Work Text:
Marius is standing in front of the mirror in Jehan’s bedroom with his tongue sticking out. Jehan really hopes Courfeyrac brings tea soon.
‘How likely do you think she is to closely inspect your tongue?’
Marius turns around. ‘What if we kiss?’
It takes Jehan a moment to fully absorb the question. ‘Does she have eyes in the roof of her mouth?’ Marius just stares at him, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. Jehan sighs. ‘She’s not going to look at your tongue, and even if she was, there is nothing wrong with your tongue. It’s a tongue.’
‘Ith got bumps on.’
‘Those would be your tastebuds.’
Marius puts his tongue back in. ‘But what if we do, though?’ He goes pink, making him look sunburnt, and stares at his feet.
‘How exactly is that a problem?’
‘whtffivfggtnw’, says Marius to his feet. His freckles have almost disappeared under the glow of his cheeks.
‘What?’
‘WhatifI’veforgottenhow?’, Marius says in one breath. ‘The last girl I kissed was in sixth form and I got lipgloss all over my face and I think I might have licked her.’
Jehan considers, head on one side. ‘Right. On the bed, Pontmercy.’
‘Huh?’
He rolls his eyes and pats the bed. ‘Come on.’ Marius sits tentatively down next to him.
‘What are y-’
‘Test run. I’m kind of an expert, you know.’ He leans in. ‘You’d better have brushed your teeth’, he says, as though he doesn’t know Marius has been brushing his teeth at ten-minute intervals all day.
‘W-what about Courfeyrac?’
Jehan chuckles and calls ‘Hey, Courf?’
Courfeyrac appears in the doorway. He’s holding a cup of tea in each hand, which he places on the bedside table. ‘Camomile for Jehan, milk and a frankly obscene amount of sugar for Marius. You called?’
‘I need to snog Marius. Or, let’s be honest, Marius needs to snog me. For his own education and for the sake of poor Cosette.’
‘This is the worst pep talk ever’, Marius mumbles into his tea.
‘Go ahead. Do I get to watch?’
Jehan laughs. ‘Pervert.’
‘Hey, it’s not often I get to watch you kiss people. I feel like we should maybe ask Marius, though, just for the sake of clarity.’ He turns to Marius. ‘You realise that you and Enjolras are more or less the only two people we know he hasn’t snogged? I love it when everyone gets their snog on but Enjolras, it makes the stick up his arse sprout a couple extra twigs.’
Marius grins. It’s a little wobbly, but the wide-eyed terror seems to have subsided. ‘Okay.’ He closes his eyes.
Courfeyrac wolf-whistles as soon as Jehan’s lips touch Marius’s. Jehan feels Marius giggle. He tastes mostly of toothpaste, a little of chocolate, and his lips are surprisingly soft.
‘C’mon, Marius, get in there!’ Jehan nearly breaks away, but Marius surges suddenly forward, startling him. His hand is in Jehan’s hair and his tongue is in Jehan’s mouth and Courfeyrac is cackling in the background. Jehan would be lying if his heart didn’t flutter, just a little. Marius is surprisingly assertive. It’s a little bit hot. His teeth graze Jehan’s lip and Jehan lets out an involuntary whimper.
Marius pulls back, giggling. His lips are wet and slightly swollen. ‘What did you think?’
Jehan clears his throat. ‘You’re, um- I think you’re good.’ Marius goes pink again, but he looks pleased.
‘Thanks for, uh-’
‘It was my pleasure.’ He reaches out and re-arranges Marius’s hair, so that a few stray curls fall artistically over his forehead. ‘There. Handsome and a good kisser. She’s going to love you.’ He gives Marius a last, brief kiss, this time on the cheek. Marius is almost at the door when Courfeyrac sniffs. ‘Wait.’ He grabs Marius’s shirt and sniffs again.
‘What is it? Do I smell bad?’
Courfeyrac is smirking. ‘You smell of perfume. Girls’ perfume. Well, girls and Jehan, but Cosette doesn’t know that.’ He considers. ‘Right, there’s nothing for it. Get the deodorant.’
Marius shows up for his first date with Cosette ten minutes late and smelling powerfully of Axe body spray, and it’s all Jehan’s fault.