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“Don’t step on my dog!”
Enjolras stopped almost immediately with his foot in the air. Feeling like he was loosing his balance, he let his coffee go and leaned on a bench to avoid the embarrassing fall. The cup slipped off his hand and crushed on the pavement, the liquid stained the edges of his pants, but he couldn’t care less.
He looked at his wrist. The tattoo hadn’t changed in all those years. That sentence written in black ink was unmistakable. Every person he’d ever talked to always told him that a soulmate was someone who’d make him feel safe and accepted, someone who’d tear the world apart for him and would trust him with their whole heart. Enjolras didn’t like soulmates, they scared him. He could've never cared that much about someone else and the simple thought that someone expected him to be like that freaked him out. He didn’t want all those responsibilities and he wasn’t worthy of gaining someone else’s complete trust. Just these thoughts were enough to overwhelm him: his soulmate was destinate to disappointment. There were times when he liked to pretend his soulmate didn’t exist, but now the guy who represented his worst fear and whose sharp handwriting Enjolras’d learnt by heart was right in front of him.
He was lost in his thoughts but he still felt Courfeyrac’s stare on him. His best friend covered his mouth with his hand while smiling and then glanced at the other guy. He was soon followed by Enjolras.
The other guy got closer to his dog, crouching down to check if it was okay. When he was sure the dog wasn’t hurt, he got up and turned to them. This allowed Enjolras to give a better look at his face. He had dark curly hair, long enough to almost cover his green eyes. His beard was pretty long too, he probably hadn’t shaved it for a week. He was wearing a green jacket with underneath a white t-shirt. Both his t-shirt and jeans were covered by paint. He looked either bored or annoyed by the situation.
“Could you please pay attention while walking?” His voice sounded really polite, but in a passive-aggressive way.
Enjolras wasn’t really paying attention to those words, too focused on what to say. These were going to be what the brunette had always got tattooed on his wrist, he could at least say something memorable. He didn't notice he was staring. The other guy, indeed, was feeling observed and looked clearly uncomfortable. He grabbed his dog ready to get as far as possible from that creepy guy. Enjolras started to panic. He had to say something before he left. Anything intelligent would’ve been fine. His thoughts travelled so fast that he wasn’t sure what his brain was trying to tell him. He just decided to say something undeniable.
“Monarchy sucks!” He eventually yelled.
The other guy stopped, his eyes wide open. Enjolras mentally slapped himself. Courfeyrac bursted into a laugh.
“Oh.” That was all he got as a response.
“Yeah, oh .” Enjolras echoed blushing heavily. “By the way, I’m Enjolras.”
“Grantaire” The brunette said while offering his hand, that Enjolras fearfully accepted.
Besides his expectations, Enjolras didn’t feel forced to continue a conversation, but he actually wanted to. The smile that he felt appearing on his own face was terrifying. “You have a nice name”
“Thanks,” Grantaire smiled back. “I got it for my birthday.”
“Damn, you guys are really bad at flirting. A meme? Seriously? That’s the most romantic thing that comes to your minds?” The voice of the forgotten man made the other two guys jump. “Courfeyrac, by the way. I’m the hottest friend.” He offered his hand to Grantaire.
“Yes, nice to meet you.” Grantaire answered, not really taking his eyes off Enjolras.
He looked as he was going to say something else, but he got interrupted by the ringtone of his phone. Grantaire looked at the screen and sighed. “I’m sorry, it’ll take me a minute.”
Enjolras took advantage of that to clear his thoughts.
The moment he’d always feared had come, so now he had no choice but to face it. Was he going to be good enough? The terrifying truth slapped him: he had no idea. What would Grantaire want him to do? To marry him already? Or to take it slowly? He didn’t know the guy. Grantaire might also have been a psychopath as far as he knew. At the same time, though, he felt like he’d known him for years. He looked at Grantaire and watched him pulling his hair behind his ear while talking. It felt familiar. He looked at Grantaire and realized he knew nothing about him, but he wanted to. He wanted to know how he looked just after he woke up or how his hair smelled after a shampoo. That was what his heart desired. It might’ve been scary, but it didn’t matter how much his brain screamed, he had already decided. He didn’t want to run, he wanted to stay. Maybe he wasn’t ready to become a perfect man, but no one ever is. He was going to do his best and matter what, he was never going to make Grantaire regret he was his soulmate. He realized he was smiling. That wasn’t exactly how he planned, but he didn’t care. When Grantaire was going to end the call, he’d ask him out. But then he realized that maybe Grantaire might’ve been the one who didn’t want to hang out with him. He felt his resolution leave his body as fast as it came. He was trying to recollect enough bravery when Grantaire ended the call.
Grantaire looked at the screen and sighed. “I’m really sorry, but I gotta go to work before Eponine, I mean, my best friend” he explained, “kills me.”
Enjolras looked disappointed, but before he got the chance to speak Grantaire got closer to him and handed his phone. "Well, I owe you a coffee, so maybe tomorrow we could…?"
Enjolras stopped, his mouth opened. Grantaire’d spoken softly and wasn't enough brave to look at him in the eyes, too scared of a rejection. Enjolras thought he looked adorable and suffocated a little laugh, thinking the brunette wouldn't have appreciated. Enjolras grabbed the phone with a smile. After they briefly exchanged numbers, Grantaire looked up towards the blonde's blue eyes and smiled back. It was just a little awkward smile but Enjolras could feel his heart melt.
When Grantaire walked away, Courfeyrac couldn't stop laughing about the "stupid smile" on Enjolras' face.
"Now I guess we can't ship you with France anymore."
"Courf, please, shut up." Enjolras said, not really paying attention.
Maybe having a soulmate wasn't that bad after all.