SUMMARY: Samuel Seabury reveals the plot to get rid of Libertea for good. Burr's there, for some reason. Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy pay the coffeeshop a visit, and Lee comes back to work.

Alex kept an eye out for the three mysterious girls he'd watched Burr interact with, but two whole days went by and he didn't see any of them. Burr was avoiding Libertea as well, which was strange. Alex was sure that he'd whither away and die without a daily Americano.

"Maybe he started going to Starbucks," he commented to John, during the post-noon lull on the third day without Burr or the three girls. John snorted into his drink (caramel coffee with way too much milk).

"Starbucks sucks, Alex, even Burr knows that."

"You're just saying that 'cause you're biased. I used to drink Starbucks all the time, before-"

"Before you stepped foot in here and John motherfucking Laurens made you the best damn drink you've ever put your sweet lips on, right?"

Alex raised both eyebrows. "Sweet lips?"

"The sweetest." John winked.

"Burr's got to come in sooner or later," Alex continued, artfully changing the subject. "I want to ask him about those girls he was talking to the other day."

"Oh, that'll go over well. Hey, Aaron, tell me about those girls that ruthlessly rejected you-"

Alex crossed his arms. "Well I'd word it better than that."

"Hey, Aaron, tell me about those girls I've been stalking for three days-"

He rolled his eyes. "Shut up, John, or else I'm going to go hang out with Laf in the kitchen."

"Hey Aaron, I want to get rejected, too-"

Alex threw the last of the empty cups he'd been stacking at John's head, and made good on his word. Ducking into the kitchen, the sight of Lafayette and Herc, heads bent solemnly over Lafayette's iPad, made him stop in his tracks.

"Uh, guys, what's up?"

"Oh, Alex, come here, come here," Herc said quickly, beckoning him over. "I thought you were Washington. Oh, man, we'd have gotten our asses handed to us."

"Why, 'cause of the iPad?" Alex asked. "I thought Mr. Washington was okay with technology as long as no one's in the store. John's on his phone, like, all the time."

(It was true. Alex didn't know who he was texting at all hours of the day, because the only other people he'd seen John be even mildly nice to were also working in the same place he was. Maybe he wasn't texting. Maybe he was secretly Libertea's Flappy Bird champion.

Alex was one hundred percent sure that John would kill him if he ever heard Alex say that out loud.)

"Nah," Herc said, sliding the iPad across the table, through some flour, despite Lafayette's sharp intake of breath. "Because of what we're watching."

Alex internally cringed. What could they possibly be watching- "What is it?"

"See for yourself."

Lafayette leaned across the table and tapped the red play icon on the Youtube video. Alex leaned down to watch, but leaned back up almost immediately.

"I recognize that dude."

"Samuel Seabury," Herc said, nodding, as one of their semi-regulars, Seabury, introduced whatever he was talking about. Some realtor's agency or something else Alex didn't think he'd ever be watching a video on. "He works for a real estate agency called All The King's Men, or, as John abbreviates it, those fuckers."

"Why do you guys hate these guys so much?"

"Washington," Lafayette explained, pausing the video. "He hates the guy who owns the agency, George King the third."

"They're both named George? That sucks."

"Tell that to Washington," Herc butted in. "They were partners in the real estate game until King's underhanded tactics drove Washington out. He started Libertea, and King's never gotten over the fact that he's actually doing pretty good."

"Pretty good?" Alex asked incredulously. "Have you seen our books? We're doing way better than this George King guy."

"I wouldn't say that." Lafayette tapped the play icon again.

"-just acquired the rights to Philadelphia Bagels and Back Bay Recording Studio," Seabury was saying. Alex liked his pretentious accent even less when he was on video. "They will be up for rent at the end of the month! This has been a message from George Ki-"

Lafayette tapped the close icon with more force than necessary. "You know where Philly Bagels and Back Bay Studio are, right?"

"To our left…" Alex said slowly. "And to our right."

"He's literally flanking us," Herc agreed.

"You don't think he's coming for our building," Alex asked, leaning back against the refrigerator. "Do you? I mean, who does Washington rent from now?"

"New York Congressional Realtors," Lafayette answered.

"They screw him over every once in a while," Herc chimed in, "but not nearly as much as King would. And, you know, they're mortal enemies. To Washington, paying rent to King would be worse than, I don't know…"

"Chopping off his own hand," Lafayette offered.

"Walking on hot coals," Alex said.

"Fucking a horse," Herc said.

Alex's head turned at the same time Lafayette's.

"What?"

"Quelle?"

"Nothing." At that very second, saving Herc from what was about to turn into either a deadly serious question-and-answer time or a full-on roast session, John burst through the kitchen door.

"Holy shit, guys, get out here before I slit Seabury's throat and he bleeds out all over the bar, because Washington would make me clean it up and that is not happening today!"

"Seabury's here?" Herc practically dove over the table. "Oh, it's going down!"

Lafayette grabbed his iPad, set it gently on top of the fridge, and dashed out the door, Alex on his heels and Herc not far behind him. Seabury was there, at the counter, his arms crossed and a supremely disdainful expression on his face.

He arched an eyebrow. "Did you find my venti macchiato back there?"

"This isn't fucking Starbucks!" John lunged forward, teeth bared, and Herc had to grab him around the waist to keep him restrained. Seabury actually took a step back. Behind all of this, Burr slipped into the mostly-empty Libertea, his eyes shifting around like he knew he wasn't supposed to be there.

"Aaron Burr, sir-" Alex tried to peer around Seabury, but he moved to block him.

"My drink?"

Alex groaned. "Okay, okay, what do you want? A macchiato?"

"Yes. But I don't want you to make it." Seabury pointed over Alex's head, right at John, still squirming halfheartedly in Herc's grip. "I want him to make it."

"You can go to hell," John spat out.

"I'm making your drink," Alex said, grabbing one of the large paper cups and pouring a measure of milk into the bottom. "I'm making your drink so you can get the hell out of our store. And, pro tip? Go to Starbucks next time."

A slow smirk crept across Seabury's face. "But I need to support my boss's business ventures, you know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Herc asked from behind Alex.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Seabury pulled his own iPad out of his shoulder bag, unlocking it with the loudest noise Alex had ever heard. He turned on the espresso machine just to block out the sound of his typing. "My boss, George King the third, recently acquired the deed for this building-"

"Fuck," Herc whispered.

"And he asked me to draw up a proposal."

"A proposal for what?" Lafayette asked warily.

"What to do when your boss fails to pay rent. Even a day late, and Mr. King will raze this place to the ground and build something a little more… Community friendly." He gave John a pointed glare, and Alex felt his blood begin to boil.

"Heed not the rabble screaming for caffeine," he began, speaking loudly over the whirr of the machine. "They don't have this establishment's best interest at heart."

"Oh my God," Alex heard John mutter around Herc's arm. "Alex, tear this dude apart."

"This establishment brings in no profit, their marketing leads people astray…" Seabury swiped a page on his iPad. "At the first sign of failure, show them no mercy-"

"Alright," Alex said, gritting his teeth and slamming Seabury's drink onto the counter, hard enough to send flecks of coffee spraying all over the wooden surface. "That's enough-"

"Alex." Burr ducked around Seabury. "Let him be."

"You know nothing about what we do here," Alex said, ignoring Burr and pushing the cup closer to Seabury. "You're in here every morning, just like the rest of them, drinking John's coffee and eating all the stuff Laf bakes, and-"

"The community's interests-"

"We're not the flashiest place, but our coffee is damn good, our books are impeccable, and your boss can come down here himself and we'd blow him away-"

"No profit--"

Alex growled, deep in his throat. "If you repeat yourself again I'm gonna-"

Burr slammed his open palm on the counter. "Alexander, please!"

Spinning towards Burr, Alex flung his arms wide. "Burr, quit fucking around, I'm trying to make a point!"

"This entire place-" Seabury began, and Alex's vision went scorching red. He reared back and flung the entire macchiato into Seabury's chest, ducking as it exploded, drenching Seabury, his iPad, and part of Burr's sleeve.

Everything stopped, until John laughed, one rough, surprised cackle that came from the depths of his throat.

"Get out of here, you dick!"

With the reverie broken, Lafayette whooped loudly and Herc roared, slapping Alex on his back. Seabury grabbed an entire dispenser of napkins before wheeling around and making for the door as quickly as he could.

"You'll regret this," he said, before slamming the door after him.

"Yeah, yeah, I can tell you watched Top Ten Movie Villain Catchphrases on YouTube last night," Alex said to the closed door, clenching and unclenching the hand that had thrown the drink. Herc clapped him on the shoulder two more times, and Lafayette and John were still laughing in the background.

Burr raised his eyebrows and Alex slid him some napkins.

"Sorry, you kind of got caught in the splash zone."

Most of the macchiato had rolled off of Burr's coat, anyway, and was on the floor. He dropped a bunch of napkins onto the spill and stepped on them. Alex watched as he swept his foot around, catching all of the droplets.

"That was an idiot's move."

"I can make my own decisions okay, Aaron? And one of them included flinging coffee at an asshole who was insulting my friends and where I work. Okay?"

"I don't think you should take King and his lackeys lightly, that's all."

"Who's side are you on?" John asked, coming up beside Alex, standing close enough that they were pressed together, side by side, John's freckled arm leaning on the counter right beside Alex's. "You're a regular here, Burr, and this jerk wants us shut down. You gotta pick a side."

"I'm not waging war with you against your landlord," Burr said, like it was his final ruling on the subject. Alex picked a blueberry scone out of the display case and slid it towards him. A peace offering.

"If you stand for nothing, Burr, what'll you fall for?"

John bumped him with his elbow.

"Good one."

The bells on the door jangled as Washington pushed his way in, phone pressed between his ear and his shoulder, eyes stormy and distant.

"Yes, I hear you. Yes, I can hear you. No, I do not fucking agree. No, I will not sign anything without you and a lawyer present. I will not be screwed over."

Alex glanced behind him, Lafayette's eyes were wide and Herc looked nervous. Washington stormed into the kitchen without acknowledging any of his employees, and Alex heard his footsteps go up the stairs and the door to his office slam shut.

"I'm guessing he heard about King's takeover," Burr commented, mouth full of blueberry scone.

"Jee, you think?" John rolled his eyes. "This sucks. There's no way we can keep up with King's crazy rent hikes, we sign his contract and we're done."

"Is there any way to get out of signing?" Herc asked.

"Well, his company owns the building, right?" Alex stole the left corner of Burr's scone, and he scowled. "We'd have to go over his head. Buy the building ourselves."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Burr said.

Washington's footsteps sounded on the staircase again, and everyone perked up. John straightened his shoulders, Lafayette re-tied his apron, Burr swept all of his scone crumbs into the trash. Washington exited the kitchen and walked around the counter.

"I assume you heard from our new landlord."

"Seabury may or may not have paid us a visit," John replied. Someone -either Lafayette or Herc- kicked Alex's shin. "Is it true that he wants us to sign a rent agreement?"

"The new rent price is our original price, times two." Washington looked up at the ceiling, at the red brick walls, the huge colonial flag hung across the back wall. The specials board, which John redrew every morning, had the drink of the day -Herc's new oolong blend- as well as a doodle. A broken coffee cup with a speech bubble that said 'I'm on my coffee break'.

Washington took a deep breath. "I have a few ideas. Just sit tight, do your jobs, and don't talk to anyone else about this." He looked pointedly at Burr.

"Yes, sir." John and Lafayette said at the same time.

"And one more thing; has Lee shown his face yet?"

"No," Herc said. "Haven't seen him since, well…"

"That's fair." Washington turned to leave. "Text me if he shows up. He's not coming back to work until I have a talk with him. Have a good night, gentlemen. And…" He looked back over his shoulder. "Thank you all very much. I appreciate everything you do here."

The door closed before Alex realized that he'd just had the happiest moment of his entire life. John nudged him.

"Yo, Ham, you've been standing in the same place for, like, three entire minutes. Are you broken? Need some espresso?"

"Uh…" Alex mentally shook himself. "No. No thanks, John, I'm good. Burr, don't leave!"

Burr was halfway into his coat and halfway out the door. He paused. "What do you want, Alexander? Some of us have papers to write, internships to ace, lives to live. Don't you have coffee to burn?"

"That was one time, Burr, and you can't leave because you gotta tell me about those girls you were talking to the other day. There was one with curly hair and a pink coat, and there were two others with her..." Alex trailed off as someone pushed past Burr in the doorway, hiking the strap of her leather purse higher onto her shoulder. It was her, the girl who rejected Burr, and her lips were just as glossy and her hair was just as curly as Alex remembered.

Burr raised an eyebrow and moved back into Libertea, taking his seat at the far end of the bar once again. John slid him another scone, but Alex wasn't paying attention to that. Another girl had entered right behind the first, her sleek, dark hair pulled half-back, and her white blouse tucked into her high-rise jeans.

She nudged the first girl, the pink coat. "See, this place isn't so bad."

"It smells like burnt coffee in here, Eliza," Pink Coat said, shrugging off said pink coat to reveal a maroon patterned dress. "I miss Starbucks."

"Starbucks sucks," John said loudly from behind the counter. "And Alex burnt the coffee, not me. What can I get you, ladies?"

Pink Coat and the other girl, Eliza -the one with the dark eyes framed by dark lashes and the light, silvery voice that made everything sound as poetic as an Adele song- approached the counter. Pink Coat looked John straight in the face.

"The only reason I'm here right now is that there's a rumor going around that the Starbucks right down the block, the one on the corner, has rats. I am not drinking rat poop coffee." She glared at John, and Alex could feel the withering heat of it from where he was standing. "You don't serve rat poop coffee, do you, John?"

He took a step back. "How do you know my name?"

She arched a brow. "You're wearing a nametag."

"Damn it." John took a step back and tugged Alex in front of him. "You take them, Alex, it's too early for this."

"It's two in the afternoon," Pink Coat said, her sarcasm singing Alex's eyebrows, but John had ducked down behind the espresso machine (he always went there when he didn't want to deal with customers; he claimed to be fixing it but Alex knew he had a bag of chocolate covered coffee beans and his phone back there).

Alex slid a cup of black coffee across the counter as he looked at her, taking in her dark eyes, her squared shoulders, the slight tilt of her chin.

"Hi."

She narrowed her eyes. He tried again.

"You look like you've never been satisfied."

She took a step back. "Excuse me?"

Alex felt his face start to heat up.

Hey, Alex, it's your brain. What the hell kind of thing to say was that? Are you a creep? I didn't think you were a creep, man, but apparently-

"By a cup of coffee," he amended, trying to seem like, yeah, that's what he was going for in the first place. The girl didn't look amused. "Here at Libertea, we grind our beans-"

Grind our beans? Really?

"-fresh every morning-"

"Listen up, No-Nametag," she said. "Starbucks is, and will always be, the chain that has my heart. I'm here for your caffeine, nothing more."

"You want my caffeine and you haven't even taken me out for dinner first?" Alex asked. He heard John laughing from behind the espresso machine, but ignored it.

"If I pay, you have to give me whatever I want." She raised an eyebrow.

"We're not that kind of coffeeshop. And frankly, I'm offended that you think we'd put out like that."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pink Coat's friend, Eliza, glance up from her phone and over at him, if only for a second. It was a heartbeat's worth of time, but it was all the time in the world.

Pink Coat hiked up her purse on her shoulder and reached out her hand.

"My name's Angelica Schuyler."

Alex took her hand and shook it, taken aback at the sudden change of heart. Maybe she dealt in sarcasm and innuendos instead of actual human conversation. Well, he could relate.

"Alex Hamilton."

She fixed him with a look, a soul-searching, mind-reading look.

"I'm about to change your life."

Taking a few steps back and hooking her arm through the other girl's, she tugged her up to the counter and deposited her right in front of Alex. She was wearing a tiny pearl on a gold chain, and a subtle shimmer on her eyelids. It was captivating.

She held out her hand the same way Angelica had done. "Elizabeth Schuyler. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Schuyler?"

Angelica took her place beside Eliza. "My sister."

"Thank you," Eliza said, gesturing at the expanse of Libertea, "for not being the only coffeeshop on the block."

"If it took rat poop at Starbucks for us to meet, I'd say it was worth it."

Angelica hit Alex with another one of her looks, this one more dangerous, more intense. It was a watch your step look, a don't fuck with my family look. "I'll leave you to it."

She took her cup of coffee, probably lukewarm by now, and retreated to the big table in the back corner of Libertea's customer area. She set up her area, coffee beside her, a stack of books at her elbow, an immaculate Macbook with a decal of a pink lipstick kiss beside the bright apple.

Alex turned his attention back to Eliza. "And what can I get you?"

"Green tea," she said, "just a little bit of sugar."

"Coming right up." He busied himself making the drink, stepping twice on John's foot, the only part of his coworker that he could see. Burr was still there, too, sitting in his seat and observing. Quietly. Like a creep.

"And… Green tea with sugar," he said, sliding her drink across the counter. "But just a little bit. Just a little sweet."

Eliza smiled and the entire shop lit up.

"Thanks, Alex."

"Any time, Eliza."

"Uh, could I get some-"

"Not now, Burr."

Eliza's phone buzzed, and she took it out of her pocket and unlocked it, putting it up to her ear. "Margarita Schuyler, where are you? Ang gave you the address-"

"No, we're not at Starbucks, the health violation--"

"Yes, it's the one with the colonial flag sign. No, Peggy, it's not podunk, it's actually pretty cute-" She smiled at Alex. "Yes. They have mocha flavor shots. Sure, sure, okay, bye!"

Another girl burst into Libertea, a little out of breath, and Alex recognized the yellow ribbon in her hair. She had red lipstick on and came up behind Eliza, grabbing her by the hips.

"I made it! Hey, can I get a big something with four mocha shots?"

This was to Alex, and he raised his eyebrows. "What sort of something?"

"I don't know, whatever you have."

"Hey, John, I need your help," Alex said, throwing a pen in the general vicinity of the espresso machine. "I need you to make a mystery drink. Only rule, four mocha flavor shots. Come on, you live for this shit."

Eliza paid for all three of her sisters' drinks, and both her and Peggy went to join Angelica at the big table. Eliza also had a laptop, and Peggy hadn't stopped texting since she came in the door. John handed Alex an iced drink. He hadn't even seen him come out from behind the espresso machine.

"Here's your mocha shitstorm," he said. "Oh, damn, that's a great name. I need to run that by Washington. It could save our asses with this whole King business." Burr snorted into his drink.

"I'm sure people are going to be lining up around the corner to buy John Laurens' mocha shitstorm."

Alex delivered Peggy's drink -it had a, frankly, adorable puppy doodled on the side- while Burr and John argued the merits of John's new drink.

And that's when, with a crash of bells, Alex watched Charles Lee storm back into Libertea. He looked furious, red-faced and clammy, but then again, Alex couldn't remember a time when he hadn't looked like that. He stalked around the counter, grabbing an apron and tying it around his waist.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Herc asked, leaning through the window between the kitchen and the front counter. "You're not supposed to work until you talk with Washington."

"Washington's lost without me," Lee spat. "As are all of you. Get back to work, and maybe I can -singlehandedly- save this place from being destroyed by King. Someone has to do it, and it sure as hell won't be Washington. He couldn't run a business even if he tried."

"I'm going to kill him," Alex muttered. He went to take a step, but John caught him by the arm.

"Don't touch him," he warned. "Washington doesn't know you very well, yet, if you screw up you'll get fired."

Alex scowled. "Someone needs to teach him a lesson."

"Then I'll do it."

John lunged past Alex before he could protest, pushed his way past Herc, and planted himself firmly right in front of Lee. He ripped his hairnet off and threw it to the ground.

"Laurens, quit being a jackass and get back to-"

John reared back and Alex watched in slow motion as his freckled fist made immediate, crunching contact with the side of Lee's nose. He went down, John shook out his hand, and pulled another hairnet out of his back pocket.

Alex was vaguely aware of the Schuylers in the background, their faces a varying tapestry of shock, and Burr behind him, wound up and tense.

John looked down at the curled up form of Lee, and shrugged one shoulder.

"I'm satisfied."

Lafayette poked his head and right arm out of the kitchen door, phone in hand. "Washington just texted me. He's here."

Libertea was silent, except for Lee's moaning and the background music for Neko Atsume coming from Peggy's phone. Burr raised an eyebrow.

"This should be fun."

Next chapter: There are consequences for punching a manager. One of those consequences might be burgers.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are immensely appreciated if you like and/or want more coffeeshop shenanigans, and you can always find me as fihli on tumblr as well!

-Gab