Okay, this is self-indulgent as fuck, but can you spare any aro!Enjolras headcanons? ^^
omg id love to :) a long time ago i was planning a series of various lgbt canon era minifics and aroace enj was one of them
but aro!enj id love to talk about !!
-modern enjolras has always been attractive to his peers. he winds up dating a lot of girls at his school because he's popular (not really by choice, it's just the Enjolras Effect) and he feels obligated to when he's like 12-17
-he has a lot of trouble staying attached to his girlfriends and it isn't that he's cheating, he just genuinely doesn't feel a connection to them romantically. because of this, he goes through just about every girl in his grade (and courfeyrac HATES him for it omg. courfeyrac calls him a whore when he falls face-down on courfeyrac's bed moaning about how "xyz hates him now because he had to break it off")
-by uni, he meets a lot of his friends who happen to be gay and starts thinking that he's probably the same. enjolras goes out with a lot of guys now and he honestly does like the sexual nature of it but... oh god he still can't find a way to romantically love someone the way they want him to
-enjolras, after getting broken up with by his latest bf, finds solace in courfeyrac once again and hm. courf is attractive. he'd never really noticed before. he was so used to courfeyrac wearing huge, thick glasses and being a kid that he never really noticed that either of them grew up
-courfeyrac is not picky and he and enj have sex a couple times before courf has to tell him that he's not sure that they could ever date because courf loves him and all, but he could never like him that way. the other way? oh hell yeah
-enjolras is honestly... relieved? he doesn't have to worry about ruining a relationship once again and they can still have fun. he has absolutely no problem with this
-they remain fwb for a few months before enjolras meets feuilly and oh my god this dude is perfect. he's got really nice arms, he's really smart, and his ideals match enjolras's own. this is the first time that he's pretty sure he wants to date someone and he opens up to courf about it. courfeyrac is understanding and claps him on the back to wish him luck and they end their little arrangement in a really peaceful way. only- mm maybe one more time. then they're done
-enjolras pursues feuilly for another couple months before feuilly catches on and asks him out. enjolras is so glad because he feels like he's finally found The One and his previous streak of like 100 actual relationships that ended poorly won't weigh on his soul anymore
-they start going out, enjolras listens to him talk about this and that, and they fuck like rabbits. feuilly has a high stamina lmfao
-things are going so great and enjolras is so so so so glad but... god. he likes feuilly, but he's not sure. he knows that he likes sex with feuilly and he likes talking with him, but something still feels off.
-as any Modern Man does, he goes on reddit SKNKSJDNSJDBFLKSJENDLKJSDFN
-enjolras reads up a bit on aroace spectrums and alterous attractions and it kind of really resonates with him. he spends a couple days thinking it over before talking to it with courfeyrac and combeferre. they both r trying to throw popcorn in the air and catch it in their mouths but they're also mostly listening to enj
-the general verdict is that he can experiment with labels and find something that fits to him, but he also has to go talk about it with feuilly
-he does. feuilly is mildly upset for a bit, mostly because he genuinely really really liked enjolras and it felt like the first time he could be loved in return. but he also can't be mad at enjolras because yeah, he does love him and he would rather enjolras be himself and be happy than feel obligated to go out with him just because feuilly wants him to
-enjolras wants to have a qpr with him instead (combeferre explained well enough) but feuilly has to decline because he know he'd get attached either way and it wouldn't be fair to enjolras
-so they sort of break it off together so there aren't any hard feelings and enjolras lets himself play around with labels until he finds himself feeling comfortable enough with just being aro. it isn't a bad word, it isn't scary, it's just him.
-he also plays around with sexuality. enjolras knows he likes having sex and he feels genuine sexual attraction towards others. he's sexually attracted to courf (and he makes a note to never let either of their families know this fact. it would make their joint-family holiday dinners a little weird), he's sexually attracted to feuilly, and he feels that way for other people too. he doesn't outright not feel attracted to women he finds as well. this was really shocking and weird to him after calling himself "gay" very openly all through uni, but he genuinely does feel sexually attracted to women as well
-because of this he decides to stick around with bisexuality as a label. it makes him feel embarrassed because he feels like a faker, but then he goes back online (back to reddit, modern man), and feels less anxious about telling people. sexuality is fluid and it takes a while to learn how to feel about yourself. bisexuality isn't embarrassing either- it's not any less valid than being gay
-anyway in his late twenties he settles a little further in and feels comfy with his sexuality and his aromanticism. he has a few qpr's over the years with various people and learns what he likes, what he doesn't like, and he goes to pride with combeferre and courfeyrac with a pretty green flag painted on his cheeks and he feels at ease