Something They Can Never Take Away [Lams One-Shots]

Coffee

Alexander stumbled out of his dorm. His roommate was drunk and had his rowdy, obnoxious, and equally intoxicated friends over and Alex couldn't be bothered to stick around and be the only sober one there.

As he left his building, he breathed in deeply at the smell of fresh air, but soon after tensed at the fat droplets of rain that the clouds were letting loose. He gazed up at the sky, hoping to see stars, but could only see the deep, rich blues and grays that the cloudy midnight showers had to offer.

Sighing and ducking his head down, Alex continued down the pavement, heading towards a quiet shop where he could read his book and get a cup of hot water.

Listening intently to the pattering of rain against the buildings around him, Alex barely noticed anything else going around him. His gaze was fixed on his feet to avoid getting his face wet, and his hands were securely jammed in his jeans' pockets to fight the chill of the night.

Yeah, he wasn't paying attention to what was in front of him, but then again it was the dead of the night. Walking smack into something wasn't what he was expecting.

The guy had come out of nowhere. All of a sudden, Alex was on his rear on the ground in a puddle, his jeans becoming uncomfortably soggy.

"What the hell...?" Alex muttered and raked a hand through his long, shoulder-length hair to get it out of his eyes to look at what - or rather, who - he'd literally run into.

His annoyance disappeared as soon as he'd gotten a mere glance at the guy. His first thought after looking at him was

Hot damn.

The man was in nearly the same position as Alex was, struggling to his feet, pants dripping wet. He had dry, chocolate-colored curls which framed his face, and eyes, that, despite the dreariness of the night, Alex could see clearly - they were a captivating mix of hazel and green. He had a stealth body, slim but strong, with clothes that showed off everything good about his figure. It took Alex a couple seconds to realize that he was still on the ground and blatantly checking this guy out. In Alex's defense, the guy was beyond attractive, but more in an attractively adorable than ruggedly handsome way.

However, down the front of the man's sweatshirt was a long, brown stain and Alex snapped back to reality and saw a mug in a couple pieces on the ground. The man scowled at his no-longer-green sweatshirt and snatched up the umbrella that he'd been holding.

"I'msosorry!" Alex's words were rushed as he clumsily pushed himself to his feet and offered a hand to the man. "Oh God, I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking."

"No kidding," the man chuckled dryly, accepting Alex's hand. His voice was low and melodic, and Alex fought the urge to shut his eyes and just listen and enjoy the way the man caressed the syllables of the words he spoke. Hearing the man's voice combined with him momentarily holding Alex's hand made Alex glad it was dark enough out that the other man couldn't see the blush that Alex knew tinted his own cheeks. "And it's okay, really. It's nothing, it's fine."

Alex looked into his eyes skeptically and hesitated before responding. The man, with conflicting emotions fighting in his gorgeous eyes, turned to go back to where he had come from, when Alex quickly said, realizing he didn't want to never see this man again, "Hey, wait," and grabbed the man's wrist. "Let me at least buy you another drink."

The man paused and turned around smoothly, pulling his wrist out of Alex's grasp. Despite the stain down the front of his shirt, he still looked poised and graceful. A small smile tugged at one corner of his mouth, and his left eyebrow was raised, half in disbelief, half in humor. "You're asking me out at midnight after knocking me over?"

Alex almost laughed in surprise. He'd assumed the man was straight.

But if he wasn't...

Instead of laughing, Alex smirked flirtatiously, almost cheekily. "I wouldn't put it that way." He paused and cocked his head to one side, pretending to think. "I'd say I... swept you off your feet."

Along with the tint on his cheeks, the other man's smile grew, unabashed about his delight, and he replied, "I'm John Laurens." He extended his hand again towards Alex, clearly intending to shake Alex's hand as an introduction.

Alex nodded once, smirk still in place. Instead of shaking John's right hand with his own right hand, he intertwined his fingers with John's, holding John's right hand with his left. Surprised, John visibly tensed at the physical contact.

"Alexander Hamilton," he introduced himself. "Relax, have a drink with me," Alex winked at John, losing control of his smirk to a full-fledged grin when he noticed the flush spreading across John's attractive, freckled face.

"Well... most people wouldn't no to hot guys offering to buy them stuff, and I'm no exception." John flirted back, smiling wider.

"How'd you know that's what I was counting on?" Alex nudged John's shoulder playfully, a natural smirk on his face once again. Alex was sighing in relief internally. He loved how he could shamelessly flirt with John.

John tossed his head back to laugh and Alex took that second to gaze at him. The curve and chisel of his neck and jawline were incredibly sexy, and his laugh was deep and creamy. Alex created a personal goal for himself to get John to laugh as much as possible.

"Between the two of us, I'm not the hot one," Alex accidentally said out loud. He averted his eyes as John's laugh quieted and he looked at Alex in surprise. Both boys' cheeks reddened and Alex was suddenly very aware of their proximity, the air they were both breathing, their hands entwined between them, their shoulders brushing every few steps.

Being someone rarely gets embarrassed, Alex was at a loss for what to do and therefore apologized, feeling overwhelmingly awkward. "Sorry, I- I didn't mean that... I mean, what I said is true, but I didn't mean to say it out loud."

John laughed again, and Alex found himself watching him again, fascinated at his beauty. John shook his head. "It's fine," he said, still chuckling. "It just took me by surprise, that's all. And it's not true, anyway. There is no way in hell I am the more attractive one out of the two of us. Have you seen yourself recently?"

Alex glanced away to fight the smile and blush that consumed his face. He was probably about to say something stupid, but they thankfully reached a small cafe before he could start word-vomiting.

"What drink do you want?" Alex glanced over at John to find him already looking at him. Both boys reddened slightly.

John let go of Alex's hand to open the door for Alex. He swept his arm out gracefully, dramatically gesturing for Alex to enter while propping the door open with his foot. "I'll have a black coffee."

Alex gave John a look. "Dude, it's midnight. What even?"

John grinned at him. "You're right." Leaning in teasingly, he said, "It's not like I'm tired anymore."

Alex's heart rate spiked noticeably, and his breath caught. He could feel John's breath on his face, already smelling sweetly like coffee. He tried to clear his head to say something witty, but impulsively said instead, "Yeah, we don't need hot coffee right now. Things are going to be getting pretty steamy as it is."

John choked on his own breath, slightly aroused, before breaking into laughter. "Man, you're so much better at this than I am!"

Alex chuckled, then raised his eyebrows at John before saying, "Trust me, you're a latte better than me."

John laughed harder and managed to say, "No, you expresso yourself much better than I do!"

Alex cracked up and tossed a ten dollar bill on the counter while John ordered a drink and a scone. The barista looked wistfully at the men laughing together and smiled.

As the two sat down at a booth together, Alex couldn't help but think about how grateful to his roommate he was for throwing his awful, raucous party tonight.  

A/N: the drawing is mehh but oh well