#laflaur

“Did Courf send you?” Enjolras laughed bitterly. “No doubt they’re all down there getting to know Alexander’s soulmates.”

“No. No he didn’t, I came because I wanted to know if you were okay,” Grantaire moved forward, tripping over the uneven roof.

“Well, I’m fine, so you can go now.” Enjolras waved his hand in the vague direction of the door.

“Nah, you know what, I think I’m going to stay up here for a bit,” Grantaire sat down next to Enjolras who made a vague noncommittal noise.

Grantaire sat beside him, close enough for their knees to knock together, and for Enjolras to feel the warmth emanating from him. Grantaire didn't speak, he sat and watched Paris, like Enjolras had been doing. Now though, Enjolras wasn't watching Paris, now, he was watching Grantaire; he could see the fires and stars and smoke in his eyes.

“What happened, with Alexander, today…” Grantaire said, coughing, and turning to Enjolras.

“He found his soulmates, he’ll no longer want me. Why would he choose me over them?”

“Why don’t you let him make that choice? I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Grantaire nudged him with his shoulder.

“Oh yeah? How does he look at me then?” Enjolras scoffed.

“Like you are the single most important thing in the world, the only thing he cares about; he looks at you like a drowning man looks for air, like he’d suffocate and die without you.”

“How do you know? Since when are you so interested in mine and Alexander’s relationship,” Enjolras looked at Grantaire a little closer, he could see the three day stubble dotting his skin, and the black circles that were permanently etched on Grantaire’s face.

“Because,” Grantaire paused and swallowed, “Because everyone can see it.  You’d have to be blind to miss it.”

“If you’re going to tell me to go down there, you’ve another thing coming,” Enjolras rolled his eyes.

“Why would I do that? When I can have you all to myself up here, Apollo,” Grantaire grinned and offered him a bottle, from where he got said bottled from, Enjolras didn't really want to know; he took it anyway.

***

Alexander was in a state of euphoria, he had found his soulmates, the people he had resigned himself to living without for the rest of his days. They fit like pieces of pottery, smashed, dented and a little more than broken but when they were put together they created something beautiful. He sat on a sofa, snuggled comfily between John and Lafayette, Lafayette had decided that he was a leg rest but the warm weight hardly bothered Alexander. Since the end of the rally, he’d been so caught up getting to know John and Laf again that he’d hadn't had time to explain things to Enjolras; he looked around the café trying to spot the familiar mop of blond hair.

“Courf, did you see where Enjy went?” Alexander asked, surfacing from the under the pile of his friends.

“To the roof I think, though R went after him, so I wouldn’t worry,” Courfeyrac said, gesturing up the flight of rickety stairs that lead to the roof.

“Lafayette, could you get your legs off me, I need to find Enjolras,” Alexander said, prodding Lafayette.

“Huh? Oh sure, Alexander, did you know Jehan was a poet,” Lafayette smiled, as he dragged himself out of conversation with Jehan.

“Considering I have known Jehan for the better part of four years, yeah I did,” Alexander chuckled and patted Lafayette on the cheek, “don’t have too much fun without me.”

“Oh sure, like we could ever have fun unless you graced us with you most glorious presence, oh mighty, mighty Alexander,” John deadpanned, without even blinking.

“I’d forgotten how mean you two were to me,” Alexander huffed as he stretched his aching joints.

“You’ll want a hot bath for that,” Joly and John said at the same time.

“Wonderful, there’re two of them,” Bossuet groaned, pressing his fingers to his temple.

“Someone needs to take care of you all, and I’d have no one else by my side,” Joly clapped John round the shoulders, who blushed and grinned.

“What about me? I study medicine too, you know,” Combeferre said, outraged.

“You, are far too irresponsible,” Joly shook his head.

“Did I mention that John duelled a general, in the war,” Alexander coughed.

“You what?!” Joly turned to John, shocked.

“He insulted Washington! Called him a coward!” John waved his hands.

“I thought duelling was illegal,” Jehan said.

“We were in New Jersey,” John shrugged, “weren’t you going to find Enjolras?”

“Oh yeah, I shouldn’t let you guys distract me so much,” Alex smiled and started up the crooked, narrow staircase that lead to the roof.

There was a small trapdoor, that someone had to push to open, though to get there there were about two hundred narrow; broken wood stairs. The trapdoor would once have been a thing of relative beauty, but like most things in the café Musain it was breaking and rotten, the hinges were rusting and they let out god awful shrieks each time they were nudged. There were no lamps to light the way up the stairs, no one was really supposed to use them, so Alexander had to steal an oil lamp from on of the tables to light his journey. The stairs creaked ominously as Alexander crept up them, the door was giving off a slightly gross smell. He pushed it with his shoulder and, letting the cold Paris air flow over him, he stepped out on to the roof of the café.    

“Enjy? Are you out here?” He called, poking his head around the door.

“Alexander?” Grantaire’s face appeared, as he stumbled over the detritus that was sprawled around the roof.

“R, I thought you’d be propping the bar,” Alex tried for nonchalance, leaning slightly awkwardly on the side of the door, almost falling.

“Not yet, I wanted to see the stars,” Grantaire said, gesturing to the dark sky, obviously choosing not to show that he’d seen Alexander struggling with the door.

“Is Enjolras here?” Alexander asked, looking around the the roof again.

“He’s over there,” Grantaire nodded to the edge of the roof, “though I can’t say he’d want to see you.”

Alexander shook his head, and decided not to listen to Grantaire, the other man had always been the most awful pessimist. He dodged through the loose tiles and broken bits and pieces of things long forgotten, moving to the edge of the roof, he could see the red coat and blond hair of Enjolras. He was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest and his head tilted up; his lips were parted and even though the light was low, Alexander could see his breath as it curled into the cold air.

He didn’t talk for a while, he decided just to sit beside Enjolras, not too close but close enough to feel the other man’s heat. He approached slowly and carefully, taking his time to let Enjolras become aware of his presence and give him enough time to move away. He breathed out a breath of relief when Enjolras gave him a long sideways look but didn't move. So he sat, leaning his back against a rotting trunk, curling his own knees up to his chest; an unconscious echo of Enjolras. They sat in silence for a good few minutes, neither of them really acknowledging the other, just sitting comfortably; staring at the stars.

“Do you still like me?” Enjolras broke the silence; if Alexander hadn’t been listening carefully he wouldn't have heard them, they were barely above a whisper.

“Of course I still like you. Have you seen yourself lately? How could I not?” Alexander scoffed, nudging Enjolras a little.

“But do you still like me… you know…” Enjolras made a vague gesture, waving his head and jerking his head slightly, “since your real soulmates have shown up, I thought you’d dump me for them.”

“I barely know Lafayette and John, we’ve had a whole twenty three years of growing up since we last saw each other. I sure have changed since I last saw them, and from what I can tell, they’ve changed a whole lot too. I don’t know if I’ll like either of them like I like you, in this life time,” Alex sighed watching Enjolras’s face carefully.

“But… how do I know that you wont just leave me for them if you find out you do have feelings like that,” Enjolras was on the verge of tears, “I just got you in my life, after so long, I’m not sure I could let you go.”

Alexander felt his heart sink, to hear someone he loved in so much pain, “I shouldn’t worry, someone like you, I’d be a fool if I hurt you like that.”

Enjolras looked at him, through the curls that fell down over his eyes, he brought one hand up to Alexander’s face; tracing a line down his cheekbone and across his lips, the finger stopped when it reach the top of his cravat. Alexander tensed, drawing in a tight breath; he leant in to the touch, letting Enjolras build confidence in him, telling him silently that he wouldn't run. He kept his gaze on Enjolras, who shifted round to face him, Enjolras ran his other hand through Alexander’s hair; still not speaking.

“Enj-“

“Hush, let me feel you. Show me you wont leave me.”

And with those words, Alexander stopped holding himself back, he stopped preventing himself from launching at Enjolras; he let his instincts take over and took Enjolras’s cheeks in his hands and kissed him. Alexander kissed Enjolras trying to convey in actions rather than words all the sentiments he felt, the whirling emotions that are too many and too complex to name. He tried to tell Enjolras that he had loved him since they were sixteen, since that day in when they arrived in Paris and Alex nearly fell in the Seine. He tried to tell him that even if he loved Lafayette and John (which he was pretty sure he couldn't help) that he would still always love Enjolras, with all his heart. He tried to tell Enjolras that they way they fit, the way they move together was like stars in a constellation, that without each other they just wouldn’t work quite as well, they don’t have the same effect.

“How can I convince you that I love you?” He said, the words spilling off his tongue, sounding and feeling familiar.

There under the stars that shine on Paris, the city of lights, there in that moment everything that could be perfect, was. The world still spun on, but to those two, it did not feel like it; to those two on that rooftop, it felt like the world stood still, that time no longer moved the hands on the clock. To those two it felt like a perfect moment, quiet in the eye of a hurricane. For just a moment. One shining moment, everything was perfect.

***

John didn't know it was, but the feeling in his gut screamed wrong. He extracted himself from the cuddle pile that was the Les Amis and practically ran out of the café, sat on the curb outside and looked up at the night sky, the constellations were different than they had been in America. The paving slab was cold and it seeped through the thin material of his trousers; not for the first time he wished for the thick buckskin breeches he’d worn for years.

“You’re lost in thought, my friend,” Lafayette said, John hadn't heard him follow him out of the door, not until he was sitting down.

“I suppose I am,” John sighed, leaning on Lafayette’s shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent.

“And, what are you so lost in?” Lafayette nudged him slightly, one hand coming up and stroking through his hair.

“I was thinking about how we must be here for a reason. There must have been something drawing us here,” John sighed as Lafayette tugged through a particular spot.

“I agree, there has to be something we must do, people we must meet,” Lafayette gestured around flailing his free arm.

“Did you see the way Enjolras looked at Alexander?” John looked up at Lafayette a cheeky grin spread across his cheeks.

“Did you see the way Grantaire looked at Enjolras?” Lafayette winked, “perhaps there is something in that, non?”

“Perhaps. Tonight, though, can we just be together?” John pressed himself closer to Lafayette.

“Of course, mon amour, of course we can.” Lafayette said kissing the top of his head, his hand still buried in John’s curls.

find chapter one, two, three, four, and five.