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Grantaire was woken by the ringing of his phone which was never a good way to wake up. He scrambled out of the bed, answering it with a vague groan.
“I need a favor,” Cosette said, from the other end.
“Good morning to you too,” Grantaire mumbled and let himself fall back into his sheets. It was way too early for any of this.
“Grantaire, it's three in the afternoon,” she said with a laugh.
As he had said, way to early. He groaned again.
“What favor?” he asked anyway, because Cosette was a lovely person who deserved good things and also had more than once picked him up, drunk, from rather shady places in the middle of the night without complaining, so he probably owed her quite a bit.
“I need you to get out of bed and come over; play buffer for a bit.”
“What?”
“I'm introducing the guy I'm dating to the family today and well... you know them. I kinda want him to stay in one piece.”
He made himself sit up, rubbing his eyes, still careful around his nose. It had been two weeks now so the swelling was mostly gone, but it still hurt a bit under pressure. “Understandable.”
“Will you come?”
Cosette sounded genuinely pleading as if he had any chance of refusing her anything.
“Sure.”
“You're the best.”
“I know.”
Getting ready took a bit longer than usual, because Grantaire had some problems locating his only button down shirt that still fit, since he hadn't worn one in ages. Arriving at the mayors house, even after visiting not that infrequently in the past two years, was still intimidating, giving him an uneasy feeling as he walked through the small garden surrounding the place. Grantaire checked himself in the front camera on his phone once more, making sure that there were no visible traces of his formerly broken nose, before he rang the doorbell. Cosette opened the door almost instantly, her brilliant smile folding a bit when she saw him. She was smiling widely again only half a second later, catching herself.
“Expecting someone else?” Grantaire asked with a smirk.
“My date, yes,” she answered with a blush. “Hello, Grantaire it's so good to see you. Come in.”
“Thanks. Always good to see you, too,” he said stepping inside, taking off his shoes and jacket.
He really liked Cosette. She was kind and somewhat badass, but they didn't really get to hang out much because of some rather awkward history she had with Eponine. He always enjoyed seeing her at his visits, though.
Cosette, perfect hostess as always, took his coat and led him through a hallway to their kitchen.
“So how's it going?” she asked and Grantaire shrugged, making a noncommittal sound. It's not like he was going to tell her about his last two weeks of falling fast and hard for the local revolutionary and then getting said revolutionary to hate him. He was pretty sure that she saw through him anyway, but she didn't get to call him out on it, because when they entered the wide kitchen, he was faced with Javert glaring at him over his mug. Javert was leaning against the counter and Grantaire wouldn't put it past him that he had just now taken that place so he could stare down on him, when they entered.
“Grantaire,” he said as a greeting.
“Javert,” Grantaire said with mocking glee, opening his arms for a hug he knew he wouldn't receive. “How is my favorite uncle?”
Javert frowned like he always did, when Grantaire called him that. “I'm your only uncle.”
“Which makes you my favorite.”
Javert continued to glare at him, sipping from his mug that presumably contained tea, since Javert only drank coffee on the job. Grantaire was sure that on criminals that glare worked quite well, but for him, well, it just made Grantaire want to mess with him more.
“Can I get you anything?” Cosette asked, as always ignoring their stare-down, already reaching for the mugs.
“I wouldn't mind some coffee,” Grantaire said and grinned. “Thanks, Cosette. You're such an amazing hostess. Offering people who come to your house things, just like it's proper and-”
“So I heard about you getting arrested,” Javert interrupted, his conversational tone in stark contrast to his narrowed eyes.
“A few hours in holding, please,” Grantaire answered in the same manner. “And the charges have already been dropped. I thought you would know that, being the chief of police and all.”
Javert's frown deepened. “Don't you sass me, boy.”
There was some snickering from the doorway and Grantaire turned around to see the mayor, Jean Valjean, leaning against the frame, trying not to laugh. One day he would get over the fact that his grumpy uncle, the only person in his family still willing to speak to him, was dating the towns mayor.
“Hello, Grantaire. Are you going to join us for lunch?” Valjean asked, his smirk completely gone again, except for the amused twinkle in his eyes.
“He is,” Cosette said.
“Err, yeah, I hope that's okay. I just miss hanging out with my uncle so much.”
Javert snorted and took another sip from his tea.
“The more, the merrier,” Valjean said. “We're always happy to have you. Family is important after all.”
Javert and Grantaire both let out a snort at that.
The doorbell rang and Cosette was gone faster than the speed of light to open the ominous boyfriend the door. Valjean crossed his arms, his face mimicking Javert's disproving expression, eyes on the door. Grantaire really pitied whoever was gonna come to that door, no one could go against the combined might of Jean Valjean's and Javert's silent judging stares, though he suspected that at least for Valjean it was mostly show. There was some giggling from the hallway and Valjean's frown deepened. Maybe the glare wasn't that much for show after all.
“Hey papa, Javert, this is Marius,” Cosette said, pulling the lanky kid after her into the room grinning like she just won first prize at something.
Grantaire was pretty sure he now wore the same expression like the other two men in the room. Marius fucking Pontmercy, this had got to be some stupid joke from the universe, some karma bullshit.
“H-hello,” Marius chocked out, looking from Javert to Valjean to Grantaire with wide eyes, visibly shrinking with every second. “I'm err. I'm Marius,” he repeated and started shaking. What had Eponine ever seen in this guy?
“Hello, Marius,” Grantaire said and smiled widely, baring his teeth. Marius flinched.
“It's so nice to finally meet you,” Valjean said, smiling dangerously sweet. “I'm Jean and this is Javert.” And he made a gesture towards Javert, who just kept glaring.
Cosette sighed. “You want anything to drink?” she asked, snapping the lanky boy out of his stupor. He turned to her with the most sappy expression and smiled. “I'm fine.”
“Oh yes, you are,” Cosette shot back, wiggling her eyebrows, and Marius face turned a deep shade of red. Grantaire was about seventy percent sure Cosette was doing it mainly to annoy Valjean and Javert, but when faced with a red cheeked, wide eyed Marius, her face made the same sappy expression he had worn seconds ago. It was disgustingly cute, in a way. Dinner was going to be hell.
“Cosette, why don't you show our guest the dinning room,” Valjean proposed. “I'll look after the food. Javert, dear, would you lend me a hand?”
Grantaire was never gonna get over the fact that someone was calling his uncle 'dear', but Javert was seemingly unfazed by it. He send Marius one last glare before following is boyfriend. Cosette just rolled her eyes and took Marius hand, leading them to the dinning room.
“So, err, Grantaire.” Marius said around a lump in his throat as soon as they had left the kitchen. “How's Eponine?” The kid looked honestly concerned, his free hand grabbing and releasing the hem of his shirt. Grantaire gave him a flat stare anyway.
“She said she didn't want to see me for a while so I haven't been down to The Corner since- err. Since the thing and I-” He bit his lip. “She is my friend after all,” he mumbled. “and I miss her.”
Grantaire sighed, ignoring Cosette's questioning look for the moment.
“She's working on it,” he finally said.
Marius nodded so hard his shoulders were shaking. “That- that's good.”
It was impossible to stay mad at this doofus, Grantaire realized with slight frustration.
“She misses you, too.”
Marius smiled so wide, Grantaire was sure he was going to pull a muscle. Maybe the kid was alright after all.
“So is anyone gonna explain this or...” Cosette asked after a few moments of silence.
“Oh, it's-” Marius started, unsure how to end that sentence.
“Not really our story to tell,” Grantaire finished, knowing that Cosette was too good of a person to pry further.
She just nodded and smiled. “I didn't know you guys knew each other.”
“Grantaire has been coming to the ABC meetings,” Marius told her smiling back at her.
“Grantaire? Going to a student social justice club meeting?” Cosette sounded unconvinced, but when Grantaire just shrugged and nodded her face suddenly lit up. “Is that why you were arrested? Because you went to that protest?”
“Yeah.” Grantaire really didn't want to think about that day right now, which Cosette seemed to sense, because she changed the topic, talking about the photographs that plastered the walls of the dining room.
Grantaire had been wrong about dinner being hell. Though Cosette and Marius were disgustingly cute, it was hilarious to see Marius almost disappear into his chair under Javert's glare, though Grantaire did try to draw his attention from time to time, so the lanky boy could worry about Valjean for a bit.
Marius did try to make conversation. “I'm used to play the piano,” he told them.
“I've been to prison you know,” Valjean told him flatly.
Marius eyes widened in panic. “That-”
“They don't really have music lessons in prison,” Valjean said in a grave tone and Grantaire tried very hard not to laugh out loud. He had never seen his uncle look more smug. Javert being proud of a criminal, ten year old Grantaire would have never believed it. Twenty-five year old Grantaire just snickered.
He knew that Javert and Valjean had some kind of complicated history, involving the fact that Javert was the arresting officer when Valjean had been send to prison, but he also knew that for the both of them all of that was in the past now and it was almost creepy how in sync his grumpy, I-like-keeping-to-myself uncle now was with a former criminal. Or how much he had learned to care for Valjean's daughter.
“How did you even know I got arrested?” he asked, when Marius swallowed something the wrong way for the third time this dinner, with Javert staring him down, successfully drawing his uncle's attention.
“I'm the chief of police,” Javert said, sending a highly unsubtle glare towards Marius. “How do you think?”
Good point. Grantaire was already trying to think of other things he could distract his uncle with, when Javert spoke again. “I've been meaning to talk to you about that, though.”, he continued, his disapproving stare now directed at Grantaire. “I read who you were arrested with. That Enjolras kid is trouble, you should seek better company than that.”
Grantaire could feel himself frowning in surprise. “What? 'Cause he doesn't follow the rules? Ruffles a few feathers?”
“He has ruffled more than a few feathers. There is a time and a place for activism, so no one gets hurt and Enjolras has no regard for following any rules at all; getting into fights, staging illegal rallies-”
“Yeah, because nothing get's done otherwise! You can't tell me that you believe that you can change stuff from within the system?”
He hadn't planed on taking Enjolras side in this, the words were out of his mouth before he even thought about them. It was less about actually believing in change and more about defending Enjolras, and maybe also about believing in Enjolras a bit, he realized with absolute horror.
“I'm actually friends with Enjolras.”, Marius blurred out, drawing the attention back to him.
Grantaire genuinely worried about this kid.
They actually managed to get through dinner without the sudden death of Marius Pontmercy, which in itself was an accomplishment. Cosette insisted on getting him save to the bus station, probably to make out with him in semi public places for a bit, and both disappeared out the door. Grantaire took that opportunity to gather his stuff and leave as well, getting unexpected company at the porch of the house.
Javert leaned against the doorframe looking at Grantaire thoughtfully, arms crossed, while Grantaire patted down all his pockets making sure he didn't leave his cigarettes behind like last time. He rather not have the smoking-kills conversation with Valjean. Again.
His uncle shifted his weight, uncomfortably. “You eating enough?” he asked, rather out of the blue.
Grantaire laughed. “Seriously?”
His uncle just glared at him. They didn't really see eye to eye on a lot of Grantaire's life choices, so it was easy to forget that in the end Javert cared, even worried sometimes. He also had been the only one willing to help him, back when his parents had decided they no longer had a son.
“You don't have to worry about me. I can stand on my own two feet.”
Getting away from his parents and starting a life with Eponine and the kids was one of the few things Grantaire was actually proud of. Javert had supported him a bit in the beginning, but now he and Eponine didn't need to depend on anyone but themselves anymore, something that was very important to both of them.
“I appreciate that you care, but I'm good.”
Save for the whole Enjolras thing, but he was not getting back into that.
Javert nodded and gave his shoulder an awkward pat. “Stay out of trouble.”
Grantaire grinned. “I can only promise to try.”