Upon sitting down with the rest of the gang, Montparnasse was met with a flurry of friendly curses which he threw back. Having an abundance of drinks at the table, Claquesous slid a glass over to Montparnasse who took it gratefully. He hadn't drunken anything all day, and he had some thoughts he needed to dumb down with liquor. After a few rounds, the drunken men decided to start a drinking game.
"A'right," Babet slurred ,"le's give each other some stories an' if it's a lie, someone'll call ya out. Then you've gotta drink. An' if it ain't, then 'e what called the man out 'as t' drink."
The men at the table roared in laughter; it was a myriad of opportunities to get even more drunk.
"I'll go first," Brujon volunteered. "Er...I killed a man wit me own 'ands once."
The other men guffawed. Claquesous taunted Brujon between laughing.
"You ain't never killed a fly with yer own 'ands before. Drink up."
Brujon grumbled and downed a drink. He turned to Montparnasse.
"Yer turn. Dazzle us."
"Uhm...I've never slept with a woman before."
This arose even more howls from the gang.
"Take a drink, mate. Tha's impossible," Babet snickered, wheezing as he laughed.
"Really, I haven't. God be my witness."
Brujon gaped at him. "What are ye, a queer?"
"No!" Montparnasse grew defiant. Brujon continued.
"Ah'll give ye ten francs if ye give Claquesous over there a kiss."
Montparnasse gave him a look of disgust, then gave it a bit of thought. It was a fair amount of money Brujon would be handing over; besides, Claquesous and himself wouldn't remember the whole incident the next day.
"What about me?" Claquesous demanded.
"Shut up, I'll give ya ten francs too," Brujon snapped. Assured he would be paid as well, Claquesous inclined his head toward Montparnasse's. Still not drunk enough to brush this off, Montparnasse was hesitant. He swallowed the rest of the gin in his glass and got up from his chair, moving closer to Claquesous. Babet and Brujon looked on anxiously, trying to contain their laughter before they imploded. "Make it worth ten francs, ya little shit," Brujon added to Montparnasse, receiving a dirty look shot his way. Closing his eyes, Montparnasse jerked his head forward, kissing Claquesous hard on the mouth, who seemed to be drunk enough to return the action. At this point, most people in the place had been looking over at the table, hoping to catch a glance of what would happen. A few suppressed sniggers were heard, but it was otherwise rather silent. Claquesous went even further, daring to put his tongue in Montparnasse's mouth, but by that time the other man had pulled away sharply. The inn then erupted into laughter as Montparnasse wiped his mouth on his sleeve and a dazed Claquesous stood with his mouth agape.
"Now pay up, you bastard, before I give you a taste of my fist."
Tears rolling down his face, Brujon dug around in pockets to fish out twenty francs, ten for Montparnasse and ten for the still oblivious Claquesous.
"I always knew 'e was a little queer," Babet muttered.