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Number One
First and foremost: the ladies.
All the ladies are suckers for guys who sing and play instruments. Luckily, Aaron Burr was both. Technically, Aaron was one of the reasons why the buffet place in the city was so popular. If he recalled correctly, he read in a Buzzfeed article (“9 reasons why you should visit Click Boom: The best buffet uptown!”)That “He’s more delicious than the sushi bar!” and boy did that article flatter him to no end.
Girls from every corner of New York, some even beyond the state, flock to the buffet just to get a chance to be serenaded by the heavenly voice of Aaron Burr. They would always pick the cheesiest love songs. He figured they probably imagined him really singing it to them as if they were his lover and not just a customer. It helped Burr work on his supposed acting skills anyway. He’s lost count on how many times he sang Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud but if it got him big tips, he wasn’t going to complain.
Number Two
Second of all: Free Food.
What kind of person would say no to free food at the end of a long night of singing? A terrible person, that’s who. Not only did he get tips so grand that he wouldn’t have to worry about rent for three months, he got leftover food when the buffet closes. Burr was the kind of guy who loved to cook and always had an appreciation for all types of cuisine. So when he gets too tired to cook, what better place to get food than in Click Boom?
Number Three
Lastly: The handsome stranger that came in on special occasions.
God, if he only he knew his name. All he knew about him was that he always made a beeline for the weirdest sushi concoctions that chefs came up with that day. Special for him apparently meant the anniversary of the Compromise of 1790, The anniversary of the passing of the Civil Rights bill of 1964, The anniversary of the end of the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 and other obscure dates in their history no one else would deem a holiday.
Aaron found it annoyingly endearing.
What else was annoyingly endearing was his hair. How could anyone’s hair look that smooth and silky without Photoshop? This guy should be the spokesperson for Head and Shoulders with how soft his hair looked. Every time Aaron went over to his table, usually occupied as well with 4 or 5 of his friends, he always resisted the urge to card his hands through those silky locks. It was ridiculous how much Aaron wanted to touch his hair.
This man also could not stop talking.
Whether he had 1 friend with him or 6, it didn’t matter because he would still be the only voice rapidly spewing out sentences as fast as a bullet train. If he miraculously weren’t talking, he would be writing or typing. What was he typing? Aaron had absolutely no clue. He didn’t know why he would be writing in a place intended for celebration and taking breaks from the norm. Then again, this man already deviated from the norm.
Today happened to be the anniversary of the Proclamation of Neutrality of 1793. Why does Burr know that? Everyone who has worked long enough with him would know the exact reason why he knew this date. If they asked him however, he would just say that it was a fun fact or that he read it somewhere on the Internet. Everyone still knew better.
Everyone knew that today was another obscure historical “holiday” that Mister Burr’s not-so-mysterious crush would have to celebrate. Sometimes he wished he didn’t tell Peggy about it but the girl could really be pushy if she wanted to. “You know I could just tell you his name, right? My sisters and I are very close to him; I could set you two up. Oh please let me set you two up!” If dear Margaret Schuyler weren’t such a damn good singer, he would have a very different reaction to those words.
“Peggy you can’t just rush things like that.”
“You’ve been ogling him for 6 months, Aaron! 6 months! I think it’s time you actually start taking a stand and go for what you want.” He didn’t have the time to think about her words when one of the waiters flipped the sign from closed to open. He had to have the band run through the more recent songs and vocalize too. He can’t have the band singing with cold throats. He wouldn’t have that.
He took out the tiny keyboard he always had in his bag and played their first vocalization. “Let’s start.” He shot a pointed look at Peggy and soon enough the Schuyler sister gave in.
Peggy pouted in frustration.
“You blew it again, man.”
“Do you want your share of the tips or not?”
“Peggy’s got a point, Burr.”
“Don’t start with me, Jefferson!”
“Woah, calm down bro! I never saw you as the guy who would start a fight.”
Aaron didn’t want to indulge. Jefferson was right, as much as he hated to admit it. He didn’t like starting fights. He didn’t like talking so much in general. That’s why he was a singer, not some sort of political leader. There were different types of songs and so many genres that it was the perfect way for Burr to stay neutral. He never had a favorite genre or favorite song. He would sing anything as long as it got money in his pocket and a few numbers in there too.
“I’m not starting a fight. I’m assuming you don’t want your share of the tips?” Jefferson scoffed at that and tied his silk scarf around his neck with a flourish only he could pull off.
“Really, Burr? This job is an elective.” Burr wondered why he even kept coming back. He would have figured it was because Jefferson actually enjoyed singing for people less rich than him. Of course, Thomas would never admit to such a thing. Whatever. It gave Aaron and Peggy more of the cash. Thomas never needed the cash; he just came here to show off his vocal chops even if he knew Burr would always get the lead in songs.
“Well I’m going back to Virginia tomorrow for my sister’s birthday. Can y’all handle yourselves without me?”
“We did much better without you anyway.” Peggy retorted and Burr tried (and failed) to keep in his laughter. Jefferson could only glare at the young Schuyler sister and would have said something disgusting if there wasn’t a sudden knock at the door. “Oh! That must be Alex!” Aaron was about to ask who the hell was Alex when the door creaked open and a head popped in to look around. Burr gulped.
Alex was the handsome stranger.
His eyes landed on Peggy and his face lit up. “There you are! Come on, your sisters want to watch Star Wars at my place.”
“Are we buying popcorn first?” Asked Peggy as she counted her share of the bills still in Aaron’s hands.
“Sure but you’ll be the only one eating that shit. I haven’t eaten this much since…”
“Since college?”
“I didn’t even eat that much in college.” Peggy already took her share and was out the door before Aaron was able to take his eyes off of the guy. Alex locked eyes with him and he smiled. “Hey, great job today! I think your sound is improving and that song you sang us a while ago?” Alex made a few indistinguishable hand gestures that Aaron couldn’t stop himself from thinking as endearing. “It blew us all away! I wasn’t surprised of course.”
Jesus, was this guy flirting with him?
Oh please let Alex be flirting with me.
“Hey if you’re going to be flirting with Aaron, you should’ve told me.” Peggy returned to the room, sticking her head in the same way Alex was currently doing. “I have his number. I’ll give it to you.” Peggy’s smirk was more infuriating than the sudden glint in Alex’s eye.
“What makes you think, dearest Peggy, that I want this man’s number?” Ouch. That was like a bullet between the ribs in word form. Yet, Alex’s smile meant something else entirely. All Aaron could do was stare. He wasn’t one to talk much anyway.
“Because this man has wanted yours since November.”
Burr ended up getting his number and he was unprepared for the onslaught of texts he received in the next few weeks.
At first they were flirty, he sensed that Alex was testing the waters and finding out what made Aaron Burr tick. Aaron barely answered his texts, mostly because he would get flustered and he would end up typing in “k” before he would lock himself in the bathroom for a 2 hour long shower. Most of the time, he thought he blew his chance every time he didn’t answer. But Alex was persistent, non-stop even. He took Burr’s hesitance as a challenge.
Like coaxing a puppy out of a cage.
The next phase of Hamiltexts, as he so endearingly coined them after the first week, were more brash and confident. He used bolder strokes and lesser the amount of emojis. Aaron was at least grateful for the disappearance of the kissy face emoji. Though he was more bold in this phase, he would not text Burr even once when it was one of his historical holidays. That warned Aaron that he was going to be at the buffet and request as many songs as possible.
Aaron would sing them all anyway.
When Alex wasn’t texting him, he would be at the buffet making heart eyes at him and constantly calling the band over to his table. Now here is what set Alexander Hamilton apart from the usual people he serenaded. Alex would only request obscure songs that he either recently heard on whatever radio station he fancied to listen to or songs from musicals long uncared for by the public such as Camelot or Merrily We Roll Along. The catch? These were songs both him and Burr knew too well and what the band reluctantly had to learn.
So when he would ask Alex (The boy he’s dating? His actual boyfriend? His flirty text mate? Burr wasn’t sure) what song he would like them to play, he easily anticipated the smirk that graced his lips. Sometimes Burr either wanted to punch him or kiss him, whichever urge was larger was quite uncertain. He was certain though that it had to do with Hamilton’s mouth. Whenever Alex made his request, he tried not to laugh at the growing regret in Peggy’s eyes for setting them up.
“Do you know The Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice?”
“I don’t.” He heard Peggy mutter under her breath and he spotted, in the corner of his eye, her sister elbowing her gently in the stomach. Aaron silently promised to Peggy that they could sing Taylor Swift afterwards but an opportunity to sing The Blower’s Daughter was extremely rare and he would never pass it up.
All of Peggy’s feigned negativity soon melted away the second Burr sang the first few lines. She had never seen Alexander look so smitten with a person since Eliza. That was saying something because Alex was really in love with Eliza before. She recognized the same mannerisms, the hands underneath his chin, his fingers constantly running through his hair, the biggest heart eyes the world has ever seen. Oh Lord was Alexander in love.
After 2 more obscure Indie songs that Peggy could only do backup vocals to, Alex finally let them leave and she pulled Aaron to the side to take 5. “You really like him, don’t you?”
“Alex?” Aaron glanced briefly at the table they just came from and smiled at the way Alexander’s hands were practically flying everywhere. He was probably giving a detailed retelling of the first Continental Congress that occurred 241 years ago today. Why does he know that? Alex wouldn’t stop texting him about it the night before. So much so that he asked him to switch to Facebook messenger so he would actually be able to respond.
Aaron couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.
“Alex is abrasive. He talks too much. He’s also a real pain in the neck.” Peggy didn’t even deny those claims and even nodded along. “But he has such a huge heart that I’m not surprised that everyone loves him, even just a little bit.”
“Do you love him?”
As much as Aaron wanted to scream to the high heavens that he loved Alexander Hamilton, he couldn’t do that just yet. He needed to know if Alex actually loved him back. He has enough experience of falling in love with people who would eventually leave him for someone else so no one could blame him for taking his relationship with Alexander so slow. Though his pace is relentless, he was willing to slow it down. Maybe that was an indication that Alex truly wanted this with him.
Still. He needed to hear it from his own mouth.
So all he did was smile and ran an affectionate hand through Peggy’s hair. “Come on. We have to get back to work. Jefferson, we eat later!” The two continued to stand there, Peggy with her hands over her mouth, as the bouncy head of hair of Jefferson made its way towards them, grumbling under his breath.
Aaron wasn’t usually the last one to leave Click Boom but he volunteered to lock up once everybody finished cleaning. Besides, it was a Saturday. The buffet always closed up much earlier on weekends to give the chefs and other employees some rest. Just as he locked up the doors and turned off the lights on the front, a pair of arms slipped around him and he didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was.
“I’m assuming you hugged me instead of covering my eyes because you wouldn’t be able to reach it?”
“Oh wow. I knew my boyfriend was rude but not that rude.” Aaron turned around in Alex’s arms and laughed at the pout that met him when they were finally face to face. He ran his hand through Alex’s hair once and he did his best to mask the fact that his heart was beating so fast. Boyfriend. Alex called him his boyfriend. He hasn’t heard anything so amazing in his life.
“Also I would like to let you know, I can reach your eyes. I just need to stand on my tippy toes…” And Alex proceeded to do exactly that. Aaron couldn’t contain his laughter when Alex stood on his toes and tapped Aaron’s temples before giving up. “See? I did it!” Alex looked so damn proud of himself that Aaron couldn’t help but kiss him on the forehead. If Alex blushed then he was just going to blame it on the body heat they shared.
“You’re cute.” He said before he stepped away and offered Alex his hand. The shorter man gladly accepted it and, like the child that he was, swung it back and forth between them as they walked. Aaron let Alex do most of the talking as they walked back to his apartment. It was a given that every Saturday they would go to Aaron’s apartment. It was basically an excuse for Alex to curl up beside him on the couch as they watched a documentary of his choice. This week was a documentary on Frida Kahlo.
Of course, Aaron didn’t anticipate that the weather was not going to be on their side. The second he first droplet of rain landed on Alexander’s face, he knew there was no time to run to shelter. The thing about New York rains was that they give you a single warning and then they were suddenly completely soaking wet. As funny as it was to see Alex look like an adorable wet puppy, he knew Alex also had the worst immune system in the world.
“Alright hang on to me, Alex.” Aaron took off his ridiculously large coat and draped it over their heads as Alex tightly hugged him around the middle. Thankfully, there was a bakeshop nearby that Aaron frequented so they headed in that direction. Once they were safe under the awning, Alex was grumbling as he pulled his long hair into a ponytail. “You okay?”
“Yeah I’m fine. I just… what the fuck is up with the rain huh? Unbelievable!”
“What? You’re going to fight the rain?”
“I would kick its ass, Aaron!”
“Slow down, Alex.” Aaron placed gentle hands on Alex’s shoulders and instinctively rubbed his shoulder blades. He walked around Alex’s tiny frame and continued to give him a massage. It was nice to hear Alex talk but he appreciated the man’s presence more if he was silent. Also, the little moans of relief and satisfaction coming from his mouth when he did this were a much better sound. “You’ve got to learn how to appreciate the rain more.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
Now Aaron Burr was notoriously known as the man who can wait. But with Alexander’s warm brown eyes looking at him over his shoulder, he was slowly losing his ability to control himself. With Alex so close to him, his senses were heightened to an extreme. So much so that he could still smell the peppermint tea he drank at the buffet and he could count the droplets of rain that caught on to Alexander’s eyelashes.
“Like this.” Aaron spun the tiny man around and leaned forward. He was going slowly enough for Alex to pull away if ever but when their lips met, Aaron’s rational thoughts flew out the window. Alex had to stand on his toes again to be able to wrap his arms around Aaron’s neck and deepen their kiss. Aaron was on cloud nine. Nay, cloud eleven. They didn’t even notice that the rain was starting to let up by the time they finished.
Aaron opened his eyes immediately to see if all of this was real. Alexander kept his eyes shut, processing what just happened with the tiniest smile on his face. Aaron watched, almost mesmerized by this man’s ethereal beauty. He may not be conventionally handsome but when he’s in the glow of euphoria, Alex looked like he was made of stardust. Aaron was afraid he walked right into a distant galaxy.
As Alex lowered himself gently on to the balls of his feet, Aaron pulled him closer to his body in a hug. 99 percent of his impulse control was basically non-existent as he took a small whiff of Alexander’s scent. “God I love you.” he heard himself say before he could stop himself. Alex tensed a little bit but immediately turned into pudding in Aaron’s arms. All of Aaron’s fears melted away as he held him tighter.
“I was waiting for you to say that. I love you too.” Aaron had to stop himself from crying. Alex smiled at him when they pulled away. Aaron wanted this moment to be the first chapter to the story someone will write someday. That is, if somebody was willing to write about the starlight that was Alexander Hamilton.
Yet if Alexander was truly made of stardust, then he was glad he could be part of his constellation.