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Grantaire had just finished sweeping the final brush strokes to the canvas when he heard the front door open. A moment later it slammed shut again with a loud bang and an enraged “goddamn it!” from the adjoining room.
Grinning to himself, he put down his brush and picked up a towel to wipe the paint off his hands as he walked through to the lounge.
“I take it the protest didn’t go too well then?”
“We were so outnumbered! Half the guys who said they were going to turn up didn’t and I ended up sending most of the rest away early anyway because they all had late bloody lectures!” Enjolras shrugged his satchel off his shoulder and sank into the sofa with an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know why I bother sometimes.”
“Because you’re trying to make a difference, remember? Wasn’t that why you took this Union job in the first place?”
With his head leant against the back of the sofa, Enjolras closed his weary eyes and muttered “Stop being so rational. I’m in the mood to rant.”
“Rant away my love,” said Grantaire and when his beloved boyfriend opened his eyes to look at him, he smiled. It was enough and they both knew it would be. It hadn’t taken more than a month or two of being together for Grantaire to work out the most effective way of handling his hot-headed boyfriend’s outbursts and a simple smile at the right moment worked wonders.
Enjolras shook his head in defeat and smirked. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“You know very well what,” he said as he pushed himself up from the sofa and walked over to him. “Make me melt with just a look.”
“Aww, my Apollo,” said Grantaire with affection and drew him into an embrace.
Enjolras buried his weary head in his boyfriend’s chest as Grantaire rubbed a soothing hand across his back. “I feel like shit,” came his muffled voice.
“Look it too,” Grantaire teased.
“Bastard.”
They fell into an easy silence where neither really wanted to move away from each other after a whole day of being apart. It was only when Grantaire suddenly realised he was still covered in paint that he gasped and gently pushed himself away. “Oh! I haven’t cleaned up yet! You’ll get paint on your new red jacket.”
“I don’t care,” said Enjolras as he pulled him back into his arms.
“I do! I bought it for you. Do you know how much that thing cost?”
With a little grin tugging at his mouth, Enjolras raised his face and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. “Yeah, but I’m worth it. I can take it off if you like? But you have to join in. You did say you had to get cleaned up, after all.”
“Ok, Mr, stop right there,” said Grantaire knowing full well where this was heading if he didn’t assert some control and as much as he wanted to let loose with his beautiful boyfriend, he also knew that Enjolras was tired, probably dehydrated and doubtless hadn’t eaten anything all day at university. Experience told him that if he allowed himself to be enticed into the shower with this man, it wouldn’t be anytime soon when they would be resurfacing and the last thing he wanted was for his beloved to be passing out on him! “Baby, you’re exhausted and no wonder. You need to rest while I get cleaned up and then I’ll make us some dinner and we’ll have an early night.”
“When did you become the sensible one?” Enjolras teased and laughed when Grantaire responded by slapping him on the behind. “Anyway, it’s my turn to cook tonight… Jesus, we really sound like an old married couple, don’t we?”
After a moment of hesitation, Grantaire grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and the blanket from the back of the sofa. “Fuck it, come on.”
*
The apartment they shared was on the top floor of the building and although small in size on the interior, it did boast an impressive balcony that overlooked the park below which, at this time of the year, was mostly hidden by the overgrowth from the nearby trees. Within a few minutes, Grantaire had led Enjolras out onto it, knowing it was one of his favourite places to relax, and they had snuggled up onto the floor cushions with the blanket draped over them, though it was hardly needed in the warm evening sun.
On his way out the door, Grantaire had grabbed a bottle from the fridge (only one since he was trying to cut back a bit) and he took a long pull from it now before passing it down to Enjolras who had positioned himself on his back so he could lean against his boyfriend’s chest and feel the safety of his legs around him.
“You know what this reminds me of?” Enjolras said as he took a swig from the bottle.
Even though it couldn’t be seen, Grantaire smiled because he knew the answer and the memory of it made him weak with joy. “Our first date?”
Suddenly, Enjolras laughed. “I made such an idiot of myself that day!”
“Like hell did you,” said Grantaire as he allowed the images to flood back into his mind. He didn’t need to try too hard; they were some of the most precious snapshots he had ever captured. Clear as anything, he could see the two of them laying on their backs on the grass beside the river, squinting against the sun that kept peeping out from around the clouds and Enjolras pointing up at the different shapes in the blue summer sky.
Right on cue, Enjolras turned his head to cast a quizzical gaze up at his boyfriend and said pointedly “A peacock sitting on a horse?”
“Yeah, fair enough,” said Grantaire as he leant down to press a tender kiss against his forehead. “I never could see that one but I was too busy looking at you most of the time anyway.”
“Ditto, beautiful.”
“And trying not to be sick from nerves too,” he added and then wished he hadn’t. “So what can you see now?”
Enjolras craned his head further back against the warm chest of Grantaire who was using his free hand to play absentmindedly with the soft curls that were splayed against his collarbone and springing up to tickle his chin.
“A hella’ lotta bloody leaves,” said Enjolras and then looked back into Grantaire’s eyes. “And the man I love.”
END