Author: Pairing: Enjolras/Bahorel Rating: PG-13
"Bahorel, this is not the place for this," Enjolras protested in an angry whisper, trying to keep the larger man off of him.
Bahorel considered this, then decided it wasn't important. "Nobody's here but us," he pointed out, playing with the buttons on Enjolras' shirt.
Enjolras tried to tell him that Grantaire was over in the corner (dead drunk, but there nonetheless), but he was silenced by a kiss. When he was released, he hissed, "Do you know what they would do if they caught us? These men idolize me. You know they do. They've got it into their heads that I'm some sort of god. At least, that one has. The others are a good deal more rational. By the way, he's still here."
"So they'd be jealous of me. Your point?"
"The day is near when they will have to follow me, quite possibly to their deaths. I..."
"Don't you love me?"
"Yes, you bastard, of course I do. Now let's leave?" Enjolras fixed his hair, grabbed his coat and hat, and was out the door. Bahorel followed him, though he wasn't happy.
"Where are we going now?" he wanted to know.
"Your place?" Enjolras suggested.
"Fine." They walked in silence until they got there. As soon as they were inside, Bahorel pressed him against the wall, knocking off his hat, and kissed him passionately. Enjolras begged for a moment to get out of his clothes; it was granted, and Bahorel took advantage of the time as well. Then they returned to what they had been doing. Bahorel roughly pulled the red ribbon from Enjolras' hair and buried his hands in the golden locks, pulling the boy closer to him. "My princess..." he whispered.
Enjolras grew suddenly furious, pushing Bahorel away from him. "Don't ever call me that, bastard!" he shouted, his blue eyes cold. "They respect me, but to you I'm princess? I'll not stand for that. Maybe I'll bed with Combeferre. He knows how to treat a man."
"Get on the bed," Bahorel ordered.
Enjolras complied, but continued to yell at him. "When the day comes, don't expect any special consideration. You'll be as dead as the rest of us, should it come to that. I hope you realize that."
"Only let me die by your side, and I will be content," Bahorel said theatrically.
"What makes you think I'll grant you that?" Enjolras shot back.
"You love me."
"Yes. Yes, I do." His voice regained a normal volume. "But my love for the Republic is far greater. You are just an earthly pleasure, nothing more."
"Would you permit this mere earthly pleasure to--"
"You know you need not ask." Enjolras paused. "I'm naked in your bed, am I not?"
"Fearless Leader has a point."
"Don't call me that, either. I come to you to get away from all that. It's exhausting, you know."
Bahorel stifled a laugh. Enjolras shot him a glare, demanding to know what was so terribly amusing. Bahorel explained, "So preparing to lead a revolution is exhausting, but what we're about to do isn't?"
Enjolras sighed. "Just fuck me."
* * * * *
Enjolras pulled Bahorel aside after the next day's meeting. After looking around to make sure that they were indeed alone, he said, "What do you think you were doing? Oh, don't give me that look like you don't know what I mean." Bahorel had had his hand on Enjolras' leg for most of the meeting. It went a little past normal manly friendship behavior. Enjolras didn't think anyone had noticed, or thought anything of it if they had, but if he were wrong about that, there would be consequences. "Did I not tell you that you are not to touch me in public?"
"I didn't think--"
"Yes, I'm aware of that. You didn't think."
"Well, did anyone notice? No." Bahorel answered his own question.
"We don't know that for sure. No one shot us, or ran screaming from the room, that is true. But we can't give them reason to suspect anything."
Bahorel, seeming to ignore him, moved to touch Enjolras' face.
"No, Sebastien." Enjolras pushed his hand away. "This--it's not going to work anymore." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "We've come too close to being discovered, on more than one occasion. It wasn't just tonight; you know that as well as i do."
Bahorel didn't admit it, but he got a thrill out of the element of danger in their relationship. He was willing to give that up, though, for Enjolras. "All right, then," he agreed, "we'll keep it in my flat from now on."
"That's not what I mean," Enjolras clarified. "Even a private relationship can be made public, by no fault of those in it. I can't afford to have that happen. I've told you before-it would ruin everything. None of them would follow a man who had been having unnatural relations. None of them. And why should they? The Bible forbids it, society forbids it... It's wrong, Sebastien."
"No one will find out," Bahorel promised.
"Bahorel." Enjolras' voice was stern, but perilously close to breaking. "We can't do this anymore." He hoped he had finally gotten the message through to him. "I wish it weren't so. Perhaps the new Republic will be more accepting." He kissed him one final time.