#enjolra

“He hasn’t spoken today and he won’t come out of his room. I tried to argue that aliens were real- nothing. It wasn’t until I started talking about the US government and he didn’t respond that I realized something was really wrong.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Grantaire hopped off the counter and made it to the younger blond’s room. He knocked on the door and it swung open. He was greeted with the balmy scent of pine needles and muffled music coming from Enj’s phone.

“What’s up?” Enjolras asked, folding clothes and dropping them into a pile on his bed. 

“I came to ask you the same thing. Ferre and Courf seem worried about you. I got a text from Ferre saying you seemed down and Courf doesn’t really know what’s wrong. He’s one of the few blessed children of the group that doesn’t have depression or anxiety.” 

“They don’t need to be worried. I’m totally fine.” Enjolras shook out his hair from the loose bun it was in, flipping the blond strands back to retie them.

“Is that why you’re refolding all your clothes and working up a sweat? If you wanted a workout we could have for a run or filled water balloons with watercolours and thrown darts at them. You wanted to do that, remember?” 

“I’m not refolding. I’m unpacking. I never unpacked all my stuff so I’m doing it now.” Enjolras closed the top drawer of his dresser, bending down to open what appeared to be his T-shirt drawer. 

Grantaire took a seat on Enj’s bed and studied the blond. “Procrastination doesn’t sound like you.”

“You’re right. It’s not. I didn’t know if my living here was going to be permanent. It’s come to my attention that it is, so I’m fully unpacking now. I’m not breaking down and crying over it anymore because they’re not worth it. My parents aren’t hurt by this so why should I be?” 

“Because you’re more human than they are, Enj. I’m not saying you should be breaking down and sobbing every night but if that’s what you need to do to heal, then that’s what you need to do. There’s nothing wrong with that. 

“What they did was fucked up, sure, but you’re coming out on the better end, I think. They can’t try to poison how you think anymore, they can’t control you or whatever the hell they were trying to do. You’re completely free from them. The thing to remember is that you can’t force yourself to get better like this.” Grantaire lay back on the bed with a content sigh. “The more you think about them and what they’re doing, the less you’re going to be able to focus on how amazingly you’re doing.” 

Enjolras stopped moving, his hands still in the dresser drawer. He hadn’t thought about it like that. By stewing over how he wasn’t going to let them win- whatever it was they were winning- he was letting them win anyway. They still had the control they always did. 

“You’re right.” Enjolras nodded. “How do I stop thinking like this?” Grantaire shrugged.

“It’s hard, but it’s possible. It just takes time and support. You’ve got all the support you need. Now the rest is up to you, Enjy. Don’t rush but don’t drag it out either. Listen to your body and your heart. You need to do something, need some self-care, take bubble-baths or whatever it is you do. If you need to go on a drive to clear your head, get away from all this you know I’m a call or text away.”

Enjolras turned from the dresser and knelt on the bed next to Grantaire. He wrapped his arms around R and Grantaire was quick to return the hug. Neither of them knew how long they held each other before they ended up lying together. It wasn’t much longer before the two fell asleep, still in each other’s arms.

*****

It was an hour later when Courf knocked on the bedroom door before entering. He chuckled under his breath when he laid eyes on the two. They were still curled up in each other’s arms, soundly sleeping. He took his phone from his pocket and snapped a picture of the two before promptly sending it to Ferre. 

“Enjolras?” Courf’s voice was soft as he shook the teen’s shoulder. “Enjolras.” 

The blond hummed and curled a little tighter into R’s side. He nuzzled his nose against R’s neck and Courf chuckled at the younger’s actions. 

“Dude. You have to go to work in an hour and a half. You should get some food before you go.” Courf spoke, slapping R’s head gently. 

Grantaire jumped, pulling Enjolras closer to him in shock before coming to his senses. Enjolras’s eyes were wide and clearly disoriented. 

“What?”

“You have work soon, Enjy. Get some lunch before you go. I think my boyfriend would break up with me if I didn’t make sure you ate something before you left.” Courf turned to leave the room. “You two are too cute.” 

Enjolras laid back down next to R, the two looking into each other’s eyes. Enjolras curled up against R again. “You’re warm and comfortable.” 

“Thank you?” Grantaire chuckled. 

The painter revelled in the feeling of the boy in his arms. For all he knew, Enjolras regularly cuddled his friends and this could be completely platonic. But he’d never seen the blond cuddle with Ferre. Ferre kissed his forehead every night before he went to bed, but it was usually Jehan he cuddled with, Jehan almost always initiated it first. Thinking about it, Enjolras wasn’t an affectionate person, verbally or physically. Then again, having met his mother and based on what he knew about his father, Grantaire could see how the younger wasn’t. 

“Let’s get some lunch and I’ll bring you to work.” Grantaire prompted. “We can cuddle more later. Don’t worry.” 

As if on cue, Grantaire’s phone went off. He glanced at the text and shook his head in disbelief. “Guess I’m working with you today. One of the newer workers broke her ankle so I’m filling in for a while.” 

“What do you usually do for work?” 

“I’m sort of a jack of all trades, you know? I do commission paintings and logos, I work when I’m needed in a couple different stores and restaurants. I don’t have one designated job. I’ve helped my old boxing teacher with lessons in the past. It’s weird, but I get paid. Good enough for me.” 

“Sounds interesting enough. You want some grilled cheese for lunch? They’re pretty much the only thing I know how to cook other than warming up a can of soup.” 

“Sure. I’ll help. Have you ever made a grilled cheese with mayonnaise instead of butter?” 

“No…” 

“Come on. It’s going to blow your mind.” Grantaire lead the way from Enjolras’s bedroom.

*****

“Have a nice day.” Enjolras gave a small wave as the customer left the cafe. “Why is it so busy?” He huffed a sigh. 

“It’s kinda chilly out. The colder it is, the more they want hot drinks.” 

“It’s chilly? It’s like 70 degrees out.” Enjolras shook his head. 

“70 degrees in July, yeah. People panic when it hits below 75.” Grantaire pulled his beanie off in one smooth motion, ruffling his own hair. “I should grow my hair out so I can tie it back like yours. Stupid regulations.” He put his beanie back on.

“I’m pretty sure people don’t like to find hair in their drinks or on their muffins.” Enjolras smirked, turning to face the taller man. “Besides, you look cute in a beanie. The curls poke out and make your hair look fluffy.” 

Grantaire glanced at his shoes, the tips of his ears feeling warm. He was glad his hair was covering them, otherwise he was sure Enjolras would have been able to see the blush.

“We’ve only got an hour or so left, anyway. Then we get dinner and annoy the hell out of Ferre and Courf. I think Courf gets off around eight tonight.” 

“I think so.” Enjolras commented offhandedly. “Ferre gets off around six. He’s more dedicated than I am. Can you imagine getting full-time hours during the summer? Sure, the money’s nice, but swapping eight hours of school time for eight hours of work. That’s gross.” 

A comment like this would potentially turn someone away from a relationship with a younger person. If they’re still in high school, that’s a no can do. But for Grantaire it was comforting. This young man who had been through so much still had some innocence left. He still wanted free time in the summer, and didn’t think that because he was out of the house he had to take everything on his shoulders by himself. He wasn’t making himself grow up too fast. There was something admirable in that. 

“We can text Jehan and see if they want to come down and play a board game or something between customers and dishwasher cycles.” Grantaire suggested.

“Jehan’s out of town this week, actually. They’re visiting their grandma upstate. She used to come down and visit their family for a couple days, but she got hip replacement surgery, so they and their mom are helping to take care of her.” 

“Jehan’s parents got a divorce, didn’t they?” 

“Mhm.” Enj shook his head. Second grade. Their dad cheated on their mom and she ended it right off the bat. It was a rough time, but they got through it alright. Their mom got full custody and their dad is now living a couple states over with his new...partner?” Enjolras scowled.  “People can be disgusting. You swear you’re going to be loyal to a person and then go and do something like that.”

*****

The bell over the door sounded and both baristas looked up. It was Marius and Cosette. Enjolras was half surprised to see Cosette’s adoptive father wasn’t hovering over them, chaperoning. 

“Hey guys. What can we get you?” Grantaire tightened the ties of his apron behind his back. 

“The banana bread latte sounds interesting,” Cosette said. 

“Alright. What about you, Marius?” Enjolras prompted. 

“What’s the...Almond Joy latte?” 

Enjolras clapped his hands together once. “That’s personally my favorite drink on the menu. It’s a latte but with chocolate, almond, and coconut flavoured syrups. It really does taste like an Almond Joy.” 

“I’ll try that, then.” 

Grantaire was already working on Cosette’s latte so Enjolras could start on Marius’s. Once Cosette’s was done Grantaire went back to the counter and asked if the drinks were together, to which Marius replied that he was paying for them. 

“That’ll be $7.30,” Enjolras punched everything into the computer. 

“Oh Enjy.” Grantaire stepped by Enjolras and pressed a button on the screen. “Friends and Family Discount.”

“Gotcha. Thank you. $6.57.” 

“Out of ten.” Marius handed the bill over the counter and Enjolras gave him the $3.43 change. 

“How long have you two been going out now anyway?” Grantaire wondered. “I haven’t heard a lot of the tea about you guys.” 

“There’s not much to spill.” Cosette shrugged. “We’ve been together for two months. I had a crush on Marius for a while but never really got the chance to talk to him because my dad’s a little overprotective. But I was walking around downtown with a girl I...sort of grew up with and Marius came to say hi. He asked me out and we’ve been together ever since.” Cosette looked at Marius with a dreamy look in her eyes. “But you and Enjolras are both single, right?” 

“Yep. I’m the only gay in theory so far.” Enjolras sighed. “Well, I guess getting kicked out isn’t a theory… I’m like 75 percent there.” 

Grantaire chuckled. “My longest relationship was maybe four months but that guy was weird as hell on a number of different levels.” 

“Well I’m sure you’ll both find someone you care about soon.” Marius said, giving Enjolras a look he hoped the blond would understand.

*****

“They’re completely blind aren’t they?” Cosette asked as she and Marius sat at a table with their drinks. 

“I think so. I also think I creeped Enjolras out…”

“With that look? Yeah. It would have creeped me out if I didn’t know you better.” Cosette took a sip from her drink. “I think they just need a little push towards each other. They already look at each other like they’ve been in love for years.” 

“Maybe they have been. Just not in this life.” 

“What are you talking about, Marius?” Cosette’s confusion was clear on her face and in her voice. 

“Well, I was watching a video on YouTube about reincarnation, and it isn’t impossible that the two of them could have been together in another life.” Marius scratched the back of his neck. “You’ve known Enj longer than I have- almost as long as Jehan and Ferre- and he hasn’t bonded with the rest of us like he has with R.” 

“I guess you do have a point. Reincarnation, though? It’s a fun thought, I’ll give you that. How do you know you’ve been reincarnated?”