Chapter Text
Alexander woke up with a headache, it wasn’t the first time that he had but it was the first time he had one and woke up in handcuffs. He had to take a second to remember how he ended up this way. The boy was in an unfamiliar place that looked like a surprisingly well decorated basement, and he was handcuffed to a bedpost while sitting on a cement floor. Not exactly an ideal situation.
The only thing he remembered prior was getting into an argument with Aaron Burr. Things got fuzzy around then. He didn’t remember leaving the argument but he couldn’t have imagined that Aaron had done something. The other boy was so quiet even when they were talking and Alex could barely manage to get him to participate in conversations. It had only been recently that Aaron had increased the number of conversations they’d had on his own and even then he was still soft spoken.
It wasn’t until Aaron came down the stairs that Alexander realized his mistake in assuming the other didn’t have the balls to imprison him like this. “… Burr?” He glanced around the room once more and looked back to his hands where the plush handcuffs trapped his wrists. “… That can’t be right,” Alex mumbled to himself with narrowed eyes.
“I see you’re awake, how is your head?” He walked down the stairs and went over to Alexander, only stopping when the other boy was at his feet. “I didn’t mean to hit you, but you had it coming and I can’t say it didn’t make me feel a little bit better.” If he had left Alex there he wouldn’t have dared to admit that, but he held all the cards now. It made him feel so powerful to have such a big problem he’d faced now in his clutches.
“… I’m fine,” he tugged on the cuffs on his wrists, “this is uncomfortable but yeah, otherwise I’m fine.” Alex sighed and rolled his eyes, “I know you don’t like me but doesn’t this seem a little excessive? I mean, why do you even have these?” He nodded towards the plush handcuffs that one would definitely find at a store specifically selling intimate apparel and toys.
Aaron shrugged, he still spoke with the same level headed and calm tone of voice he always did. “I got those specifically because I figured these would be too harsh for your wrists and you’d appreciate them more,” as he spoke he bent his knees to be on Alex’s level and lifted the chain of the cuffs around his ankles with his index finger. Those cuffs weren’t padded.
“… You got these because you thought they would be more comfortable for me? I mean… that’s kind, I guess? But did it ever cross your mind that maybe the most comfortable option would be to not have any at all? I’m going to get out of these eventually, would’ve saved us both the trouble.”
“Just as much confidence in yourself as always,” Aaron gave a soft hum of laughter. “I think they’ll do fine, and if you do manage to get out of them I’ll just deal with that when it’s crossed-“
“How long have you had these?” Alex interrupted Aaron with a raised brow. “You said you got these for me. Is that a new development or have you been holding onto these for a long time and this was like a planned kidnapping or something?”
Burr gave him an unimpressed and incredulous look, “you are remarkably collected about all of this. I was expecting you to be angry. That’s how you react to a lot of things.” He hadn’t been planning to abduct Alex, “and I borrowed them from my sister. We’ve had them for a long time, she got them at a garage sale because they were blue and at the time didn’t know what they were typically used for.”
Alex couldn’t help but smirk at the explanation, “how adorable.” He took a breath as his expression settled into a more cocky yet neutral one. “I mean I wasn’t expecting anything like this coming from you but I wouldn’t say I’m angry. I’m a little shocked how well prepped your basement is for a captive if you weren’t planning to do this though—assuming this is the basement of your house of course.”
“Curious, I see. I should’ve known.” He sighed, “I’m sure the anger will settle in later when you get frustrated with the position you’re in. For now, I suppose I’ll indulge your curiosity. Yes, this is the basement of my house and I wasn’t prepared to bring you here. Sally and I set this up last minute.”
“Sally? Is that your sister? So she knows about this and is just cool with it?” Crazy, both of them, like sister like brother apparently. “I mean,” he scoffed, “I guess it’s good you guys are close? I don’t know what else to say about that. Is it just the two of you living here? I know you’re a minor but is she?”
“No, she’s not. She turned nineteen and has legal guardianship over me. This used to be my aunt and uncle’s house but they both died in a… tragic accident,” Aaron didn’t sound upset by that nor earnest. He hadn’t had a good relationship with either and was more than happy they were dead. He knew Alex already knew he was an orphan, and it wasn’t like the other boy could tell anyone the things he said now so he didn’t mind sharing that much.
Alex pursed his lips before speaking, “is that a ‘tragic accident’ like it wasn’t tragic, an accident, or it wasn’t both? You make that sound really shady—not that everything you’re doing now doesn’t sound or isn’t shady but I was just wondering.”
“I know, Hamilton.” He took a deep breath before standing to his feet, “I know. You’re always wondering. Well on that matter I’ll tell you that you shouldn’t worry about it. It doesn’t involve you. I just figured I’d get that out of the way since I knew you would ask how my sister could afford this place at only nineteen,” Alex would’ve denied that but he was absolutely going to. “Besides, they’re the least of your troubles.”
“… So…” Alexander glanced around the room again before settling his gaze on Aaron once more. “So why did you think this was a good idea anyway? Are you just going to kill me? Would’ve saved you a lot of trouble to do that while I was unconscious and I can’t imagine you would set up all this stuff if that was your plan… any time soon anyway.”
Aaron sounded nonchalant, “whether or not you die is entirely up to you. If I don’t have to kill you I won’t, but unlike before when you could say whatever you like, however many times you may have wanted, you can now consider yourself…” Aaron pursed his lips as he thought of the right words before settling with, “on a short leash.” He shrugged, “I can’t say I don’t like how you wear your feelings freely because your passion is as captivating as your smile and charisma.”
“… Um… Thank you?” That felt really unrelated to the topic at hand, but before Alex could say anything more on it the other boy continued.
He knelt down once more in front of Alex, “but the reminder of how you wear your feelings so transparently also brings up the many times you’ve frustrated me. You are as bewitching as you are repugnant.” Aaron gripped Alexander’s face with one hand harshly but he continued to speak calmly, “I’ve always wanted to see you truly broken and now I can, I can even get the satisfaction of being the one to make you that way. I’ll give you no other choice but to submit-”
Grabbing his face was a poor decision on Aaron’s part, especially when the words he said after just pissed Alex off. He bit his hand, hard. Burr slapped him with his other hand in response, freeing the one Alex had in his mouth. “Don’t touch me,” Alexander hissed.
“There,” Aaron smiled, “there’s the anger I was expecting. I knew it would come out eventually. You’re too fiery of a person for it not to.” A lot of times he liked to see Alex’s fiery and independent spirit, just not when that fire was directed negatively toward him. “I’m looking forward to seeing how long it will take to put out your flame.”
Where Alex may have seemed more curious or confused, he now looked irritated and inconvenienced. “I didn’t realize how dramatic you could be. I’d say it’s nice to see a new side to you but if this is what that new side is then I think it would’ve been best if I never found that out.”
Aaron had been clutching his bitten hand since he got it back, he took a deep breath and spoke as if he hadn’t heard Alex. “G*d, you did not hold back on that bite did you? You’re so rude, you always are. Could you at least pretend to acknowledge the position you’re in? I know you’re used to getting the sh*t beat out of you at times but you are defenseless right now and I could do that and so much more if I felt like it. Has that thought not occurred to you?”
“So do it,” Alexander scoffed, “if you're going to threaten me then make good on it. You don’t scare me, b*tch. You’re a coward and you always have been.”
He took a very long, deep breath. “You never cease to amaze me with your carelessness.” Aaron sighed, “honestly you’re only further making me look forward to the future.” With an expression that had a mix of a cruel curiosity and intolerance, Burr tilted his head slightly. “Tell me, when I’ve driven you to your lowest, will your expression then resemble the same when you found out your girlfriend died?”
“Eliza did not-…” Alex had immediately gone to protest with anger until it clicked. Eliza had gone missing, but that was all they knew. Everyone assumed she was dead or had run away but no one knew for sure. Only now he’d been given reason to believe she might actually be dead, given Aaron was a lot crazier than he thought he was. “… Did you kill Eliza?” He asked with eyes narrowed.
The boy just stared at Alex for a moment, an expression indecipherable. “… I hated seeing you so happy with her,” it made some unknown feeling bubble up in his chest when he saw Alexander with that girl. At the time he believed the feeling to be hatred toward seeing Alex happy when he could make Aaron’s own life so miserable, but now that he had him locked away from the rest of the world and all to himself he was able to recognize what that feeling actually was.
“Y-you-…” Hamilton could not find the words he wanted to say because he wasn’t sure what to say. That is until the shock washed away and the grief and anger set in. “You son of a b*tch, what did she ever do to you?!”
Aaron shrugged, “you chose her. It could’ve been anyone, but you chose her. That’s on you, Alexander. She made you happy and I couldn’t stand it, it’s simple really.”
“So that’s it then? You hate seeing me happy so you’ve locked me down here to be miserable forever?” He growled in protest, “you’re awful.”
“I didn’t say that I hated seeing you happy.” He loved seeing the other boy smile, when Alex was in a good mood was when he looked his best, stunning even. “I hate other people seeing you happy and other people making you happy. As long as you’re down here no one else can do or see those things-“
“Yeah because I’ll never be happy,” he glared in protest. “You are so f*cked up. I can’t believe you could—that you would-“ Alex huffed in frustration when he couldn’t find the words he was looking for. “… I hate you, you monster.”
The boy shrugged, “I’ll have to decide later if your bark is worse than your bite.” He couldn’t say it didn’t make him angry to hear Hamilton insult him, it always did, but the bitterness always made the sweeter moments that much better when it came to the other boy. So Aaron knew when he had him being obedient that it would make all the stress and frustration worth it. “For now I think you’ve earned some time to cool down. A punishment of sorts, if you will-“
“You have no right to play god over my life,” Alex growled. “Let me out of here or I’ll make you regret this more than you already will-“
“So do it,” Aaron repeated Alex’s own words, “if you’re going to threaten me than make good on it.” He smirked, “I’d love to see you try. Until then, I’ll be back later to see if you’ve calmed down. I was going to let you have access to the rest of the room but you behaved a little too poorly.” Burr stood to his feet, “I don’t want to leave you too long but, knowing you, just a day wouldn’t suffice. So I’ll be back in a few days to make sure you’re still alive. If you’re behaving by then I’ll bring you a change of clothes, which you’ll definitely need, and maybe even let you out of the cuffs.”
He’d started heading up the stairs with Alex yelling at him as he did. Opening the door he stepped on the other side, right before he closed it he said, “Alexander I know you’re going to try your best to try and break the cuffs since you have nothing to pick the locks with, but do remember that they can tighten easily with fidgeting so try not to cut off the circulation to your hands or feet while I’m gone. There won’t be any saving them if you go more than a few hours without circulation.”
Wearing his trademark smile—which now felt more ominous and eery to Alex—Aaron said his last words before closing the door. “I won’t feel bad for you if you have to lose an extremity because you were too stupid to keep it.” Then Alexander was left alone and he let the panic he’d been feeling seep into his countenance.