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“Hey, ‘Aire.” Enjolras begins Wednesday morning, when Alexis is at pre-school, the pair of them had intended to clean the house while they had the time, but instead they’ve found themselves lounging on the balcony, Grantaire’s head in his lap as he reads. His boyfriend hums in acknowledgement. “I was in your studio yesterday…” He literally feels Grantaire’s muscles stiffen up, can all but see the excuses, what he needs to say, how to say it, running through his mind. Enjolras lowers his book to study his pale face.
“Why were you..?”
“Alexis ran out of red paint, I knew you had a lot. I wouldn’t normally.” He explains rapidly, and though Grantaire doesn’t relax he does at least look less horrified. “I, uh… Happened upon something. A box.” Buried deep beneath tubes of acrylic paint and brushes a tiny maroon box, soft and velvety under his fingers, a sudden shock amongst cold edges and wooden handles.
“Shit… Of course you did. I wanted it to be a surprise.” Grantaire groans, sitting up in a curl, hand pushing though his hair. “I know I should have discussed it first but I just saw the ring and it felt so right and I felt ready… And I know gut instincts aren’t what you should go on but… It doesn’t matter anyway because now you know and we are discussing it and you’ve seen the ring and-“
“I didn’t see the ring.”
“What?” Grantaire looks around with a frown.
“I didn’t look in the box.” His fingers had hovered yes, temptation giving way into the thought of how much Grantaire would have put into this, how special he would want it to be.
“Oh.” Grantaire purses his lips together in an embarrassed look.
“And… There’s a box in my desk drawer, under all my work crap.” At this Grantaire really does look startled, though less deer in headlights than utterly surprised.
“There is?”
“Mhmm. I was going to discuss it, but you obviously think we’re ready to take the next step.”
“Enjolras we could have gotten engaged before we were even dating and we’d ’ve probably been ready. Let’s be honest here.” Enjolras chuckles.
“Point, we do do everything backwards…”
“You have ruined my engagement plan though.” Grantaire leans forward to kiss him briefly.
“Says who? This isn’t a proposal.”
“No?”
“No, I want to see how you do it. And have a chance to do it properly myself.” Enjolras smiles wryly.
“So… We’re going to have a battle to see who can propose first?”
“Maybe not a battle… A competition.”
“Huh…” Grantaire looks bemused, turning his head to the side. “Those sound surprisingly similar. Especially considering how competitive you are.”
“You’ll just have to do it better then.” Enjolras teases, returning to his book so casually that Grantaire’s left sitting, a bemused and startled frown on his face.
Grantaire takes a week to re-plan his proposal. He already has a basic layout, involving a set of paintings hidden in his studio – and thank God Enjolras didn’t find those. But now Enjolras knows that he’s proposing, so he runs the risk of him getting there first, or realising what’s going on before he can get to the end.
He figures sooner is better than later in this case, especially as Enjolras is reasonably busy at work so he has time to prepare and finish off the bits he needs. Then he pulls Jehan and Courfeyrac into the mix, because he really does need an extra pair or two of hands when he has Alexis to deal with as well on Friday.
“I’ll send the list over, but honestly it’s not so bad.”
“This had better be good Grantaire, I’m sacrificing my evening for you.” Jehan sounds like their pouting over the phone.
“It will be Jehan, trust me. It’ll be worth it.”
The ball set in motion the evening before, and hopefully going to plan, he settles in for a day with Alexis, doing some reading with her, taking her to the park and getting her to ice the cake they made that morning. By the time Enjolras gets back after a long day – work, lunch, an afternoon going round a couple of groups with Courfeyrac and Combeferre – he’s understandably a little suspicious.
The paintings are small, at first tucked into his daily life, and then becoming more obvious as the day wears on. He’d asked Jehan to put one at Enjolras’s desk, with his photos, then another on the notice board. The next, at lunch was tucked into the menu stand, then one each in the two groups’ buildings, one in his bag by his phone, and the final one in their letterbox downstairs. He says final, it’s the last on Enjolras has in his hand, each a miniature watercolour of a significant event in their lives. Their first meeting, them at the group, coffee on his sofa, sitting in the back room holding hands, them moving in here, Enjolras holding new-born Alexis. The rest are hidden around the apartment, one on the coffee table of the dinner where they got together, their first date in the kitchen, one of the three of them tucked against the bathroom mirror.
“What are all these for?” Enjolras asks, studying them closely as he picks up the next from the coffee table.
“I just felt like doing something nice for you. Alexis just had dinner, she was hungry and I knew you’d be a bit later.”
“Oh, thanks.” Enjolras smiles, looking distracted.
“Ours is in the oven.” Grantaire wanders through to the kitchen, Enjolras still studying the cards.
“How many are there?” Enjolras asks, spotting the next.
“You’ll just have to find them all.”
“Hmmm…” It only takes a short while longer for him to find the one in the bathroom, Alexis pestering for a bath. This provides a new distraction, giving Grantaire enough time to deposit the last on the dining room table.
“Can you read a story Daddy?” Alexis asks, hair sticking at all angles as Enjolras tries to dry her off.
“Let me dry your hair first.”
“But I want a story…” She pouts, looking stubborn. Grantaire probably shouldn’t have told her that this was important, but he needs her cooperation.
“I want doesn’t get.” Enjolras reminds her.
“Please?”
“Be patient.” Enjolras ruffles her hair. “Alright, go grab your book.” He says after a few more minutes, once she’s mostly dry and dressed. Grantaire sits on the floor next to them as Alexis brings back the book and settles on Enjolras’s lap. The painting, a simple anniversary, falls out almost immediately, and Enjolras holds it up.
“You don’t get to use my kid against me.” He teases, obviously beginning to twig.
“Would I?” Grantaire grins. Enjolras rolls his eyes, looking back to the story before Alexis protests. They tell her she can have an hour of playtime while they have dinner, and settle her in with her toys before they go back to the kitchen. “I’ll dish up.” Grantaire offers.
“So I can find this?” Enjolras moves toward the dining room table. The painting, propped up against a glass, shows Grantaire proposing to him. “This is possibly the most convoluted way I’ve ever seen of someone proposing-“ He turns and starts, Grantaire already on one knee behind him.
“But is it enough to win you over?”
“That was mean, doing it on my busy week. I had no chance to plan anything myself.”
“Well I’d already planned all this, so I wasn’t going to let you ruin it.” Grantaire chuckles. “I believe this means I win the competition?”
“You’ve not asked yet, nor have I said yes.”
“You do realise this really hurts right?”
“Ask then.”
“Maxime Enjolras will you marry me, preferably before my knees give out?” Enjolras pretends to consider for a moment and Grantaire groans quietly.
“You can get up you idiot.” Enjolras holds out a hand to help pull him up, tone teasing.
“Thank you for that…” Grantaire says as he levers himself up, knees giving a somewhat horrifying crunch.
“Yes, yes I’ll marry you. If you give me a moment to come up with something.”
“You’re completely ruining my proposal.” Grantaire tells him, semi-seriously. Enjolras plants a light kiss on his lips, then holds out his hand.
“Better?” Grantaire murmurs his agreement, slipping the ring onto his finger, then pressing a gentle kiss there before returning to his lips. “You know me well.”
“I told you, I saw it and it was perfect. I couldn’t just let it pass by…” Enjolras kisses him again.
“Two minutes.”
“I’ll plate up.” Grantaire agrees, because he’s intrigued as to what Enjolras comes up with. He turns back to the kitchen, serving up the food and pouring the wine. Enjolras hurries back in and sits down as if nothing has happened, commenting on how delicious it looks. “Thank you, it’s… What I made when I asked you out.”
“I know. It’s a nice touch.” Enjolras reaches over to squeeze his hand, and Grantaire can see the ring set silver against his skin. They sit talking mundanely until near the end of dinner, when Grantaire’s phone buzzes.
“Sorry, I thought it was off…”
“It’s fine. You can check it if you want. I’ll just go start getting Alexis settled.”
“I’ll be in in a sec.” Grantaire unlocks his phone to find a message from Bahorel on his phone. Upon opening it finds a shot of Bahorel and Feuilly grinning, holding a big sign saying ‘Will’. His phone buzzes again. “Enjolras..?” He calls as he opens it, finding a second picture from Joly, Bossuet and Musichetta, with the word ‘You’ in Chetta’s near calligraphic handwriting. He hears a small ‘hmmm?’ from Enjolras as he gets into the hallway. The third picture is from Combeferre, and it must be date night because he can see Éponine’s eyes peeking over the sign saying ‘Marry’. The fourth, that he assumes is the final, is from Jehan and Courfeyrac and is in typical style – a completely over the top ‘Me’ that’s been doodled on. He reaches Alexis’s door, just putting his phone away when he gets the fifth message, a set of oversized question marks from Marius and Cosette, both looking ridiculously soppy. “Is this-“ He opens the door to find Alexis standing waiting for him, looking far too innocent to be up to any good. She has her hands behind her back. His phone buzzes faintly. “What has Daddy done?”
“He said to check your phone.”
Grantaire glances down, finding an image of Enjolras holding a simple ‘is that a yes?’ on a sign. Alexis watches him with a wide grin before holding out her hands. There’s a small box in them, dark blue velvet and Grantaire exhales.
“He…”
At this Enjolras pokes his head around the side of the wall, with a wide grin, Alexis looking up with a perfect mirror look.
“See, I can use our kid against you too.” Enjolras tells him, moving to stand behind Alexis.
“I’m just… Impressed.”
“So?”
“Now you give me a moment.” Grantaire tells him, and he can hear Enjolras burst out laughing behind him. When he returns Enjolras has Alexis on his hip as she fiddles with the ring box. Grantaire holds out Enjolras’s phone to him. “You have a message.”
“Do I now?” He slides up the lock screen and opens up the message. It’s a little rushed, Grantaire with a notebook reading ‘of course it’s a yes’, but he hopes it works. Enjolras chuckles. “You could’ve told me in person you know.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Grantaire asks, kissing him on the cheek.
“You just want the picture series to be complete don’t you?”
“Maybe…” Alexis taps him on the cheek with the box.
“Papa!” Grantaire takes the box from her, glancing across to Enjolras, who nods. Inside is a small silvery ring, with a thin band of diamonds through the centre. It’s similar to the one he bought for Enjolras, though his diamonds are on a slant. Enjolras tucks his phone into his pocket, plucking the ring from the box. Grantaire holds out his hand, and the ring slips onto his finger, after a moment when it looks like it will get stuck on his knuckle. Enjolras laughs slightly nervously, leaning up to kiss him firmly.
“That was… Easier than expected.”
“I’m sorry I made you rush.” Grantaire smiles, only partly serious.
“It saved me worrying for days on end.” Alexis nudges him, leaning out of Enjolras’s arms a little to murmur to him. “Did I interrupt yours?”
“Sort of. Alexis has something else she helped with.” He steers Enjolras back into the kitchen. “I wasn’t going to do a romantic dinner without dessert. Alexis wriggles to get down, with an exclamation, dashing across to the cupboard where they’d placed the cake earlier. Enjolras watches in amusement, wrapping an arm around Grantaire’s waist. Grantaire presses a kiss to his hair as Alexis hurries back over, tin in hand. She holds it out proudly for Enjolras to take. The cake is simple he’ll admit, a basic sponge with butter icing and jam but Enjolras tells them both it’s wonderful and kisses Alexis on the forehead until she squirms, giggling.
They sit on the sofa, curled up together, eating slices of cake and Enjolras and Grantaire finishing their wine. Eventually Alexis begins to wane, eyelids getting heavier as she leans on Grantaire’s chest.
“Okay, I think it’s bedtime.” He smiles, pushing her hair back off of her face.
“No…” she grumbles half-heartedly. “Not tired…”
“Mhmm… Come on. We can read a story.” He scoops her into his arms, smiling as she grumbles quietly. He gets her settled, reading her a story that she determinedly keeps her eyes open for, as if to prove she’s not tired. By the time he places down the book though she’s all but snoring. He smiles fondly, leaning over to kiss her hair and murmur a goodnight. He glances up to find Enjolras watching from the doorway. “You know, if I didn’t know that was out of love it’d be creepy.” He comments as Enjolras steps aside to let Grantaire pull the door to behind them.
“You’re just so good with her.”
“Well she is my kid that helps.” He shrugs.
“Jehan text by the way, they want to know what the answer was.”
“Because me asking them to help me propose to you and then you doing the same wasn’t self-evident.”
“Be nice. They all want to know.” Enjolras takes his hand. “We’d better send something.”
They settle on a shot of both their hands, without a caption and settle back to wait for the responses curled up on the sofa that started it all. The replies they get range from ‘I knew it’ and ‘about time’ to a rather excitable ‘WHAT?!’ from Mel, followed terrifyingly quickly by a phone call from her and Nadine. By the time they’ve explained everything it’s gone 11.
“Bed?” Enjolras asks, kissing Grantaire gently.
“I thought you’d never ask.” Enjolras chuckles, pulling him up with another kiss and out into the hall.
“You-“ Grantaire begins as Enjolras pulls them down onto the bed, but it’s too late to stop the sound of crunching paper. “Never mind…”
“There was another picture wasn’t there?” Enjolras asks, shifting to free the painting. It might’ve been a bit presumptuous, but seeing as they had talked about getting engaged he decided to make it anyway. It shows a pair of entwined hands, one with a silver ring on the finger. “When did you get all these done?”
“On and off when you were at work. I thought you might’ve found them the other day.”
“They’re very you, and very romantic.”
“Not cheesy?”
“Of course they’re cheesy, but mine was definitely cheesy so I can’t say much.”
“I liked it.” Grantaire kisses him firmly.
The next day they go out for lunch to celebrate, and find a picture frame for the paintings and photographs of the evening. Grantaire’s set of watercolours go either side – with an addition of the three of them – then their friends photos down the middle, finished by the picture of their hands.
“You know our friends are going to tease us like made for how ridiculously hipster this entire thing is right?” Enjolras comments as Grantaire turns the frame over to examine the arrangement.
“Well, it’s good to give them something to talk about. They were just running out of teasing material.”