Zero Two Three One | John Laurens X Reader [Hamilton]

LIX: Four Thousand Pieces

❝I still haven't figured out how to sit across from you, and not be madly in love with everything you do.❞
—William Hannan

I think everyone disagrees with what I'm doing. Especially Reynolds. He asked me why the hell I'm not in New York like Alexander is. He asked me where I am and what I'm doing. He asked me about what happened with Alexander and James (he doesn't want the connection between James and me to fracture). Reynolds has warned me that my sudden public disappearance may have a negative impact on me down the road.

I had a long argument over the phone with him. I told him that I just need some time alone, away from the eyes of the public.

Alexander, as it turns out, got involved in the argument. It took a lot of convincing from Alexander, but Reynolds agreed to let me go for a while. He postponed all the work Alexander and I were going to do. Reynolds also said he'd talk to James about us. I don't know what he means by that, but something tells me I don't want to know.

Anyway, if I gave a shit about what they thought, then I wouldn't be here.

Point is, I'll be here in South Carolina with John for some time. I'm excited, to say the least.

July 7, 2059.

This morning, a package for John came in the mail — something he ordered a while ago. I don't know what I expected to be inside. Beer? Bombs? Something manly? I was both in awe and enamored when I saw it was a massive Lego set.

"I didn't know you like Legos," I chuckled.

"I don't like them that much. My brother does, though," he clicks his tongue. "I just bought this set because it's the Star Wars Death Star, and that's pretty epic to have."

John planned to set it aside and put it together some other time, but I insisted we try to put it together as a team.

I never had a Lego set in my life (surprise, toys weren't abundant in Rabynya, or most of Russia for that matter). So I was eager to put one together.

So here we are, sitting on the living room floor, sipping on Malbec wine and figuring out this Death Star set.

It's harder than it looks. There are so many pieces, and the instructions are anything but easy. But we've got about one-quarter of the way done so far.

John's telling me how he got into Star Wars, which I enjoy hearing.

"My dad was a big fan of all the older movies when he was a kid. He used to tell me stories about how bad he wanted to be a Jedi — how he'd dress up as Obi-Wan Kenobi for Haloween. When my siblin's and I got old enough to understand the movies, our dad would put on the movies over the weekend. We'd all sit on the couch, eatin' popcorn and drinkin' soda. Those are some great memories."

I give John a loving smile. "That's so sweet."

He twirls a grey lego piece in his hand, "My dad would explain the things we didn't understand with such enthusiasm, it made me adore the entire series really young. I still have a bunch of my action figures at my childhood home."

"I didn't know you were such a big fan."

"Well, I didn't know you were a fan at all," John grins.

"I'm a recent fan. My friend, Peggy, made me watch it." I laugh a little. "She assigned our friend group lightsaber colors."

"Oh, is that so?" he chuckles, attaching two Lego pieces meticulously. "What color are you?"

I take a sip from my wine glass. "Red. Apparently, because I'm a powerful baddie."