(We Dream Of) A Brand New Start

“This is weird.”

“Oh, thank fuck. I didn’t want to have to say it.”

“We should’ve just gone to a bar. Quick drinks, talk for fifteen minutes, we’d be done by nine,” Burr said, fiddling with the napkin ring. “Instead we have…”

“People thinking we’re on a date,” Jefferson finished, even though that wasn’t what Burr was going to say. “No offense, but you’re not really my type.”

Thankfully, before Burr could emphasize that he didn’t even know Jefferson had a type, that he was pretty sure he would flirt with anything that had two legs and a pulse, their waiter came back with drinks. Jefferson had ordered two, a Lynchburg lemonade in a tall garnished glass, and a much more subdued glass of red wine. Burr had gone with a rum and Coke. They were the same pretty much everywhere; there wasn’t much room for error with a rum and Coke.

He’d texted Jefferson that morning and asked if he wanted to go out for dinner, on him. The night before he’d visited Washington and Martha in their brownstone uptown, resignation in hand. Washington had promised not to tell anyone until Burr was ready, and Burr wouldn’t be ready until he cleared the air with one Thomas Jefferson.

The person at hand was currently sitting across from him in what had to be the most expensive restaurant in the entire city, intently sipping his wine, eyes narrowed down at his phone.

“Did you know Angelica Schuyler is the most evil person alive?” he asked, still looking down at the phone. “I show her my eighth grade yearbook photo one time and she makes a fucking meme out of it— Look at this!”

He held out his phone and scrolled through a slew of text messages; a group chat between him, Angelica, and James Madison. Every other message was a picture, a blurry shot of a grinning younger Jefferson, maybe twelve or thirteen years old, when he hadn’t grown into either his ears or his hair.

“You were a cute kid,” Burr commented, taking a sip of his drink. Jefferson scoffed.

“Shut the fuck up, Aaron.”

“Put your phone away,” Burr said, setting the half-full tumbler back on the table. “I want to tell you something and I don’t want you distracted by either of your significant others when I say it.”

“Yowza,” Jefferson said, and laid his phone face-first onto his still folded napkin. “Has anyone ever told you to lighten up? ‘Cause I’m more than willing to be the first.”

Burr rolled his eyes. “I talked to Alex the other night.”

“Is that the Instagram post conversation?” Jefferson asked. “I’ve been meaning to ask him what was up with that. Did you give him a black eye?”

Burr rolled his eyes for the second time in two minutes. “Yes. I did. But that’s a story for another time, Thomas—”

“What the hell is going on, Burr?” Jefferson asked. “You’re acting crazy about this whole manager thing, you’re icing everyone out, you’re punching Alex in the face, not like I haven’t thought about it, or actually did it that one time, but—”

“Would you shut the fuck up?” Burr hissed across the table, instantly gratified when Jefferson did just that, sitting back against the booth with a look of shock across his face. Burr wondered for a fleeting second how long it took him to get his facial hair that perfect, and if that time cut into his normal day-to-day activity. “I want to apologize.”

Jefferson’s demeanor changed almost on cue. He moved forward and leaned his elbows onto the table as he smirked. Burr wondered for another fleeting second how much the restaurant would charge him if he threw his rum and Coke into Jefferson’s face.

“What for?”

“I’m not apologizing for the fact that you’re an insufferable asshole.”

“So I’ve been told.”

Burr wondered for a third and final fleeting second how Jefferson managed to get not one, but two fairly level-headed people to fall in love with him.

“I’m apologizing for, what did you say? Acting crazy about the whole manager thing. I was, and it wasn’t appropriate, and I’m sorry.”

Jefferson looked a little taken aback, like he wasn’t used to sincerity, especially not from Burr. He coughed.

“Uh, me too, man. A lot of stuff I said was uncalled for.”

“And I gave Washington my resignation yesterday,” Burr continued.

“Wait, what?”

“I quit.”

“Because of this?” Jefferson passed a distraught hand over his hair. “Shit, Burr, I’ll talk to Washington if you want, you can be manager no problem, I was just being a dick—”

“God, no,” Burr said, stifling a laugh. Jefferson was nothing if not go big or go home. “I got a new job. The whole reason I was acting like that over the manager thing was… Uh… I’m kind of terrified about my whole life changing. No big deal.”

It was the third time in two days that Burr had willingly gone headfirst into an intense emotional conversation. Talking to Theo was nothing, he’d share his heart and then some with her any day of the week, but first Alex Hamilton, and then his sometime boss, and now Thomas Jefferson? He was going to have to detox from emotions for a full week to feel comfortable in his own skin again.

“Where’d you get hired?” Jefferson asked. It looked like he’d mulled the question over a little bit, taking small, careful steps like he was playing a game of The Conversation’s Lava and didn’t want to get burned. Burr took a sip of his drink. He could handle this.

“Edwards and Greene,” he replied. “Where I’ve been interning.”

“That’s awesome,” Jefferson said, and meant it. “You’re going to be a great lawyer, Aaron. Calling people out on their shit, being all badass, wearing a cape—”

“I think you’re thinking of a superhero,” Burr said. “Or maybe a pro wrestler.”

“Same thing,” Jefferson replied, grinned a shit-eating grin, and the conversation wasn’t lava anymore. The waiter brought another round of drinks at Jefferson’s prompting, and the two of them talked about Star Wars and whether or not superheroes should wear capes until their appetizers arrived.

They were halfway through their meal (Burr got steak and Jefferson got some dish with scallops still in the shell), his phone buzzed. Jefferson tutted from across the table.

“I’m not good enough for you?”

“It’s on silent except for Theo,” Burr shot back. “And no, compared to my wife, you can eat it.”

Jefferson pouted and took a huffy bite of his food.

“Did you know that my wife refers to you as Teej?” Burr asked as he put his phone into the front pocket of his jeans. Jefferson shrugged, nonchalantly draining the rest of his wine.

“I’m a man of many nicknames, A-A-Ron.”

“Never call me that again.”

“Hey if your wife can call me Teej—”

“Do you want to tell her she can’t?” Burr countered.

“Hell fucking no.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“What’d she want?” Jefferson asked, and finished the last bite of his food. The waiter came back with the check, which Jefferson grabbed, waving away Burr’s halfhearted attempts to grab it. “And shut up. Think of it as a congratulations dinner, y’know, you for being some hotshot lawyer, me for existing. You can get the next one.”

Burr rolled his eyes. “Theo’s having people over. You’re more than welcome to close out the night with us. I’m ninety-nine percent sure Angelica and James are going to be there.”

Jefferson checked his phone as the waiter brought his card and the reciept back.

“Yep. One snapchat of Angelica shotgunning a beer, one of Laurens eating three slices of pizza at once, one of Gil laying on the floor for some goddamn reason. Let’s go.”

“Why are we friends with any of them?” Burr asked, shrugging on his coat.

Jefferson did the same, and drained his Lynchburg lemonade before following Burr towards the door. “I’m only friends with Angelica for the sex.”

“I’m telling her you said that.”

He slapped a hand over his heart. “Do you want me to fucking die?”

“Yep,” Burr said. Jefferson pushed him.

They got into the Espada after the valet pulled it around, and Burr managed to make it the entire car ride without telling Jefferson to slow down once. He swiped his pass for his building’s parking garage and they rode the elevator up to the apartment, continuing their conversation about Star Wars and Jefferson’s significant others, which meant that Burr didn’t have to do much talking at all.

Burr unlocked the door and ushered Jefferson inside first. The apartment he and Theo and Teddy called home was a mess, which was a word he had found himself applying to the place more and more often. Ever since he and Theo had come home from the hospital it had been nothing but blankets and teething toys and Theo’s parenting books piling up, and he, very uncharacteristically, loved every second of it.

This was a different sort of mess. This was an embarrassingly high stack of pizza boxes on the counter, this was Laurens and Hamilton making out in a corner, this was Lafayette and Herc Mulligan laying on the floor with his wife and Teddy, playing a very spirited round of Hungry Hungry Hippos.

“Hey,” Jefferson said, immediately going over to the couch and squeezing between Angelica and Madison, who were curled together, looking at something on Madison’s phone. “If Burr says I said something about you, Ang, just know it’s a lie—”

“Why are you friends with Thomas?” Burr asked, opening the top box of pizza and taking a slice. It was pepperoni and green pepper, which he knew had to be Eliza and John’s doing. Angelica looked up.

“For the sex.”

Madison cackled. Burr shrugged.

“And there you have it.”

He took his pizza over to the floor and settled between Lafayette and Theo, who put Teddy in his lap so that she could continue playing the game.

“How was it?” she asked, briefly glancing over as Burr shifted and took a bite of pizza, holding it out of Teddy’s reach as she grabbed at it. “Both of you look fine, so I’m guessing it went okay?”

“You’re friends again, no?” Lafayette asked, smashing the handle on the game three times in quick succession. Herc groaned and rolled onto his back.

“I’m fuckin’ out!”

“Mauvais perdant,” Lafayette said, and held out his hands for Teddy. Burr passed her over between bites of pizza.

“It was good,” he said, looking over at Jefferson, who was laughing at something Madison had said. Maria was perched on the arm of their couch, showing Angelica something on her phone. “I told him the news, so that’s three people, plus you, who know.”

“I know,” Herc said. Burr made a surprised noise. “Your wife sucks at keeping secrets, man.”

“Theo!”

“Sorry, babe,” she said, taking the crust of his pizza and shoving the entire thing in her mouth. “Some stuff just comes out at brunch. He didn’t tell anyone, I swear.”

“He told me,” Peggy said from where she was across the room, laying on the floor and tapping on her phone’s screen. “Like, in the same heartbeat. There’s no secrets around me, bitches!”

“We know, too.” Madison pushed Jefferson off of him so that he could sit up farther on the couch. “Thomas texted me and Ang while you guys were at dinner. Is that a bad thing?”

“I know, too,” John said, collapsing on Theo’s other side and dragging Alex down with him. They were both flushed and sweaty, and John made grabby hands across the game board until Lafayette passed him a plate with a half-eaten slice of ham and pineapple and a pile of chips on it. “You think you can punch Alex Ham in the face and tell him a big secret without him letting me in on it? C’mon, Burr, you’re smarter than that.”

“Okay,” Burr said, standing and crossing his arms. “I have an announcement. Show of hands if you don’t know what it is.”

“I married the most dramatic man on earth,” Theo muttered, but Burr ignored her.

Eliza raised her hand, and she was the only one to do so. She gave Maria an incredulous look.

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“It was like five minutes ago!” Maria defended herself. “James told me while we were making root beer floats in the kitchen. I thought it was some Libertwo employees only thing!”

“Well,” Burr continued, raising his voice, “Eliza, because all these snitches already know, I gave Washington my resignation. I’m going to be a lawyer with my current firm, starting next month.”

“Aaron, that’s wonderful!” She stood, crossing the room in a few quick strides and looping her arms around his neck, pulling him into one of her hugs. It wasn’t the first time he’d been hugged by Eliza Schuyler, but the warmth of her arms and her light perfume and the sincerity of it all never got old. “I’m glad you actually got to tell me.”

“That damn rumor mill,” he agreed, and they broke apart. Jefferson rolled his eyes.

“Couldn’t hack it at Libertwo, so he had to leave.”

John threw a chip at him. “Says the dude who’s definitely using Burr’s lawyer skills next time he gets pulled over for driving like a fuckin’ maniac—”

“I drive perfectly fine!”

“For a fuckin’ maniac,” Angelica and John said together, and air-fived across the room, Jefferson rolled his eyes petulantly and pulled Madison farther back onto the couch, kicking out at Angelica with his feet until she retaliated.

They stayed like that for hours; Theo breaking out her board game collection (Lafayette was embarrassingly good at most of them, and embarrassingly bad at UNO, which Herc destroyed him at the five times they played), John and Alex leaning across each other at the island, staring into each other’s eyes and finishing the rest of the pizza, and Theo curling up beside Burr on the floor after they put Teddy to bed, sharing his warmth and the blanket she’d wrestled away from Jefferson.

It wasn’t a perfect night, but, as Burr stacked pizza boxes and looked around his house, at Theo wrapped protectively around the blanket on the floor, at Maria and Eliza and Angelica and Jefferson and Madison sprawled in various positions on the couch, at Lafayette and Peggy both using Herc as a pillow, at John and Alex still awake, talking softly about something in the fort they made out of pillows and Burr’s dining room table, he had to admit it had been a pretty good one.

“Cheers,” Washington said, and everyone in the vicinity lifted a glass. It seemed like the entire city of New York was packed into Libertwo’s increasingly small space; Burr had never felt so claustrophobic in his life. “To Aaron Burr, his family, and his future!”

“Hear, hear!”

People cheered, glasses clinked, and Burr was surrounded by people. Mrs. Ross gave him a hug, Martha Washington kissed him on the cheek, John, Alex, and Lafayette crowded him for a selfie which he posed for reluctantly, raising an eyebrow at John’s peace sign and Lafayette’s tongue sticking out.

Washington had insisted on closing his final day at Libertwo with a party. Burr appreciated it, but in reality, he was pretty sure it was just an excuse to have Martha make fudge. Martha’s fudge really was phenomenal.

Maria and Jefferson were behind Libertwo’s bar, making drinks and bantering back and forth about the music Jefferson was playing. Burr slipped behind the bar too, heading to his spot, the one farthest away from people and closest to the creamer fridge.

“Overwhelmed?” Jefferson asked, grinning a sharp-teeth grin over at Burr. Burr replied with a subdued middle finger. He knew both Jefferson and Maria were back here for reasons other than their love for the job; Maria dealt with crowds about as well as Burr did, and Jefferson, despite all of his posturing, would do anything to avoid speaking in public.

“Fuck you,” Burr muttered for emphasis. Jefferson elbowed him.

“I’ll miss you,” he said. “Who else is going to yell at me to wake the fuck up at eleven in the morning?”

“You’d better take care of this place,” Burr replied. “I’m afraid it’s going to go up in flames with you running it.”

“Common fear,” Madison said, sliding onto one of the bar stools. Theo wasn’t too far behind; Teddy was with a sitter for the night and his wife had never looked more beautiful, her hair done up in a messy bun and her winged eyeliner sharp and dangerous.

“Washington wants you to give a speech,” she said over the clamor. Burr’s eyes widened the same time Jefferson’s did.

“Me?” they said at the same time.

Theo winked. “Gotcha.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Jefferson said, breathing out in relief and ducking under the bar to grab more coffee stirrers. Maria snickered along with Theo.

“You’re evil.”

“Retweet,” Jefferson muttered from his hiding spot.

“He did ask me to give you this,” Theo said, sliding a small, velvet-wrapped something across the bar. Burr unwrapped it and it fell heavy into his hand; an iron key that looked like it would fit perfectly into the ancient lock above the newly-installed modern one that opened Libertwo. “He said it still works, and you’re welcome anytime. That you’re family.”

Burr looked across the shop and met Washington’s gaze. The older man lifted one hand into a salute and Burr did the same, the fingers of his other hands closing protectively around the cold iron.

The shop slowly emptied out as the night went on. Mrs. Ross left first, after giving Burr and Theo a bag full of preserves and what looked like a box of chocolate, and Maria and Eliza soon followed. Jefferson was next, pulling Madison and Angelica behind him, and John and Alex weren’t far behind. They’d both given Burr hugs, which he still hadn’t put the verdict out on.

Soon the only people in the shop were Burr and Theo. Washington had left not two seconds prior, after shaking Burr’s hand and giving Theo a hug. He’d reiterated what the salute had said, that Burr was family, and if he ever needed anything Washington was there. The door shut behind him, and Theo pulled him closer.

They kissed under the dimmed shop lights, Burr’s arms wrapped around her waist and her hands twined around the back of his head. It wasn’t the first time they’d done this; Libertwo was dark and quiet after hours, and if they could sneak a few minutes away from Teddy, they’d do it. They loved their daughter, sure, but damn could she wail.

Time passed and eventually Theo left too, with Burr’s promise that he wouldn’t be too long.

He paced the shop, from the back kitchen were Madison stressed over decorating cookies, to the register where he spent most of his time, to the stain in the floor where Jefferson dropped a tray of drinks on opening day. The shop was alive and full even when the doors were closed, and Burr had a hard time fighting back memories as he walked the perimeter.

He remembered his interview with Washington, the second of two. Washington had looked at him from across that same bar, and had steepled his fingers like he had an affinity to do.

“Son,” he’d started, “I turned you away once before.”

Burr’s face flushed. As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough to have been rejected for a position, here he was, trying again like an imbecile. Washington raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve known you for a long time, Aaron,” he said. “You have a lot of pride, and it takes a lot of pride-swallowing for you to do this. Why are you coming back to this job?”

“Because I want it,” Burr remembered answering. “There’s no shame in wanting something.”

Washington held out a hand. “Welcome aboard, Mr. Burr.”

It was time to leave. As Burr closed and locked Libertwo’s door behind him one final time, he allowed himself to stand outside of the shop for a moment and breathe. The key Washington had given him weighed heavy in his pocket, and the gravity of trust and friendship and assurance wasn’t lost on him.

His eyes prickled, and he blamed it on the autumn wind.

He’d felt this way before; moving to New York, marrying Theo, having Teddy. This, this leaving, this moving on, was nothing more than another chapter in the same book, and it was almost reassuring that the terror in the pit of his stomach wasn’t all new. Change wasn’t ever easy, especially not for him, but he had the key. He had Washington and his work family, he had Teddy, he had Theo.

Aaron Burr turned away from Libertwo and stepped into the slowly darkening city streets. The stars watched from up above, bright and constant, illuminating his path as he made his way home.