Walking across town to Bridge was something Hamilton had never wanted to do before. Cycling there was a task in itself. Either you had to navigate through dense crowds of traffic on some of the busiest Manhattan streets, or alternatively you could take a longer route which added almost 30 minutes to the journey, (on foot) but was a lot quieter. That day, he didn't mind the lengthened journey. Even if it was starting to freeze and he had decided against wearing a thick coat. Even if his bike, which he towed along beside them as they walked, was making the muscles of his lower arms cramp up. These seemed to dull because walking beside John Laurens could trump any minor grievances. Hearing him talk about whatever came into his mind, laugh at his own jokes, and smile over, their eyes meeting briefly before he was back to his ramblings again, it all filled Hamilton with so much lightness and relief. Sensations which he had long considered lost.

There had been just a second of a lull in their aimless conversations, when Alexander's phone started to vibrate in his pocket. Initially annoyed because someone had the audacity to interrupt his time with Laurens, this was added to even more when he realised who was on the opposite end of the line.

"Burr," he groaned.

"Alexander!" He winced in response at the use of his first name. "I called to ask about how your last essay went! I know you've been struggling a lot with your thesis too, just wanted to check up and see if it's all going good!" Hamilton highly doubted that Burr really cared about his wellbeing, but they had been friends for a while and the possibility was not completely out of question. Always passive-aggressive, their friendship had been founded on their mutual competitiveness, something which had resulted in countless short-term and long-term arguments over the past years.

"It's all good, Burr. I trust you are too? Have you found out what you want to do yet? With your..life?" There was a hint of a joke in his voice and a smile did flicker across his lips, but the question had been based on fact. Burr had no clue. Which allowed a lot of leeway for Hamilton to poke at his character. It wasn't necessarily an unhealthy friendship, they did, half-consciously, push each other to be better people.

"I'm good, Alex. Are you going to make Lee's lecture today?"

"I'd rather not but yes."

"He's a good professor, you just need to-"

"Burr, listen can we continue this conversation in class? I'm sort of preoccupied at the moment. And I'm sure as always you'll want my undivided attention?" The last sentence came out as a bit of a sneer, not totally rude, but more hostile than Hamilton normally was. What could be do? Burr, a man who regularly wasted his precious time, was doing so now with time he could be spending with Laurens.

"Of course. I'm sure you'll need the time to catch up."

"To you? Never. I'll see you in class, Burr."

Once he hung up, he looked over to Laurens. His brow was furrowed, gazing straight ahead and distant. "Hey, Laurens?"

"That was Aaron Burr right?" He replied softly, snapping out of his daze and facing Hamilton again.

"We go to class together. Weird friendship. Built on passive aggressiveness. You know him?"

"Ya... God I hate him. Sorry." His pace faltered a bit, and Hamilton slowed down to make up the space, so that they still we still side by side. "I know he's your friend-"

"Hmmmmm," he objected half-heartedly.

Laurens continued, "He always turns up at the protests that I attend, telling us we should stay quiet... just last week I was half-documenting, half-participating in a protest about how racist the judicial system is.. and he interrupted a speaker, politely sure. But what he said.." Laurens shook his head. "He went on and on about how we should stop, stand down, keep quiet about things. How now that the government know this doesn't work, they'll fix it. What type of bullshit?? As if the root of the problem isn't systematic racism that's been there since the start of this country." Laurens was visibly angry, his fists clenched, shoulders tense. This all took Hamilton by surprise; how angry Laurens was, how much of a stir Burr had caused.

"I wish I could say that I didn't believe that, but it sounds like something he would do. He always tries to defuse the wrong debates. He stands for nothing. Really, pay him no heed, Laurens."

Hamilton found Laurens' passion for a cause which he, himself felt drawn to, such a nice surprise. Going to protests, trying to make a difference, these were things he wanted to do, was trying to do and someday knew he would totally devote himself to, through his writing. Burr was a man of such dishonour, he thought. How the hell could he act against those who were trying to do right? Laurens' heart was so parallel to his own, with every word he knew that he was more alike this man anyone he had ever met, their minds were almost completely aligned. He reached over to Laurens' shoulder and squeezed it. If he had been there, Burr taking over and spewing shit like that, he wouldn't have been able to let him off so easily.

It was almost 11AM by the time they reached Bridge. They'd made their journey even longer by passing through some of Central Park, taking their time and enjoying the brisk morning air. Hamilton was so glad to finally be able to leave his bike down, both of his arms, which had taken turns and wheeling it around, were almost dead by the time they walked through the doors of the, now densely populated, cafe. The bike didn't weight much but anything at all was amplified greatly by the length of the walk, how much ground they'd covered. It didn't help that he had a slight frame, he didn't work out as regularly as he should, finding it a waste of time he could be allocating to other tasks.

Laurens took the bike from him and leaned it up against the wall beside their table. "I don't know why you don't just Uber."

Hamilton shrugged. "It wakes up my senses quite a bit. Especially when I've only had three, two or no hours sleep."

Laurens gave him that beautiful smile, shaking his head. "You're really fascinating, you know that?"

"I've been called such, not in as little or as complimentary words, but...thanks." Lame. God why were his words always so unprepossessing when he was around Laurens? It was like his attraction clamped down on his tongue, muted some of his intellect. This man fucked him up beyond compare.

"So...," Laurens, who had been staring at his hands, locked gazes with Hamilton's again. Those blue eyes held him, he felt actual warmth radiating between them. He wondered if Laurens felt all this. "So. Are you...free tonight? After your.. class or whatever it is? Do you want to hang out, maybe get a few drinks or something? I know this is nice and all but you've to go soon. You know, just have a nice night with no...limitations? Time-wise I mean..." Laurens' face got flushed and he awkwardly laughed, his hands fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. Hamilton had never seen a sight cuter. Why was this man single? There must have been a reason, he was too perfect to still be up for grabs. Maybe Hamilton had just come at a good time, been lucky.

"Laurens. I would really love nothing more than to spend this evening with you. Text me a time and a place once my lecture is over? As soon as you know where."

"Yes!" Laurens' enthusiasm made Hamilton beam right back at him. "Yes, okay great! I think I know a place."

Weaving in and out of traffic to get to the University on time, Hamilton couldn't shake Laurens' smile from his mind. He was sure that he had asked him out on a date. He'd ask him once he got to the bar, he promised himself. For now he had to face Burr and another of Lee's tedious lectures. Being honest with himself, he didn't mind the wait.