My Best Friend's Wedding
Disclaimer: Still not mine. Surprise!
AN: So, this chapter is a short one, I know. Well, short for this story, anyway. Still, I have a feeling people might love it anyway… I mean, look at the title =P
Chapter eight: Hangover city – population: one
She is ready to start the day until she hears the pained groans coming from the man next to her. The look on his face tells her that he is probably pretty sick, and without even knowing the aftermath of the bachelor party, she knows that he has probably gotten really freaking drunk – probably without intending too, because she knows the kind of pranks the other Amis like to play on him. They probably pulled The Never-Empty Bottle on him and hoped that by the time he would notice, he would be drunk enough to no longer care about it all that much. She thinks that it worked pretty well.
"Good morning lover," she speaks loudly and brightly.
"Can you not," he groans, with his head mostly hidden underneath his pillow.
Oddly enough, she finds this more than a little adorable. Here is the big bad lawyer who has made many a man wet his pants in court – and now he is crawled underneath the covers and hiding his face from the sunlight because his head hurts. It is rumbling his perfect Curls of Adorableness and there are pillow creases on the parts of his face that she can still see. He has never looked less like himself, and she finds it sweet.
"Which trick was it?" she lowers the volume of her voice.
"They switched my bottle," his voice is darker and more hoarse.
It does something to her, and that is a dangerous place for her to be in at this point in time. She is just going to pretend that his voice does not sound like liquid sex and she is going to help him feel better in a completely platonic way that has nothing at all to do with the hollow in his throat that is now looking all kinds of lickable.
"I'll get you some water and aspirin," she smiles at him, even though he will not see.
"Thank you," even hung-over he is the consummate gentleman.
The bottle of aspirin in the bathroom had not been there when she went to sleep the night before – he was out much later than she was – so it must have been placed there by whoever was smart enough to know that Enjolras would need it this morning.
She grabs a glass and fills it with tap water, making sure to get Enjolras two aspirins – she is judging this by how tense he usually is. He must have tension headaches all of the time, and two aspirins would probably do the trick better for this hangover. She hopes that this is the only weird health issue he has gotten from that bachelor party, and knowing him it probably is. He would have stayed far away from the craziest stuff.
"Please don't open the curtains," he begs as she comes back for him.
"I'll keep it nice and dark," she promises, sitting on his side of the bed and holding his relief in her hands. "Now come sit up for your medicine, you doofus."
Having to treat him so differently is weird for her, but she can manage as long as he gets back to normal after taking these pills. He is usually the mature one in this partnership, and now that he is like this little boy who just wants sleep, she is just not quite sure how to handle him. Treating him like she used to treat Gavroche feels a bit wrong.
"I am sorry for this," he tells her, throwing the pills back with ease.
He makes a funny face after swallowing his pills and water, and she has to giggle because he is just that adorable and she will probably never again get the chance to see the great Enjolras so out of his comfort zone. Oh, this is just too good.
"Nah, it's fine," she tells him, putting the glass on the nightstand. "I think you've dealt with a lot more of my shit than you ever had to bother with. We're good, 'Jolras."
It is perfectly normal to just crawl back into bed and lay down right next to him. The sheets are so soft and his presence next to her is so comforting that she could almost fall asleep again, but she will not do that. Although, she is still perfectly happy to tug the sheets up higher and lie there with him and forget the world – just like in that way overplayed Snow Patrol song. With him she can be that girl, at least for now.
"I'm sorry about Marius," he tells her, his voice still all liquid sexy.
"Marius is a stupid shit," she tells him in response, turning to face him in the bed.
They are now both lying on their sides, facing each other in the gigantic bed that usually keeps them far enough apart so that they won't ever have to touch each other. Now that they are actually looking at each other and still in bed together, things get a little more awkward than they were before. But that is only normal in this kind of situation, or at least she thinks so, and she is not going to make a big deal out of it.
"You start listening to me now?" he teases, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"I just could not deny your wisdom any longer," she tells him in return.
That makes him laugh, and he grasps his own head in pain before she can point out that showing sincere emotions can hurt pretty badly when one has a hangover. She has learned this from experience, but she has never really had someone there next to her to take care of her the morning after a long night. Next time she is really drunk or hung-over, she is going to call him up to take care of her, just for shits and giggles. He will never owe her anything after this, but she could definitely try.
His presence is just extremely comfortable when he is quiet and warm.
"Is this okay?" he asks, holding her in these warm arms – that explains the sudden heat.
"I would be more worried about it being okay with you," she makes herself more comfortable, snuggling closer for security. "But if you're okay, I'm okay."
She never would have expected this of him, but she cannot blame him for seeking out warmth and comfort when he is feeling sick and uncomfortable. She is basically being his hot water bottle at this point, and even the Marble Man can want that.
"It is actually quite nice to have someone here with me," he tells her softly.
"Is it terrible of me to be surprised by that?" she asks, not sure what to say.
It is odd to be this close to him when they are not trying to fool anyone – even though they were almost this close last night during their dance. Just, now that they are in bed and they are both wearing a lot less clothes than the night before – even the Sexy Dress ™ covers more than her sports bra and panties – it is a lot less easy to think about this as simply a platonic embrace between two friends. She and Marius have never done the underwear cuddle, and while she hates that, she cannot stop thinking about how she is doing that right now with the man of marble. This should not be happening.
"It is only expected," his dark voice is still there, and she shivers.
"I didn't sneeze in your jacket last night," she changes the subject happily. "And I didn't tip the cabbie. He kept trying to look at me while he was driving."
The entire experience was extremely uncomfortable and she has never been so glad for anyone's gentlemanly behavior. She would not have been able to deal with it if she had not had his jacket to cover her up and to keep her warm.
"I am sorry," he once again apologizes for something that is not his fault.
"Me too," she acknowledges it anyway. "I'm sorry I wore the silly dress."
At this point she just wants to throw the dress in the trash or sell it online – because she never wants to see the stupid thing again. It was a silly impulse buy for a stupid situation like the one Enjolras was wise to make her avoid, and now there is nothing left to go with it except for letting it gather more and more dust in the back of her closet.
"It was not that silly," Enjolras seems hesitant to tell her this particular thing, his voice cracking. "You in that dress, that could crack even the hardest rock."
"Even marble?" she asks, just out of curiosity.
Why she would even want to know is beyond her, but she asks the question anyway. It is not because cracking the Marble Man would be a great feat to accomplish, because he is more than a thing to finish on her to do list. He means more to her than that, and she is just not the kind of person who can ever treat someone like that. Still, her curiosity might end up killing the proverbial cat. Did she crack the marble somehow?
"Who knows?" his tone of voice is forcibly light.
There is nothing that she can possibly say to that that will not make things awkward or bring back his headache. She likes being in his arms for now, and she is not about to do anything that will end her comfortable situation. How is she ever supposed to be comfortable in her own crappy bed without warm arms to hold her?
Maybe she is going to have to get a better mattress when the next check comes in.
They are both silent for a while longer, both seemingly not knowing what to say to each other, at least until they hear footsteps coming closer to them. The hallway echoes these steps, making Enjolras groan with the sound. The hangover is still bothering him.
"I don't want to talk to anyone," he does not move away from her though.
His head is now hidden, his breath blowing onto her neck and making her shiver. The cuddling is still so new to her – and to him too, probably – that every move he makes is a new delight to discover. They have gotten quite physical already, with her legs wrapped around his waist and his hands on her ass and their pelvises connecting, but they have never been close in this way. They are still so strange to each other.
"I don't want to move," he tells that dirty secret in a soft tone of voice.
"Maybe if we're silent they will just go away," she hopes for this with all her heart.
The footsteps are finally at their room, which means that the person is wanting to see one or both of them – which is not something that they need at this point. They are both watching the door handle jiggle. The door opens and R waltzes in with dramatic flair.
"Good morning lovers," his voice is too light and happy for someone who went to a bachelor party the night before and drank himself silly.
"Fuck off," 'Jolras curses angrily. "I know that you switched my drinks last night."
She probably should not find Enjolras' cursing sexy, but she kind of does. It is hilarious to think that she might have had this kind of effect on him, but she thinks that blaming his hangover and his anger at R for causing it is much more accurate. Still, the thought of him losing it and cussing – possibly during sex – is just really fucking hot, and it does not even have a thing to do with attraction. Just seeing a man like 'Jolras letting loose and letting go is an aphrodisiac for a wild woman like her.
"Just leave us alone R," she is not in the mood for any of her friend's usual crazy antics this morning. "There has been enough drama for now. Also, 'Jolras has a hangover because of you, so I imagine he is not very happy with you. Basically: run."
Okay, so the little reference added at the end might have been a bit too much, but it fit too well not to use it. Also, while she absolutely loves R's brand of drama, after everything that she has had to go through over the last twenty-four hours, she is not in the mood to deal with any of it. She is trying really hard to deal with things, and being alone in bed with Enjolras is somehow helping her with that – R's presence is only going to make things worse, because he is going to want to make a big deal out of this cuddling and their lack of clothes. This does not have to mean anything if she does not want it to mean anything – and she really does not want it to mean anything, because she has no need of meaning at the moment. Meaning eventually just brings pain.
"I just wanted to verify that you were the couple dancing last night," R is grinning.
"Fuck," she is now cussing out loud as well. "You saw us?"
That definitely puts a damper on things. As long as their dance was kept as a dirty little secret just between the two of them, then it did not have to be anything more than it was – just two friends trying to find comfort and sanctuary. She does not know his reasons to need these things, but she is trying to stay out of his business in that aspect.
"What was that all about?" R is sitting at the foot of the bed, happily gossiping.
"Do you really want to know?" 'Jolras waits for a nod. "It's none of your damn business."
The pouty, disappointed look on R's face is pretty priceless, and since she no longer has 'Jolras breathing down her neck in a rather literal way, she can easy turn to smile at her bed buddy because his way of drawing R in was beautiful. He knows just how to deal with his friend in a way that is funny and heartfelt and so typical of them that she now sees why the two of them stayed friends even through R's love for him.
"That was a nice dress, by the way," R turns to her and grins.
"This is just one of those things that are going to stay between us, R," she has to make him understand. "Just don't tell Marius – or anyone really – that you saw us last night."
No one else is going to be able to understand what happened last night, and while they can make R promise to stay quiet about it, she is sure that they will never be able to extract a similar promise from all of the other Amis. If this gets out beyond the borders of the room, there will be hell to pay for all of them.
"For you, my dear, I will," R gets up from the bed to stare at the both of them.
"Now kindly buzz off," Enjolras is still feeling less than perfect, and they can probably all tell that a little too well. "My head still hurts and your voice makes it worse."
She will probably never understand why men are all such dipshits to each other even when they are probably each other's very best friends. Still, instead of telling each other how important they are, they have to use names and insult each other.
"You deserve it," R completely goes along with this thing.
"You deserve worse," Enjolras' reply feels like it's an old joke. "Thanks R. It was fun."
And that was all he had to say from the beginning – even though it was not what she was expecting as the outcome of this conversation. It seems as if Enjolras occasionally needs to be forced into having fun, and there is no one better to help with having fun than R Grant. Maybe the amount of alcohol consumed over the course of the night was too much for him to take, but Enjolras actually had fun. She cannot help but be glad that she did not ruin the entire night for him – which is something she had feared.
"That is all I wanted to hear from you," R grins and turns away. "Continue cuddling!"
R exits the room, leaving them in their same old cuddling position, with nothing left to say to each other. They are quiet then, because there is nothing left to talk about now that R has said pretty much everything that needed to be said.
"He did give us permission," Enjolras continues to be happy with her in his arms.
"I did not peg you as a big cuddler," she just cannot let it go.
A part of her wants to hear him say that he is only like this with her, for whatever reason, but probably just because she wants to be special to someone again. She knows that she is not all that special to Marius these days, and while some of the boys may consider her somewhat of a friend – she is not anyone's best friend any longer. R is probably Enjolras' best friend, but she will settle for being his only cuddle buddy.
"I do not usually have anyone to cuddle," he replies in a soft voice, still holding her close to him. "I am not usually a person who cuddles. But I'm not usually hung-over either."
That probably only constitutes a real explanation in his mind, the mind that is still seriously suffering from his consumption of all that alcohol. So, he probably means that this is only going to happen when he is hung-over and she is nearby. Which is pretty much the same thing as saying that this is a one-time deal.
She is just going to cuddle up closer and make herself more comfortable if this is indeed the last time that this will happen. She needs this kind of human contact too, and she has not gotten any in a long time – Gavroche got too cool for hugs a few years ago.
"Let's just enjoy it while it lasts," she tells him, deciding to forget the future for a while.
The future probably has nothing good planned for her anyway.
"I can do that," he tells her, and she can feel herself drifting off.
Somehow she knows that she will sleep very well.
AN: Cuddles! Yep, I'm a big fan! Let me know your favorite lines/moments/parts/etc!