A/N: Hello readers of this story and potentially others that I have wrote.
I'm going to be extremely honest with you all, when I finished my last Hamilton fanfic, I started writing this cute little one shot. So, this has been at least 4 months in the works. Alas, I am it completed and I am very happy with it. Hopefully you all love it as much as I do. (Also, let me know how I did writing in third person. I typically only write first person, but I wanted to try something new.)
I hope you like this little thing! If you do, leave a review, like, or follow. This is just a one-shot, but any support I get means the world and gives me more motivation to write other great things (there are some things you should check out on my profile too!)
"Alexander, Angelica is arriving today! We have to go pick her up from the airport! Her flight should be landing very soon!" Eliza called out to him from the kitchen.
She just finished wiping down the counter when she looked at the clock and noticed that it was just about time to leave to pick up her sister from the airport. Eliza had been cleaning all day to make sure her house was spotless for when her older sister came home to New York from London. Something about Angelica being overly attentive to details and rather judgmental when it came to little things made Eliza want to impress her older sister with her clean home and organized life, even if it was just for a few days before they all left for Albany. Eliza always tried her very best to be as clean as Angelica and as kind as Angelica. Eliza tried to be as honest as Angelica and as forward as Angelica while still being nice. She found it hard to be as forward as Angelica and be kind, and she was always baffled as to how her older sister managed to do both at once. Nonetheless, Eliza always tried to impress her sister by being just like her.
"Alright, Eliza. I'm just finishing typing up this report for President Washington."
Despite what Alexander wanted to believe about his doting, Eliza was not an idiot. Eliza knows that Alexander doesn't ever mean it when he says 'I'm finishing this up' or 'One last thing before we go' or even 'Just one more second of work'. He never took a break from work. Never. She was not having it today. Angelica was coming home for two weeks. Only two, then she would go back to London for who knows how long. It could be years again! They were not going to be late to pick her up and shorten her stay by even an hour because Alexander refused to stop working. Eliza huffed out, "Alexander! Now!"
"Alright, I'm coming." He got up from his desk and closed his laptop. Alexander had no real reason to feel sort of excited to pick up his sister in-law from the airport, but he was. They had emailed back and forth a few times since Angelica left 7 years ago, but other than that they tried to keep their contact limited. They didn't want to make their spouses upset with too much contact over this time away. And even though they had a break of communication, he was excited to see Angelica again.
He was always fond of Angelica in a different way than he was with Eliza. He always found that Angelica was willing to challenge him- intellectually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Eliza hardly ever challenged him. She tended to support him in any way she could (which Eliza most definitely preferred overall), and while Alexander loved that he could always count on his wife to back him up in whatever he was struggling with no matter what, he always searched for a new challenge which is when Angelica was better. Alexander remembers in college, when he met the pair of sisters, that Angelica had challenged him to an arm wrestling match (which he lost due to intoxication and for not thinking that the slim woman could have so much muscle, let alone beat him) and Eliza had been there to support him, root for him, and cheer him up after the loss. Angelica, Eliza, Peggy, and Alexander would go for runs in college together (before Peggy got really sick and passed) and if Alexander needed to stop, Peggy and Eliza would stop with him and Angelica would tell him to beat her to point in the near distance and then he could take a break or drink some water. Just a few of many instances where the two sisters were polar opposites. Two instances where he felt he preferred Angelica's challenges over Eliza's support.
He made his way out of his office to his wife where she waited with his keys and wallet ready to go. He accepted his things from her. They called out their goodbyes to their children because they would only be gone an hour or so. Phillip, the eldest Hamilton child, was mature enough to stay home with his siblings for an hour alone. After all, it was just his 9th birthday not even a week ago. This was one of Eliza's gifts to him (Her other gift to her oldest child being a new piano book. Alexander had gotten him nerf guns, which she did not approve of before he made the purchase and then gifted them). Phillip can stay home with his siblings alone for a little bit. He didn't know that the worried parents had enlisted the help of their neighbor, Hercules Mulligan. His only job was to stop by 10 to 20 minutes after they left, looking for Alexander or Eliza and then hanging out to wait for them while they were gone because 'he needed to speak to them in person and a note would not suffice nor would he come over later to talk'. It was a flawless plan. Their children wouldn't suspect a thing and they would still be safe under the watchful eyes of Hercules.
The Hamilton couple walked out of their house together and to Alexander's smaller car. He pulled out of the driveway to make the drive to the airport, and Eliza had to get back to persuading him about the vacation she wanted to take with him and her sister when she came home from London. "Alexander, would you at least consider this vacation for longer than five seconds?"
"What is there to consider?" He questioned her, "I can't go. I am overwhelmed with work right now."
"You know that's not true. You spent all weekend with me. You can take a break, and you should since we haven't visited my father since James was born and Angelica left two years ago."
"Washington is worried about my plan getting through congress, Eliza." He told her. "This plan needs to get approved in order for me to keep my job."
It was true, well, at least partly true. Washington was beyond worried about his plan because this plan determined the economy for the next decade. If this didn't turn out, then the economy would be in ruins and Alexander would be out of a job. It wasn't as urgent as Alexander was making it, but the sooner he got it done, the sooner it would go into effect, and the sooner Mr. President would be happy again, which is the only goal of Alexander at the moment.
"You can go upstate with me and Angelica to visit my father for one week." She smiled and let herself have hope for a moment, "There's a lake that I know, in a nearby park where you and I can go when the night gets dark."
"I will try and get away." His hand lands just above her knee. He rubs soothing circles with his thumb, trying to reassure her. Eliza is not reassured, though. She wants him to go with her and her family. She wants to have romantic late night walks in the park by her childhood home with him. She wants to go swimming or even skinny dipping with him when everyone else is sleeping. She wants to see him relaxed and away from work. She wants to see him how they met in college…
Eliza's mind began to wander to how they met at her college campus, right outside her dorm. Alexander, the attractive junior with the most stunning eyes, was always right outside reading. He would pop his head up and look at the students passing by as they went, every so often smiling to one or saying hello to another. Eliza, the shy freshman, just happened to be one of those people he looked up to as they passed by. She remembers how they locked eyes and how she felt instant heat flood through her body. He smiled at her and closed his book to walk with her. Eliza had just been dumped by Aaron, her long-term high school boyfriend, a month before and was completely heartbroken still to say the least. But when she was with Alexander for the 25 minute walk to her class across campus, she forgot all about Aaron and it was all Alexander's doing. He made it all go away within seconds. She asked to hang out with him after class. She asked him, and he said yes without a doubt in his mind! They met at the coffee shop just a block away from Eliza's class, off campus. He was so carefree despite working hard to graduate and now working hard to fill Eliza's heart with the love they both knew she deserved.
She sighed, thinking about how Alexander and Eliza used to take coffee dates, movie dates, and sleepovers with her sisters weekly in order to relax. "You know it's good to relax."
"I know, Eliza."
"If you know that it's good to relax, then you would spend a week of the summer with me and our family in upstate New York."
"Eliza-"
"And if you know what's good for you, you'd listen to your wife because she is always right." she states matter-of-factly.
"I told you, Betsey, I will try to get away. I need to make a few phone calls and send a few emails so that way I have my stuff covered while I'm gone. If I don't have it covered, then I won't be able to go with you."
"Okay. But you actually have to try to get people to cover your work for a week or so. This trip means the world to me and to Angelica, so you have to actually ask people, understand?"
"I would never try to defy you, Betsey."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She sighs, dropping the matter. Alexander is more than thankful that she dropped it. He wants to go. Of course. His want to go just wasn't as much as his want to stay home and work so he doesn't lose his job, but that was beside the point. He did want to vacation with his family. Truly, he did, but if he stayed home and worked, he could save up to take Eliza on the best vacation ever. One where it would be just them, no kids, no family, just the two of them. Alexander was just dealing with his rather conflicting thoughts between Eliza, work, Angelica, and his kids… it was just a lot for him.
They pulled up to the airport where many drivers were waiting to pick up friends or family. He put the car in park and sighed.
"Are you going to come with me?" Eliza asked him.
"We don't want a ticket."
"Okay. I'll be in there for just a few minutes."
She opened the door and hopped out the car. She was only slightly irritated by her husband's stupidity towards every situation, especially since recently it had been multiplied by at least 100. She went into the airport. She had to get her ID checked, but it was worth it if it meant seeing her sister. Eliza waited and looked to see if she could spot Angelica's dark brown curls bouncing through the crowd as another wave of people picking up their luggage left. Maybe she wouldn't catch a glimpse of her hair, but of her white heels clicking into the floor because Angelica never travelled without a touch of class and style. Eliza wasn't sure what exactly would let her know that the person she was looking for was around. What actually caught her attention to Angelica was the loud voice that she could hear from across the lobby.
"... okay, John. I'm fine. Just looking for Eliza at the airport… Alright, Hun… Okay… I'll call you tonight… Alright… Bye!"
Eliza locked eyes with her sister and from across the lobby, ran over to her. "Angelica!"
"Eliza!" They hugged. It had been years since they last hugged. It had been years since they last saw each other. "Gosh, look at you!"
"Look at you!" Eliza exclaimed. They pulled away to look at each other once more, still holding her hands comfortably.
"Still my younger sister."
"Still my older sister." They hugged again. Eliza thought that Angelica's embrace was always one of the warmest. Angelica thought Eliza's was always the most familiar. They were always close like this. Both of them preferred to be attached to each other than a man even though they were both married. Angelica and Eliza both felt that sibling love was more worthwhile than the love a man might be able to provide for them, especially after Peggy had passed only 3 months before Angelica left. Angelica delayed her trip as much as she could to be with her grieving family, but John had to go to London for work so she couldn't cancel her move like she wanted. The pair also thought that having friendships that were even half as close as their sistership was ridiculous considering that people leave and decide to quit. Sisters could ever just quit being a sister. Sisters could never just up and leave. That's why they preferred to be each other's best friend.
Eliza and Angelica pulled away again, "Let's go. Alexander is waiting for us outside."
Angelica pulls her sweet sister into her side. They walk connected at the hip to get her suitcase and then into the outside. Alexander was waiting for them as Eliza had said. He propped himself on the hood of the car, picking at his cuticles. He was zoned out and didn't notice that the two women had come outside to go home.
His head popped up at the sound of one of them clearing their throat, most likely Angelica. He smiled a warm and homely smile. "The Schuyler sisters!"
"Alexander…" Angelica cooed.
"Hi."
"It's good to see your face."
Alexander opened his arms for Angelica to rush into. She hugged him. Angelica may have thought that Eliza's hug was the most familiar, but Alexander's was always the warmest. She smiled and pulled away. Eliza, not feeling jealous in any way, moved into the comfort of her husband's side. Alexander opened the door for Angelica. She climbed into the back seat of their car, not wanting to impede on their relationship by sitting by Alexander in the front. He got Eliza's door for her as well. She hopped in and Alexander closed her door. He took care of Angelica's suitcase quickly and walked around the side of the car, ready to head home. He knew that their four kids would be so excited to see their Aunt Angelica. The car was turned on and they were ready to go. Eliza played music from her phone in the background as they caught up from the past years.
"So, London was good?" Alexander asked.
"So good. I'm happy to be home, though. I love it there, but Eliza isn't there and neither is my father."
"Well, it's always good to have a visit from you!" Eliza told her sister enthusiastically.
Angelica laughed, but agreed with her sister, "It's always good to be back in the states."
"Aunt Angelica! I didn't know you were coming back!" Phillip cheered when he saw her arrive.
Hercules slipped out as Angelica came in. Alexander slipped him a twenty-dollar bill as compensation for watching the kids while they were out. Angelica ran the rest of the way in, dropping her suitcase by the door, to hug her nephew. "I had to surprise you for your 9th birthday! Look at how big you've gotten!"
"Mom says I've grown 2 inches in the past year!" He tells her.
"It definitely looks like you have. Last time I was here, you were about this tall." Angelica holds her hand to right below her hip, only a few inches shorter than his actual height.
Angie, Eliza's little Angelica and Angelica's namesake, came downstairs next to see her aunt. "Aunt Angelica!"
"Mini me! How are you?"
"Good! Mommy was telling us about some vacation that you wanted to take with us!"
"She was? I thought that was supposed to be a surprise!" Angelica looks to her younger sister.
She smiles and wraps her arm around the Angelicas, "It was, but I couldn't hold it in anymore. I had to tell them."
Angelica nods, "Did she say if Daddy was going on this trip?"
"No. Daddy is always working, so he probably won't go."
The older Angelica glares at Alexander who had done a fairly good job at hiding in the corner of the kitchen as the mini Angelica talked. The mini was just as forward as the Angelica that came from London.
Angelica mutters under her breath, "The fact that the seven year old knows that…"
Alexander, having great skill in lip-reading and understanding the Schuyler sisters all too well, basically heard what Angelica had muttered. He felt entitled to respond, "I try to get away. Betsey knows this."
Eliza comes over to Alexander. She grabs his arm and holds onto him, leaning her head against him. "He does try. You have to give him that, Angelica."
"He isn't even coming away with us to visit Dad." Angelica stated. "You and I both know that Dad would like to actually see Alexander again."
"I need to call Washington, get approval first. I told Eliza I would."
"You promised me."
"I did. I promise I will try to get away." He clears his throat, "Angelica, let me help you get settled in so that way Eliza can start dinner."
Angelica sighs, "I guess. Lead the way, Alexander."
Alexander gladly grabbed his sister-in-law's suitcase that she dropped by the door and led the way for her to the guest bedroom. Alexander went just past the living room, up the stairs, and just past the master bedroom to the hidden guest room. Angelica smiled as she entered. Eliza, as she was preparing for his older sister's arrival, made sure to clean this room extra well for her sister. Angelica walked in and looked eagerly at the pictures Eliza had placed in the frames. Some from their childhood, some from college, and some from her wedding night. Her favorite one, by far, was the one in the frame right by her bed. Eliza hugged Angelica around her neck as she posed for the picture. Angelica was laughing as Eliza kissed her sister's head thoughtfully. Angelica remembers when it was taken, too. She recalled that Eliza's high school boyfriend Aaron took it when he dropped her off with her at college. They broke up a few months later, and Angelica hugged her the same way when it happened. Angelica picked up the frame and pulled it tight to her chest.
"Eliza told me that she was so excited to spend four years across the hall from you even though she knew you were graduating a year before she would."
"She was just excited to finally be away from our dad and be free… she wanted so badly to be 'the bad girl she was inside'." Angelica giggled, "Truthfully that 'bad girl' was dating boys who broke her heart too many times before she finally found you. "
"Wow… I forgot that Eliza had dated before me."
"Yea… Mostly just first dates that went wrong. There was one guy who lasted a week, but he asked her something that made me want to kill him. She broke up with her that night. But after him, it was you. I remember when she came home after her first date with you halfway through her second semester. You were a junior and she was so lovestruck by the boy with the most amazing eyes."
"Oh really?"
"Really. She gushed about how smart you were and how kind you were to her. She told me that you got her chair for her at the cafe and you got the door for her any chance you could and it made her so happy because all of her other boyfriends were toxic and not good for her."
"I can still smell the coffee from the coffee shop we went to. Whenever we get coffee, I make sure to get her something extra, just because that means so much to her."
"Remember the first time we met?"
"I do. It was at a party, not far from your dorm. You were there, and I remember that when I saw you I thought I had seen one of the most beautiful women ever." Alexander admitted before looking down at his hands.
"You know she wants you to vacation with us." Angelica changes the topic.
"I know."
"Then why do you keep telling her that you can't?"
He sighs, "Because it means… everything to her and I can't give her that."
"But you are her everything! You don't have to give her everything because she already has what she wants. She has you! So, go on this vacation with us. Spend some time with her, alone. She told me all of the great things she wants to do with you when we go back to our father's. She wants to have sleepless nights with you, like when you two were in college. She wants to go get Mcdonalds at two am and run through the park. She wants to kiss under the stars while sipping box wine. She wants to go fall asleep in the grass with her head on your shoulder. She wants to be with you more than anything in the world. Make her happy and go with us to Albany."
Alexander sighed. That sounds nice. Being with Eliza in such a relaxed way sounds nice. "I will try. It's the same thing I told Eliza. I will try to go away with you guys."
"Good, but you know it's going to take more than just saying that, right? You actually have to try. Actually, call George. Actually make an effort to get away."
"I promised her I would. I want to, but to give her everything…"
"Would mean just being there, like she wants."
"I will try and get away." Alexander confirmed. "I'll let you get settled in. Dinner should be ready around 6:00."
He left her alone in the maroon bedroom. His thoughts were now mixed with what Angelica said Eliza wants and what he needs to do for his job. What's one week off of work? What's one week away when he knows he can get the final report done to get his plan through congress when he gets back? Shortly after he left Angelica alone he arrived in the kitchen.
"Eliza, my dearest, what would this vacation consist of for us?" He asked, snaking his arms around her waist, resting his head in the crook of her neck to leave light kisses by her ear and down her neck as she stirred the chicken chunks and rice.
She melts into his touch. "During the day, time with Angelica, my dad, and the children. During the night… Well, we won't be sleeping. We might be doing something else, if that's alright with you. I was thinking about spending time in the park. There's a gorgeous lake right by my father's house where we can go. There are so many things we can do, too."
"You know it sounds fantastic." He kisses her neck once more, "I still need to tell Washington, but I think I will go."
She turned around in his grasp, shocked by what he just said. "For real?"
"Betsey, I told you I wanted to go in the first place. I'm just busy. But one week off, spending it with your- our- family and then alone with you… sounds like a wonderful vacation. And like you said, it's good to relax."
She kissed him hard. "You know I love you, right?"
"Yes, and I love you, too."
"I love you more."
"I love you most." They shared one more kiss before backing away so that way Eliza could finish cooking and Alexander could help her set the table. Besides, they were leaving in the morning and had much to celebrate before leaving, so the sooner they ate, the sooner they could relax together before going to Albany.