*scandalized at self*

Oh dear, oh dear. Blame this on alina_kotik, who got me rereading, and then failed to shoot me down when I mentioned the possibility of fic.

Title: Most Excellent Cigars
Fandom: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Pairing: Count of Monte Cristo/ Albert Morcerf
Word Count: 1322
Rating: Very tame, really!
Notes: Totally canon-compliant. Takes place two years after the end of the book. Forgive me, Monsieur Dumas.



"Well, what do you think of the Count of Monte Cristo?" asked Franz of his friend.

"What do I think of him?" said Albert, obviously astonished that his companion should ask him such a question. "I think he is a charming man who does the honours of his table to perfection; a man who has seen much, studied much, and thought much; who, like Brutus, belongs to the school of the Stoics, and who possesses most excellent cigars," he added appreciatively, sending out a whiff of smoke which rose to the ceiling in spirals.

"But did you notice how attentively he looked at you?"

"At me?"

"Yes."

Albert thought for a moment.

"Ah, that is not surprising," he said with a sigh. "I have been away from Paris for nearly a year, and my clothes must have become old-fashioned. The Count probably thinks I come from the provinces..."

-Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo


( In which a cigar is just a cigar... or is it? )