Huff, Puff, and Blow ( A Les Mis Fic)

[frolicking periwinkle]

Since I am so desperate for a hopelessly sneezey Javert fic, I decided to write it. Over abundance of sneezey fluff. Not so much for plot.

Part 1:

Although Javert went out of his way to make certain that no one ever saw him in a weakened state, he was certain that he was done in every fall. Fall was when the weather turned wetter and the mold spores grew on the trees in the area. Normally, he enjoyed living in the suburban area outside of Paris. It was lovely all year long, and Cosette was able to make the most darling friends. Not to be fooled, he always kept an eye out for predators, even in their safe neighborhood. But, with Jean there as a counter balance, he didnt mind if people called him an old wolf or guard dog. He had not had an easy upbringing, and he would fight to protect his family at all costs.

This year had been particularly bad, with a host of rainy days and then some warm and muggy days to follow. The very air was oppressive and he swore that the mold was already floating in the air, even though the news reports said that they were having good air purity. He had developed a bit of a wheeze, and although Jean was concerned, Javert was positive that everything was all right. This was just part of his allergy.

That is until he was walking through the park that morning. There had been another storm the night before and everything was wet and slick. He imagined that the slipperiness was the mold from the leaves, spreading out into a slime. The whole idea made him feel claustrophobic, and he decided that going home was his best idea. He had to get a shower and into fresh clothes. He had to be inside, where the air was as pure as he could get it. He had to get away from

With a jerk, he felt his foot slide out from beneath him and then off to the side as he counterbalanced too hard. Arms out, brown eyes widened in horror as he fell forwards into a pile of leaves that had been raked, but not removed, sometime earlier that morning. Stunned, he took a gasping breath in after he hit, and then another deep breath in order to hold his breath. But, it was too late. He could feel the tickles spreading through his chest, nose, and head. It was as though hundreds of tiny ants were marching within his body and they tickled him furiously. Heh. AttKKESSHH! he sneezed violently into his hands, before realizing that his hands were already covered with the leaf goo.

Using the cuff of his jacket, he tried to wipe what he could off his cheeks, but it only served to move it closer to his nose and eyes. Quickly, he pushed himself up, desperate to get the leaves that had stuck to his woolen uniform off of him. If he felt claustrophobic before, he felt positively suffocated now.

Heheh EHH AH-KETCHOO! The force of the sneeze propelled him forward, causing him to instinctually bring his hands up to his face again. This time, he felt his nose crash into his still wet hands, and he knew he was done-for. He winced thinking about how he would have to take the next day off work. There was no way that he could go into work as miserable as he was certain he would be feeling. In fact, if he could think of anything but the multitudes of ants that felt like they were spreading up his sinuses and down his throat, he would likely have called his commissaire right then.

HEH Ehhh. KETSSHOOO! HAH-SHOO! Wetter than the others, these were also sneezed into his hands and left him with another problem. He had to either blow his nose or sniff the allergen back into his body.

He started to walk the short block home, as one hand covered his nose and the other pat his pockets down for his handkerchief. Upon finding it, however, he found it to be slightly damp from his fall. Breathing out of his mouth, he wondered which would have worse consequences and decided that propriety needed to come first. Quickly, he withdrew his handkerchief, pressed it to his face and blew as hard as he could, resulting in a wet gurgling blow.

He huffed out a panting breath at the end and hoped that the air that hit his tender lungs would somehow help purify them. Too quickly, his wheeze came back, and he knew that he would need a shower as soon as he got in the door.

His chest constricted painfully as he tried to take more deep breaths, burning for his effort. Heh he could feel another sneeze building, and felt as though everything in his head was sliding forward. HeehGuh No no he thought, hoping that no one could see him as he focusing on his home and all but ran there. HEH Eh EHH KEH the sneeze stopped, bringing Javert to a halt. He squeezed his eyes shut as hot allergic tears started to gather in the cornered. He rubbed under his nose, remembering upon contact the goo that remained on his leaf and sneeze soaked hands. HAH-SHOO! ESSHOO! ETCHHHH! He sniffled at the end, as was bent in half was a thunderous, ESSSHOO-HAH! Coughing throatily, he hastened his step towards home and prepared for a long night.

Edited December 7, 2015 by frenchposie

[GoldenOwl]

This was excellent! Thank you!

[Nervous-Bean]

yyyYYYESSS

[frolicking periwinkle]

I'm glad some of you have liked this. I have at least 2-3 more chapters coming.

Part 2

Javert came through the door with a wet, “Hesshiff! Hessshiiiff!” Hand on the doorknob, barely in the door, he found himself staring at his knees and completely out of breath.

“Javert?”

Jean’s strong baritone instantly brought a happy sigh to Javert’s heart. Not that he could take a deep breath to sigh even if he wanted to. A wet cough, and then Javert righted himself and closed the door.

Jean’s jaw went slightly slack when he saw how unkempt his generally meticulous partner was. He came towards Javert in quick, even strides, but stopped when he put out a hand.

“HEH-Ehh….,” a pause and then, “KEH-Assshoo!” Worried that his hands would only make the situation worse and sneezed freely to the side. He sniffed strongly, missing Jean’s wince of disgusted. “Hess-SHOO!” Too fast to sneeze to the side, the sneeze detonated against the cuff of Javert’s uniform.

“What happened?” Jean asked, observant eyes taking in the red, irritated eyes and nose of his lover.

“I fell into a pile of leaves,” Javert said, his voice so congested Jean had to parse out what he had said.

“Into the shower with you,” he said, moving to the side. “Leave your uniform on the floor. I’ll deal with it.”

About half and hour later, Javert emerged in his pajamas. While normally he got home too late to wear them out, today he was happy for the warm flannel against his tired skin. Everything felt worn and drawn, and he felt as though he had taken a sleep aid, although he hadn’t yet.

“Better?” ValJean asked.

If he felt that he hand full control of his eyes, Javert would have rolled them. As it was, he had sniffled and sneezed his way through the shower – happy that this was just an allergy rather than a cold. Were it an infectious illness, he would quarantine the bathroom off until it could be bleached. He couldn’t cover all of his sneezes and keep himself righted. After a while, the frequent sneezing had caused a headache, and the continued sneezing caused dizziness.

Halfway through his attempted eye roll, tears started leading out. He rubbed under his eyes roughly. “I’m not crying,” he said, his voice husky and congested.

“I’m just… just….” Both hands clamped over his mouth as he sneezed violently, the force of the sneeze throwing him forwards. Had ValJean not been there, he was certain he would have lost his footing.

“Bless you,” he offered as he gently righted his partner.

Hands still clamped firmly over his nose and mouth, Javert couldn’t acknowledge Jean before, “Yihh… ESSSHHH! YESSSHOOO! Hesssshhh!” Loud and wet, the sneezes attacked his hands. He sniffed to try to make himself presentable before lowering his hands, but it only caused his throat to tickle madly. He coughed, which automatically caused his sinuses to clog.

“Here,” ValJean pushed a wad of tissues into Javert’s hand. “Get yourself settled on the couch, and I’ll bring you a few remedies to try to help clear you out.”

“Ihhh…. Hiiihhh….Ehhh….” Javert had settled himsef under a blanket on the couch. The last time he had the flu he didn’t even allow ValJean to dote on him like this. In fact, he was pretty sure he hadn’t felt this uncomfortable even when the 39.4^o (103^o F) ravaged his body. “Essfressshoo!” he sneezed freely, bending at the waist as he did so. “Heh-eh… Esssshhooo! Essshooo! Essshooo! Hettcccchhh!” He was able to catch the last four in the crook of his elbow, and groaned at the end. His head pounded in protest, and he winced.

ValJean came in with a steaming bowl and put it on the coffee table. If ever he wasn’t in the mood for soup. “Ehhh…. Ehhh…. Ehhhh…. Hat-SHOO!” He blew his nose a bit, but was still too congested for it to do much good.

ValJean gave him a sympathetic look. “Come, I have just the thing,” he said, gesturing towards the bowl.

A slight shake of his head, and then, “Heh-Ehh…ESSS-CHOO! Ecccchh-SHOO! ETHCH –.” He held his breath. He didn’t want to eat, but he needed the sneezes to stop. He was desperate for it.

“Don’t do that. You’ll blow your ears out from the pressure,” ValJean said, as he came to the end of the couch. He leaned his hip against it, and stroked a warm hand down his partner’s cheek.

Unable to hold his breath any longer, Javert started to let out the breath and relax. The relaxation was short lived, however. “ETTCCH-SHOO!” He finished with chesty coughs, which he tried to smother. Unable to do so, he coughed into a fist, the force getting harder as each cough caused his throat to tickle and sinuses to plug up more.

ValJean rubbed Javert’s back, watching helplessly as his partner suffered. He had medication that Javert could take that would knock him out. But, there were other things that needed to happen first.

ValJean went into the kitchen, returning with a glass of water. He stayed close by while Javert sipped it, in case the man needed to sneeze again. Finally, the symptoms subsided.

“Okay,” ValJean said, nudging Javert so that he was sitting next to him on the couch. “Now, just bend your head over the bowl and breath as deep as you can. It’ll help loosen the congestion.”

No sooner had Javert dipped his head forward than it felt like all the gunk in his sinuses rushed forward, causing a horrible pressure behind his eyes. But, he did as instructed and after a few breaths, he found that he could breathe better.

“Ehh-Isshoo!” The sneeze was quick, but Javert was able to catch it. He felt a kiss be placed to his temple and turned his head to smile at ValJean. As soon as he did, he felt the pressure in his sinuses explode into an urgent tickle that needed to be expelled immediately. Unwilling to sneeze on ValJean, he did the only thing he could do – he turned his head back.

“KETCH-HA!” His head bobbed down violently, causing him to go face first into the water. He pulled his face out quickly, but noticed how good the warm water felt. In a moment of insanity, he resubmerged his face, only realizing that he was too disoriented for such a gesture when the need to sneeze intensified again.

He inhaled, pulling in water that caused him to choke. But, before he could pull his head out he sneezed again – the large air bubble created caused the water to splash over the edges. He felt ValJean pull his shoulder, and he came out of the water choking and sputtering. He felt a cloth dry his face, while his body was wracked with coughs.

He felt himself be pulled into ValJean’s warm embrace and focused on that warmth while the fit subsided.

“Are you all right?”

Javert nodded. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Warm and exhausted, he drifted off to sleep despite himself.

[frolicking periwinkle]

Javert has woken from his nap, and is medicated. But, somehow things aren't better. Somehow... >

Part 3 -

“Heh-Esssshoooo!” Javert sneezed wetly into a well used handkerchief. They had given up on tissues after his nap, when his sneezing was less extreme, but wetter and more frequent. “Heh-Eh…. ESsshooo! ESsshoo! Ugh.” He dabbed at his reddened eyes and sniffed, immediately regretting it. “Hesshooo!” Tears leaked from his closed eyes and left hot trails down his cheeks, as she set himself back amongst the couch pillows. Legs propped up on the ottoman before him, he longed for his chair. There was something comforting about the wing backed recliner, something that made him feel safe, and sleepy. But, something that made him feel even safer was having ValJean next to him. He blew his nose a bit, happy that the antihistamine was starting to kick in and the pressure was starting to release.

“Cosette left for a friends’ house tonight.” ValJean said coming into the room. His daughter had come home while Javert was asleep, asking if she could stay at one of her little friends’ house. Taking it as a gift from Providence, ValJean allowed it and shipped her out before dinner. Cosette was none the wiser, but asked her papa to tell Javert that she loved him and give him a hug for her.

Javert was mid-sneeze when ValJean started talking. At the end he cleared his throat and fixed ValJean with a glare. “Which friend?”

“Eliza.” He was ready for the questions. Javert never could learn to trust the safety of the suburbs. “She lives two doors down. Her mum is a school teacher and her dad is one of the managers at the paper factory.”

“Esssshooo! Esshooo! Hah-Eh…” Javert held his breath. His eyes were dry and sore, his nose hurt, his chest hurt. He wanted to stop sneezing. He needed to stop sneezing. Now. By any means possible.

“Don’t do that,” ValJean murmured quietly, gently tapping the bridge of Javert’s nose.

“N-huh-oh,” Javert breathed his displeasure with the action, as the sneezy feeling increased tenfold. “YEATCCHHHH! Hah-SHOO! SHOO! Asshhhh-HOO!” He blew his nose fully, giving ways to chesty coughs. “Don’t do that!” he growled stuffily, giving ValJean the best glare he had, which was annoyed at best. His face felt like it was buzzing, and he felt oddly disconnected.

ValJean chuckled softly. “Holding them in only makes you sneeze harder,” he said, gently massaging Javert’s neck.

“ESsshooo!” was Javert’s onlyi response, caught in his nose useless handkerchief. His cheeks burned at the premise of asking for another one. It wasn’t that he needed another one; it was that ValJean would try to take the one in his hand. The gross factor was uncalled for.

Pushing himself to his feet, he winced as the pressure in his head changed. He focused through the dizzy feeling, taking a tight, wheezing breath in.

“Javert what are you…?”

“Hessshhh! Essshhhh! Essshhh! Hasssshhh!” The sneezes were shockingly quick and wet. He couldn’t get a breath between them, and the dizziness increased. He took a gasping, short breath before another volley barreled out of him. “Hesshhh! Essshh! Essshh! Efffressshooo!” Finally, the sneezing ended with a long gurgling blow, which seemed to last nearly as long as the sneezing had.

ValJean did not move. He wanted to stand up, and at least put a hand on Javert’s shoulder. But, he knew better. Javert had not given any indication that he wanted to be touched. He had gotten up for a reason, perhaps because he felt this sneeze attack coming on. “Sit down,” he directed gently.

“Need a new handkerchief,” Javert explained, his voice so stuffy that ValJean could barely understand what he was saying.

“I have one for you right here,” ValJean said. “Now, sit down before you fall down.”

As though the fates were being cruel, a breath stealing sneeze exploded out of Javert, causing him to stumble forward. His shin collided with the coffee table, causing his already precarious balance to falter and his other shin hit the couch. Before ValJean could even respond, Javert crashed over the table, catching himself on his ribs as his hand overshot and caught the floor. A gasping exhale emanated from Javert as he lay still.

“Bless you?” ValJean offered tentatively, trying to feel out how badly Javert was injured before he tried to move him.

“Call my commandant,” Javert said, between happy breaths. “I can’t go to work tomorrow.”

ValJean was relieved that Javert had come to that realization on his own. “All right,” he said with a nod. “Are you injured?”

A small shake of his head. “I don’t think so. But we’ll… we’ll… find… out.” Turning away from ValJean, he pushed himself onto his side. “Hetcchhh-SHOO! Hesssshooo! Esssshoooo! Ugh.” He took a deep breath and concentrated on his ribs. “Nothing broken. But, I’m gonna hurt tomorrow.” He coughed a bit as ValJean helped him up.

Rubbing a hand over the bridge of his nose and over his eyes, Javert sat back down and took the handkerchief that ValJean offered. “Thank you,” he whispered, still moving slowly to make sure everything responded the way it was supposed to. “Jean. We have to make the sneezing stop.”

“I’m not letting you take more medicine. Honestly, you should be feeling better by now.”

“Well, I suppose I am. The sneezes are more manageable… I mean, if it had been like be –b-fore...” Another small shake of his head and. “Yihhh…. CHOO!” He sniffed wetly, then blew his nose. A sigh and then. “Sorry.”

ValJean pressed a kiss to the side of his head, which Javert pulled away from jerkily. He held up a hand to diffuse whatever situation could arise from the motion.

“I just don’t want to be touched. It’s not that I don’t want your touch.”

“It’s okay,” ValJean said. It always hurt his feelings a bit when Javert pulled away. But, he wouldn’t admit it. He knew the other man loved him. That’s all that mattered.

The handkerchief was brought back up to Javert’s face. “Yiiiih-heh-eh…. Essshooo! Shooo! Shoo! Ehh…. Ehh…. Ehhhh…. Assshooo!” He blew his nose again and sniffed lightly. “Make them stop Jean,” he practically begged.

Since the medicine didn’t seem to be working, ValJean nodded. Generally, he would say that the body needed to expel the body. But, now, watching his partner suffer so… he knew that he had to help. “I’ve heard of some non-medical things we can do.”

[Nervous-Bean]

scREAMING OMG I LIKE THIS SO MUCH

[frolicking periwinkle]

I'm so happy you're enjoying it. Things are about to get strange... and a little messy

[frolicking periwinkle]

I know the ending is weak, but I wanted to wrap it up and didn't know how.

Part 3 --

Javert ached. His ribs were bruised, he could tell. His head pounded, just on the verge of a migraine. His eyes were burning and dry, long since having run out of tears. His skin was hot to the touch as his body tried desperately to process the allergen. He sat in his chair, his elbows on his knees and head in his hands. He felt sick. Dizzy. Tired. Disassociated.

He lifted his head when ValJean came back into the room with a tray of supplies. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. He usually worked so hard not to be a bother. He worked hard and tried not to need anything when he got home. His daily goals were to act in a way that would bring his family and the prefecture honor, and to stay out of the way at home. Now he wasn’t only in the way, he was being problematic. It was shameful.

“Why would you ever apologize? You’ve done nothing to owe one.” He put the various things on the coffee table, and put an apron on.

Javert sighed. It was obvious that the antihistamine’s had finally kicked in. He hoped that meant that the sneezing would stop for good. That it was over. He hurt so much. A sneeze would make everything worse. “I don’t know.” The truth would not be received well – he knew. He didn’t even want to try to say it.

ValJean came and knelt in front of him. “It’s all right. It seems the drugs have finally kicked in. Care to take another nap?”

Javert shook his head, and dizziness set in. He wavered a bit before leaning back in his chair. His eyes closed despite himself. He felt his legs levitate a bit and knew that he should see what was going on. But, as a warm blanket was put around him, he no longer felt it necessary and soon fell into a restful sleep.

He awoke a few hour later with a wet “Hsssshhhtt!” His eyes pulled open, and he realized that the room was dark. There weren’t any lights on in the room, save the hallway light, and the moonlight that came in through the window. His body throbbed in a dull ache. His eyes were dry like sand paper, but he was too disoriented to figure out where his hands were, let alone use them. “Heh-EhSHOO!” A wet sniffle, and then, “Hetcchooo!”

He heard the sounds of movement coming down the hall. Jean was dressed in his sleep pants, and rubbing at his eye. “’m sorry for leaving you alone,” he said his voice thick with sleep. “I was reading and fell to sleep.”

“Think nothing of it,” he said, taking in the sight of before him. ValJean was a sight for sore eyes… literally. “You deserve sleep, too. You must be exhau… ex-haw-st…dHESHOO!” The sneeze exploded out of him, causing his head to pound in protest. His eyes felt like they were burning, though tears tried to form to drop out. His nose must have felt sympathetic because it began to run anew. “Hah-Hasshoo! Ugh.”

“Looks like you’ll be up for a bit, huh?” ValJean asked gently. He turned on a few lights in the surrounding rooms, but nothing direct, as he didn’t want to pain the other man more than he already was.

“Don’t seem to have much… muh-ch Ah-Hah-CHOO! EsshCHOO! EsshhSHOO!” A quick swipe of his nose on his sleeve and then, “HEP-Shooo!” He panted heavily, wishing to be dead or invisible or anything to get him out of this embarrassingly painful and messy situation.

“Blessings,” ValJean said absently. He paused and cast a fleeting glance at Javert. Early in their relationship he had learned that Javert would rather his symptoms go unnoticed than decorum be followed.

“It’s late,” he said gruffly. “Go to bed. We’ll do this in the mor… the… muh…. Esschhhooo!” He groaned, as his headache came back. He rubbed at his dry eyes with his hand, as the other searched for his handkerchief, which seemed to have run away. Suddenly, he felt cloth against his nose, and angry eyes shot open. He snatched the handkerchief out of ValJeans hand and scowled as he blew his nose and cleaned up his face and mustache. “Thank you,” he breathed, sneezing again. He coughed.

“Do you really think I’m going to bed with you in this state?” ValJean offered gently.

“I wish you would. You can’t do anything for it. My body just has to get rid of the irritant,” he responded logically.

ValJean sighed, and came to crouch near Javert, his body popping in the process. “Cosette will be coming home in the morning. I would rather you feel better than this. I don’t want her to see you this way. “

Javert blanched and for a second ValJean wondered if he was going to be sick. “No, she can’t see me ths wah-hay.” He bit his lips closed and stifled a painful. “Hssshtt!” He sniffled wetly afterwards, blowing his nose lightly.

“Then let me help you. Let me at least try.” He wasn’t certain that any of the old wives tales would work. But, he felt that it was worth a try.

A nod, dark eye lashes fluttering down –the warning of an impending sneeze. “Heh-eh-eh -.” Before he knew what was happening, ValJean had pressed his finger against the middle section underneath Javert’s nose. He was surprised by the action, and it seemed that the tickles subsided. “Hegsshht!” Sharp and wet, he sneezed down, catching his partner’s hand in the spray. “My apologies,” he said, as ValJean withdrew his hand and applied hand sanitizer to it, wiping it off on a hand towel.

“None warranted,” he said gently. “I remember seeing that on cartoons growing up. Never worked for very long then either.” He smiled gently, but turned his head. He knew that most of these remedies probably wouldn’t work. “If you get too embarrassed, just bite my head off. We’ll stop.” Did he just say that? Out loud? “Javert, I…”

“You’re right. When I can’t do it, I’ll fire off at you. “ It was the way he did things. Even in the middle of the night. With the man who had shown him so much kindness. He was a right bastard that way – not only a real one.

ValJean sighed. He rarely complained about Javerts inability to deal with personal or emotionally vulnerable situations without somehow making ValJean feel undervalued or underappreciated. But, sometimes – when they were drunk or in the wee hours of the morning, something would slip out. “I daresay that you likely will feel quite ridiculous at many of these. Are you sure you want to go through with it?”

“Heh-Eh-heh-EH-HEH…Akkkscchhhoo!” The sneeze propelled him forward, and caused thin tears to gather in his painfully sore eyes again. “Heh-eh-EH-Ehh….AKT-“ The sneeze was stopped suddenly, as ValJean pressed his mouth to Javerts. Apparently, a surprise would stop a sneeze, and he was certain that Javert would not expect this. The sneeze seemed to die away for a moment, their tongues parting and lips opening to deepen the kiss. It was pleasant, but lasted for too short of the time, when Javert pulled away, clamping his hands over his nose. “Pssshhhttaa!” The sneeze was wet, but not as violent as the others had been. “The reprieve was nice,” he said, after cleaning himself up a bit. “Hetchoo! Heh-Eh-Etchooo!” He sniffed, the feeling making the pain in his head spread to behind his ears.

He grasped at ValJean’s wrist. “Please don’t do that again. The thought of sneezing in you… it’s too disgusting for me to bear, and I’m certain I would never get over the humiliation.” Another sniffle produced a wince, but nothing more.

“Of course.” ValJean said, pressing a kiss to Javert’s head. “But, it felt nice to kiss you again. I’m not used to going for so long without it.

“It was nice,” Javert whispered. He looked imploringly at his partner. “Jean, may I have some tea?” he asked.

“Water?” ValJean asked, knowing Javert normally cared for coffee or nothing.

A shake of his head. “Tea. I’m cold.”

The admission worried ValJean, and he nodded to go set the water on to boil. When he came back in, Javert was in the middle of another build up.

“Pull the tip of your nose out,” he suggested. “There are stories that say pulling on the nose will stay the sneeze.

The build up had come to the head, Javert holding the handkerchief against his mouth, the top over his index finger and pressed up against the underneath of his nose. Quickly, he started to massage his nose through the handkerchief, just in case it didn’t work. The buildup stopped, and the tickles seemed to meld together until it was one cohesive buzz. He blinked hard. And then again.

“You didn’t sneeze,” ValJean observed, coming over to Javert and stroking his shoulder gently.

Javert blinked again, his breathing becoming inhibited by congestion. “No, but… I think the sneeze is stuck.” While not as painful as sneezing for hours had been, this was not much more comfortable. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, and his ears became sore with pressure. The bridge of his nose felt like there was a weight upon it.

“I hate that feeling,” ValJean commiserated.

He sighed, a pondering look crossing his face. “It hurts,” he whispered, as he started to massage his nasal passages to try to sooth the growing ache.

“Javert?” ValJean asked, gently, his low baritone urging his partner to look at him. When Javert complied, he blew gently into his eyes.

“Hurch-Shhefff!” The powerful sneeze was also very productive and turned into a long nose blow, which needed two more handkerchiefs before it was done. Out of breath, sore, and trying to ignore the bitter taste in his mouth, he let his eyes flutter closed.

“Do you still want your tea?” ValJean asked, gently, trying to smother back a yawn.

“Yes, please,” he responded, biting back the snippy response that was on the tip of his tongue. He reached out for the cup blindly, realizing far too late that he bump against the back of his hand that he felt was the cup and not ValJean.

ValJean gasped as the scalding liquid burned his hand and splashed on his torso as the cup went flying off the saucer.

When he gasped, Javert’s eyes flew open. A few crunchy coughs escaped him, as he sat up looking at ValJean. “What? Jean, are

you okay?” He pushed himself to his feet, wincing as the pressure in his head changed. He followed him to the kitchen, where he found him pressing a damp wash cloth to his arm and hand, alternating them with his bare side, which was turning red. “Jean, I apologize. I… I should have looked at what I was doing.”

“It’s all right. It doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “The burn will be gone in the morning.” He felt a strong hand on his shoulder, and smiled. “I’m fine, really,” he said, lying through his smiling lips. He hurt dreadfully, and had boiled the water and then some in order to get it hot enough to break up Javert’s congestion. He was tired, and concerned, and running out of energy.

Javert gave him a dubious look and then took a few quick steps backwards. “Hachcssshoo! Huh-uh-Hah-Sehhuh!” The sneezes both doubled him over, barely covering the spray with an open hand, and made him lose his balance. He stumbled backwards, huffing out a wet cough when he backed into the wall. Another wet cough and then, “Hur-Esstcchhh!” Defeated, he let himself slide down the wall until his was sitting on the floor, his head spinning.

ValJean groaned as he knelt beside him. “Bless you, love,” he murmured. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Javert snapped, unable to open his eyes, and bringing a hand up to his forehead, allowing his thumb to rub his temple. He sniffed.

A sigh, then, “What can I do?”

“You can leave me alone,” Javert snapped again. Tired, dizzy, and far too uncomfortable for his own liking, he couldn’t maintain the politeness that he had been throughout the night. “Obviously these old wives tales aren’t working.” He slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the man in front of him, who apparently didn’t think that he was being watched. Thin brown eyebrows curved in concern as he realized that ValJean looked absolutely forlorn. He closed his eyes, trying to think through the fog, when he heard another sigh and heard ValJean get up. For a terrifying moment, he thought that he was really going to leave. But, he heard water pouring and then some odd shaking.

“Here,” ValJean said, putting the warm mug in his hand.

Javert took a quick swallow without even trying to sniff or blow it. Almost immediately, he felt his body grow cold, his sinuses opened, and his stomach lurched. He coughed, as he his eyes sprung open and his sinuses exploded in tickles. “Hur-ESSHHH! Huh-Eh-

Assschhooo! Asshhhooo! Eh-Eh-Ah-HEH-Schhoo! Hah-Chaaaa-huh-HUH-Asschooo!” Hands clasped firmly over his nose and mouth, he waited patiently as ValJean got him a handkerchief. After snatching it away, he set to cleaning himself off. His ears popped and to his delight he started to feel better. After a final weary honk, he attempted to glare at VaJean, who was getting something from the freezer. “What was that?” he huffed gruffly.

“Pepper tea. Appeared to have worked.” He pressed a hand to the burn on his side, hiding the ice cube in his large hand. He hoped that Javert’s vision was blurry and he didn’t ask questions. He didn’t want to admit how much the burn hurt, or how tired he was. But, he was fading fast.

“Of all the stupid things!” Javert snapped. He was lucky he hadn’t spit it out – or worse. He felt his stomach turn with a gaseous feeling. “Appears that one will be repeating on us,” he mentioned, grumpily, as he stood up.

“Sorry,” ValJean whispered. “I’m exhausted. I don’t have it right now. Care to come to bed and yell at me from there?” His adrenaline was running high due to the surprise and the burn. He felt dizzy and didn’t care if what he said hurt Javert. He needed to lay down before he fell down.

Javert looked at his partner oddly. That didn’t sound like him at all. “Are you all right?”

A gentle nod, closing his eyes as he did so was all that ValJean could handle.

That was as deafening a no as Javert had ever heard. “Come , let’s go to bed,” he said, gently leading his partner into the bedroom. “I can’t promise I won’t sneeze on you.” He smiled, trying to make light of the situation, but realized that ValJean was basically asleep on his feet.

Generally not much of a snuggler, Javert felt that when Jean wasn’t at his best, he needed to have him in his arms. “I’m sorry for snapping,” he said, kissing the older man’s graying hair, as he wrapped a protective arm around him.

“No matter,” ValJean whispered.

Oh but it did matter. He smiled slightly as ValJean started to snore. It did matter, and he would find a way to show him that it mattered, and he mattered.