Coffee and Cigarettes

My Friend James Madison

    Knock knock knock.
     Lafayette curled tighter into a ball, their breath hitching as the knocks came.
Knock knock knock.
     Was it Hercules? They didn't necessarily want to talk to him yet but they supposed they couldn't really kick him out of his room...
Knock knock knock.
     Should they just answer it and face their fears?
Knock..
     Knock...
     Knock....
     "Marquis..?" a small voice called softly from the other side of the door. Lafayette looked up. "Marquis it's James I.. I came to offer uhm..." Quiet mumbling created an awkward pause. "..emotional support...."
They stood and unlocked the door, opening the door a little and peaking out at the short student who seemed nearly consumed by the oversized sweater hanging on him. James gave a nervous smile.
"Hello," he greeted politely, and Lafayette had to smile a bit at how shy their friend seemed.
      "Hi," they sniffled. James shifted a bit and opened his mouth to say something, but Lafayette cut him off. "C-Come in..?"
      James relaxed a bit as they moved aside and opened the door. He carefully stepped inside the room. "Merci, Lafayette."
      "It's -how you say?- no problem."
      Lafayette grinned at the shorter student, who smiled back at them.
     There was a comfortable silence before James spoke again, quiet like usual. "...are you okay..?"
      Lafayette tensed. "I... Oui... I-I'm..."
     James frowned. "Lafayette, don't lie. It.. It's okay if you're not.. Okay?" he said gently. "I mean... I would be shaken up if Thomas did something like this..."
      "He has," they reminded him.
     "Exactly.." James smiled nervously. "He's much like Hercules in this situation... He only wishes to protect you, Lafayette... You know that, right?"
       They nodded silently and he went on. "And.. I... Know it hurts when people... Do things like that..."
      "Do you?" Lafayette interjected, it coming out more snappy than they had intended. They seemed relieved when the other didn't begin to panic at the change of tone.
      Leave it to James to stay calm..
     "I do." he shifted again. "I mean... When people still call me a girl I don't exactly feel the cheeriest of people..."
      Lafayette went silent as they remembered James situation. A wave of guilt washed over them. "James I-"
      "Don't be. It's fine. That's good, right?" James smiled, yet Lafayette could detect a bit of forced joy in it. "That people can't tell? I'm passing then?"
      There was a tense silence. "..oui.."
     As Lafayette opened their mouth to say something else, James shook his head. "This isn't about me, Marquis. It's about you and your emotional and mental stability."
       "I don't think I like the sound of-"
      James turned for a moment to pull something out of the (seemingly large for the student's own size) bag he grinned a bit. "Would you like some ice cream?"
      Lafayette's eyes shined.
     "...Oui..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Noooooooo," Lafayette whined as they watched the screen. The robot floated into the void as the camera panned away. James chuckled from his position cuddled into the other's side.
"First time seeing Big Hero 6?" He asked softly, holding the bowl of popcorn closer to himself.
"...no" Lafayette replied after a while. "Hercules and I watched it in the theatre... Yet I do not think I will ever get over these -what is it?- feels..?" They glanced at James in uncertainty. He laughed softly.
"Feels. In my mind, that's 100% correct."
Both students laughed again.
"It is incredibly sad, though!" Lafayette insisted.
"Hey hey," James grinned. "I'm not j-judging yo-you-u-" He stopped and coughed a bit. Lafayette eyed him worriedly.
"James? Are you alright..?"
"Y-Yes-s..." James rasped out after a few moments of coughing and gasping shakily for air. He sat up and grabbed his ribs, wincing in slight pain. "E-Excuse me..."
       Lafayette watched in concern as James stood and quickly dashed to the bathroom. They paused the screen and waited in silence for their friend to come back.
       Meanwhile, Madison was grappling with the fact that this had to have happened now.
      He closed and locked the door behind him and came regretfully face-to-face with his own nervous reflection. He inhaled a sharp breath, his stomach twisting in pain as he flinched.
"Dammit..." James cursed quietly. He slipped his sweater over his head and avoided his reflection as he pulled the binder off with some struggle. "Dammit..." He quickly put the sweater back on and took another deep breath, his ribs aching a bit.
      Knock knock knock.
      "James? Mon ami, is everything okay?" Lafayette's voice called from the other side.
       "Dammit..." James whispered to himself. "Y-Yeah... I'm fine. Sorry. Just Uhm.. Something in my throat..."
      They seemed uneasy. "Oh.. Alright... Are you going to come back so we can finish the movie or do you need anything..?"
       "No... No..." James opened the door and jumped a bit as Lafayette, who was leaning against it, toppled forward. They caught themselves before they could fall on the ground and gave a sigh of relief.
      "So," they looked up at James as he folded the cloth and shoved it into his pocket as best as he could. "What do you say to finishing the movie?" They smiled sheepishly and James laughed.
      "Does it involve popcorn and a round of platonic cuddling for the better of our emotional stability?"
      "...if you wish..."
      "Then..." James helped them up and smiled.
     "Oui.."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two updates in less than two weeks wowie!!!111!
I'm actually being productive with this story because I'm super excited to get to actual plot-like stuff.
For clarification, Lafayette is nonbinary (which I think was already clear but yeah), and James is transgender (FtM; originally named Janet). The two are their own support group and enjoy platonic cuddling while eating ice cream : D
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~Cecil