Chapter Text
“Down for the count and I’m drowning in ‘em!”
As the wedding march played and Eliza lightly ruffled a very uncomfortable-looking Alexander’s hair, Martha posed a question that John was fairly sure she had been sitting on for some time. “Were his eyes really that great? Or is this meant to be a metaphor for something?”
“Eyes,” John and Eliza answered immediately. They glanced at each other and John smiled slightly. As much as he had disliked the idea of her last time, it was hard to hold a grudge against her now. She might have been one of the most instantly likeable people he had ever met.
It was easy to see how Alexander had fallen for her.
“Seriously,” he said in response to Martha’s skeptical look. “He had, like, Mary Sue eyes. Really deep blue, very easy to get distracted by.”
Alex smiled playfully at him at that, leaning up to peck him on the lips.
“A toast to the groom!”
Alex dropped back down with a groan, tucking himself under John’s arm as if he could just hide under there until the song was over.
Angelica laughed, snapping a picture of him as John lightly rubbed between his shoulderblades.
“See, Ham,” McHenry said, smirking. “This is why you don’t flirt with everything that moves.”
Alex looked up, presumably saw that McHenry was out of kicking range, and dropped his head back, grumbling that he had flirted with John plenty and hardly any historians had managed to pick up on that .
***
“There’s hope for our ass after all!”
“Sorry,” Martha interjected. “But do I not exist here?”
Eliza saw John shrugging sheepishly as Ben commended him on his ‘extremely no homo’ best man’s speech.
Burr appeared in the doorway, obviously ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. “Could you please turn it do-”
“You are the worst, Burr!”
He sighed, waved to Angelica, and disappeared again.
“I’m the RA for the floor below here,” she explained at Alexander’s betrayed look. “I’m not voluntarily consorting with the enemy, Alex. Stop doing the kicked puppy face.”
“Theodosia writes me a letter every day.”
Everyone fell silent.
***
Alex couldn’t help but sigh happily as the song ended.
“John, aren’t you excited?” Lafayette asked. “We’re about to meet your most favorite person in all the world!”
John glowered at them, moving to cross his arms. Alex whined as he was dislodged and grabbed John’s arm to keep him in the best possible pillow position. He glared at John and Lafayette (and, really, most of the room) as he gripped John’s arm tighter.
“Do not remind me of that stupid duel.” He turned his glare back at John. “I did everything I could think of to keep you from getting killed, and then you turn around and want to go another round!”
John’s expression softened and he kissed the top of Alex’s head. “I’m sorry, querido.” His voice lowered as he switched to Spanish. “I’m doing much better now, I promise. You don’t have to worry about me this time around.”
Alex studied his face for several moments before he allowed his lips to twitch up into a smile. “Good.”
“Raise a glass!”
***
“It’s the ten duel commandments.”
“Hey,” John asked. “Does anyone know what the staging is like for this? Like, where do I aim? I have a reputation to protect, you know.”
“Yeah, you point right at him,” Peggy responded. “He basically has to be carried offstage.”
“At least,” Eliza added, “that was how they staged it when we saw it.”
Alex’s head shot up, once again looking very much like someone had murdered a puppy right in front of him. “You’ve seen it ?! I hate you. I’m never talking to any of you again.” He burrowed back into John’s side, pouting as John rolled his eyes.
At Martha’s questioning look, Eliza murmured, “I give him five minutes, tops. He just has to be as dramatic as possible at all times.”
Martha smirked in a way that made Eliza’s face heat up. Sally was pre-med, wasn’t she? Maybe she should ask if it was safe to be blushing this much.
***
“Call me son one more time!”
“So, having actually met Washington, I have to say: I don’t see you actually living more than about ten seconds after saying that,” Sally commented.
“Yeah, no.” Came from about ten different people scattered around the room.
***
“How long have you known?”
“Is it bad that it took me a really long time to realize that I was pregnant in this scene?” Eliza whispered.
“I didn’t get it until you actually mentioned a child,” Alex responded. “So I’d say no. Is it more obvious on stage?”
She nodded. “Pippa’s wearing a pregnancy belly and you keep staring at it and tearing up. It’s really sweet.”
He smiled sadly at her as she squeezed his hand gently.
***
“LAFAYETTE!”
Ben and Caleb caught on fairly quickly this time and shouted along with everyone else in the room, Lafayette hopping up on a table and bowing as Daveed’s part ended.
John chucked a pillow at them. “You wish you were that cool.”
“You know,” a heavily accented voice said from the door. “The first time I heard the intro to this song, I really thought it was going to be about me.”
Eliza turned and honestly may not have recognized the man standing at the door unless Pierre and shrieked and tackled him into a hug just as Alex and John whooped and got up to hug him as well.
“Friedrich, how’s it going, man?” John laughed, accepting the bear hug from the man who (if Eliza had to guess) was probably 24 or so.
“Twenty-first century is pretty awesome, I’ve gotta say,” he responded, hugging Alexander just as tightly (and with considerably less fondling than Pierre had gotten). “I mean, so far I haven’t gotten exiled for being gay, so that’s already going better.” He accepted Pierre’s phone, presumably tapping his contact info into it as he talked. “Listen, I’ve got to go prepare for my classes, but Pierre’s got my number, I’ll let you know my office hours. Come by anytime, okay?”
He kissed Pierre lightly and waved as he walked out.
“He’s… exuberant,” Martha finally commented.
“I think the word you’re looking for is flaming ,” John corrected. “Ah, damn, we missed the next song. We gotta go back.”
“I was younger than you are now…”
***
“Laurens is in South Carolina, redefining brav’ry.”
“Presumably as ‘idiotic suicidal recklessness’,”Alexander grumbled.
John kissed the top of his head. “Would it help if I apologized?”
“Not really.” He smirked up at him. “More kisses might, though.”
John could manage that.
***
“I’m so blue!”
“Is he… throwing a tantrum?” Sally asked.
“Yeah, he’s stomping and pouting,” Angelica responded.
“I still hate you guys.”
“That’s nice, Alex.”
***
“When you smile I am undone, my son.”
Eliza found Hamilton’s hand and squeezed tightly.
“Hey,” Hercules piped up. “Anyone wanna know a fun fact about this song?”
Everyone stared at him.
In typical Hercules fashion, he ignored them and went ahead. “He wrote it the week they got their dog.”
Alex let out a little snort of laughter at that, casually wiping at his tears before they had a chance to fall.
Nobody commented.
***
“Don’t forget to write.”
“Hey, Angelica, you really should have told me we were having an affair. I would have thrown in more innuendos.”
The look she gave him could have frozen liquid steel. He shrank back slightly. “Betsey, please tell your sister not to murder me.”
“Hey, wait,” Caleb suddenly blurted after a minute, staring at the speakers in confusion. “Laurens is dead.”
“Nope,” Alexander responded.
“Yes he is! That’s why he was in South Carolina, right? So he could die down there.”
“Nope.”
“The hell do you mean, ‘nope’?!”
“It’s not on the album, therefore it didn’t happen, because I don’t like it. The end.”
“I am not throwin’ away my shot!”
“I guess that’s a good place to pause,” John said. “Anyone need a bathroom break before the feelings attack?”