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He had only been in this position for a short while and it was already quite the excruciating experience. One would think being vice president was a step forward, Burr quickly realised that this was not the case.
Jefferson was treating him as if he were secondary, a little lap dog, if he even acknowledged him that is. He was beginning to rival Hamilton in being a nuisance, as if Hamilton didn't already do enough for two, especially with his recent campaign against him.
Burr tried to focus on the papers in front of him, an attempt to clear his mind, and he did have work to attend to, even as vice president, as much as Jefferson would like to paint his job as practically non existent. Burr tried to bury himself in his duties, finish quickly to go home. He was longing for a rest.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him. Without warning, his office door unexpectedly flew open, announcing the entrance of non other than the president himself, Thomas Jefferson, extravagant as ever. Burr wanted to hit his head atop his desk, simply to avoid the unpleasant conversation awaiting him.
"Mr Burr." Jefferson said his name as if he were scolding him, not a great start, "I would like to discuss some recent issues that have surfaced, after taking great consideration of our new positions in government". This is the part where it would be polite to ask if he may take a seat, but naturally Jefferson concluded he needn't succumb to such pleasantries, and took the initiative to lay himself on the chair opposite to Burr's own, on the other side of the desk.
Burr sighed. Truth is, he had been avoiding Jefferson in the recent days. Maybe he was trying to avoid this inevitable talk, or maybe he just didn't want to face the man after the embarrassment that was the election. And honestly, he didn't like the guy one bit, so it was to be expected that he wouldn't want to interact with him.
"It seems to me, and correct me if I'm mistaken, but truthfully don't bother doing so because we both know I am not, that you've misunderstood what the position of Vice President entails. You have no obligation, or right, to take over any political affairs, save for those assigned to you."
Burr mentally rolled his eyes. He had seen this coming. Perhaps he was getting too comfortable with the little smithereens of power he had been granted, and Jefferson had finally had enough and came along to break his spirit. But Burr was resilient.
"What ever might you mean by that?" Burr's tone was innocent enough, albeit a bit challenging, it was getting progressively harder to slip into his imperturbable demeanor. Jefferson exhaled and moved his chair closer.
"You know that I would hate to break any formalities, but allow me to put this in a way you understand, as it appears you are struggling to do so. I need you to come to terms with where you stand, and then look up and see that place is far, far below me." Jefferson demanded (hypocritically, Burr thought), "So, from now on you must stop these silly endeavours of yours, stop trying to get more involved than you ought to be, and, if you would be so kind, allow that apolitical, phlegmatic persona we all know and love to make it's long anticipated return".
Jefferson smiled a smug, self righteous, pitiful excuse of a smile, all teeth, no joy, not even faked, and Burr wanted to pull him from his carefully coiffed hair and throw him out the window. Had he always been such an asshole? Burr only really thought of him as that guy Hamilton hates, though apparently not as much as he hates Burr, but now even Jefferson hates Burr, and to be frank everyone hates Burr, so maybe Burr is the problem after all.
He coughed to clear his throat. "While I can empathise with your worry, Mr Jefferson-" "Mr President." "-Mr President, I struggle to see why such a concern would arise. I can't seem to recall an instance of me 'trying to get more involved than I ought'. I simply took care of affairs no one else was tending to, as, from my understanding, and excuse any possible oversight, that is exactly what my position entails." Burr made eye contact with Jefferson then, possibly to intimidate, but also study his reaction.
Jefferson merely scoffed, letting out a short lived laugh. "You must be well aware that our oh so young nation is still in development. And I can excuse you, as it is natural to get confused. You see, each seat of government is ever changing, not just who is sitting on it, but what power it allows one to acquire, can and will be modified. As an improvement to the system, you see." Jefferson had the nerve to look as if he'd just revealed some wise knowledge.
Burr just wanted this conversation to be over. He pushed his chair back, waited for a few seconds. "I say this with no intention to offend, Mr President, but I don't believe that has any correlation to what I previously established. You fail to point to an instance where your criticism applies. As such-"
"It's not about what you believe, Burr." Jefferson interrupted him once again "This is not a suggestion. This is a warning. You will do what I ask of you. And, for the love of god, put an end to your sad attempts at regaining authority you never had in the first place. Have I made myself clear enough?" Jefferson asked, and Burr bit his lips to keep himself composed.
"I see" Burr concluded "If that is the case, I'm grateful to be excused." He stood up from his desk, lingering only long enough to see Jefferson's hands freezing, cutting short his flamboyant gesticulating, as he looked at him in confusion. Burr quickly picked up his necessary belongings and took a step towards the door.
Jefferson was quick to react. Practically jumping out of his chair, he walked right in front of Burr, as if forbidding him from taking another step. Burr lowered his eyebrows in exhaustion. "Did you not just spend the last few minutes or so informing me my presence here is unnecessary? If my position is obsolete then I don't see why I have to linger any longer." Burr explained, trying not to sound patronising, although Jefferson's offended expression made it so very hard to.
Jefferson seemed to consider for a moment. "Oh, no, no. It seems you have once more misunderstood! I never once implied you are unwelcomed or unimportant here! I was just... Setting down some ground rules." Jefferson put his hand on Burr's shoulder, "As my, possibly temporary, vice president, you will have a fair share of work to do. You must be aware, there are many things you can assist me with." He said.
Burr was not going to brew him his morning coffee, and he would not be the one to hang up his frivolous coat, neither was he going to bow at his feet and worship the ground he stood on nor-
Burr always tried to remain civil, nonconfrontational, quiet, calm. But when he found that excruciatingly challenging to do he had but one choice, if he wanted to keep the peace. He simply had to flee. It had always come natural to him. Once an event got unpleasant, he would make himself disappear, slip away when no one was looking. So that's what he was going to do now. Or try to.
Burr sighed, turned around Jefferson, finding another path to the door. Damningly, he had miscalculated Jefferson's stubbornness. Jefferson gripped Burr's hand in his, pulling him back to where he previously stood. If Burr said it didn't make him trip over himself a tiny bit he would've been lying.
Jefferson held his hand tightly, Burr was afraid it would go numb. "Mr Jefferson, what are you doing?" He looked up at the taller man as if he was unwilling to engage in his childish games. "I should be asking you that question." Jefferson shot back, dropping any hints of politeness he might have previously tried to maintain.
"Our conversation was leading to a dead end, I thought it'd better be put to stop before things got improper. Though I'm discovering you might not have had such self restrictions" Burr couldn't help himself. Jefferson was fun to mock. And the grip on his hand was starting to hurt.
"You can't avoid everything that upsets you!" Jefferson spoke in such a immature tone, Burr had to bite down his tongue to stifle his laughter. Who would vote for such a guy? Burr found it hard to take him seriously at the moment, throwing a hissy fit because Burr didn't desire to listen to his offensive ranting. Almost endearing, in a odd way.
"Would you let go of my hand?" Burr tried to pull his hand away, but his efforts were futile. Goddamn! He murmured something in annoyance that Jefferson hopefully didn't catch. "Listen to me!" Jefferson shouted in his face, unnecessary as they were in such close proximity Burr would hear him even if he were whispering.
He gave up struggling. He also tried to block out Jefferson's voice from his mind. He caught some "you must" and "you have to" even "you owe" before he was done with all of this and scrambled his brain trying to find a way to escape.
Jefferson must have been aware he wasn't getting any attention, but it was only motivating him to keep talking and talking and- Burr really wanted, no needed', to shut him up. It would have been convenient for Jefferson to momentarily take a breather and leave a moment of silence for Burr to contemplate, but it was obvious he was not getting such honours.
So Burr did something that he had not properly considered, if at all. He just wanted to make the other man go quiet, that's all. And he went quiet alright.
Burr leaned forward, slightly upward, kissing him right on the lips. He hadn't expected anything, as he had not been thinking, but if he had had time for expectations he was certain that Jefferson leaning into the kiss had not been one of them.
It was suprisingly good, pleasant and Burr needed that thought gone immediately, oh god. Of course, it did not last for long. After only a few seconds they separated, both jumping back as if burned, Jefferson not realising he was still holding onto Burr's hand at first, quickly dropping it and stepping back.
Burr was shocked with himself, but with the other man too. He studied his expression to find it was far from what he would have figured it'd be. He did not look angry, instead, he looked scared, at himself? Taken aback for certain, but sorrowful in a way. His eyes were blown wide, his mouth still agape. Would have certainly been amusing, had the situation been different.
"What the fuck?" Jefferson said, and well, yeah excellent question. Jefferson's eyes looked to the door, checking if it was closed all the way, as if afraid someone had observed them, oh, suddenly he could feel shame.
Now Burr could only think terrible thoughts, and so he opted to running away, as he often did. He run, cutting off Jefferson as he slipped past him and out the door, out the building, desperate for a carriage, afraid the other man would chase after him. He did not. Perhaps he should've.