Corset in Congress (A Hamilton Genderbend)

Chapter Ten: Helpless

Elijah's POV

I've never been so utterly happy, as I am now. "I do I do I do I do! Girl, you got me helpless! Look into your eyes, and the sky's the limit! I'm helpless! Down for the count, and I'm drownin' in 'em!"

I have never been the type to try and grab the spotlight. This seems to surprise people, but I'm not sure why. Just because my last name's Schuyler doesn't mean I'm outgoing or flashy. We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night. Laughin' at my sister as she's dazzling the room, then you walked in and my heart went "Boom!"  That's an understatement. Tryin' to catch your eye from the side of the ballroom. Everybody's dancin' and the band's top volume. We grind to the rhythm as we wine and dine.

I'm swept off my feet and grab my sister, and whisper, "This one's mine." My sister made her way across the room to you, and I got nervous, thinking "What's she gonna do?" She grabbed you by the arm, I'm thinkin' "I'm through". Then you look back at me and suddenly I'm helpless! 

Helpless!

Oh, look at those eyes! They're intelligent and deep, and I'm afraid if I look at them for too long, I'll fall right in, and never be able to escape. But I'm not really scared, because I trust that their owner will be brave enough to fish me out.

 When I look into your eyes, it's like the sky's the limit, and I'm helpless! Helpless, I know! Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em! I'm helpless!

I'm so into you! Look into your eyes! They tell the story of who you are, and what you've seen, and all that you will accomplish. I am so into you, and the sky's the limit! I'm helpless! I know I'm down for the count! Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em. And I'm drownin' in 'em!

I watch from across the room as my sister Angelica talks to you. She takes your arm, and my breath hitches in my throat as she all but drags you over to where I stand, a nervous wreck. 

You laugh, and it's a beautiful sound, clear and true. "Where are you taking me?" you ask her, and she smiles back at you mischievously.

"I'm about to change your life," she promises you, and you just laugh and shake your head.

"Then by all means," you say, curtsying in mock deference, "lead the way."

Somehow I'm able to keep myself composed enough to introduce myself. "Elijah Schuyler. It's a pleasure to meet you," I say, my voice smooth, barely higher than normal. You frown a little, and turn to Angelica, a question in your eyes.

"Schuyler?"

"My brother," She says, a satisfied little smile on her face. I know I have a stupid wide grin on my face, but you don't seem to mind. If anything, you encourage it.

Blushing, I try for a compliment. "Thank you for all your service." I've heard of your involvement in the war, I know that you're General Washington's go-to.

"If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it," you say, smooth as silk, causing my flush to spread and darken. You smirk, and I feel the ground falling out from beneath me as I slowly lose all control.

Say what you will about my sister, but she knows when to take a hint. "I'll leave you to it," she says, smiling at me while wiggling her eyebrows. I mutter darkly under my breath, and she twirls away, straight into the arms of a startled but not unhappy Lafayette.

One week later

I'm writin' a letter nightly. Now my life gets better, every letter that you write me. Laughin' at my sister, cuz she's jealous of my luck.

She huffs, and makes an effort to explain herself. "I'm just sayin', it's about time you had a fu--"

"Ha!" I stick my tongue out at her and she sulks in the corner. Peter scoffs into his own work, engrossed in some sort of book, possibly poetry?

Two weeks later 

In the living room stressin'. Although that's putting it mildly. I'm practically hyperventilating, terrified of what could go wrong. My father's stone-faced while you're asking for his blessin'. You're so calm. How can you be so calm? I'm dying inside, as you wine and dine, and I'm tryin' not to cry, because there's nothing that your mind can't do.

My father makes his way across the room to you. I panic for a second, thinking, "We're through." But then he shakes your hand and says,"Be true." And you turn back to me, smiling, and I'm helpless! Helpless! I look into your eyes, and the sky's the limit I'm helpless! Helpless! Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em! I'm helpless!

"That girl is mine! That girl is mine!" I call, absolutely ecstatic. It feels like today is the first day of the rest of my life, probably because it is.

 "I look into your eyes, and there is no limit! I'm helpless! Down for the count, and I'm drownin' in 'em!"

You turn to me, and I see sincerity in your face. When you speak, it's with total honesty. "Elijah, I don't have a dollar to my name, an acre of land, a troop to command, a dollop of fame. All I have's my honor, a tolerance for pain, a couple of college credits and my top-notch brain.

"Insane," you continue, gesturing with your hands, a grin breaking out over your beautiful face,  "your family brings out a different side of me! Peter confides in me, Angelica... also confides in me," you trail off, and I frown, wondering what you were going to say. Angelica what?  But you keep going, and I decide it's not important. "No stress, my love for you is never in doubt. We'll get a little place in Harlem and we'll figure it out. 

"I've been livin' without a family since I was a child. My father left, my mother died, I grew up buckwild. But I'll never forget my mother's face, that was real. And long as I'm alive, Elijah, swear to God you'll never feel so..."

"Helpless!" we say together, and you smile at me, and I melt inside.

Then you say something precious. "My life is going to be fine because Elijah's in it!'

"I look into your eyes, and the sky's the limit! I'm helpless! Down for the count, and I'm drownin' in 'em!

A few days later

Everything's in order. It's the big night, and I think I'm going to be sick. Is this how it's supposed to be? Boiling in your stomach and a pounding headache? That's no fun!

I'm fidgeting at the altar. The room's too hot, my clothes are too scratchy. I'm collapsing under the pressure. 

Then you glide down the aisle, and the world rights itself. My definition of beauty changes to you, in this very instant, about to be mine. Your hair gleams, your eyes are bright, and your smile is dazzling. I don't know what I've done to get such a beautiful wife.

"In New York, you can be a new man...In New York, you can be a new man...In New York, you can be a new man..."

I'm helpless, I think, right before the priest finishes, and your sweet lips are against mine, and you are finally mine.