Spaced Out (Les Misérables, Javert)

[Bleh]

So the book/musical version of Les Misérables takes place in the 1800s.  But I'm absolutely terrible with anything historical, so this is a modern alternate universe.  A little bit of background information on this fic: Javert and Valjean are very different people.  They're basically enemies turned friends.  Also instead of drowning in the Seine like in the book, Javert survives and moves in with Valjean.

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Spaced Out (part 1/3)

After resigning from the police department, René Javert went on to become an astronomy professor at the local university. Jean Valjean was glad that Javert could finally do something that interested him, as Javert had majored in astrophysics in college. The class that he was teaching this semester was Astrophysics 271: Stellar and Galactic Astronomy. This particular day, however, he was feeling slightly less okay than normal. He woke up with a stuffy nose and his throat felt sore.

Javert rarely ever got sick. However, he did get pneumonia pretty bad after nearly drowning in the Seine 9 months ago. After that, he ended up getting sick more often than he had before.

Javert took a paper towel from the counter in the kitchen, blowing his nose loudly but without honking. Valjean walked in on him blowing his nose and caught him by surprise. This might have been the first time that Valjean saw Javert blowing his nose.

"A paper towel? You're gonna scratch your nose up," said Valjean.

"Oh hey, I didn't see you there, Valjean," said Javert, who was caught a bit off guard.

"I guess I can get some tissues at the store today," said Valjean. Javert folded the paper towel in half and turned aside, giving a congested snotty blow into it.

"There is no need. We never really had tissues here in the first place," Javert said.

"Says the guy whose nose is running like the Seine," Valjean remarked.

"Touché," Javert said. The paper towel he had was now folded into a small square. He held it to his nose, his large hands completely covering the folded paper towel. The blow that followed was long, loud, and very productive.

"I wish you could just hear what I'm hearing," Valjean said, noticing how productive Javert's nose blows were. "It sounds like you went swimming and got a bunch of water up your nose."

Valjean did have a point, though. The thick paper towel was pretty much soaked.

"Are you sick?" Valjean asked. "You don't have any allergies and you're clearly not crying."

"I'm not sick, I was just blowing my nose. If anything, it's probably just a cold. I'll be fine," the astronomy professor said. And then he sneezed.

"I beg to differ," said Jean Valjean.

"Come on, Valjean. It's just—achoo!" Javert sneezed again. His head moved enough so that some of his long hair got in his face, as he wasn't wearing a ponytail.

"I think you should take the day off," Valjean said, moving Javert's dark hair away from his face.

"I can't do that. I haven't emailed a TA to cover for me, and it's already..." Javert said, glancing at the digital clock on the oven. "Oh shit, it's 9:47 and I have to be there by 10:15!"

Javert rushed to get to the university on time. Being uncharacteristically unprepared, his clothes were more casual than he would have liked. With his dark shirt and long hair, he sort of looked like he was in a metal band. But not like the frontman; more like the drummer or bassist.

Now that there was no turning back, Valjean hoped that Javert's astronomy lesson would go well.