#PHILIP GET OUT FROM UNDER JEFFERSON!!! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

schrijverr · 4 years ago

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'Till Death Do Us Part

Part 1 out of 13

When Alex has to bring Philip to work, he and Thomas discover that they both have something in common: they lost their love. They form an unexpected bond and connection about this that grows into something more.

A medium burn with parental feelings about Philip and flowers.

On AO3.

Ships: Jamilton

Warnings: mentions of grief and death

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1: Canterbury Bell Means ‘Acknowledging’

Alex ran a hand through his hair as he thought of who to call. Philip’s teacher had just called that today school would be canceled due to a mishap yesterday, but his usual babysitter wasn’t available on such short notice.

Maria and Eliza would usually be up to babysit, but they were away on their honeymoon, Angelica worked with him, so she was out, Laf was in France and Herc had that fashion show. He cursed, then looked at Philip to check if he’d heard.

Philip was oblivious. The five-year-old was happily munching on soggy cereal as he watched some kids show.

He was a well behaved sweet child.

Alex smiled and watched his son. It ached how much he looked like John with his freckles and little curls and in moments like these he wished the other was still there, so he wouldn’t have to deal with everything on his own.

“What are we doing today, Papa?” Philip asked.

“I’m going to work, do you want to come with me?” Alex made up his mind, he was sure Washington wouldn’t mind seeing Philip again and he knew Philip would be on his best behavior in the office.

“Yeah!” Philip cheered happily, starting to munch on his food slightly faster.

Alex chuckled at the sight, before sending Angelica a message of why he would be slightly late and who he would have with him.

Then it was bustling through getting the sock on the right foot and the shoes on, making sure Philip’s jacket was on correctly and his shirt not inside out, before almost forgetting his keys as they made their way out the door.

It was the first time since John’s death that Alex was late to work. It was only a few minutes, but it was more noticeable since he was usually way too early.

With Philip on his hip he rushed to his office where an email informed him that the meeting of the afternoon was rescheduled for now, but he could still make it if he hurried.

“Should we go see Grandpa George? Would you like that buddy?” he asked Philip.

He grinned as the boy’s eyes lit up and he bounced so much, he almost fell out of Alex’s arms as he chuckled: “Okay, okay, let’s go.”

Alex opened the door with an apologetic grin as he said: “I’m sorry, the morning was a bit hectic, I just got in.”

Philip wiggled out of his arms and ran to Washington, who caught the boy easily as he assured Alex: “It’s alright, son. Angelica told me already.”

With a sigh of relief Alex set his stuff down, not even bothering to correct Washington about the moniker, before calling Philip over to him and explaining: “I have to do boring work now, but I have some paper and pencils for you, so that you can color. Does that sound fun, Pip? Will you tell me if you need to pee?”

“Yes, Papa,” Philip promised, taking the coloring materials and settling down in Alex’s lap peacefully.

The love he had of drawing was something he shared with his Daddy and Alex always choked up slightly when he saw that concentrated face and the pencil. He was quickly distracted, however, by a certain Virginian saying something stupid and he mostly forgot about Philip in his lap as the meeting progressed.

About an hour into the meeting, Philip pulled on Alex’s jacket and whispered: “Papa, I have to go pee.”

Alex cut himself off mid sentence and smiled down at the boy: “I’m sure, Grandpa George wouldn’t mind if we take a small break to go pee. You hungry, Pip?”

“A bit,” Philip confessed.

“Well, then it’s a good thing, I have a little snack for you,” he said, as he got up, putting Philip down on his two feet as he took his hand, “Come on, buddy.”

Philip followed his Papa contently as Washington cleared his throat: “I think we can all do with a break, gentlemen.”

Thomas frowned. He already thought it quite irresponsible to bring a kid to work, but he supposed the reason must be good enough if Angelica agreed, however stopping a meeting right as they were getting somewhere was annoying.

The kid was cute though. Thomas had no clue who the mother was. Hell, he hadn’t even known Alex was married, or divorced with how he was married to his work.

Also, Grandpa George? Talk about nepotism.

He blinked as Alex got back with Philip. The kid seemed less fidgety and was eating a granola bar with little chocolate chips in it as Alex smiled down gently, not at all like normally. Though, Thomas supposed, he only got to see Alex when the other was yelling or presenting.

It was strange to see Alex so domestic. He had often pictured the other like that, but now it was even easier to picture him – sadly – with a faceless woman, which send a pang through Thomas. It was pathetic how he was crushing on an already taken coworker who hated him.

Though Thomas would never act on those feelings, so it shouldn’t – didn’t – even hurt... that much.

After Martha, he just didn’t know if he could move on like that, but he could allow himself to watch, to torture himself with what he never had or will have.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly with everyone pretending they didn’t notice the small boy crawling under the big table with play cars as he made soft ‘vroom vroom’-noises.

When everyone was leaving Alex squatted and called out: “Hey, Pip, you having fun there?”

“Yes, Papa,” the little voice called back.

“That’s great, buddy,” Alex smiled, “Would you mind moving? We need to go back to my office now, but you can keep playing.”

“But then my cars can’t go to their base under the chair and they need to, because the evil monkeys are after them and they have to go back to defend it,” Philip explained.

Alex listened closely and nodded: “Seems like they’re hardworking cars, Pip. Remember when I was working hard and then we went on a vacation to that cottage in the forest?”

That was a lie, sort of. He had been throwing himself into work because John’s death date had been coming up and Angelica had forced him to take a vacation, sadly backed up by Washington, though Alex had to admit it had been for the better.

“Yes?” Philip was obviously confused about the question.

“Maybe your cars also deserve a vacation,” he said, “They can go on vacation in my office and take a rest from fighting the evil monkeys.”

“Ooh, yes,” the little boy exclaimed as he made his way to his father, who double checked if all their stuff was with them.

When he turned to the door, he was surprised to find Thomas there, soft smile on his face as he waited. Thomas noticed and held up the keys: “It’s my turn to lock up.”

“Ah, well, thank you for waiting,” Alex said awkwardly.

“I didn’t know you had a kid,” Thomas started, trying to fill the strange silence.

“I’m not much of a family talker, but Philip is my pride and joy,” Alex told him, “He’s very smart, isn’tthat right, Pip?”

“Yes, my teacher says I’m very good, one of the bestest in class and I can already write my name. I also draw very good already,” Philip bragged, “And Papa always says I will blow eeeveryone away.”

“Oh, wow, kiddo, that’s pretty good,” Thomas humored the kid, charmed by his smile and excited gestures as he talked, kind of like Alex in a way.

“Well, bye Hamilton.”

“Ah, yes, bye Jefferson.”

They awkwardly went their separate ways, not used to the fact that one of them wasn’t stomping away angrily while the other yelled at them.

Alex shook his head, he felt weird with Thomas being nice to him. He had smiled at Philip and it was genuine, not his normal ‘I’m better than you’- smirk that made Alex want to punch him. It looked good on him and Alex hated how good it looked on him.

Sure, he’s always known Thomas was attractive, but he had a soft spot for people who were good with kids and it didn’t help the stupid feelings he thought he’d suppressed well enough. God, the other man hated him, what was he even thinking?

He tried to let go of the thought as he set Philip down with all the stuff to keep him occupied as he got to work, hoping to get his proposal for the financial planning of the company done.

Philip reminded him to eat lunch, because he was hungry and he went to Angelica, because Philip wanted to see Auntie Angie. For Philip he would do anything, the little boy had him wrapped around his finger.

Angelica was more than happy to eat lunch with them and humored Philip when she listened to his explanation of his car story line until he got distracted by the coloring place mats they had at the restaurant.

Then she turned to Alex and asked: “How are you?”

“I’m doing good, Angie, really. This is not me not taking care of either of us, I swear,” he said, already knowing why she was asking and slightly annoyed, “The school canceled last minute and the babysitter couldn't come and everyone else was busy.”

“Just checking, ‘Lex. We know how hard it’s been since John passed, we just worry,” she soothed his ruffled feathers.

Alex sighed: “I know, I know. I still miss him, but it’s getting better.”

“How much better? Not to be rude, ‘Lex, but you’re wound up. You need to get laid,” she said bluntly.

“Angie!” he exclaimed, glancing at Philip, “There are children here.”

“Yes, and he’s been too focused on his drawing for the past five minutes to pay attention to us,” she rolled her eyes, “But I’m assuming that’s a no to the getting laid.”

“I’m too old for casual hook-ups, Angelica,” he told her, “If I’m going back into dating, I’m going to look for something serious. But no one is looking for a widower in his thirties with a five-year-old kid. And I can’t commit to someone who isn’t going to commit to Pip. He doesn’t need that.”

Angelica nodded: “You’re right, just try not to turn into a sad lonely old man.”

“Like you’re becoming a lonely old woman?” he teased.

“Alexander!” she swatted him lightly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you’re as radiant as ever, a beacon of beauty and youth,” he retracted his statement with a grin.

“That’s better,” she grinned back.

“Papa, I finished my drawing,” Philip interrupted the two adults, almost spilling his drink when he proudly held up his place mat.

Alex smiled: “That’s beautiful, Pip. Want to take it home tonight?”

“Oh, can I?” the boy asked.

“Of course, buddy,” Alex ruffled his hair, carefully putting the drawing in his briefcase with his other papers, so that he could hang it on the art wall.

They returned to the office and said their goodbyes to Angelica, before Alex got back to work.

It was quiet for a while, then Philip said: “Papa, I’m bored, can I walk around? I can go to Auntie Angie? I promise not to dis- dis- bother other people.”

“Disturb?” Alex asked.

Philip nodded that it was the right word, then asked: “Please, Papa. I promise I’ll be good. I know where Auntie Angie is and if I can’t find you I’ll go to Grandpa George after.”

The boy put on his best puppy eyes, which he had inherited from John, and Alex had never managed to say no to those eyes, so he relented: “Be back in an hour okay? That’s when that big arm is at the four, alright? Be sure to tell Auntie Angie.”

“Alright, Papa!” the boy said, already bouncing out his office with the pent up energy of a small child who had sat for nearly the entire day.

Alex smiled and watched him go. He contemplated getting up to check if Philip made it down the hall alright, but stopped himself.

A memory flashed through his minds eye of John holding a baby Philip and smirking: “You can’t always be there, ‘Lexi. You gotta let him be his own man at some point.”

“But he’s a baby,” he had protested at the time.

John had leaned forwards and kissed his nose: “But he won’t be forever, he’s gotta grow up just like you did. Ain’t nothing wrong with a bit of independence, sweetheart. Letting go is good at some point, just start small.”

He could let go.

Walking down the hall of the office to an adult he knew wasn’t the ultimate danger Philip would face, this was good. A small start just like John had said.

So, with reluctance he focused back on his work and easily got into the zone again as he did. It was easy to loose himself into his work. He was sure that if Philip hadn’t been there, he would have worked himself to death.

Meanwhile Philip walked down the hall, skipping and jumping just because he could and wanted to. He was really planning on visiting Auntie Angie, but he’d already seen her at lunch, so when he saw something more interesting, he stopped.

It was the Mister from before, Jeff- something, it was a long name and Philip hadn’t been paying attention, though he recalled it being a familiar name. He felt bad now, the man had seemed impressed with him.

Maybe he would want to play with him? But he’d promised Papa not to disturb the other people.

Apparently he’d been standing in the man’s doorway long enough for him to notice and ask him if he needed anything and where his Papa was.

“Papa said I could go walk around a bit,” he told the man, “My cars are on vacation and it’s a bit boring and I don’t feel like coloring. Do you like cats, Mister?”

It seemed the man was startled by his sudden change of topic, but he smiled easily and said: “You can call me Thomas.”

“Okay, Mr. Thomas,” Philip nodded, “Do you like cats?”

With Mr. Thomas not actively telling him to go away, Philip decided it was safe to enter the office and Mr. Thomas just pointed at a chair for him to sit in, so he did. He looked at Mr. Thomas awaiting his answer.

“Sure,” he said, “Why do you ask, kiddo?”

Philip shrugged: “Uncle Laf calls Papa petit lion and Uncle Herc explained to me that it’s a type of cat. Auntie Eliza and Auntie Maria wanteda cat, but Auntie Angie is allergic to them, so she doesn’t agree. But Grandpa George and Grandma Martha have cat, though Papa doesn’t like him very much, even though he likes other cats. So I wondered what you thought about cats.”

“Well, I think cats are nice,” Mr. Thomas said.

“Do have a cat?” Philip asked.

Thomas gave up any pretense of work, he hadn’t wanted to do anything anyway and the kid was way more interesting. He shook his head: “No, my friend, Jemmy, is allergic too and I like having him come to the house.”

“Can’t do that if there’s a cat,” Philip said, nodding his head sagely as if he had all the wisdom in the world.

“Yeah,” Thomas laughed at the display, then said: “I don’t know if sitting in my office is going to be very entertaining, kiddo. I don’t really have toys lying around.”

“That’s alright,” Philip said, “You’re Jeff-” he hummed trying to find the name, “Jefferson?” he suddenly remembered, but he didn’t sound very certain.

Thomas nodded: “Yeah, Thomas Jefferson. Why?”

“Papa talks about you lots,” Philip confided in him, recalling why the name was familiar, “He says you’re a meanie, but I think you’re nice, Mr. Thomas. I think Papa does too, he just don’t wanna say it. He says you’re smart, he only says that about Auntie Angie.”

God, the secrets this kid had from Alex ranting at him would be enormous, but Thomas wasn’t going to interrogate a kid about what his father thought of him. A small part of him, however, preened slightly at the indirect compliment from Hamilton.

He pushed the thought down, the man was married and had kids.

“I don’t know, kiddo. Me and your Papa are,” he hesitated, how do you tell a kid that the most talking you do with his father is yelling insults at each other, “We’re not the best buddies,” he finished lamely.

“That’s sad, I think you and Papa would get along greatly. I like you and Papa says I have good taste,” the kid sounded proud of that and Thomas couldn't help but smile, “I think you have good taste too, Mr. Thomas.”

“Really?” Thomas asked curiously.

“Yes, I like your flowers,” Philip pointed to the vase Thomas had filled on a whim, because he’d been sad a few days ago.

“Thanks, kiddo. They’re Canterburybells,” he said, then had a bright idea, “Hey, since you and I have such fantastic taste, why don’t you help me pick out the colors for my presentation? Then I can read you a story if you’d like. I got books.”

Philip lit up and bounced to the other side of the desk, already telling Thomas loudly about which colors were the bestest.

In the end the presentation was yellow and magenta (Thomas was going to have a field day with that) with neon green letters. It was disgusting to look at and Thomas knew he was going to keep and treasure it, especially because Alex couldn’t say anything of it.

He had mostly stuffy old literature on his shelves in the office, but there was also a fairy tale book for when he needed to calm down, not that anyone knew about that, and he read Philip the tale of Hansel and Gretel.

When they were done Philip asked for the time, saying: “Papa told me to be back in an hour, when the big arm was on the four.”

Thomas checked the time, it was five to four. He turned back to Philip: “Well, then young man, you must be going. Here, I’ll accompany you.”

The five-year-old didn’t seem to mind him tagging along as they walked down the hall to Hamilton’s office.

What Thomas hadn’t expected was for the office to be empty. The laptop wasn’t there and only papers and empty mugs scattered the desk. Thomas quickly glanced down to Philip, who looked confused as he asked: “Where’s Papa?”

“I don’t know, kiddo,” Thomas told him honestly, he spotted a phone on the desk and mentally cursed, if Hamilton had forgotten his kid and phone he was going to scream. Though it was highly unlikely the man would leave that early.

Then he spotted a note on the desk: Angie or Washington, I don’t know which one of you Pip will look for. I got called by fucking Lee for an emergency (I doubt it actually is, but you know how he gets, the prick). I’ll be back before five, please just watch him for me. I’m so sorry.

Relief coursed through Thomas’s veins that Alex had at least been responsible enough to leave a note.

He turned to Philip: “Hey, the note says your Papa has been called away for a bit.”

“Oh, okay,” Philip replied, “What do I do?”

Philip really was a smart kid, probably got it from his dad. Thomas smiled: “I don’t mind hanging out with you for a little bit longer, but maybe I could call your mom?”

It was an acceptable time to be done with work earlyand Thomas knew Lee was as much of a prick as Alex’s note had claimed, and the man hated Alex. Ifhe could keep him busy, he would, just because it would piss Alex off.

“I don’t have a mom,” Philip told him.

Thomas knew Alex was bi of course, but with the kid he’d made the assumption. He quickly adapted and said: “Do you have a dad then?”

Philip nodded and Thomas was about to ask if he knew how to contact him, trying to ignore the pang of jealousy, when the kid said: “But Papa said I can’t see Daddy, because he’s living with the angels now.”

Oh fuck, Thomas had not seen this coming and he was floundering.

“According to Papa, he didn’t mean to go, but he can’t get back to us. We visit his special place sometimes,” Philip was oblivious to all the emotions Thomas was experiencing, “There are a lot of stones there, but we always go to one with Daddy’s picture on it and Papa cries.”

That was probably much more than Alex wanted him to know. He briefly thought of Martha and how they’d never had kids. He didn’t know how he would have explained her death to them if they had.

“I’m sorry, kiddo,” he said instead, “Must be hard with one parent, though it seems your Papa loves you very much.”

“He does,” Philip smiled widely, “He takes me to the park on Saturdays and we run around. He teaches me about all sorts of stuff, like dinos. Do you know about dinos, Mr. Thomas?”

Thomas was glad for the change of topic and nodded: “I’ve heard of them, but I don’t know much. Why don’t you tell me more about them?”

“Well, they come from eggs. I did too, did you know? Papa said he froze eggs and I came crawling out, just like a dino,” Philip told him excitedly. Thomas was confused about what on earth that could mean, but just nodded along to the kid’s babbling.

An hour later Alex stomped into his office, grumbling under his breath about what an asshat Lee was.

He stopped at the empty office, he knew Philip must be with Angelica or Washington, but with the note still there, he didn’t know which one. He went back into the hallway and saw Washington walk by. Stopping the man he said: “Perfect timing. Is Pip with you? I got called away and told him to find you or Angie.”

“No, son, he must be with Miss Schuyler,” Washington smiled, “How was it with Lee?”

“Sir, if you don’t want a verbal essay, I suggest you don’t ask,” Alex sighed tiredly. He just wanted to go home and sleep.

Washington chuckled then stepped into his office as Alex made his way over to Angelica’s office, he knocked on her door and opened it with a: “Hi, Angie, I’ll take Philip now, thanks for watching him.”

Angelica looked up from her work with confusion: “Philip? I haven’t seen Philip since lunch, Alex. What are you talking about.”

The blood in his veins turned to ice as he said: “But, he was going to you. He said he wanted to say hi. He’d be back by four, but I got called away. I left you a note. Are you sure you didn’t see him?”

“No, I wouldn’t lie about that,” Angelica said, “Why didn’t you walk with him?”

Alex was already beating himself up over it: “Fuck, I’m so stupid. I thought he would be fine, that I should let him go, be independent. I’m a terrible father and now something might have happened to Pip. God, what if he’s dead?”

“Hey, none of that, calm down, just breathe,” Angelica put her hand on his shoulder, “He probably got distracted. He’s still around, I’m sure. Someone else must have seen him.”

They got distracted by a southern voice floating down the hall: “Hamilton, there you are. I was wondering if I should start charging hours.”

“Papa!” Philip yelled excitedly, running up to his Papa, who crushed him into a tight hug with a sigh of relief.

“There you are. Pip, I was so worried. You said you were going to Auntie Angie,” he scolded the boy, “Don’t scare me like that again. I thought something had happened.”

“Sorry, Papa,” Philip sounded genuinely upset.

“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay. Papa didn’t mean to make you upset, I was just worried,” after soothing his son, he turned to Thomas and glared, “Do you often kidnap children?”

Thomas looked up shocked and in an offend voice replied: “Excuse you? I didn’t kidnap him. He showed up to my office telling me he was allowed to walk around. He asked me about cats and I just made sure he was okay. You should be thanking me, it could have gone a lot worse.”

Alex eyed him suspiciously, but was distracted by Philip: “He’s right, he listened to me back at the room with the table and I was just wondering what he thought of cats, then he let me help with his presentation and read me a story and then I told him about the dinos.”

“I know we have our disagreements, Hamilton, but I’m not going to be an as- meanie to a kid,” he said.

“Nice save,” Angelica smirked.

“Oh shove off, Angelica,” Thomas rolled his eyes good-naturedly, he liked the eldest Schuyler. He had met her a long time ago, back when Martha was still there.

Alex checked over Philip one more time, before begrudgingly acknowledging that Thomas had done him a favor. So, he said: “Thank you, Jefferson. For making sure Pip was alright.”

“No worries, man. I have a lot of siblings,” Thomas shrugged.

Angelica looked between them and smirked, before saying: “Here, I’ll go grab your stuff, ‘Lex. You and Thomas make sure you’re on the same page about this. I don’t want to have you screaming because of a misunderstanding, you do it enough without them.”

Philip walked off happily with his Auntie Angie, leaving Alex and Thomas on their own.

“Did he behave well?” Alex asked, breaking the silence.

Thomas looked confused for a moment, then smirked: “Yeah, he’s a sweet boy. Certainly didn’t get that from you.”

Alex chuckled: “No, he got every good bone in his body from John,” his smile was far away and soft, before he shookhimself out of it, “I’m glad you listened to him, he’s a good kid.”

“No problem, really,” Thomas shrugged.

It was quiet for a moment.

“Can I ask why he thinks he crawled out of an egg like a dinosaur?” Thomas asked, unable to help himself. He was just too curious and it was weird for a kid to think that. He just wanted to know what an earth Alex had told the boy.

The random question startled Alex, who laughed after a second. He explained: “Kids at school were asking how he could have two dads, so I told them that I froze some of my eggs and his other Daddy made sure they would work, before Auntie Eliza hatched him. I compared it to dinosaurs because he understands them and thinks they’re cool. I guess he only picked up some parts.”

“So, he’s not related to the Schuyler's?” Thomas asked, then elaborated, “Just with the whole Auntie Angie and Auntie Eliza he was talking about, I assumed his other parent was one of their sibling hoard.”

“No,” Alex said, “He’s completely mine and Johns.”

It was quiet for a beat, then Thomas said: “I didn’t know you were trans.”

Alex shrugged: “It’s not really something I tell people, especially with how they start calling me a mother, no thanks. Besides, it’s none of their business anyway. Philip is mine and they can keep their opinions of my parenting to themselves.”

Thomas nodded: “That makes sense. For what it’s worth, you’re a great dad. Philip is lucky to have you. I know you didn’t want me to know, probably, but he told me his other dad was living with angels. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I don’t need your pity,” Alex bit out after a hard swallow. He didn’t need Thomas treating him differently just because his husband was dead, he got that enough as it was. He missed John dearly, but he was healing and the special treatment just made it harder.

He was surprised by Thomas’s reply: “I’m not pitying you, Alex. I just wanted you to know that he told me and that you can talk to me.”

“That’s-” Alex hesitated, slightly confused, “That’s… nice? I suppose. But you’re not really my first confidant.”

“I know,” Thomas shrugged, he seemed to be preparing himself for something, “I just know how some people don’t get it and it can be annoying, so if you ever just wanna talk, please do,” he pulled out a necklace from his shirt, on it were two golden bands, “I’m not messing with you, or pitying you.”

“I didn’t know,” Alex mumbled, feeling a bit sheepish for his earlier reaction, “How- How long ago?”

“Seven years,” Thomas answered, “Martha- she was the best, but she had heart problems. I knew we didn’t have long, but it still hurt. She was just too young.”

There were tears in his eyes and Alex could feel himself tearing up as well. He said: “The better ones always die first somehow, fuck. John- John died four years ago. Wanted to do one last tour, before settling down. They were already retreating when-”

He couldn't finish the sentence, but Thomas understood. It was weird how much it made sense that Thomas understood.

They’d always been each others equal. Both in debate and passion. They knew how to push the other and got why. They were the same, just different, so of course Thomas of all people would understand.

Both stood there in silence, tears still in their eyes, but content to just stand there.

At that point Angelica came back with Philip. She was about to start a sentence when she saw the state they were in: “Jesus, are you two alright? I swear, I leave you for a few minutes and-”

“We’re fine, Angie,” Alex quickly wiped away his tears and attempted a smile.

Philip ran up to him and with his arms demanded to be carried. When Alex obliged he asked: “Are you okay, Papa?”

“Yeah, Pip, Papa’s fine,” Alex assured him, “Remember how I told you about the missing sad. It was that.”

“Like when I can’t see Sockie at school and I miss him, right?” Philip asked.

“Exactly that, Pip,” Alex agreed, “Now, what do you say about going home, buddy? Does that sound alright? We can watch Moana.”

“I love Moana!” Philip chirped.

Alex turned to Angelica and Thomas and said: “We’re gonna go. Uhm, thank you both and, uh, I might take you up on that, Thomas. Now say bye, Pip.”

“Bye Auntie Angie, bye Mr. Thomas,” Philip said with a wave, a quick yawn escaping him after all the excitement as he burrowed closer into his Papa’s arms while they walked out of the building.

When they were gone, Angelica turned to Thomas with a raised brow: “So, Mr. Thomas,” she put extra emphasis on the name, “You’ve got yourself a social upgrade.”

“Shut up, I should have never told you about that stupid crush,” Thomas hid his head in his hands.

“I think you two would be cute together,” Angelica said, then she asked: “Why were you two crying, by the way? Are you okay?”

He put the necklace back and said: “I told him about Martha, seemed fair after the kid told me about John. I didn’t know Alex was a widower, nor that he had kids.”

“Yeah, ‘Lex used to love bragging about John and Philip, but ever since-” she sighed, “Well, you know. He hasn’t been the same.”

“I don’t think anyone can stay the same after living through that,” Thomas told her, “I was always saddened I had no kids with Martha, but after today. Fuck, I don’t know what I would have told them. I don’t think I could have handled it.”

Angelica shrugged: “It’s different for everyone, I think Philip saved ‘Lex’s life. He got up each day to care for him. Don’t tell him I told you that, I will slap you again.”

“I won’t, I swear,” Thomas held his hands up in surrender and luckily Angelica believed him, because she smiled: “Good, I know where you live.”

“You are terrifying,” he informed her.

“That’s why we’re such good friends,” she merely smiled, “Now, let’s go, you still owe me dinner for giving you private time with Papa Alex.”

Thomas flushed a bright red and told her he hated her, before following her out of the building as she cackled at his misery.

After that things went back to normal.

Mostly.

Somewhere he had imagined the interaction would be some revelation or something and the next day would be completely different.

But it just wasn’t.

They had a meeting in the morning, it was the first time they saw each other that day and within minutes it had turned into an argument.

Though, perhaps the arguments had gotten less personal. They had always thrown in slight digs at the other, believing themselves to know the man before them and judging the person they’d built in their mind, but when that fell away, it was hard to make digs at someone who understood.

So work returned to normal, with arguments echoing through the halls, which were now followed by civil conversation as they walked to their offices.

It was only a month later that it changed.

You know, this fic is getting much bigger than expected and has gotten severely out of hand. It was meant to be a cute Philip at work fic, but then I thought about past John/Alex (and not fucking Eliza over bc I love her too much for it) and now it hasturnedinto a gigantic angst pile turning fluffwith a slow burn thrown in there, something I have never written before, but I’m having fun.

#RR writing #Hamilton #alexander hamilton #philip hamilton #thomas jefferson #jamilton #Hamilton AU #angelica schuyler #george washington #'Till Death Do Us Part #'Till Death Do Us Part AU #'Till Death Do Us Part Part 1

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secretly-tword-obsessed · 4 years ago

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Waste Of Gift

This is a Hamilton tickle fic that is wayyy too long. Prompted by an anon,

Summary: Jefferson and Hamilton have a sour relationship, until one interaction changes everything.

Platonic Jamilton

Saturdays were Thomas Jefferson’s favourite day of the week.

No woking nine hours a day, no cabinet meetings. The fate of a Saturday was entirely in the hands of Jefferson himself.

Yet for Alexander Hamilton, it was a very different story.

See, Hamilton worked Non-Stop. He worked form the crack of dusk till the break of dawn. He wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote. He tried to make time for his wife and son, but it never really worked out. Hamilton was sure that after three more weeks of working this hard, he would finally have enough time to bond with his family again. The day of the week made no difference to Alexander, he just worked and worked.

It was a Saturday morning, and Hamilton was, of course, writing furiously at his desk. He heard a knock at his door. He groaned softly: “Yes dear?”.

Eliza stepped into the room, “Good morning Alexander. You have a strange visitor-”

“Who are you calling strange?”, Hamilton heard a sour voice interrupt, which was coming from the outside of his office. He groaned more audibly: “What is it Jefferson?”

The tall, skinny man walked in, “Look Alexander, I’m not looking to pick a fight. I’m just here to pick up something that I left here a few months ago, when we had that meeting”.

Hamilton snickered: “If a possession as vile as yours were to be in my office for such a period of time, I would have noticed by now. Go looking somewhere else, but not here”.

Jefferson chuckled, “Man! As I said, I’m not here to pick a fight! It is just a small notebook, coloured green, it had nothing in it”.

Alexander opened his mouth to blurt something in response, yet Eliza widened her eyes from the office doorway, gesturing for him to not pick a fight with the man. It just wasn’t worth it. He sighed: “Fine Jefferson, look, but be quiet!”. Thomas smiled and ventured further into the small room, Eliza staying by the doorway just incase. Suddenly, there was a pounding of feet charging towards the two men from the hallway,.

“Pops! Your office door is open!”; Philip came charging towards his dad like a rhino, jumping into his lap. Alexander was a little annoyed, but still, Philip was too bright and sweet to be mad at.

“Sorry Philip, pops is working”. “But the door was open!”, Philip stated, “You said that if the door was open, it meant-”.

“Sorry son”, Hamilton interrupted him, “These are different circumstances”.

He leaned down to kiss Philip’s forehead, “Please leave my office my love”. Philip smiled up at his father and kissed his nose, which was when the small boy noticed the presence of: “Jefferstupid?”

Hamilton gasped, embarrassed at what his son had just blurted out. Philip just giggled from the side of his father’s chair.

Jefferson raised an eyebrow: “So, is that what you told him my name was, Hamilton?”. Alexander opened his mouth to speak. “It’s okay”, Jefferson interrupted dryly, “He’s just a kid. And I must admit, I can be stupid at times”.

Hamilton grumbled, “Just leave my damn office please. The notebook your looking for isn’t here”.

Jefferson rolled his eyes, “Five more minutes please, Hamilton?”.

Hamilton snapped, “Fine! But if your not out by five I’ll, I’ll...”

“He’ll tickle you!”, Philip exclaimed, a huge smile on the freckled boys face. Hamilton and Jefferson both blushed at the mention of the word, which only made Philip grin wider.

“You know what”, Hamilton said with a smirk,”I don’t think Philip’s idea is such a bad one”. Philip clapped his hands together: “Yayyy!”

Jefferson tilted his head to the side, “You can’t be serious Hamilton”.

Hamilton grinned, “Oh, I am serious. If you are not out of here in five minutes, I’ll tickle you while you make a speech”.

Jefferson thought for a moment, “But if I find it in this room before that time is up, I’ll tickle you while you make a speech. Yes?”

Hamilton grinned, he knew his office like the back of his hand, if he had a green blank notebook stuck in it for months, he would have known.

“Fine, but if you don’t find it in five minutes, I tickle you. Deal?”

Jefferson extended an arm, “Deal”.

Eliza tilted her head down from the doorway, shocked at how childish the two boys were being. And as for Philip, he was just grinning the whole time.

So for the next five minutes, Alexander tried to stay concentrated on his work as Jefferson made loud hunting noises from all ends of the room. Philip watched from the doorway in awe and excitement, wondering who would win the deal. Eliza had long since left, feeling like this was a boys event.

Suddenly, Philip started counting.

“Ten”

“Wait, ten seconds already?!”

“Nine”

“Wait, no”

“Eight”

“Come on it has to be some-”

“Seven”

“Oh-”

“Six”

“Fuck!”

“Don’t swear my son is right-”

“Five”

“Shut up Hamilton!”

“Four”

“Shitshitshit”

“Three”

“Looks like you’ve lost”

“Two”

“Get out of the damn way Hamil-

“One”.

Hamilton and Philip both smirked at Jefferson, who was frozen in the middle of the room.

“I told you that it wasn’t here”, Hamilton said, “Now please leave before I make you”.

Monday morning. Jefferson’s speech was about to start. No sign of Hamilton. Good.

Jefferson stood above a small block, addressing the towns folk: “Uh-hum”.

They all looked up at him, and he cleared his throat. It was so cold, he thought, perhaps he should have worn something warmer.

“Good morning New Yorkers. It has recently come to my attention that, AHAWHA-”.

Jefferson jumped in the air, somebody had poked his sides from behind. He turned around, crap. Hamilton. Jefferson, blushing, cleared his throat.

“My apolahahahaha nohoho Ahalex!”

Hamilton had started tickling under his arms, “Yohohohou stohohohop thihihihis!”.

“I won the bet Jefferson!”, Hamilton exclaimed, digging into the other’s stomach.

“SHIT- AHAHA NOHOHHO MY TUHUHUHUMMY!”

“You tummy?”, Hamilton teased, “What about it?”.

A larger crowd had gathered, which included Philip, who watched with the biggest grin on his face.

“ALEXAHAHAHAHNDEHEHER NOHOHOHO PLEHEHEHAHESE YOHOHOHOUV’E PROHOHOHOVED YOHOHOHOHOUR POHOHOHOHINT!”

Hamilton chuckled and stopped, taking pity on the other man. Plus, he wasn’t very fond of tickling being used in this way. Tickling was something sweet and bondy, and he wanted to keep it that way. Why waste such a gift on Jefferson?

Thomas eyed Hamilton for a moment, hoping that he wouldn’t start again, before continuing as if nothing had happened.

Hamilton disappeared into the crowd, finding his son and giving him a high-five. “Now”, he said, tugging at his son’s arm, “Lets get out of here”.

A week later, another Saturday morning had arrived, and snow began to fall outside Alexander’s office window. He sat at his desk with a cup of warm chocolate milk beside him, and scribbled across a piece of parchment. He heard a knock at the door.

“Come in”, he gestured for his wife. Eliza opened the door slowly and stepped inside, “You have a visitor darling”. Alexander looked up from his work and groaned; not again.

“Ah” Jefferson said, scratching a bit at his lion mane, “Do you mind having a small discussion?”.

Hamilton sighed, “Jefferson, I do not even make time to have discussions with my wife and son. Have you stopped to consider that your offer may be a little selfish?”.

Jefferson sighed back, “Look Hamilton, I’m not looking for trouble. Any trouble at all. In fact I, uh...” he trailed off, his face going a little red.

“You what?”, Hamilton asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I, uh, I wanted to thank you”.

Alexander looked up at his husband, gesturing for her to leave the room. She closed the door behind her.

“For what, Jefferson?”, Hamilton asked.

“For making me laugh when I was in a bad mood”, Thomas replied hesitantly.

Hamilton thought for a moment, before coming across what he might have been referring to. Suddenly, he shared the same blush as Jefferson. “You, you mean the, uh, ti- um, ti-”.

“ckling”, Thomas finished his sentence,”Yeah, uh, that”.

“I, uh, thought you hated that”

“N-no, I was having a rough day and it was, uh, nice”

“Okay...why exactly are you telling me this?”

“Because”, Thomas began, inhaling, “Because this feud we have, this hatred for one another, it has to end. It just has to. Can’t we at least just tolerate each other, please?”.

Hamilton was shocked. He had never before seen this side of Jefferson. Was this a trick? No, it looked sincere. Though Jefferson was prone to fibbing.

“Why suddenly the change of heart Jefferson?”, Hamilton said with a chuckle.

Jefferson shook his head, “Look, I get that you don’t want to take me seriously, but...when you did that thing to me...it kind of made me feel like I had...a friend.”

“A friend that humiliates you in public? Surely you’ve lost your mind Jefferson. And lets not forget that I only did it because you lost a deal”.

“Just please”, Thomas said. Both men were sweaty. Both were blushing. Yet Alexander was better at hiding it. Jefferson extended a hand, “For the end of our rivalry”. “Not our political rivalry, but our relationship rivalry. I wouldn’t be against that”, Hamilton extended his arm. And just like that, they were both shaking.

When Jefferson shook Hamilton’s hand, he noticed how red it was.

“Maybe”, Jefferson began,”As our first act of friendship, I could write for you. Just because your hand looks a little red, and I think your son is missing his daddy’s cuddles”.

So just like that, Philip was sitting on Hamilton’s lap as he embraced him and directed lines to Jefferson, who was sitting at the other’s desk and scribbling them down with his quill. Philip had a huge smile on his freckled face. Alexander stroked the young Hamilton’s bushy hair tentatively.

After a few minutes, Hamilton offered to take over, and Jefferson smiled at him. “Thank you Thomas”, Alexander said, still hardly believing what had just happened. Jefferson chuckled at the other’s semi-shocked expression. He crouched down beside the boy in his father’s lap.

“You father works a lot, doesn’t he little one?”.

Philip giggled, “Oh yeah. Pops works all the time. That was the first time he’s had a break in ages! Thanks Jefferson!”.

Jefferson grinned at him, “Your father did take a little break the other day, did you know that? Remember our bet, well he carried it out”.

Philip smiled, “Yeah, I was there watching”.

“Ya think I should get him back, little one?”

Philip grinned and hopped off his dad, “Yes”.

Thomas pounced on top of him, and grinned down at the shocked man.

And in a matter of seconds, he was digging his hands under Hamilton’s arms. Said man let out a scream before bursting into loud, strong laughter.

“JEHEHEHEHEHEFF NOHOHOHO!”

“No what Alexander? This is simply in the name of revenge”, Thomas smirked, drilling his thumbs into Hamilton’s hips. The other man’s laughter quieted down a bit.

“Phihihihilip, hehehehelp”

Philip ginned, “Sure thing pops”. He dug his little fingers into Jefferson’s sides from behind. Jefferson squealed. Philip giggled and tackled him over. And soon, the little boy was tickling two men at once.

“Wait-Philip-nohohohoho!”, Jefferson laughed as Philip scribbled the fingers of his right hand into his belly.

“Sohon nohoho”, Hamilton giggled as Philip used his left hand to attack his neck.

“Wow, look at me!”, Philip cried in triumph, “I have successfully gotten two men more than double my age begging below me!”.

He started squeezing both of the mens stomach’s. They shrieked at the same time, before they stated thrashing almost identically.

“PLELELELHEASE LITTLE OHOHONE!”

“NOHOHHO NOHOHOT THEHEHEHERE!”

“HEHEHELP! SOMEBOHODY!”

“PIHIHIP NOHOHO!”

“SOMEBODY?!”

“EHEHEHLIHIHIHIZA!”

Eliza was just reading peacefully from the other room, and was very confused when she heard two shrieks of laughter. She walked into her husbands office and was shocked by the sight that greeted her. Philip turned his head, the biggest smile on his face.

“Look ma! They are both so ticklish!”

Eliza glared at him, “Philip, not the right time”.

Philip whined and stopped, “But maaaa, they’re friends now”.

Eliza just shook her head, “There is a time and place for tickling Philip. And now is not the appropriate time”.

Philip sighed as the two men sat up, panting.

“Uh, thanks Eliza”, Jefferson said, a little puffed out, “Now I should go”.

Jefferson left the room, closing the door behind him.

Alexander smiled up at his wife: “Why such a bad mood honey?”

Eliza groaned, ”You know why. Both of you. Stop acting so childish”.

But when Alexander and Philip smiled, Eliza couldn’t stop herself from smiling to. In fact, she chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you boys are having fun”.

Hamilton kissed his son’s nose and smiled at both of them, “I feel like life is looking up for all of us”. And it was.

#hamilton tickle fic #hamilton tickle #ticklish!jefferson #ticklish!alexander #ler!philip #ler!jefferson #ler!hamilton #jamilton #platonicfluff

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bugsy-maria · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter. 9 Run Away Philip x Reader snip-bit

A/N

if you like what you read you can find the full story on Wattpad by me! Don’t worry not all of my stories have sexual themes though it seems like that Summery (NOT FOR THIS SNIP-BIT BUT FOR THE WHOLE STORY) :

(Y/N) has been a long term not so wanted guest at the Jefferson estate for the majority of her life. Until one day she put up with him for the last time. She ran to New York where she met Philip Hamilton again. What happens when she puts her life on the line for him?

But when all is said and done, there will still be things that cannot be explained...

(Y/N)'s POV

I swing my legs over the edge of my bed and hesitate before my bare feet touch the cold wooden floor. I light up a candle and make my way to his door across the hall. before I get the chance to knock I hear, "It's open, (Y/N)." I smile to my self and open the door. "Miss me already?" he askes his signature smile painted on his face.

"You didn't visit so I thought id stop by to see if you died."

I placed the candle on the dresser by the door.

"I wanted you to come to me, just an experiment."

"Experiment?"

"Yeah, its to see if you love me or not. and you do." he smiles. his arms behind his head.

"and how were you so certain that I would come?" I closed the door but stayed standing in front of the door.

"I have a way with the ladies." he patted his bed, "Come, sit." I smile at his comment and make my way to his bed I sit at the foot. me sitting at the foot didn't last long as Phillip hooked his arm around my waist and pulled me into his chest. it was silent as I got comfortable and nestle in the V of his legs.

"How has boarding school been?" I break the silence when he starts playing with my hair.

"Fine... you remember Stephan right?" I hummed in response, "He got in trouble, had to stay for the holidays."

"And your dad?"

"I don't know to be honest." at this point all of my hair was on my left side, his finger drew shapes on my tilted neck. "He's always working now. cooped up in his office. you would not believe how much work it took to get him out of that damned room."

"He's your father Phillip he most likely has good reason."

"What could be much more important than his own children." his voice is stern the on the waist of my nightgown grips harder on my waist. I know that he's holding back his anger.

"He grew up poor, yeah? he just doesn't want you to go through the same thing he did. not saying he's doing the right thing but he's not doing the wrong thing either. it could be much worse. he just needs someone to tell him to stop and help him mourn. he's clearly hurting inside and barring it in work isn't working as well as he thinks it is."

"You're so smart you know that?"

"Of course I do." we both sat in silence just enjoying each other's company.

"You know they say life is short. they say you wake up one day and one that day, all your dreams and everything you ever wished for and ever wanted, they're gone just like that." I turn to look at him just to see him staring back into my eyes my arms now resting on his chest keeping me upright. "People get old and things change, and situations change and what I want is this moment right now, and my feelings for you and the way you look right now and the way I look at you," he brings his hand up to my cheek and I lean into it closing my eyes. "I just want this to last forever."

"Oh, it will. I mean we've always had each other, as long as I can remember, nothing can change that." I open my eyes to look at him, "Not time or death, not other people." his hand snakes around to the back of my head where he lowers my ear onto his heart. all is silent in the room the only thing being heard is his heartbeat.

"What are you thinking about right now?" he asks

"How I'm going to have to explain myself if someone walks in. what about you?"

"How I spent the last 6 months thinking about how I was going to kiss you at this moment but managed to go this far and not have done that yet." I look up at him.

"I think that makes you more of a gentleman, Mr. Hamilton." I inhale his scent.

"you should call me that more often, kitten." his finger lifts my head. I stare into his amber eyes as he pulls me in. my eyes flutter close as our lips meet. he pulls me close as he sits up. his left-hand travels from my jaw to my cheek deepening the kiss. my hands travel up his torso and around his neck.

he slowly lowers me onto the bed so he's on top of me pinning me onto the bed. we separated for a millisecond to catch our breaths. my hands make their way into his curly hair and gently tug at it. his hand moves from my cheek to my hips and he grips tight. my left leg bent and Phillip's legs on either side of my right one. my nightgown shows a bit too much of my thigh but at the moment we don't care. he licked my bottom lip as if asking for entrance, I wanted to test his patience just a little bit more. I pull his hair more and hear him groan with impatience and pleasure. his left-hand lower onto my thigh, he sneaks it up under the gown and onto my bare hip pinching the skin causing me to gasp. he wasted no time to invade my mouth with his tongue. practically shoving it down my throat. just the feeling of his warm hand touching my bare skin makes me shiver, I've dreamed of this moment, just wanting to be touched like a human would do but this, this is something much more. I feel his tongue pull out of my mouth, we both gasp for air not having had it in a while. not long after I feel him start to attack my neck. sucking and nipping at my skin, when he gets to the crook of my neck I let out a low moan making sure not to wake anyone. it seems as though all he needed was that noise to please him as he started to attack it.

"Next time," he sucks harder, "I won't," harder, "go," harder, "so easy." he finishes off the sentence and admires his work. there will be a mark there tomorrow. he gets off of me and I sit up still in a daze of what had just happened. I swing my feet over the edge of the bed.

"Good night Pip." I look at him with a smile. I get up and make my way to the door.

"No 'I love you'?" my hand hovers over the handle.

"I love you." I look back at him.

"I love you too."

"Yeah, you better," I say when I pick up the candle and make my way to my room remembering that ill have to wear something to cover my neck up tomorrow.

#philip #philip hamilton #hamilton #x reader #philipxreader #fanfic #fanfiction #fiction #wattpad

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pantalonesrealwife · 4 years ago

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Can your write an AU where the Hamilton characters live in the Zelda or Harry Potter universe?

Of course!!!

Hamilton characters in Harry Potter univers...

Alexander:

- He'd most likely be a Ravenclaw

- would get in trouble for setting Jefferson on fire

- Likes to visit Honeydukes with John, Lafayette, and Hercules

- Most likely tends to procrastinate and write ten paragraphs worth of potion ingredients

- Basically a male Hermione with a serious mischievous and immature side

John:

- This baby is a Hufflepuff

- Likes to prank people with Alexander, Lafayette, and Hercules

- has a pet turtle

- has to convince the professors to allow him to keep it

- doesn't seem to pay attention in his classes

- has a secret stash of Bardy Bots Every Flavoured Beans under his pillow

Lafayette:

- He's probably a Gryffindor

- Likes to rap Harry Potter in 99 seconds in the hallways

- throws magical origami birds to Hercules to annoy him

- He has a pet owl

- Likes getting drunk off Butter Beer and whatnot

Hercules:

- Gryffindor

- constantly goes brrrah brrrah in the hallways or when the professors are gone from the classrooms

- Has a pet Barn owl

- doesn't like to pay attention in class

- Likes getting drunk with Lafayette

Burr:

- Slytherin

- has good grades

- is jealous of Alexander

- Prefect

- has a pet owl

Washington:

- Gryffindor

- Is very strict about his grades

- later becomes a Hogwarts professor

- is always telling at Alexander, John, Lafayette, and Hercules

- has a cool snow owl

Angelica:

- Gryffindor

- isn't afraid to break rules

- has good grades

- is friends with Alexander

Eliza:

- Ravenclaw

- Likes to sneak into the Gryffindor common room

- has a crush on Alexander

- has good grades

- the quiet good girl

Peggy:

- Hufflepuff

- It very strict about rules

- gets annoyed and is annoying to other houses

- has okay grades

- has a pet cat

Jefferson:

- Gryffindor

- has to keep buying robes because Alexander keeps setting him on fire

- breaks the rules and gets away with it

- Likes to disarm people

- hangs out with Lafayette

Madison:

- Ravenclaw

- Follows Jefferson around

- hides behind Jefferson when Alexander is around

- has a pet cat

Philip:

- Hufflepuff

- wants to make his father proud

- flatterer

- a ladies guy

- has a pet kitten

King George III:

- Slytherin ( though he wishes he was a Gryffindor because they wear red )

- makes Samuel do his homework

- fashionista

- thinks he's the best

- Prefect ( because he annoyed the professors so much by begging a ton )

- Most likely would be a death eater

- Basically Draco Malfoy

Samuel:

- Hufflepuff

- Follows King George around

- has anxiety

- has a pet tom cat

- gets bullied

- quiet kid in the back

Maria:

- Slytherin

- friends with King George III

- bad girl

- the popular girl that gets away with everything

- kind of like Pansy Parkinson

This was fun to make! Hope you all stay safe in this pandemic!

#hamilton #alexander hamilton #king george iii #john laurens #samuel seabury #george washington #lafayette #harry potter #hercules mulligan #maria reynolds #thomas jefferson #headcanon

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trylonandperisphere · 4 years ago

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From woundedwarriorproject.org:

A Soldier’s Story: Cathay Williams Defied Her Time to Become the Only Known Female Buffalo Soldier

“…That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?” – Excerpt from Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman,” delivered at the 1851 Women's Convention in Akron, OH

A Human Commodity

Today, we use the term “contraband” to refer to forbidden merchandise of any kind: illicit drugs. Exotic birds. Twinkies® hidden under a bunk.

But imagine being labeled as “contraband.” Illegal goods. A stolen thing. Property that is in a place it should not be.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary includes this history-specific definition: “a slave who during the American Civil War escaped to or was brought within the Union lines.”

Born in Independence, Missouri, in 1844 to a slave mother and a free father, her name was Cathay Williams before she was known as William Cathay. She is the only documented black woman to serve in the Army in the 19th century. She is the only known black female Buffalo Soldier.

Her primary label? Contraband.

Before her voluntary enlistment, her status as contraband – a captured slave – meant she was “pressed” into serving. At 17, her role as Army cook and washerwoman meant she accompanied the infantry all over the country. During these travels under the service of General Philip Sheridan, Williams witnessed the Red River Campaign and the Battle of Pea Ridge.

Post-war job opportunities for newly freed slaves – and for African-Americans in general – were all but nonexistent. Inequality and lack of access bore down on African-Americans to a smothering degree, particularly in the southern states. Many had no choice but to turn to military service to afford themselves not only employment stability, but newfound access to health care, education, and post-war benefits by way of a pension.

Captain of Her Fate

It is no mystery why Williams joined the Army after her stint as a Jefferson City house slave: the lure of independence for a young, female, unmarried former slave held an undeniable attraction.

Williams said, “The regiment I joined wore the Zouave uniform and only two persons, a cousin and a particular friend, members of the regiment, knew that I was a woman. They never ‘blowed’ on me. They were partly the cause of my joining the Army. Another reason was I wanted to make my own living and not be dependent on relations or friends.”

Her enlistment started in November of 1866 in St. Louis, Missouri. A cursory examination by an Army surgeon should have outed Williams as a woman, but since the Army didn’t require full medical exams at the time, Williams successfully continued her masquerade as a man.

She performed regular garrison duties, but it wasn’t combat that cut Williams’ military career short: health struggles plagued her. Smallpox was the most debilitating, but back-to-back hospitalizations dealt the most devastating, ironic blow of all in October 1868: “The post surgeon found out I was a woman and I got my discharge. The men all wanted to get rid of me after they found out I was a woman. Some of them acted real bad to me,” Williams said.

‘She Can, She Will’

Her disability discharge meant the end of her tenure in the Army, but not the end of the adventure of being Cathay Williams. When the war ended, Williams signed up with an emerging all-black regiment: the 38th U.S. Infantry – which would eventually become part of the legendary Buffalo Soldiers.

These units dotted the landscape of the American West and showed tremendous skill and valor in a range of duties. They fought in skirmishes with Native Americans, escorted vulnerable wagon trains, built forts, mapped the territory, and protected white settlers – all with sub-par equipment.

For a while in her post-military career, Williams was adrift while she moved around to recapture the stability granted by the Army. She headed to Fort Union in New Mexico territory with her original name to work as a cook. A brief marriage ended with the arrest of her husband, who had stolen money and horses from her. She also took on jobs as a seamstress and laundress under the name Kate Williams in Pueblo, Colorado – where her mother ran an orphanage – and Trinidad, Colorado.

In trying to make a life for herself, Williams could not have known her story had traveled. It landed with a St. Louis reporter whose ears were on fire with rumors of the first black woman to serve in the Army. In the Jan. 2, 1876 edition of the St. Louis Daily Times, Williams officially became a headline when her story was published.

Poor health overwhelmed Williams after serving in the military. Toe amputations from diabetes, neuralgia, deafness, and rheumatism forced her to apply for a military disability pension. A doctor concluded she didn’t qualify. It is estimated that Williams died between 1892 and 1900.

Many women accomplish extraordinary feats in the process of simply trying to live their lives, unaware of the far-reaching impact their determination will have. They do not cut boldly through barriers to become heroes, legends, icons, or models of pioneering tenacity – but they often become them anyway as they try to right the ship for themselves and future generations.

It is no different for Cathay Williams, the first known woman to enlist in the United States Army, and the only known female Buffalo Soldier.

#cathay williams #black history #women's history #u.s. history #civil war #woc #black lives matter #civil war monuments

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astralaffairs · 5 years ago

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freedom of the press 03 | thomas jefferson

title: freedom of the press

pairing: thomas jefferson x reader

tags: @stargazelaurens @ivory-haired-queens @exoticxchicken8 @assbuttstyles777 @superbarriobrothers @distinguishedpotsticker @fukaaaaaaaa @hereforthepsyche-assessment @ivetoldamillionlies @fangirl570 @thealaddinkid @lasciviouspeach @snazzydoesthings @shy-and-awkward-daveed lmk if you want to be added

words: 10.5k

warnings: get ready for hella sexual tension and getting drunk on wine!!

desc: you’d just moved to d.c. full time, a promotion at your publication leading to a transfer to another district chapter, and you were more than thrilled to be there, more than ready to immerse yourself in the world of politics. what you weren’t ready for, though, was how the campaign trail you were following made your heart flutter and your stomach turn. you also hadn’t expected it to be so… gaudy? magenta? – or perhaps, though you wouldn’t hear of it, that wasn’t the campaign’s effect at all.

Y/N RUSHED INTO the apartment, darting toward the kitchen counter as she tried not to lose the balance of soup she had stacked up to her chin. She caught wind of Alex's stunned face from where he stood behind her, still holding the door open to let her in, and gave him a sheepish smile over her shoulder. It wasn't until the cups of soup were safely on the counter that she slowed down.

"Hey, Lex." She turned around, leaned against the counter as she met his eyes. "Thanks for letting me know Eliza and Pip were sick. I got here as fast as I could."

He raised his eyebrows, his face the picture of disbelief as he closed the door behind her, returning to his own apartment. "As fast as you could after picking up," --He leaned to her right where she stood, glancing at the critical mass of food behind her-- "four cups of soup?"

She grinned. "I had to come prepared."

He raised an eyebrow. "Obviously."

"So where are they? Can I come in and see them?" She ignored the sarcasm in his tone as she shrugged off her coat, walking back toward the door and hanging it on one of the hooks where she came in. He nodded toward their hallway, indicating with a smile for her to follow.

"Yeah, c'mon; they're in our room." He started down toward the bedroom as she kicked off her shoes, subsequently rushing after him. "Liza's still not doing so good, but she's definitely better off than Pip. Poor kid isn't himself right now."

"Aw, yeah?" Y/N frowned, her brow furrowed as he looked over his shoulder at her. "Shit, that sucks; I'm sorry. What are they down with?"

"I'm actually not sure, but we think it's the flu." Alex scratched the back of his neck, face wound up into what was almost a grimace as we reached his bedroom. "C'mon in." He pushed the door open, and Y/N walked tentatively into the empty doorway as he entered the room, wearing a wary smile as Eliza glanced over at her, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Hey, Eliza," Y/N said softly. "How're you doing?"

She smiled, though fatigue was written from her weary brow to the heavy bags under her eyes. "Hey, honey." Her voice was almost softer than Y/N's. "Please, come in, I'm doing just fine."

She sat next to where Philip lay on the foot of the bed, watching Inside Out on what you recognized as Eliza's tablet as he scrunched his nose up, perpetually looking as though he was about to sneeze. "Hey, Pip," she added with an amused smile, and he rolled over, looking bored before his eyes lit up as he saw Y/N.

"Aunt Y/N!" He pushed himself off the bed with a toothy (and toothless) grin, coming over to give her a hug. She swept him gladly up onto her arms, shifting him onto her hip as he latched onto her shoulders.

"How's it goin', kiddo?"

He pursed his lips, shook his head dramatically. "Really bad. Me and Mama have the fluke."

She raised her eyebrows at this, turning with him to Eliza and suppressing a laugh. "Oh yeah? Is that right, Mama? You have the fluke?"

Eliza's small smile waa threatening to become a grin as Philip nodded earnestly. She couldn't help but be endeared at the pair. "Something like that," she agreed, and Philip turned again to Y/N looking very self-contented.

"See? We got fevers and coughs and everything," he pouted, and she matched his expression, looking sympathetic as she pulled him closer. He wrapped his little arms around her neck while her expression softened toward Eliza.

"I'm sorry you guys are feeling so bad." The words were directed both at Eliza and Philip, but their four-year-old's mind seemed long gone at that point, attention drawn back to the cartoon playing on the tablet over Y/N's shoulder.

It was then that Alex came over to Eliza, joining her on the side of the bed with an affectionate smile. "I know. It's the worst." He leaned in to wrap an arm around Eliza's shoulder, pulled her close as he softly kissed her forehead. "I'm really gonna miss you at the gala tonight, Lize." He gave a soft chuckle as their foreheads rested together, and her gaze softened. "It'll be the loneliest in a while. Who's gonna make fun of Jefferson's new, ridiculous, gaudy suit with me?"

She hummed her agreement as she cuddled into his side, sniffing and stifling a yawn. "I'll miss you too." She let out a soft sigh as he wrapped an arm around her, and Y/N couldn't help but smile at the domesticity of the scene, bouncing Philip on her hip. For a moment there was only tender quiet, and none of them seemed to come to until Eliza quietly mumbled, "You should bring Y/N instead."

He raised an eyebrow, redirecting his gaze from Eliza's tired form to our rather surprised heroine. "That's actually not a bad idea. You wanna come?"

Her eyes widened as she realized that yes, the invitation was unmistakably directed at her. "To what, exactly?"

A soft chuckle escaped him at how suspicious she looked, brow furrowed tentatively, and he carded a hand through his hair. "Right, I forgot we hadn't told you about that."

"Washington's having a gala," Eliza piped up, sleep thick in her voice, "It's to celebrate the start of his last year before the next election."

"And why invite me?"

Alex sighed. "I love George, but God is it impossible to throw a good party when you're the president." He pursed his lips, rolling his eyes at the memory. "It's always just dry diplomats and politicians. I wouldn't last the night alone."

Y/N hesitated, lips pressed into a thin line as she considered him; Eliza was quickly falling asleep on his shoulder, and he just stared up at Y/N expectantly, his expression holding no trace of a joke. "Tonight?"

"Tonight," he confirmed, nodding. "It's black tie, but if you don't have anything to wear, you can just wear the dress Eliza was planning on."

"I have a dress," she said quickly, many details of the night still giving her pause. She shifted Philip on her hip. "Would I even be welcome? Like, bringing your wife to a government event is one thing, but--"

"You'd be more than welcome," he assured her with a laugh, his easy smile doing just a bit to ease her nerves, "Don't worry about it. They'll all love you, it'll be a fine time, you'll be fine." Her worries were apparently written across her face, if how he was responding was anything to go by, and he waited a beat before asking, "Are you in?"

She took a deep breath. "What time should I be ready?"

"I can be by to pick you up at seven."

"More like your driver will be by to pick me up," Y/N snickered.

"Listen I have to have a security detail, I'm a cabinet official, and I--"

"How many people have tried to assassinate the Secretary of the Treasury, literally ever?"

"It's an important job--"

"I'll be ready at seven." She raised her eyebrows, amused and waiting for him to challenge her. He rolled his eyes.

"See you then.”

____________________

“WHAT COLOR IS your dress?" Alex demanded over the phone, voice coming out in a rush of static as Y/N had him on speaker, still putting the finishing touches on her makeup.

Getting ready on the fly had proved to be more of a challenge than she expected, having rushed home from Alex and Eliza's, had to quickly deal with the newest scoop on Angelica's love life -- He's wealthy and sweet but is he right for me??? -- and still made time to shower and do her hair and makeup. (The sound of her hair sizzling under a flat iron before it was entirely dry had made her cringe; it was an occupational hazard she wasn't entirely willing to deal with, ultimately deciding to let it air dry.)

She pursed her lips as she looked in the mirror.

"Green," she answered simply. "Why?"

"I'm trying to find a tie that matches," he said, exasperation just distinguishable from her side of the line. "What green? Kelley green? Emerald?"

She shrugged before remembering he couldn't see her and considered it for a moment. "More like a forest green."

A small noise of frustration came through in a crackled huff, and she could hear his hangers squeaking against the rod in his closet. "Alright. That'll work."

She laughed lightly at his reply as she slid on her favorite pair of gold earrings. "It better work, 'cause that's what you're working with. Will you still be here at seven?"

"You bet."

________

HE PULLED UP in front of her apartment complex at seven o'six, a number she would continue to dote on for the rest of the night, in a rather official, tinted-window, black government van.

It was seven o'seven when she saw the text letting her know he was outside, and it wasn't until seven thirteen that she finished hobbling down the stairs in her favorite pair of heels, having clung to the railing going a mile per hour the entire way down. (The elevator was broken, what would you expect her to do, walk barefoot? In the disgusting stairwell? She would have winced at the idea.)

She smoothed out the front of her floor-length dress as she took a deep breath, suddenly feeling very self-conscious as she walked out the door of her building's lobby. Was her neckline too low? Should she have covered up more? Did she look too slutty to be at a state dinner? The Italian diplomats surely didn't show this much skin.

She tugged at the straps on her shoulders as she approached the car Alex was in, silently willing it to hide her from any judgment or insecurity about being at such an event. (It was quite an ask of just a fancy dress, though she supposed some of the responsibility also went to the gold necklace that fell just above her hemline and the heels that made her legs look as shapely as ever.)

Alex rolled down the window with a grin, not even bothering to get out of the car to greet her. "Hey. You look nice."

She'd known him for years and was more than used to his antics by then, but still, she rolled her eyes. "What a gentleman." As she let herself into the backseat of the car, sliding into the leather seat beside Alex as the door fell shut with a click, she gave him a second glance. "You don't look so bad either. Would never have guessed you spent your morning in a petri dish of disease."

He only chuckled. "Are you making fun of me for taking care of my family?" Her smile widened.

"Only a little."

The pair bickered good-naturedly for most of the ride there, the teasing gaining fervor when Y/N learned he had only started getting ready ten minutes before coming to pick her up. Realistically, that much had been clear since he called her about his tie five minutes before he left, but that didn't dissuade her from taking advantage of the information.

Her nerves had thus far tamed themselves, but when they pulled up to the steps of the White House and were ushered through with smiles and recognition, she could feel her heart begin to jump into her throat. What had she been thinking, accepting his invitation? She didn't belong here; her job was to critique the government, not working in it.

"Cool it, Y/N." Alex gave her a look between worried and skeptical, brows furrowed and eyes wide. She wondered briefly if her emotions were painted that blatantly across her face. "There's no issue with you being here; you're my guest."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'm fine. It's no biggie, just a dinner, right?"

Now his expression was skeptical. "Yeah? You're fine?"

"Mmhmm."

"Every muscle in your body is tensed right now."

"It's the strain of walking in these heels. You wouldn't understand." She earned herself a dramatic scoff at that one, and couldn't conceal her resulting grin as he lead her through the different rooms of the building to where the dinner was apparently being held.

"Right," he said, tone dry. He glanced over at her as he walked, the stress hadn't faded from her expression, and his gaze softened, if only momentarily. "Hey, you know this is gonna be fine, right?"

The unimpressed look she gave was all the answer he needed, reaching out to give her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "I promise. Everyone brings the most random plus-ones to these, for whatever reason. Last year someone brought their son's kindergarten teacher, so now no one gives any unexpected guests a second glance."

"Alright," she sighed, leaning on the railing in her impractical footwear as they began up a flight of stairs. "I just... I'm worried that my being with the press will make it a different story."

He chuckled. "So long as you stop short of whipping out a notebook and full-on interviewing Jefferson in the middle of the ballroom, don't sweat it."

"You just want me to give up an exclusive? Just like that?" The look she shot him was playfully offended, and his grin grew. "I don't feel like you support my career, Alexander."

He rolled his eyes, an amused smile still playing at his lips. "Unfortunately, I'll put your success just below my still having a job in the government."

"You're no fun."

The state dining room was more the size of a ballroom, as Y/N realized when she entered on Alex's arm. Secretaries and politicians, diplomats and economists swarmed the room, all discussing matters she could hardly begin to skim the surface of; everyone there was certainly more important than she -- at least, that was all she could hear running through her mind as she saw the fancy dresses and sharp suits of the other attendees. She suddenly felt very small.

She took a shaky breath, hoping Alex wouldn't notice her swelling nerves. "Alright, where to?"

"There are a few people I've been wanting you to meet." The sentence was presented innocently enough, but there also lay a glint in his eye that Y/N couldn't quite place the intention behind.

"Oh yeah?" Alex ignored the skepticism in her tone, as well as the question altogether as his eyes scanned the fluid crowd before him. Y/N huffed. "Like who, exactly?"

He glanced back at her with a grin as he started toward the wall to their right, beckoning for her to follow. "Just old friends. I have a feeling you'll like them."

She raised an eyebrow but followed him nonetheless, far from sure about what to expect from this. She had to dodge to avoid running head-on into people who looked like they could sue her for all she was worth as he zigzagged through the crowd, and trying to keep up with Alex was quickly giving Y/N a headache. He glanced back just as she slipped by the Secretary of Education, casting her a wary glance as she hurried to join her friend.

"Christ, Alex." She paused after reaching him to adjust her heels, leaning on him for support as she scowled at the red lines that dug into her skin. "Slow down, will you? Where are we going, anyway?"

"Have you met John?" He continued trying to pull her along, even as she hopped and hobbled, trying to put her shoe back onto her foot. She shrugged.

"Laurens?"

"That's the one." His words came distracted over his shoulder as his gaze continued to dart around the quadrant of the room he'd finally reached. His eyes fixed on the man in question, he smiled. "Have I introduced you?"

"Yeah, once or twice," she said, finally finding exactly who it was they were looking for. "Only in passing, though. Don't think I've ever actually had a conversation with the guy."

He ushered her over in a hurry, and she stumbled behind him, preoccupied with ensuring the neckline of her dress didn't dip too far down in her haste.

"John!" Alex called to him once they were just within earshot. The man in question turned with a raised brow, before breaking into a grin upon seeing his friend. They finally reached where he was standing, and Alex immediately released Y/N in favor of pulling John into a bear hug.

"It's been a minute," he said as he pulled away, his smile soft. "How've you been? How's Martha?"

"She's great. We're great, really." John's tone was earnest as he looked back down at Alexander. "What about Eliza? Philip?"

"They're well. You'd be surprised how much Philip is growing up to look like you," he chuckled. "If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you were the father."

"If you didn't know better," John repeated, amused smile tugging at his lips. A pregnant pause followed his words before he cleared his throat, taking a brief glance at Y/N standing stiffly beside them, and took a small step back to address her. "It's Y/N, right? We've definitely met before."

He shook her hand spiritedly, giving her a lopsided grin that couldn't help but elicit one of her own. "Yeah, for sure. It's good to see you."

"You as well." The warmth in his voice and his gaze seemed to be genuine as he glanced between Y/N and Alex. "Remind me how you two know each other?"

"She's Angie's college friend, and now her roommate." He bumped elbows with Y/N, and she raised an amused eyebrow. "We've been pretty good friends for years now."

"Well, I'm glad you could make it, Y/N. I was disappointed to hear Eliza was feeling too bad, but you're an alright substitute when push comes to shove." He shot her a playful wink with his words, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"The stand-in could never be as good as the original, I'm afraid." She grinned. "Anyway, if I were Eliza, I'd also have to be attracted to this one." Y/N shot Alex a disdainful glance, and while he rolled his eyes, John's smile only grew.

"Alright, you two, I need a drink before I can deal with any more of this tonight." He sounded exasperated, but his smiling eyes told a different story. He turned to Y/N. "Can you find us somewhere to sit?"

She briefly turned back to his friend. "Any open seats at your table, John?"

"An abundance."

"Then I've got it covered, Lex." She grinned, and he just rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He shook his head, playing up the dramatics of it all as a small smile still tugged at his lips. "You want anything while I'm gone?"

"Whatever you're having is good." She shrugged. "Open bar?"

He gave her a mischievous smile as he began his route toward the side of the room. "Nah, you're treating."

"What do you mean, I'm treating?" she called after him, indignant, but he'd already moved on, well within earshot but no longer listening. She scowled, turning to John. "How have you put up with him for even longer than I have?"

"Plenty of liquor," he answered, amusement dancing through his expression. "Got any healthier secrets for me, though?"

She scoffed. "If I knew, I'd tell you." Her gaze flickered around the room, concurring with her lighthearted answer as she tried to find the open table John had mentioned. "Where are we sitting?"

"Follow me." His grin was wide as he beckoned her toward the round table he'd sat down at earlier. A few of the seats were populated, but the table wasn't nearly half full yet.

"So, how do you know President Washington?" Y/N asked. She knew this dinner was for close associates and important relations of his (and, well, their wives' sisters' roommates, in her case), and had never been sure from their few encounters quite what John did.

"I was a soldier under him in the war," he answered, scratching the back of his neck. She didn't have to ask what war he was referring to. The conflict with Britain that had stretched to France and other allied world powers had shaken the international community to its core, the American people in particular. It was the worst national confrontation since the Cold War, Vietnam, Korea, or Afghanistan be damned.

She had only just been old enough to follow the war when it broke out, reading the news on her doorstep before her parents could stop her, smuggling it to her eighth-grade classroom to be informed in peace (or really, in war). The memory of its gruesomeness still looming, Y/N nodded, brows knit.

The silence from her seemed to make him uneasy, and the grin once again returned to his face. "Don't worry about it, though. I didn't see too much of the combat. For most of the years, I was only a camp aide."

"'Camp aide'," a voice to their left scoffed. Both their heads turned, and John's eyebrows immediately shot up. "More like "war hero," do not let 'im lie to you."

"What ever happened to humility, Laf?" John shot back, and Y/N's eyes widened, caught between the obvious familiarity of the two men.

"I 'ave never been humble, and look where it 'as gotten me." The man speaking seemed as animated as John, with skin a deep brown and curls that bounced as he laughed, tied back into an untidy bun.

"What, across the ocean from the country you're supposed royalty in?"

"Royalty," he snorted. "Please. Try, disgraced and banished."

John only smiled. pulling him into a hug as he stood up from the table to greet him. "Right, and that's how you got the job as ambassador to the states?"

The other man flashed him a white-toothed grin as they broke apart. "Something like that." As John pulled away, allowing him to return to his seat, he raised an eyebrow at Y/N, glancing back to John expectantly. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your belle amie?"

Y/N didn't speak a whole lot of Portuguese, but she was fairly sure the first word he'd used meant pretty -- or was it French? Maybe Italian?

John gave him a look she couldn't read before saying, "She's Hamilton's friend Y/N. His sister-in-law's roommate."

He smiled behind the rim of the glass he'd returned to, turning to Y/N. "Très heureux, Y/N. Je m'apelle Gilbert, friends call me Lafayette." He paused, drinking in her mildly amused expression, and set down his glass, saying, "Take your pick."

"It's a pleasure, Lafayette." She shook his hand as her eyes scanned the table at which he sat; John had taken a seat next to Lafayette while he and she were getting acquainted, and the far half of the chairs seemed largely abandoned. John beckoned her over to the empty seat by him as she withdrew from his friend.

She pulled out the seat next to him (making a mental note to keep a chair open for Alex, whenever he returned), and turned back to Lafayette, smoothing out her dress beneath her. "So what is it you do?"

The question was clearly addressed to him; he'd caught her eye almost the moment she sat down. "I am ze French ambassador to ze United States. I work out of ze Quai d'Orsay?"

Based on how he was looking at her, she supposed what he said was supposed to mean something to her. Unfortunately, his words hadn't fallen on deaf ears, but on stupid ones. His smile was almost sympathetic. "Ze French state department."

"Ah!" Finally, in English. "That sounds incredible. What do you do as an ambassador?"

"Mostly attend parties and meet beautiful women." His quick response caught her off guard, and while he remained the picture of nonchalance, she felt heat rushing to the back of her neck. Her eyebrows shot up.

"Sounds... like a good job." She couldn't help but swallow harshly. The implication behind his words made her heartbeat pick up, but despite it, her timid smile grew.

"It certainly is." His gaze had zeroed in on her by then, yet she couldn't decide whether it was a good thing as his eyes narrowed, as though scrutinizing her expression in its entirety alongside his playful grin. In the left of her peripheral vision, John raised an eyebrow. "In fact--"

"Would you mind if we joined you?" It was much to his chagrin that Lafayette was cut off before he could take it further; however, it was much to Y/N's relief. Her heart had already jumped nearly to her throat. She turned to face the voice to the right of her.

"Was there nowhere else to sit?" John addressed Mr. Madison and his wife before Y/N could, a cold undertone in his words. His response raised a few eyebrows, though it was annoyance from James where surprise from Y/N. His wife eyed John with alarm.

"We'd hoped to be seated among friends--" His eye contact with Lafayette at that was pointed, and his expression spelled out unspoken apology. "But if we're not wanted--"

"Please, stay." Y/N sent John a questioning look as she cut James off. Her expression turned immediately kind as she met his eyes, seeing how startled his wife appeared. "I could use a few more people who don't resent me just for who I'm here with."

"Thank you, Y/N." Though he did address her, his words seemed more so directed toward John. He paused as he reached for the chair next to her. "I assume this is where your company is seated?"

"Yeah, Alex is just off getting drinks." Surprise painted his features as he pulled out a seat for his wife, exchanging a gentle glance before giving Y/N a questioning look.

"You're here with Secretary Hamilton?"

"Yeah, he's an old friend." She couldn't quite read his expression but knew at least that she felt out of place with how he was looking at her. She shifted in her seat. "Will that... be a problem?"

The hesitation in her words didn't go unnoticed, and he responded with a warm smile, calming her momentary qualms. "No, of course not. Hamilton is a friend of mine, as well. I was just wondering how you knew him."

"Through his sister-in-law, actually." The words left her with a chuckle, feeling awkward to have to explain her chance connection. "She's been my roommate for a long time, and I've gotten to know Alex and Eliza through her."

Upon noticing his head still cocked to one side, she added, "His wife is sick, so he invited me as a plus-one just for the hell of it."

James laughed at that, taking a sip of his wine. "I'm glad he brought you, of all people."

"So am I, to be honest."

He was shaking his head as he set down his glass, smoothing out invisible creases in his jacket as he glanced back to his right. "Hey, Dolley, I don't suppose you've met Y/N?"

"Not in this lifetime, anyway." Her eyes were soft as she leaned across the table to shake Y/N's hand. "I'm Dolley, James's wife. I'd hug you properly if we were standing, but just know that it's implied."

A laugh tumbled from Y/N's lips, her grin lingering as she ultimately withdrew her hand. "Hug noted and accepted. It's great to meet you, Dolley."

"Y/N is a writer for the Washington Post. She's covering Thomas's campaign trail." Dolley's eyes widened at his words.

"Y/N L/N?" She nodded, and Dolley's features relaxed as recognition set in. "Ah, I thought I recognized you from somewhere. I've read a lot of your stuff pre-campaign; you're a great writer."

Y/N beamed back at her. She'd decided almost immediately that she liked Dolly, but that certainly confirmed it. "Thank you so much, that's so sweet of you."

"I do feel sorry for you, though." She shook her head with a huff as she took a long sip of her wine. Y/N's brow knit with concern. "Stuck reporting about Thomas for the next, what, year? Let me know if you need me to cover your therapy costs afterward, dear."

"Careful what you promise, I may just take you up on it," Y/N retorted, and Dolly laughed.

"You were right, James, she is funny." Her husband turned to look at her wide smile with a soft one of his own, subtle adoration resting in his eyes as she hung onto his arm. They were an unlikely pair, Y/N thought as she watched them, their personalities worlds apart, but they seemed to work so well. She couldn't help but wonder how they'd ended up together.

She didn't ruminate long, though, as James lifted an arm to wave across the room, motioning with a smile for someone she couldn't see to join them.

She turned back to Lafayette and John where they'd been discussing the country's terms of alliance with France. She couldn't have cared less about it, quite frankly, but the Madisons' attention was clearly elsewhere, and she wasn't inclined to isolate herself and stare at the table.

Her facade of interest didn't last; the person in question finally reached their table and it would have been impossible for Y/N not to recognize him. Her head whirled around, pulse quickening even as she heard him greeting James. Just her luck. He dipped down to kiss Dolley on the cheek, acting sickeningly familiar with the couple, after pulling James into a hug. His interactions with them were uncharacteristically genuine, in her opinion, and he pulled out the chair next to Dolley to join them at their table, still chatting animatedly with the pair.

It wasn't until Jefferson caught Y/N's eye that she realized she'd been staring, and caught staring, too. His movements slowed momentarily, surprised gaze meeting her alarmed one almost directly across the table, and he raised an eyebrow, expression easing into one of amusement, as if to say, look what we have here.

She blinked, eyes wide.

"Thomas!" Dolley's excited exclamation took them both by surprise, and they quickly broke the gaze they'd held just a moment too long. Heat threatened to fill Y/N's cheeks despite her fighting it down; she fixed her eyes to the red tablecloth before her. Of all people who could've shown up to her table, it had to be him. "Have you met Y/N?"

Her heart nearly jumped into her throat as Dolley broke her train of thought, having been expecting (or really, hoping) not to be dragged into the conversation. Her gaze snapped upwards.

Dolley seemed oblivious to her reaction, though, reaching across the table to squeeze Y/N's forearm with a wide smile. She could only manage a weak one in return. There was a skip as Jefferson met her eyes, his brow raised, and she was painfully aware of every little movement she made.

Finally, Y/N answered for him, turning to Dolley, "Yeah, we've run into each other once or twice." She winced inwardly at how breathless she sounded.

"Twice." She was surprised to hear Thomas chime back in, hoping to just let the subject drop, and he was just on the wrong side of self-contented as her wide eyes found his.

"Oh, really?" Y/N could see Dolley glancing between them out of the corner of her eye, and she swallowed, throat tight. "When did you meet?"

"Just a few campaign events, nothin' too exciting." Though his words were directed at Dolley, his gaze was still fixed on Y/N, and while she swallowed thickly, James laughed.

"'Nothing too exciting.' Care to tell us the story of how you almost ran her over, Thomas?"

"You what?" Dolley's reaction was immediate and incredibly expressive. Her eyes widened as she looked at the man in question. "Now you're on the hook, Jefferson. What's the story?"

His smile mellowed out as Y/N was either too afraid or too stubborn to be the one to break his gaze -- or somewhere between the two -- despite that her heart was pounding all the way down to her toes with how he looked at her. "Just a bit of a logistical mix-up." He grinned as he turned to Dolley, breaking the prolonged eye contact. "I happened to be tryin' to drive in the same place that she was tryin' to walk."

"And he almost hit you, Y/N? Where was this?" Dolley seemed to be enjoying the revelation, laughing, and Y/N had to conclude she was planning on giving Thomas hell for this. She sighed.

"Oh, just off in one of the alleyways between buildings downtown where cars aren't supposed to go." She shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. She'd begun to enjoy this now that it had been turned on him. "Y'know, over where he regularly violates traffic laws."

"Oh really?" James raised an acute eyebrow at Jefferson. "I seem to have missed this part of the story, funnily enough."

"What, was that part conveniently left out when you heard the story, James?" Y/N wore a look of falsified innocence as she looked over at him, and he sighed.

"It seems to have been." He moved his annoyed gaze from Jefferson to Y/N, glare easing as he looked over at her. "You really should've pressed charges, y'know."

She grinned, hardly stifling a laugh at his words, and raised her glass in agreement. "Don't tempt me; I still might."

He laughed, taking a sip of his own wine as he considered her, eyes shining.

Dolley chose that moment to pipe back in, smile inquisitive as she laid a hand on James's forearm. "So, how did your close call with manslaughter turn into you two meeting? Did you not just, I dunno, keep driving?"

Jefferson grinned at that, turning his full attention back to Y/N. "You wanna answer that one, Y/N?"

"Hard pass." Her teeth were gritted as she met his eyes, and he chuckled.

"That was when she blackmailed me into givin' her an interview for her article," he explained, tone matter-of-fact, but mischief danced in his smile. She pursed her lips.

"I mean, otherwise the article would've been about how the Secretary of State has no respect for the law." She had to keep her expression in check with how amused he looked. Anger at this point would do her no good. "Almost hitting an innocent pedestrian wouldn't do much for your campaign; you should consider yourself lucky."

"Oh, I do." Jefferson no longer seemed to be talking about the article, though, his smile bordering on predatory as his eyes bore into hers. Her glare set in with how he was looking at her. He continued, expression easing into nonchalant amusement, "You're doing wonders for my Twitter following."

"I'm glad to hear you're popular online." She plastered on a sarcastic smile, and frustration radiated off of her in waves. The tension between the two was palpable. "But don't expect to gain anything more from me, Secretary Jefferson. The Washington Post sends you all their best."

A beat passed as he held her gaze, his smile becoming smug as his eyes narrowed. "Now, what happened to 'Thomas'?"

Her jaw ticked, despite the thrill that ran down her spine with the edge to his words, as his stare seemed to be burning into her own. How much humor he seemed to find in the situation had her fuming; she had to attribute it to anger when her breath caught at the words.

She held her tongue for a moment, only stared at him, brows raised in livid disbelief, and just when she didn't think she could stop herself from lunging across the table to yank Jefferson by his obviously expensive necktie--

Alex cleared his throat behind Y/N, making her almost jump in her seat. Her heart beat a tattoo against her chest, and Alex looked suspicious as he took the seat to her right.

Now it was him holding Jefferson's gaze, the tension between the two men even stronger yet, with their scowls perfectly mirrored and with both their jaws clenched.

"Picked you up a gin, dry." He didn't turn to face Y/N, despite that it was her he was addressing. He appeared too busy staring daggers into Jefferson's expectant expression, all but ready to risk his job if it meant taking a good, hard swing at him.

"Thank you, Alex." It irked her that Jefferson looked so smug, especially so needlessly, but it clearly annoyed Alex more than only a bit more, and she knew she needed to diffuse whatever sexually charged staring contest was taking place before her. She took the glass from Alex, resting a hand on his forearm until he turned to look at her. "How much do I owe you?"

Though she didn't see it, Jefferson raised his eyebrows at him across the table, disdain looming in his surprise. Alex sent him a glare, saying, "Don't worry, I'll cover it."

"You sure?" Her brows shot toward her hairline; he still seemed preoccupied, but any generosity from him was new to her. "Thought you said I was paying for drinks tonight."

Alex certainly didn't care for the judgment in Jefferson's eyes. He met it with a scowl, sending a shameless glare across the table before he pulled off a smile, turning back toward her. "Seriously, no worries. You're my guest."

There was suspicion deep-set in the words she had to force down, glancing between him and Jefferson; instead, she opted for saying, "Thank you."

There was a tense pause as she brought the glass to her lips, desperately wanting not to be the one who broke it.

"So, Thomas, how's your campaign going?" Dolley's endearing voice again chimed in, and Y/N was torn between being grateful for her breaking up the unspoken standoff between him and Alex, and groaning inwardly as Jefferson began to speak again. And it didn't seem like he planned to stop for a while.

Sighing, she threw back a heavy sip of her gin. It could be a long night.

_____________

"I CANNOT BELIEVE I agreed to come here," Y/N huffed, her teeth gritted and glare dark. She'd dragged Alex away from the table for her third glass of wine (she'd switched from gin after two glasses, having decided early in the night that even Jefferson wasn't worth the hangover). She groaned as she slumped against the bar. He didn't have to ask what was bothering her.

"You're being dramatic." He lifted himself onto one of the barstools next to her, rolling his eyes, and she scowled as she met his exasperated gaze. "I work with him. I've had to deal with this almost every day for years."

She furrowed her brow. "Good point. How are you not dead on your feet?"

He grinned. "That's assuming I'm not. Haven't you been paying attention?"

She swung around on the stool as she snorted, took a long sip of her drink before leaving it on the counter, and hopped to her feet. "Good point. Wanna buy me another before we head back?"

"Buy it yourself, L/N."

"I thought you said you were paying tonight." Y/N plastered on a pout in an effort to stifle the smile that threatened to break through. "'Least, that's what you said when everybody else was around."

"I paid for your ticket."

"I didn't have a ticket!"

"Beside the point."

She scowled, rolled her eyes as she turned back to the bar. "Excuse me?" She shot Alex a final glare as the bartender turned to face her. "May I have a glass of your most expensive red, please? Whatever will do." She flashed him her widest smile, but he just sighed. Apparently working state dinners takes quite a bit out of you.

Alex quirked a brow at her while the bartender went to grab her a drink, and she only shrugged.

"Cash or credit, ma'am?" She turned back to him with the same sweet smile.

"Just put it on my tab, please. It's under the name Thomas Jefferson?"

"Will do." He turned away once again, and Alex let out a surprised huff of laughter.

"And I thought you were about to charge it to me." His expression was amused, though impressed as she faced him, looking rather self-contented.

"Why would I ever do something like that Alex?" She couldn't stifle her grin as she took a sip of her drink. "You did pay for my ticket, after all."

He chuckled. "Of course."

She leaned back on the bar, hesitant to return to their table as she savored the taste of her overly-expensive drink. The atmosphere in the room was warm; she didn't feel nearly as uncomfortable as she had when she entered, yet it exhausted her more than anything. She sighed, brushing a loose hair away from her face.

"Two whiskey sours." Her train of thought was broken abruptly, though, as an unmistakable voice came from her right, and her eyes widened, turning toward the source.

She turned back to Alex with urgency written across her expression. "Alex," she hissed. "That's John Adams."

He raised an eyebrow. "It sure is."

"Do you know him? Can you introduce me?" She couldn't understand how his enthusiasm wasn't matching her own, him only folding his arms disinterestedly.

"Yeah, he's a good friend." He pushed himself off the bar, before pausing. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes, suppressed an exhausted groan. "Alex. I'm a reporter. On politics. In Washington. Knowing the vice president could be a game-changer for my career. Do you have his number?"

"Get it yourself." Her steely glare broke through his annoyed expression, and he huffed. "Yes. Fine, I'll introduce you."

Just as he turned, though--

"Hamilton!" John Adams's jovial voice called a few feet down the bar at him, beckoning him over, and YN's eyes lit up. She had to stop herself from sprinting the, maybe, two yards to her right as Alex escorted her over, though her expression still read as starstruck. "How's it going?"

"It's been worse." Alex's grin grew to match Adams's, and he grabbed his hand, pulling him in for an amiable hug. "What about you? How's the last year of vice presidency going so far?"

"Couldn't ask for better, with Jefferson officially leaving our cabinet." The two men shared a knowing look, satisfaction obvious as Alex withdrew, holding Y/N's shoulder.

"I can say for sure that it won't be the same without him."

Adams snorted, just as his wife emerged from behind him, having grabbed their drinks from the bartender. He accepted his whiskey with a quick 'thank you' and a kiss on the cheek, before turning back to Alexander and Y/N. "Hey, have you met my wife, Abigail?"

"Don't believe so." He leaned in to shake her hand with a warm smile. "Alexander Hamilton. I'm the one who keeps the country from going broke."

"Abigail Adams. I'm the one who keeps the family from going broke." She gave a wry smile as she pulled away, and John scoffed.

"Right. Mr. Vice President over here isn't much of a breadwinner."

"Mm, but he is quite a breadspender." Abigail grinned, looking pleased with herself as she looped her arm back through John's, but he just rolled his eyes.

"And you've met my wife Eliza before, but this is our friend Y/N." Y/N reached out to shake both their hands, trying to contain the awed look in her eyes. "Eliza's at home sick with our son, but I didn't want to spend all evening lonely with our other lovely administration members."

"Tell me about it," John laughed. "It's great to meet you, Y/N."

"You as well, Vice President Adams. I'm... a bit of a fan, to be quite candid. You've done some incredible things throughout your career."

He let out a soft 'aww', as he pulled back from shaking her hands, waving her praise away absently. "Oh, please, it's John. A friend of Alex's is a friend of mine. And I can assure you, I'm a lot more impressive on paper."

"Take him at his word on that," Abigail added, leaning in with urgency, her tone falsely serious. "He means, like, a lot more impressive on paper. Like, miles from reality."

"They get it, love."

"Just trying to assist your point." The couple shared a pleased look, both their eyes shining, and Y/N had to grin.

"It's incredible to meet you, too, Mrs. Adams. I'm sure you're just as impressive in reality as you are on paper."

"She is," John piped in, and Abigail laughed.

"You both flatter me." She rolled her eyes, despite the grin playing at her lips. "And the pleasure really is all mine, Y/N. How do you two know each other?" She glanced between her and Alex.

"We actually go a ways back." She looked over at Alex, brow furrowed as she recalled. "I've been his sister-in-law's co-worker for number of years, and since we've been roommates, I've gotten to know Alex and Eliza pretty well."

"Where do you work, Y/N?"

"I'm a writer for the Washington Post, actually." She bit her lip, not sure of how much to say, nor of whether she could play this into gaining a contact. "I report on politics, and was actually just promoted to my current position covering federal affairs."

"The Washington Post?" Abigail asked, "You wouldn't happen to be the same Y/N who follows the Jefferson campaign, would you?"

She sighed, hung her head with a tired smile. "Don't remind me."

Her words elicited a collective laugh, before John piped in, "I've read your articles, actually. You're a great writer; it's scathing stuff."

"Hey, I might be biased, but my writing is just the facts." She held up her hands in defense. "But thank you, so much. I can't say how much it means to hear you say that."

"Can't help if it's true." He shrugged with a grin before pausing. "Say, are you on his campaign all the way up until the election?"

"That I am. Gotta love long-term assignments."

"'Course you do." He grinned. "Can I... give you my card, have you reach out to me if you ever need a contact on anything? Just, y'know, as a concerned citizen who'd rather not see Jefferson in office."

Her brows shot toward her hairline as he reached into his coat pocket, glancing over at Alex in her shellshocked state. "I... Yes, of course! That'd be incredible."

"Good." John handed her his card with a wink. "Please don't hesitate to reach out. Our democracy depends on it."

She laughed. "Don't I know it."

____________________

SHE SPENT THE rest of her evening back at the table trying to make getting wine-drunk off of fancy aged merlot seem as classy as possible, hoping it wasn't obvious when she snuck over to the bar for another (fourth) glass of gin instead. It was unclear whether the stuffy, formal atmosphere was getting to her head or if it was just the liquor, but her strained smile was beginning to melt into fatigue. She needed a rest.

Her patience was running thin as she forced a laugh at something someone had said. She wasn't sure who anymore, let alone what they said, but everyone else was laughing. Her regard for appearing out of place was waning as well.

Her tired hand fell to Alex's forearm on the table, giving it a gentle squeeze to get his attention.

"Hey, it alright with you if I go get some air?" She leaned in as she asked, a sense of urgency in her voice, and he raised a brow.

"Are you alright?"

She strained her smile further, though it seemed only to worry him more. "Just a bit of a headache. Mind if I step out?"

"Go for it." He gave her a worried smile as she stood from her seat, her napkin folded delicately on the table before her, the chair pushed gently out behind.

Her breathing relaxed as she turned away from the table. Her gaze darted all around and through the room; finding the nearest exit had become her first and only priority. The click of her heels against the ballroom floor melted into the clamor of the air. Deep breath in.

She hadn't looked back at their table as she walked, trying with everything in her to retain a calm, collected composure, and it took the full strength of her will to keep her steps straight and under control as she spotted a hallway branching out from the room. Deep breath out.

She slipped out of the room between the mass of gorgeously-dressed bodies, sighing as she reached her first gasp of air that wasn't polluted with pseudo-intellectualism. She lived for politics, but all in all, politicians weren't her cup of tea.

She continued down the hall while looking for somewhere out of sight to rest. For the most part, it was just alternate hallways branching out, a labyrinth designed if only to put an ache in her feet, before she stumbled upon a series of offices. Her eyes lit up.

The first door she tried was locked, but the next was open, and she didn't bother to look for the light switch as she stepped out of her heels. She flexed her feet in her pantyhose as she walked across the cool marble, collapsing momentarily in the chair that sat across from the desk, presumably for meetings.

She simply stretched for a moment, enjoying the solitude. Her eyes wandered across the walls before they landed on a bookcase, a little off to the side but packed to the brim with gilded titles. She glanced behind her out the office window, letting her curiosity get the best of her.

The books that day on its shelves seemed to be about any topic imaginable as she browsed the stacks, from recognizable titles -- Pride and Prejudice, Leviathan, The Second Treatise on Government -- to slightly more obscure ones, not to mention several in French. Whoever the shelves belonged to seemed to have interesting taste. She'd have liked to discuss it with them, she thought to herself as she appreciated the heavy volume of philosophy. Not enough Kant for her liking, though.

The person had even tucked some poetry away. She almost reached out to grab a Sylvia Plath, before a leather-bound volume of T. S. Eliot's works caught her eye. She tugged it out of its tight fit without a second thought, the beauty of the book itself getting the best of her.

The book fell open in her hand onto a particular work of his, its corner dog-eared, the page marked up, and where it met the spine painfully worn. She absentmindedly ran a finger over the annotations, knowing the poem by heart but silently appreciating this mystery reader's take on it.

The book nearly flew out of her hands, though, as she heard the door opening behind her. She jumped back where she stood, unsure how to explain to whoever this was the reason for her being there.

The light he flicked on only powered the lamp on the desk, but it was easy enough for them to make out one another's faces. Her eyes widened.

"Y/N?"

"Thomas?!" she exclaimed, panic flooding her system, "What are you doing here?"

An amused smile settled onto his lips as he entered the room. "Oh, so it's Thomas when we're alone?"

"That was just on reflex, don't take it too personally," she scowled, snapping the book shut in her hand. "You scared me."

"So usin' 'Thomas' is reflex, then, huh?" The way he raised a brow told Y/N that he was enjoying this a bit too much, and she huffed.

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

"It's my office. Least, last time I checked." He nodded toward the back of the sign on the window, which presumably marked the space as his own. She gaped for a moment longer, before pursing her lips, silently cursing her luck.

"God, of fucking course it is." She pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a shuddering sigh. "Because who else's office could I have stumbled into when I had the entire building's worth of offices here."

"Yeah, it does seem like long odds." He shrugged, innocent expression falling across his features as he walked toward his desk. "Unless, of course, it was intentional."

He couldn't contain his grin as she fixed him with a withering glare. "You really think I'd choose to spend a second more around you than I had to?"

"You tell me." He smiled knowingly. "After all, you chose to spend more than a year followin' my campaign around. Seems pretty intentional to me."

Her huff was annoyed as she once again turned away, eyes scanning the bookshelf to try to find where she'd taken the volume from.

"What're you readin'?"

His voice came from closer this time, trying to get a look at what she'd chosen from the shelf. She eyed him skeptically, but his curiosity seemed to be genuine.

"Your collection of Eliot poems." She held up the book with her words, and his soft grin came in response.

"Good taste," he commented, leaning onto the desk beside her. She raised a brow. She wouldn't have expected him to be much for poetry, but it wasn't an unpleasant surprise. She didn't notice the small smile growing on her face. "Got that one as a high school graduation present. Haven't let it out of my sight since."

"I can tell." She held up the book with an amused brow raised, looking at all the rips and tears, water damage and multiple spine repairs. "It's been worn out."

"It's important to me." His voice was quiet at that, even with his smile, and she felt as though she'd accidentally broken through to something she wasn't supposed to see. A vulnerability she wasn't meant to receive.

She held his gaze for a moment, and despite his words, he looked entirely nonchalant, and she reopened the book to the page in question, glancing briefly down at it. She bit her lip. "Why this poem?" He raised an eyebrow, and she shrugged, simply curious. "The page was bookmarked. And covered in scrawled blue ink. Seemed important."

He chuckled, glancing down at her, and his stare was knowing as she looked back at him. "It is important. May I?"

He reached for the book Y/N was still holding, and though it took her a moment, once she understood his intimation, she immediately passed it over. She had to ignore how her skin burned as her fingers brushed against his. He opened the book.

He paused a moment, running a hand over the aging marks that had been left on the page, staring fondly down at the words inscribed in what was obviously an old book. "God, I haven't looked at this old thing since I packed it away into this bookshelf. Almost can't remember when I forgot about it."

With how he stared down at the book, gaze faraway and smile gentle, Y/N couldn't help but feel like an intruder. The poetry was obviously something personal for him, and it seemed as though she was breaking an intimate moment between him and an old friend, especially with how bittersweet his smile was when he looked back up.

"The poem's about loss. Or change." He sighed, tugging at the corner of the paper absentmindedly. "Or leavin'. It's gotten me through a lotta hard times; I used to read it almost every day when I first started college. Eliot always seems to know how to say what I don't."

"Yeah," Y/N breathed, though breathless from the immediate proximity, "He has a way with words, huh?"

Thomas's grin immediately returned as she spoke, him having been broken from his melancholy reminiscence, and he looked down at her with his eyes gleaming in the low light. "You a fan, sweetheart?"

She couldn't help smiling at his words. "I have a casual appreciation."

"And that's why you chose this book out of the hundreds I got scattered around this office?"

Again, the laugh his tone coaxed from her was involuntary; she felt unusually comfortable with his playful demeanor (too comfortable, worryingly comfortable), and she shrugged. "Fine, call it a bit of a fixation." He stayed quiet, just raising an eyebrow, and she hesitated, searching his expression before she continued, "I've been writing poetry since high school, and he was a pretty big influence on me. I actually almost got a tattoo of some of his writing when I was in college."

"Yeah?" His smile was inviting, now, and she found herself feeling vulnerable this time around. "What'd you wanna get tatted?"

"I never decided," Y/N chuckled, before pursing her lips. "I was never decisive enough -- or brave enough -- to actually go through with it."

"Shoulda done it." Thomas moved to put the book back onto his shelf, brushing against her shoulder and leaving Y/N alone at the desk. She was glad he couldn't see the way she shivered at the contact. "All this isn't gonna last forever, y'know?"

"I s'pose so." She folded her arms, grinning. She found his conviction amusing, but at the same time, his words rang true. "Maybe I'll go back to get it done someday, live on the edge a little."

"You should." He turned around with that, having found somewhere to fit the book back in through his jigsaw puzzle of a shelf, and found himself nearly toe-to-toe with Y/N, where she leaned back onto his desk. Her pulse jumped, but she didn't move.

"I dunno." Her voice returned more quietly, unfolding her arms to prop herself up on the mahogany table. "I think I'm a little too afraid of the consequences. I don't wanna..." She swallowed thickly at the way he looked at her, only growing closer. Her tone was measured as she continued, feeling her pulse quicken as she finished, "do something I'll regret. I'm not a reckless person, Thomas."

"Sounds like you need to learn how to be brave sometimes," he chuckled. His easy nonchalance was only putting her more on edge, and she grew more and more certain that the distance between them was no mistake. "Stop worrying, let yourself live."

She pulled her feet in closer to the table, drawing herself to her full height, and as she could've counted his eyelashes in the little distance between them, she was no longer sure they were talking about her tattoo.

"If you only ever focus on the consequences, you're never gonna be able to live in the moment." She let out a shallow breath, entire body tense. "Relax a little." His grin was wide, the look in his eyes wolfish. She could hardly breathe.

His hand came to rest at the side of her jaw, his thumb on the slope of her chin, just below her bottom lip, and she looked up at him with undiluted anxiety in her gaze.

"Thomas." Nerves were evident in her voice, fear mingling with anticipation, but she didn't try to stop him, and he chuckled.

"Relax." The word was hardly a breath as he leaned in toward her, before pausing with his eyebrows raised, giving her plenty of opportunity to push him away, tell him how out of line he was. She bit her lip, searching his eyes for some kind of a motive, but all she saw were his dark eyes blazing into her own, felt his calloused skin cradling her jaw.

She didn't push him away.

Her eyes began to flutter shut, body slowly relaxing under his touch, and she could feel his warm breath dancing featherlight across her lips, his chest pressing against her, hips pinning her against the wooden desk. His other hand drifted down to her waist.

The next sound came from the hall.

"Thomas!"

Y/N immediately tensed, eyes wide and meeting his own panicked stare, faces still just millimeters apart. When the voice moved to a hand jiggling the brass door handle, her hands moved to his chest, frantically pushing him away to try to maximize the little distance there was between them during the little time she had. His hand had just begun to move from her cheek when Dolley burst through the door, smile wide.

Immediately, she began to look nearly as startled as they were, though she still had claim to not being in such a compromising position.

"Oh! I-- Thomas." She froze for a moment, gaping at the pair. "Y/N! I.. I'm so sorry! I, ah, didn't mean to interrupt anything... between you two, I was just--"

"Oh, no, no, no." Y/N immediately walked Dolley's apology back, sliding out of Thomas's grasp as she scrambled aside. "No, I-- You--" She sighed, taking a moment to regain her bearings. "This is not what it looks like."

It's exactly what it looks like, she thought, though, jaw clenching in spite.

"No, Dolley, really, this, ah..." Thomas trailed off, looking to Y/N for assistance she didn't know how to give. She was just as panicked as he.

"Don't worry about it," Dolley said, immediately trying to retreat back through the door. "I... This... I'll forget I saw this. It's fine."

"No, Dolley!" Y/N lunged after her, catching the door and risking a glance backward as Thomas rushed out with them. "I swear, we were just headed out. Nothing happened, it wasn't--"

"What were you lookin' for me for, Dolley?" Thomas's voice had somehow regained all of its composure, something Y/N couldn't understand with how frazzled she felt. "I just stepped out to check on somethin'."

Her gaze was still skeptical as she looked at him, and then spared a glance over at Y/N. "There was just someone asking about your campaign, and I figured you'd want to talk to them." She left it at that, her voice shaky.

Y/N let them lag behind her as they walked, though, picking up her pace frantically. She wanted to remove herself from the situation as quickly as possible, and she tried to focus on finding Alex while suppressing the words which threatened to emerge in her mind.

Thomas Jefferson had been about to kiss her.

She shuddered at the thought, taking a deep breath, trying to find some semblance of level-headedness.

Worse yet, she had been about to let him.

The thought sunk in her chest.

365 notes · View notes

hamanuelton · 4 years ago

Text

my favorite parts of hamilton:

- “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.”

- every time Leslie Odom Jr. as aaron burr begins another part with “how did a bastard, orphan-“ or like in that same way ‘cause he doesn’t always start it that way but you know what I mean

- the way Leslie Odom Jr. as My Boi Burr™️ says “well, the world got around, they said, ‘this kid is insane, man!’”

- also when Leslie Odom Jr. as A. Burr says

“WHAT’S YOUR NAME, MAN?!”

- “our man saw his future drip-dripping down the drain, a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain”

- “Alexander Hamilton. My name is Alexander Hamilton. And there’s a million things I haven’t done, but just you wait, just you wait...”

- background “just you wait, just you wait”’s as hammy’s putting on a new jacket and ensemble is praising nyc

- “and me? i’m the damn fool that shot him.”

- “Burr, sir” + the continuation of this all throughout

- “If you talk you’re gonna get shot” / FORESHADOWING WOOOEEEEWOOOOO

- “i’m John Laurens in the place to be”

- Lafayette’s fuckinf accent

- “BRRRAH! BRRAAAH! HERCULES MULLIGAN UP IN IT LOVIN IT”

- “if you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for”

- “‘Onarchy?”

- hey, yo, i’m just like my country, i’m young, scrappy, and hungry—

- the way Odom Leslie Jr. as The Hamburrglar™️ says ‘shot’ and they all take a shot

- this ⤵️

- Hammy getting //flustered// about friendship

- WHEN ARE THESE COLONIES GONNA RISE UP

- Angelica’s face when Burr is tryna tell her bout herself and she shows him up and ships him out

- Act 1: 6. Farmer Refuted

- honorable mention: “my dog speaks more eloquently than thee!" "but strangely, your mange is the same." "is he in jersey?”

- King George pouting

- Jonathan Groff’s overarticulation of each syllable as King George is a work of art

- “♪ Da-da-da-dat-da-dat-da-da-da-dai-ah-da! ♪ Da-da-da-da-dai-ah-da! ♪

- “Everybody! —“

- “We keep meeting.”

- “i imagine death so much it feels more like a memory. when’s it gonna get me? in my sleep? seven feet ahead of me?”

- “See, I never thought I’d live past twenty.”

- “this is not a moment, it’s the movement”

- “I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow, for the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow!”

- “dying is easy, young man, living is harder!”

- “i’m being honest. i’m working with a third of what our Congress promised.”

- “you need all the help you can get. i have some friends. Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?” — “we’ll need some spies on the inside, some king’s men who might let some things slide.”

- “watch this obnoxious, arrogant, loudmouth bother be seated at the right hand of the father.”

- “Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after him” — “That’s true.”

- “Yo, if your marry a sister, you’re rich, son!” — “Is it a question of ‘if’, Burr, or which one?” and then the little ‘hey’ ‘hey’ thing they do gets me every time

- literally the use of yo throughout the production fucking gets me every single fucking time

- “i’m writin’ a letter nightly. now my life gets better, every letter that you write me. — THE PURE UNBRIDLED SENSE OF FORESHADOWING IN “laughin’ at my sister, cuz she wants to form a harem” — ft. “i’m just sayin’, if you really loved me, you would share him!”

- the irony in “Eliza, i don’t have a dollar to my name”, you’ll be on the $10 bill, my man

- top-notch brain

- Angelica TRIED TO TAKE A BITE OF ME

- the way Anthony Ramos as John Laurens says “alright, alright. that’s what i’m talkin’ about!” and also the face that he makes

- hunger-pang frame

- “You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied.” — “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. You forget yourself.” — “You’re like me. I’m never satisfied.” — “Is that right?” — “I have never been satisfied.” — “My name is Angelica Schuyler.” — “Alexander Hamilton.” — “Where’s your fam’ly from?” — “Unimportant. There’s a million things I haven’t done but just you wait, just you wait...”

- tbh the way ‘Schuyler’ is spelled is oddly satisfying to me

- honestly just the way LMM says Alexander Hamilton+/ my name is Alexander Hamilton, and there’s a million things i haven’t done, ‘just you wait, just you wait...’ throughout the production

- “i’m the oldest and the wittiest and the gossip in new york city is insidious”

- “You are the worst, Burr.”

- Act 1: 12. The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

- “love doesn’t discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes”

- “love doesn’t discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes and we keep living anyway. we rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes. and if there’s a reason i’m still alive when everyone who loves me has died—“

- “Chick-a-plao!”

- the way they say ‘raise a glass’ is both elegant and (appropriately) reverent

- “i go back to new york and my apprenticeship” — i shouted MY BOI HERCULES MULLIGAN UP IN IT LOVIN IT DID NOT JUST SAY THAT, IF HE ACTUALLY LEFT AND ISN’T JUST UNDERCOVER OR SOME SHIT IMMA WRITE LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA A STRONGLY WORDED LETTER

- the minute General Charles Les came into the picture i hated him so hard, even though his literal first word was ‘Whee!!!!’, though i can appreciate the sentiment and what LMM was tryna do there

- “Washington cannot be left to his devices indescisive, from crisis to crisis” — sweet baby jesus that alliteration, and jon rua totally pulled it off (i hate General Charles Lee not the person who played him, i can also appreciate the fact that as an actor it takes a lot of talent to be able to make you hate a character so easily, also shoutout to Jonathan Groff as King Georgey-Boy™️, Sydney James Harcourt as james reynolds, and the general way LMM somehow made me fed up/turn on Alexander with the whole scene with him and Maria Reynolds — and not only that but somehow redeemed himself to me which is easier said than done for characters and people alike.. i’ve been hurt too much to play like that.

- Act 1: 15. Ten Duel Commandments

- honorable mention: “if you don’t reach peace, that’s alright. time to get some pistols and a doctor on site. you pay him in advance, you treat him with civility. you have him turn around so he can have deniability.”

- Act 1: 17. That Would Be Enough

- honorable mention: the melody that LMM went with for that turn of phraseis a truly beautiful thing

- “Immigrants:” — “We get the job done.”

- THE FACT THAT MY MAIN MAN HERCULE MULLIGAN WAS ON THE INSIDE NOT ONLY DID I CALL IT BUT DAMN HE REALLY GOT THAT GOOD HOT TRIBUTE HE DESERVED

- “To my brother’s a revolutionary covenant! I’m runnin’ with the sons of liberty and I am lovin’ it! See, that’s what happens when you up against the ruffians. We’re in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it! Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction, when you knock me down I get the fuck back up again!”

- Act 1: 21. What Comes Next

- honorable mention: “i’m so blue” — the little squat that Groffsauce does as the light turns blue really got to me

- Act 1: 22. Dear Theodosia

- Leslie Odom Jr.’s voice is so ding dang delightfully airy

- honorable mention: “You have my eyes. You have your mother’s name. When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart.”

- Act 1: 23. Non-Stop

- as someone with siblings i can appreciate that they’re bickering like that’s just what they are

- “I was chosen for the constitutional convention! *squeal*”

- “Burr, we studied and we fought and we killed for the notion of a nation we now get to build. For once in your life, take a stand with pride. I don’t understand how you stand to the side.”

- Act 2: 1. What’d I Miss?

- honorable mention: “But the sun comes up and the world still spins.”

- Act 2: 2. Cabinet Battle #1

- honorable mention: “DOIN’ WHATEVER THE HELL IT IS YOU DO IN MONTICELLO!”

- tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

- “Daddy, daddy, look.... My name is Philip. I am a poet. I wrote this poem just to show it. And I just turned nine. You can write rhymes but you can’t write mine.” - “What!” - “I practice French and play piano with my mother.” — “Uh-huh!” — “I have a sister but I want a little brother.” — “Okay!” — “My daddy’s trying to start America’s bank. Un deux trois quatre cinq!” — “Bravo!” — “Hey, our kid is pretty great.”

- as much as i hate Act 2: 4. Say No To This (because for some reason i though Alexander Hamilton was better than that) Jasmine Cephas Jones sings in it is like a hot knife through butter — namely; “My husband’s doin’ me wrong beatin’ me, cheatin’ me, mistreatin’ me...”... I guess maybe I understand it ‘cause damn Jasmine Cephas Jones is so ding dang pretty and ding dang talented and wow what a remarkable person

- the way that Lin says “And her body’s saying, ‘hell, yes’ is um.. 😓

- “You see, that was my wife you decided to” — “Fuuuu—“

- Act 2: 5. The Room Where It Happens

- honorable mention: “Bros.”

- “Talk less. Smile more.” LMM being a dramatic bastard

- Act 2: 6. Schuyler Defeated

- Act 2: 7. Cabinet Battle #2

- “revolution is messy but now is the time to stand."

- honorable mention: “Ooh!!”

- “We signed a treaty with a King whose head is now in a basket. Would you like to take it out and ask it? ‘Should we honor our treaty, King Louis’ head?’ ‘Uh... do whatever you want, I’m super dead.’”

- Thomas Jefferson all like “but sir do we not fight for freedom” MY BAD SIR YOU ARE A SLAVE-OWNER HOW ABOUT YOU NOT

- mentioning Lafayette because apparently LMM has no problem with breaking the fourth wall

- “Daddy’s calling.”

- “I’m in the cabinet. I am complicit in watching him grabbin’ at power and kiss it. If Washington isn’t gon’ listen to disciplined dissidents, this is the difference. This kid is out!”

- “Southern motherfuckin’ Democratic-Republicans!”

- “The emperor has no clothes.”

- “Sir, I don’t know what you heard but whatever it is Jefferson started it.” — “Thomas Jefferson resigned this morning.” — “You’re kidding.” — “I need a favor.” — “Whatever you say, sir, Jefferson will pay for his behavior.” — “I’ll use the press. I’ll write under a pseudonym, you’ll see what I can do to him—“ — “Yes! He resigned you can finally speak your mind!” — “Ha. Good luck defeating you, sir.” - “I’m sorry, what?”

- Act 2: 10. I Know Him

- “—Vice President.” — “— No more Mr. Nice President.”

- “Sit down, John, you fat motherf—“

- Act 2: 12. We Know

- honorable mention: “You see that was my wife you decided to—“ — “WHAT—“

- Act 2: 13. Hurricane

- Act 2: 14. The Reynolds Pamphlet

- honorable mention: *DEEP VOICE* “DAMN”

- Act 2: 15. Burn

- i’ll be the first to say i wasn’t a huge fan of Eliza at first aside from Phillipa Soo’s killer voice

- this gave me a lot of respect for her

- honorable mention: “You have married an Icarus. He has flown too close to the sun.”

- Act 2: 16. Blow Us All Away

- i would like to point out that tweet where someone @‘s LMM about not mentioning Philip’s hot and he responds “I’M FAIRLY F**CKING SURE I DID”, y’know ⤵️

- “The ladies say my brain’s not where the resemblance stops.”

- “God, you’re a fox.”

- Act 2: 17. Stay Alive (Reprise)

- The ‘I know, I know. Shh.’ and the full circle back to his mom teaching him french on the piano really got to me for the beautiful artistry in it but also damn them feels

- Act 2: 18. It’s Quiet Uptown

- “I spend hours in the garden. I walk alone to the store and it’s quiet uptown. I never liked the quiet before. I take the children to church on Sunday, a sign of the cross at the door, and I pray. That never used to happen before.”

- “Philip, you would like it uptown. It’s quiet uptown.”

- “You knock me out, I fall apart.”

- “Eliza, do you like it uptown? It’s quiet uptown.”

- “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There is suffering too terrible to name. You hold your child as tight as you can and push away the unimaginable. The moments when you’re in so deep it feels easier to just swim down.”

- “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There is a grace too powerful to name. We push away what we can never understand. We push away the unimaginable.”

- “Can you imagine?”

- Act 2: 19. The Election of 1800

- honorable mention: “And they say I’m a Francophile: at least they know I know where France is!”

- “You used to work on the same staff” — “Whaaaat.”

- “Honestly, it’s kind of draining.” — “Burr...” — “Sir!” — “Is there anything you wouldn’t do?” — “No. I’m chasing what I want. And you know what?” — “What?” — “I learned that from you.” / this moment made the blow that he voted for Jefferson like a damn hole in my chest and i actually really felt for Burr. i get Hammy’s reluctance, i think if anything he was hoping voting for Jefferson would give Burr the chance to have experience as VP and then the next election he might vote for him then depending

- Act 2: 20. Your Obedient Servant

- A. Burr

- A. Ham

- “I just need to write something down.” / really resonated as one of the last things they showed him doing before going off to the duel, his life really was writing and that was the perfect way to say that in a very subtle sort of way. i really appreciate it artistically, whether it was intentionally so or not.

- Act 2: 22. The World Was Wide Enough

- okay but first of all i would like to comment on the fact that Ariana DeBose PLAYS THE GODDAMN BULLET, I JUST

- THE FACT THAT THE BULLET HAS A PART

- “This man will not make an orphan of my daughter.” / this made me really sympathize with Burr, as well as when he tries to go towards Hamilton (at least in the play but I sincerely hope that was historically accurate) / but also that fact that Theodosia Burr was lost at sea at 29 makes me sad because Hamilton’s life was taken to give her one and then she just up and disappears in a freak accident

- Act 2: 23. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

- the orphanage got to me

- i loved that he (LMM) didn’t end it with himself or anything

- he let Phillipa Soo tear my heart out

- it killed me but i died quite happily

- and really what more could you ask for.

#okay so #i know thw subheaders are probably grossly uneven #but like #i had to space manually #and this already took a lot of time to do #so i couldn’t give two fucks #lin manuel miranda #hamilton #hamilton film #daveed diggs #jonathan groff #anthony ramos #christopher jackson #jasmine cephas jones #leslie odom jr #leslie odom junior #ariana debose #jon rua #hamilfilm #shit i lost steam to tag cast members #you know and if you don’t look it up so you do #that’s how you learn shit like that the bullet had its own fucking role #the orphanage part also hurt because i was disowned by my father and then disowned by my mother (again) and then my father just decided he #wanted back in on my life #my shit family life has cast me out of my family #i feel like an orphan except i can’t be adopted #even though i want more than anything to have parents or parental figures #sadly my dad just isn’t #he kind of ruined that for me when he screamed me into a panic attack that almost killed me and then left the front door open to tell me to #get out

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rock-n-roll-refugee · 5 years ago

Text

Watch Your Hands

Philip Hamilton x Reader

Era: Hamiltime!

A/N: lol this is really long sorry. Hamilton movie is coming out so perfect time if for this I guess?

Edit: Hey guys! I have a plot for this that I really want to continue on, but I’d really love it if y’all tell me if you actually want a part 2 because why write it if no ones gonna read it right!

“God you’re a fox!” Dolly sighed, eyes locked on him as her knees buckled

“And y’all look pretty good in ya’ frocks. How ‘bout when I get back, we all strip down to our socks?” The Hamilton boy said into the flustered girl’s ears.

“Okaaaayyyy!” They both timidly screamed as the looked at each other in excitement. You rolled your eyes at the sound of the girls giggling loudly, not that it was their fault... it was Philip’s. You knew he would see them once and forget about them and he’ll just move on and on and the cycle repeats and no one tells him otherwise because he’s a fucking Hamilton.

You sigh and close your book and walk across the courtyard to find another quiet spot away from him. Finding a shady spot under a tree, you start to head that way to claim your spot when you feel a shoulder bump you, making you drop your book.

“Hey watch where you’re going you-” you start to say when you realize who you collided with, “George! Oh sorry I didn’t see you there...” you said changing your demeanor as you shuffled to flatten your dress.

“Oh, Y/N...” he said not looking at you directly, “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Well, I was just out getting some fresh air I suppose... I thought you told me you were going out of town? You were suppose to meet my father tonight, he was so excited to finally meet you!” You said grabbing onto his bicep and resting your head on his chest.

He shuffled awkwardly, “yeah, sorry change of plans...”

“Well, since you’re here, would you be escorting me to the ball tonight? We haven’t spent much time together recently.” You said looking up at him.

“I’m sorry, I can’t tonight. I have...arrangements that I made a while ago.” He said coughing awkwardly as he lightly shrugs you off. You look down at the ground disappointed.

Suddenly, you both hear a familiar voice behind you speak, “Well if you’re not taking her, you surely wouldn’t mind if I take her? Make sure she gets there and back safely?” Philip Hamilton... You roll your eyes as he continues, smirking, “make sure she has some fun... I could take care of her if you can’t, Eacker”

George narrows his eyes and grabs your hand, “I have to leave now, but I will see you soon, my love.” He kisses your knuckles, keeping eye contact with Philip, and quickly walks away before you get to question him further.

“Your boyfriend sucks” Philip says making you snap you neck at him.

“What the hell is your deal?!” You say hitting him on to shoulder, “Why do you feel the need to constantly involve yourself in everything? Do you realize the world doesn’t revolve around you or is your head too fucking big?”

He only chuckles at your frustration. You groan at him and start to walk away.

“See you tonight beautiful” he shouts as you, “and wear something pretty... Ms. Jefferson.”

“You’re going tonight. End of story.” Your father states not looking up from his work.

“But daaad!” You said stomping, “George isn’t going and the Hamilton boy is going to be there. God knows what stunt he’s going to pull and I really don’t want to deal with that tonight.”

“Quit whining and suck it up. You’ve dealt with him fine enough up until now.” He says getting up from his desk. He was wearing a velvety violet robe that was gifted to him from a lady he met in France. You father walks up to you and gives you a little noogie, he chuckles at your pouting face, “I know you hate him... I hate his dad, but I have learned to deal with him at least in the office. It’s very important to me that you go tonight, the Monroe’s are expecting a Jefferson to attend and since I have a meeting, you’re my last hope, so we can’t disappoint, right?” He gives you a puppy dog look as you roll your eyes.

“Fine. But you owe me... big time!” You said as he smiled widely.

“Good. Now go get ready my dear, there’s a surprise up in your room and Sally will be up there soon to help you tidy up.” He said scruffling your hair before he went back to his desk.

You opened the door to your room, revealing the extravagant pink dress laid out in your bed. You recognized it as your mother’s. You’ve never seen her wear it, but there was a painting in the library of her and your dad when they were young where she was wearing that dress. You’ve always looked at the painting and imagined yourself in the dress. It had a very wide neckline that was almost off the shoulders with the whole upper chest part covered with white lace with faux rose accents here and there. The rest of the dress was silky pink with another rose on your hip. You noticed a small paper resting on the dress. It read:

“Y/N I’ve seen how you admire this dress your mother wore in the painting in the library. It was one of my favorite gowns that she wore... she always looked so beautiful in it and I know she would have most definitely loved to see you in it. I always argued you were too young to wear her gowns, but now I wish that you would have, so she could have seen you in one of her dresses before she passed. Well, I found this dress in one of her trunks so maybe that’ll be an incentive for you to go to the ball.

P.S. we need to make sure we get a painting of you in the dress with Mr. Eacker when I finally meet him.”

You chuckle at his added note and put the letter on your vanity. You heard a soft knock at your door.

“Come in” you said sitting down in front of your mirror. Sally walked in with two other girls, “Oh, Sally! You can take a break, I think I can manage”

You never liked that your family owned slaves. For some reason it always made you feel uneasy when you saw them, but you didn’t understand why, you were born with it being normal in your household so you didn’t get why the idea of buying and selling people to work for you didn’t sit well with you, but nevertheless, you treated them courteously when they helped you unlike many other slave owning families.

“Your father asked me to make you up for tonight. I can’t go back on my word.” She said smiling at you in the mirror, holding your shoulders. You have always been the closest to Sally, seeing that she almost became a mother figure to you since your own mother passed (and your father may or may not have had an affair with her), but you always looked up to her and didn’t see her at all as a slave, “...I also heard the Hamilton boy is going to attend... everyone in this town knows he envies you and Mr. Eacker.”

You shot straight up at what she whispered in your ear, “Sally!” You said with wide eyes, the other two girls giggled lightly, “he is the reason for my hesitation to attend. The last thing that I want is to interact with that fool tonight.”

“Alright, whatever you say m’lady” she said with a small smile on her face. She starts brushing your hair

“What are you smiling at, Sally?” You said chuckling

“Oh you wouldn’t want to hear it.”

“Now I want to hear it more! Do tell...” you said facing her like you were two little girls about to gossip.

“Well, don’t get mad but, I think you and Philip would look very good together.” She said nonchalantly, “I have always had my doubts about Mr. Eacker, but you and Philip have suprisingly a lot more in common than you think...”

“Ugh I know if I think about me and him for one second longer I might just vomit!” You said turning back and making a face. Sally laughed at you and continued to fix your hair.

Sally and the girls finished you off with a cloud of perfume, making you cough as you inhaled. You picked up the long amulet necklace your parents gave you when you were young from your vanity and slipped on long white silk gloves as Sally ushered you to the large mirror on your wall. You clipped on your necklace as you looked at yourself for the first time tonight.

“You’re really going to be the center of attention tonight ma’am” one of the girls said, flattening the silk on your dress. You chuckled at her and rolled your eyes, grabbing her hand.

“You did too good, my intention was to lay low.” You said admiring their work.

“Thank us later,” Sally said nudging you a little, “your carriage is waiting outside and I’m sure your father wants to see you before he leaves... and say hi to Mr. Hamilton to me.” She winks and you respond with a fake gasp.

“There she is!” Your dad says as you walk down the staircase, “Wow, your mom would have loved to see you right now. To think you were once half the size of this dress! Aw... you just look so, grown up now... my little baby is growing up into a beautiful woman and I’m getting so old and-”

“Dad! Don’t do this again,” you said interrupting his mini breakdown, “you act like I’m not going to see you in 5 hours”

“Yeah, whatever. Let me have my moment sometimes!”

You laugh at him as Sally hands you a thick coat and purse.

“Don’t have too much fun!” Your dad yells as the door of the carriage closes once you’re completely inside.

“I promise you I won’t!”

The carriage ride was quiet and you wished George was here with you. Not for conversation, no he was never good at holding one, but to show off. You hated the fact that you had to walk into the ball alone knowing Philip was there. Having George on your side was an extra layer of security against him.

Scanning through the plethora of silk dresses and velvet suits, you attempted to find any sort of familiar face. Being all alone in a ball like this was beyond embarrassing so you rushed to the first person you recognized.

“Harriet? Hey it’s me Y/N!” You said trying to grab her attention. You didn’t know Harriet very much, nor did you like her... at all, but she seemed to be the only person you recognized.

“Y/N?” She paused. “Oh! Y/N! I can’t believe it’s you! I haven’t seen you in forever!” She engulfs you in a smothering hug, both of your gowns squishing together. You knew she was lying, she didn’t recognize you, but you were insanely greatful that she was playing along whether it was for her sake or yours.

“You look amazing Y/N! Wow and that dress! Don’t you try to steal the spotlight from me tonight!” She jokes.

“And look at you! I love your dress, where did you-”

“Oh my god...” she inturrupted, looking across the main room. Walking in from the hall is none other than Philip Hamilton, with two young ladies on each of his elbows, “shit... those are some lucky girls. What would I give to be them!”

“Sure...”

Philip confidently walks in grabbing the attention of half the girls who see him, you seethe with anger watching his cocky stride. How could anyone be attracted to that?!

“He’s just so perfect...” she sighs eyeing him as he attempts to charm every person in the room.

“He’s a scoundrel, like his dad.”

“Dangerous... that’s hot! But I bet that’s not where the resemblance stops” she says smirking back at you. You knew what she was talking about, there was a rumor going around when you all were in boarding school about his dad having a huge... well, penis. Harriet bites her lip and grabs your hand, walking away.

“Wait, where are we going?” You asked as you were being dragged through the crowd.

“To Philip, duh!” Your eyes widen, “I’m going to shoot my shot.”

Before you can respond, Philip is already in view. And he’s already noticed you. His eyes widen as he scans you from head to toe making your face redden like a tomato. His face brightens as he realized you’re headed his way and starts towards the two of you.

“Hey um, Harriet?” You ask anxiously pulling her back into the crowd a little, “it’s getting stuffy in here I think I’m going to step outside for a second. But I’ll catch up with you later!” You release from her grasp and rush out before she can respond.

You step out into the balcony, farthest from the main ballroom. Breathing in the crisp night air, you take a deep breath and sigh. You look out at the garden below you try to clear your head. When you caught sight of Philip you had the worst feeling you had ever had. Attraction. You couldn’t tell earlier, but the sick to the stomach feeling you felt around him, for the first time, wasn’t pure hatred. He just looked so good in his suit, it complemented him so well... and his hair, he always wore his stupid school hat and his hair was always so greasy, but when you saw him, you couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to run your hands through his hair. And his smile. The way his face lightened you when he saw you made your heart soar. You groaned shaking your head. You rubbed your temples thinking, why? Why now? Why are all these emotions being thrown at me now? It has to be the fault of your cycle. You plop yourself down on the stone bench and run your hands through your hair muttering,

“Stupid Hamilton boy...”

“Yes?”

You swore that was in your head, but it couldn’t be. That voice was too real. You freeze, trying not to make sudden movements, hoping that he wouldn’t see you in the dark.

“Just cause you’re not moving, doesn’t mean I can’t see you.”

Great.

“How long have been standing there?” You say quietly, breaking the short silence.

“Long enough to know that you, of all people, are thinking about me.” He says walking towards you figure. Without even looking at him you can already tell he’s smirking. What a cocky bastard.

“Of course you jump straight to that. Why are you following me around anyways?” You growl, glaring at him only making him laugh.

“Because you look beautiful...” as he says that you feel your stomach do flips. His stare is pouring down on you and you try your hardest to not to make it obvious that he is the only thing on your mind, “Glad you took my advice to heart, that dress is smokin’...”

You roll your eyes and stand up intending on walking away when he grabs your wrist pulling you back.

“I came out here to ask a pretty girl for a dance,” he smiles at your scowling face and you can’t help but relax, “please don’t make my trip all the way out here worthless”

He gives you a pouty face, making you chuckle a little.

“Fine. Only so I can keep an eye on you. Make sure you don’t do anything stupid, like you usually are.” You joke, glad the mood is light. He leaves a kiss to your knuckle and links your arms, leading you back to the ballroom.

“I like your smile. You should smile more.” he says, looking forward.

“What? Don’t tell me what to do.” You say scoffing.

“No, that’s not what I meant I- I just wish I could see you smile more. You have a beautiful smile Y/N, that’s all. No need to get all defensive” he says as he stands in front of you. He places his hand on the small of your back and you hold his shoulder as your opposite hands intertwine. The two of you begin to join the dance. You smirk and purposely step on his toe.

“Ouch, Hey! What was that for?” He says lightly hopping on one foot.

“Oh, my bad. It was only an accident, no need to get all defensive” you say mocking him.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty, little girl. I wouldn’t accept this unladylike behavior from anyone else.” He jokes making you snort a little.

“Yeah right, you’d take any damsel who would throw themselves at you.”

“Oh yeah?” He says giving you a challenging look. You suddenly realize how close his face is to yours making you notice the small details of his face. His sharp cheekbones, his deep brown eyes, his long black eyelashes, his stupid toothy smile that somehow manages to make your knees go weak, and God, those little freckles that sprinkled his smooth skin, you couldn’t stop your mind from wondering where else he had freckles. You are lost in the trance of his face until you feel his hand that was on your back, slither too far down for your liking.

“Watch your hand there, Hamilton. Before I break them off myself.” you snap, making him hold both his hands up in surrender, shrugging.

“Sorry, I thought you would be too distracted by my face to notice- Ow!” You stepped on his foot again to shut him up, “okay okay... at least I’m willing to admit that I’m hypnotized by yours anyways.”

By now your noses are practically touching. You feel the blush rise up to your cheeks when you feel his hot breath, but you bite your lip to keep a neutral face.

“Hey don’t bite your lip...” he says making your gaze rise up into his eyes, “...that’s my job”

Suddenly you turn your head to the side, feeling the urge to close the space between you two. Philip holds back not wanting to force a kiss, and your lips almost reach his until...

To be continued!

A/N: I’m super late to the Hamilton fandom, but it just so happened that the Hamilton movie was announced today so I guess I’m early and late... part 2?

#hamilton #philip hamilton #philip #anthony ramos #philip hamilton x reader #philip hamilton x reader fluff #anthony ramos x reader #hamilton x reader #hamiltime

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skyfirewolf · 4 years ago

Text

Evil Philip

I've had this AU for a while. Don't know why I haven't posted much about it.

Some info on this.

Everything happens the same as in the musical, until Blow Us All Away, where Philip consults his father before challenging Eacker to the duel. Hamilton, having been a soldier and in his fair share of duels (usually as a second), tells Pip not to challenge Eacker. Instead, he tells him to talk it out, and if Eacker still refuses to apologize, to leave the issue alone. After all, he doesn't want his beloved son to get hurt. Then the rest of the story continues in parallel with the musical. Eliza forgives Ham, Ham chooses Jefferson over Burr, Burr gets pissed, etc. Everything is the same.

That is, up until Hamilton is killed in the duel with Burr.

And that is when Philip snaps

Philip, like the rest of his family, is completely unaware that his father is participating in a duel, and even less so that this duel is with Vice President Aaron Burr. A man that, mind you, they've trusted wholly up until now.

And when Philip finds out that his Pops had been shot, he runs faster than ever from where he'd been hanging out with his friends to the house where Hamilton now lies.

Philip arrives, and throughout the many long hours that his father lays dying in agony, he and his mother are begging, pleading for him to stay alive, to stay with them…

All to no avail.

After proclaiming his eternal love for his family and telling Philip that he has always been intensely proud of him, Alexander Hamilton passes away at 2 in the afternoon.

Philip is devastated.

But more than that, he's angry.

Oh BOY is he angry; furious.

And once he goads a very reluctant Nathanial Pendleton to tell him who was his father's opponent in the duel, he's gone.

When he finds out that Aaron Burr killed his father, the charismatic, forgiving, friendly Philip Hamilton vanishes.

Now having graduated from King's College, the 23- year- old Pip says goodbye to his mother and siblings (with promises to visit) and disappears.

No one knows where Philip went, and some think him dead.

But... in reality, Philip is very much alive.

And he is out for blood.

Aaron Burr's blood.

Unknown to anyone, Philip has spent the years stalking Burr, watching him, taking aim, taking notes, writing essays against him and publishing them anonymously under the pseudonym Ares.

Then, years later, Philip makes himself known to Aaron. Shows him who his secret tormenter really is.

And Aaron is terrified beyond belief.

Philip pulls out his father's old pistol, the very same one he used in the duel that ended his life, and looks the mortified Burr straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm a Hamilton with pride. You put a bullet in my father. I will NOT let it slide. "He pulls the trigger, and sends a bullet piercing through the already broken heart of his father's murderer. Then... he leaves. Walks away, leaving Aaron Burr's dead body lying alone in an old battlefield, in a pool of the same cold blood that Philip's father died in. Then he visits his mother and family, pays his respects to his beloved father at his grave-

And is never seen again.

#Philip Hamilton #Hamilton #Alexander Hamilton #Aaron Burr #Hamilton fanart #Hamilton AU #au #Alternate Universe #Skyfirewolf #Evil Philip AU #my stuff #my fanfics

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yr-obedt-cicero · 3 years ago

Note

Why do you think Hamilton seemed a little off compared to his earlier self during his 40s? I haven’t done much research on that specific time, but it seems like he kinda went crazy. Maybe it just piled too high. I am referring to before Philip died.

I actually know what you mean, it almost seems like Hamilton had gone off his rockers with his political and public career near and all throughout his time in his 40's. His remaining days as Treasury Secretary didn't end on the best note, and Hamilton was practically fed up after the whiskey rebellion. But even after resigning from his political position of power, Hamilton could not let go of any opportunity to say what he thought on a matter and continued to engage in the political mass of problems.

With bizarre acts such as like; the publication of the Reynolds Pamphlet, the wild mass slanders in the newspaper criticizing both Jefferson and Adams, even once nearly dueling an entire mob.

“In 1795, after the Jay Treaty was negotiated, Hamilton was trying to explain the advantages of the treaty to an "Anti-Jay Treaty" mob. Eventually, he became so frustrated with the crowd, that he told them "you have no Constitutional right to express an opinion on the Jay Treaty!" (in other words, he told the mob that they had no right to be a mob!). Soon, Hamilton was hit on the head with a rock, and he left the building, and went to the street. In the street, Hamilton (a Federalist) got involved in a confrontational conversation with a Republican, and Hamilton was quickly dismissed as a “fool; then, this same gentleman challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton accepted, and moved on down the street. Hamilton continued to be harassed by the crowd, and eventually threatened to take on everybody "one by one". A challenger emerged from the crowd, and challenged Hamilton to a duel in 30 minutes. Hamilton said, "I can’t, I have a previous duel arranged: I will settle my business with you as soon as I take care of this other gentleman."”

(source)

And then when he wrote an entire pamphlet defaming John Adams in favor of Jefferson for the election of 1800, which resulted in the Adams' cabinet, and the federalist part in general, revengeful and spiteful towards Hamilton.

I think it had a lot to do with Washington not only stepping down, but also his death, and on top of the bad name the Reynolds Pamphlet had tarnished Hamilton's name and reputation with. Hamilton was a very hated figure in the political world, but throughout most of it, he always had Washington as his sorta shield that would prevent others from getting in his way too often. So without Washington's support, an affair on his name, and the feud between the Jeffersonians and Adams' cabinet with him; Hamilton was skating across thin ice of stress. These ultimately would trample over him, and his name, which might have caused these outbreaks of rash decisions to the public out of anger and stress. We all know Hamilton dedicated his life to his legacy and career, surely he would crumble under the weight of his name being degraded with the controversies that were owned to it. Or at least that's my belief.

#amrev #american history #american revolution #alexander hamilton #historical alexander hamilton #history #founding fathers #cicero's history lessons #queries #historynerd1700s

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schrijverr · 4 years ago

Text

'Till Death Do Us Part

Part 12 out of 13

A medium burn with parental feelings about Philip and flowers.

On AO3.

Ships: Jamilton

Warnings: grief, self deprication, mentions of death and unhealthy coping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 12: Green Locust Tree Means ‘Affection from Beyond the Grave’

“Where is Thomas?” Alex asked, coming down into the kitchen to find Mary the only one there. He had thought Thomas would already by up, but he wasn’t anywhere else in the house and now also not in the kitchen.

“Ah, uhm,” Mary look away unsure.

“Did something happen?” Alex frowned.

“No, not- No, no,” Mary gestured vaguely, “He left this morning.”

“Left?” Alex repeated, voice shrill.

“Not left left, he just drove off,” Mary assured him, “He’ll be back.”

“Do you know where he went?” Alex asked, voice still a bit higher than usual.

“Yeah, but…” Mary trailed off.

“It’s personal,” Alex filled in understanding, seeing Mary nod gratefully. He checked: “Does it have something to do with Martha?”

“He talks about her to you?” Mary sounded surprised.

Alex laughed mentally, but outwardly he just smiled gently: “Yeah, I- uhm, my husband died a few years back. That’s- that’s what got us talking. Is he okay?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I- I didn’t-”

“I know, it’s okay,” Alex assured her, “But Thomas? Did he look okay?”

Mary bit her lip, then said: “He looked pretty upset actually. I think he’s visiting Martha, she’s buried near here.”

“Is the date important?” he asked.

“Not that I know,” Mary looked helpless.

“Would you mind keeping an eye on Pip today? I’m going to check on him,” Alex told her, “Can you give me the location?”

Mary nodded and wrote it down while Alex got dressed in record speed, kissing Philip on his forehead as he told him he would be back later and to behave for his Auntie Mary and to play nice with Francie and Kitty.

Then he got into Mary’s van and drove to the cemetery. At the drive over he wondered if he was making the right choice to intrude, but Mary had told him Thomas had looked upset and he just wanted to make sure he was okay, that he wouldn’t do anything stupid, like drive. Which he had.

He stopped at the unfamiliar rows of stone, feeling out of place as he scanned them for Thomas’s figure.

In the end, he saw a familiar magenta coat in the distance near a field with a tree. Alex walked over to him softly, clearing his throat once he was nearby.

Thomas startled slightly and looked back, mouth opening and closing without sound when he saw Alex as if he wanted to explain, but couldn't.

“I would ask if you were okay, if I didn’t already know the answer,” Alex broke the silence, “Want a hug?”

Nodding wordlessly, Thomas opened his arms for Alex to stand in, wrapping the smaller man in them and resting his chin on Alex’s head as he continued to look at the tree. Alex could see the stone in front of it. It read:

Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson

1985 - 2014

Loving wife and beautiful woman

A dearly missed soul

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”

After a long silence in which Alex could only hear Thomas sniffle softly, Thomas spoke up: “She wanted that quote on her stone, she actually made it. Except the date.”

Alex hummed and rubbed Thomas’s back, giving him the time to gather his thoughts.

“She had a heavy attack on this date,” Thomas said after a while, “She died on the 6thof September, but-” his voice broke and he took a shaky breath, “but today is the last day we ever spoke.”

Mentally Alex did the math. They had been staying at Monticello for a while now, so it was already the 8thof August, which meant Thomas hadn’t spoken to Martha for nearly an entire month. He asked: “What happened?”

Thomas shrugged: “She had an attack, they put her under for surgery and she just never woke up again.”

“Must have been hard,” Alex sympathized, he couldn't even begin to think how it must be to sit next to the one you loved most, having to wait and hope for them to wake up, while they never would again.

“It was,” Thomas said, then picked up steam as he got more upset, “It fucking was. I spend so long knowing she would go and then it happened and I still didn’t see it coming and I just had to wait and sit there for it to finally happen. And everyone always acts like the date it happened hurts the most, but it doesn’t because she was just a living corpse and I had to sit there and watch her die. I didn’t even get to talk to her,…”

Alex felt him buckle against him, so he softly lowered them both to the ground and held Thomas as he cried.

“I- I did- dn’t get- get to say good- goodbye,” Thomas sobbed, “I- I did- didn’t get to- to say I lo- love you.”

As Thomas cried, Alex scratched the back of his head, while he whispered: “She knew, it sucks you didn’t get to tell her, but she knew.”

“What?” Thomas rasped, eyes red and puffy.

“She knew you loved her, she knew,” Alex repeated, “I know how fucking much it sucks that you didn’t get to tell her again, but she knew it.”

Thomas looked at him for a moment, then back to the stone, then up to the tree, before looking back to Alex. Alex could see him swallow, then blink away a few tears, before scowling. Thomas broke eye contact and huffed: “How do you know that?”

Alex took a deep breath and reminded himself that Thomas was hurting and didn’t really think about those words, so instead he softly said: “Because I have to tell myself that too.”

He hadn’t gotten to say anything to John either. Sure, he didn’t have to watch John waste away and he didn’t know if he could have, but he had to live with the fact that he had brought John to the airport and waved with Pip’s little hand as John walked off on a tour he would never come back form.

“God, I’m- I’m sorry, ‘Lex, I wasn’t- I wasn’t thinking,” Thomas mumbled.

“I know, it’s okay, you don’t have to say sorry,” and Alex meant it, he had said many things in times like these that he didn’t mean because his head wasn’t on straight, he got it.

“Still fucking dick move,” Thomas chuckled out humorlessly.

“Maybe,” Alex shrugged, “But I did mean it. And she knew. If I know you, then I know you were there the entire time. She knew. It might be a small comfort and nothing substantial, but that one moment wasn’t defining. She knew.”

Thomas quieted and stared at the headstone. With a distant voice he repeated: “She knew.”

They sat side by side in front of the grave under the shadow of the tree in silence. Alex just let Thomas take his time, not interfering but being a calming presence for him to lean on if he needed it.

“Being here again with you and having this, it just- it made me realize how much I wanted to say to her and how unfair it was that I never got to,” Thomas said after a while. He hadn’t broken down like this in a long while over her death date.

Alex nodded, then suggested: “You can tell her now.”

“She won’t hear,” Thomas told him bitterly, “There’s nothing after death.”

“And John doesn’t hear me either whenever I go to his grave, nor Pip,” Alex replied, “He might’ve believed in Heaven, but I don’t, just like Martha believed she’s up in the sky. Talk to her, just in case she’s right.”

Thomas hesitated, so Alex offered: “I can give you some privacy if you want.”

“No,” Thomas grabbed his hand, then softly repeated it: “No, no it’s okay. Stay.”

“Alright,” Alex squeezed Thomas’s hand like the other had done so many times for him, hoping to give him a bit of comfort.

“Hi, Martha,” Thomas said awkwardly after clearing his throat, “I’m sorry for saying that, you might hear me. I- uhm, I wanted to tell you that I love you. I always want to tell you that, but back then I wanted to tell you it even more, I didn’t want my last words to you to be ‘hold on,’ because I know you were trying and-”

He took a shuddery breath, then went on: “And I know it was a selfish request and I’m sorry for that. Instead I wanted to say thank you for being there for as long as you have, for brightening my days even though you were the one fading. So, thank you and I love you.”

Alex laid his head on Thomas’s shoulder and Thomas leaned back to him and whispered: “I love you too, Alex. Thanks for looking for me.”

“Of course,” Alex simply replied, “I love you too.”

After a beat Thomas said: “It’s a green locust tree. Martha said it reminded her of ferns and she thought it was funny that it looked like ground covering plants had just randomly turned into trees.”

“The leaves do look like ferns,” Alex agreed after he had studied them for a moment.

“It was smaller when I was here last” Thomas mused, “Almost like she’s still growing. Maybe her spirit is in it, she always did like the idea of joining nature. Even if the stars spoke to her more.”

Alex hummed in agreement.

“Fuck I haven’t been here in forever,” Thomas sighed.

“It’s not a requirement to come,” Alex told him, “Sometimes life happens.”

“I avoided it, even ran to fucking France for a few years, Alex, that’s pretty shitty to do,” Thomas replied, “I’m just being shitty.”

“You’re not shitty,” Alex said, Thomas shot him a look and Alex correct, “Or everyone does something shitty when these things happen.”

“Somehow I find it hard to picture you ignoring John’s grave.”

“Because I didn’t-”

“See.”

“Because instead I threw myself into work and was there so much it was fucking unhealthy, Thomas. Those first few weeks, Eliza cared more for Philip than I did. Washington threw me out the office every day for a month until I stopped staying so late,” Alex told Thomas, “Maybe running to France was a healthy thing to do.”

Thomas was silent as he thought about that.

“Maybe,” he said, then sighed, “Yeah, maybe, but I still feel shit about it and I hate that I didn’t talk to my Ma because of it and I hate how I rarely came home just because I didn’t want to face this.”

“Luckily you can start now,” Alex nudged him slightly and didn’t add: like I did by being a decent parent for Pip.

“You’re right,” Thomas got up and held his hand out to Alex to hoist him up.

Alex let him, but quirked a brow at the sudden change in attitude. Thomas shrugged: “What better time than now? I think Ma mentioned hiking today.”

“Lead the way,” Alex smiled as they left the cemetery, not seeing how the tree lit up with sunlight and the wind made the branches wave.

When they got back to Monticello, Philip asked: “Where did you go Da?”

“I just went to say hi to your Auntie Martha like you and Papa go say hi to your Daddy from time to time,” Thomas explained.

“Did you tell her about everything that happened?” Philip asked.

“Sort of,” Thomas answered, “Where is your Mawmaw? I think we were going hiking today, wanna come too?”

“Yes!” Philip cheered, before pointing towards the kitchen while he raced off in a different direction to Kitty and Francie, who were terrorizing Sir Poof.

They went on a hike, with Randy telling the twins and Pip all sorts of things aboutthe plants they encountered on the trail while Mary and Jane talked about the market they’d gone to together yesterday and Alex and Thomas kept on the background, holding hands.

While they walked, they laughed and Alex was happy to see Thomas’s crinkles appear once Philip came to beg for a piggy back ride, which he got. Since Thomas couldn't say no to him ever.

After that Kitty and Francie wanted one too, so Alex and Randy were roped into that, which turned into a small race.

In short, they enjoyed their days in Monticello for the two weeks they were still there. Even when Mary had to go and take the twins back, because she wanted to spend time with her husband and Randy went back to college to move into his dormearly.

Alex learned to cook a few more recipes from Jane, in the end calling her Ma like Thomas did, just because it felt right.

Thomas swam with Philip and drank tea with Jane every night, before he and Alex would sit on the porch and watch the stars.

It felt like movie and all were upset when they had to leave.

Jane hugged Thomas tightly and told him to come visit more often as she pinched his cheek, before also telling him to be good to Alex.

“I will, Ma,” Thomas swore to do both.

She then turned to Philip and handed him a box with cookies, before she said: “You take care of both your dads for me okay? Be good for them”

“Yes, Mawmaw Jane,” Philip chirped.

“And I’ll put your drawing on the wall, make sure to come see,” she added. The drawing in question was the one Philip had made of Monticello with the dragon. He had given it to Jane and she had loved it.

“I will,” Philip said.

Thomas lead Philip to the car to buckle him in, while Alex shook Jane’s hand and said: “Thank you for letting us stay here, Ma. It was amazing.”

“Of course, dearie,” she told him, taking his hand to pull him into a hug, “You and Philip always have a home here.”

“Thank you,” Alex’s voice broke slightly and he tried not to let it get to him.

As Jane let go, she said: “Look out for Thomas will you, he can get on his own nerves.”

“You know I will,” Alex assured her.

“Good,” Jane nodded, “Have a safe trip.”

“Bye.”

And with that Alex got into the car as well, all of them waving to the lone figure on the porch as they drove back home for the new school year.

Since they had spend such a big chunk of time together at Monticello that summer, they had decided that the first week back they would stay at their own homes. This, however, came to a head on the 28thof August.

He and Philip were sitting at the dinner table with Hoppin’ Johns in front of them holding hands as Alex spoke: “Today John was taken from us and put into your care, Lord. We ask you to take care of him while we remember him. Amen.”

“Amen,” Pip said, before he started eating.

Alex took a moment to look at him and his heart softened as Philip’s little curls bounced on his head while he ate. He had started first grade this year and Alex was so proud of him and how much he was already growing.

Above the mantle hung a picture of John and Alex really wanted someone to share with how much Philip had grown.

And all of a sudden he felt very, veryalone.

He ate his food and set up everything for the next day, before he tucked Philip in while the loneliness hung over him like a fog. With Philip in bed he picked up his phone.

“Hi, darlin’,” Thomas greeted him, “How are you?”

“Good, good,” Alex said absentmindedly.

“Alex?” Thomas sounded a bit concerned.

“Well, actually,” Alex carefully began, now that he was calling, he suddenly realized why and how that might impact everything, “Actually, I called you, because I was feeling lonely.”

“Yeah?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah, house hasn’t been the same without you,” Alex shrugged, “Guess I just got used to you being around.”

“I get that feeling,” Thomas told him.

“You do?” Alex tried to hide his surprise, but he was pretty sure he failed.

“Yup,” Thomas said, then he carefully added, “Your house has a more homey feel, with all the pictures on the walls.”

Alex picked up on the subtle testing of the water and replied: “Well, there is plenty of room on the walls left.”

“Are you…?” Thomas didn’t finish the sentence, cutting himself off.

“Am I what?” Alex wasn’t falling for it and suggesting it first.

“Are you implying what I think you’re implying?” Thomas said.

“That depends on what you think I’m implying, but probably,” Alex answered, holding his breath anxiously.

“Well, I thought you were implying that maybe we could talk about moving in together?” Thomas sounded unsure, ready to take his words back.

“Then you are absolutely correct in your observation,” Alex told him.

Thomas let out a relieved breath, before saying: “That’s a big decision.”

“Just putting the thought out there,” Alex answered, “I still need to run it by Pip, but I would be up for it.”

“Well, that certainly is an idea I’m willing to consider,” Thomas said, “But this is more a conversation to have face to face, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, probably,” Alex agreed, “Want to come over tomorrow?”

“Sure,” he could hear the smile in Thomas’s voice.

Alex wanted to just sit and listen to Thomas right now and not feel so alone. He noticed how much better he’d felt the momenthe’d heard Thomas’s voice. So, he settled on the couch, curling up against the side as he asked: “Tell me about your day?”

And Thomas did, he just talked about nothing for the most part. He told Alex about the dog he’d seen on the way home, the book he was reading, what he and James had talked about last time they’d called, something stupid Lafayette had send him.

As Thomas talked, Alex let himself relax, just softly humming at the right places. The sounds of home filling up the space and making his heart less empty.

The next day Thomas was the one, who went home early to pick up Philip from school. When Philip walked out and saw him, he yelled: “Da! Da! What are you doing here? Papa said you wouldn’t be home until the weekend.”

“Well, I wanted to surprise my favorite little kiddo,” Thomas ruffled his hair.

“‘M not little,” Philip pouted, fixing his hair, “I’m already in first grade.”

“I know, Pip, I know,” Thomas grinned, “Since you’re such a big boy, I’m sure you can drive us home.”

Philip crossed his arms: “That’s mean, Da.”

“Sorry, kiddo,” Thomas told him, “Just had to tease. Come get in and tell me about your week. How is school going? You adjusting okay?”

Doing as he was told, Philip said: “We’ve been learning to write and I’m doing very well and I got a star next to my name today.”

“Really?” Thomas asked.

“Yup,” Philip answered, “And were learning about addition and that’s kind of hard, but Theo gets it. She’s good with numbers and she explained it to me.”

“Oh wow,” Thomas listened to Philip talk as he drove home, thinking to himself that he definitely wouldn’t mind hearing Pip talk about school everyday.

That evening during dinner Alex brought it up, he and Thomas had briefly talked about it during lunch, so it didn’t come as a surprise. He said: “Hey, Pip. Can I ask you about something and get a serious answer from you?”

Philip stopped eating and nodded: “Did something bad happen?”

“No, buddy,” Alex assured him, “It’s just that me and your Da wanted to have your thoughts about Da moving in here, so that it’s not two houses anymore. Since you live here as well, we wanted your opinion too.”

“You’re moving in!” Philip exclaimed, eyes bright.

“We’re thinking about it, nothing certain yet, but I take that as a yes from you,” Thomas chuckled.

“It’ll be so much fun if you move in, we can read stories every night and you and Papa can smile all the time,” Philip rambled excitedly.

Thomas and Alex met each other’s eyes and it was almost decided there and then.

They did sit down and talk about it more in depth after, but soon after it was decided. When the decision was made, it quickly turned into a whole circus.

It began with Eliza and Maria finding out from Pip after they’d picked him up from school the day after Alex and Thomas had told him. So when Alex got Philip from them, Eliza put her hands on her hip and asked: “When we’re you going to inform us that Thomas is moving in with you?”

“I was hoping once Thomas was putting his house on sale,” Alex told her, “But I suppose that’s no longer the case, because a little rascal talked?”

“You bet you, now come on, tell me more,” Eliza said, pulling him into the house.

“It’s just what it says on the tin, Thomas is moving in with me,” Alex said, “We both wanted it, so why not. We just didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

Eliza smirked: “It’s too late for that.”

“Oh no, what now?” Alex asked, fearing for his life – metaphorically, well, partially metaphorically.

“You really think that if me and Maria know and Pip is excited about that Angie and Laf won’t find out,” Eliza told him, “If you want them to not attack you, they should hear it from you.”

“Fuck,” Alex said.

“Exactly,” Eliza grinned, before she called Philip over and waved them off, “Good luck.”

He dialed Laf frist, right after dinner: “Hi, Laf.”

“Bonjour, Bonjour, Alexandre,” Lafayette greeted him cheerily over the phone, “What can I do for you?”

“Depends on where you are?” Alex asked.

“Do you need someone to surveille Philipe?” he asked, “Because then you need to find someone else, I’m afraid. I am eating lunch at Le Cinqin a bit.”

“No, you not being here is perfect,” Alex told him.

“Now I am offended.” Lafayette said.

“It’s nothing bad,” Alex assured him, “Just that Thomas and I have decided to move in together and I love and appreciate you, but I don’t want you to freak out.”

“You’re moving together!” Lafayette screamed into the phone.

Alex held the phone away from his face, already anticipating that. He carefully held it back and answered: “Yeah, it’s not happening right now, but we’re starting to plan it. You weren’t going to know yet, but Pip told ‘Liza, so felt only fair.”

“Alexandre, you will have to tell me more,” Lafayette said, “Will you move into one of your houses? Is there going to be a housewarming party? What’s happening?”

“Thomas will move in with me and Pip, probably not, we’re moving in together,” Alex went down the list.

“I am so excitéfor you,” Laf beamed through the phone, Alex could practically hear it, “Tell me if you need help moving when the time comes.”

“I will, Laf, I will,” after that he hung up, not sure if he was going to keep that promise.

He then called Angelica: “Hi Angie?”

“Alex, is there a reason you’re calling me this late in the evening?” she greeted him.

“Well, I’ve been told you liked to be kept up to date, since apparently you’re living vicariously through my relationship, but if you don’t wanna hear I can hang up,” he told her.

“No, no, stay. Tell me,” Angelica stopped him.

“Me and Thomas are – at some point in the nearby future – moving in together,” he said.

“Really!”

“Yeah.”

“I’m so happy for you both,” Angelica told him, “I would offer to help move, but I’m not carrying furniture, make Herc or Laf do that.”

“If Herc offers to help, I’m asking him,” Alex assured her, “I don’t trust Laf with throw pillows. I love him, but he’s clumsy.”

“Tell me about it,” Angelica rolled her eyes fondly, “Remember that time at the press conference, the whole world saw him eat dirt.”

“I don’t think he ever recovered from that.”

They both chuckled at the memory of a young Lafayette falling on the podium at his first live press conference.

“So, anyway, that’s why I called,” Alex said, “Thought you would like to hear it from me, not from Pip or something.”

“Who did he tell,” the amusement was heavy in her voice.

“Betsy and Maria,” Alex answered.

“Oohh, lucky, that could have been worse,” she replied.

“Yeah, it could have been you,” Alex teased.

“Glad you know your place in my life,” she grinned.

“Har har,” Alex said, “But how have you been, haven’t heard from you in forever.”

“Been good, been good,” she replied.

They talked a bit more before hanging up. And with Laf and Angie knowing, it wasn’t long before more text started to pour in as news spread through his friends. Most of them reminding them to call them if they needed help with the moving.

Together they shook their heads and laughed at their friends, but warmth spread through them as well when they saw how quickly everyone sprang to their aid.

Thomas called his Ma as well, who told them she’d start knitting a blanket for on the couch and which colors it should be.

Green and purple, was their final choice.

He didn’t tell Alex, but his Ma had done the same when he and Martha bought their first house together. It had been purple and orange. It was disgusting looking and both had loved it until it had perished.

As time passed Thomas spend more and more time at Alex’s house while his own turned into a kingdom of boxes as he sorted through his stuff, seeing what had to come with him, what he might store for later and what he didn’t need anymore and had just been collecting dust. While Alex did the same to make space for Thomas’s stuff.

They had also decided to make a few decorating choices together, which mostly consisted of painting a few walls. That had been an interesting weekend for sure.

Philip had also been allowed to paint his walls a different color. They were still yellow from when John and Alex had decorated way back when, but now Philip wanted them light green. He would also be painting new stuff on it, claiming that ‘I can draw much better now Papa, you’ll see. I’m drawing dragons and they’re going to be much, much better.’

When the big moving day came, they called upon all their friends, who had texted them. It would also function as their house warming party, which basically meant that at the end they would buy everyone pizza.

Herc and Thomas had been dismantling furniture and carrying it all day, while James and Maria drove back and forth over the small distance between the two houses, while Philip and Peggy helped with getting boxes into Alex’s house.

Alex was delegating inside the house, both carrying and unpacking since he knew which boxes where supposed to go where. While Eliza unboxed the more basic stuff that already had a spot in the home.

Lafayette was on charity shop duty, bringing everything that was no longer useful to the charity shop. Though, they send Angelica with him to supervise just in case.

That evening most of the boxes where unpacked and Thomas’s house was empty. They were all sitting around with pizza and beer or soda.

“No one is allowed to move anytime soon,” Herc said rolling his shoulder, “If any of you do, I’m not helping.”

“Boo, boo,” Peggy jeered and Angelica joined immediately.

“Oh shove off, you didn’t carry heavy stuff all day,” Herc complained.

“Faible,” Lafayette yelled.

“I don’t know what that means, so I’m gonna take that as support,” Herc huffed.

“He called you weak, Herc.”

“Alexandre, you betray me like this?” Laf clutched his heart as if wounded and fell backwards, nearly missing Herc’s shove.

“Y’all are rude, I’m never helping you again,” Herc bit his pizza moodily, though everyone knew it was a joke, Herc would always be ready to help any of them.

Still, that didn’t stop Eliza from innocently asking: “Even me, Herc?”

“No, not you, never you, Eliza. You’re sweet and much better than anyone else here,” Herc assured her.

Immediately there was an uproar as everyone accused him of playing favorites, which Herc deflected by saying: “It’s not playing favorites, if you’re all mean to me.”

“Exactly,” Eliza said, before her grin turned shit eating, “Herc, wanna help me move tomorrow?”

Laughter roared through the group and Herc yelled: “Et tu, ‘Liza?”

She just blew him a kiss.

When everyone left that evening, Alex got out a hammer and nail and walked up to the picture wall in the hallway. Before he could hammer, Thomas asked: “What are you doing?”

“Adding an important finishing touch,” Alex replied mysteriously.

He put a nail in the wall, then got out a picture frame. He shuffled the stuff on the wall around a bit before he hung up the frame.

“Hey, that’s me and Da,” Philip pointed out.

Thomas smiled when he recognized the picture from their second date at the park. He and Philip were busy with the kite, both laughing. He commented: “I didn’t know you took that.”

“At first I thought it might be a it much, then I thought it would be a nice surprise,” Alex explained, “Initially it was going to be a birthday present, but I thought this moment more fitting wouldn’t you agree?”

“It’s perfect, ‘Lex,” Thomas kissed his cheek.

“Ieww,” Philip giggled.

“I see it’s bed time for you, buddy,” Alex grinned.

“Nooo,” Philip shrieked as he quickly ran away, laughter floating down the hall as Alex set off behind him. Thomas watched the two go, then looked back to the picture as he smiled.

The next day was a Sunday and they used that to unpack the rest of their stuff as well as putting the furniture back together, which was also a real test of their relationship.

“Alex, I dismantled this table, okay. I know where this is supposed to go,” Thomas huffed pointing at the table leg.

“But it looks weird like that,” Alex frowned.

“Well, maybe it’s a weird table.”

“Why would we want to keep a weird table?”

“Papa, Da? I think these belong to the chair, not the table,” Philip tiny voice spoke up. He had spotted a few dismantled chairs near the table, with more legs that looked like the ones they were trying to put on the table and made the conclusion that the legs must not be from the table, but the chairs instead.

Both looked at the table, then to the chairs, then back to the table, before meeting each other’s eyes and bursting out in laughter.

Alex ruffled Philip’s hair and said: “I think you’re right, buddy.”

Thomas laughed: “Oh my God, we’re both stupid.”

“According to my teacher, stupid is a bad word,” Philip said.

“Yeah?” Alex asked.

“Hm-mh,” Philip nodded, “Because no one is stupid and that kind of says that a person who just didn’t know something, because no one told them is not as good as other people. You should say that you weren’t informed properly.”

“You’re a wise little man, Pip,” Thomas said, “I stand corrected, Alex, we were misinformed about this not weird and perfectly good table.”

“Dork,” Alex said.

“What’s misinformed?”

“It means that you got the wrong information,” Alex explained.

“So what I said.”

“Exactly, kiddo,” Thomas agreed, “So, how about you help me with the table while Papa goes to put the frames on the wall, because you have a sharper eye for this than him.”

“Excuse me, you grabbed the wrong legs,” Alex said, even if he did start to move away.

“Yeah, and I’ve put a nail into the wall exactly once and that was a disaster,” Thomas told him, “If you appreciate your plaster, I would suggest you do it.”

“You can’t put a nail in the wall?” Alex laughed.

“Don’t laugh at me,” Thomas moped.

“I’m not laughing, just wondering how you got stuff on your wall in your old house.”

“I called James, okay. Martha did it before that.”

“My Auntie Martha?”

“Yeah, Pip, your Auntie Martha,” Thomas confirmed.

“She’s coming to hang with Daddy right?”

“Jup, putting the nails in now,” Alex said, still chuckling slightly as he gathered the stuff.

Above the mantle, they were putting four pictures. Two of them portraits of both Martha and John and two wedding pictures. The portraits were bigger and the wedding pictures would hang underneath, neither acknowledging the fact that a third picture couldfit between them.

John’s was him standing in the park under a tree with baby Philip in his arms. He was wearing his hair in a pony tail and he just looked back, smiling at Alex behind the camera. Martha was sitting on the swing in Monticello, her white summer dress flowing in the wind, perfectly still along with her frozen laughter.

They watched over the house, both adding warmth and laughter to their main family space.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N:

I am once again telling you to not use my fic as a guide to deal with grief, just in case you have forgotten, this is not really the medium to get information from.

Also Laf was pretty clumsy, he actually got laughed off the French court for his dancing, so my clumsy man.

Me at the pictures: “Is this foreshadowing? Did I do it? Oehlalala (pls I’m really proud of all the little stuff I managed to bring back in later chapter, pls notice my hard work)

#RR writing #tw: grief #tw: death mention #tw: unhealthy coping mention #tw: self deprecation #Hamilton #Hamilton AU #Alexander Hamilton #Thomas Jefferson #Philip Hamilton #Eliza Schuyler #Angelica Schuyler #Lafayette #Marquis de Lafayette #Hercules Mulligan #Jamilton #'Till Death Do Us Part #'Till Death Do Us Part Part 12 #'Till Death Do Us Part AU

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