So I found out it was Courferre week and I figured I'd write a cute little fic, right? Wrong. I wrote a cute BIG fic that I was honestly worried would not get finished in time. But it did (barely), so enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis.
To be honest, the bad decision is inevitable once Combeferre enters the Musain, soaked in sweat and wearing a pair of running shorts and a white t-shirt that's stuck to his chest and somehow looking even more hot than he normally does. Courfeyrac lets out a soft whine, making Grantaire snort with amusement and Jehan sigh before patting Courfeyrac on his back gently.
"Sorry I'm late," Combeferre apologizes. "I thought I had time to make up for missing my morning run, but I miscalculated." His morning run. This is something that's normal enough that Combeferre has a name for it. Oh God, Courfeyrac is going to die from the sheer possibilities.
"Not a problem," Enjolras replies. Courfeyrac doesn't understand how he's talking like everything's normal, because it is most definitely not normal. He lets out another whimper. It's a little too loud, Marius turns around with a concerned expression on his face.
"Are you alright?" he asks Courfeyrac, sounding concerned.
"Stubbed my toe," Courfeyrac lies smoothly. Grantaire and Jehan share a sideways look. Courfeyrac never should have told them about his crush on Combeferre. Except he didn't; Grantaire confronted him on it about a week after Courfeyrac figured it out himself, saying that he pined enough himself to recognize it in others. As for Jehan, it's almost impossible to hide anything from xem; xe is far too perceptive for xyr own good. And for the good of anyone who wants to keep a secret.
Courfeyrac manages to get through the entire meeting without squirming too much to adjust his suddenly-tighter jeans (which were skinny jeans to start with, so that's saying something). The worst part is when Combeferre gets up and starts talking, because that's already hot enough when he's not looking this deliciously fuckable. And okay, maybe this means Courfeyrac has a bit of a kink, because he thinks most people don't think that much sweat is hot, but Combeferre's shorts are short enough to show off his perfectly toned legs (and the running thing explains why they're so perfect) and his shirt is sticking to his chest like a second skin and showing the line of every single muscle, and when Combeferre turns around, you can just faintly see the tiny little moth tattoo that Combeferre has right where his neck meets his back, with the scientific name of that particular moth in curling script underneath because Combeferre is a fucking nerd, and Courfeyrac probably shouldn't find that as disgustingly hot as he does, but it's not news that he's ridiculously far gone for Combeferre.
"So, Combeferre, do you run every day?" Grantaire calls when the meeting is over, because he's an asshole and enjoys causing Courfeyrac discomfort. Combeferre comes over, and him coming closer doesn't help Courfeyrac's higher level brain functions at all.
"Every morning," Combeferre replies. Courfeyrac feels like he's just been punched in the gut with a fist of pure arousal. And yes, that's a strange metaphor, but it's how he feels, so screw you.
"That's impressive," Jehan says in a slightly awed tone that Courfeyrac can tell is hiding amusement, because xe's a little shit too and occasionally makes Courfeyrac want to strangle xem, except xe looks too sweet and precious to hurt, with xyr flower crown and long braided hair and sweet smiles. Of course, if you get xem angry, you find out that all of that is entirely misleading; Jehan can be scary as all hell if xe wants to be.
"It's not, really," Combeferre replies, a slight flush coloring his cheeks. Courfeyrac is going to explode from sheer arousal. He's not sure if that's ever happened before, but it's going to happen now, because Combeferre is too. Damn. Hot. It's so unfair.
"Do you run alone?" Bossuet asks, coming over with Joly and Musichetta. Okay, this is just mean. The three of them don't even know that Courfeyrac has a massive crush on Combeferre (as far as he knows), and yet they're still helping, if unwittingly, to make Courfeyrac want to die on the spot.
"I do," Combeferre answers. Joly's eyes go wide.
"Does anyone know your running route?" he demands. "Do you carry a cell phone with you?"
"Not really, and sometimes," Combeferre answers. Joly shakes his head.
"You should really have a running partner. That way, if anything happens to you, they can help. And you can help them too, if they need it."
"Bossuet had an incident when running once," Musichetta adds, with a faintly amused look on her face. Bossuet shrugs as everyone turns to look at him.
"I swear the fire hydrant hadn't been there a moment before," he says simply. Courfeyrac winces. Only Bossuet would do that, really. Combeferre wouldn't, because he's perfect and has apparently been running for a long time. Has Courfeyrac mentioned that he is going to die?
"I wouldn't mind a running partner, but I don't have anyone to run with me," Combeferre admits. "I've asked Enjolras, but he won't do it. And none of the rest of you have any interest in running, do you?"
"I'll run with you," Courfeyrac blurts out. Grantaire and Jehan both look at Courfeyrac with undisguised surprise on their faces. Wait, no, scratch that - everyone looks at Courfeyrac with undisguised surprise on their faces.
"Are you sure?" Combeferre asks, frowning slightly. "I didn't know you liked running."
"I've never done it before, but I wouldn't mind trying it out," Courfeyrac replies. Combeferre still looks slightly surprised. "We're friends. I'll do it for you." Courfeyrac leans against Combeferre's arm, sighing like a romance novel heroine. "I would do anything for you, Combeferre," he whispers, fluttering his eyelashes. Combeferre laughs and pushes him off gently. His laugh is absolutely perfect.
"Alright. I normally run in the mornings, if I have time before work. Since tomorrow's Saturday, how about around seven o'clock? Is that good?"
"Sounds awesome. Let's start tomorrow," Courfeyrac replies, grinning at Combeferre.
Combeferre leaves (giving Courfeyrac a perfect view of his ass), as do Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta. "What the hell are you doing?" Jehan asks after a moment of silence. Courfeyrac stands up.
"Leaving. I have to go see if I have any running shorts and t-shirts that will work, or if I have to buy some."
"Courf-" Grantaire tries, but Courfeyrac is already gone. He slips out of the Musain easily, making his way down the stairs without interruption and out to the street. Once there, he leans against a wall and lets out a sigh. He really shouldn't be asked to deal with Combeferre's absolute perfection so much; it's just plain mean. And now the bulge in his pants (which won't just go away because it's out to destroy him) demands to be taken care of, so Courfeyrac retreats to his apartment.
His shower has seen Courfeyrac masturbate to the thought of Combeferre before, even though it always makes him feel a little creepy to jerk off while thinking of his best friend, especially considering Combeferre is (thankfully) oblivious to the entire arrangement. Courfeyrac finishes with a hoarse cry of Combeferre's name, washes himself off, and goes to look through his closet for the proper attire to wear for his bad decision.
It's not that Courfeyrac thinks he won't be able to control himself around Combeferre when they go running. It's not that he doesn't want to help Combeferre. It's certainly not that Courfeyrac doesn't want to spend time with Combeferre.
The reason this is a bad decision is that Courfeyrac really, really hates running.
"Jehan, help me," Courfeyrac begs the next morning. It's six-thirty, which is far too early to be awake, and he has to go out for a run. Courfeyrac is going to die.
"It was your bad decision," Jehan replies. Courfeyrac supposes he should be grateful that xe is awake - when calling Jehan in the mornings, you have a 50/50 chance; either xe will be completely awake from getting up to watch the sunrise, or xe will be completely asleep from not going to sleep until the sunrise. However, considering how immensely unhelpful xe's being, Courfeyrac isn't that thankful.
"But running. You know my life philosophy is that no one should run unless someone is chasing them. The most important fact of life is that sweat is just your body crying because it wants you to stop moving!"
"I thought your life philosophy was that you could never have enough glitter, and the most important fact of life is that bow ties are cool?" Jehan asks, sounding confused. Courfeyrac makes a wounded noise.
"That's beside the point, Jehan! How am I supposed to go for a run at seven in the morning?"
"How much coffee have you had so far?" Jehan asks suspiciously.
"Only one cup, and that's also beside the goddamn point," Courfeyrac hisses. "Gondor calls for aid, Jehan! Gondor calls for aid!"
"And Rohan will answer," Jehan replies automatically. "What exactly do you need help with?"
"How am I going to go for a run?" Courfeyrac whines. Jehan sighs.
"Have you considered telling Combeferre that you're an idiot and you actually hate running?" xe suggests.
"Obviously not," Courfeyrac replies automatically, scoffing. "That's not an option. That will lead to awkward conversations about why I agreed to run with Combeferre and that might lead to me admitting that I find Combeferre deliciously fuckable and would love to take him when he's all sweaty and shove him against a wall and-"
"If I help you, will you stop talking about that?" Jehan interrupts, sounding desperate. "I really don't need to hear about your fantasies about Combeferre."
"Then help me!"
"Tell Combeferre that you want to start small," Jehan suggests. "Maybe ask if you can go slowly and for a shorter run. You'll still have to run, but you'll have to run less. Do you have clothes you can wear while running?"
"Running shorts that show off my ass, a tight t-shirt, and tennis shoes," Courfeyrac replies. Jehan sighs.
"Then I think you're stuck," xe replies. "If you go for a few runs with Combeferre, you can tell him that you changed your mind and you don't think running is really your thing, and then you can stop."
"Right," Courfeyrac replies. He looks at himself in the mirror one more time. The running shorts really do show off his ass quite well. And he's tousled his hair just the way Combeferre likes. He's as ready as he can be.
Combeferre shows up at Courfeyrac's apartment at 7:02, wearing the same running shorts, but a different t-shirt. This one, Courfeyrac recognizes as his Christmas present for Combeferre the year before. It's black and loudly declares "I make bad science puns, but only periodically." Bossuet and Joly giggle like maniacs whenever Combeferre wears it. Courfeyrac happens to be wearing his bad pun t-shirt ("If you were a triangle, you'd be acute one"), which Combeferre got for him, which really means that they're meant to be together. After all, Bossuet, Joly, and Musichetta always wear their bad pun t-shirts on the same day ("Bad jokes are just another form of cruel and unusual pun*ishment," "I found this humerus," and "The past, the present, and the future walked into a bar. It was tense," respectively). Considering the three of them have the best, cutest, and most well-adjusted relationship ever, Courfeyrac believes that the fact that he and Combeferre are apparently taking after them means that they will too have the best, cutest, and most well-adjusted relationship ever. Obviously.
"I like your shirt," Combeferre says with a grin. Courfeyrac grins.
"Well, you are acute, so…" Combeferre laughs, making Courfeyrac feel all warm and fuzzy and however else people feel when they hear their true love laugh. Really, Combeferre is just too damn cute for his own good.
"Shall we go?" Combeferre asks. "I was thinking I could do a shorter run than normal, since this is your first time. And we can go slowly." Once Courfeyrac's brain is done making sexual innuendos out of that, he grins.
"I was going to ask if you could do that. You're perfect, you know that?"
Combeferre laughed again. "So I've been told. By you. Many times."
"I speak only the truth," Courfeyrac teases as they head out the door. Combeferre sighs and starts jogging away. Courfeyrac sighs as well - running, noooooooooooooooooooo - and follows him.
When Courfeyrac returns to his apartment, it's to find Jehan and Grantaire there waiting for him. "How was your run?" Grantaire asks sweetly. Courfeyrac glares at him.
"I'm covered in sweat, I just had to run around for a whole fucking hour, and the whole time I had to watch Combeferre be perfect and hot and I wasn't allowed to touch him. Don't ask me how my run was."
"Someone's grumpy," Jehan remarks as xe studies xyr fingernails. "By the way, you don't happen to have any nail polish, do you?"
Courfeyrac stomps into his bathroom, pulls out his nail polish drawer - just because he doesn't wear it often doesn't mean he doesn't own any, and anyway, he has three sisters - and gives the drawer to Jehan. "Knock yourself out," he tells xem. Jehan looks thrilled. "I'm going to take a shower."
Courfeyrac's shower is quick and he's soon back in his pajamas (because why clothes when you can pajamas?) and in his living room with the horrible people he calls friends. "Did you hear about Bahorel's new girlfriend?" Grantaire asks. Jehan frowns.
"I thought he was dating Feuilly," xe replies. Grantaire shakes his head.
"Nah, they dated for a little bit, then decided they didn't want to make things weird and went back to being friends. Although they fucked sometimes when they were bored."
"Huh," Jehan replies, looking as if xe's thinking about something. Of course, xyr hands are still perfectly steady as xe continues to paint xyr nails. Xe seems to have chosen to just paint them in random patterns using every color of nail polish that Courfeyrac owns. Courfeyrac doesn't mind, as long as xe doesn't get nail polish on anything.
"And Marius won't shut up about that girl he saw for five seconds and he calls his 'soulmate,'" Grantaire adds. "I just want him to find her so he can stop mooning about her every second."
"Like how you moon over Enjolras?" Jehan asks innocently without looking up from xyr nails. Grantaire glares at xem.
"Low blow. Low fucking blow."
"Just the truth," Jehan replies distractedly as xe blows on xyr nails to get them to start drying. "Courfeyrac, could you be a dear and get me some ice water?"
"Ugh," Courfeyrac groans, getting up and immediately flopping back on to the couch. "I caaaaaaan't," he whines. "My legs huuuuuuuurt. From runniiiiiiiiiiing."
"I'll get it," Grantaire replies, getting up and disappearing into Courfeyrac's kitchen. He returns with ice water for Jehan and iced tea for himself.
"Nothing for me?" Courfeyrac asks in a sad voice. Grantaire sighs and takes a sip of his iced tea, only to immediately start coughing.
"What the fuck is this?" he demands. Courfeyrac grins wickedly.
"It's a thing they do in Belgium and the Netherlands. And Germany too. Carbonated ice tea."
"Only you," Grantaire groans, pushing the cup over to Courfeyrac, who takes it eagerly and downs the whole thing in one.
"Shall we go back to the topic of the love lives of our friends?" Jehan asks, gently putting xyr fingers in the ice water. It's a trick to make the polish dry faster; Courfeyrac's sisters taught him that. Grantaire obviously doesn't know that, though, and just looked hopelessly confused. He didn't get Courfeyrac a drink, though, so he's not going to explain. "So, we have Bahorel and his new girlfriend-"
"Rose, or something like that," Grantaire interrupts. "I think it was Rosalie."
"Alright. Bahorel and Rosalie, Marius and Mystery Girl, Joly and Bossuet and Musichetta. Grantaire and Enjolras, in an ideal world where they do something about their feelings." Grantaire shoots Jehan a death glare xe ignores. "Courfeyrac and Combeferre, in the same ideal world." It's Courfeyrac's turn to give Jehan a death glare. "Marius' friend Éponine is dating the leader of Patron Minette-"
"Montparnasse," Grantaire interjects. Jehan nods.
"Montparnasse. Do you know if Feuilly is dating anyone?"
"Why this fixation on Feuilly?" Courfeyrac asks suspiciously. Jehan shrugs, dipping xyr other hand in the ice water.
"He's my enigma. I know about all the others, but I can't read him as well. I thought he and Bahorel were still dating, and now I find out he's not. I'm curious."
"I don't think he's dating anyone at the moment," Grantaire replies. "And you're forgetting someone, Jehan."
"Who?" Jehan asks, gingerly testing xyr nail polish and putting xyr fingers back in the ice water.
"Yourself," Grantaire replies. "How's your love life going?"
Jehan shrugs. "I don't really seek out dates," xe replies. "It's difficult to find someone that just understands my pronouns and gender identity. It's very difficult to find someone that's willing to date someone of a non-binary gender. Most people just don't understand." Jehan studiously examines xyr fingernails, presumably to avoid eye contact. "About a month ago, I went to a club and tried to find someone. It didn't turn out well. We didn't even get to the point of one-night-stand. Once he knew I had a penis, he wouldn't stop calling me by male pronouns." Courfeyrac and Grantaire both wince. "I've decided I should find someone that accepts me as a friend first, then see if it'll work to make it go farther."
"I'm sorry," Courfeyrac says softly. Jehan looks up, a soft smile on xyr face.
"It's not your fault. Now, how was your run with Combeferre? I want details."
Courfeyrac groans. "Combeferre is unfairly gorgeous," he whines. "Especially when he's running. I almost pulled a Bossuet and ran into a tree at one point because I couldn't stop looking at his ass."
"Were you jerking off when you were in the shower?" Grantaire asks, sounding slightly apprehensive. Courfeyrac shakes his head.
"I'm too tired. I'm sure that this will be a lovely memory for me to look back on in the future, but for now, my legs feel like someone ran over them with a bulldozer."
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Jehan cries, gesturing at xyr bag. "I brought over a heat pad. I'd get it out myself, but-"
"You are a blessing to humanity," Courfeyrac states firmly, tearing through Jehan's bag to find xyr heat pad. It's a plug-in one - even better - and it heats up quickly. Courfeyrac lets out a borderline-orgasmic noise as the heat starts to relax his tense muscles. "Thank you so fucking much."
"No problem," Jehan replies, waving a hand. "So I'm assuming you won't be going on many more runs with Combeferre?"
"I already begged off doing it tomorrow," Courfeyrac replies. "We've got our Sunday morning brunch tomorrow, and I told Combeferre that I was planning on helping set up, which means I'd have to be there around 8. He offered to do a short run with me, but I insisted that he go by himself."
"How many more runs do you think you'll do before you tell him you don't want to do them anymore?" Grantaire asks. Courfeyrac bites his lip.
"I just don't want him to be disappointed in me," he replies tentatively. Grantaire scoffs.
"Combeferre could never be disappointed in you, especially not for something like that," he replies. "Trust me. I'm kind of an expert in disappointing people."
And since the only response to something like that is for Courfeyrac and Jehan to have a cuddle pile on top of Grantaire, the conversation doesn't go much farther after that.
The brunch the next morning is at the apartment that Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta share, as usual. Courfeyrac shows up early, as he normally does, to help them set up.
"How was your run with Combeferre yesterday?" Musichetta asks as the two of them make eggs in the kitchen. Joly and Bossuet have been sent out a grocery run - having either of them near raw eggs is a bad idea, each for different reasons.
"My legs are still sore," Courfeyrac whines. Musichetta laughs.
"I didn't think you were the running type. Why did you agree to go with him?"
"He wanted a running partner, so I thought I could give it a try, if it meant that much to him," Courfeyrac replies. "It was a very bad decision."
Musichetta laughs again. "Perhaps you'll learn to love running," she replies. Courfeyrac's expression must answer that for him, since she nods once briskly. "Or not."
"Running is torture," Courfeyrac states firmly. "I'm going to have to tell Combeferre that I can't run with him anymore."
"I'd give it a few more tries," Musichetta counters gently. "Just give it a chance."
Courfeyrac isn't sure how to respond to that, but Joly and Bossuet's reappearance saves him from needing to. The rest of the cooking goes well after that, and almost before Courfeyrac knows it, the apartment is full of his friends.
Marius and Éponine are the last to arrive, both out of breath. "I saw her again!" Marius announces to the crowd at large. "Her name is Cosette!"
"What are you talking about?" Enjolras demands, sounding slightly snappish. Marius heaves a lovestruck sigh.
"The girl, Enjolras! I saw her again! My angel! And Éponine knows who she is!"
"It's Cosette Fauchelevent, the daughter of Jean Valjean. You know, that rich philanthropist who used to be mayor a few towns over?" Éponine replies. Courfeyrac shoots a look over at Enjolras, who looks slightly stunned. He idolizes Valjean entirely, but has never gotten a chance to meet him. "Well, Cosette is his adopted daughter. Her mom asked my parents to foster her when she was little, but Valjean adopted her after her mom died." The bitterness in Éponine's voice speaks volumes about the untold story behind her words. Courfeyrac winces; he's met the Thénardiers one time, and that was more than enough. He doesn't blame Éponine for getting out of that house as fast as she could.
"Did you introduce yourself to her this time?" Courfeyrac asks. Marius blushes.
"No, not exactly, but now that I know her name, I can find her!" he replies. Courfeyrac sighs.
"Marius, you should really introduce yourself before you start stalking this girl," he replies. Marius' face goes an even brighter red.
"Ignore Courfeyrac," Musichetta calls over. "Come and tell me about this girl, Marius." Marius doesn't need any encouraging; he goes over to Musichetta immediately and begins telling her all about Cosette.
Courfeyrac scans the room for Grantaire and Jehan, but Combeferre finds him first. Actually, he sneaks up behind Courfeyrac and scares the shit out of him, and Courfeyrac tells him so.
"We need to get you a bell or something!" he cries, a hand over his chest as he tries to control his racing heartbeat. "You can't just pop up behind people like that!"
"Sorry," Combeferre replies, an amused smile playing on his lips. "I was wondering what you thought of our running yesterday."
"It was…" Courfeyrac scans his mind for a word. Combeferre's face falls ever so slightly.
"You didn't like it, did you?" he asks, immediately schooling his expression to something more neutral. Courfeyrac shakes his head immediately, unable to even think about disappointing Combeferre like that.
"I did. I'm just a little sore. But I'd like to do it again."
Combeferre's smile lights up his face. "I have work tomorrow morning, but I can do an evening run at around six, if you'd like," he offers. Courfeyrac smiles back.
"Then we can have dinner after," he replies. Combeferre's smile grows.
"Sounds wonderful," he replies. He opens his mouth like he's about to say something else, but Enjolras calls his name before he can. "Tomorrow at six, then?" he asks Courfeyrac with something like regret in his voice.
"Tomorrow at six," Courfeyrac parrots. Combeferre nods before winding away to see what Enjolras wants. Grantaire slips to Courfeyrac's side next, holding a mug that seems to be more Irish than coffee.
"What were you two talking about?" he asks, taking a sip. Courfeyrac shrugs.
"Making plans to go running again."
"Again?" Grantaire arches an eyebrow. "I thought you hated it!"
"Yeah, but I have to go at least one or two more times before I say that," Courfeyrac replies, as if it's obvious. Grantaire sighs.
"You just like seeing his ass in those running shorts," he replies. "Not that I blame you; I'd give anything to get Enjolras into a pair of those."
"Oh, shut up," Courfeyrac replies, giving Grantaire a light push. Grantaire rolls his eyes, but seems ready to retaliate when Jehan comes over, practically skipping.
"Lovely morning, isn't it?" xe asks, beaming widely. There's a flower missing from the arrangement in xyr hair, but Courfeyrac doesn't mention it.
"You seem cheery," Grantaire replies, frowning suspiciously. "Did you get a new anthology of poems?"
"Did you get something published?" Courfeyrac suggests. Jehan shakes xyr head.
"No, but I do have a reason that I'm happy," xe replies, telling them why.
To be fair, perhaps Courfeyrac's scream of "You're going out on a date with Feuilly?!" is a little loud, but it's shocking news. The entire room turns to look at the three of them. Jehan's cheeks are pink. Courfeyrac's eyes seek Feuilly. It takes a bit of searching, but he finds him, blushing much more than Jehan is. The flower that's missing from Jehan's hair is tucked behind his ear.
"Don't scream, Courfeyrac," Jehan scolds, obviously trying to control xyr blushing. "And yes, I asked Feuilly out on a date, and he said yes." Jehan makes eye contact with Feuilly and shrugs slightly, as if to say "what can you do?"
The group gets over the new information fairly quickly. "So that's why you were so fixated on Feuilly yesterday!" Grantaire says, grinning widely. "You wanted to know if you could ask him out."
"I didn't want to ask him out if he were dating someone else," Jehan replies primly. Grantaire shakes his head.
"You're one sneaky motherfucker. Congrats."
"Now we just need to get you two to do something about your relationships," Jehan adds, grinning wickedly. Grantaire and Courfeyrac both look at each other.
"Jehan, what are you planning?" Courfeyrac asks in a slightly cautious voice.
"Nothing yet," xe replies. "I'll give you some time. But if it comes to it, I'm not afraid to interfere."
"We're doomed," Grantaire groans. Courfeyrac chuckles, but inside, he has to admit he feels the same.
The Monday run is as horrible as the Saturday one. At least Courfeyrac has the promise of dinner after to cling to as he runs alongside Combeferre, looking sweaty and disgusting while Combeferre just looks hotter and hotter the more he runs.
"Do you want to take a break?" Combeferre asks. Courfeyrac has no idea how he's able to talk. Courfeyrac certainly can't, so he responds with an enthusiastic nod that means "hell yes" and elaborate hand gestures that mean "please, God, let me survive this run because I don't think I can without some help." Combeferre only seems to pick up on the nod, as he slows down until they're just walking next to each other.
"You don't really seem to like running that much," Combeferre remarks after Courfeyrac's gotten a chance to catch his breath.
"I'm giving it a chance," Courfeyrac replies. He sounds as if he's run a marathon instead of the mile and a half that they've done. Goddamn it.
"You don't have to run with me if you don't want to," Combeferre offers.
"I-" Courfeyrac starts, because honestly, he doesn't really want to. Combeferre smiles wryly.
"We can still have dinner together, but let's walk instead of run," he offers. "And considering how little you seem to like this, I think this should be our last run together."
"Combeferre…" Courfeyrac doesn't know what to say. Combeferre smiles at him, but there's definitely a hint of sadness in it.
"It's alright," he replies. Courfeyrac frowns.
"No, it's not," he replies. "You're upset about it."
"I'm not," Combeferre denies quickly. Courfeyrac raises an eyebrow.
"Why are you upset, then?" he demands. "You're clearly upset about something. You should know by now you can't hide anything from me."
"I just like spending this time together with you," Combeferre admits. "But not if you dislike it."
"I like spending time with you!" Courfeyrac protests. "Just…not while running."
"Let's go to dinner," Combeferre suggests, a true smile curling his lips. Courfeyrac smiles back.
"Sounds like a great idea," he replies.
Dinner is lovely, with the two of them chatting as usual over spaghetti and sauce that they make together. It's not until after they're done and Courfeyrac has returned home that he realized what just happened was basically a date.
He was basically just on a date with Combeferre.
"Grantaire, help," Courfeyrac greets when Grantaire finally answers his phone.
"What the fuck do you want, Courfeyrac?" Grantaire groans, sounding as if he's just woken up. Courfeyrac checks the clock. It's not that late, but Grantaire has very strange hours sometimes.
"I was basically just on a date with Combeferre!" he hisses.
"Congratu-fucking-lations," Grantaire replies. "Now let me go back to sleep."
"You're no help," Courfeyrac whines. Grantaire hangs up. Courfeyrac immediately dials Jehan's number and waits for xem to answer the phone. Xe's a lot faster than Grantaire because xe is clearly a better person.
"I was basically just on a date with Combeferre," Courfeyrac babbles in lieu of a greeting.
"Wonderful!" Jehan chirps. "Maybe I won't have to interfere with you two after all."
"What does this mean, Jehan?!" Courfeyrac begs. "Are we dating now? Does he think of me like that? What does this meeeeeeeean?"
"I think it means that you need to get a spine and ask Combeferre out already," Jehan replies. Courfeyrac makes a disgusted face.
"You're no help," he complains. "And neither is Grantaire. I need better friends."
"You know we're the best friends you could ever have, sweetie," Jehan replies, sounding a bit distracted. "I've got to go, but think about what I said, alright? I asked Feuilly out, didn't I? And it worked out well."
"I hate you and you are a terrible human being," Courfeyrac replies.
"Love you too!" Jehan trills as xe hangs up. Courfeyrac puts his phone down and bangs his head against a wall. He really needs new friends. Until he gets them, he'll have to figure this out on his own.
There's always Jehan's path, which is to tell Combeferre how he feels. Courfeyrac discards that quickly. Then there's Grantaire's path, which is to antagonize the object of your affections in hopes of…something. Honestly, Courfeyrac's not sure what Grantaire's endgame is with Enjolras, but it doesn't seem to be doing a great job of getting them together, so Courfeyrac disregards it as an option. At this point, he's not quite sure what he should do next. He'll figure something out, he's sure. Now, he really needs to take a shower. Preferably a cold one.
At the next meeting of Les Amis, there are quite a few developments:
1) Bahorel brings his girlfriend Rosalie, who has the most wonderful laugh that Courfeyrac has ever heard (second to Combeferre, of course).
2) Marius brings Cosette, who is beautiful and sweet but also refuses to take any shit, making her Courfeyrac's favorite type of person.
3) Jehan and Feuilly are almost nausea-inducing in their adorableness and coupleness, as their date went quite well.
4) Courfeyrac finally figures out the point of Grantaire's constant antagonization of Enjolras.
Halfway through the meeting, Grantaire and Enjolras' argument gets more intense than normal. Enjolras is standing in front of Grantaire, leaning on his table, as they shout at each other. Everyone's waiting for the moment when one of them snaps, which may well involve one of them being brutally murdered. Then, suddenly, so quickly that Courfeyrac almost misses it, Enjolras' hand snakes out around Grantaire's neck and smashes their faces together into the most inelegant kiss Courfeyrac has ever seen.
"I want to see your fucking sources," Enjolras whispers through harsh breaths when they finally pull apart. Grantaire looks ecstatic.
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he replies. Enjolras doesn't smack him or even yell at him. He only stands, runs a hand through his long blond hair, and returns to the front of the room. Everyone is in a sort of awestruck silence.
"Did that actually just happen?" Courfeyrac asks, looking around the room. "Did everyone else just see Enjolras kiss Grantaire?"
"It definitely happened," Bahorel confirms. "Go R!"
"We're not getting anything done at the rest of this meeting, are we?" Enjolras asks with a groan.
"Nope!" Courfeyrac replies cheerfully. "You're telling all of us what possessed you to kiss R right then, then you two are going to be adorable and make all of us feel inferior to your relationship skills."
Enjolras groans, but actually gives in, which Courfeyrac wasn't expecting. He explains how he's been struggling with his burgeoning feelings for a while, and how, with the help of Combeferre, he's figured out what he wanted to do. Grantaire looks thrilled the whole time. Combeferre has a satisfied smile on his face. Courfeyrac wants to kiss it off, except he and Combeferre aren't actually dating, so he can't.
He's reminded of his date-less status again when the meeting ends and everyone breaks off into their little groups. He and Combeferre are the only ones left.
"So," Combeferre states.
"We're the last to hold out," Courfeyrac says. Combeferre nods. "We should probably find people to bring to the next meeting, so we don't look too pathetic and single."
"Oh. Yes, perhaps. I don't know that I will, but it's an idea," Combeferre replies, looking a tiny bit flustered.
"Monogamous with your running?" Courfeyrac teases. "Is that why you wanted me to stop?"
"You're ridiculous," Combeferre replies fondly. "If you ever truly want to go running with me, you can, but you didn't seem to be liking it very much."
"Yeah, I'm not much of a runner," Courfeyrac replies ruefully. "I'm more of a biker, to be honest."
"Biker?" Combeferre asks curiously. Courfeyrac nods.
"Before I got my license, I used to bike everywhere. It was awesome. I don't do it much now, though. I don't normally have the time."
"You should make time," Combeferre suggests. "I used to run in school, but I hadn't done it in years. I'm glad to have started it back up again."
"Maybe," Courfeyrac replies with a shrug. "Have you found a new running partner, by the way?"
"No, but I've started bringing a cellphone, and I've told Joly my route," Combeferre replies. "He does have a point, but I'm not going to find someone to run with me if no one wants to."
"Very noble of you," Courfeyrac replies. He hates it when Combeferre is all noble; it turns him on more than he would think possible.
"Yes, well…" Combeferre shrugs. "I'm not going to force anyone."
Before Courfeyrac can say anything - he's not sure what he would say, but he would definitely say something - Jehan and Feuilly pop up.
"Hi!" Jehan chirps. "Feuilly and I have a question."
"When will you two get together?" Feuilly asks, grinning wickedly. The look Courfeyrac gives Jehan is horribly betrayed. He misses the steely look Combeferre gives Feuilly.
"You are a terrible person," Courfeyrac tells Jehan. "Actually, you both are. Go and be terrible people together. You're made for each other."
"Thank you for your permission," Feuilly says dryly. Courfeyrac arches an eyebrow.
"I think you know that if you hurt xem, you have all of us to face, so I wouldn't suggest it."
"It was never part of my plan," Feuilly promises. Courfeyrac nods once.
"Good." When Courfeyrac turns, Combeferre has disappeared somewhere else in the Musain. Jehan and Feuilly wander off as well, giving Courfeyrac the perfect opportunity to sneak out of the Musain and back to his house, to deal with the unfortunate issue in his pants.
Sometimes he's convinced his goddamn dick is just trying its hardest to betray him in every possible way.
The next morning, Courfeyrac wakes up to a text from Jehan. can you come over? i need some help.
on my way, Courfeyrac texts back, getting dressed. He's not quite sure what Jehan needs help with, but he's glad to do whatever xe needs.
Within ten minutes, Courfeyrac is knocking on the door to Jehan's apartment. He's let in almost immediately. "What do you need my help with?" he asks Jehan as he follows xem into the living room.
"Courfeyrac?" a stunned voice asks. It's Combeferre, standing in the middle of the living room with Feuilly. Courfeyrac is betrayed, he's been so betrayed, and Jehan is a horrible traitor.
"So," Jehan starts, smiling sweetly as if xe hasn't just ruined Courfeyrac's life. "We've decided that you two need to get your shit together. Courfeyrac, I'm tired of hearing you pine about Combeferre."
"And Combeferre," Feuilly adds, "listening to you pine over Courfeyrac isn't that entertaining either." The words interrupt Courfeyrac in giving Jehan a betrayed glare, because what.
"Feuilly…" Combeferre whispers, sounding almost desperate.
"So we're leaving and locking you two in," Jehan finishes. "Have fun, boys." With that, xe and Feuilly exit the room. Courfeyrac can hear the key turn in the lock when they leave the apartment.
"Our friends suck," Courfeyrac finally says. Combeferre looks stunned.
"I didn't want Feuilly to tell anyone that," he begins, apparently unsure of what to say next.
"I didn't want Jehan to tell anyone that," Courfeyrac replies with a shrug. "But, wait, you're saying that what Feuilly said was true?"
"You're saying that what Jehan said was true?" Combeferre replies, his eyes wide behind his glasses.
"Completely," Courfeyrac replies, studying Combeferre's reaction. Which, interestingly enough, is to grab Courfeyrac and pull him into a kiss.
"Wow," Courfeyrac says softly as they pull away. "That was awesome."
"Yeah," Combeferre replies, looking slightly shocked. "So, uh, do you want to do it again?"
This time, it's Courfeyrac that drags Combeferre into a kiss, locking their lips together and holding on as if for dear life. "How long before Jehan and Feuilly get back, do you think?" Combeferre whispers as they break apart.
"Long enough," Courfeyrac replies as he drags Combeferre down to the couch.
(Jehan and Feuilly return fifteen minutes later to find Combeferre and Courfeyrac on the couch, steadily on their way towards nudity. Jehan shrieks and quickly herds the two of them out of xyr apartment. They go to Courfeyrac's apartment, where they continue where they left off.)
"Ferre!" Courfeyrac gasps as Combeferre enters his apartment, sweaty from his daily run. "You're early!"
"What's going on?" Combeferre asks with an amused smile. Courfeyrac commonly comes into his apartment, especially now that they've been dating for a month, so he knows Combeferre isn't confused about his being there. He's probably more confused about the candles and the spaghetti and the romantic music playing softly in the background.
"I was going to make us a special dinner tonight," Courfeyrac admits. "But it's not quite ready."
Combeferre laughs. "Is this because it's been exactly a month since we had our first not-date after we went running?" he asks. Courfeyrac beams.
"I knew there was a reason I loved you," he replies. Combeferre laughs and gives him a quick kiss.
"I'm gonna go take a shower-"
"Or not," Courfeyrac interrupts. "You look really hot in your running shorts and all sweaty like that, and I've been resisting the urge to jump your bones whenever I see you like this for over a month, so…"
"Point taken," Combeferre replies, smirking slightly. "Anything I can help with on the cooking?"
"Set the table," Courfeyrac replies, pointing at the plates and silverware. "The food will be ready soon."
"I seem to remember our first spaghetti dinner being a lot less romantic," Combeferre remarks as he puts the plates out. Courfeyrac scoffs.
"Spaghetti is always romantic. Haven't you seen Lady and the Tramp?"
"Are we planning on reenacting that scene?" Combeferre calls. In response, Courfeyrac turns on Bella Notte. Combeferre's laugh echoes through his apartment.
Their spaghetti dinner is delicious, and after it's done, after both Combeferre and Courfeyrac are spent and lying on Combeferre's bed together, Courfeyrac gently traces the lines of the muscles on Combeferre's chest. "I love you," he says softly. Combeferre smiles and presses a kiss on the top of Courfeyrac's curls.
"I know."
Courfeyrac jerks upright. "You did not just fucking Star Wars me, Combeferre," he snaps. "Next thing I know, you'll start going all Tenth Doctor-"
"And I suppose," Combeferre interrupts loudly, "if it's my last chance to say it, Courfeyrac, I-"
"I hate you," Courfeyrac groans. "You're such a nerd."
"Your nerd," Combeferre replies, dropping another kiss on Courfeyrac's head. Courfeyrac nods.
"My nerd," he replies. "My sun and stars."
"Who's the nerd now?" Combeferre asks, grinning widely. Courfeyrac laughs and nestles up impossibly closer to Combeferre.
"Wonderboy," he whispers, knowing Hercules is Combeferre's favorite Disney movie. He's rewarded by the feeling of Combeferre's laughter. "I really do love you," Courfeyrac adds, turning his head up to place a gentle kiss on Combeferre's smiling lips.
"I love you too."