Enjolras wasn't usually known to be rushing about his apartment due to being almost ten minutes late to leave. It wasn't a day that could afford to be late to either, his first internship with the new firm started today and here he was rushing around. His roommate, Combeferre, wasn't offering any help, opting instead to watch him in complete amusement while leaning against the kitchen counter with a mug of coffee in his hands. Enjolras had spent the whole night reading… again. It wasn't something he'd done often, probably not since college but it was something he'd found unavoidable lately. You see, he'd found this new author and he just couldn't put the books down. He'd always found books to be more Combeferre's thing… but he was a changed man now.
"Alright, I'm going. It's fine. I won't miss the train" Enjolras moved past his roommate.
"Enjolras" Combeferre called after him. "You forgot something".
Enjolras tried his best to look completely annoyed as he snatched the book out of Combeferre's hand. "Thank you" he muttered before turning to leave.
…..
If he'd been about two minutes later he would've missed his train. He never quite got used to the whole hustle and bustle of the trains in the morning. He thought he would, eventually, but it never really happened. Sometimes he'd found himself longing for the easy walking access from his dorm room to his next lecture, or to the coffee shop halfway across campus. He managed to snag a seat and pushed his bag down in front of him, pulling out his book and sitting back slightly. The train took about twenty - twenty five minutes to get to his station, he could finish a few chapters by then.
"Do people actually read that shit?".
Enjolras looked up at the man next to him, raising his eyebrows at his disheveled appearance, his untamed curls were just peeking out from under a green beanie. "Excuse me?".
"Oh nothing, I just wasn't aware that people actually read those books".
"They're brilliant" Enjolras defending.
The man raised his eyebrows and smirked, "I'll take your word for it".
"Everyone's entitled to their opinion" Enjolras shrugged, trying to quell the rage that was starting to swell inside him. He just wanted to get past this chapter, past the plot twist.
"You know there's a shit load of plot holes right?".
"So you have read it" Enjolras reluctantly closed the book.
"You could say that" the man smirked.
"Also, all the characters are tropes, it's a total cliché. To be honest you don't even seem the type to read it".
"And why do you say that?".
"Well, you're wearing a suit so obviously you have a good job, you have a briefcase as well. You must be some type of business man and they're all dull with their non-fiction and statistics".
"I work in politics actually" Enjolras rolled his eyes.
"Oh, a politician, well that's just even better isn't it".
Enjolras fixed the man with one his hardest glares, he'd once been known for them, but the man didn't even seem to flinch, his smirk grew into an easy smile and he leaned back in his seat a little more as he crossed his arms across his chest, the picture of ease.
"Problem?" he asked.
"You seem to be the one with the problem" Enjolras indicated the book in his hand.
"It's not really a problem, I mean sometimes shitty writing can't be avoided…
"It's not shitty".
"Wow, look at you all defensive, I think you should go into law".
"Shut up".
The man sat up a little, uncrossing his arms. "You know, the thing about a shitty writer is they often know that they're shit".
"I like to think that writers are proud of what they produce".
"If he's so proud then why does he use a pen name?".
Enjolras squinted a little, "how do you know it's a man".
"Women use actual pen names, not just letters".
"You say there's no pride in the work yet there must some, at least a little, I mean, it got published didn't it" Enjolras smirked in satisfaction, positive that he'd just won they're little debate.
The man shrugged "perhaps".
Enjolras heard the name of his station called out and quickly packed away his book, disappointed that he didn't get to read any at all. Maybe he could sneak some in as he walked to work.
"I'm Grantaire by the way" the man smiled up at him.
"Pleasure" Enjolras muttered, moving towards the doors of the carriage.
…..
Enjolras opened the door to his apartment to find his roommate already home.
"Did your shift finish early?" he asked, taking the mug of coffee out of Combeferre's hand.
"Technically yes" Combeferre replied.
"That's unusual".
"Quite".
Enjolras scrutinized his roommate for a minute, taking in how at ease he looked. "You didn't get fired did you?" he asked.
"No Enjolras, I'm just home early for a change".
"Is something wrong then?".
"Courfeyrac's been trying to convince me into giving him relationship advice".
"Really?" Enjolras leaned against the counter. "Who is it this time?".
"It's Jehan actually, he's quite fond of him".
"Not his usual type".
"It's a puzzle".
"Well" Enjolras patted his friend's shoulder gently "if you'd excuse me I've got five pages and a sequel to read".
"How'd your first day go?" Combeferre asked him.
"Went great, I have a promising future in politics" Enjolras turned in the doorway.
"You always have, ever since you decided that you'd start a rally in the lunch room in middle school for better food choices".
"Good times" Enjolras smirked, turning to leave for his bedroom.
…..
Enjolras wasn't late the next morning. He'd been tempted to read all night but knew better this time. He'd gotten up extra early and made coffee, offering some to Combeferre when he emerged from his room.
"You talked to Courf' since yesterday?" he asked casually.
"You know you'd think he'd know about all this relationship stuff. I have no idea why he'd ask me about it".
"You always give the advice, 'Ferre" Enjolras reminded.
"Yes but not the relationship advice, that's his job".
"If he really likes Jehan then he might be a loss".
"True" Combeferre nodded in agreement.
"You working today?".
"Yep, I'm leaving just before you".
"I'll leave early and we can leave together" Enjolras offered.
"If you want, we'll be on different trains though, of course".
"Well yes but we can still walk there together".
"Don't forget your book this time".
"Very funny, 'Ferre".
…..
Enjolras got on the same train carriage as the previous day hoping to snag a seat yet again which he did manage to do. He sat back and pulled his book out, not noticing the slightly familiar man beside him.
"New book, you finish the other one already?" Grantaire commented.
"I'm a fast reader" Enjolras replied.
"It's still beyond me that you're reading it at all".
"You know, a famous writer once said that if you don't like reading you just haven't found the right book yet" Enjolras tried to ignore him.
"Don't quote J.K Rowling at me, we all grew up with Harry Potter" Grantaire retorted. "And I never said I didn't like reading, I just don't like that particular book, or the book you had yesterday, or any book written by that writer".
"I honestly don't understand why you can have so much against one writer".
"I honestly can't understand why you can't".
"You know, maybe you haven't read into the book enough".
"I could say the same about you".
"Christ, you're annoying".
Grantaire stopped in his tracks for a minute. He looked over at the man next to him before stating, "You know, I never got your name yesterday".
"And you probably never will" Enjolras got up, opting to move between carriages than sit next to this man any longer.
….
Enjolras struggled with the lock to his apartment a little more than usual that night. When he got home he wasn't surprised to hear the voices of his two best friends in the living room and he moved through to the kitchen to grab some coffee.
"Ah, Enjy, just in time to hear the tale of woe that is my love life" Courfeyrac smiled as he saw Enjolras walking towards the living room.
"Courf', if you want to date Jehan just ask him out and be done with. Stop bothering us" Enjolras tried to walk through towards his bedroom.
"Well isn't someone a little ray of sunshine today".
Enjolras turned around to glare at his friend, steel hard and dangerous.
Courfeyrac raised his hands up in surrender.
"Alright what's bothering you then?" Combeferre asked.
"Nothing" Enjolras replied gruffly, turning around to leave.
"You know there's a rumor going around that that author of yours is considering another novel" Courfeyrac butted in.
Enjolras stopped dead in his tracks and missed the smirk that passed between the other two boys.
"How about you take a seat and tell us what happened and we'll tell you about the rumor" Combeferre smiled innocently.
Enjolras sighed and sat down with his friends. "There was the most annoying guy on the train this morning" he explained, "and he was also there yesterday. I have a feeling he'll be around for a while as well".
"Naw Enj, look at you trying to make friends".
"Courf'" Combeferre warned.
…
Enjolras forgot the next morning that he was going to start switching train carriages and found himself in the exact same position he had been for the past two days.
"Didn't expect to see you back in this carriage" Grantaire commented once Enjolras had sat down, "no book today?" he added.
"Finished it" Enjolras replied.
"That's a shame" he smirked.
"There's a rumor that there's a new one in consideration though".
"Wow, more shitty writing, doesn't that just make your day?".
"Why do you have to be so bitter all the time?" Enjolras turned slightly so he could look at the man next to him, really look.
Grantaire shrugged and returned his gaze, completely unabashed. "Just how am I".
"Did you have a shitty childhood or have you just been through a bad break up or something?".
"Nope, this is just how I am" Grantaire smirked, pulling out a small flask from his jacket pocket and taking a swig from it quickly.
"You're an alcoholic" Enjolras stated.
"Why do you say that?".
"Only alcoholics carry flasks with them".
"That's a broad statement".
"Put it this way, you're the only person I know that carries a flask".
"And you don't know any alcoholics" Grantaire finished.
"Also, your hands are a little shaky".
"Ok, Sherlock Holmes" he laughed.
"Enough about me, I don't even know your name".
"So you are an alcoholic".
"A professional one. Your name?".
Enjolras stared at the man in front of him, he had a feeling he'd know this man for a while, travel with him in the morning for a while. Certainly it couldn't hurt to tell him his name, he knew his after all – Grantaire he remembered. "Enjolras" he said finally.
"Nice name. Very patriotic".
Enjolras rolled his eyes and looked away again.
"So about that new novel, I guess you'll be buying it straight away won't you" Grantaire continued.
"Probably".
"Very dedicated of you".
"Thanks" Enjolras scoffed, not seeing the mischievous smile on the other man's face.
….
Their debates became quite frequent. Grantaire was always in the same train carriage and most morning Enjolras wasn't bothered to change carriages. He was even starting to look forward to the debates. It reminded him of the social justice club he was a part of in college, and the debate team he was on in high school. It made him sharp, kept him thinking. And sometimes, Grantaire actually had good points. And he was as good as Enjolras was as getting his point across. It's just that Enjolras didn't agree with his points and thus they made for a good debate.
The other people on the train carriage often rolled their eyes at them, muttering to each other. They ignored everyone else, focusing only on each other and the points they were making. Usually the carriage was a swell of other noise as well. With the amount of people it was to be expected, the carriage being quiet would be stranger.
The rumors of the new novel were becoming more frequent and more on the definite side. Soon it was confirmed by an anonymous post on the author's blog that there was indeed a novel in the works and that it was taking much shorter time than originally thought. Soon people were making up theories about the plot and the characters, the setting, everything they could. The internet was abuzz with predictions and Enjolras wasn't paying as much attention to them as he thought he would. He was much more focused on his morning debates with Grantaire. He'd even stopped reading for a while, he'd had to start focusing more on work as his boss was trusting him with a lot more projects. Though it seems that Grantaire was showing up less and less. He wasn't on the train as often as he used to be. Not every morning but only a scattered few a week. It was making Enjolras restless. Especially because whenever he asked, Grantaire would quickly change the topic after offering some excuse about work or a family thing or literally anything. Enjolras would often rant to Combeferre about the man's absence. He was jumpy without his daily morning debate, he couldn't go on like this, much to Combeferre's amusement.
In fact, Enjolras was riled up about Grantaire seemingly avoiding him, well at least he thought that was what it was, that he didn't even notice when the new novel was released. Didn't notice how the internet was dwelling over the small dedication that was found at the front. The author never wrote dedications, there was never any insight into the person… until now that is.
….
Enjolras entered the train carriage and was almost relieved to see Grantaire smiling up at him. He sat down next to the man and almost didn't realize that he was returning his smile.
"So" Grantaire started, he was sitting up straight and was obviously a little nervous about something, not his usual picture of ease self. "It's been a week I guess you've finished the new book by now".
"New book?" Enjolras asked.
"Yeah, that author you like, the one I hate, the new book's out".
"Really? I didn't even notice".
Grantaire seemed to deflate a little "you were so excited when the rumors were first heard but now you don't even give a shit?".
"I've been really busy with work lately" Enjolras shrugged.
"Well you should buy it soon. It got good reviews, don't really know why. Apparently it's the best thing he's ever written".
"Yeah" Enjolras muttered "yeah I'll do that later today".
…
"I can't believe you didn't even realize that it was out" Combeferre smirked "oh and Courf' finally asked Jehan out".
"I know, it's strange isn't it. I guess with work and everything I got distracted".
"It's true that you've had a lot more to do lately. And you always get distracted by Grantaire".
"What do you mean by that?" Enjolras crossed his arms over his chest, immediately defensive.
"I mean between your debates with him and then work you don't have much time for anything else" Combeferre shrugged, hiding his smirk behind his coffee mug.
"Yeah you're right".
"Here" Combeferre tossed a book over the table, Enjolras caught it easily. "I picked it up for you the first day it came out. Honestly I've just been waiting for you to ask for it".
"Thank you".
"Anytime" Combeferre smiled.
…
Enjolras looked over at the book sitting next to him. Surely this thing that his boss wanted could wait a little bit. He'd been working almost tirelessly for days, weeks. It was probably months actually. And it was only a little analysis that he could do in half an hour. He hadn't read for months… and this was his favourite author. He couldn't believe he hadn't kept up with everything. He suddenly remembered how grateful he was for Combeferre.
Enjolras picked up the book, weighing it in his hands for a moment. It couldn't hurt to read a chapter or two. He turned to the first page of the book and saw that there was a dedication there. Strange, this author never wrote dedications. As Enjolras skimmed over the words his eyes widened.
"That son of a bitch".
…
Enjolras barely said goodbye to Combeferre before he rushed out the next morning. His train seemed to take way too long to arrive and he found that his foot was tapping impatiently as he waited, reading over those few words again and again. When the train finally arrived he did his best to enter calmly and like nothing was different, nothing had changed. Lucky for him Grantaire was there today, smiling up at him almost too brightly like only he could. He sat down next to him, trying to will himself to stay calm.
"You son of a bitch" he said finally, barely giving the other man time to react and he pulled him closer, crushing their lips together. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me?".
"It wouldn't have been any fun then would it?" Grantaire smirked, slightly breathless.
…..
Dear Apollo,
Our morning debates keep me sane.
This one's for you.
…