Work Text:
That night Maxime couldn't sleep. He thought about Saint-Just's strange behavior that evening, about his sudden embrace, but especially about the kiss before Antoine ran out the door.
What was it supposed to mean? A kiss on the lips was something new between them. Not like the normal, fleeting kiss on the cheek. A kiss on the lips was different. In a way, it was binding.
Was it meant as a joke, perhaps? A mockery?
No, Antoine wouldn't make fun of him like that. He wouldn't mock. It wasn't in his nature.
He tossed and turned in bed for about an hour, but eventually fatigue overcame him and he fell asleep.
In his dream, he found himself back in the dormitory of Louis-le-Grand. He looked at his hands and looked around the bedroom. He stood up and looked at his reflection in the window. He was a boy again and everything was as he remembered. Well, almost everything.
Camille Desmoulins was sitting on the bed in his nightgown, even though he definitely shouldn't have been there. His bedroom was supposed to be somewhere else.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in YOUR room?" Maximilien asked him, confused. He didn't want to be rude to him, but if anyone found him here, they would have problems. HE would have problems because of Camille. Again.
“Did you forget? They moved me in this morning. We live together now,” Camille cocked his head to the side and looked at him in confusion. When Maxime didn’t answer right away, Camille jumped off the bed and walked over to him.
“You’re not happy.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. His brown eyes were sad and he looked like a kicked dog.
“I’m going to pack up and get out of here. I don’t want to be a bother to you,” he growled, and began to throw his things onto the bed.
"Stop it! Don't be so offended. I didn't say you were bothering me, I just…," Maxime grabbed his arm, but Camille pulled away.
"You just think I'm annoying. Like the others," Desmoulins threw up his hands and continued what he thought was packing.
“I just didn’t know they put you here. I didn’t want us to get in trouble. Could you please stop doing that?” Maximilien asked again, firmly, and this time Camille actually stopped. He stepped aside, but his expression was still hurt. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the ground.
"I thought we were friends. That you would be happy, and yet you…," he muttered quietly.
"I'm sorry. Is that enough? Come on, I'll help you get it all back," Robespierre held out his hand in a gesture of reconciliation. After a slight hesitation, Camille accepted it. At that moment, a broad smile spread across his face.
"You'll see, we'll have a lot of fun," Camille assured him as he watched Maxime put everything back on the shelves.
Robespierre said nothing, not wanting to cause another change in his young friend's mood, so he just nodded. He had a slightly different idea of fun, but the truth was that he and Desmoulines otherwise got along quite well.
As they both lay in bed, the question came.
"Robespierre? Have you ever kissed a girl?"
Maxime was so shocked that he sat up abruptly. "What did you say?"
"I'm asking you, have you ever kissed a girl?" Camille repeated his shameless question.
"No… and even if I did, I wouldn't have the slightest desire to talk to you about it. Such things are sacred and private. They shouldn't be discussed with friends."
"Sorry," Camille beeped.
Maxime lay down again. Suddenly he felt someone sit on the bed next to him. "Go to sleep," he said without turning around.
"So we're friends?" a cheerful voice called from behind him.
“Only if you shut up and let me sleep,” he replied. To his horror, the other boy did not return to his bed, but lay down next to him.
"Can I sleep with you? The moon is shining into my bed," Camille whispered, settling under Maxime's blanket without waiting for an answer.
"No…" Robespierre began to protest, but it would be futile, so he gave up. He turned to face the wall and closed his eyes.
“Or was it a boy?” his roommate asked quietly.
"What?" Maxime didn't understand.
"Did you kiss a boy?"
"I haven't kissed anyone and shut up or I'll throw you out of my bed," Maxime replied, blushing.
"If you ever want to try it with me, you can," a voice said from behind him.