Our Shot

"You enjoy Chardonnay?" Lafayette questioned Alexander.

"I've never had pockets deep enough to indulge in the luxury of French wine, actually, but you seem to be enjoying it well enough." Alexander flashed him a small grin.

"I'm French, mon cher (my dear), wine is in my blood."

Alexander chuckled lightly. "Of course, coffee is in mine. However, I'd still like to experience what has you so... relaxed tonight." He winked at the taller man, gesturing at his posture.

"Ha!" Lafayette barked out a sharp laugh. "So you are a funny man, oui (yes)?" He caught the attention of the bartender and held up the bottle and one finger to signal that he wanted another, he then gestured to Alexander to indicate that another glass would be needed. Then he set the bottle back down and watched as the bartender nodded and called over a server to send the items to their table. Satisfied, Lafayette turned back to Alexander to find him sipping the remnants of the bottle he had just rested down from his glass.

"Yes, I consider myself to have a nearly unmatched wit." Alexander responded to the earlier posed question although he knew it was rhetorical, watching Lafayette over the rim of the glass he continued to sip from.

Lafayette watched him silently with hooded eyes, watched the slightly yellow-tinted liquid travel past his pink lips.

"This is wonderful, Lafayette, I can see why you love it so much." He swirled the liquid around in the glass before taking another sip.

Lafayette remained silent for another moment before clearing his throat. "Yes, it does have a nice flavor... But, mon ami (my friend)... are you- are you really drinking from my glass?"

The corner of Hamilton's mouth ticked up a little to the left. "I just couldn't wait to taste it and I didn't think you'd mind all that much since you ordered another glass. Do you?"

"Uh... non, non (no, no). Of course not."

"Brilliant." Hamilton grinned and drained his glass. Lafayette watched his throat work as he tilted his head back slightly and swallowed.

Just as he set it down on the table, a server came by with a silver tray that held a new bottle of Chardonnay and a single wine glass. He placed both items in front of Lafayette- who thanked him in French- before walking away. Lafayette uncorked the bottle and picked up the new glass.

"I suppose this is mine now." He smiled at Hamilton and raised the glass towards him.

"And this," Alexander smiled back and raised Lafayette's original glass, "is mine."

Lafayette chuckled lowly under his breath and poured them both half a glass from the new bottle. He brought his own to his mouth but his hand paused before the glass touched his lips, frozen at the sight before him. He watched the small, pink tip of Hamilton's tongue sweep across the inner rim of the glass that his own mouth had previously been on before tipping the glass up and swallowing a mouthful of wine. Alexander had kept full eye contact with him as he did so. Lafayette swallowed hard and finally took a small sip from his own glass, averting his gaze from the intensity of Alexander's brown-eyed stare.

They continued to sit in silence, sipping from their glasses periodically and listening to Burr, John, and Hercules behind them as well as the various sounds of the bar. Lafayette was lost in thought when he felt a small tug at the left side of his forehead, this caused him to tense up and grip his glass so tight he was surprised it hadn't shattered right there in his hand. He looked to where the sensation had originated from to find Hamilton's pinky wrapped around a few tendrils of his hair that had escaped his ponytail. Hamilton let go and leaned back against the table nonchalantly, taking note of the way Lafayette's posture became less rigid when his hand had left his hair.

"You had some loose curls there."

Lafayette took a deep breath and released it slowly, he could feel his face heating and thanked the Heavens for his brown skin and the dimly lit pub. "Oui (yes), ah, thank you for pointing it out..."

Alexander smirked, "what are friends for?"

"Oui (yes)..."

Burr's voice reached them after a moment of staring at one another again. "It's rather late, men. I think I'll be off now. Coming, Alexander?"

Alexander cast a glance towards Burr who was now standing next to him, then over to John and Hercules, and finally resting back on Lafayette who watched him expectantly- his facial expression was unreadable as the light from the kerosene lamps hung around the room flickered over his sharp features.

"I think I'll stay here, sir. The boys and I can take a carriage over to General Washington's camp when we're ready, that sound good guys?" He got affirmative responses from the other three at the table before turning back to Burr. "See? I'm in good hands, Aaron. Plus, wouldn't want to leave the birthday boy, right?" He sent a mischievous wink in Lafayette's direction causing the other man's mouth to slowly curve into a broad, close mouthed grin that exposed the tiny laugh lines that crinkled in the corner of his eyes. He sure must smile a lot to have those at such a young age, Hamilton thought to himself. He should definitely smile like that more often, the spark in his eyes right now is something everyone should have the chance to witness.

"Merci, Alexandre (Thank you, Alexander)."

Hearing Lafayette say his name in French sent shivers down his spine, causing him to bite his lip. He could've sworn he heard Lafayette's low, deep chuckle. He drained his glass to cool his rising body temperature and could feel the slight, buzzing haze in his mind from downing the second glass of alcohol. Burr had been watching their exchange silently, curiously. He decided to chalk their strange behavior up to simple drunkenness.

"Alright, goodnight then sirs." Burr tipped his head to them before walking out of the bar.

"Hey John?" Hercules spoke up suddenly.

"Yeah Herc?"

"It's twelve am."

"Thanks." John turned to Lafayette. "You asshole."

Lafayette burst out laughing, head thrown back. "Yes Laurens, I am fully aware," he responded after calming down, still chuckling good-naturedly. "However, my dear friend, you still have not finished that pint of yours." He pointed to the still quarter-full mug in John's hand. John in turn grumbled something about cocky baguettes and setting a French flag aflame.

Alexander looked at them, puzzled and slightly dazed from admiring Lafayette's body as it shook with his laughter which he found out sounded absolutely wonderful. Hercules saw his confused expression and explained the night's earlier events causing Alexander to snicker.

"Well, mes amis (my friends), it is now officially no longer mon anniversaire (my birthday). I think we should get going, yes?" Lafayette proposed to the group.

"I agree. Ready to call it a night, boys?" Said Alexander.

Hercules and John both nodded in agreement. Then the two of them and Lafayette stood to go over and settle their tabs at the bar. As Lafayette walked by Hamilton, Alexander's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"What is the matter, Alexandre (Alexander)?"

Hamilton felt another shiver run down his spine at the way the French version of his name rolled off Lafayette's tongue, heavily accented. He shook it off and looked down at the floor nervously, embarrassed. "You bought a second bottle for me... Look, I don't have much but I don't want you to have to pay for all of it, especially on your birthday. Especially for someone you just met..."

All of a sudden he felt a hand clasp his shoulder firmly, a silent command to meet the eye's of the person it belonged to. Alexander looked up to see Lafayette towering over him with a serious expression on his chiseled face.

"Mon ami (my friend)- because that's what you are to me now regardless of when we met- I do not want your money. I have more than enough of my own to treat you to your first taste of French white wine without needing anything in return. Oui (yes), it is my birthday, which means that I can and will spend however much money I please on whomever I please. Do not worry and do not feel as if you are taking advantage of me, I did this just for you." As Lafayette spoke, his thumb slowly rubbed back and forth across Hamilton's collarbone causing the smaller male's heartbeat to speed up.

"O-Okay." Hamilton stuttered, answering in an uncharacteristically small voice.

"Good, now I will go take care of our bill and you get ready to leave, yes?"

Alexander only nodded in response and let go of Lafayette's wrist, still distracted by the taller man's touch. Lafayette smiled softly down at him and clapped him twice on the shoulder he had been grasping before continuing towards the bar. Alexander watched him walk away before standing up from the table himself. He re-corked the still mostly full bottle and slid it in his satchel that he had slung across his body, resting against his left hip. He took in a shuddering breath, trying to calm his pounding heart, before turning around to see his new friends walking back towards him. Laurens reached him first and slung an arm around his neck as they walked out the door, pulling him close and ruffling his hair with his other hand. Alexander could've sworn he heard a low growl behind him and glanced at Lafayette whose face was once again unreadable, but his eyes held a hard glint that contrasted with his attitude moments before. Before he could question the Frenchman, Laurens addressed him.

"So Alex, ready to join the revolution?" Laurens asked him.

He smirked. "I am not throwing away my shot."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Laurens laughed. "Why do you want to join anyway?"

Alexander's smile grew mischievous. "Hey yo, I'm just like my country: I'm young, scrappy, and hungry and I am not throwing away my shot!" He ducked out from under Laurens' arm and hopped up on the edge of the fountain they were passing. He looked down at the three men who had stopped in front of him, watching excitedly. "I'm 'a get a scholarship to King's College. I prob'ly shouldn't brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish. The problem is I got a lot of brains but no polish, I gotta holler just to be heard. With every word, I drop knowledge! I'm a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal. Tryin' to reach my goal, my power of speech, unimpeachable. Only nineteen but my mind is older. These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder ev'ry burden, ev'ry disadvantage. I have learned to manage, I don't have a gun to brandish. I walk these streets famished! The plan is to fan this spark into a flame- but damn, it's getting dark, so let me spell out the name: I am the A-L-E-X-A-N-D-E-R, we are meant to be a colony that runs independently. Meanwhile, Britain keeps shittin' on us endlessly. Essentially, they tax us relentlessly then King George turns around, runs a spending spree- he ain't never gonna set his descendants free! So there will be a revolution in this century! Enter me!"

"He says in parentheses," adds Herc.

Alex winks at him and continues. "Don't be shocked when your history book mentions me. I will lay down my life if it sets us free. Eventually, you'll see my ascendancy! And I am not throwing away my shot! I am not throwing away my shot! Hey yo, I'm just like my country: I'm young, scrappy, and hungry and I am not throwing away my shot!" Alexander pulls the wine bottle from his bag and pops the cork, holding it high in the air. "It's time to take a shot!" He yells before putting the bottle to his mouth and downing a big gulp. He jumps down from the ledge with his friends applauding and wolf whistling at his theatrics. All of a sudden, the bottle is snatched from his hand and he turns to find Lafayette with it, standing on the same ledge he had just left.

"I dream of life without the monarchy. The unrest in France will lead to 'onarchy? 'Onarchy? How you say, how you say...? Oh, anarchy! When I fight, I make the other side panicky with my shot!" He finished with a swig from the bottle as well, his friends cheering and laughing at his heavy accent and mispronounced English. Next the bottle was passed to Hercules who took Lafayette's place.

"Yo, I'm a tailor's apprentice, and I got y'all knuckleheads en loco parentis." He pointed to his friends with a wide grin. "I'm joining a rebellion cuz I know it's my chance to socially advance, instead of sewin' some pants. I'm gonna take a shot!" He too quickly tipped the bottle to his mouth before getting off the ledge and handing it to John.

"And but we'll never be truly free until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me."

"That's right." Came from Alex.

John continued, "you and I, do or die, wait 'til I sally in on a stallion with the first black battalion! Have another shot!" John took a drink from the bottle in his hand just as his friends had done before stepping off the ledge.

Alexander clapped Laurens on the back before turning to face all his friends, smiling broadly. "Yo, check what we got: Mister Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot." Lafayette raised his right arm and flexed his bicep, grinning. Alexander winked at him before pointing to to Hercules. "I think your pants look hot." Hercules put one leg up on the fountain ledge and swished his coat back, showing off the pristine white pants he custom made himself. Alexander laughed at him and turned to Laurens. "Laurens I like you a lot." John giggled at him while he continued. "Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot! What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot poppin' a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not a bunch of revolutionary manumission abolitionists? Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is!" He stopped and looked to the ground, breathing hard. In a quieter voice he said, "oh, am I talkin' too loud? Sometimes I get over-excited, shoot off at the mouth. I never had a group of friends before, I promise that I'll make y'all proud!"

John looked to Hercules and Lafayette. "We need to get this guy in front of a crowd!"

"I am not throwing away my shot! I am not throwing away my shot! Hey yo, I'm just like my country: I'm young, scrappy, and hungry and I'm not throwing away my shot! I am not throwing away my shot! I am not throwing away my shot! Hey yo, I'm just like my country: I'm young, scrappy, and hungry and I'm not throwing away my shot!" Alexander continued to sing.

"Everybody sing!" Yelled John.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hercules, Lafayette, and Alexander sang together.

"Hey!"

"Whoa!" From the three men again.

"Whoo!"

"Whoa!"

"Say let 'em hear ya!" John shouted.

"Yeah."

"Let's go!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"I said shout it to the rooftops!" Instructed John.

"Whoa!"

"Said, to the rooftops!"

"Whoa!"

"Come on!"

"Yea!"

"Come on, let's go!" John exclaimed before taking off down the block. His friends laughed and ran after him as he continued singing as loud as he could. "Rise up. When you're living on your knees, you rise up. Tell your brother that he's gotta rise up. Tell your sister that she's gotta rise up. When are these colonies gonna rise up? Rise up!"

Alexander stopped running and his friends came to a stop behind him, watching him as he stood with his back to them looking up at the moon. "I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory. When's it gonna get me? In my sleep? Seven feet ahead of me? If I see it comin', do I run or do I let it be? Is it like a beat without a melody? See, I never thought I'd live past twenty. Where I come from some get half as many. Ask anybody why we livin' fast and we laugh, reach for a flask. We have to make this moment last, that's plenty." He whirled around sharply to face his friends, making a slashing motion with his arm. "Scratch that! This is not a moment, it's the movement! Where all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went?" All three men in front of him beat their chests with their fists and he grinned at them. "Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand. We roll like Moses, claimin' our promised land! And? If we win our independence? 'Zat a guarantee of freedom for our descendants? Or will the blood we shed begin and endless cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?" He began slowly walking down the street, head down and hands behind his back as if he were deep in thought with his friends close behind him. "I know the action in the street is excitin' but Jesus, between all the bleeding and fighting I've been reading and writing. We need to handle our financial situation. Are we a nation of states? What's the state of our nation?" He suddenly spun back around to face his fellow patriots, an earnest look on his face. "I'm past patiently waitin'! I'm passionately smashin' every expectation! Every action's an act of creation! I'm laughing in the face of casualties and sorrow! For the first time, I'm thinking past tomorrow! And I am not throwing away my shot! I am not throwing away my shot! Hey yo, I'm just like my country: I'm young, scrappy, and hungry and I'm not throwing away my shot!"

"We gonna rise up!" John joined him.

"Time to take a shot!" Hercules and Lafayette followed him.

"We gonna rise up!"

"Time to take a shot!"

"We gonna-"

"Rise up, rise up!" Alexander filled in.

"It's time to take a shot!"

"Rise up, rise up!"

"It's time to take a shot!"

"Rise up, rise up!"

"It's time to take a shot!"

"Rise up!"

"Take a shot, shot, shot!"

"A-yo it's-" John started.

"Time to take a shot! Time to take a shot!" yelled Lafayette and Hercules.

"And I am not throwing away my- not throwing away my shot!" Finished Alex, striking a pose with his fist raised high in the air.

All four men were breathing hard, staring at each other. Electricity passed in between them, almost as if they could feel the revolutionary spirit pumping through their very veins. These men were ready to fight, having reminded themselves of exactly what they're fighting for. Alexander took a deep breath and released it audibly, lowering his fist and breaking the silence.

"Let's go get that carriage."