Hamilton One-Shots

Public Speech Anxiety [Eliza/Thomas]

Thomas paced in the empty room, his hands pushing along each other in tense motions. His footsteps echoed in the hall as he listened to the Secretary of State outside introduce him. He wished James would keep talking, just say everything for him. Couldn't he make the state of address? This was all a bad idea. He should have just listened to his gut and said no to this. There was a cheer outside and Thomas stood still.

"Thomas?"

He turned on his feet and his shoulders relaxed. "Eliza." She had pulled her hair back, her smooth, brown hair free along her back. She wore a blue dress with a sweater suitable for the damp weather outside today. He smiled. "You look beautiful."

She smiled and came to stand in front of him. She took his hands in hers and looked up to him. "You're going to do great," she said.

He gave her a worrisome smirk. "I wish I had your confidence."

"Pretend you're talking to Alexander."

He stared at her for a moment.

"Alex might not be in that crowd, but he's going to be watching. Just remember that you're talking to him."

He thought about that for a minute while he heard James finishing up outside. Hamilton would be watching, undoubtedly. He smirked. "I think I can do that." He looked through the open door where James stood at the podium. He knew he was probably drawing out his last thoughts as much as he could without being too long. He looked back to Eliza's smile. He leaned down and kissed her on her cheek. "What would I do without you?"

"Crash and burn."

His smile brightened with hers. There was no doubt in his mind about that.

"Thomas."

He looked up and saw James waving him out. He took a deep breath and walked to the door outside, Eliza following him until he walked outside himself and James gave him a confident glance and nod. He stood at the podium and slightly adjusted the microphone before looking out before him. He breathed in and remembered Eliza's words.

Pretend you're talking to Alexander.

He smirked to himself and took a quick breath before speaking into the microphones, the entire crowd and all the cameras focused on his every word.

Freaking short, I am ashamed. Two points if you got the Supernatural reference though.