Eliza had been antsy the whole day. Word had spread that the Battle of Yorktown was over and that the soldiers were to return today. And so Eliza had dragged Angelica, Peggy and Y/N into town with her where the soldiers were to arrive, to excited to be able to wait at home.

Y/N had snatched some clothes out of her brother's closet, still to anxious to go outside in a dress, feminine attire in general, as she feared to be recognized. So she stood beside the Schuyler sisters, looking almost exactly like Alex. Except she didn't have facial hair.

When the first soldiers started to pour into the city, Eliza was already standing on her tiptoes to try and spot Alex. Angelica and Peggy only chuckled at their sister's behavior, while Y/N's eyes scanned the soldiers, searching for familiar faces.

Her eyes lit up the moment she spotted him. Not Alex, not John. Hercules.

Quickly she pushed her way through the crowd and made her way to the bulky tailor.

"Mulligan!", Y/N called to grab his attention. Hercules' head shot into her direction and he seemed relieved to see her, making his way towards her.

Hercules pulled Y/N into a tight embrace. Y/N was startled, but not for long, as she returned the hug within a split second.

"I was so worried when I got word of what happened. I'm so sorry, Y/N, I should've joined you overseas and should've been there to help you," Hercules said, holding onto her for some moment longer, before pulling away so he could study her.

Y/N flashed a small smile "It's fine. It was inevitable, some things like that are just bound to happen." She noticed her eyes beginning to burn slightly but quickly blinked those yet non-existent tears away.

"No, it's not. Word reached us in our camp how Henry treated you. You have no idea how those bastards reacted, I would've loved to rip their throats out. Y/N, they would've done the same to you, if not even worse," Hercules said, worry swinging in his voice as he looked down at her, obviously concerned for her wellbeing.

"I'm a strong woman, Herc. I would've killed them if they would've tried," Y/N grinned and nudged his shoulder, making the taller male laugh. He glanced over his shoulder and said "Look who's finally decided to part from his job."

Y/N looked past Hercules and there was John, making his way through the crowd over to Y/N and Hercules. The moment she laid eyes on him she knew he was hurt. She frowned and asked Hercules "What happened to him?"

"Bullet scraped his leg," Hercules simply stated, stepping aside so John's path to Y/N was free.

John finally came to a stop before Y/N. Neither of them knew what to say, before Y/N finally took a step forward and wrapped her arms around the freckled male, hugging him tight. John's arms snaked around her waist not a second later.

"Thank you," Y/N whispered, only for him to hear. Sure, it was loud, but she knew he heard.

"What for?", John asked, closing his eyes and taking in her scent. Her clothes belonged to Alex, so of course she smelled a lot like him - ink and old parchment - but there was something else to it. Lavender. Soothing.

"Everything," said Y/N "For saving me from that Brit. For bringing me back to your camp. Just, being there for me. Thank you, John."

John smiled a little as they then pulled back from the embrace "Anytime, every time, just in time." He carefully brushed a stray strand of her auburn locks behind her ear and watched her send him a small smile of her own.

"Sorry lovebirds, but I would like to have my sister for a moment," a new voice said and Y/N felt there eyes beginning to burn once more.

Turning towards the voice, there stood Alex, the Schuyler sisters in tow. Alex and Y/N just stared at each other for a moment, both of them trying to find the right words.

Then the twins flung themselves at the other and embraced each other so tight, one might think they were trying to break each others bones.

Both of them were crying by now, holding tight and not wanting to let go. When Y/N's knees began to buckle, Alex complied by slowly sinking to the ground. And so they sat there, hugging each other tight and crying over the years they lost, the years they now might have together.

Peggy started crying, too. And the Hamilton twins only laughed as the youngest Schuyler sister flung herself at the two of them on the ground, joining the hug before Angelica or Eliza could've held her back.

Slowly the others began to join their laughter, until Peggy, too, began to laugh.

"Group hug!", Hercules yelled and then pulled John down into the hug, squishing the four then with his embrace. Angelica and Eliza stood by the side and shook their heads laughing, even more so when the five on the ground were tackled by a flying frenchman, yelling "Not without me!"

And so, out of five became six, and Peggy, Y/N, Alex, John, Hercules and Lafayette were laying sprawled on the floor, all of them laughing. Y/N found herself squished on the floor by John on top of her, Alex and Peggy on either of her sides. Hercules and Lafayette were squishing Alex to death, most likely.

All in all, Y/N enjoyed the moment with them all together. But, as lovely as this moment was, John was getting heavy. "Get off, freckles!", Y/N wheezed, trying to shove John off of her. John raised his brow at her futile attempts, before getting off of her and pushing Hercules and Lafayette off of Alex so the poor man could breathe, too. Then he held out his hand to Y/N and pulled her to her feet.

Y/N smiled softly at him and then turned to Peggy, pulling her onto her feet as well. Peggy was still giggling while a few tears stained her cheeks. Y/N chuckled softly and brushed the tears away, before pulling Peggy into a hug "Why were you crying?"

"It was just so emotional and so beautiful, you two finally reuniting for good," Peggy sniffed and the lot of them laughed again. Y/N ruffled Peggy's hair, which resulted in her protesting.

"I say we head to a bar," Hercules finally announced and grinned at the group.

Angelica and Eliza immediately disagreed, Peggy following suit, while the other boys had nothing against it.

Y/N only grinned and said "First round is on Laurens!"

I'm already impatient and can't wait to write the next chapter

hehe