Introductions

Three men sat around a table at the local pub, drinks in hand. They were talking loud and laughing harder, faces flushed from the heat of the bar combined with the alcohol in their systems. The shortest of the three men seemed the most gone, a half empty pint in his hand. He was tan skinned- a little on the paler side- and whiskey eyed, a multitude of freckles covering his face. He was talking animatedly to the other two men, his drink sloshing around as he moved his arms excitedly and his ponytail of loose dark brown curls bounced as he spoke. The second tallest of the men was dark skinned with dark brown eyes. He wore a grey beanie that matched nicely with his forest green coat, and the way he carried himself suggested that he knew it too. He had a shot glass in one hand, empty ones sat on a round silver tray in front of him. He was a muscular, broad shouldered man whereas the first man had a more lithe frame. The last of the men sat on the opposite bench of the other two. He sat backwards, his back sloped against the table with one leg across the other- his left ankle rested atop his right knee. He was brown skinned and had eyes the color of milk chocolate, he also had a full head of dark brown corkscrew curls that he wore pulled back into a ponytail. His posture suggested he was as calm and relaxed as his friends, but his eyes seemed to scan the room as he took sips from the wine glass in his left hand. His right hand remained free and rested over his lap, close to the golden hilt of the sword belted to his left hip. His eyes shifted around the pub almost imperceptibly so no one could tell he was watching everyone and everything that went on around him unless they were observing him just as intently, in that case they would also be able to tell he wasn't nearly as drunk as his friends despite having nearly drained the bottle resting on the table next to him.

"Lafayette?"

The man in the dark blue coat smiled and turned his head to the left. "Yes, my dear Laurens?" His French accent was heavy as he spoke in the language he'd recently begun learning.

The whiskey eyed man huffed out a small laugh. "You've hardly said a thing all night, my friend, and the whole reason we're here is for you. Are you alright?" His words were a bit slurred as he spoke.

Ah yes, this night of public ivresse (intoxication/drunkenness) is what my copains (friends) call a birthday celebration. Lafayette chuckles at his thoughts and takes another sip of his wine.

"As long as mes amis (my friends) are having fun, so am I." Lafayette flashed Laurens his biggest grin to convince him of his words.

The man in the beanie laughed and clapped a hand on Laurens' shoulder. "He's fine, John. Let the man enjoy his white, yea?" He says, gesturing to Lafayette's glass. "You only turn nineteen once."

"Merci (thank you), Hercules." Lafayette raised his glass towards the man in the beanie and nodded his head once before taking a sip. "I am having a wonderful time, John. Stop worrying, my friend, and finish off that third pint of yours. You've been working on it for the past hour now." He winked at him and laughed as the tips of the man's ears turned pink.

"You asshole."

"Now now, that's no way to talk to the- how you say...? Ah, 'birthday boy!' Now is it?" Lafayette smirked at John over the rim of his glass.

"Mulligan, remind me to call him an asshole at twelve am, then." John responds dryly, turning to face Hercules. Hercules only laughed at their exchange before knocking back his shot.

John grumbles and lifts his pint to his mouth, taking a pointed swig with a glare in Lafayette's direction. Lafayette only gives him another wink before turning back to survey the bar. Just as his eyes sweep over the entrance, it opens. Two men walk in, one a familiar- albeit unwanted on his birthday (or any day really)- face and one not so much. The men were talking to one another before John caught their attention.

"Aaron Burr!" John yelled across the room.

Burr and his unknown companion made their way over to the table, Burr's expression had changed to a slightly annoyed one while the man next to him looked intrigued. Lafayette heard Burr say, "like I said" to the other man after John's outburst.

When the the two men reached the table, Burr addressed the three young men that sat there. "Greetings, gentlemen."

"Evening, sir." Came from Laurens.

"How are you, Aaron?" Hercules asked cordially.

"Burr." Was the only acknowledgement from Lafayette, along with a tip of his glass in the man's direction.

Burr shot him a sidelong glance before answering Hercules' question with a "fine, thank you."

"Who's your friend, Aaron?" asked Laurens with a curious albeit still slurred tone.

"Alexander Hamilton, and there's a million things I haven't done- but just you wait." The man in question answered for Burr.

Hercules chuckled lightly. "I like the introduction," he responded before raising his shot to Hamilton. Lafayette could see the light blush that dusted the man's tan face after that. Hercules turned back to his friends and said, "we should introduce ourselves too, shouldn't we boys?" The mouths of all three men curved into smirks as Hercules began to make a beat on the table.

"Yo yo yo yo yo!" Shouted John.

"Showtime! Showtime!" Shouted Lafayette and Hercules.

"Showtime yo!" Yelled John. "I'm John Laurens in the place to be. Two pints of Sam Adams, but I'm working on three, ha!" He raised his pint towards Hamilton with a shit-eating grin. "Those redcoats don't want it with me 'cause I will pop chick-a pop these cops 'til I'm free." He finished off with a swig of his drink before joining Hercules in beating on the table.

"Oui oui, mon ami, je m'appelle (yes yes, my friend, my name is) Lafayette- the Lancelot of the revolutionary set." He sent a flirtatious wink towards Alexander who looked down at his black boots, flustered. "I came afar just to say 'Bonsoir' (good evening). Tell the king 'Casse toi' (fuck off)! Who is the best? C'est moi (It's me)." He smirked and took a sip from his glass before placing it down and joining John in making the beat as Hercules stopped.

"Brrah, Brrah. I am Hercules Mulligan. Up in it, lovin' it, yes I heard ya mother said 'Come again?'" He spoke in a high pitched voice for that part.

"Ayyyy" Said John and Lafayette, irking him on.

Hercules smirked and continued, "lock up ya daughters and horses, of course, it's hard to have intercourse over four sets of corsets." He finished off by taking his shot and slamming the glass down on the table.

"Wow," came from Lafayette.

John laughed and said, "no more sex, pour me another brew, son. Let's raise a couple more-"

"To the revolution!" all three of them exclaimed, drinks in the air.

John continued, "and here we have the prodigy of Princeton College."

"Aaron Burr." Hercules reintroduced him.

"Give us a verse, drop some knowledge." John finished up, looking towards Burr as all three of them continued to bang out a beat.

"Good luck with that, you're takin' a stand. You spit, I'm 'a sit. We'll see where we land." Burr said before taking a seat on the bench next to Hercules.

"Boooo," responded Lafayette.

"Burr, the revolution's imminent. What do you stall for?" John asked.

"If you stand for nothing, Burr, what'll you fall for?" Alexander spoke up.

"Ooh," responded Lafayette, Mulligan, and Laurens simultaneously, looking at him.

Lafayette picked up his glass again and returned to his original position, facing Alexander. He looked him up and down as he took a sip from his wine before declaring, "garçons (boys), we're keeping this one." His friends laughed and Lafayette watched Alexander smile nervously.

John stood up and walked around the table to Alexander, sticking out his hand to Alexander. "Welcome to the revolutionary set Alexander," he said smiling. Alexander thanked him and smiled back, the two grasping each other's forearm and clapping a hand on the other's shoulder before Laurens sat down again.

Next, Hercules stood and clapped Alexander on the back, the significantly smaller man stumbled forward a little at the force. "Nice to make your acquaintance, my friend," he said jovially before returning to his seat.

Alexander moved to stand in front of Lafayette, who made no move to stand and formally greet him, and stuck his hand out to him. Lafayette moved his glass to the side and firmly grasped Alexander's left hand with his right one, swiftly yanking him down to his level. Alexander let out a small yelp as Lafayette held him in place. Lafayette leaned forward slightly and lightly touched his cheek to Alexander's, who sucked in a sharp breath at their proximity, and made a small kiss sound with his lips next to the other man's ear. He switched sides and pressed his other cheek to the opposite side of Alexander's face, repeating the action. Finally, he switched back over to the original side and kissed the air next to Alexander's left cheek once again. All this he did in quick succession before releasing Alexander who stumbled backwards slightly in shock. Lafayette smirked and brought his glass back to his mouth while Laurens and Hercules laughed hard behind him, Burr only letting out a small chuckle- reserved as always.

Lafayette spoke to the still shocked Hamilton who stared at him slightly open mouthed. "I'm French, chéri (darling), and I just met you. That is how my culture compels me to greet you, and now that we are copains (friends) you should expect the same greeting every time we meet."

Alexander closed his mouth and awkwardly cleared his throat before responding. "I thought the French only did two kisses in greeting?"

"Non, non (no, no). You are mistaken, my friend. Faire la bise (the name of the French cheek kiss greeting) varies in different parts of France. In Chavaniac, where I am from, the customary greeting is three kisses." Lafayette informed him.

"Ah," Alexander rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Oui, bien sûr (Yes, of course)."

Lafayette raised an eyebrow at him. "Tu parle français (you speak French)?"

"Je parle couramment, monsieur (I speak fluently, sir)."

Lafayette finally drained his glass and set it on the table. "Génial (brilliant)! I like you already." The Frenchman sent Alexander a wink. "No need to call me 'sir' either, my friend, I assure you you are probably older than I."

"I'm only nineteen."

John cut into their conversation at this point. "Well, well, well. It just so happens that today- September 6th, 1776- is our very own Frenchman's nineteenth birthday."

"Really?" Inquired Alexander.

"Oui (yes). This," he gestured to the table covered in empty glasses, "is my celebration."

"Well in that case, bon anniversaire (happy birthday)."

"Merci (thank you)."

The two men smiled at each other before Hamilton took a seat next to Lafayette. Alexander's eyes bounced to the over half empty bottle resting next to him before reconnecting with Lafayette's.

"Pour me a glass."