#this is the group chat we use to bitch about laundry and plan who's hosting the next drinks night cmon guys

[holy-anxiety-batman]

Christ ALIVE nobody fights like film majors and english majors fight.

[if-you-built-yourself-a-myth]

Best Laid Plans

Eliott was the kind of boyfriend who remembered that he and Lucas were coming up on the nine-month anniversary of their first kiss. Also the kind that planned something for it. It was probably bad to admit, but when he’d gone home after kissing Lucas, he’d penciled in the milestone for each month and waited for the best time to spring the celebration. He couldn’t help it. Even then, something in him had known that Lucas was the last person with whom he’d ever fall in love. Now he could see the payoff in the not-so-distant future. Finally, he would get to give Lucas a small taste of the happiness that Lucas had given him in the Polaris tunnel so long ago. 

Yann and Basile told him they would be free to help that weekend. Arthur said something about a family dinner, and while Eliott didn’t believe a word of the excuse, he couldn’t help but smile when Arthur promised to come later and stay to clean up. Lucas had such great friends. Eliott’s uni friends actually took time out of their day to study on the weekends instead of hosting parties—the audacity! Yann chipped in beer money and Basile promised to get the girls in on the surprise.

Daphne, of course, couldn’t wait to plan something else. 

“He’s friends with Imane,” she ranted to Eliott over lunch at a café. “Imane could invite him out to study for something, and we could have the party then. He never questions Imane.”

“Where would she ask him to study?”

Daphne didn’t even flinch. “A restaurant. Somewhere nice but not fancy.” 

Eliott shrugged. “I kind of wanted to surprise him in the place where it happened.”

“Then you can take him there from the restaurant. After food.”

Eliott thought about the plan for a second. It seemed airtight. Now that he was on good terms with Idris, Sofiane, and the others, he’d had them over at his and Lucas’s apartment to hang out several times. They brought Imane with them, and she and Lucas would talk for hours. Lucas would follow Imane anywhere with no explanation. 

“What restaurant will he like?” he asked Daphne.

“That’s your job to decide,” she replied. “You’re his boyfriend.”

Even after almost nine months, hearing the word boyfriend in relation to Lucas and himself gave Eliott butterflies in his stomach. No one in the history of ever could be as lucky as he was. 

Pasta. Lucas was a pasta kind of guy. Imane would have to lead Lucas to a place that served pasta, and then everything from there on in would fall right into place. 

As Eliott and Daphne got up to leave the café, he pulled her into a hug. “Thank you for your help.”

Daphne made a pssh sound. “I live for this sort of thing,” she said. “If Basile had let me, I would have planned my own surprise party.” 

There was no doubt in Eliott’s mind she was speaking the truth.

-~-

“Any plans for Saturday?” Eliott tried to sound nonchalant as he stirred the eggs around in the pan. Lucas was probably too tired to pick up on any hints of what was to come, but he didn’t want to take any risks and ruin the surprise.

Lucas took another bite of his toast. “Going to study with Imane.”

“Here? Should I clean the living room?”

They both turned to look at their mess of a home. Eliott rented the apartment because it was close to his university campus, and it seemed fitting to ask Lucas to live with him. Manon needed her room to herself. Although several months had passed since the move, they had yet to remove all of Lucas’s odds and ends from cardboard boxes, which now littered the floor. It would be impossible to clear it all in a day or two.

“No.” Lucas shook his head. “Absolutely not here.”

“What’s so bad about here?”

“Nothing, but Imane spends enough time in this dump as is. Not here.”

Eliott removed the pan from the heat and scraped his culinary masterpiece onto two plates for Lucas and himself to enjoy. Without all the funky spices and desire to experiment, he really was a good cook. Also, Manon gave him lessons on how to make a few things before Lucas moved out. 

He handed a plate to Lucas. “I don’t know many places beyond here.”

“It’s some restaurant or something.”

Excellent, so the plan had fallen into place. Eliott didn’t need to know any more about the situation. As soon as he finished his eggs, he would text Daphne and thank her again for her planning skills. Then he’d text Imane and tell her he loved her for playing along. 

“I don’t know why it’s a restaurant,” Lucas continued. “We don’t go to restaurants normally.” He paused to grab a fork and swallow a bite of egg. “She’s using me as an excuse to eat pasta.” Even half asleep, he perked up in confidence at this theory. “She’s using me to eat pasta!”

“What an Imane thing to do.” 

“Yeah. Doesn’t matter though ‘cause Arthur and I are just gonna—” 

Eliott tuned out the next few words by accident. There were two days remaining. He had to focus too much on shooting a message to Yann, using only his left hand and making quite a few typos in the process. It was time to complete the itinerary.

-~-

goodgalimane: We’re on our way

goodgalimane: He’s making fun of me for wanting to go here

goodgalimane: @srodulv Come get your man

y4z4s: aww 

basile_simple: we’re set

daph.pink: ready when you are

thank you imane <3

Eliott waited at a booth near the back of the building. He’d thought about wearing a suit and tie for such an important event, except there would be booze and Lucas would most definitely be partaking. He didn’t want to get anything sloppy on a nice outfit. He wore his normal brown jacket, a t-shirt with a picture of Polaris’s constellation, cuffed blue jeans: nicer than usual, in a subtle way Lucas would love. The rest of his friends were dressed to the nines in a similar fashion. Each had put a lot of care into their outfit for the event. Basile wanted to go for the tux, and only Eliott’s veto had stopped him.

When Lucas arrived, Yann and Basile would join him and Imane at the table and claim to have been invited as well. They would chat for a little bit, order some food, and eat as per normal. After the meal, the boys would request dessert. Eliott would come over with the cake he’d baked with Manon that morning, and it would be party time. Everyone knew this portion of the master plan, even the waitstaff. They didn’t know about the box Eliott had in his hand. That part, he decided, would be better if it was a surprise for everyone involved. 

He turned the box over and over in his fingers. Feeling it made it real, and oh, how he loved that it was real. Nine months seemed about time for something like this, especially with Eliott and Lucas’s legendary chemistry. 

They would go to the Polaris tunnel after cake to continue the party with music and dancing. It was extra, Eliott knew it, but Lucas deserved something extra for all he had to put up with.

Eliott’s phone pinged again.

goodgalimane: guys, something’s up

Yann and Basile peaked around into Eliott’s booth, brandishing Yann’s phone between them as if Eliott could not see the message on his own. Eliott noted in passing that Yann still had a photo of Emma as his lock screen, even though they hadn’t even hooked up since July… to Eliott’s knowledge. He pushed their hands away.

manon.demissy: what did you do to him

goodgalimane: Nothing

goodgalimane: He’s out of it

So, tired, thought Eliott, even though he knew that couldn’t be the case. He’d talked to Lucas earlier, and the boy had been more awake than ever before. It was almost as if he’d had a newfound purpose in life. Eliott loved seeing Lucas smile like that. 

“Damnit, Lucas, let us plan one thing!” Basile faked a dramatic faint in his seat. “Give Daphne this one thing.”

“It’s really my thing,” said Eliott, not like it would change Basile’s sentiment on the subject. 

Yann leaned closer to Eliott. “He’s okay, isn’t he? She doesn’t mean he’s sick?”

“No, she doesn’t.” Eliott scrolled to refresh the chat for more messages. “I was with him this morning and he was fine. He told me he was going to do laundry, shower, and then see Arthur and chat about something.”

“He’s seeing Arthur today?”

“Yes, something important for school to talk about.” Eliott’s tone is brusque. “He took a few of our…” He trailed off.

Yann picked up on the realization. “Arthur knows about this, though, he wouldn’t…”

Basile sat back up in the chair. “He definitely would, if their talk was anything scientific.”

They all turned back to their screens as another message pinged through.

goodgalimane: ok it’s for sure. he’s drunk. 

-~-

Lucas teetered on his own feet as he entered the restaurant. While he didn’t have to lean on Imane for support, he looked like he should have a wristband as a fall risk. Every step brought a wobble. Even when Lucas was buzzed out of his mind, Eliott could appreciate the grace that seemed to carry him around; as unstable as they were, his movements melded together like fluid. 

His spiky hedgehog hair gave Eliott another idea for a drawing.

Imane did not look nearly as blissful as her charge. She walked in behind him and shot a death glare at Eliott.

“Did you know about this?”

Eliott pulled his hands back in surrender. “No!” Imane could be scary when she wished, though she probably was not as serious as she sounded. He loved her to death while never daring to cross her. 

“Someone had to have known. Look at him.”

The rest of the group abandoned their hiding places to see the cause of the commotion. Other patrons ducked down over their food and pretended not to listen in on the conversation. Lucas ran into a table.

Okay, maybe not much grace. 

Imane punched Eliott lightly on the shoulder. “You knew about this.” Her grimace turned into the hint of a smile.  “You son of a bitch.”

“I didn’t!”

The ambient noise in the restaurant settled into silence as the other customers became intrigued with whatever weird drama was unfolding around them. A woman at a table close to where Eliott had been sitting quit trying to hide that she was eavesdropping. She inclined her head towards Eliott. Lucas, meanwhile, remained oblivious to the fact his friends had been trying to surprise him. Eliott stood out of his sight line, and Lucas seemed to have dedicated most of his focus to an embroidered picture on the nearest tablecloth.

“Do you do these here?” he asked a waiter, speech so garbled he could be mistaken for a tourist rather than a native French speaker.

Eliott raised his voice a little so Imane could hear him better without having to get closer. “He went out with Arthur earlier, and they might have overdone it?” He could still save the surprise if he could keep out of sight long enough for Lucas to sit down and get something besides booze in his stomach. He wondered what stuff Arthur had to say that inspired something as celebratory as getting completely and totally hammered. 

“Overdone it?” Imane laughed, and forgot the surprise factor. Just as well; Lucas was a bit preoccupied and probably didn’t notice her walking over to Eliott. 

“Yeah, a little.”

“You should call Arthur and make sure he’s still alive. This is way overdone.”

Yes, Eliott would be calling Arthur as soon as they had Lucas sorted out. He was sure Arthur would have some logical explanation for Lucas’s condition, one that made such perfect sense that Eliott couldn’t even be mad about it. He’d still like to know. Arthur knew about the surprise tonight and the party afterwards. He should have picked a better morning to pump Lucas full of alcohol and send him away.

The plan should continue as established. “Let’s just keep with—” 

Lucas’s head shot up from where he’d been studying the tablecloth. His hair, almost gravity-defying, bounced as he did so. Fuck, he was so beautiful. Eliott didn’t realize he’d spoken the last sentence any louder than the previous ones.

“Eliott?” Lucas turned this way and that.

Yann and Basile looked over at Eliott eyes wide. This could have been a gesture of what-are-we-supposed-to-do, or one of how-does-he-know-you-by-a-four-word-unfinished-sentence, but either way the jig was up.

“What?” said Imane, spinning to face Lucas again.

“I heard Eliott.”

“Are you sure?”

“I know his voice. He talks a lot…” The last word of the sentence dragged like a pen rolling off a table. “So much. So much. Especially when we’re going ov—” He stopped short with a gag. The waitstaff stood helplessly at their positions, begging Eliott with their eyes to get his boyfriend out of here. They might have been in on the party in the beginning, before they saw Lucas. Now all bets were off. 

Split-second decisions must be made occasionally. Eliott made his way over to Lucas. He adored the way the smaller boy’s face broke into a grin when their eyes met. 

Lucas tried to pull him down into a kiss before losing his balance and nearly collapsing on the floor. “Baby, what are you doing here?”

Eliott caught him. “Out with your friends is all.”

“Were you following me?”

“They have good pasta here.”

This remark was funny, apparently. Lucas broke into a fit of hysterical laughter. A nearby customer signaled to a waiter. A complaint, no doubt. Eliott and Imane locked eyes, nodded at each other, and then Imane passed the command onto the others with a shake of her head in their direction. Lucas had to get back home. The party would have to wait for another day.

“We have to get you home,” Eliott said to Lucas. 

The other boy whined. “No, I just got here!”

“You’re in the West. C’mon, let’s go home. Bye, Imane.”

Eliott would have helped Lucas walk from the get-go, but his boyfriend waving him off like an annoying fly. “I can go by myself. I’ll go by myself, okay? Go by myself.” The statement inspired a new fit of giggling. 

He took two steps toward the exit, tripped over his own feet, and smacked into the glass door. Not hard enough to do any damage. At this point, the restaurant manager would be out to kick them from the premises at any minute, and no one would blame him. Eliott bent down, scooped up Lucas over his shoulder, and carried him outside. Even if he couldn’t have a huge dramatic party, at least he and his boy could make a huge dramatic exit.

-~-

Lucas splayed out on the bed like a starfish, eyes closed, back to the ceiling. The gentle rise and fall of his body let Eliott know he was still alive. Eliott stood outside the bedroom, looking in, and dialed Arthur’s number on his phone to get the full story. Daphne sent him a few messages he decided to ignore for the time being. The phone line rang once before Arthur answered. 

“Hello?”

“Hey,” Eliott said. “Did you see Lucas today?”

“Is he not with you guys?”

Something fell off the bed in the bedroom. Not Lucas, thank goodness, but the little crash was enough to make the sleeping boy shift around in the blankets.

“No, no, he’s here with me.”

“Oh, good.” Arthur paused. “Just you?”

“Yeah. He’s a bit out of it.”

Rustling on the other end. Perhaps Arthur was sitting up. He seemed to shush someone just far enough away that Eliott couldn’t hear who it was. Probably one of Arthur’s family members, from whatever event he’d said he needed to be at tonight instead of Lucas’s party. “Is he okay?”

“Just drunk.”

“Fuck, really drunk?”

Eliott shrugged, then remembered that Arthur couldn’t see him. “I don’t know,” he said into the receiver. “Drunk enough that we went home. I’m not upset, I just want to know if something was bothering him when he was with you, or if he was drinking too much. That sort of thing.”

“Oh, okay.” More rustling. This time, Eliott could make out the voice of a boy besides Arthur in the background, saying something about cooking dinner and getting a stain out of a sweatshirt. “He was fine when I saw him. Um. Nothing wrong. We may have had a few, but...”

“Don’t worry about it,” Eliott reassured him. From the anxiety on Arthur’s voice, he had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment than Lucas having a few too many. “Are you still planning on cleaning up tonight?” 

“He’ll be there!” called the male voice from the background. “He’ll—hey!” 

Arthur returned to the phone. “Yes, I’ll go. Lucas is a no-go, then, I take it?”

“We’ll see. Thank you.”

“Of course. Anything else I can do, just let me know.” He hung up the phone halfway through the last word. Eliott understood anyway, so no big deal.

 Eliott headed into the bedroom, moved Lucas’s body to one side of the bed, and lay down beside him. If he was angelic while awake, the effect doubled upon sleep. Lucas appeared to the world as an ethereal being from somewhere better and brighter than Earth, someone more beautiful than Eliott could ever imagine having wrapped up in the same comforter as himself. Nine months ago, his life had changed. He’d kissed the best person in the universe in the pouring rain.

“Baby?” Lucas mumbled, a sound that would never get old.

“I’m here,” he answered. 

“I love you.”

“Me too.” Eliott ran a hand through his boyfriend’s fluffy hair. “What did you talk about with Arthur?”

“I’m his guru.”

Eliott didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. No matter. He could ask at a later date, when Lucas was more awake than asleep and not riding the high of alcohol. “It’s a shame. You missed a very nice thing I had planned for today. A whole big party.”

“Party?”

“Yes, a party.” Eliott produced the box from his pocket again, holding it in between their faces on the pillow. “A party for a very special reason. Nine months, Lulu.”

Lucas scanned up and down the box in Eliott’s hands. “You were… proposing?”

“No,” Eliott whispered, half-laughing. He opened the box to a small picture of a Pomeranian puppy. “I was thinking we would get a dog. You and I, together, like you wanted.” Lucas barely reacted to the good news, his eyelids fluttering and fighting to shut. “But you’re not going to remember any of this, are you?”

“Maybe.”

“That’s fine. Means I can use it again.” He pressed a kiss to Lucas’s forehead, listening to his love’s soft breathes as he drifted off to sleep once more. Then Eliott turned back to his phone.

daph.pink: @srodulv can we still have the party?

daph.pink: i already invited people

basile_simple: it would be a shame not to have it now, wouldn’t it?

y4z4s: I already bought the booze

goodgalimane: It would make sense.

He laughed. Only Lucas’s squad would pull shit like this, celebrating the anniversary of a kiss without either of the people who kissed present. 

yeah, that’s fine. Have fun !

He closed out of the app and cuddled up against Lucas. This would be better than a party anyway.