WARNING: Swearing, black almost jet humour, slight smut scene. [Very slight, I don't know if you can even call it that], a very gross scene (South Park level of gross).
DISCLAIMER: The musical belongs to Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Special thanks to j'cris ton nom for helping out with the cursing in French.
"Thanks for coming with me, Madison"
"It's alright, Burr"
"I was going to come with Alexander, but after what happened yesterday… Who would've been brave enough to tell him anything"
"Yes. Thomas is not in any better mood, anyways. I needed to leave the house"
"Things are not getting better?"
"No, it's not that. It's about a confusion with the schedule of housework"
"What's wrong with it?"
"That it doesn't exist"
Burr scoffed at that, throwing a glare to the line of people waiting for their turn at the secretary's office. He sighed, reclining on the sofa the room possessed and with a bit of bitterness thought about how Augustine still couldn't barely stand him and yet he was the one who came here to try and make him register for one year of school.
"He's calmer after that visit to his family" continued Madison, all of a sudden, casting a discreet glare in his direction. "Thank you for convincing me Hamilton would be good for the job"
"It was nothing"
"To be honest, I thought about him as well at first, but didn't think it'd work out"
"If it makes you feel better, neither did I. I simply recommended him because I was sick of so much bickering and hoped the 5% of possibility of them getting their shit together came true"
"Only a 5 per cent?" asked the accountant, raising one eyebrow.
"One has to have faith" shrugged Aaron.
"I'm saying it because I was hoping that to happen in a 1 per cent"
They laughed at the same time a buzzing sound resonated through the small room. The door connecting the hallway that led to the classrooms opened, revealing a woman that held a series of folders in her arms, her raven hair tied in a bun that was starting to get loose, surely from all the movement she saw herself into as the school was about to start. She moved gracefully in between the people, clearly used to crowded spaces, and passed the files to the red-faced secretary, who looked at her with a bit of envy when she turned around to go back the way she came.
Before she had the chance, Aaron, who had recognised her after blinking a couple of times, not believing his eyes, got up and walked to her. Madison, who also noticed who the woman was, decided to keep his seat, a crimson shade spreading across his cheeks.
"Dolley?" called Aaron, unsurely.
The woman turned on her white heels almost immediately, raising an eyebrow. Her dark and bright eyes widened as she took in the person in front of her. "Aaron Burr, sir!" she exclaimed, happily, hugging him tightly.
Aaron rolled his eyes. "Still with that joke?"
"Why stop if it keeps being funny?" she defended.
"For you"
"That's enough"
"Didn't know you worked in here"
"I started a couple of years ago as a Math and History teacher" she explained.
Dolley's glare darted to the man behind them, watching their interaction from the sofa sheepishly. She ended the hug rapidly and walked to him, a huger smile on her face.
"Well, James, long time no see!" she greeted, both hands on her hips.
"Hi, Dolley" replied the man, getting to his feet but keeping the distance.
"Huh, I'm sure you were the only child whose grandparents never smothered with how much you've grown" she commented, comically.
"Dolley" said Aaron, as soon as he saw the blush on his friend's face.
The woman waved one hand. "I'm joking, only joking!" she giggled. "I like them short anyways, cuter"
Aaron bit his bottom lip to prevent a laugh to escape when he saw Madison's face as red as a tomato.
"Sure your children feel you like one more" continued Dolley, her smile a bit forced now.
"I have no children" clarified James, right away.
"Oh? Your wife and you haven't taken the step yet?" she asked, with a small uncomical laugh in the end.
"I'm not married" the man shook his head once again.
"He's only accompanying me" explained Aaron.
"Oh" was all Dolley could say, her eyes scrutinizing the shorter man before giving their full attention to the lawyer. "So, you settle down, huh?" she commented, her confident behaviour coming back.
"We can call it that, yeah" laughed Aaron.
"Who would've thought, Aaron; domestic life was never quite your style"
"It depends on if you find the right partner"
Dolley sighed at that. "Tell me about it"
James frowned a bit at her reaction. "Things are not going well with Johnathan?"
The name made her scrunch up her nose. She showed them her hand. "I'll let my ringless finger answer that on my behalf"
"I'm sorry, Dolley…" commented James, though his heart began to pound differently before the new information.
"Or congratulations" chimed in Aaron. "You never know in these situations"
"True" conceded Dolley. "For me, it's the second option. Now I can be opened to love and meet better men"
"Hm, just like you, Madison" let drop Aaron, throwing a knowing stare in his direction.
"Oh, really?" drawled Dolley.
Madison swallowed and shrugged, casting a hateful glare in Aaron's direction, who pointed at the woman with the chin.
"It's a coincidence we met again in that moment of our lives, then" said James, when he felt Dolley was expecting a response from him.
"I don't believe in coincidences very much" she admitted. "But maybe you can make me change my mind" she added, winking.
"No, I respect your opinion" hurried to say James, taking one step back.
"I'm free tomorrow evening" she said, not giving room for an objection. "At seven sounds fine?"
"I…"
"I'll give you my number too after the meeting with Aaron"
"What meeting?" asked the man.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you" Her smile grew even wider as she proclaimed: "You're in front of the Director of Studies"
"Thought you said you were a teacher?" asked James, surprised.
"I am. But the previous one was fired and I didn't hesitate"
"You're impressive, Dolley" congratulated Aaron.
"I always get what I want and a little bit more" she winked, more playfully than before. "So, let me take you two to my office and fix the reason why you're here"
"Shouldn't we wait?" asked James.
Dolley took the liberty to loop each arm with theirs. "No when you're friends with the Director of Studies"
"Oh, gee, she's not gonna stop saying it…" fake-complained Aaron.
"Nope" admitted the woman, heading them to her office.
"Mon ami, what are you doing?" asked Lafayette, sticking his head out the doorframe of the storeroom.
"Cleaning this mess" explained Thomas, as he organised the papers they'd left on the floor yesterday, putting them back in their correspondent boxes. "You only know how to undo things, but not how to tidy them up"
"Sorry" said the Frenchman, frowning slightly. "Do you need help?"
"No, I'm alright, almost finished"
Lafayette arched one eyebrow at the calmness with which Thomas stopped to read each paper before putting it inside the box, and paid close attention to the little pile of documents he had beside him. An inaudible 'hm' escape his lips before he proceeded to return to the main reason why he'd gone there.
"Listen, do you mind coming to my house tonight to help me set the recorder? Hercules's always promising me he'd learn to use it, but it's been three years and still…"
"Yes, I'll go, don't worry" he nodded, taking two sheets apart and piling them as well.
"Alright" said Lafayette, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "What are those?" he dared to ask.
"Nothing, they just go somewhere else" made up Thomas easily.
"Okay, then" Lafayette let it go. He was going to make him a favour and he'd end up finding out, anyways. "Merci, Thomas"
"It's nothing, Gil" assured the secretary.
"Lemongrab" said Maria, walking to where the Frenchman was standing. "Are you done yet?"
"No, can't you see?"
"How long will this take?" she whined.
"Why do you care" he asked, too dryly to be considered a proper question.
"Because I like my alone-time in the counter, I can't focus on my writing with you across me"
"That's not my problem. Write at your house"
"You don't get to tell me where I should write, tsk. Why didn't you go with Aaron to the high school instead of Jemmy?"
"Because I don't like that man"
"Thomas" reprimanded Lafayette, with an eye-roll.
"Don't get confused, Lemongrab: the world doesn't like you"
"Maria!"
"Listen, Betty Boop, go to keep pretending to be Virginia Woolf until it's five pm and stop bugging me" spat Thomas, finally turning to look at her.
"From your envy my fame is born" replied the receptionist, childishly.
In that moment, Burr and Madison came in the building, half-closing their eyes tiredly.
"Are you fighting already?" asked Madison.
"It's your friend" accused Maria.
"Of course, she came in here, saying I was bothering her for existing, but I'm the bad guy. Alright" fake supported Thomas.
"I only said it bothered me to have people across me while I write!"
"You can always close the door" proposed Aaron.
Thomas frowned at him. "I'm not going to close the door because this girl doesn't know how to co-exist"
"The sociable just talked" James rolled his eyes.
"More like the idiot who lets you live in his house for free just so you're on everybody's side but mine" muttered Thomas, bitterly.
James clicked his tongue and headed straight to their office. "I'll leave, I want to have a peaceful day"
"I don't understand where all this came from" admitted Aaron, flipping out at the fight he just witnessed.
"Me neither, and I've been here since it started" supported Lafayette.
"For fuck's sake, everybody in here insulting me and I can't even reply because everyone is very sensitive" complained Thomas, throwing three sheets to the side, more vehemently than before.
"There we go with the misunderstood martyr" commented James, in the distance.
"Weren't you going to leave? Go, run" hurried Thomas, rubbing his temples.
"Eh, calm down. I'm going at my own pace"
"All the fucking day moving like he's walking on egg shells"
"Said the man who spent two hours in here" spat Maria.
"HEY" Adams' voice hollered from the break room, interrupting whatever response Thomas had. The group looked behind their backs, seeing the man there with his phone in one hand and a ticket in the other. "Shut up! I'm trying to listen to the radio!"
"Very professional" condemned Madison, walking in the secretary's office and closing the door at his backs.
"Silence!" he demanded once again, pressing his ear to the receiver.
Thomas sighed as he got up. "Don't touch anything" he instructed, pointing at the inside of the storeroom. "Well, come to think of it…" He took out a key and locked the door. "There"
Maria frowned in offense. "I love you too"
"I can't wait to see it captured in your novel" he replied, sarcastically.
"I will!" she swore.
Thomas took in a deep breath before knocking on the wooden door. Washington's low-pitched voice allowed him to come in.
"Sir?" he began, a bit unsurely.
The CEO was hunched over his desk, writing a file while he tried to read another one at the same time; his frown and beads of sweat running down his bald head just a little proof of how much stress the man was under. Without the help of Angelica (which, Thomas assumed, Washington had under control as he already knew the holiday schedule of the oldest Schuyler sister) and the unexpected vacation of Hamilton (that truly disrupted Washington's plan of work for the end of the summer) his boss had found himself doing plenty of unplanned work. Plus taking care of the day care he had in the first floor.
Thomas never envied his position. Though maybe that was also partly because the two men only tolerated each other when it was required. The secretary waited at the door until Washington's lifted his distressed glare and prayed to whoever that might be up there for the man to not pay his frustrations on him. Slight memories from when he used to work for King coming back at full force and making him regret to have come there today instead of at last hour. That was the way Hamilton had done it and Washington barely blinked an eye before accepting it.
But, of course, he wasn't Washington's golden boy.
"Did you need anything, Jefferson?" asked the CEO, taking the little pause the secretary gave him to remember how to breathe calmly.
"I just wanted to make sure my vacation time was in order, sir" he explained, not getting away from the door.
Washington blinked a few times. "Your vacation?" he repeated, proceeding to open a few drawers in search of something, right after.
"Yes, sir" nodded Thomas, tightening the grip he held on the doorknob at his back. "I always have them on September" he reminded.
"So, next week…" muttered Washington, once he found the sheet. He read it under his breath. "You'll leave after next week?"
"Yes, sir"
Thomas pressed his lips when he saw the CEO frowning down at his sheet.
"Would you mind if it started the second week?" asked Washington, a bit hopeful. "You'll have the same amount of free days" he promised, rapidly.
"I do mind, sir" replied Thomas, the mental image of his wife and older sister* making his words sharper than he'd intended.
Washington sighed, resigned. "Alright, I understand" he nodded, smiling comprehensively at him. He left the sheet back in place. "Everything will go as normally" he assured.
"Thank you, sir" nodded Thomas, feeling the silent annoyance of his boss. He turned around, prepared to leave and try to forget about it.
"OH, MY GOD, YEEEEEEEES!" a cheerful voice celebrated from far away.
Washington was getting up from his chair by the time Thomas opened the door and walked out the room. Both men went downstairs, finding Adams laughing with superiority from the break room. He sprinted out of it, jumping from excitement. The rest of the staff looked at the strange occurrence with wide eyes. Thomas approached James, who was commenting the scene with Libby.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Adams won the lottery" replied James, as perplexed as the rest of the staff.
Adams kept screaming from happiness. "Yeeeeees! I'm leaving for never returning, bitches!" he swore, fist raised solemnly. He turned to Washington, who was looking at him with a simple eyebrow raised. Without thinking, he gave the CEO the middle finger, making his colleagues to gasp and Washington to contort into a grim face. "Fuck you! Fuck all of you! Give my rewards to the creole and record his reaction!" he declared, turning around to give them all the same obscene gesture. "Didn't want to pay for my winning ticket? Then, take this, you stupid idiots! Hahahaha! Stuck in this shitty place of hell, you losers! I'll never work in my entire life again!"
"You never worked, for starters…" commented Thomas, bitterly.
Adams left the place laughing at them, the ticket held above his head as a way to rub his victory in their faces before storming out, half-running, half-dancing. The rest of the workers stayed there, totally speechless.
"Qué mal repartido está el mundo [This world is so misdelivered]" complained Libby, pouting.
Washington cleared his throat, his sullen face sending chills down the staff's spines. "Go back to work, please" he instructed, going back upstairs. They saw he had his hands balled in fists and his knuckles turned white.
"Thank goodness I went to talk to him before any of that happened" whispered Thomas, walking back to the storeroom. He stopped in his tracks when he found Maria rolling on the floor. "What are you doing now?"
The receptionist looked at him as she kept going. "Yesterday, I told Jackie I'd do the croquette if Adams won the lottery"
"The croquette?"
"I named it" replied Laurens, prideful.
Thomas looked at them for a moment before shaking his head and kept walking. "Such a bunch of idiots. Sometimes I feel envy; all the migraines I'd avoid by being like that"
Alexander was a morning person. Especially if he hadn't slept the night before. But that day he decided to simply roll over and kept sleeping, his pride being bigger than his habits. He didn't move when he heard two knocks on the door, pretending to be asleep. The person who called opened the door and made their way to his bed, lying next to him. Soon after smelling the perfume he was so familiar with emanating from them, he knew who was now caressing his hair affectionately.
"Alex" called Eliza, in a tender whisper. "Breakfast is about to be ready"
The information fell on deaf ears. Hamilton felt his wife holding him closer with one hand while with the other kept the caresses going.
"Come on" she insisted. "You must understand our reactions were normal. Don't be upset"
"I'm not…" he finally gave in.
He could almost hear the smile in his wife's voice. "Then why haven't you gotten out of bed yet?"
"Because, as shocking as it sounded to you and your entire family, I'm on vacation"
"So are we, and we're all waiting for breakfast"
"Even Peggy and Angie?"
"… … Almost everybody is waiting for breakfast"
"Hm…"
"C'mon, to make it up for you, I'll let you have dessert first"
"No, I don't like to eat those stuff with an empty stomach"
Eliza looked at him for a moment. "For being so clever, you sometimes are so oblivious it hurts" she sighed.
"Wha— Ah, that…" Alexander interrupted himself when he felt Eliza tracing his neck with soft kisses.
"Thanks for coming" whispered Eliza, against his ear. "It means a lot to the children and to me"
"It's nothing. Thank my workmates" replied the financer, letting her do.
"I'll buy them a basket for Christmas" said Eliza, with a slight laugh in the end. "Alex…"
"Yes?"
"I love you"
"I love you too, dear"
"How much?"
"A lot"
"Really?"
"Yes, yes"
"To the moon and back?"
"Yes, yes"
"Will you teach Maths to Phil, please?
"Yes, ye… No, wait, what? OH, FOR CHRIS'T SAKE, ELIZA!" he complained, pushing her off of him. "Are you serious right now?!"
"Please, only a couple of classes, he's got the test the first week of September" pleaded Eliza, clinging back to him.
"Why didn't Angelica take him to tutoring classes?!"
"Why? We've got you"
"This is incredible, even my family takes advantage of me…"
"Man, it's a favour, not taking advantage of anyone" She kissed him repeatedly on his lips. "Please? Pretty please?"
"Yeah, yeah, alright" he ceded, waving one hand in resignation. "But I won't next time"
"Alright, alright" nodded Eliza, not believing his words. "Thanks, hun, I'll tell Angel" she said, getting up from bed.
Alexander grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going?"
"Downstairs" she replied, simply.
"Weren't we going to…?"
"Ugh, Alex, my head hurts" complained Eliza, putting one hand against her forehead to emphasize the lie.
"Your head hurts? Woman, not one minute ago you were covering me with kisses!"
"I was being affectionate! You're obsessed, huh?"
"I'm obsessed?!" exclaimed Alexander. "Eliza, I have the soldier on the warpath already"
"I think he's gonna go on a lonely mission this morning"
"Eliza"
"Alright, but a quickie, I've gotta make breakfast" she gave in, going back to her previous position.
"Can I be on the top this time?"
"No"
The couple began to give caresses, gentle kisses and nice words to one another. The peaceful and lovely exchange was abruptly interrupted when the door (that Eliza had left half-closed) was pushed and opened completely.
"Hey, Alex, can I borrow your laptop?" asked Angelica, barely perturbed by the intimate scene.
"Angelica, knock before coming in!" admonished Alexander.
His sister-in-law knocked in a mocking manner, before repeating. "Can I borrow your…?"
"NO"
She scrunched up her nose in disgust. "You're gonna steal Jesus his title of King of the Jews*"
"Angelica, no blasphemies in this house!" exclaimed Eliza, horrified.
"Fuck you" she stated, turning on her heels in a bad mood.
"That's what I'm trying to do, thank you very much!"
Eliza slapped her husband. "Alexander, be prudish!"
"I didn't know you were into sadomasochism" commented Peggy, at the doorframe.
Eliza turned to sit on the left side of the bed. "Peggy, you too, have shame!" she reprehended, blushing.
"What the fuck is she even doing awake!?" shouted Alexander.
"Damn, if I'm awake, because I'm awake; if I'm sleep, because I'm sleep…" complained the youngest.
"What do you want, Peggy" interrupted Eliza, tapping her fingers on the mattress, impatiently.
"I don't remember"
"Then leave us the fuck alone!" ordered Alexander, losing the little patience he had left.
"I live in here as well, huh?" replied Peggy, offended.
"Peggy, please, we don't bother you when you're having intimate moments" said Eliza, calmly.
"Like she had anyone to get laid with"
"Alexander!"
"You're so cruel!" cried Peggy, running away.
"BUT CLOSE THE DOOR!"
Peggy came back, as she sobbed, threw a hateful glare in her brother-in-law's direction and slammed the door shut.
"There are people sleeping!" reprimanded Eliza.
"You can't tell this girl anything…"
"You'll apologise to her"
"Yes, I promise"
"Good"
They went back to where they had stopped, the heat spreading across the room, the passion breaking free…
The door swinging opened once again.
"What? No breakfast this morning or what the hell is… Oh, my God, my pure eyes!"
"Dad!" shouted Eliza, hiding under the sheets, her face totally red. "Knock before coming in!"
Philip Sr covered his eyes, gagging. "I invited him here for free and he traumatizes me!"
Alexander rolled his eyes and hid his face under a pillow. "For fuck's saaaaake…" he whispered, darkly.
"Dad, I'll go make breakfast now, wait for a moment" promised Eliza, shyly.
"Leave it, I'm not hungry anymore" said Philip Sr, unable to look inside.
"Fucking leave, then…" kept whispering Alexander.
"You should've married Elijah, the architect!" he screamed, before running away.
The Caribbean exploded then. "There he goes again with Elijah, the architect!" He set the covers aside and jump out of bed. "To hell, I'm gonna take a shower"
"What you should've done in the first place" commented Eliza. A pillow hit her in the head. She rubbed it as she looked at the closed bathroom door the room possessed. "No pancakes for you, then"
Today wasn't Lafayette's best day. The photocopier had decided to go to hibernate just when he needed it the most; he'd passed all those writings by hand until it hurt; somebody had eaten the last biscuit; every time he went for coffee he had to wait because it had been drunk all (then, they'd complain about Alexander); he'd dropped said coffee over half of the paperwork he'd already done; stayed later than usual (Maria had trusted him with the key, throwing him a worried look) and when he'd gotten out of the building, he saw Hercules and Laurens had gone back home with the car and he had no money to call a cab or an Uber.
With a sigh, he started walking, his hand over the pocket he kept his pepper spray just in case.
He tried to comfort himself by thinking he was going to watch some justice being done once and for all tonight, on that contest. He hoped Thomas remembered to come to help him with the recorder, he surely wanted to see that more than once.
Then, Laf would complain about how unfair he was to Laurens. But when Hercules got into the bedroom of their friend and saw and had to take care of things like that… Really, Hercules was being very nice to that good-for-nothing.
He opened the bathroom door, where Laurens was taking a shower. He sighed exhaustedly when he felt the sauna his friend had turned the place into.
"Leave the door opened!" he reprimanded, as he emptied the content of one of the cans he had found in his bedroom.
"Don t you always complain about the smell of my shampoo?" retorted Laurens.
"But you're leaving this suffocating!"
"Man, do you have to annoy me even when I'm taking a shower? You've got an unhealthy obsession"
"And you have a worse obsession over peeing inside beers cans" Hercules threw in his face, as he flushed the toilet. "Why don't you go to the bathroom?"
"Because I don't want to bother anyone at night"
"Sleep at normal hours and you wouldn't have to do either"
"I'm an owl"
"A lazy idiot, that's all you are and will ever be"
Laurens groaned. "Can I have a bit of privacy in the shower?"
"Privacy, he says…" repeated Hercules, as he was about to empty the last can he'd brought with him. The doorbell was heard and he went to open the door. "Privacy, he says…"
He looked at his hand and decided to enter the living room, leaving the still filled can on the coffee table to not open the door to whoever it might be with that on his hand.
Hercules half-closed his eyes when he opened the door and found Alf at the other side. He didn't even bring anything the nights he came to dine…
"You're liking this too much, huh?" he commented, but let him enter, nonetheless.
Alf shrugged. "You're nice enough to hang around"
"Hm… Don't drink the can that's on the coffee table" he warned.
"Why not?"
"You don't wanna know"
Somebody else rang the doorbell not five seconds later Hercules had closed the door. He threw a glare to Alfred.
"Bringing friends now as well?"
"No, I come alone" he answered, raising one eyebrow.
Hercules opened the door and his eyes grew wide when he saw the man at the other side. "Ah, Jefferson. Good night"
"Night. Gilbert wanted me to help you set the recorder?" he explained, hesitating in coming in or not.
Hercules put two and two together and rolled his eyes. "My gosh, didn't know he could reach this level. Come in" he welcomed him, stepping to the side. "It's in the living room"
Alf watched the two men trying to understand the unused item while he ate chips from the couch. When the thing was almost set up, the bathroom door opened and the Laurnes stopped right at the doorframe when he saw the Virginian in the living room, talking normally with his friend.
"What is that man doing here?" he asked, disgusted.
"That's what I ask myself all days when your friend keep visiting us without letting us know first" said Hercules, barely looking in his flatmate's direction.
Alfred half-closed his eyes at Hercules. "I barely do anything to bother you that much" he muttered.
"Goodnight to you too, Laurens" drawled Jefferson, rolling his eyes.
"Nobody's answered me" complained Laurens, crossing both arms.
"Lafayette asked him to help us with the recorder" explained Hercules, tiredly.
"We can do that for ourselves…"
"Yes, that's why the poor thing was there, accumulating dust"
"Clean it more often"
"Shut up already"
"My God, I just came out!"
"And you're already putting everybody on their nerves!"
"Not me" shrugged Alfred.
"You shouldn't be here in the first place" whispered Hercules, annoyed.
"He's my friend, I can invite him all the times I want" retorted Laurens.
"Just like Laf, then" concluded Hercules.
"I'm almost done, I'll leave in a minute" promised Thomas.
"Hurry"
"John!" Hercules sighed. "Listen, go take Freddy for a walk. You won't have to stand anyone you don't like that way"
"I don't wanna get out now…"
"John, you must start take care of your dog"
"I've just showered" he reminded, slowly, as if talking to a little child. "And it's cold outside"
"It's the end of August"
"There's still a little breeze"
"Well, if the little breeze hasn't killed you yet, with all your late night parties, then it won't kill you for five minutes of walking the dog!" shouted Hercules, losing his patience.
"Buf, alright, alright, I'll go…" ceded Laurens, lazily. "But I want him gone by the time I'm back" he added, pointing at Thomas, who simply ignored him.
"He'll leave when he's finished" declared Hercules, still not lowering his tone.
"Hm, it's nice to see these scenes happen in other houses…" commented Thomas, under his breath.
"Godfred, come here…" called Laurens, kneeling on the floor.
The dog, resting on his bed, looked at him before getting up, turned his back on the man, and lay down again. Alfred contained a laugh at Laurens' frustrated frown.
"Godfred" he called again, more sternly. "Godfred, come here now" he ordered.
"With that name it's normal he doesn't wanna go" whispered Thomas once again, to which Hercules gave a small nod.
"Godfred, I'm not gonna repeat myself!" threatened Laurens. "Come here right now!"
The dog raised his head and looked behind, with the corner of his eye, almost in annoyance. He got on his feet, stretched out, yawned and shook his whole body before advancing slowly to where Laurens was knelt, waiting impatiently. Just when it seemed he was going to go to the freckled man, Godfred changed directions and went to caress Thomas' legs with his snout. He dropped to the floor and showed the guest his belly, which Thomas caressed almost automatically.
Laurens gasped, a hand on his chest. "Treason?" he wondered, looking at the dog with hatred. "We must adopt another dog"
"Yeah, what else?" scoffed Hercules.
"That's it, you embittered my night" complained Laurens, going to sit on the couch with Alfred, who looked at him with a funny glare. "I'll simply watch my movie and ignore the whole of you"
"You can't watch a movie tonight, John. Lafayette wants to watch a contest" replied Hercules, right away.
"I called dibs on the TV first!"
"I doubt it, because he's been wanting to see that since this morning and you haven't said anything about any films till now"
"Because I'm secretive"
"A burden, that's what you are. You don't have to go anywhere tonight?"
"Not until after twelve"
"After twelve? And at what hour were you going to come back home?"
"I don't know, when I was finished"
"And work?"
"What about it"
"You've gotta go to work tomorrow morning!"
"Bah, I'll go on Monday"
"You can't skip days of work just because! John, you're a grown-up man!"
Thomas looked at the two friends as he kept petting the dog, who suddenly turned around and trotted to Laurens, waggling his tail happily.
"What? I'm nobody's rebound" declared Laurens, pridefully.
"John, the dog's already there. Take him out"
"I just sat down"
"Take the dog out right now or I'll lock the fucking door and you won't get out"
Laurens got up from the couch dramatically, dragging his feet to the entrance. When he had the dog on the leash, he declared.
"You don't deserve my kindness"
Hercules looked at the other two men. "Then, Laf will complain about my treatment towards him…"
"Where is he, by the way?" asked Alfred.
"I think he stayed a bit late because something went wrong with his paperwork"
"Did you leave him there, with no way back?" asked Thomas.
"No, no, I gave him my wal…" Hercules patted his back pocket, feeling it not as empty as he expected. "Oh, shit…"
Just in that moment, the front door opened, revealing a red-faced and exhausted Lafayette, who grabbed the knob as if he needed it to not fall. Which, judging by his gasping, could exactly be the case.
"Jesus…" muttered Alfred, eyes wide.
"Gil, are you alright?" asked Thomas, as he ran to his aid with Hercules.
"Yes, yes…" nodded the Frenchman, ignoring their hands, prepared to grab him and help him get to a soft place to lie on. "I'm… I'm fine…" he laughed, his whole body aching for that simple action.
"Laf, did you come back by feet?" asked Hercules, worried sick.
"Oui, yes, oui…" muttered Lafayette, sitting slowly on the couch, giggling from pain. "I… I had to run the last few meters because I bumped into a not very kind beggar who didn't believe me when I told him I didn't have any money… And when I finally arrived, the elevator was broken… But I made it… Hehehe"
The three men exchanged a glare as Lafayette buried himself on the couch.
"I did it… Now… The TV is mine… Is… Is the thing…?"
"Yes, we set it" answered Thomas.
"Good, good, merci, good, merood…" And he laughed again, almost sobbing this time.
"Do you want chips?" asked Alfred, feeling bad.
"Once my hand comes back to normal" he said, showing his hand in a writing position though he was holding no pen.
"I could've helped if you'd asked" said Thomas.
"Non, non, I'm fine, fine, fine… Pretty fine" he assured, not convincing anyone.
"Do you want me to prepare something for you, honey?" proposed Hercules.
"Alright…"
"We'll make you a snack" said Alf, following Hercules to the kitchen.
"Thomas, can you give me the remote, s'il te plait?"
"Yes" nodded the man, immediately.
Once Lafayette had the remote in his power and had turned the TV on, he started to feel relaxed. At last. He moved a bit, to not feel numb. Thomas never stopped casting concerned glares in his direction.
"Do you want some paracetamols or…?"
"No, no… Well, maybe two…"
"Alright, I'll be right back"
With Thomas gone, it was only Lafayette in the living room. The contest was about to start. The host introducing Simmons to the public. His eyes darted to the beer can that was opened on the coffee table. A warm feeling spread across his chest when he thought Hercules had brought it to him. It'd been a while since he'd drunk that, but he thought he could give himself a whim after the day he'd had.
Leaning on his seat, he took the can and frowned when didn't feel it cold. Maybe it'd been just forgotten there, it wasn't unusual in that house. He shrugged, he still was thirsty and it would only be a couple of gulps. He had the can bare milimeters away from his lips when Alfred talked from the kitchen.
"Laf, do you want some cheese with the chips?"
He thought for a moment. "Um, yeah! That sounds just fine!"
"Okay!"
Laf sighed, thanking the good friends he had.
He returned to drink the beer, the can again bare inches away from the mouth when Hercules interrupted him once again.
"Laf! Coke, water or something else?"
"Coke, please!"
"Alright, honey!"
He truly had the best boyfriend anyone could ever ask for.
Again, he pressed the can to his lips, more eager to finally drown his thirst. That time, it was Thomas who stopped him, re-entering the room with the pills and a glass of water.
"Here you go"
"Thank you, Thomas" nodded Lafayette.
He put the pill on the water, seeing it evaporate and, as he waited, he finally could drink the beer. He frowned at the can.
"This tastes so funny…" he commented. Reading the label, he rolled his eyes. "Of course, store brand… Hercules's turning into a cheap… Meh, better than nothing" he decided.
He drunk the water with the pills inside and then waited for the snack to arrive. He had decided to take a second gulp of beer when Hercules came back, a tender smile on his face and a tray with food made for him.
"Here you go, my lo…" he interrupted himself when he saw what his boyfriend was doing. "Oh, my lord!" he exclaimed. "Laf! What're you doing?!"
"Sssh! Herc, hush, that doofus is already talking" he said, his eyes glued to the TV.
"My God, what the…? What…? Are you drinking that for real?!" asked Hercules, not believing his eyes.
"Relax, uncle Scrooge, I'm sure there are more in the fridge"
Lafayette waved one hand as he took a third gulp. Hercules' face paled and he put both hands over his mouth, trying hard not to gag. The tray he'd brought falling to the floor and staining the floor with chips, coke and pieces of glass and dish.
"Hercules!" exclaimed the Frenchman, already with his whole attention on him. Or, on the carpet. "Are you out of your mind?! Clean that immediately, I bought the carpet just the other day!" he complained, returning his attention to the TV.
Hercules couldn't care less. When he saw Lafayette about to keep drinking from the can, he hurried to say: "No, wait, stop, don't do that!"
Thomas and Alfred had made their way back to the living room when they heard the things falling and crashing, and stayed on the doorframe, seeing the scene between the boyfriends. Lafayette threw an annoyed glare in his direction.
"Bon sang, Hercules! What's gotten into you? It's just beer!"
"That's not beer, Laf!" he finally informed.
"What?"
"That's one of the cans John uses as a pisser!"
Lafayette took his time to repeat, then: "What…?"
"Oh, fuck…" whispered Alfred, totally disgusted with the new information. "Thank goodness I listened to him, I was about to drink it just for the sake of it" he admitted to Thomas, who had covered his mouth to not vomit on the floor.
"B-But…" said the Frenchman, not wanting to believe what he'd just heard. "But it was on the coffee table… He always leaves them in his bedroom"
"What a flatmate, for Christ's sake…" muttered Thomas.
Lafayette, on his behalf, simply looked at Hercules, who was muttering apologies and explaining how he'd put the can there because someone rang the doorbell and then he forgot about it… Lafayette stopped listening at the twentieth 'I'm sorry'. His head slowly moving to look directly at the can. He started to feel sick to his stomach the more he looked at it. Eventually, his face began to contort in one of pure disgust, his lips trembling as little gasps escape them, his body also started to shake.
He put the can on the table and jumped from the couch. He sprinted to the kitchen, pushing Alfred and Thomas out of the way as he leapt on the sink, turning on the tap and drinking from there like an animal. He drank a huge amount, gargled and then spit. He repeated the action countless times, being watched by his friends, who threw compassionate glares in his direction.
"Why the heck did you leave that thing on the coffee table?!" he screamed, after one of the spits.
"I wasn't going to leave it there! I never thought someone would drink it!" Hercules defended himself, vaguely.
"You could've left it somewhere else, or back in the bedroom, gee…" commented Alfred, rolling his eyes.
"It was an accident, I swear, I didn't intend for any of this to happen!" promised Hercules, feeling terribly bad.
"The last thing I needed to hear was that you planned it!" shouted Lafayette, hysteric.
The front door opened in that moment, Laurens and Godfred coming back from their walk.
"Hello, familyyy" he greeted, oblivious to the whole issue.
"JOHN, YOU FILS DE PUTIN [SON OF A BITCH], I'M GONNA TE TUER [KILL YOU]!"
"Oh, no, when he talks in Frenchenglish is never good" said Hercules, and Thomas nodded in support.
"What happens?" asked Laurens, going to the kitchen, shocked.
"Laf drank your pee" explained Alfred, normally.
"My pee?" repeated Laurens, puzzled.
"Oh, stop saying it!" pleaded Lafayette, at the verge of a panic attack. Thomas went to him to calm him down.
"But I don't know what happened!" complained Laurens.
"I was cleaning your damned bedroom, and I took a couple of the cans you use to pee in, and I left one on the coffee table because Alfred rang the doorbell…" explained Hercules.
"Hey, hey, hey" Alfred interrupted. "Don't pin the blame on me! I didn't even know that man did such a thing!"
"I'm just telling the story as it was, not blaming all on you!"
"But what's wrong?" asked Laurens, raising one eyebrow. "If you drink pee, you die?"
"No, of course, not" answered Thomas, rolling his eyes, as Lafayette hyperventilated against his chest.
"Then, it's not such a big deal!" decided Laurens.
"Not a big deal?" repeated Lafayette, his words choking. Pure rage crossed his irises at that. "Damn it all, John! I'm sick of you and your habits proper of a pig!"
"Even a pig would be disgusted by sharing its space with this guy" commented Thomas, rubbing soothing circles on his friend's back.
"Hey, don't scream at me" said Laurens, offended. "I didn't make you drink that. You did it on your own" He put both arms in akimbo, as an exasperated parent. "So, why do you drink those things, Lafayette?"
He gritted his teeth. "Because I thought in this house we all were civilized and rational beings, who, when feel the call of nature, go to the toilet instead of relieving themselves in beer cans!"
"There, you made a mistake" said Laurens, calmly and with a comprehensive smile. "It's okay, it's human. Now you know how things work around here"
"What? What the… What?!" exclaimed the Frenchman, not knowing where to turn or what to think.
"Aren't you going to apologise?" asked Alfred, in bewilderment.
"Why? He knew the way I was before inviting me over for a few days" shrugged Laurens.
"3283 days…" whispered Hercules, darkly.
"Just say you're sorry, for God's sake" confronted Thomas.
Laurens threw daggers in his direction. "How? How you did to Alex?"
"What does that have to do with any of this!" complained the secretary, enraged.
"Nothing, but I'd rather talk about your bullshit" admitted Laurens, nodding in reaffirmation. "Besides, I shouldn't be the one apologising. The idiot who left that thing on a very wrong place was Hercules"
The man in question threw an uncomical laugh to the air. "Ha! Sorry for being your free maid!"
Laurens pointed at his friends while he looked with condescendence at Thomas. "There you have your apology. Now, let me watch my movie. I've earned it for taking the dog for a walk"
"Excuse me?" said Hercules.
"But what the hell is wrong with this guy?" asked Thomas, upset.
"John, man, you can't…" began to lecture Alfred, his voice lost at the other two began to reprimand the southerner as well.
John soon began to scream back at them, and the hallway was filled with obscenities, complaints and insults said in a volume they all knew was illegal at that hours. Lafayette, on his behalf, stayed there, supporting his weight against the counter and pressing his other hand to his forehead, as if trying to comprehend what had just happened.
He turned numbly to the sink, grabbed his favourite mug and filled it with water, still not feeling satisfied with the amount of liquid he'd tried to wash his mouth with. Just when he was about to drink, the handle broke and the mug fell against the pile of dirty dishes waiting to be cleaned, cracking on one side.
Lafayette snapped just there.
"ÇA SUFFIT! [ENOUGH!]"
His scream was able to silence the four arguing men. They frowned and swallowed when they saw the fire in the Frenchman's eyes, as well as his hands balled into fists and how he was gritting his teeth furiously.
"I've just had the shittiest day ever!" he began, his voice breaking at some point from impotence and rage. "The photocopier didn't work and I had to write until I couldn't feel my hand anymore! Some connard [asshole] finished all the coffee when I went to drink some! And they also ate the last biscuit! My boyfriend left me there with no way to come back because he was too busy joking with Maria and the rest of inept that work in there to remember to give me a few bucks to call a taxi! I had to run for my life because a homeless man with anger issues threatened me with a dirty knife! I had to walk forty steps to get to my house!" he explained, counting with his fingers all the events of bad luck he'd to face since he woke up. He let out a shaky sigh. "I just wanted to come back home and laugh at a person I don't like… Because it was my moment to laugh last, goddamn it!"
Tears ran down his face when he couldn't control his impotence any longer. Between sobs, he added: "It's not about universal justice anymore, I just wanted a moment to myself… Am I a bad person for it? Am I a monster?"
Lafayette began to cry. The four men exchanged a glare. Hercules and Thomas made the gesture to go to him to comfort him when a bell dinging from the TV stopped them in their tracks and made Lafayette to raise his tear-streaked face from his hands.
They saw the host with a shocked expression on his face, as a man with cocky smile stood beside him, pretending to not be affected by anything that was happening concerning him.
"My god! I haven't seen something like this in the twenty years we've been running!" assured the host, turning to the seemingly impassible contestant.
"Oh, and it's the first time I do something like this, hahaha" talked Simmons, with a nasal voice and tone proper of one of those snobbish characters you'd expect to see on a high-school movie.
"Is it the first time you play this kind of game?"
"Yeah, and the first time I come to the TV. It was the first time I tried and they called me"
"Wow!"
"I didn't even wanna come, it was just for a bet I made while being drunk, hahaha"
"Well, thank the friend who made you do it, because you're going home with three million dollars, plus the gift from the Surprise Bag: a brand new car!"
"Oh, nice"
"Did you need a car?"
"Well, yes. The one I bought last month had a little scratch and I didn't like it anymore, hahaha"
"Well, I hope you enjoy it"
"I will, I will"
"And what will you do with the money? Studies, start a company on your own…?"
"Nah, I'll throw a party tonight to celebrate and I'll see when I want to spend it first once the hungover is over. Hahahaha"
"Hahahahaha! You only live once, huh?"
"Yeah, haha"
The group watched the whole scene unfolding on the TV. Lafayette standing a few feet behind, totally numb and with a blank expression on his face, while the others couldn't believe the conversation they'd just heard.
"Huh, you were right, Laf, such a lucky bastard" agreed Hercules, nodding.
"Laf?" called Alfred, a bit scared at how still the other man was standing.
"Gilbert, are you alright?" asked Thomas, frowning.
"… … … … … … … … That's it. I'm leaving" he declared.
"What" said the four men. Laurens and Hercules going rigid at his words.
The two friends followed the Frenchman around as he packed clothes and food, ignoring their complaints and pleads. He just turned around when he went to the door, everything prepared to abandon the house.
"Silence!" he ordered, managing to quiet the two men. "Plenty of things have to change for me to be back to this hideous place!" he swore. "A lot of things!"
"But what things?" whined Laurens.
"Laf, please, think about it…" tried Hercules.
"Ferme ta gueule! [Shut the fuck up]" he interrupted, sharply, making his boyfriend to wince. "Bon débarras [Goodbye forever]"
And then, he stepped out the house, slamming the door shut.
"At least he didn't record it" said Alfred, wanting to be positive.
"It was recording" assured Thomas.
"Crap…"
They ran to the balcony when they heard a car driving away at full speed. Hercules and Laurens frowned when they recognised it.
"Well, now I truly won't go to work tomorrow" decided Laurens.
Hercules whacked him in the back of the head without hesitation.
Eliza was trying to finish the book Angelica had lent her last year when her father came back with the children. Thankfully, the little ones were exhausted and didn't make any noise. Instead, they went to the kitchen where her brother-in-law was making dinner for them tonight. Eliza felt her father looking at her for a long moment before deciding to drop himself next to her, on the couch. He threw a pitiful sigh to the air, and then looked at her with the corner of his eye.
Eliza ignored him, trying to focus her whole attention on the book. It was a miracle Angelica hadn't interrogated her about it by now.
Philip Sr repeated the action, this time louder. Eliza frowned her lips and kept reading.
A third sigh, this time so loud even Alexander and Phil looked up from the kid's notebook, clearly upset by the interruption. The Caribbean got up from the table and closed the balcony doors, to keep studying without the noise from inside the living interrupting them. Like the fourth and longer sigh Philip Sr threw. Eliza closed the book and inspired slowly.
"Something's wrong, Dad?" she asked, as kindly as she could.
"You always read people so well, Betsey" he complimented.
Eliza rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay…"
"It's just that today Pip said one thing to me that…" He took in a deep breath. "It was really a punch in the guts"
"What did he say to you?" she asked, already straightening herself up in case she had to be firm with her son.
"He told me about what you did in New Year's Eve"
Eliza blinked, trying to understand what her father was referring to. "What did we do?" she finally asked.
"He and Angie told me how much fun they had with Nana and Papa" he explained, drawling the last two words as if they were poison.
"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Eliza, smiling at the memory. "Gosh, it was fantastic! Henry told Lu he could bake the dessert and he almost set the house on fire! Alex couldn't stop himself from making a reference about when I got angry. And right after that…"
"You too?"
Eliza stopped and her smile dropped at the harsh tone of her father. "Me too what?"
"You don't understand what's going on, right?" he asked, chin raised with hurt pride. "The kids called them Nana and Papa" he repeated, again with repugnance in his voice.
Eliza frowned, not understanding anything. "Yes… They call them that"
"Ah, you knew…"
"Yes? I'm usually with them when we go for a visit?"
"You don't understand what's going on in here, right?"
"No…?"
Philip Sr shook his head. "I'm the other"
"The other what?"
"The other grandparent"
It was Eliza's turn to sigh dramatically. "Oh, Dad, really?"
"You don't see it because you're too nice. But that man…" He pointed at Hamilton, who was encouraging a Phil that was feeling very down, surely for an exercise he couldn't get right. "That man is the devil in disguise"
Eliza rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, I'm seeing it" she commented, sarcastically.
"He took you away from me and now he's trying to do the same with the love of my grandchildren"
"Dad, the children love you" assured Eliza. "Besides, hm… Well, nothing"
"What?"
"No, nothing, I… Nothing"
"What is it?"
She sighed. "Look, I don't want to take sides in this, I love you both dearly, but… But, Dad, you're always pestering Alex"
"Excuse me?"
"You're always talking about Elijah"
"He's nobody to complain about a man saying his opinions out loud!"
"Okay, but you just saw him yesterday and smiled because you thought he was dying. And you promised him you would teach him what true suffering is"
"He told you that? That tell-tale of Hell!"
"I heard you say it, Dad. He didn't tell me anything"
"Ah… Well, you heard wrong. I said another thing"
"You just admitted you said it!"
"Well, but all that are little squabbles between in-laws"
"You also called the INS on him"
"Damn, if you say those things without context, of course it sounds bad!"
"You called the INS on him in the middle of our honeymoon, saying I was in that hotel against my will. Context in here makes it worse, Dad"
"… You never understood my humour. Just like your mother with that little joke I played on her"
"You faked your own death in your anniversary, Dad!"
"But did they discount her the 50% of what that cruise to old couples cost or did they discount her the 50%? Here, you only talk about what interest you the most!"
"Dad…" She sighed once more. "Listen, Alexander's a stubborn man. God know I'm telling the truth" she added, almost bitterly, as she rolled her eyes. "But that's a trait you both have in common. So, stop focusing on the negative and even the score, alright?"
Her father looked at her for a moment before kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you, honey, you always know what to say" he told her, before getting up the couch and going upstairs.
Eliza nodded in satisfaction and fetched the book again. She turned serious when she saw she didn't remember how far she'd gone.
"… … I'll try it any other day" she decided, leaving the book aside and going to see if Church needed help.
"Lemongrab"
"Betty Boop"
"This again?"
Thomas sighed as he closed one box vehemently. He turned to the standing form of the receptionist, with arms crossed, looking down at him with a serious expression.
"Yes, darling, this again" he nodded, locking eyes with her as if challenging her to say anything about it.
"I told you I don't like to have people across me when I write" she reminded him.
"So I've heard, yes" he nodded, mockingly.
She scrunched up her nose. "You're doing this on purpose, right? This is nothing but sabotage"
"Oh, yeah, I'm so afraid of what you could tell on your joke of a book…"
"Hey, my book might be silly, with a lot of surrealist craziness and most of things make no sense if you analyse them, but I take it very seriously!" defended Maria, passionately.
"Whatever…"
"Close the door, how much does it cost you?"
"Almost as much as treating you well"
Maria pouted and kicked the air, powerlessly, before turning around. She stopped, surprised to see the new face entering the building. A slight blush spread on her cheeks for having let a stranger (maybe a client) to see the receptionist like that.
"Um, good morning, ma'am. Did you need anything?" she asked, changing into polite demeanour and giving the woman the brightest smile she could manage.
"I have a meeting with Mr Washington" the woman answered, returning the gesture, to which Maria was beyond grateful.
Thomas' head spun around at the familiar voice. He stuck it out the doorframe, still surprising himself when he saw the woman with his own eyes. "Marisa?"
Marisa Hadfield smiled at him before embracing him with all her might. "Tommy! Didn't expect to see you so soon!"
"What're you doing in here?" he asked, reciprocating the hug.
Marisa looked him in the eyes. "You might be talking with your new public relations officer"
"Pardon?"
"Ooh, new staff" commented Maria, eyes shining with excitement.
"I still have to meet with Washington" shrugged Marisa, a bit nervous. "But I've gotta be positive, right?"
"Absolutely" nodded Maria. "Don't be scared, Washington's a very good man"
"Knowing you, you'll only need a couple of minutes before you're hired" supported Thomas.
"Thank you" she said, blushing.
"Jefferson" called Mulligan, approaching the group. "Washington wants you to get rid of Adams' stuff"
Thomas patted Marisa on the arm. "Told you" he kept encouraging, with a smile.
Maria's eyed widened at the sight of Hercules: his short hair dishevelled, his clothes wrinkled and bags under his eyes.
"Jesus, Herc, what happened to you?" she asked, taking a few steps closer, clearly worried.
Hercules looked at her before letting a sob escape his lips. "Laf's gone"
"What?"
"He got angry and left. And the house is falling to pieces"
"He left yesterday" Thomas reminded him.
"Well, the house was already a mess…" admitted Hercules. "But that doesn't mean it's not hard…" He sobbed harder. "And he even took the car and the wallet with him"
"Well, you left him here with no way to go back home or money. You're even" concluded the secretary before going upstairs, to Adams' office.
"Lemongrab, if you've nothing nice to say, be quiet" admonished Maria, hugging a crying Hercules.
Marisa's laughter resounded throughout the whole building. "Oh, my God, 'Lemongrab', this is gold!"
Maria smiled at her with complicity. "I can give you a sheet with out nicks, so you start to feel like home" she proposed.
"Don't pollute her sanity, Betty Boop!" said Thomas, before disappearing from their view. Maria still gave him the middle finger.
Marisa laughed harder. "This is too much!"
Thomas sighed, exhausted by only imagining how much it would cost to tidy that whole place up. He comforted himself by thinking at least Adams wouldn't have a lot of paperwork to take care of and got down to work.
He went blindly to the window (stumbling into something that was on the floor and that almost made him hit the glass across him) to open the blinds (struggling greatly at the task. Who had invented those) and once the light of the day illuminated the barely used room, a groan of complaint was heard from behind him.
Thomas turned around, a bit startled, and stayed in shock as he saw what he'd stumbled into was a lump covered by a sheet. It moved slowly and the secretary thought about going out and send somebody else to do this or simply tell Washington what he'd seen, but he doubted the CEO was in the mood for one of those things. Whatever this was…
Eventually, he took a deep breath and gathered his courage to uncover the form, who ended up curling on itself as it covered its eyes, throwing a curse with a husky voice Thomas recognised immediately.
"Who the hell turned on the sun?!"
"Adams" Thomas was about to lecture the man out of habit when he realised the situation he'd found him in. "What in the world are you doing in here?"
"Sleeping" the lawyer simply responded "Or was trying to, until you, very rudely, disturbed me"
"Disturbed you?" echoed the Virginian. "For your information, I caught you sleeping on the floor of your office. Or what used to be your office, Mr 'I'll never be back'"
"Oh, for Christ's sake, Thomas… This is exactly why we fell apart"
"We fell apart because you're a selfish asshole who refused to help me out but sent your daughter to work for my sister!" Thomas threw in his face, enraged.
"Resentful, annoying and a hypocrite. This is why all your friends abandon you" spat Adams, taking the blanket away from Thomas.
"And the reason why you can't even have fake friends is because there's not a soul who can stand your lack of personality and hideous lack of loyalty"
"What's going on in here?"
Both men stiffened in their spots when the voice of Washington interrupted their quarrel. Thomas decided to be silent, leaving his boss to see the man lying on the floor. Washington barely raised an eyebrow as he asked.
"Mr Adams, what're you doing in here?"
All the bravado disappeared from the lawyer's demeanour as he laughed sheepishly. "Hehe, you see, something very funny happened, sir…"
"Make me laugh" challenged Washington.
"You remember that I won the lottery yesterday, right?"
"And that beautiful gesture you dedicated me and your former workmates. Yes"
Thomas flinched at the sharp tone his boss used for the accusative. Adams moved uncomfortably.
"And my wife as well, hehe…" admitted Adams, blushing, the last piece of puzzle to understand the situation. "Well, hehe… Em… It turned out that, uh… I… Hm… I had the ticket upside down and, um… Got confused with the sixes and nines, hehe"
Thomas bit his bottom lip, beaming. For once, he would enjoy Adams' clumsiness and lack of interest on checking things and be entirely sure. The last one the reason his former friend used to mock him plenty of times when they were younger. What goes around, comes around, he thought, vindictively.
Washington didn't seem to share his good mood, though. The CEO barely blinked an eye as he scrutinized the distressed man. After a while that felt eternal, he decided.
"Mr Adams, you can't stay here. This is not an inn. I want you gone by today, before we all leave for the weekend"
Now, Thomas was grinning without bothering in concealing his happiness.
"But, sir…"
"Wish you luck, Mr Adams"
"Can't I stay over the weekend?"
Washington's narrowed eyes made him tremble. "I want you gone before we all leave for the weekend" he repeated, stoically. "Have a good day, Mr Adams"
And with that, he left. In those moments, Thomas understood why Hamilton and Washington could get along so well despite their differences at the hour of approaching an issue or defending a posture. He looked down at Adams, who was glaring at the floor with a bitter expression, totally impotent.
"Well, I didn't know you weren't aware that people who do nothing at all are usually fired" drawled Thomas, with a sided smile, throwing in the lawyer's face the threat he'd received from him when Washington and Angelica left him in charge. "The mop and the bucket are in the door by the storeroom. Have fun" he teased.
And his grin didn't evaporate even when he felt Adams' infuriated glare in the back of his neck as he walked out.
Laurens heard Hercules' voice from the living room, trying to contact Lafayette. Well, more than 'heard', he 'felt' it. Once Hercules could overcome his shock, thanks to cutting his finger as he picked the pieces of glass he broke last night, he had grabbed his phone and proceeded to send his boyfriend a series of confusing voice messages that made Laurens doubt about the mental health of his friend.
"Lafayette, come back home immediately!" he ordered, in one of the first messages, his voice plagued with pure hatred and anger. "If you don't come back, we're through! Did you hear me? Through! Do you think what you did was responsible and mature?! I'm gonna end up killing that son of a bitch, and his death will be your fault!"
Then, his business voice made an appearance. "Look, I've got a deal. I'll take care of everything. Screw the schedule. You're doing enough back at the law firm, you're so hardworking that deserve a bit of peace. You can have the weekends all for yourself, you can even leave the house and no return until Sunday night. I'll pay whatever place you want to stay"
Then, all was replaced by heartbroken crying. "I'm sorry, you know I get nervous with anything… At least pick up the phone… Please, we can sort this out, I wasn't being serious, we're fine"
Laurens walked out his bedroom when he heard nothing else that ugly crying. He found Hercules on the carpet, shaking as tears rolled down his cheeks; Freddy seeing it all from his bed. The dog looked at Laurens fixatedly, making the freckled man to sigh in exhaustion before the pressure the animal was exerting on him.
"Alright, I'll fix this" he promised, being completely ignored by his flatmate. He frowned his lips as he said: "I can't believe I'm about to do this; you don't deserve my friendship"
"Buy bread, please" sobbed Hercules.
He rolled his eyes. "There'll be no supermarkets on my waaaay" he complained, closing the front door.
"What're you doing, grandpa?" asked a curious Angie, as she jumped to try and see what was on the counter.
Philip Sr kept his eyes glued to the cookbook. "I'm going to make your dinner tonight"
The girl froze. "Why?"
"Because your mother made me realise I've not been the best to him"
"Aunt Peggy says you need professional help" revealed the little girl.
The man muttered a few curses against his youngest daughter. "Takes one to know one"
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing…"
"Grandpa"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Are you going to poison my Dad?"
Philip Sr tightened the grip he had on the ladle. "Girl, go pester your brothers. Your parents had them for a reason"
"Gee, then you'd complain about Pip and I not talking to you" muttered the girl, leaving the kitchen, sulking.
"And forget about that habit of spying private conversations!" Philip Sr told her off. "You learnt that from the useless of your aunt…"
"What have I done now?"
Philip Sr startled at the voice of his daughter. "God, Peggy, stop scaring people"
"I can't live…" complained the girl, pouting.
"Besides, I was talking about your sister"
"Ah, good"
"You're only the fake crafty who badmouths me to my grandchildren"
Peggy frowned darkly. "Damn kids, last time I drink in front of them…" She groaned from pain. "Ow, Dad, can you do me an infusion or something? My tummy hurts"
"Do it yourself, girl. Can't you see I'm busy trying to boast your resentful brother-in-law?"
"Wonder why he hates you" replied Peggy, giving an eye-roll. She patted her grown belly. "Oh, I think I got cold… I'm gonna annoy Betsey until she takes care of me"
"Yeah, go bond with the only normal daughter I have"
Peggy threw daggers in his direction. An evil grin came to her lips. "You think you're insulting Angel and I, but the 'only normal daughter you have' is the only one adopted"
Philip Sr turned around, seeing the satisfied smile on Peggy's face, before the girl left. He stood there, looking at the door with a frown.
"Smarty-ass…"
"Tommy"
"What the hell do you want now?"
James stopped in his tracks at his reaction. The things he put on the tray trembling slightly. He clicked his tongue.
"The weekend is just starting and you're already bitter?"
"If you're gonna ask me for favours, then, yes"
"I brought you a snack"
"You never bring me anything unless you want something. Like with that suspicious mandarin I don't remember"
"The mandarin existed, alright?"
"Good for it, but I never ate it"
"Really, you're getting angry because I brought you a couple of cookies and coffee. You're not normal"
"I'm sick, that's what I am. Of the whole of you only getting close to me to ask me for favours"
"Come on, that's not true"
A knock on the door. "Thomas, I'm going to the movies with Maria. Give me 20 bucks, please" said Libby.
"See?" Thomas told James, bitterly.
"Libby, I was going to ask him for money as well" complained the accountant.
"Huh, who got angry because someone brought him food?" asked Thomas, throwing a sigh of tiredness to the air. "You both have salaries, pay your things yourselves"
"I'm just asking you for half of what I'm gonna spend tonight" explained James, frowning slightly.
"Where are you going tonight?" asked Libby, curiously.
"I'm gonna have dinner with a friend" he answered, ambiguously.
"What friend?" inquired Jefferson.
"What is this? The Inquisition? I'm only going out with a friend" exclaimed James, starting to be flushed.
Polly appeared at the door, phone in hand. "Uncle Jemmy, a woman named Dolley called asking if you could go pick her up at half past seven tomorrow"
James threw the little girl a glare, before responding, in a tiny and angry voice. "Yes, tell her it's alright"
Polly nodded and left.
"And next time, just tell me who called, don't answer yourself!" he reprimanded.
"Dolley who?" asked Thomas, raising one eyebrow at his friend. "Dolley Payne?"
"Uh" Libby whistled. "Jemmy-James has a date"
"It's not a date, it's having dinner to catch up" defined James.
"Yes, with the woman you've been pinning on since college" commented Thomas. "And even after she married"
"That's true love" sighed Libby, with a hand on her chest.
James frowned at his friend. "Yes, well, that'll make two of us"
"It's still beautiful" supported the Latin American woman. "You two met again. It must be because it's your moment"
"Hm, you're gonna last less in that law firm than Bambi in a meeting of the National Rifle Association with that attitude" commented Thomas, with a thoughtful expression. He took out his wallet and, as he passed it to his friend, said: "Here, take what you need. And you can even take my car if you want"
"Really?" asked James, in bewilderment.
"Yes, have fun" he nodded, waving one hand.
"Thank you, Thomas, I'll pay you back"
"Not necessary"
Libby talked as soon as James left. "You're so nice, Thomas"
"Yes. That and that if that thing goes fine, he'll go live with her and then I'll only have three persons left to get rid of in this house"
Patsy appeared right behind Libby (who looked shocked at the man's explanation), dressed up and ready to leave. She stopped once she heard her father's words.
"Gee, Dad, you're such a good friend…" she praised, sarcastically.
Thomas narrowed his eyes at her. "It'd have been two if one girl I know had taken her studies seriously and weren't at the verge of repeating her last year"
Patsy frowned her lips at the reminder. "Relax, it's summer…"
"And where do you think you're going, young lady?" he asked, tapping the pen on his desk, nervously.
"Out" she simply answered.
"Out where?" he insisted.
"Out of the house"
Thomas inhaled slowly through his nostrils. "Have you studied for the make-up tests?"
"Then you'd complain about me not talking to you. You only embitter me…"
"Gal, have you or not?"
"… Yeah"
"You've only got one week and a half to prepare"
"I know"
"If you know it that much why are you going out instead of studying?"
"Because I've spent the whole afternoon studying!"
"Martha, it's your last shot to pass"
"I know…"
"Focus, then"
"I'll focus better after a break"
"You've lived a constant break for nine months, that's why you're in this situation" began to lecture Thomas.
"Agh, Dad, I'm not gonna listen to you, I'm late"
"There goes the White Rabbit again…" muttered the Virginian, clicking his tongue. "Who are you going out with?"
"With a friend"
"A friend?"
"Yeah, Dad"
"What friend?"
"One of mine"
"You're not gonna meet up with that Randy guy again, right?"
Patsy imitated a winning bell sound. "Ding, ding, ding, congratulations"
Libby contained her laughter, shaking in spot, while Thomas also trembled, from impotence.
"Gal, I told you I didn't want you to meet up with that stoner ever again" he spat, trying to contain his ire.
"Huh, like you didn't have your own experience"
"Excuse me?"
"Dad, stop being such a hypocrite. Lucy told me you've spent years doing nothing on the studying field and else" she threw in his face, with a quite threating tone.
Thomas exploded at the mention of his sister. "Oh, yeah? Did your best friend and aunt Lucy told you how I spent all that fucking time reading and studying on my own while she and the other two lived the life of Riley*?" he blurted out, feeling his cheeks growing red. "On my own, without bothering anyone, less my mother"
"Bf…" complained Patsy, tapping her foot impatiently on the carpet.
"Books bigger than Petete's*, for you information"
"Aw, I loved that show…" commented Libby, nostalgically.
"Yeah, Dad, you're awesome and impressive and so cool, alright" said Patsy, lazily, as she walked away.
"Don't come late!" he shouted. "I want you back here by nine!"
"By eleven" Patsy shouted back.
"Nine!"
"Eleven"
"Gal, don't push your luck. Nine o'clock and that's final!"
"11.30" said Patsy, from the staircase.
"Brat, I said nine and it's nine!"
"Don't wait for me awake" declared the teenager.
"I'll go for you if you're not here by nine!" swore Thomas.
He only received the door slamming shut as a response. Thomas sighed and massaged his temples.
"I was always told girls matured faster than boys. I feel conned…" he complained.
"She's just sixteen" said Libby, comprehensively.
"She's gonna turn seventeen next month"
"She's still a young girl"
Thomas sighed, frustratedly, and decided to focus on his paperwork again. Libby moved uncomfortably at the doorframe.
"Thomas?"
"Yes?"
"My twenty bucks?"
"… … I gave James my wallet"
"Damn… … … And don't you have secret savings or…?"
"Get out of here!"
Polly appeared on the doorframe, again. "Dad, a man wants to talk to you"
"Girl, stop answering the phone and opening the door to strangers!" reprimanded her father.
"You're always complaining about how we do nothing around here" shrugged the kid.
"I'm talking about the useless adults I've got in here!" He sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Don't be ungrateful to the kid. She must be the only polite Jefferson I've ever met" confronted a voice that only put him in a worse mood.
"Pikachu, what're you doing in my house?" he demanded, contorting his face in one of disgust.
"Good afternoon to you too" drawled Laurens, sharing his bitter mood. "Look, let's go straight to the point: I don't like you and you don't like me either"
"That much is in understatement" nodded Thomas.
"But for some reason Laf does like you, and right now he refuses to answer Hercules' texts or answer his phone. And, as Alex's not here, you're the only option, as shitty as it is, I've got left to fix this mess"
"That's not the way you should ask for a favour" Polly reprimanded him, frowning.
"A ten-year-old is more mature than you" teased Thomas, scoffing. "Think about that while you go back to your house"
"I'm not going anywhere until you help me" declared Laurens, crossing his arms and planting himself on the ground, stubbornly.
"That's extortion" complained the little girl, one more time.
Laurens looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Girl, you don't look smarter by inventing words"
"Laurens, you're making a fool out of yourself. Leave, please" said Thomas, waving his hand to emphasize his petition.
"No"
"Laurens, this is not the law firm. I can call the cops on you" threatened the Virginian.
"You call the cops on me and I'll tell Alex, who just made amends with you" the southerner threatened back.
Thomas frowned. "Alright, listen to me, you annoying toddler…"
"Hello, peopleee" interrupted Maria, coming into view. "How're you doing?"
"Betty Boop, what on Earth are you doing here as well?" asked Thomas, starting to lose his patience.
"The door was opened" replied the girl, nonchalantly.
"Polly!"
"It wasn't me! Mr Laurens should've left it opened!"
"Tattletale"
"Irresponsible"
"Gosh, John, this is your life now?" asked Maria, with a mocking smile. "Fighting with kids?"
"I just turned ten this month" proclaimed Polly, proud of herself.
"What do you want now? A present?" asked Laurens.
"It's the normal thing to do, yes"
"Gee, even kids I just know want to bleed me dry"
"That's you" confronted Thomas, slamming his hand on the desk. "Living off in your friends' house and not even apologising when one of them drank that"
"That's none of your business" snapped Laurens.
"Excuse me, but when you come in here to demand me in bad manners to help you fix it, it automatically becomes my business, young man"
"I'm being as polite as I can after what you did to Alex"
Thomas clicked his tongue at the reminder. "That's between the gremlin and me. And this is between you and me, and I'm telling you to leave because my pulse won't falter to pick up the phone and dial 911. You've been warned"
"Do it, do it. I won't leave until you decide to help us"
"Laurens…"
"This a pressing matter" insisted the southerner. "I wouldn't be sharing my oxygen with you if it weren't!"
"I don't even know where Gilbert is!" gave in Thomas, frustrated. "Can you understand he didn't tell anyone because he wanted to be alone for a minute, away from your personality?"
Before Laurens could complain, Maria informed: "He's in Loli's Hostel, about thirty blocks away from his house. If you drive there around evening, you arrive there in twenty-something minutes"
"… … … …"
"Maria, how do you even know that?" asked Libby, shocked.
"I'm the receptionist, I know everything about my colleagues" she replied, simply. "And he called me to inform Washington in case he could get into trouble. He's a very responsible man, even when angry"
"How long have you known that then?!" asked Laurens.
"Since this morning. I told you he's very responsible"
"Why didn't you tell us! You saw the state Hercules was in, even asked him if something was wrong!"
"Laf asked me for discretion and I gave it to him. Because Maria Lewis is a woman of her word!" she declared, solemnly.
"Maria Lewis is an asshole who just fucked my whole afternoon up" spat Thomas, organising his things ill-temperedly. "Now, that I know, I'll have to drive there because this tattletale won't leave!"
"You lent your car to Jemmy" Libby reminded him.
"For Christ's sake…"
"I'm gonna tell Hercules, see you there" said Laurens, bidding farewell.
"Wait, drive me there, at least!" pleaded Thomas.
"He's running away, Daddy" informed Polly.
"To Loli's Hostel and beyond!" they heard Laurens screaming.
"Don't go beyond there; it's where the traffickers meet" warned the receptionist.
"Hell of a life…"
"I can drive you there" proposed Maria. "If you pay me back the gas, of course"
"… What a fucking hell of a life…"
NOTES:
*Pip is Philip Hamilton. Phil is Philip Church.
*In this AU, Thomas lost important people to him on the month of September. Jen, his older sister, died on the 4th and his wife on the 6th. That's why he remembered them at Washington's petition.
*FUNNY FACTS: Jews have the negative cliché of being miserly. This is thought to come from the event in the New Testament, where Jesus threw the moneylenders out of the Temple (The narrative occurs near the end of the Synoptic Gospels (at Matthew 21:12–17, Mark 11:15–19, and Luke 19:45–48) and near the start in the Gospel of John (at John 2:13–16).) That teaching persisted in Christianity, giving the Jews an undeserved fame, attaching the idea of them being miserly and greedy. During the Middle Ages, the Jews turned into moneylenders, because they weren't allowed to possess lands or be part of a guild; also the Church didn't let Christians to practice usury. Jews had nothing to do with laws that were for Christians, so Kings and nobles needed money, and so, the Church and the State appointed Jews as moneylenders and taxmen.
It can also be an exaggeration of Jews sometimes being austere, which is very different.
Jews don't believe in Jesus as the Mesiah, but he has the initials of the Latin form of "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews [IESVS NAZARENVS REX IVDAEORVM — INRI]", on the top of the Cross by Pilates. (John 19:19-22).
The dark joke really was educational xD.
*To live the life of Riley: I don't know how well this expresion is known in English, but it means to live a very good life. If you're interested, in Spanish is: "Vivir la vida padre", which literally can be translated into "Living the father life".
*Reference to the show "El libro gordo de Petete (The Big Book of Petete)". Petete was a little penguin who came from Antarctica, and was the protagonist of a short animated educational film for kids from about 1 to 2 minutes. These shorts were broadcast on television in Argentina in the 70s, also issued in Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico and Spain. The program showed audiovisual information that illustrated the famous Encyclopedia that gave name to the program: The Big Book of Petete. It was a great encyclopedia of 8 volumes of 400 pages each, which was published weekly during the 70s; was first published in Argentina and later in other Latin American countries and Spain.