Hello, Alexander
CHAPTER 1
What is it like to see an angel's wings?
It was simply a fact that wings grew from everyone's backs, each baby born with little feathery stumps sprouting from their shoulder blades. Well, factual enough, Thomas supposed.
He'd never seen anyone's wings, and only occasionally caught glimpses of his. They were a pale pink color, as far as he could tell from those few moments when they'd stopped being translucent and came into full view.
He knew he'd never see anyone else's wings, except for his "soulmate's". Thomas Jefferson, of all people, had a right to be skeptical. He was a bit late in the game really, to find a soulmate. Early-to-mid 20's or never at all was usually what happened, and just about everyone he'd grown up with was already living in apple-pie domestic bliss with whoever they claimed to see the wings of around the age of twenty or so.
Thirty was late, ten years or so too late. Whoever his "soulmate" was probably lived halfway across the world or somewhere longer than a two hour drive away, and he'd never even catch a glimpse of them. If soulmates really existed, of course. Maybe everyone just grew translucent wings and that was the end of it.
He knew this wasn't the case, but he'd lost hope of ever finding his soulmate a while ago.
Still, just imagining the sight of those gorgeous feathery wings he'd read about in stories on somebody's back was enthralling. Thinking about someone out there meant to love him, someone he would undoubtedly love back. Completely unrealistic, he would often think, but still a lovely little idea.
It was a normal day when all that changed. Everything he'd believed for so long, just... gone.
Thomas woke up to the sound of his alarm clock buzzing, 7 AM like usual. He begrudgingly rolled out of bed, like usual. The dulled purple of his window curtains casting weird shadows over the room, his sleepy eyes glancing over his bedroom. It'd always looked so lonely ever since Martha.
He cast those thoughts out of his head with a scowl, no time for that then. He had to get ready for work.
His closet was filled with black and grey suits, most looking brand new because Thomas barely wore them. He preferred his same old magenta suit, he liked to think that it matched the color of his wings, no matter how invisible they were to other people. It was more symbolic than anything else.
Sometimes his friend James would swear he could see the vaguest outline of them when Thomas quickly moved from one spot to another, and maybe the slightest shade of pink. "Bullshit," Thomas would tell him, but sometimes if he stared hard enough at other people's backs he could just barely see the outline of transparent wings there, just maybe.
He quickly pulled on the suit, fumbling with his tie for a moment before heading into the kitchen to fix some sort of breakfast. He glanced around the cupboard, deciding on a granola bar. The usual, since he barely had time to eat anything more than that most mornings.
The drive to work was pretty average, and so was the elevator ride up to the third floor where his office was. All in all, pretty normal.
What wasn't normal though, was the set of beautiful golden-yellow wings that he spotted as soon as he walked out of the elevator. They glowed with an aura Thomas couldn't have explained if anyone had asked him, one he most certainly had never seen before. They were ethereal, a sight that made him stop dead in his tracks.
What really shocked him though, was the realization that those wings were attached to his soulmate. He could only see the back of them at that moment, but it looked like they were standing beside George Washington, his boss. They had dark brown hair pulled up in a ponytail, and Thomas felt almost giddy as he walked up behind them.
"Ah, Mr. Jefferson!" Washington greeted once he spotted Thomas out of the corner of his eye, a welcoming smile on his face. Rather unusual for the stark and formal man, but Thomas didn't really pay that much attention. He was distracted by the man that stood beside his boss, who turned as well, making Thomas nearly gasp in surprise when he saw who it was. Alexander Hamilton, the infamous, the wicked- at least as he'd been told. He'd only seen him in the newspaper, the man having been featured in an article a few weeks before.
Washington had hired him immediately once he'd heard Hamilton had quit from some other competing company, and supposedly the man was a genius and a remarkable employee. James Madison however, who had worked with Hamilton a couple years before, had told Thomas that the man was a nightmare. A genius, sure, but a nightmare nonetheless. Always arguing, never shutting up for one second, a nuisance most of the time. Stubborn too, apparently.
So imagine Thomas's surprise when that same man showed up with glowing wings on his back and a charming smile on his face. "Mr. Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton." He said politely, extending a hand for Thomas to shake.
Thomas blinked a couple times in surprise, but shook the hand with a slight nod and a wary gaze. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He replied with a forced smile, trying to take attention away from the quiver in his voice. It was a shock, that's what it was. Meeting his soulmate after all this time, and to have it be none other than Alexander Hamilton.
Washington chuckled slightly as he pat Hamilton on the shoulder, an act which the short man seemed less than thrilled by. "I need to be returning to my office now, but I'm sure Thomas here wouldn't mind showing you around, now would he?" He said, a slight pinch in his voice as he turned to look at Thomas. Clearly, it was not a suggestion.
"Uh- yes, of course, follow me." Thomas said quickly, giving Washington a polite smile before leading Hamilton away, towards the hallway where all the office doors were.a "Over here are the offices," he said in a drone, not really paying attention to what he was saying and focusing more on gazing over Hamilton.
He was handsome, let's just say. Dark hair and light brown eyes, a knowing smile on his face that would probably haunt Thomas's dreams that night. His soulmate, his real, actual soulmate.
And god, why didn't he just tell him? Stop him right there and say "hey, you're my soul mate". Was it just the shock of finding out? Was that it? Was he afraid that the man with the beautiful dark eyes and the knowing smile and those ethereal golden wings wouldn't know what he was talking about? Was he afraid that Alexander Hamilton didn't see any wings at all on Thomas, and would just politely tell him so, crushing his heart forever?
To put it frankly, yes.
---
Thomas had gotten used to seeing Hamilton around the office without completely blanking and turning into a stuttering mess. It had taken a couple days, but he'd managed. It was made a lot harder once Hamilton had decided he hated Thomas with the very core of his being, but he still managed.
Let me explain- it was around the second day that the two had started arguing non-stop. They had disagreed so severely in their first company meeting together that Washington had to separate them once the volume had reached ear-splitting levels.
"This is not the time or place for this kind of yelling!" The man had said finally, slamming his fist down on the table to silence the two. That had definitely caught their attention.
"But sir- my plan makes so much more sense than anything this idiot said! He wants to cut people, hard-working employees , simply because we're in a little debt! There are other solutions that don't involve taking jobs away from people!" Hamilton argued, glaring over at Thomas as he spoke. "The financial system for this company needs to be reevaluated, and pushing away the problems with temporary solutions won't solve anything!"
"How hard working someone might be is irrelevant to the problem, Hamilton! Would you rather lay some people off or be swamped in debt? Do you honestly have a better solution, or are you just talking out of your ass?" Thomas retorted with barely-controlled raged, not accustomed to his ideas being questioned in such an angry manner. It looked like Hamilton wanted to rip him to shreds and set fire to his remains. "Besides, you've been here barely two days, what kind of authority do you think you have that gives you the right to make such accusations?"
The two continued to argue back and forth until Washington had finally gotten a headache and silenced them again.
The other members of the company board looked uncomfortable, to say the least. They weren't used to meetings being this loud, or angry. Usually someone would come up with a plan or a solution and that was the end of it.
George leaned back in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers in an attempt to calm himself down. "Fine, Hamilton is right. Thomas, your idea was fine but it is just a temporary solution." He sighed, placing his hands back on the table before him.
"But sir-" Thomas tried to protest before Washington cut him off.
"No buts, my decision on the matter is final. Meeting adjourned." He said firmly, standing up from his seat, the rest of the board members doing the same. They shuffled out the door quickly and without much noise, although Charles Lee might have muttered something about "being part of a publishing company never used to be so dramatic", which wasn't unusual for him.
So, obviously after that fiasco, it didn't look like they'd be the best of friends any time soon.
God, did the situation break Thomas's heart. He should've just told him from the start, should've looked him in the face and said it, but it was too late. Too late to tell him he was probably in love with him after only knowing him for a week or so. Too late to tell him how beautiful his wings were.
But it wasn't only that his supposed-to-be soulmate hated him- no, life just wasn't that kind. The universe just had to make him charming, and handsome, and not to mention practically a genius. As long as he could hold a pen he could do anything. His words were entrancing, not only in the way he wrote but the way he spoke as well.
He was, for lack of a better word, wonderful.
And he hated Thomas's guts.
---
They were having a particularly heated argument a couple months after the first day Hamilton had started working there, getting a collective groan from their co-workers around the office. This happened regularly enough that they were just begrudgingly used to it by then.
"Oh for god's sake, shut up!" Angelica Schuyler finally yelled, leaning out of her office door to give the two arguing men a death stare. Number one rule of the office; don't mess with Schuyler, no matter how annoying a certain dark haired man with golden wings might be.
"Schuyler, I'm surprised, wouldn't have thought you'd take his side on this." Hamilton replied, winking flirtatiously. He did that sometimes, try to charm his way out of situations. The even more annoying thing was, it usually worked.
Not with Angelica, though.
"I'm not taking Jefferson's side, I'm telling you to shut the hell up. What are you even arguing about, did one of you step on the others shoelace or something?" She chided dryly, rolling her eyes at the wink.
"As a matter of fact-" Hamilton replied, glaring over at Thomas before he was cut off.
"You pushed me down the fucking stairs!" Thomas yelled, taking a step towards him with his fists clenched. This idiotic, arrogant, terror of a man couldn't possibly be his fucking soulmate, and yet-
Alexander's wings spread out behind him, making it seem like he was about to fly away any minute. This always happened when he was angry or upset, Thomas had noticed. Maybe he spent just a little too much time staring at those wings. They flushed a dark orange color, the soft feathers bristling on his back. Thomas was mesmerized for a moment before he was snapped back to reality by his soulmate yelling at him.
"I didn't push you down the stairs," Hamilton growled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You tripped and fell like the dumbass you are, and you didn't even get that hurt so I don't really see the problem-"
"Enough! " Angelica finally said as she stepped between the two men so they couldn't maul each other. "This is possibly the stupidest fight you two have ever gotten in, and you have gotten into some stupid fights, trust me. You need to stop this, or else you'll drive the rest of us mad or get yourselves fired." She warned, stepping back after the two seemed to have calmed down a bit.
"You can't deny that this is a serious offense to workplace behavior regulations, pushing a co-worker isn't just something you can brush off-" Thomas began to speak before Angelica glared at him again, shaking her head in disdain.
"I'm gonna go get work done now, if you two wouldn't mind keeping it down." She huffed finally, stepping back into her office and nearly slamming the door.
"I can't believe her, acting as if she's our babysitter," Hamilton grumbled, still glaring half-heartedly at Thomas. The virginian was about to nod in agreement when he felt the air shift from behind, as if someone had suddenly stepped in back of him.
"It seems that she needs to, as you two can barely be in the same room without having a tantrum." A voice said from behind them, nearly causing Hamilton to jump.
"Sir," Thomas squeaked, turning around in surprise. George Washington was the only person he wasn't naturally smooth around- the man had a stern air, one you really didn't want to mess with. It was kind of ironic, actually, given that his personality was more begrudgingly tired than authoritative.
"Your two need to figure this out, immediately," Washington stated firmly, glaring down at the two men. Thomas was 6'2 and George still seemed to tower over him, even though he was barely an inch taller. "You both have some extra work to do, considering you waste so much time arguing." Hamilton was about to protest, but George shot him a look that quickly shut him up.
"Jefferson lives closest, so why don't you both go over to there to finish up your reports, that way the rest of the office's ears won't start bleeding from your yelling." The tall man suggested, although it felt more like an order.
"But sir, I don't think-" Thomas began, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a stubborn manner. There was no way he was letting Hamilton inside his home.
"It's been decided, Jefferson- now head out, both of you, unless you'd like to be fired." George said firmly, squaring his jaw as he did. He turned on his heel, starting to walk away in the direction of his office.
"Alright, sir." Hamilton sneered mockingly once Washington had walked out of earshot, rolling his eyes. "So, where do you live?" He asked, turning to Thomas with a raised eyebrow.
"You're not serious, right? We're not really going to go to my house to work and become 'BFFs' or whatever Washington wants us to do." Thomas replied with a scoff, nudging Hamilton in the side. It's not like he really minded spending time with Alexander -he was his soulmate after all- but all they did was argue, and that was never much fun.
"But we can't disobey direct orders, he said he'll /fire/ us. Can that get through that thick skull of yours or do I have to spell it out for you?"
"Yeah, but he doesn't have to know we don't both go to my house. You can go back to yours and I can go over to mine to finish our work, he'll be none the wiser." Thomas answered before his phone beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out to find Washington's contact there with a message.
Everyone who worked in the office was supposed to have each other's number in their phone in case they needed to contact each other. "If you try and ditch each other and go to separate houses, I will know" Thomas read out in a mumble, cursing under his breath.
"Well I guess your plans are foiled." Alex chuckled, smirking up at Thomas. "Don't look so smug, this just means you have to stay at my house for the rest of the day." Thomas replied, glaring at him in an amused sort of way. That wiped the smirk off Hamilton's face real quick.
"Well I guess we better get going then," Alex grumbled, tugging on Thomas's arm to lead him toward the elevator.
"Yeah, I guess." He muttered, following Hamilton reluctantly. It was going to be a long day.
---
Thomas unlocked the door to his house, allowing Hamilton to step inside before closing the door. It was a pretty nice place, if he did say so himself, but you can't really blame if he was a bit nervous for Alexander to see it.
"Nice place, big. I suppose you have a girlfriend living here with you?" Hamilton asked casually, although it was almost painfully obvious he was very aware of his question.
"No, no... I- uh, I live alone." Thomas said, his cheeks red. This was the exact kind of topic he didn't want to get into, especially with his soulmate standing right there in front of him.
"Why, does your soulmate have their own house?" Alexander asked, again trying to sound casual. He glanced around the small entrance way, a door way leading into the rest of the house. The living room was the first room once you stepped inside, the kitchen separated from that by a little marble-top counter.
"No, I don't- I mean, well... um-" Thomas stuttered, his mind blanking. Shit. What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to lie to him? "I- uh, haven't found my soulmate yet." he answered finally, shrugging his shoulders so Alexander wouldn't think it was a big deal.
Lying to Alexander felt so wrong, but what was he supposed to do? Tell him what color his wings were and confess undying love? All that would get him was probably a very loud yell from Hamilton and possibly a restraining order, and that was if he was lucky.
"So, have you found your soulmate yet?" Thomas asked, trying to take attention away from his own insecurities. He was also kind of hoping the answer was no, that maybe he could still be with Alex. Maybe.
"What, no! I mean-" Alexander sputtered, his face flushing red. "What the hell kind of question is that?" His wings arched defensively, an angry frown making its way onto his face. The wings' golden aura flared, producing an almost red-orange hue.
"Why would you ask me about my soulmate then, Hamilton?" Thomas asked bitterly, glaring at him. He wanted to be angry, he really really wanted to be angry at this insufferable asshole that stood before him, but mostly he was just sad. Sad that this was the relationship he'd made with the man who was supposed to be his soulmate.
"I didn't mean... just forget it." Hamilton said finally, a cold anger in his tone.
"Alright then," Thomas muttered, stepping into his living room and waiting for Hamilton to follow. He couldn't wait for the evening to be over.
He led him to the study, passing a couple doors and the hallway that led to his bedroom. He opened the door, revealing a mostly empty room with a couple half-filled bookshelves, a desk, and a computer sitting on that desk. Thomas nodded for Alexander to step inside, moving over to sit at the desk to the side of the room.
"I assume you brought your laptop with you?" He asked, glancing down at the bag Alexander carried at his side.
Alex pulled out his computer and set it on the desk, pulling over a chair so he could sit beside Thomas to work. Being this close was a bit unnerving for Thomas, especially with Alexander's giant golden wings fanned out behind him, but he could survive it.
Both too uncomfortable to say anything that might set the other off, they typed on their respective computers in silence for about three or four hours before Thomas finally stopped tapping at the keys, looking up with a satisfied smile. 2,500 words wasn't half bad for four hours work, and once he proofread through everything he'd be all set.
"What have you got?" He asked after a moment, leaning over the desk to look at Alexander's computer screen, causing the man to shoot him an annoyed look. Any interaction between them seemed to be one of annoyance and/or deeply rooted hatred, so this wasn't that surprising.
"I'm just typing up my plan for the new company financial system," Alexander replied in a grumble, glancing over at Thomas's computer. "What are you doing?"
"Oh," Thomas murmured quietly, quickly looking back to his own computer. He didn't want to start any more fights about what the company should do about their financial trouble, especially not in his own damn home. "I'm writing up a few reports for Washington."
"Well I'm almost done and it looks like you're finishing up, so should I go?" Alex asked, clearly uncomfortable being inside his self-proclaimed enemy's house. Thomas couldn't blame him, he was rather uncomfortable with him there as well.
But at the same time, also glad.
"No, you don't have to," Thomas replied quickly before realising how strange that must have sounded and cringing, shaking his head slightly. "That's not what I mean, it's- uh, it's just getting a bit late and I'm sure you'll burn your house down before you make a decent meal, so why don't you stay for dinner?"
Alexander gave him a skeptical look, raising an eyebrow. "Really? Are you actually inviting me to stay for dinner or just looking for a way to make fun of my cooking skills?"
"I'm actually inviting you to stay for dinner you absolute ass, now come on, you can help me by getting the ingredients from the fridge while I prepare things." Thomas replied with a roll of his eyes, getting up from his spot at the desk and nodding towards the door. "Or you could stay in the chair and rot, up to you, really." He commented dryly when Alex didn't budge from his seat.
Alexander just sat there for a moment, looking surprised and mildly amused that he was about to have dinner with Thomas Jefferson, his enemy, a man he'd despised since the very first day they'd met.
"Come on fat ass, get up from the chair and get a move-on!" Thomas grumbled after another moment of silence, grabbing Alexander's arm and pulling him up from the chair.
"I thought it was up to me if I wanted to rot in the chair or not," Alexander scoffed, glaring at Thomas pointedly as he was led out of the study and into the hallway. Thomas, however, didn't care one bit about the angry expression.
"Its called sarcasm, darlin', ever hear of it?" The southern man replied sarcastically, looking down at Alex with an unamused expression as they made their way into his kitchen. It was a fairly nice one, all the stuff looking at least semi-new and polished. The glossy marble countertops really gave the "I'm low-key rich and really want you to know" impression.
"So, what are you making?" Alexander asked, tapping his fingers against the counter.
"Macaroni and cheese, otherwise known as God's one true gift to humanity," Thomas replied with a grin, rummaging around his pantry closet for a box of cavatappi noodles. "Could you get me the raclette and parmesan from the fridge?"
Alexander looked at him like he was insane. "What the fuck is raclette?"
"It's a cheese, now go get it without asking any more annoying questions." Thomas replied with a scoff, shooing Hamilton in the direction of the fridge with his free hand as he reached up to grab the box of pasta from the second highest shelf. He knew Alexander was no gourmet cook, but he should've at least understood what raclette was.
He walked over to get a pot as he waited for Alex to get the cheeses from the fridge, filling it with water and setting it on the stove to simmer.
"This 'raclette' cheese better not taste like ass, Jefferson." Alexander warned, setting the cheese on the marble counter top.
"It won't, trust me." He replied, not taking Alex's bait. That was usually how all their debates and arguments started, some offhand comment that turned into a yelling match.
Alexander raised a skeptical eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Apparently he didn't want to get into an argument either.
"Alright, so I'm just gonna let the water heat for a bit, and then I'll put in the noodles.." Thomas mumbled, taking a seat on one of the stools that stood in front of the counter.
Alex stood next to a stool for a couple moments looking uncomfortable, looking like he didn't know if he should sit or not. He finally decided to sit on the one next to Thomas, although he still looked rather sheepish, which was unusual from what Thomas had seen of him.
Alexander's wings fluttered slightly when he sat down, their golden yellow color still dazzling Thomas even after having to look at them five days a week for several months. There were guide books and other shit like that about finding your soulmate, and what to do once you did, and Thomas was sure what he'd done was not even slightly suggested in any of them.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Alex coughed, averting his eyes, and it was at that point that Thomas realized he'd been staring. His face flushed from the realization, quickly averting his eyes as well.
"So..." Alex mumbled after a couple seconds, still not meeting his eyes.
"So." Thomas replied simply, not really knowing what to say, and- wait... was Alex blushing as well?
Another awkward silence.
"What's your favorite book?"
Thomas looked up, surprised at the sudden talking. "What?"
"What's your favorite book?" Alexander asked again, leaning his arm on the counter. "We passed like two giant bookcases on the way to your office, and there were at least two more in there, but they're all almost empty. What's your favorite book?"
"That's the worst question I have ever heard in my life." He replied plainly, rolling his eyes. "It's Harry Potter, book four." He admitted in a mumble under his breath, slightly embarrassed.
Alex snorted. "What was that?"
"Harry Potter, you absolute asshole." Thomas growled, speaking louder this time as he glared at the unbearable man sitting next to him.
"You are a nerd! Thomas Jefferson is a nerd!" Alexander laughed, grinning as if this was the best news he'd ever heard in his life. "Oh Lord, this is too rich! Did you dress up in a little Harry Potter costume when you were a kid? Please tell me you did, I want pictures."
"I was twelve when those books came out, I didn't dress up in any costumes. Sorry to disappoint." Thomas scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I think its time to put in the pasta." He grumbled under his breath as he slid off his stool, stepping over to the stove and opening the box of noodles to pour them into the pot.
"You're such a party-pooper, Jefferson, can't handle a little light-hearted teasing." Alexander snickered, putting a hand over his mouth to cover up his laughter. "How soon will that infamous mac-n-cheese of yours be ready?"
"It's not infamous, and soon." A slightly annoyed Thomas replied, his nostrils flaring as he turned back to Alex. He brushed back a loose curl form his face, sniffing slightly as he looked back at the staring Alexander. "What are you looking at, Hamilton?"
Alex blushed bright red, something that made Thomas raise an eyebrow. Why was he staring at him?
"Nothing," Alex muttered quickly, averting his gaze. He seemed to do that a lot when Thomas was around and they weren't arguing.
Thomas rolled his eyes and turned back to the stove to check on the noodles. They seemed good to go, so he pulled out a glass baking pan from the little storage area beneath the stove. "Hey, could you go get some cooking spray for the pan?"
"Sure thing, Thomas."
It took Thomas about 2.5 seconds to realize that Alexander had just called him by his first name, and about twice that long for Alexander to. Thomas caught the short man looking back at him with wide eyes, his face unmistakably flushed. He didn't say anything however, so neither did Thomas.
Alexander grabbed the cooking spray from the cupboard, handing it to Thomas without meeting his eyes. "There you go." He mumbled, going back to his seat by the counter.
Thomas shook off the strange occurrence, grimacing slightly when he realized what a shock it was to hear his soulmate call him by his first name. His own soulmate didn't even know him on first-name basis. Well, didn't before that evening.
He sprayed the pan with the spray, dumping the noodles from the pot onto it. He'd already pre-heated the oven, so all he needed to do was put on some cheeses and spices and it'd be done in 20 minutes at most.
Thomas dumped a bunch of parmesan on top, to which Hamilton protested ["How much fucking cheese do you need?!"], Thomas ignoring his complaining. He grated some raclette on top and added a few spices, finally opening the oven door and sliding the macaroni dish in.
"This'll be done in around 20 minutes, so what do you want to do in the meanwhile?"
"Well, we could sit in silence for 20 minutes." Alexander replied, although it was hard to tell wether he was sarcastic or not. "I'm gonna go get my laptop, I've still got some stuff I need to do." He decided after a moment, abandoning the sarcasm and sliding off the chair to go get his computer.
The short man came back within a moment or so, and Thomas, who had pulled out his phone, looked up from the screen and smiled slightly when he saw him come back. He quickly realized it wasn't normal for him to smile when Hamilton walked into a room, so he looked down again and hoped Alex hadn't caught it.
Alexander immediately sat down and started typing again, his fingers flying over the keys like lightning. This wasn't something new to Thomas, after all the times the man had yelled him down for bothering him while he worked. Alexander Hamilton typed (and talked) a mile a minute, and it was rather fascinating.
Thomas suddenly felt a pang of regret in his chest, frowning slightly. Why would such a brilliant man want to be with him, even if by some miracle he was his soulmate. Maybe Thomas would just be stuck pining for the rest of his life, knowing full well Alexander was probably off doing better things than sticking around with his sorry ass.
All his thoughts led him back to those gorgeous golden wings on Alexander's back. Those stupid, awful wings. They were the root of this! This unhappiness! What had he ever done to deserve this? Sure, he wasn't the best person, and of course he'd made mistakes, but he didn't deserve this.
He sighed quietly, looking down at the ground. It was hopeless, wasn't it?
Thomas noticed out of the corner of his eyes Alexander's wings' golden aura flaring. He looked up to find Alex staring at him.
"I think the oven timer went off."
"What?" Had it really been 20 minutes? He made a mental note not to get so caught up in his thoughts when other people were around.
"The timer went off, dumb ass. Go check on the macaroni so it doesn't burn." Alex replied, an annoyed pinch to his voice. His foot kept tapping against the leg of the stool, something that Thomas took as a sign of unrest.
He got up from his seat after shooting a glare towards Alex, walking over to the oven and opening the door. The macaroni looked cooked enough, so he pulled it out and set it on the stove.
"How about you get some plates, since you seem in such a hurry to eat." Thomas sneered in Hamilton's direction, still ticked off about Alex acting so annoyed at him. They were in his own god damn house, he shouldn't have had to put up with the man's insufferable whining. He watched as Alex stood up from the stool, raising an indignant eyebrow when he saw him cast a glare his way.
Alexander got two plates from a cupboard, walking over to the table on the other side of the kitchen and setting them down. Thomas had a dining room, but he usually only used it when he had a lot of guests over.
The Virginian set the macaroni dish down on the table, pulling over two chairs and taking a seat in one of them.
Alex stood uncomfortably for a moment before sitting as well, pulling the dish closer to his plate so he could serve himself. "Thanks for letting me stay for dinner by the way, you didn't have to." He mumbled. The words sounded awkward in his mouth, as if he was just as surprised to say it as Thomas was to hear it.
"Uh- no problem." Thomas replied, stuttering for a moment but quickly regaining his composure. That evening had been just plain /weird/, so why should he be so shocked that Hamilton was actually being nice to him? It wasn't any stranger than having the man standing in the middle of his house.
Once Alexander had finished serving himself, Thomas reached over to bring the dish closer so he could do the same. The growing silence between the two wasn't uncomfortable, but wasn't exactly normal either. In all truth, when they weren't arguing or teasing or mocking one another, Thomas wasn't really sure what to say.
They ate in silence for the most part, although Thomas didn't mind too much. With Alexander was distracted with the food it was easier to look at him and his wings without being caught, something he felt slightly ashamed of doing. If he couldn't grow up and just tell the man they were soulmates, what right did he have to look at him with that cursed longing?
Thomas sighed quietly. He'd find himself stewing in his thoughts more often than not lately. Was this what it was like to find your soulmate? Be haunted by dreams of golden wings and broken smiles, soft words and gentle touches. All of these things coming from a man who supposedly despised him?
He took a bite of macaroni, although he didn't find as much joy in his favorite food as usual. Glancing up again, a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as he gazed at Alexander's wings. They fluttered effortlessly at his back, an eye-catching sight if there ever was one. It put a bitter taste in Thomas's mouth.
Or maybe that was the macaroni.
"I can see you looking at me, you know."
Thomas's eyes widened in surprise at the words, snapping out of whatever trance those wings put him in. "I'm sorry, what?" He asked, trying to act like he didn't know what Alex meant.
"You were staring at me... with a pretty disgusted face as well." Alexander replied, his facial expression surprising Thomas. It wasn't anger or suspicion, more resembling self-consciousness than anything else.
"I-" Thomas tried to respond, looking for an explanation that didn't include /wings/ and /soulmate/. "I wasn't staring at you specifically, I was just thinking. Got lost in my thoughts." He decided on, thinking that that was at least partly true.
"Oh." Alex replied simply, looking back down at his plate. It was empty, which officially meant there was nothing keeping him there and he could leave, and Thomas definitely noticed.
The bitter taste returned to his mouth.
"You should probably get going, you've still got a little work to catch up on, right?" Thomas suggested despite himself. He regretted it even as he was saying it, but there was no point trying to keep Alex there if he didn't want to be.
"Yes, uh- right." Alexander agreed, although he looked more disappointed than Thomas had expected. Either way, the short man stood up from the table and grabbed his bag and laptop from where he left them on the counter.
Thomas followed him to the front hallway, watching a bit sadly as Alex stepped out the door. He raised an eyebrow when the man paused, leaving the door open a crack and glancing back at him. "Goodbye Thomas." Alexander said quietly, quickly stepping out into the late evening.
That left Thomas standing there confused, confused at what it could mean- or if it meant anything at all.
"Goodbye Alexander." He murmured softly to himself, sighing quietly and walking back into his living room.