Author's Note: So I know in my last update I said that I'd have this chapter out, like, months ago! But! I held off for two reasons. One, I wanted to make sure I had everything I wanted in the chapter because after this update the time line is going to start speeding up and I need all the basic information set. And two, it was the magical time of year where my stress levels hit max. Not only do I work retail, but the end of my school semester was fast approaching. So between work and school, well, the energy to write had been absent.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Hamilton: An American Musical. I'm only borrowing Lin's ideas and adding my own storyline.

~Wait For It~

"Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints. It takes and it takes and it takes, and we keep on living anyway. We rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes. And if there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone who loves me has died I'm willing to wait for it."

Aaron was exhausted by the time he managed to convince the other guys that they all needed to turn in for the night. Between the fact that orientation started in the morning and it was already past midnight, the thought of a full night's sleep was slipping away fast. It had been hard enough to leave Alex alone with the others. Not that he thought they would do anything to the youngest of the quartet, the opposite in fact. After Alex's stunt today (yesterday technically?) it was highly unlikely that Alex would ever find himself alone for more than a few minutes at a time outside of class. If even then. No, he was worried because the further away he walked from room 776 (1776) the less real the past hours seemed.

Did any of that really happen? Was Alex showing up out of the blue really that simple? And what would have happened if another guide had been there instead of himself? Maybe they wouldn't have talked until after the RevSet got to him, after they told him what a jerk he was, and after Alex already deemed him unworthy of his friendship. So many 'what ifs' played in his head that he didn't notice that he had made it to his own floor and room on complete autopilot. His room was on the second floor of Franklin Quad, the college didn't see a reason to separate by years as most students dormmed their entire time here. Usually the room and people you got freshman year were those you got for fours years unless someone left, switched, etc. Aaron thought this arrangment would work for him in the beginning. Until he met his roommates.

He never imagined that he would meet Thomas Jefferson and James Madison again. Let alone in a dorm suite at college, but here he had found them. Of course they looked different, so had he, but there was no mistaking that god awful shade of purple and arrogance. And Thomas Jennings wore both like a badge of honor. James he found easier to deal with most of the time. His personality was as laid back as Thomas's was abrasive. Not that he wasn't hard working or driven. He was passionate about his writings and had helped the poetry club flourish. James had always valued hard work and even tried to go above what was expected from him. Hence, when 'The Federalist Papers' was being written, James had eagerly wrote twenty nine of them himself. Maybe he had hoped to surpass Hamilton, maybe he wanted to impress him. Either way it didn't matter, Hamilton being Hamilton, out did him. But really, who the hell writes fifty one damn essays?

Then there was Aaron himself.

While the three of them had teamed up to try and take Hamilton down politically in the past, Aaron never felt like he belonged with them. Sure, they shared some political views and a sense of contempt for Hamilton. But other than that Aaron was more than happy to distance himself from them. Especially after the Election of 1800. He was not an idiot, now or then, and he knew when it came to politics it was every man for himself. That was more true when it came to being president. A position only one man at a time could hold and boy had he wanted to be that man. He could have been that man too, if Hamilton hadn't sided with Jefferson and swung favor his way.

But if Aaron was ever honest with himself it was when he realized how poor a position like that would have suited him. For all his talk of acting only when he knew the time was right, he would never have acted even as president. And America had needed action, good or bad, to make its way forward. So Jefferson had won the title of president and unhappily accepted him as vice president. Because he had to.

So yeah, Aaron wasn't all that happy with his dorm mates. The only upside was that due to James's health conditon, he was granted a room to himself and leaving their occupant number at three not four. What was even better was that Thomas still roomed with him, he always denied wanting to and insisted on only doing so out of worrying about health scares in the middle of the night. Basically it was clear he was claiming he would rather room with his best friend than with Aaron.

And Aaron shared that desire too. The only downside was that Aaron often found himself lonely without anyone to talk to at times. But then sometimes Thea would come over and it was nice having space so they weren't on top of each other when they talked. And the random dance parties she would force him into did require room. Still, it would have been nice to have someone who wanted to room with him because they wanted to.

Mentally shaking his head to free those darker thoughts he entered his suite. He was hoping to be able to sneak away to his room and pass out with no problems. He really should know better by now.

The door opposite of his flew open with enough force that it hit the wall and bounced slightly back.

"Did you tell Hamilton he could join the debate team?" Thomas asked with a scowl as he stalked into the living room. James followed behind with nothing but a wave and slumped into the couch.

Sighing and rubbing his face Aaron truly felt tired.

"Yes I did because he can Thomas. Anyone can and frankly we need more people after you scarred most of everyone off last year."

Thomas just rolled his eyes. "Like you didn't hate half of those idiots who showed up."

"It doesn't matter if I didn't like them, you are still the reason we need people. You know as well as I do that with Alex on the team we'll be unbeatable."

"You just wanted him on the team to annoy me. You knew that putting him there would stir up trouble and yet you did it anyway." His tone was getting harsher and it grated on his nerves.

Finally succumbing to all the stress and exhaustion of the day, Aaron turned his head sharply to the tallest man in the room with an icy stare.

"It doesn't take anything more than one misspoken word to annoy you Jefferson. If I really wanted to annoy you I wouldn't have needed to put so much effort into it. You act like a child when something doesn't go your way or someone doesn't act the way you want them to. And let's not beat around the bush, you're just mad that Hamilton's back to take the spotlight off of you again."

The deepening scowl on Thomas's face pleased Aaron and made it worth it to keep going.

"And it wouldn't be hard for him to do it would it? Even though he obviously doesn't remember who he was or you for that matter, his intelligence and way with words is still far above yours. Then there's the fact he will always be Washington's favorite and you can do nothing about it."

"Like you have room to talk!"

"Actually I do. Unlike you I've learned from my past. I've realized my mistakes and saw just how stupid it was for me to try and gain Washington's favor when I was never going to get it. How desperate I was for power that I let myself think that the three of us trying to blackmail Hamilton was going to work and be worth it. Instead we had a hand in damaging his marriage and Eliza and her children didn't deserve that. And most importantly I realized just how horribly petty I was in Hamilton picking you over me that I challenged him to a duel that I had no right in issuing.

It's true that he didn't have to use Washington's influence to help his favor. He didn't have to have an affair in the first place or publish that pamphlet. And he certainly didn't have to accept and come to the duel, but we both had blame to share and I've accepted that. So my question to you is how long are you going to act like a child and hold onto hate that is just as much your fault as it is his?"

Aaron normally wasn't one for showing much emotion, it wasn't good for debates as it showed your hand, but damn it he was tired and just wanted everyone to just shut up! Jefferson was like that too as he had a good poker face. But since being reincarnated both had taken to losing their masks quickly when it came to their inner circle of people.

"Oh and you think you have me all figured out don't you? That I just straight up hate the little grimlin and that's that?" Jefferson's sarcasm was as thick as his hair. "I hate bust that bubble but I don't. I don't like that Hamilton thought himself better than everyone else and acted like it. I don't like how he saw himself being so smart that he didn't need anyone else. And it seems that little Alex hasn't changed all that much."

"What are you talking about? You met him for what, five minutes?"

"And in that time he walked in and sat himself at Washington's desk like he owned it and did whatever he wanted. Just like he's always done! Tell me that doesn't make you even slightly irratated. If you or I had done that Washington would have been pissed. But no! Little Alex comes in and it's no problem."

"You ever stop to think he didn't say anything because he was in shock? Hell, I was in so much shock I almost didn't say anything when he walked up to me yesterday! I mean, looking past the fact I've spent years looking for him and he just pops up, have you seen how small he is? How defensive? The guy looks sick and he's lonely. Give the guy a break Jefferson it's the very least you can do."

"The very least I can do is not kick his ass and I didn't earlier so I did cut him some slack." He grumbled. James just shook his head slightly, he was obviously done with this conversation. Aaron was done too, he just wanted to go to bed.

"Look, give the guy a chance. He's different this time around, hell, you may end up liking him. Until he, and by he I mean Alex Hathaway not Alexander Hamilton, gives you just cause, don't argue or get into it with him. I never thought Angie and I would ever be on speaking terms when we met and yet now we can actually hold a civil conversation without her threathening to kill me. It's magic what a few kind words and patience can bring."

After a few moments Thomas groaned. "Fine, but I'm not promising anything."

"Thank god." James muttered as he got up. "Now can we all just please go to bed? It's too late to deal with this shit and I've got an eight o'clock orientation."

"Why do you insist on signing up for that at ungodly hours?" Thomas complained as he too made his way t their room.

"It's not that early, the sun is up by the time it starts."

"Not always and it's still too damn early."

Aaron would never admit that he agreed with Thomas's line of thought. He still had to retain some of his pride after all.

End Notes: I want to wish all of you a late Happy New Year and I hope 2019 will bring everyone good luck! In case any of you Ham fans have missed it in the news, our boy Lin has finally gotten a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! That was a great way to end the year and it made me smile all the way up to New Years! Thank you to all who have stuck around my horrible update times just to read my chapters. It means a lot that you enjoy my work enough to be patient. Leave me a review and tell me what you think so far or just like and follow if you're new. Until next time peeps, keep calm and read on.

Revised on 5/15/19