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Enjolras stepped into the house with rather mixed feelings. He had fought for so long and he would have never dreamed that he would really be able to manage it. But now he was here the country's youngest Prime Minister and god was he nervous.
"So if you'd follow me, I would like to introduce you to the house staff.", Fantine said leading him through the hallway to a small group of people.
She introduced him to his new driver, cook, and gardener. They all greeted him with sincere smiles and the tension slowly faded. These were nice people, he could deal with them, he actually knew how to be nice.
"Please just call me Enjolras.", he told each of them, "I am not one for formalities. I hope I will be a bit less aggravating than my predecessor."
They laughed at this. The last Prime Minister had had a preference for parties and had invited more than one affair into the house. Needless to say that he hadn't been re-elected.
Fantine next to him cleared her throat. "We are actually just waiting for the last person of the staff to..."
Just in that moment, the door to one of the kitchens opened and a young man stumbled out with a tray of coffee in his hands. Enjolras immediately noticed that he was handsome in an unconventional way. While the rest of the staff were wearing impeccable crisp shirts, while his was a bit crinkled. His curly black hair looked upright chaotic and he had a slight stubble on his cheeks.
Shit, he was absolutely Enjolras' type.
"Ah I am late, fuck, I am so sorry Prime Minister, there was a problem with the coffee maker. Is it a good enough apology if I said the coffee was for you.", he came to a halt and put the tray down on a table. "And now I just said fuck in front of the Prime Minister. Oh my god I was afraid I'd say shit and now I said fuck and oh I should shut up."
He closed his mouth, with a terrified expression. Fantine rolled her eyes at him fondly and Enjolras couldn't help laughing at the young man.
"It's fine.", he replied trying very hard not to get lost in the man's blue eyes.
Goddammit, he was Prime Minister, not a fifteen-year-old.
"Thanks for the coffee. And as I already told the rest, none of this Prime Minister-nonsense, please. Just Enjolras.", he held out his hand with a smile.
"Okay, I am Grantaire, I am looking forward working for you."
They shook their hands smiling.
*
Soon he and Grantaire fell into a routine that made his drearier days in the office much more bearable.
It had started in his first week when Grantaire came into his office first thing in the morning with a huge cup of coffee. "Drink it, you look like you'd need it.", he set it and a plate with chocolate cookies down on the table, casually sweeping away the records Enjolras should have read. "I was reading that!", he retorted. But that only earned him an eye-roll from Grantaire."Nah you have been staring at the pages. It's your first cabinet meeting isn't it?"
Uh, thanks for reminding. Enjolras was definitely not nervous...
Absolutely not. It was more the feeling of slowly dying inside. He only nodded and grabbed the cup.
"Ah so you are nervous, you won't remember your facts?", Grantaire's expression was sympathetic.
Enjolras only nodded again, taking a close look at the chocolate cookies.
"Ah come one, you can totally do this."
"Why are you so sure of that?", he wasn't even sure why he was asking that.
"Why do you think you have chocolate cookies on your plate?", Grantaire shot back.
"Uhm, because it's your job to bring me snacks and because apparently, I looked miserable when I walked in this morning."
"Ah yes that, too. But also because I hoped you would win the election. Because you convinced me. And believe me, I am the hardest person to convince. If the other guy would have won, I would bring him the boring cookies, that taste like cardboard."
Those words and the broad smile on Grantaire's face made the bad feeling fade. He smiled back, offering one of the cookies to Grantaire. "Thanks. If you're so hard to convince, would you want to listen to my speech?"
Grantaire took the cookie. "It's not like there is another Prime Minister in need of my mad coffee making skills."
*
And like that, they started to spend time together.
It wasn't much, Enjolras schedule was crazy. Still, he tried to find to talk to Grantaire over a cup of coffee. In the beginning, it had been all about his work, mostly him presenting speeches to Grantaire. He usually only brought them up to Combeferre, his best friend and also personal advisor to Courfeyrac, also best friend and best media spokesperson one could wish for.
But the two of them already knew him to well if he wanted to get his point to somebody he didn't know, he needed somebody like that for feedback. And Grantaire was perfect for it. He was smart and loved to argue every point he deemed unsatisfactory, while his criticism was still impartial and fair.
After some time they brought their personal life into it. Enjolras told him about Combeferre and Courfeyrac after they had visited him one time (Courfeyrac had declared Grantaire as his new favorite person, after the first cup of coffee).
In return, Grantaire had told Enjorlas about himself. That he lived in a rather shady area with his "family". The last fact ad Enjolras swallow down his disappointment.
"So with family, you mean yourself, your girlfriend and your adorable dog?", he had asked, hoping the slight waver in his voice didn't show.
That only earned him a laugh.
"Yeah no. My family consists of the worlds most terrible woman, who is also my best friend, her little brother, the worlds most wonderful woman and her two boyfriends, who are a hypochondriac and an unlucky fellow. Oh, and my best friend whom I met when he broke my nose in a nasty bar fight. Which for the record, was won by the first woman. She has a mean right hook."
And then added "Also, I am just as much about the 'girlfriend affair' as you are", with a wink before he took off to brew another coffee.
Great, Enjolras had told himself that Grantaire could never be gay and single, so that he wouldn't get his hopes up.
He now was truly fucked.
*
Of course, things had to go pear-shaped and if the president of the USA was involved in that, Enjolras was the last one to be surprised.
He had done the best to keep his growing crush on Grantaire low, but it was slowly getting out of hand.
Then early December the president of the United State came for his big first visit. The relations between the two countries were strained, to put it nicely. Enjolras had insisted they stand their ground but was only supported by the Jehan, the Secretary of State. The rest of his cabinet vehemently tried to talk him into keeping a low profile, at least for the beginning.
And in the end, he gave in. Enjolras knew how stubborn he could be, he would try to play nice for now.
The talk had actually been quite okay in the beginning. He just left the room for about three minutes, greeting Grantaire, who passed him in the hallway bringing coffee, with a tense smile and it went to hell.
When he came back into the room, he found the president too close to Grantaire a hand on the other man's upper arm and whispering something into his ear. Grantaire was almost pressed against the wall, definitely trying to get out of the situation. Enjolras just caught a glimpse of Grantaire's shocked expression, before he cleared his throat to make his presence known. Grantaire jumped and fled the scene, with his head bent low, while the other politician just smiled arrogantly.
Enjolras gritted his teeth and continued their discussion right where they had stopped it.
He actually lost it in the press conference later that day. Enjolras had been beyond pissed, since the incident, he hadn't seen Grantaire around anymore and his guest continued to be a pain in the ass.
So when a reporter asked him, how the two countries relations would
change during his term of office he cast all the warning Courfeyrac had given him aside and finally spoke his mind.
"I think these two countries had had a rather unfair relationship in the last years. In my opinion one of us has to finally realize he can't do everything on his own, treating their partners with contempt. It's an easy concept, nobody likes bullies and I am not afraid of standing up against one. I guess it will be my job to show you the rings around you, Mr. President. A relationship in which one party is only taking, and taking what isn't theirs, in particular, is anything but healthy. So I will say, the relationship will change, and we will be equals from now on."
During his speech he hadn't dared to look at the American to his left, but at the reporters. He saw Courfeyrac standing in the back of the room, clapping wildly with all the reporters, who were impressed by his speech. Even Combeferre, although he was a bit paler than usual, was clapping along with an unbelieving expression. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a movement in the doorway to his right and he saw Grantaire standing there. He smiled at him and gave him a thumbs-up before he disappeared again.
He felt like he was flying.
*
But who flew, was likely to crash.
The thing was, Grantaire was distracting him and he made his temperament come out, the whole US-affair could have blown up in his face and he was more than lucky that it hadn't. So not two weeks later, he made a decision he hated.
"Fantine, I just need to ask you something,"
"Yes, Sir?"
"It's... it's not like a real problem, but do you think there is a place... Better suited for Grantaire?"
"I... yes, of course, Sir. I'll see what I can too."
"Please send him away with the best references. It's not about him."
He hated himself and now he was heartbroken on top of it all.
The new employee was less fun, barely talked and Enjolras no longer got the chocolate cookies.
*
"Enjolras you look like shit. When was the last time you have had a full night of sleep?", Courfeyrac was sitting on his chair 'feeling important' as he had called it, while he was spinning around like a ten-year-old.
"Hm, I just don't sleep well at the moment, okay?"
"You didn't sleep well since the Yankee has visited, what has happened?"
Damn his amazing friends and their amazing perception-skills.
"Nothing, I am just tired.", he felt a bit like a petulant child and less like the most important man in the country.
"Aha. And does this nothing have anything to do with the fact that Grantaire isn't working here anymore?", Combeferre wasn't even looking up from the paper he was reading.
"What? I loved his coffee! Enjolras what have you done?", Courfeyrac was joining in and Enjolras hoped they would just leave it be.
Having Grantaire transferred had been the worst decision he had ever made, and that included the one time he had protested high schools' choice of canteen food with an (unsurprisingly ineffective) food strike. But he knew that his crush would probably end up in a disaster. He also knew that those four years were his only chance to prove himself as Prime Minister, he couldn't afford to make mistakes, or be distracted. He had plans, he wanted to make this country a better place to live, he couldn't allow himself to fail.
He told Combeferre and Courfeyrac as much. And, bless his two friends, they only nodded understandingly before they embraced him in a much-needed group hug. He felt a bit less miserable about the whole affair.
"You know, he doesn't work for you anymore.", Courfeyrac said offhandedly after a few minutes of them just staring at the carpet trying to come up with a plan.
"Yes, I very much know this, since I was the idiot who practically fired him!", Enjolras hissed.
"No no no! Think of it, you amazingly smart idiot. He doesn't work for you anymore. So why don't you just date him now?"
Well. To be honest Enjolras hadn't really considered this.
He really was an idiot.
*
In the end, he was not only an idiot but also a coward and it took him until Christmas Eve to finally do something about the whole situation.
He had needed two more weeks, what Courfeyrac considered hilarious as well as frustrating.
Enjolras was sitting in his living room, soft Christmas music coming from the speakers, while he was reading through a selection of Christmas cards that had been left for him.
All of them spoke highly of him, praising his politics and how he presented himself.
And then he saw the address on one. It was close to Grantaire's. It was Christmas and if he hadn't been such a coward he could be spending Christmas with Grantaire and his weird family of friends. Instead, he sat here on his own.
He grabbed his phone and called Courfeyrac.
"Yes? Did you start a nuclear war or why are you calling me?", he giggled and Enjolras heard a second muffled voice in the background, that sounded weirdly familiar.
"My driver has the day off, I need you to take me somewhere."
"And why should I do that?", Courfeyrac knew exactly what or rather who this was about, that little shit.
"Oh god... For the sake of love?!"
"That's what I wanted to hear, we'll be there in ten!"
The drive to Grantaire was spent with Enjolras wondering why Coufeyrac was spending his Christmas with Jehan, he didn't even know that the two of them knew each other. They arrived at Grantaire's street soon enough, but Enjolras was faced with the next problem. He had no idea in which house the other man lived. "Yeah, then let's search for him. We'll take the right side of the street!"
And so Enjolras went through a shady part of town, knocking on doors, looking for love."
"Does Grantaire live here?"
"No, are you a carol singer?"
"Uhm no..."
"Oh please sing something!"
"Does Grantaire live here?"
"No, but aren't you...?"
"Ah yes I guess I am. Merry Christmas!"
"Huh, I always imagined you taller and older."
"Does Grantaire live here?", he asked exhaustedly. It was like the tenth house and he was slowly wondering if he had remembered the right street. The woman in front of him mustered him with suspicion. "I don't know. Why do you want to know that." Enjolras looked at her. She was skinny with long brown hair and she looked older like she probably was. Her lips were pressed together and she seemed to think about punching him in the face.
That must be the best friend.
And sure enough, just as he was about to answer, a small kid emerged from another room, wearing what looked like a big octopus on his head.
"Ép, where's R I think I lost a tentacle! R, where are you??"
Enjolras flinched at the shouting, but his heart started racing as he heard somebody coming down the stairs. A well-known voice he had missed hearing shouted back:"You little shit I told you not to wear it in the house. Éponine! I lost my fucking scarf and Bossuet has cut himself shaving, according to Joly he is going to die. Why are you looking at me like this OH FUCK NO!"
Enjorlas tried his best to not look miserable at the greeting. This was not the reaction he had hoped for.
"Hi."
Grantaire blinked at him unbelievingly but recovered fast enough. "Okay, yeah look I am sorry, but I have a nativity play, to get to.", he gestured at Gavroche.
"I... could I come with you?"
Grantaire looked at Éponine, who just shrugged. "Yeah, but we will need your car."
And that's the story of how Enjolras was the first Prime Minister, who ended up squeezed into his car's backseat with a middle-schooler dressed as an octopus sitting between and the person, who was probably the love of his life.
They didn't tell you that in the job description.
Amazing.
They didn't say much until Grantaire broke the silence leaning forward to talk to Jehan.
"Wait aren't you the secretary of state?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, Courfeyrac!Well done!"
"Don't high-five the driver are you crazy? ...Wait, you two are dating? Since when?"
"Shh! I am trying to remember my text!"
"You are an octopus, do you even have text?"
"Of course I do."
*
They arrived at the school just in time for the play to start and Éponine took Gavroche by the hand to get him backstage. The others also took off to the main door, even Courfeyrac and Jehan joined them. Enjolras hesitated. "I really shouldn't go in there. This is about the children, nobody wants a sleazy politician to ruin it. I am sorry." Grantaire only shook his head. "No, you are not running away again. Come on this once was my school and I am sure I can get us backstage without anybody noticing."
And he did. About fifteen minuted later they were backstage and able to see Gavroche's stellar performance.
He really had three lines to say to Jesus, it was very heart-warming.
"So, I guess you didn't drop by out of boredom, did you?", Grantaire asked, just as some small kids dressed as sheep passed them. Enjorlas sighed, ah yes he had totally forgotten about the whole confessing his feelings part of the night.
"No, no I wanted to see you. And explain myself, I guess.", he rubbed his neck. That was much harder than any speech he had ever held. "Look, Grantaire this is... I am shit at feelings. But I like you, I liked you since the first time you brought me the good cookies. You also were right by the way the other ones taste like cardboard.
The point is, you are nice, you are so fucking smart and I loved talking to you every day, but that scene with the president. You made me lose my temper because I was so jealous. And I can't afford to lose my temper in this job. So I asked to transfer you, just to find out that I was miserable without you, my speeches aren't as good without you and I felt like something was missing. I was missing you. It's just... I like you, I like you very, very much. And I am so sorry I was such a coward. Could you give me another chance?"
He looked at Grantaire, who hadn't shown much of a reaction during his little speech. But now he started to laugh until somebody shushed him.
Oh yes, the nativity play.
"Enjolras you are an idiot, a very loveable idiot.", there it was the smile Enjolras had missed during those miserable last weeks.
"I am glad you came tonight. And I like you, too. I like you very much." He let out another laugh before he lunged forward and kissed Enjolras.
It felt amazing, more than he could have ever dreamed of and he wanted this to never end.
But it did, as he noticed that everything around them had gone weirdly still before he heard roaring applause.
He broke off the kiss and looked around.
Shit, they were no longer standing backstage because somebody had let the curtain, that had secluded them from the stage, fall. He could swear he saw the glimpse of a tentacle, close to the curtain.
"Shit, what should we do now?", Grantaire whispered, hiding his smile in the crook of Enjolras' neck.
"Just uh smile, wave and then walk away slowly."
"So much for causing a stir."
"You will get used to it."
"Oh, will I?"
"I guess, I think that comes with being a Prime Ministers' boyfriend."