. He needed somewhere just full of joy and light, somewhere where the people were chill and fun to be around, but not too close that he would fall apart around them. He needed a safe place, somewhere he knew, somewhere he was comfortable, somewhere-

Oh.

Alexander drove towards his destination, the roads not crowded because it wasn’t peak hour. He wondered what staff member was on right now, to his recollection it was Eliza. It’d be cool to see her too, rather than some random. He pulled up to the orphanage, the familiar gnomes a welcoming presence.

The house was eerily silent, as if everyone had turned to dust. He walked through cautiously, maybe he should’ve called in advance, maybe he shouldn’t be here at all. He heard some laughter and decided to follow the sound. If it was a ghost well… would it be so terrible to die?

“Nope, that’s something I’d never do.”

“C’mon Phillip-”

Alexander brightened up, that must have been Phillip and Angelica Swan! His shoulders relaxed as he walked to the door, knocking lightly.

The door opened with Angelica squinting. Her eyes widened immediately in recognition. “Oh, hey Alex!”

Phillip and Angelica were sitting in what looked like a craft room, surrounded by various markers and mugs. It was an explosion of colour. “What are you guys doing?”

“We’re doing sharpie mugs,” Phillip said, “Wanna make one?”

“Eliza went totally overboard with buying the mugs so now we have literally dozens.” Angelica said.

“Don’t you mean figuratively?

Phillip rolled his eyes, going to the cupboard next to the door and opening it. Shelves upon shelves we stacked with nothing but white mugs. Literally was right. “Man,” Alexander laughed, “you weren’t kidding about overboard.”

He turned back to the floor, where Angelica was sitting complacent, scribbling on a mug. “Yeah, I’ll make one.”

He sat down with them as they continued. “What are you guys doing?”

“Honestly,” Angelica chuckled, “I’m just putting the markers on and seeing what happens.”

“I’m doing something for Eliza,” Phillip replied, “A poem.”

“He’s a poet.” Angelica grinned.

“Oh that’s so cool!” Alexander cried.

Phillip looked surprised. “Wait, you think so?”

“Yes, definitely. I wanted to be a writer, but I’m a good persuader, not much good at anything else.”

Angelica shrugged. “So what are you going to do then?”

Alex sighed. “I had this mug that said “Gay, Small, Angry” on it, but I broke that cause life’s shit.”

“You’re not gay though…” Phillip said.

Oh, right.

But he fucking gay because he’s just fake dating Eliza to keep the orphanage open so her dad doesn’t find out she’s gay too, and it was fucking stressful cause the media is crazy and he’s a stressed person with a fucked up person he loves who he doesn’t even want to love cause Thomas clearly hates him and just…

The teenagers looked at him.

Fuck.

Did he say that all out loud?

“Yup.” Phillip said, popping the p like he was in some 12-year-old’s wattpad novel.

“I thought I got a gay vibe!” Angelica cried, fist pumping the air.

Alexander shrugged, not feeling as embarrassed as he thought he ought to be feeling. He took a red sharpie from the ground and begun scribbling a rainbow background to re-create his favourite mug.

“So um,” Angelica began, “Do you wanna fill us in?”

Alexander was suddenly daunted by the silence that consumed the household. “Wait, where is everyone?”

“Eliza took everyone to the zoo, but we wanted to stay here. Technically we’re of legal age to be safely kept home alone so it’s fine.”

Angelica mimicked pouring invisible tea into her mug. “Spill the tea.”

Alexander, whilst colouring his mug in the various colours of the rainbow, told the two the entire story. From the sticky notes, to Eliza calling him, to his Nintendogs, to the case, to becoming close to Thomas, to Thomas hating him, and how he fell in love and was an idiot who realised too late. He told them about Maria, how the orphanage would be closed if Eliza lost her funding, how they were saving money so once Eliza came out she’d be able to keep it open, hell, he even told them about Falsettos.

It was therapeutic.

There was a tense silence once Alexander was finished. “Is that… everything?” Angelica asked.

Alexander let out a breath. “Yup.”

Angelica laughed. “Man, you sound like you need to get laid, go out and find a pretty boy or something.”

Phillip shook his head. “Talk to Eliza about it, you have to be honest with her, she’s your friend.”

Angelica became solemn. “Yeah, she’s a good person Alex. So are you, to go through all of this just for us and some girl you’ve never even met.”

Phillip quieted. “We’re not going to lose our home, are we.”

Angelica clutched his hand, in that moment Alexander saw them for who they really were, lost children.

Scared children.

Children who could lose their home.

“No.” He said, “I won’t let that happen.”

Phillip took a deep breath. “With everything though Alex, we’re not going to tell Eliza anything-”

“That’s up to you.” Angelica finished. “It’s harsh, but these are your issues and you need to find a way to deal with them.”

They were children.

But they were the most mature children he had ever met. And somehow, it broke him a little bit. Still, he was proud that they held so much wisdom.

Alexander finished his mug, putting it to the side. “Y’know, you two are smarter than I reckon people give you credit for.”

Phillip shrugged. “It’ll be their downfall.”

Chapter Text

Alexander Hamilton never considered himself a genius – sure, sometimes he lost his social awareness, he forgot his six times tables, and he couldn’t spell Pennsylvania – but he certainly wasn’t dumb. At least, he didn’t think he was dumb…

No way. He wasn’t dumb at all.

He was smart, intelligent, curious, sharp, and-

Not taking the swan twins advice.

But that didn’t make him dumb.

That just made him a procrastinator.

Lafayette wasn’t letting Alexander sit alone in his office for long periods of time, something about it “not being healthy to lock himself up in his room until he dies and resurrects as the ghost of Christmas future” – according to Lafayette. So here he was being dragged towards the break room, for some foreign French delicacy called “lunch.”

“Now Alexander, that’s not even funny,” Lafayette remarked when Alexander voiced his thoughts, “There is no way in hell you don’t know what the second meal of the day is.”

Alexander laughed. “True, but I haven’t had it in so long it might as well be foreign.”

“So why did you call it a French delicacy anyway?” Angelica asked, her hand on Alexanders other wrist, tugging him along.

“If we were in France mon ami,” Lafayette began, “We would currently have a two-hour lunch break – not this measly forty minutes.”

“Why would you even need two-hours for lunch?” Angelica asked.

Lafayette was agog, he was aghast. “Lunch is a time of feasting Angelica! We have meals, we go home and cook in our kitchens, or go out to nice restaurants. We never have a muesli bar and continue working.”

“That’s actually pretty interesting.” Angelica mused, tugging Alexander along.

“For you maybe, for me it just means I’m getting forced to eat.” Alexander said.

“And grateful, will you be.” Lafayette said.

“Don’t go all Yoda on me.” Alexander laughed as they made it to the break room, sitting in a table on the corner.

Alexander and Lafayette had been having meals and breaks all week now. At first it annoyed Alexander, this was taking away precious time for him to work – and his current case had to be airtight if it had any hope for success. However, the breaks had actually helped him stay on focus; his mind was clearer, he was drinking less coffee, he looked a little less malnutritioned – he was even sleeping better. He would never admit it to Lafayette (or anyone for that matter) but these regular meals and these strange things called breaks were actually incredibly good for his health.

Then Jefferson had started showing up.

Now, their journeys to the break room left Alexander feeling nothing but dread. Last time he had seen Thomas it had been disastrous. Alexander tried to keep his face impassive as the memories flooded to the forefront of his consciousness. Those goddamn glasses, and those goddamn grapes, and goddamn him.

No, Alexander was decidedly not looking forward to lunch.

He immediately tensed as he walked in, seeing Thomas in his peripheral vision. Alexander didn’t want to look but from what it seemed, Thomas was in a heated discussion – no, an argument, with Madison of all people. Burr sat behind the two at the table, looking bemused, his head switching to whoever was talking, like he was watching some obscure tennis match.

Alexander consciously ignored them, taking his newly drawn on mug reading “Gay, Small, Angry” in his terrible handwriting, and filled it with cold water from the tap. He’d have to invest in a drink bottle or something – it was far more practical.

He sat at the table in the corner with Angelica and Lafayette, who were busy looking through a take-out menu. Alexander barely listened to the conversation, taking daring glances whenever he could get away with it towards Jefferson.

“Can I just be a typical American and get Honey Chicken?” Angelica asked.

“Non, you must try this…”

Thomas didn’t look as well put together as he normally did. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, Alexander doubted Thomas could ever look unattractive. It was just an observation. His hair was slightly fuzzy; it was in that moment that Alexander fully appreciated Thomas’ dedication to his natural hair. He couldn’t imagine it would be easy to manage, keeping it in the perfect shape it always seemed to be set in. His clothes were ruffled slightly, unironed. It looked as though Thomas had just thrown something together at the last minute, a purple tie, navy blue blazer and black pants. Again, the looks suited him – but it wasn’t something Thomas would normally wear. He seemed tired, bags weighed heavily under his eyes.

Alexander couldn’t help but feel concerned for him.

Goddammit.

Angelica nudged him, shocking him back into his surroundings. Alexander hadn’t even realised he’d spaced out, only focusing on Thomas. “Please tell this baguette that honey chicken is a perfectly viable option.”

“Angelica,” Lafayette said, “you must expand your palate! How do you know you will not like something if you have not tried it?”

“I never said I wouldn’t like it,” Angelica reasoned, “I just wanna stick with something I like.”

Thomas was chewing his lip as James spoke. Alexander couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Thomas looked concerned. Alexander didn’t know what to do, or why he was so invested in the argument.

It was because Thomas was involved – of course it was.

“…cannot believe you have never tasted a dumpling before ma sœur, it is one of the most basic Chinese meals, something you must have experienced.”

Burr couldn’t keep a straight face as the argument continued. Alexander wondered how serious it was. On one hand, Burr showing any emotion amounted the argument to mean something, but on the other, the fact that it was amusement was… disheartening. “…Laf, I will never understand…” Alexanders heart caught in his throat. Thomas locked eyes with him. He felt like he was caught out on something he shouldn’t be doing, like a teen graffiti artist caught by the neighbourhood watch.  Thomas studied Alexander for a moment, like Alexander was some sort of abstract Picasso work. Then, Thomas’ face morphed into a sneer. Alexander was crushed. “Hey,” Angelica shoved him again, pulling him out of his eye lock with Thomas, “Alexander it’s your pick. Dumpling’s or honey chicken.”

Alexander shrugged, taking furtive glances towards the argument. “I-I dunno,” James snapped his fingers in front of Thomas, gaining his attention, “whatever you guys want, I guess.” He distantly heard one of them groan – or maybe it was both. However, he wasn’t paying much attention, with it instead being drawn back to Thomas. James was serious, his shoulder tense as he was saying something. Alexander had no idea what it could be about, watching as Thomas sighed and nodded dejectedly. He looked… Thomas looked apprehensive.  He looked as though he was about to put down a dog. Jesus, what could be weighing on Thomas’ soul like that?

Suddenly, Thomas looked up at Alexander again. His face, originally full of concern, contorted into an ugly mess. His mouth drew down to a frown, his eyebrows stitching together, and his jaw locking.

He pushed Madison aside, marching forward.

Alexander wasn’t sure what he was feeling. Apprehension? Fear? Anticipation? It welled in his gut, creating a storm inside of him. He wanted something – anything to happen. And he had no idea why. Sweat clung to the back of his neck, the little baby hairs sticking to him like cling wrap. He wanted to swallow but he couldn’t, some hidden force had already consumed him whole, leaving him with nothing but the build-up of extra energy, which Alexander was forced to contain.

Thomas looked him up and down. “What the hell are you looking at, Hamilton?”

Ah right, Hamilton.

Alexander took a deep breath, allowing the air to fill his lungs. He had to calm down. “I just noticed you and Madison were in an argument, I was curious.”

Thom-, Jefferson scowled, his gaze traveling to Alexanders mug. He paused for a moment, staring at it. Alexander suddenly felt self-conscious, as if he should be hiding it. “Why does your mug say ‘Gay, Small, Angry’ – when you yourself, are not gay?”

“I-I don’t know what you mean.”

“You.” Tho-, Jefferson repeated. “You’re not gay.”

“Gay’s an umbrella term.” Alexander said.

Jefferson scoffed. “Not for you it’s not, because you’re not gay.”

“Excuse me but being bisexual is just as valid as-” Jefferson put a hand up, cutting Angelica off.

“No. You’re wrong.” Jefferson piqued.

“Thomas, mon ami, what are you doing?” Lafayette asked.

Jefferson leaned in towards Alexander, ignoring the others. “You, you are the worst form of gay. You’re a traitor.”

Alexander felt a mini earthquake, or maybe it was only happening in his heart. “Wh-what do you mean?”

Jefferson laughed, but it was cold. Devoid of real emotion. It was shallow, the kind you used around your racist uncle when you really just didn’t have it in yourself to argue with him and the rest of the family in that present moment. It sounded almost remorseful, but it was too apathetic to be described like that. All Alexander knew was that it pierced through him, cutting him deeper with every sound. “What I’m saying is, you’re a stain to the gay community.”

The world morphed until it was just Alexander and Jefferson – but not in a pleasant, lovey dovey ‘oh so sweet’ way. No – Alexander felt like prey, like some sort of dumb bunny. And Jefferson – he wasn’t a fox. He was a lion.

And Alexander was going down.

“Bisexuality, isn’t a thing,” Jefferson droned, “it’s just a thing people say when they suddenly decide they’re either not straight, or not gay.”

Alexander thought he heard someone protest, but he couldn’t be too certain. All he heard were Thomas- no, Jefferson’s words, stabbing him to his core.

“You can’t be both. Hamilton, you could’ve been amazing as a Gay man. Think about it, one of the best firms, best lawyers is gay. It would’ve been amazing. But no, you and your selfish ass went and presented as straight.”

Angelica clutched Alexanders hand. “That’s enough...”

Alexander was tuning out. Every word Jefferson said felt as though it was pulling a part a little piece of Alexander, one by one.

“You prance around saying your gay, well, being bisexual is only okay if you’re dating a man.”

Somewhere, in the back of Alexanders mind, he knew what Jefferson was saying was bullshit. But in that moment, Alexander felt himself agreeing with every word. There was something wrong with him. Being bisexual was wrong.

Every fucking part of him was

wrong.

“You don’t exist. Your sexuality isn’t a thing. You’re just going through a faze which is detrimental to the gay community and what we’re trying to do to get equal rights.”

Alexander couldn’t move. He wanted to throw up, cry, scream, all at once.

You’re acting like a sexually greedy pig. Just choose a goddamn side and stick with it.”

Alexander had decided. He wanted to do all three. He wanted to crawl up into a ball and hide. Every word Jefferson said ripped him open, infecting him with betrayal after betrayal.

“And now what? When you decide to be straight again, you’re just gonna drop Elizabeth for the next piece of ass to come on their way, just like the fucking whore you are.”

Jefferson’s face suddenly whipped to the side, contorted in immeasurable amounts of pain. Alexander then noticed the hand connected to his face. The ringing of a slap permeated in his ears, pulling him back into reality.

“How, dare you!”

At first, Alexander thought it was angelica speaking. But she was sitting next to him, clutching his hand until it had gone white.

He looked up, Eliza was standing there, looking as though she was about to tackle Jefferson to the ground.

“What you’re saying is downright disgusting.” Eliza continued, attempting but failing to keep her voice level.

Jefferson rubbed his jaw but stayed quiet. Alexander noticed James standing by his side, squeezing Jefferson’s arm.

The sight just made him feel even worse.

Eliza rolled her eyes, her chest heaving. “Jefferson, you’re supposed to be a smart guy. So why have you been spouting so much bullshit?”

Alexander noticed himself shaking. He coughed, finding his voice. “If you had any heart, any amount of decency at all,” he spoke, “you would be more considerate of others.”

“Some progressive piece of shit you are,” Eliza seethed, “you’re just buying into some TERF nonsense, eating up all the bi-erasure propaganda you can handle.”

Jefferson didn’t seem to be listening to Eliza, instead focusing on Alexander. His gaze had softened, he almost looked betrayed.

Alexander was ignoring it.

He felt his voice rise as he continued. “And y’know what. I’m not even surprised. You are heartless. I wasn’t even doing anything to antagonise you. You came into my personal space and started attacking me!” He looked Thomas dead in the eye, unflinching. “And that’s exactly what a heartless monster would do.”

Alexander stood abruptly, letting his chair fall to the ground behind him. The room felt small, the walls closing in on him. There were too many people around, he had to get out. He hurried towards the exit in what he hoped looked like calm manner, but the shaking of his nerves vibrated throughout his body – and he knew he didn’t look calm.

He felt lied to, he felt betrayed. Jefferson had come and torn him a part, cut him into pieces.

He almost laughed, the same ruthless, cold thing Jefferson had done earlier. He was bitter as he stumbled down the hall, away from the noise, away from the people, and the closed in walls. Great men will be men.

He just wanted to turn on the gas.

Eliza ran after him. “Alex?”

-/-

Funnily enough, Alexander wasn’t even surprised Eliza had shown. They had each-others backs, they always seemed to be there for each other when the other needed it the most. It was just their connection.

Alexander sat in the passenger seat of Eliza car, slurping a chocolate milkshake. They were parked by a lake just out of the city. It was quiet here, no one else was in sight. Eliza ate a muffin, picking at it in the silence. If it were anyone else, Alexander was sure the silence would be awkward, but just being in Eliza’s presence provided him comfort.

Alexander couldn’t help but relay everything that happened earlier. The fight, what Jefferson had said.

He was wrong, Alexander knew Jefferson was wrong. Everything Jefferson had said was wrong. It was cruel, ghastly, it was shallow and inhumane.

And yet… Alexander felt he had let Thomas down.

Thomas…

He just couldn’t help but think about Thomas by his first name, even though they weren’t on a first name basis… anymore…

“So um, the reason why I was at your work is because I have news… but I’m guessing you don’t wanna talk about that?” Eliza said.

Alexander shrugged, watching the water lap onto the land. The serenity gave him peace of mind. A constant to the chaos of the day. “I don’t mind, I suppose I should know.”

“Well, my father… invited us to Albany,” Eliza said with apprehension, “He wants to meet you. He wants us – mainly you, to take a break.”

Alexander sighed. “Betsy I can’t. I’ve got to get my notes for the new case through, I can’t let down Burr or-”

Or Thomas.

Goddamn Thomas. That beautiful, whimsical man. That extraordinary, funny, delightful an. That cruel, heartless man. That monstrous man who had taken his heart and crushed it, watching the dust fall to the floor in delight. Controlling him with his every whim, holding Alexander in the palm of his hand.

Alexander was furious, he was angry.

He was distraught.

He had flung his heart to someone.

And that someone had-

Eliza handed Alexander a tissue. He hadn’t even realised he’d been crying. “Alexander, hon, what’s up?”

Alexander was a mess. He was a puddle on the ground. A part of him almost laughed, finding the irony that he was taking the Swan’s advice now, when it meant nothing. “I love him Betsy, I’m so fucking in love with him and I hate life because I don’t know why and he’s a terrible, awful person and I love him and I hate him for it.”

He fell into Eliza’s arms, which was a bit awkward as they had to navigate around the handbrake and clutch. Nonetheless, they managed, and Eliza held him tighter than she ever had, stoking his hair softly. “Oh Alex, why didn’t you tell me?”

Alexander shrugged, his face buried in her hair. It smelt like oranges and vanilla, it was comfortable and safe. It was just simply, Eliza. “Don’t act like a martyr Betsy, you mean everything to me. I wouldn’t trade up what we’re doing for the world.”

“That’s not the point…”

“Well, I didn’t realise until way after the start of our ‘relationship’ anyway, there wouldn’t have been any point.”

“Oh Alex, of course there would’ve been a point. You would’ve had an ally, someone to help you. Hell, you could’ve worked something out.”

“Are you kidding?” Alexander scoffed between sniffles. “You heard what he said, he’s awful.”

And yet, Alexander still loved him.

“Tell you what,” Eliza suggested, “Come up to Albany anyway-”

“Betsy, I can’t-”

“Nope, none of that. You’ve worked enough hours to get years paid leave, and Washington will probably be more than happy to see you take a break. That environment you’re in right now is toxic, you need to get out. Clear your mind, do some therapy.”

Alexander scoffed. “Therapy, really?”

“Ah you know what I mean,” Eliza chuckled, “Some therapeutic stuff. Besides, Angelica and Peggy will be coming too.”

Alexander thought for a moment. “We should probably tell them, about the Jefferson.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, we won’t have to.”

“No, I mean all of them. John and Hercules too.”

“You’re right,” Eliza said, “This has caused too many issues, especially for you. It’s probably best that we do.”

Alexander sighed. “So do we really have to go to Albany?”

“There’s an agenda with my father, but I really do think you need to take a break. We’re not running away for the summer, just a few days.”

Alexander Hamilton was not one for breaks.

But for once in his life, he agreed with Elizabeth Schuyler.

He would take a break.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16:
so the squad™ meets up right and they basically reveal that the entire relationship is a scam and alex goes on about how love isn’t real and the only people who have hope for it are eliza and maria. John is all like u M what about me and law and alex is like wtf and law is like honnnnnn you didn’t notice??? and then john’s all like “i took him to that diner and he was wearing a turtle shirt and fuck i love him” and mate it’s so cute and everyone’s like awwwwww. anyway, alex continues his tanget about thomas and peggy is like, mateeee imma fuck him up and then she does this creepy stare around the room, lands on john, points at him, and is all like “you’re coming with me” and john is all like “I don’t think I could ever stab someone. I mean, let’s be honest. I can barely get the straw in the Capri Sun.” and then law is all like, yo I’m staying outta this, Thomas is my bro too and then here is all like, thomas fucked with alex, and then law is like “well, it //would// be hot” and then john is all like OH YEAH AIGHTO and then peggy just winks and is like “So stick that in your juice box and suck it.”

-

Chapter 17:  Summer in the City - part 1. (FINALLY back in Thomas pov.)
Okay, finally at the main part of the plot. Okay so Thomas is just chillin’ at home when Peggy and John rock up, they go on about everything, they tell him everything, how the hamliza relationship was a lie, how alex was fucking in love with thomas, and how he fucked it up forever. Peggy throws a fork at his hair cause she’s so angry and he’s never seen john before so he’s like um. Peggy spits on him and ends with “just pack your things and go straight to hell now.” and john just sighs and is all like “tell the devil we said hi when you get back to where you’re from.” So anyway, Thomas is a mess. He sits stunned for a bit, absorbing all the information they’ve said when it hits him, alexander loved him, and he lost him. He leaves the house in a rush to find peggy and john but they’re gone. He wanders the streets for a bit, stumbling into a bar. The chap ends with Thomas meeting Maria, but she’s not mentioned by name. She’s sitting alone in a booth and Thomas is all like fuck I need a rebound. He feels a pang of guilt knowing he’s bi and he still said that shit to alexander in an attempt to get him to hate thomas but he downs another shot, let’s the buzz take over and slides into the booth. The last bit of the chap goes like this:

There’s nothing like summer in the city.

Thomas eyed the girl curiously. “you’re awfully pretty to be here alone, what’s your name?”

Someone under stress meets someone looking’ pretty.

“Maria”

CAUSE THEN EVERYONE THINKS THEY’RE GONNA FUCK HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

-

Chapter 18: Summer in the City - part 2 (alex’s pov)
Meanwhile, in Albany
So Phillip sr. introduces himself as Phil (cause you already got Phillip Swan). He get’s brutally interrogated by Eliza with the sisters watching outside the room and Alex can see them laughing and he hates it. Phillip asks why Alexi hasn’t released an article about them yet and alex is all like “hell if i know” and Phil laughs and he’s like “love a guy with a sense of humour! My betsy chose well!” and alex is all like *awkward laughter*. Peggy finally arrives and refuses to say why she showed up to Albany a day late and Angelica is all like “did you really rip it into Thomas’ and peggy is all like “…no?”. The sisters take him on a fun adventure around Albany, they go to the shops, they swim in the lake fully clothed like lunatics, and they buy lemonade from some kids stall and it tastes like shit. When Alex asks about the adventure they’re all just like, “we’re helping your heartbreak.” Alex reveals that he’s still got Thomas sticky notes and he pulls them outta his bag and they’re all like what??? and he’s all like, I just can’t get rid of him. I’m fucking done. They burn the sticky notes all symbolic like.

Chap ends with:He stared into the flames, *some poetic shit about the feel of fire on his face*, distantly he heard Eliza whisper “I hope that he burns.”

Alexander couldn’t help but agree.

-

Chapter 19: Summer in the City - part 3. (thomas pov)
“I’m lesbian by the way - and taken. Find your whore elsewhere” this is how the chap starts, Maria says this. Thomas shrugs saying how he’d like to be taken too but he missed his chance and how he wished he was only into girls cause boys were too fucking hard (phrasing). anyway, this starts a tangent between them turning into a rant about how love is a lie and they miss their people. Thomas asks Maria why she’s doing all this when it’s so unethical and Maria just smiles softly and is all like, “god I love her, well behaved woman rarely make history.” Thomas finds out Maria is in love with Eliza but as far as Thomas is aware, she’s still straight and not gay. They go wandering around for a bit around the city and Maria just kinda talks to Thomas about her entire life. They find that they’re kinderd spirits. She crashes at Thomas’ house. Thomas carries her to his bed and tucks her in. He’s content that he didn’t sleep with anyone tonight and thrilled that he’s maybe made a friend.

-

Chapter 20: Summer in the City - part 4. (alex’s pov)
Lol okay so it’s kinda a thing where Eliza is talking about her love for Maria. and then they go on this whole thing about how at least if they’re fake dating, they’re with each other. Alex plays with the ashes from the notes from the night before and Eliza is all like “did it help” and alex just shakes his head and is all like “i think it’s more of a you thing, I feel like I’ve just gotten rid of a part of myself” to lighten the mood Eliza’s all like “well when you betray me, I’ll be sure to burn everything you every wrote me” and then everyone reading it will be like OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH. Angelica comes in all like “dude, we’ve saved enough funds for the orphanage” and Alexander is ecstatic. Eliza then stops and is like holy shit, does that mean we’re ending this and Alex is all like, yeah… you can finally be with maria and he’s so fucking happy for her. Then Eliza just looks at him and she breaks down cause it hits her that Alexander has sacrificed //so much// for her and she doesn’t deserve it and how shit now alex is crying and now peggy is crying and angelica punches them cause now she’s crying and they’re all crying. They face time the swans with the news and they’re excited as fuck and it’s great. They devise a plan on how this is all gonna end, Eliza is adamant that no matter what she’s coming out to their dad. Peggy makes the offhand comment that Alexi was literally useless in all of this and they all laugh and hahahaha. Phil comes home with the magazine Alexi made. It’s an entire special dedicated to their relationship, including Alexanders interview.

-

Chapter 21: Summer in the City - part 5. (thomas pov)
He bangs on Johns door, awks when Laf opens it. Thomas demands to know why John lied to him about Alex liking him and slams the article down, in it, it says all the stuff like Alex says, has a bunch of pictures from the market, an expert from the salesman, John adams was interviewed about them and Thomas makes the offend comment that the reason they aren’t friends anymore is cause he always wanted to control the media. Look, it’s a mess. Laf calls Here to be mediator again cause it’s an actual fucking mess and then thomas complains about feeling outnumbered so here calls madison to come and they have this massive argument about everything and it’s intense yo. Thomas ends with saying “Im an idiot, I’m an idiot whose been in love with his since I first laid my goddamn eyes on him!” and they’re all kinda frozen cause oh damn no one was expecting that. Thomas then explains his whole ridiculous plan and John is like oh shit and here is all like we have all this technology designed to make life easier and no one ever fucking uses it. John calls Peggy and they immediately hear “John no, none of you call us. Eliza’s about to come out to dad and shit is gonna go down.” Then they overhear Alex going “Peggy, where the hell am I hiding, this is the only thing I care about” and thomas’ heart clenches and peggy laughs and then laf goes “no this is important” and there’s a scuffle and then alex is on the phone and is all like “nothing is as important as this, quite frankly none of us could care less about what you have to say. now excuse me, I have to go make a scene” and hangs up.

Everyone’s silent for a moment. They all try to call them but they don’t pick up. Chap ends with.

John seethed. “Fuck!”

-

22: Summer in the City - part 6. (alex pov)
They all turn off their phones cause they don’t understand why they’re so insistent. After ham hangs up they all agree to turn off their phones. Rn, nothing was more important. Eliza briefly goes “what if someone died” and then angelica is all like “there woulda been more screaming”. Everyone hides in various locations around the lounge room. when Eliza finally comes out to her dad he’s all like “oh shit I failed as a parent” then she’s like “u M” then he’s like “what, nonononono not like that. I failed because I created an environment in which you didn’t feel safe to be your true self around me, in which you felt the need to lie about such a massive aspect about yourself just so I would accept you. I failed you, I failed you because instead of supporting you, I drove you to deny your very existence so you could support and uplift others. What kind of father does that?” then he asks for forgiveness. he continues “I don’t know if I’ll ever understand you gays (you gotta make it somewhat bad to make it believable that he’s homophobic) and I’m gonna ask that you keep your queer stuff away from me (this pisses of alex loads) but Eliza, I will always support you. And if you want to date this girl, hell even marry her, I will be there for you.  They all then come out and it’s like symbolic how there’s finally no more secrets and everything is out in the open and it’s pretty cool.

Chap ends:Alexanders heart still hung for Thomas, but right now, he was happy.

-

Chapter 23:
Thomas goes to work all moody like, He walks in and sees Laf on the phone, he’s freaking miserable. He’s like “Alex it’s literally 10am why are you drunk?” and Thomas heart clenches but he continues onward. He sits in his office for a bit, looking at the sheep Alex gave him and flicking through the various notes Alex gave him throughout their time together.
James sits with him for a bit and asks “how’s life treating you?” Thomas replies “like I just ran over it’s dog” and he just cries that he could never get alex back cause he was a dick and it’d be stupid of alex to come back. Laf literally storms into Thomas’ office and holds the phone to his ear. Turns out Alex had been complaining how he can’t stop thinking about Thomas and he was pathetic that he’d go back to him instantly if he wanted and man he was just in love with him and then Thomas, gobsmacked is all like “hi.” There’s silence, then all Thomas hears is “shit.” They kinda just sit there for a bit and Laf takes the phone back and is like, “when you get back, I’m locking you two idiots in a room together until you sort out your shit. The chap is then Thomas just freaking the very much fuck out. Rest of chap is Laf’s pov and it’s some sort of cute Laurette thing.

-

Chapter 24:
So Alex rocks up at Thomas’ house and starts with…“I wasn’t drunk.”

“What?”

“On the phone, with Laf. I only said that so I’d have an excuse to still be pining over you. At least when you’re drunk you’ve got an excuse to be irrational.”

“Wait, why are you telling me this?”

“Because I’ve been thinking-“

“A dangerous past time.”

Alex laughed softly. “Lemme finish you prick. I’ve realised that we got into this mess because even though we had all those fucking notes, we never talked.”

Thomas paused. “Oh.”

“And well,” Alex sighed, “I’ve realised that I turned out liking you a lot more than I originally planned, even if it’s stupid of me to do so”

Anyway, so they talk it out, Thomas acknowledges that he was a dick and that it wasn’t fair on Alex. Make it explicit that what Thomas did was not okay and that if he fucked up again, Alex was out. Look it’s very mature and something they really need. Chap ends with them holding hands.

-

Chapter 25:
Alex, Eliza , and Maria walk into Alexi’s office all power like. They burn her magazine in front of her and tell her that working with her is more hassle than it’s worth. Eliza then kisses Maria on the cheek and tells her she’s a lesbian and proud of it. Add a thing where Alex and see the love between the two of them and it’s fucking beautiful etc. etc. Alex takes Thomas to the orphanage, the main reason why they went through it all. Angelica is literally all like “f i n a l l y  you got your gay ass organised” and phillip says something at some point like “man, I’d shoot a guy for you” so then the readers are all like OOOOOOOOHHHHHH. Thomas just kinda turns to Alex and is all like, “hon, this is amazing, i totally understand.” Alexander just shrugs, looking out into the orphanage, he low-key remines on the past, what it took for him to be sitting in Thomas’ lap, surrounded by the people he loves. “Do I regret it? Yes. Would I do it again? Probably.”  Follow with someone saying “Alexander Hamilton - A Life Story. Chap ends with.

And it truly was his life story, and it was only the start.

THE END