Archive of Our Own ^beta

John was desperately running out of time.
Only 20 minutes left before his shift starts, and he needed to be on almost literally the other end of the town like a bat out of hell. Was it pointless? Truly. Did he still try? Also yes.
But it seems like The Universe itself decided to stop pulling punches on him today. His Art History professor made them do an overwhelmingly long and difficult assignment that made half of the class (including him) stay late, a fight between two guys blocked everyone's path in a hallway, his dad called him about paying an unexpected visit in three days that he was not ready for and now he's late to his train, the only one who has his stop in its route in the whole city. If this is not the proof the world was in the mood to hate him, I don't know what is.
Thankfully, fate was kind enough to not let him miss it. In the last minute he managed to hop on the subway, his heavy bag full of books and art supplies weighing him down. The only thing John wanted was to sit down and relax from all the sprinting.
All the seats were taken.
At least no one could hear his internal screaming and a whole paragraph of cussing out literally everyone who made his day like this today. Hopefully.
The transport was full of adults and elderly people, and it was too early in the morning (a. k. a. 8:45 AM) to deal with ageists complaining over "adults having no respect nowadays" and "young and full of energy, taking a seat from a poor old grandma". Which left one option in the back: 2 seats near the window, occupied by a young adult with fire ginger hair and a fluffy bag. Laurens recognized him almost immediately: he was one of the regulars at the coffee shop where he worked. Almost on every one of his shifts, the guy would come in at least once. One time he even stayed there until 11, studying and almost falling asleep, even after 9 shots of espresso in one day. He and another girl, Peggy, who turned out to be his ex's sister, had to almost whack and drag him out to close the place normally. But he was polite and a stable source of income, so nobody from the team minded him. In fact, the man managed to charm most of the staff, including John. Alright, scratch that - especially John. He memorized the guy's order on the third time he walked in their sharashka's office: americano with 1 tablespoon of sugar, no cream, no milk, no syrup. And his beautiful name - Alexander Hamilton - he got engraved in his brain the first time they met. And his eyes - oh, look at those eyes - Laurens was hypnotized by them, he could stare at this beautiful, unique violet for ages and never get tired. He understood why his ex chose him very well. Too well for his mental state's liking, but he didn't care at all. As long as he could see him again and again, he had motivation to get up and deal with whatever customers, weird orders or management issues he got. If being brutally honest - Alexander was the reason he didn't quit this job already. And Peggy.

So, if he had to choose between talking to his crush or tolerate aggressive comments the whole ride, he chose Alex. He's a grown adult, he can handle a conversation with someone he likes, right?
Trying to make his blush disappear, or at least not be so obvious, he approached the man. Hamilton was listening to something in his earbuds, probably a news podcast or The Rolling Stones. That's the only 2 options that were playing on his phone when Jack brought him coffee. By the way he swayed in his seat, probably the second one.
John gently tapped the guy on the shoulder, drawing his attention
- Excuse me?
Alexander stopped the music (which was, in fact, The Rolling Stones) and focused himself on the other man. Oh my gosh, why did a person have to be so handsome, making him feel so helpless?!
He smiled at Laurens, tilting his head slightly
- Oh, hi! John, right?
- Yeah, that's right. Is... Is this seat taken? - he asked, pointing at the sitting underneath fluffy object
- That depends - Hamilton replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes
- On what? - John leered back, unsure of how to progress the dialogue
- If he lets you - Alex pet his, what seemed at first inanimate, neighbor, waking it up - Or if you're brave enough to move him
Now that Laurens moved close enough, the "object" turned out to be a tomcat: a smug, medium sized, ginger just like its owner fluffy loaf, looking at the newcomer with an unamused expression. If it had eyebrows, it would raise one in side-eye.
- Oh my gosh, he's so cute! - Jack beamed. He was always a cat person when asked to choose: dogs' unexpectedness freaked him out a little, to be honest. He still loved them, though, they just didn't stand in the same line as kitties in his opinion - What's his name?
- Hamilton - Alexander answered, sounding just a little embarrassed - my adoptive parents, Martha and George, named him after me before I moved in with them
John couldn't help but laugh
- That's actually adorable - he managed to say - I love it. But can I actually sit?
The tomcat wagged his tail lazily, its pupils dilating a little, watching the man's movements. Then, it perked up, allowing for the human Hamilton to pick him up, moving to his lap
- Thanks
- It's no problem. Thank this little baby - Alex cooed at his pet - Who's a good boy? You are, Hammy
But Hamilton the cat paid not as much attention to Alexander's caress anymore. He stood up and proudly moved to sit at John's knees, looking oddly satisfied with himself. The guy perked up a little, not expecting such royal treatment. The owner also seemed surprised by the animal's behavior. Not in a bad way, though
- He really likes you - he noted
- Yeah. I've always been told I'm better with animals than people - Jack replied, mentally adding "And I like you" before he said a word
- Impressive - Alex laughed nervously - He usually isn't so nice, especially to people I don't like
- Oh - Laurens had no idea what should he say to that. And he totally shouldn't allow his mind to feed his delusions on the small possibility of them ending up together. At least the cat was warm. He was very fluffy. John liked warm and fluffy
They sat in comfortable silence for a minute, the subway's rhyming movements making it just a little less awkward. John pet the cat who found itself in a very comfortable position, trying to steal glances on his new neighbor
- I actually just need to get him back to George and Martha from his annual shot - Alexander spoke up. Jack knew he's a talkative person, and his voice was pretty, so it did not disturb him at all. He liked when Alexander talked about things, even if sometimes he didn't understand a thing - My ex-girlfriend's partner, Maria Lewis, is the only one he isn't hysterical about proceeding him. And I actually agree: she's an angel, but still - the way he hisses and screams whenever someone's touching him is comically absurd
- Really? - John smiled. From what he knew from Peggy, Alex and Eliza are still best friends, so it wasn't a surprise. But now it made his wild theories about the cat's trust and its connection to Alexander's relationships yell louder in his head, and he really wanted them to stop. Even if he liked them. Especially if he liked them.
- Yeah, weird - human Hamilton replied - Where are you going from? Don't you have a shift today?
Ohmygoshherememberedah-
- College - John answered - and yeah, I'm going there. Just had a really bad day and now I'm late.
- Oh, I'm sorry to hear that - Alexander said, his tone growing sympathetic and worried
- It's alright. The cat made it better. - Jack replied - He's amazing
- Wait, you're in art, right? Is that why you look like you robbed a Blick Art Materials?
- Oi - Laurens teased, acting offended - but yes
- Am I oversharing? - Alex asked him sheepishly - Sometimes I get overexcited, and now it's quiet in here, and I typically don't like quiet
- No, it's totally fine, I like listening to your voice
That seemed to comfort the guy, and the rest of the (longer than 20 minutes, much longer) ride they talked, and turns out they have a lot in common! Even some shared friends
How come none of them ever noticed it?
- Oh- My stop. - John finally snapped back to the reality. The tomcat seemed to also feel it, but didn't want to let go, staring at the young adult with its green eyes
- See you later, Hamilton - he said to the cat, trying to gently get it back to the owner
The animal, very unwillingly, switched to his owner and allowed Alexander to put a collar on him.
- Actually, mine too - Alex smiled, following John outside the morning train. The wet, cold autumn wind hit them both hard after the heated subway air
- Oh really? What a coincidence - Laurens laughed, walking steadily through puddles despite already being late for half an hour
- No coincidence - Hamilton the human replied - I tend to walk to your coffee spot on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays
"The days of the week I take" Laurens realized, making his heart beat almost twice as fast. As Alex said himself, there's no coincidences
- Well guess I already have one order placed. - he grinned - Americano with 1 tablespoon of sugar, no cream, no milk, no syrup, to go because it's 9:30, am I right?
Alexander's cheeks turned bright maroon color. Or at least that's what John saw. Maybe a trick of the light
- You remember - he noted
- I do
After another 10 minutes, Jack managed to slip through the door without his manager noticing and just slightly altering the time at his sign-in sheet. The second he tied his barista apron, he was already at his station making the coffee, desperately trying to ignore Peggy's murderous glares which he didn't need to look at to know it was the "bitch-you-are-so-late-and-I-had-to-suffer-through-a-Karen-without-you-and-no-one-to-gossip-pull-that-stunt-again-and-you're-dead-I-dare-you". Oddly specific? Maybe. Accurate? 100%.
Looking through the crowd to see a familiar face (failed), John placed the cup on the counter. The second he turned his back, the drink was gone, replaced with $9.63. Underneath was a neatly folded doily that said, "To John", checked with 3 claw marks. Afraid of giving in to his hopes, the man opened it with shaky hands. The text inside stated:
"My number: ### ####
Call me if you want ;)
Both yours,
Alex Ham. and Hamilton
P. S. he passed me the napkin. Smart kitty <3"
Looking out the shop window, red like a beat, Laurens noticed a familiar cat staring straight into his soul, walking by its ginger human. He could promise the tomcat winked.