Work Text:
"I'm so fed up with his shit, John! I'm going to lose my mind!" Alexander is moving his hands animatedly, complaining about his most recent argument with Jefferson. The two are on their lunch break, John is half listening. He's focused half on Alexander and half the sandwich he is eating.
"I can't believe he has the nerves to tell me that I can't get a girlfriend or boyfriend! It's not like he has any better luck!" Alexander is gradually increasing the volume of his voice. John stops chewing to shush Alexander.
"Alex, people are staring." John whispers. Alexander looks at him incredulously.
"Really, John? That's what you're worried about?"
"I'm not exactly sure what you want me to do in this situation." John goes back to eating his sandwich.
Alexander stops to think for a minute. His eyes light up when he thinks of an idea.
"Go out with me." Alexander stares at him, a smirk on his face. John starts to choke on his sandwich. He takes a sip of his drink and takes a minute to gather his thoughts.
"What?"
"Not for real. Fake date me, so I can prove Jefferson wrong. Then we can never mention it again." Alexander tells him.
The faint sense of hope John had was shattered.
"Uh, yeah okay. I guess." John tells him, hoping he doesn't sound too upset.
"Perfect. Thanks, John. You're a great friend." Alexander goes back to eating his own sandwich.
"Yeah... friend." John mumbles.
"Huh?" Alexander makes eye contact with John.
"Oh, nothing." John says.
"Um... Alright." Alexander says cautiously.
The two finish their lunch in silence and go to the car, with 10 minutes left until their lunch break was over. They get in and start the short drive back.
When they get back to the office, Alexander hops out of the car immediately. He rushes around to open the door for John.
"Thanks, Alex." John grins at him. Alexander nods, closing the door when John gets out and grabs his hand, which painfully reminds John this was all for show.
They walk into the office holding hands. Alexander, with a smirk on his face, and John with a nervous smile. They get a few stares, some of disgust, which they ignore.
They stop when they come face to face to someones shoulder. They look up and see Jefferson with a smirk on his face.
"What's happening here?" Jefferson asks them.
"I just went out to lunch with my boyfriend, why?" Alexander replies, an annoyed look on his face.
"Boyfriend, huh?" Jefferson pesters on.
"Yeah, got a problem with it?" Alexander growls. Jefferson puts his hands up in defense.
"Just asking, Hamilton. Well, go on then. With your boyfriend." Jefferson looks John up and down, and John felt intimidated.
Alexander walks around Jefferson, pulling John along with him. John blushes as he catches up with Alexander.
Alexander lets go of John's hand as they reach their desks, which are right next to each other. "That was great, John! We just have to keep it up for a little while longer, and then I can prove Jefferson wrong."
Alexander pulls John into a hug, and John slowly hugs him back. He tries not to cry, considering that Alexander was only just pretending to like him romantically. John pushed back the feeling and pulled away from the hug.
"Yeah, anything for a friend." John thinks he imagined the way Alexander's smile faltered when he said the word "friend".
They sit down and continue to work. The amount of sunlight in the window slowly decreases as is gets later in the day. Alexander had gone through 3 more cups of coffee before it hit 7pm, when their shift was over.
"Alexander, that much coffee isn't healthy." John said to Alexander as he finished packing his bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder, as he waited for Alexander to get ready to go. He stood there for 2 minutes, Alexander not turning his laptop off.
"Alex?" John taps him on the shoulder. Alexander looks up at him. The bags under his eyes looked painfully obvious under the harsh lighting inside the office.
"I'm working overtime tonight, I have to finish up this paper for Washington. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" Alexander didn't wait for his response before turning back to his computer.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow Alex." John stalked off alone, leaving him to think.
'Why did Alex's smile falter when I said friend? Does he actually like me back? No, I doubt it. If he did, he would have asked me out for sure. He's never been shy about his crushes.' John thinks as he walks out the door.
One thing John knew for sure though, is that he didn't want to face Alexander tomorrow.
--
John wakes up not to his alarm, but to a persistent knock on his door. John stretched his arms, before getting out of bed. He walked to the door with only pajama pants on, not bothering to put on a shirt.
He opened the door to reveal a disheveled Alexander. He immediately brightened up when John opened the door.
"John! Hi, are you ready to go?" usually John and Alexander walked to and from work together.
"Wait, what time is it?" John scratched his head, and Alexander tried not to stare at his exposed chest.
"9:45." Alexander smirks, realizing John just woke up. John's eyes widened and rushed back inside. Alexander invited himself in, closing the door behind him. He sat on the couch as he waited for John to come out of his room. He was ready in record time, running into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
"Okay, okay lets go. We're going to be so late. Oh my god." John walks out while putting his hair up in a pony tail.
"John, I got here 2 minutes ago. Don't worry. We have time." Alexander stood up and walked to the door. He opened the door for John and followed him out. John locked the door and they started the walk to work at a faster pace than usual.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. John could tell Alexander wanted to say something, but was holding it back. John eventually broke the silence.
"So, what time did you get home last night?"
Alexander looked at him, but John kept his eyes forward.
"Around 11pm. Why?" Alexander's expression seemed confused.
"Alexander, you get off at 7pm for a reason. My walk was lonely without you." John says, and Alexander looks down at his feet.
"I'm sorry John. I'll leave at 7 today with you, promise." Alexander lifted his pinky towards John, looking back up at him.
John tried to hide a laugh. "Pinky promise, really?"
Alexander tried to hide a laugh as well. "Yes, really. Now come on, I'm waiting."
John giggles, grabbing hold of Alexander's pinky with his own, and shaking it. He pretended not to notice when Alexander lingered a little too long.
They arrived at the office, and when they were in the parking lot, Alexander took hold on John's hand again. They waved to Eliza at the front desk, who sent them both a warm smile.
They went to the desks, letting go of their hands. They went right to work, not talking much. Alexander got up to grab a cup of coffee, when John saw him get caught Jefferson stopping him yet again.
"What do you want, Jefferson." Alexander wasn't even trying to be civil.
"Just wanted to ask how your new boyfriend is. Pretty convenient you guys got together after I made fun of your inability to date anyone, huh?" Jefferson smiled, knowing exactly what he was doing to Alexander.
"I'll have you know I have plenty of luck getting a date, thank you very much." Alexander stood his ground, trying his best to look confident.
The two continued to converse , which consisted of Jefferson jabbing Alexander, to which Alexander tried his best to not punch the guy in the face. John rolled his eyes and looked back at his computer. Alexander sat back at his desk a few minutes later, and they returned to their mutual silence.
John finished all the work he wanted to do before lunch, and he knew he could keep being productive, but he really didn't want to. He decided to go ahead and go talk to Eliza at the front desk.
John stood up, telling Alexander he'd be back in a few when he shot him a confused look. He walked over to the front and leaned on the desk, making Eliza look up.
"Ah, hello John." Eliza smiled at him, which John returned.
"Hey, 'Liza. How's life?" John leaned his head on his arms that were on top of the desk.
"Boring. I saw you and Alexander holding hands when you guys walked in. He finally admitted his crush on you, huh?" Eliza told him, oblivious to the fact that Alexander did not admit to having a crush on John.
"Uh, what?" John stumbles back, now standing completely.
"That's all he talks about to me anymore. 'John this, John that. Oh my god John looked so good today, did you see?'" Eliza intimidated Alexander and laughed to herself. John just stood there, stunned.
"Eliza, I'll be right back." John stumbles off back to his desk and tapped Alexander on the shoulder. Alexander turned around and smiled at John.
"Hey John, what's u-" he's cut off by John pressing his lips to Alexanders.
Alexanders lips tasted like black coffee, which he had been drinking all morning. John was about to pull away, before Alexander started to kiss back. John thought he was going to faint.
They pulled away slowly, Alexander looking at John confused.
"Uh, w-what was that for?" He stutters out. John smiles at the slight blush on his cheeks.
"Eliza." is all John said. Alexander's cheeks turned even redder when he realized what John meant.
"Oh my god, I'm going to- Eliza!" Alexander stands up immediately to go over to Eliza. He stops suddenly and turns back around to meet Johns gaze.
"What did she say?" he demanded.
"That you have a crush on me. Was she lying? Oh god, this is awkward." John says nervously. Alexander's eyes went wide.
"No! Uh, she wasn't lying. I do. Have a crush on you, I mean." Alexander reassures him. John visibly relaxes.
"Okay good. I have a crush on you too." John admits. They stand in silence for a minute before Alexander and John speak up at the same time.
"Will you-" they both start to say, but then both start.
"You can go." John says to him. Alexander nods and takes a deep breath.
"Will you go on a date with me?" John breaks out into a smile, and Alexander can't help but return it.
"Of course, Alexander." John replies. Alexander's eyes light up and he steps closer to John.
"How about we go get dinner after we work?" Alexander smiles at him. They move closer, their noses slightly brushing.
"Just the two of us?" John asks, their foreheads touching now.
"Just the two of us." Alexander reassures. They lean in together and their lips touch again.
And Alexander wouldn't admit it then, but for the first time in a long time, he felt satisfied. And when he did eventually tell John that, John would wholeheartedly agree with him.