Critical (Jamilton)

4. No Seriously, Disney Cures Anything

Hamilton

"Okay, so I can take you somewhere before I have to leave if you want," Thomas said, picking up his keys. 

"You know I'm not a child, right? I can drive myself places and I don't need you acting like my parent." Despite the words being bitter, Alex forced himself to laugh. He hopped off the counter where he was sitting and opened the door for Thomas. 

Jefferson looked at him like that wasn't the answer he wanted. 

"I just don't want you to be bored all day," he muttered. 

"Then I'll go out if I get too bored," Alex said with a shrug. That only made the other man seem more on edge. 

"Please, Alex? If you need to go somewhere, I can just take you! I don't want you leaving on your own, you never know what could happen." Thomas shifted on his feet uncomfortably, obviously trying to avoid saying anything that related to kidnappings, but he wasn't doing all that great of a job at being subtle.

Hamilton rolled his eyes and sighed. "I know that you're worried I'll get kidnapped again or whatever, but it's fine! What are the chances that that happens again? Probably not the greatest." 

Thomas didn't look convinced. Alexander rolled his eyes and pulled Jefferson down by his tie, kissing him for a few seconds, just to tell him that everything would be fine. 

"I'm not going to go missing again," he said quietly. "understand?"

Jefferson sighed. "Fine, but could you at least let me know if you decide to go anywhere? Please?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be sure to let you know, Mom, now go. I've been holding this door for too long and now my arm hurts." 

As Thomas left, Hamilton watched through the window, staring until he couldn't see the car anymore. As soon as it was gone, Alex felt a strong sense of freedom fill him. He felt like a teenager that just got the house to himself for an entire week, even though it was really only technically until Eliza got back from her job at a flower shop just up the road. 

He sat down on the couch and looked around for a second. At first, he was admiring how the house looked. Then after a minute or two, his mind wandered and he was thinking about why in the actual hell he thought that kissing Thomas was the best way to end that conversation. Granted, that's the best way to end most conversations, but not ones with an ex that thought he was dead for six years. 

For all Alex knew, Thomas could have moved on in that time. He could have found someone else to get him onto Easy Street and started a life with them. It wouldn't explain why he was staying the night with Eliza, but still. Six years is a long time.

He didn't want to think of the situation like that, but it was one of the many reasons why he probably shouldn't have kissed Thomas. 

And really, he should have listened to Jefferson, he did have a point, after all. The chances of Alex getting kidnapped again were actually unusually high, especially since he went for the most obvious place. If King found out where Thomas was staying, Hamilton could pretty much say bye-bye to any other chance at freedom. . . 

Hell, King would probably kill all of them and just take him back like nothing ever happened. That thought definitely out Alex on edge. He shifted on the couch so he could at least see the majority of the doors and windows, making sure that there wasn't anyone outside. 

After a minute of staring intently outside, Alexander rolled his eyes at his own actions. 

"Nobody's going to break in, don't be stupid," he muttered to himself. 

But instead of actually moving, he got slightly more comfortable and put on a movie while staring at the windows and watching the door. He didn't pay attention to exactly what he put on, he just knew that it was Disney from the opening sequence. 

And so began his day of trying to distract himself with as many movies as he could manage.

Alex barely noticed when Eliza got home with her child at her heels, which just mean that his distractions were working better than he expected. Almost immediately, Hamilton's movie-marathon got a new member because the boy was on the couch as soon as he heard the opening music.

"You haven't met Philip yet, have you, Alexander?" Eliza asked as she joined the two on the couch. 

"Nope! He hasn't!" Philip turned around to face the older man and shot out his hand. "I'm Philip, I'm a poet, and Mama and Uncle Tommy calls me Pip, so you can too. What're your powers?" 

"Powers?" Alex laughed, shaking Philip's hand. 

"Yeah! I asked Uncle Tommy for a dad for my birthday and then you came the next day! Did you come from Build-A-Baby, or is there a different store? When can we start you as my all-the-time dad?" 

Eliza stifled a laugh ruffled Philip's hair. "Actually, sweetpea, you know how Georges's dads love each other?" 

Philip nodded after a second of thinking. "They kiss each other on the lips!"

"Exactly. Well, that's how Alex--" She cut herself off for a second, looking at her friend for permission, to which he gladly agreed. "that's how he loves your uncle Tommy."

"So why is he new?" The child looked curiously at his mom and Hamilton. Neither of them expected that question.

"I don't know if you're old enough for that story, hun." 

"Awe c'mon!"

"I had to go and fight some bad guys for a while," Alex offered. "A really long time. Y'know, with my powers. But now the bad people are gone and I can live my civilian life with Tommy and your mom!"  

Philip seemed happy enough with the answer because his smile grew even wider than it already was. "So I gots another uncle and he's a hero! Cool!" 

The older two laughed for a second before Eliza told Philip to go finish his homework before finishing the movie. It was just a color-by-number, but he made it seem like he was already into the hard stuff, like multiplying double digits. 

As soon as he was upstairs, Eliza turned to her friend. 

"I'm sorry, I had to tell him something. He really doesn't take not knowing anything well," Eliza muttered. 

"It's fine, Liza, Thomas and I needed to have that talk anyway, now I don't have an excuse to get out of it!" Alex rubbed the back of his neck nervously, really thinking about how that talk could go. Really, it could go in his favor or it couldn't, there was fifty-fifty chance. 

And the worst part? 

Alex didn't even know which part would be considered "in his favor".