attention ELAMS ONESHOT john survived au!
I can't believe I haven't posted this. it's one of my favorite one shots ever. its john and eliza, he gets to the hamilton household alive and well after everyone thinks he was dead bc he wouldn't send letters to alexander for a while. its giving he wasn't dead he was just depressed
anyway enjoy!! I love them so much! 🥹
John looked over at the woman standing near the counter. He struggled a little to keep his eyes plainly open but did his best nonetheless.
“Yes. You two are a good fit.”
A little smile made its way to Eliza’s lips and she gently dipped some cotton into an alcohol-based solution.
“Well, I appreciate that.”
Laurens winced when Elizabeth placed the cotton on one of his open wounds, though maybe that was just because he had relaxed and completely forgot to prepare for the pain.
“It’s about the third time I hear you curse in the past hour, Mr. Laurens, you sound like a sailor.”
His blue eyes darted to her. Eliza was focused on his wound, however, she managed to sneak a touch of a fun tone to her voice. She was not very serious about what she’d said. He snickered after a few seconds staring at her, and shook his head.
“Please call me Eliza. As appealing as the title is to me, I feel like we should be going past formalities by now.”
Both of them chuckled a little bit, looking and sounding a tad shyer than they usually did.
“I am merely messing with. How did you manage this wound, by the way? My husband has spoken several times of your endearing ease to get yourself in trouble. The war is already over, what could you be up to?”
“Well…” Laurens sighed. “I was simply serving my duty to the country. Fighting for the land. The british are yet to leave us alone fully.”
“Are those battles not more dangerous than the previous ones?”
Eliza stared up at John from the wound for a few seconds. He shrugged.
“Well… Alexander has also spoken of his desire to see you again, written letters quite a few times, yet you never seem to acknowledge it.”
John frowned, eyes on her once again focused face. She was bold, that mistress of his companion. Perhaps why they fit so well.
“A man on duty can’t give everything up to pay a friend a visit any time he wishes, no matter how much he might wish otherwise.”
“No, but you have had plenty of free time despite your efforts to keep yourself busy, so I’ve heard.”
“I do get busy with things other than battles. I have personal matters, do I not?”
“Exactly what we are talking about, Mr. Laurens. I was just quite curious about the reason my husband’s best friend would rather not show up to his wedding day.”
John couldn’t help his cheeks from warming up at Mrs. Hamilton’s comment. Did she know he had also been invited by her husband to the aftermath of it? Was it something that they had thought of together or was she oblivious to the entire situation? John couldn’t even begin to wonder how a woman like her would react to such indecent ideas. There was, however, a curious spark about it, hidden away…
Eliza wiped the soaked cotton over his wound one last time, ripping a wince out of him.
“I’m not angry at you, John. Alexander might be a little, but I’m not. I am quite curious, though, but I don’t want you to speak on subjects you may not be comfortable with or find displeasing.” Eliza collected the dirty cottons and stood up, scaring Laurens slightly. “Stay. Are you alright?”
He just looks at her, blue guilty eyes and a hard swallow followed by an apology and yes. A few seconds later, Eliza returned with bandages and a glass of water.
“It’s nothing. If you feel better, sit up a tad.”
And then he did as said, holding in a grunt of pain.
Eliza worked in silence for a few seconds. Sometimes, she’d glance up at him, but John was unaware, having closed his eyes. Just tight enough, Schuyler wrapped bandages around his arm, making sure to soothe any rough patches beforehand.
“You know, your hair resembles wheat.”
“Hm?” Laurens blinks his eyes open, slightly unaware of his surroundings. Eliza worked like an angel, so much better than any nurse ever did and, god, he was tired.
“The blonde in your hair. I knew it reminded me of something. It’s wheat in the morning sun.”
A breath got stuck in his throat. How was he supposed to hold on much longer?
“Specifically morning sun?”
“Mr. Laurens!” Eliza abruptly looked up at him.
“Fine. John, how come you do not know the difference? You’re an artist as far as I know…” She sighed. “The morning sun is… well, definitely less yellow, leaning more into a whiter shade of sunlight. It hits the wheat and reflects a light beige, a beautiful one at that. It’s different.”
He stays in silence for a brief second, only to realize there’s a smile on his face.
“It’s…” Eliza sighed, cheeks flushing slightly but also quite a smiley expression. “It’s one of the most beautiful hours of the day. I wish Alexander would rise earlier more often, just to appreciate the daylight and the fresh air of mornings.”
“I would always try to convince him back in army days…”
“Definitely not,” He chuckled.
Eliza joined in with quiet giggles.
“I forced him out of bed sometimes for a walk. He despised it.” John added.
“He has the loveliest grumpy morning face.”
Both of them lean gently into their smiles, sighing in content one after the other. John, however, quickly noticed what he said and shot Eliza an indiscreet wide gaze, which the brunette met with a calm, yet aware one. A knowing, very discreet gaze.
Laurens rapidly cleared his throat, shaking his head. “Either way we never spent too much time out, General Washington always had plenty of work to do, much more pleasant for him.”
“Yes, the writing?” Eliza finished up the bandage, checking it around a few times.
“Hide the pen and present him with a sweet activity once he comes asking for it. Just a tip… Well,” She grinned. “You’re all done, Mr. La.. John. You’re done, John. I suppose I should leave you to rest.”
“Thank you, Eliza. Truly.”
“It’s nothing, John. Good night, just shout if you need something.”
He chuckled, meeting her gaze a last time before she opened and closed the door behind herself.
