Here, have some fluffy pre-lams. (^.^) We're getting there, people, I promise this is a romance.
"Aaron," John greeted, nodding to the man in the doorway. He was at Alex's apartment, not that that was anything new, John was nearly ALWAYS at Alex's apartment anymore.
"John," Burr responded, motioning for him to come inside.
"Thanks," John said stepping into the entryway and brushing some light snow from his jacket. "Is Alex around?"
Burr nodded towards the left. "He's in his room," he stated, closing the front door. "Working on some project of another, no doubt."
John laughed. "No doubt," he repeated, smiling at Burr. "Alright, well I'm going to go kidnap him. Get him out of the house for a change, yeah?"
Burr snorted. "Yeah, for a change. Alright, I'll let you go. Thea'll be over tonight, fair warning," he said, before walking back into the living room. With that, John made his way down the hall to Alex's door. He knocked twice, and waited for a response.
"Yeah?" Came a voice he was certain belonged to Alex. John had to chuckle at how distracted he sounded. No doubt engrossed in his writing. When was Alex NOT writing, after all?
With a smile, John responded, "It's me. Three guesses who." From inside, be heard Alex chuckle, followed by a mumbled 'come in.' "Hey!" He greeted, swinging open the door. Alexander, sitting on his bed, looked up from his laptop with a grin.
"Hey!" He returned, closing his computer and setting it aside. "I wasn't expecting you." John shrugged, still smiling.
"I just thought I'd stop by, say hi, see how you're doing," he said. Alex nodded as he gestured towards the chair at his desk. With a 'thanks,' John sat down. "So," he asked, "what are you working on?"
Alex sighed, flopping against his headboard unceremoniously. "A paper for History of Law," he grumbled. "Do you know the details of the first murder trial in the United States? Well, I do now, and I wish I didn't."
John shook his head, internally thinking about how adorable tired Alexander was. His eyes kept fluttering shut, and his voice was soft enough that a person had to lean forward to hear him. John felt his heart melt slightly as the man in front of him yawned and propped his head up on his arm.
"So..." Alex said, blinking at John slowly. "How've you been? How's Herc? Eliza?"
"I'm good, my sister Martha just started her Junior year of Highschool back home, so she's been telling me all about her new classes," John said, a fond smile on his lips. He and his parents... Didn't speak often, to put it kindly, but he and his sister had been close since they were young. Unlike his Souuthern Baptist, extremely homophobic parents, Martha had always been accepting. And she had made a point of making sure her parents knew, which made John immeasurably happy.
Alexander nodded, smiling. "You've told me about your siblings before, I think. You've got, how many, four?" John nodded. "Damn," Alex mumbled, "sometimes I really wish I had siblings."
"Trust me, you don't," John assured, "they're pains in the ass. You gotta love em, though. Anyway, as for Herc and Eliza, they're both fine. I told you that Liz's sister Peggy is dating Mulligan, right? Well, Peggy and Angelica are both out of town, and I'm pretty sure Herc and Eliza are pacing the halls waiting for them to get back." Alexander chuckled at that, no doubt trying picture the cool and collected Eliza doing anything that slightly resembled pacing.
"Well, I'd love to meet them, after they get home," Alex yawned, as he reached for his mug of coffee. John shook his head, pulling it away from him.
"Ah ah, how much of this have you had today?" He questioned, watching as Alex grumbled, looked away, and muttered, what sounded like 'I dunno... Threw or four.' "Yeah," John decides, shaking his head, "no more coffee for you. I was going to make you get out of the house, but I think that right now you need sleep."
"That's 'diculous..." Alexander argued, although his eyes were already falling shut slightly. John smiled, standing up and setting Alex's coffee back on his desk.
"Get some sleep, and text me tomorrow, okay?" He asked, but Alex was already asleep. Chuckling, John opened the door as silently as he could and slipped out. Walking back into the entryway and grabbing his coat off a hook, he shouted a 'Have a good day,' at Burr before opening the front door, and stepping back into the snow.
"Well," John muttered to himself, pulling on his hat, "that was a bust... Maybe tomorrow..."
A longer chapter, just for you! Thanks again to everyone for commenting and reading, as well as taking the time to point out little things like the Helpless easter egg and the fact that I 100% got Alex's height wrong. The fact that you guys really take the time to READ me work is absolutely wonderful!