Grantaire fell asleep with the image of rosy lips wrapped around his cock burned into his eyelids. He had tried so hard to forget the feeling of Enjolras breathing under him, their hands entwined on the pale bedspread...he had squeezed his eyes so tight, willing the memory of Enjolras' husky voice in his ear to go away...he hoped to get to sleep, to forget about how wonderful today had been...but his dreams would not forget. They carried him to an alternate reality where it was possible for him to hold Enjolras as he thrust into him...where moans begged him for more~

Grantaire's eyes fluttered open. It was still dark out, probably somewhere between two or three in the morning. The heat pooling in his stomach was still there, and there would only be one way to get rid of it. Unwilling to sink to that level, Grantaire got out of his warm bed and headed to the bathroom to take a cold shower.

He scrubbed his skin till he was red, being careful to avoid anything below his waist. His brain drifted to idle thoughts that strung together forming a train to nowhere. Perhaps he could make it through the night without another wet dream. He glanced at the bed, and frowned. It was so big and inviting...and he had had many past sexual encounters there...but none of them would satisfy the ache he was already beginning to feel again.

He walked past his bedroom and headed to the little office/study. There wasn't much there: an empty canvas, some books, and a desk with his computer. It was the last of these distractions he headed towards. He opened up his laptop before heading to YouTube. He figured he could watch some baby animal videos or something...and that's when he saw it. In his subscription feed was a new video from Enjolras. Cursing under his breath, he clicked on it.

"Hey guys!" Enjolras must have filmed this just after he had left. "I've been super busy on some secret projects that I wish I could tell you about. But believe me, they are worth the wait. My new music is coming a long great. I can't wait for you to hear it! I've been working with some amazing friends to produce it. If you want to see more of the process you should follow my Instagram where I've been posting some pictures...all abstract. Don't want to give any of you an unfair advantage." He laughed. "I'll try to post some videos here soon. Wait til you meet who I'm working with, you'll die. He's gorgeous, and so talented. Have I revealed too much? Let me know what you think in the comments. I'll be posting another video here soon. Link to all my accounts down in the description. Au Revoir~"

Grantaire swallowed the lump in his throat. Had Enjolras just called him gorgeous? Were Enjolras' viewers going to be disappointed when they found out it was only him? Grantaire scrolled down to the comments to see that some people had already begun commenting.

"Who do you think he's collabing with?"

"Do you think it's a duet?"

"#dying why would E be so cryptic, doesn't he know that I nEED TO KNOW?!"

"What if it's Felix Thomolyes?" Felix was another Youtuber, a little older than Enjolras, but who had a similar sound. But where Enjolras seemed righteous and moral, Felix had always seemed snooty and 'holier than thou' to Grantaire. There were replies of "yes please" and "god I hope so"...R felt no pity that they would be disappointed when it was revealed to be him.

And finally there was the comment chain that stopped Grantaire's heart.

"Do you think that this mystery guy could be E's bf?!"

Already some thirteen or so people had responded and most of them had said, "i ship it!" or some variation of that. Grantaire blushed. People shipped him and Enjolras, and they didn't even know him yet...

Rolling his chair back from the desk Grantaire opened up his Instagram, searching for Enjolras' music account. He saw a few pictures from the cafe, close ups of the half eaten food and coffee...another one of them looked like his borrowed watch, and another that showed the sunset from Enjolras' bedroom window.

Even though he was working on the project, these teasers drove him crazy. Grantaire was desperate to see the finished product. After liking a few of them, he decided to call it a night. Checking his phone, he saw that it was already four in the morning. Jehan was going to be pissed...

Grantaire was right. Later that morning as he strolled into the boxing gym, dark circles beneath his eyes, he was immediately accosted by one Jehan Prouvaire.

"Why the hell do you do this to me, R? It's like you want me to be mad at you," complained the make-up artist.

Bossuet whistled. "Jean never swears."

"Oh shut up. R, don't you ever get any sleep?" Jehan huffed, pulling Grantaire over to where they had set up wardrobe.

"Not if I can help it," he replied with a coy wink.

"Don't be cute," Jean was not amused. "You need to get yourself a boyfriend who can look after you and help you get a healthy amount of sleep."

"Honey, if I had a boyfriend we wouldn't be sleeping," R smirked.

"Well you look like hell," Jean complained. "And since it's my job to make you presentable, I think I should get a bit of say in your upkeep, at least while you're working for us."

Grantaire sighed. "I'm sorry Jehan. I've never really done well sleeping alone. I don't like it...plus I've always been a bit of an insomniac."

Jehan cooed, "you poor dear. We really must find you a boyfriend."

Grantaire let Jehan powder him to his heart's content, without further complaint or innuendo. When he was done, he was told to get changed into a black tank top, and athletic shorts.

He made his way over to where Combeferre, Courfeyrac, and Enjolras were standing with Bahorel. The director and producer were speaking avidly with Bahorel as Enjolras listened.

"And how come I'm the only one with foundation caked on his skin?" muttered Grantaire to Enjolras.

The blonde turned with a smile on his face. "Cause I'm not in this scene. It's just you."

Grantaire thought back to all their discussions the first day of concept, and he vaguely remembered something about boxing...

"Alright," Combeferre turned to R, "Bahorel has choreographed some boxing for you to try. But we're going to need to wrap your knuckles. Bahorel can do that for you if you don't-"

Grantaire smiled, "I've boxed before."

Combeferre's eyes widened. "Really? That's great! Alright, so B, how about you go talk him through the combo, explain some stuff etc. I've got to find Feuilly and see if there's anyway we can get some better lighting."

The others ambled off, leaving just Enjolras, Bahorel, and Grantaire. Enjolras seemed to be nervously playing with a small camera, running his fingers around the side in repetitive motions.

Bahorel handed Grantaire some wraps, and the artist began the soothing process of wrapping his hands. He had always loved boxing, the tight feeling in his curled muscles as he poised his fist ready to punch...the pattern of breathing...but this part, wrapping his hands to protect them, always managed to center him.

"Alright, so it's pretty simple. We'll be filming you punching a heavy bag...but Combeferre says he doesn't want you in gloves, for aesthetic, or some shit. I tried to argue him out of it, but he insisted. I think so long as you're careful it should be okay. You said you've done this before?"

Grantaire nodded. "Yeah."

Bahorel smiled. "Well that makes me feel better. Would hate to have you break your hand for this music video. Pretty sure Courf wouldn't be too fond of that either. I don't think he knows how dangerous it is, if he did... Anyway, it's a simple combo meant to be repeated. You don't need to hit hard, but give the appearance that you are. This scene is about you working out the frustration and angst of not protecting your lover. Survivors' guilt, almost."

"Alright. Tell me the combo, then." Grantaire couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.

"So it starts with two right jabs, a left hook, ends with a right undercut. Then you repeat it on the left. Nice and simple." Bahorel said, demonstrating the punches in the air.

Grantaire nodded, "do you guys mind if I warm up a bit first?"

Bahorel smiled. "Not at all. We've still got some set up to do, and I think it would be smart for you to get some practice. I'm sure Combeferre will art direct you once we start shooting."

Grantaire ambled off, finding a jump rope in one of the corners.

Enjolras turned to Bahorel. "Is it really dangerous for him to box without gloves?"

Bahorel could read the blond's concern in his eyes. He gave a reassuring smile, "in real life scenarios, yes. But he should be fine. R knows his stuff, and he's only pretending for us. We're just lucky we got someone who knows so much about boxing."

"Yeah, luck." Enjolras said halfheartedly. Grantaire was so much more than luck.

Grantaire was busy skipping rope, his blood pounding in his ears when he heard the crisp voice of Enjolras nearby. He stopped, turning towards the voice, to see the blond talking into the camera.

"-behind the scenes of my music video 'First'. Today is day two of filming, but I'm afraid that I really didn't have time to get anything from yesterday...but never fear I'm not in today's scene, but my lovely co-star is. You haven't met him yet and...merde," Enjolras' smile dropped, he rolled his eyes, shaking his head, before it returned. "You'll be meeting him shortly. I'm honestly so grateful to be working with him."

Enjolras turned off the camera, and sensing eyes on him, turned to see R staring. "Hey."

Grantaire was still breathing heavily from his warm up, but he managed to mutter, "you've got it backwards."

"Huh?"

"I'm lucky to be working with you," Grantaire explained. "I'm the nobody extra who Enjolras deigned worthy to play love interest."

"Have I offended you?" Enjolras asked.

"No...that's not it," Grantaire blushed a bit. "It's just you make me sound like a lot more than I am."

"R, you're talented. You deserve all the praise I give, and probably more," Enjolras seemed flustered.

Grantaire paused, he didn't know what to say. "I-"

"Look, you don't have to accept my praise but you can't stop me from saying it."

Grantaire felt his face heat up, his heart was still pounding wildly. "I was just going to say thank you. Coming from you, it means a lot."

It was Enjolras' turn to blush. "Ah...I-"

"R, we're ready for you!" Combeferre's voice echoed from across the room.

Enjolras just nodded, watching Grantaire go. The brunet made his way over to where the heavy bag was hanging. He was surrounded by lighting and a couple cameras, which would allow Bahorel to capture different angles of the shot. Enjolras watched how easily the other began his routine, it was almost like he belonged in this life. He was easy to work with, and it was obvious everyone liked him. Enjolras hoped he would be willing to work on another project someday…

"No. Be angrier, R. Hit harder," Combeferre's voice broke through Enjolras' train of thought.

A thin sheen of sweat was covering the boxer's body, and Enjolras knew he was staring. He felt envy curdle in his stomach like milk gone bad as he watched Jehan lay a hand on R's bicep and whisper something into his ear. As Enjolras fiddled with the small camera, turning it on, he failed to notice how tense R's shoulders had become. Enjolras filmed the whole scene, watching through the screen of the camera Grantaire punch the heavy bag harder and harder. The brunet was releasing grunts with each hit that were definitely doing something to Enjolras' libido.

"Cut! That was perfect, R!" cheered Combeferre.

Grantaire was panting slightly from his exertions.

"I don't think we've ever had the pleasure of working with someone who made the process so easy," sighed Courfeyrac. "This is probably the quickest we've finished a shoot. Wouldn't you agree Enj?"

Enjolras who had managed to approach his friends by then nodded.

"You were great, R," Jehan agreed.

"I think we've gotten all the shots we need of you," Combeferre added.

"Oh," R tried to hide his disappointment, that meant no more working with Enjolras.

The others began to move away to discuss what needed to be done next in the process, giving Enjolras and Grantaire some privacy.

"So, what was it that Jehan whispered in your ear?" asked Enjolras slowly.

"Oh, you saw that?" Grantaire was flushed, Enjolras assumed from the work out, but he would be wrong.

"Yeah. Seemed intimate," Enjolras struggled to get the words out.

"It was...kinda."

"Oh! I'm sorry I shouldn't-"

"Nah, man. It's okay. Just a bit embarrassing." Grantaire said, barely meeting Enjolras' eye.

"So...Jehan's a great guy."

"Yeah he is."

"I'm happy for you two," Enjolras said curtly, beginning to move away.

"Wait. What?" R looked confused, but it was too late.

At that moment Jehan returned to the group, dragging along some of the others. Joly and Bossuet made it impossible for Enjolras to leave the situation, even though he felt like he wanted to go back home and curl up in bed and cry.

"Why don't you join Joly, Bossuet and I for coffee?" Jehan asked offering his sweetest smile, Enjolras' stomach jerked.

"I'd like that," R's eyes were still on Enjolras. "Will you be coming?"

"I can't. I need to go back to Bahorel's to do editing," Enjolras said feeling like his eyes were beginning to water. He blinked, and forced a smile onto his face. "You go. It'll be nice, yeah?"

"Oh. Yeah, okay," R said nodding a little too fast.

"C'mon, R," Jehan said taking his arm gently. Grantaire allowed himself to be lead away from the group. He changed back into his normal clothes before going to join his friends. They caught a taxi, and were taken to the Corinth.

"I've never seen Enjolras open up to someone so quickly," commented Joly as they entered the establishment. They were quickly seated, and placed their order, before the conversation continued.

"Yeah, usually he puts up a fuss with whoever we find for his videos. Says that they don't get it, but he was the one to suggest you so maybe-" Bossuet was suddenly elbowed very hard in the side by his boyfriend.

"He suggested me?" R knew that Enjolras had heard of him, and he had had his suspicions but...to hear it out of Bossuet's mouth was something completely unexpected.

Jehan rolled his eyes, "cat's outta the bag now. Yes, R. He suggested to Cosette that he would really like working with you on a project. She happened to know your agent, and it all worked out."

"But why me?"

"You're talented, R. We've all seen your videos with Patron Minette," Jehan replied.

"More times than we can count," laughed Bossuet.

Joly nodded eagerly. "Enjolras didn't really like the music, but he would watch them for you."

Grantaire was stunned.

"Erm, maybe don't let him know that we told you?" Bossuet said quietly as their coffee arrived.

"Enjolras would kill us," agreed Joly.

Grantaire dipped his head. "I don't think that will be much of a problem. Today was the last day. I won't be seeing any of you after this."

"Are you kidding?" Jehan looked offended. "We're friends aren't we?!"

"Yeah, but I was only hired for this video. I won't be needed after this."

"Don't be ridiculous," Jehan cooed. "We aren't just your friends because you decided to be in a music video."

"We like you R, you're awesome," Bossuet hastily added.

"Okay." R smiled thinly. "But I will miss this process. It was a lot of fun making the video itself."

Jehan shared a look at Bossuet and Joly.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

He knew they were lying.

In Bahorel's office, Courfeyrac was lounging on the couch with Cosette, playing with her hair, while Feuilly, Enjolras, Bahorel and Combeferre were crowded around the monitor.

"So Enj, what did you think of R?" Cosette asked grinning.

"Yeah, was he everything you dreamed of?" laughed Courfeyrac.

Enjolras blushed. "Shut up guys, we're working."

Courfeyrac just shook his head. "Think you'll ask him to do the other two videos?"

"What other two videos?" Cosette asked.

"'First' is literally the first video of a trilogy," explained Combeferre, "I'm surprised no one told you yet."

Cosette shrugged, "no worries, we've all had a lot on our plates. Which are the other songs, Enj?"

"Next is 'Triumph' and the final one is 'Red'," Enjolras replied his shoulders dropping. "Both are gonna be a lot more taxing than this one. I don't know if I can ask R to dedicate so much of his time to this project, not now anyway."

"Are you kidding me?" Cosette asked rising. She grabbed a hold of the blond's shoulders, looking him in the eye. "He would love to. I know for a fact that he would love to."

"How?"

The others in the room groaned. Cosette tried to refrain from hitting herself in the face, she failed. "I've talked to his agent, Eponine, a lot. It looks like he's as head over heels as you are."

Enjolras couldn't tell if he wanted to laugh or cry at that.

"Did you see how sad he looked when we told him we were done with him today?" added Combeferre.

"I'm sure he would love to be in your other two vids," added Courfeyrac.

"And if when you're asking him your tongue slips and you ask him out? Who are we to complain?" Bahorel added.

"Feuilly? You've been oddly quiet. What do you think?"

Feuilly smiled. "I think you should just do it so that we can move on, and maybe get some work done?"

Enjolras felt the tension in his shoulders relax. He smiled again. "Fine. I'll talk to him."

Except he didn't, because if he did it would hurt too much.

Everyday Grantaire held out, waiting for Enjolras to contact him, or at least his agent. He desperately wanted contact, a sign, anything! And it came in the form of a paycheck a few weeks later.

The check arrived with a little post-it in Combeferre's handwriting. 'Pleasure working with you!'

So that was it. Grantaire tried not to let his heart sink too far. He had been stupid to have listened so much to Joly and Jehan. Of course it had only been a professional relationship, it was silly to have assumed so much.

Weeks went by, and there was a definite chill to the air. Grantaire watched as Enjolras uploaded a short update about how his music video would be going up soon, and how there were going to be two more in the series. Listlessly, R wondered what the concepts for those were, and who they had asked for help. He tried not to pity himself too much, but he failed. He found himself going to bars more and more often, and coming home with strangers. The distractions were helpful, but they didn't cure his loneliness. He couldn't help but feel like he had seriously messed something up.

And that's when the video came out. When Grantaire saw it in his subscription box he felt his heart leap, and then plummet. And his gut was definitely twisting into knots he doubted would ever untangle. He clicked on the video and heard the intro that he had fist heard in Enjolras' loft so long ago.

The shot was in black and white, panning across a long line in a cafe. He saw Enjolras' hand reach out to grab his bicep. He watched as the man, no wait, it was him...He watched himself turn around. It wouldn't be until his fifth viewing that he would notice the sharp inhale he did….god, so they had decided to use that shot.

As the song progressed it shifted to them eating at the table, their were some drone shots, overhead that Grantaire had completely failed to notice them taking. It still didn't show their faces, but he watched himself kiss Enjolras' palm, and felt himself cringe internally. When had he ever thought that would have been a good idea?!

The next scene hurt. He watched Enjolras struggling against a white backdrop, and no one was looking at him. How could no one look? Grantaire was struggling against two men holding him, reaching out as Enjolras was pulled farther and farther away from him. God this felt too much like reality. R was tempted to click on another video, any video, but he couldn't. He was too weak to do even that, he though disgustedly.

There was a slow fade that matched the music, and Grantaire watched himself holding Enjolras as he sobbed. It all seemed more intense than when they had filmed it, R tightened his knuckles preparing himself for whatever would come next.

And then he was kissing Enjolras, everywhere, so tenderly he seemed afraid that the blond might shatter. He watched Enjolras tenderly wind his fingers into his dark locks as R ground into him. Subtly the sound of drums began to pick up.

With a crescendo in the music the viewer was transported to the boxing gym. The angle was clearly from behind, and showed Grantaire punching the heavy bag mercilessly. All his muscles were taught and tense, and it was clear that he was in hell.

The music shifted one more time. The screen was black, and slowly fading into focus was the Cafe Musain. The shot panned across the line like before, and when Enjolras touched Grantaire, color bloomed from the spot, spreading across the whole screen. The music faded out, and suddenly Grantaire was overly aware of the silence.

"Hi, I'm Enjolras." There was a tremor to the blond's voice that made Grantaire's throat tighten.

"Grantaire." His voice was soft and low, and just a tad bit suggestive. The screen went black, and Grantaire felt his reality slipping away from him. Obviously he replayed it.

And after that he played it again.

And again.

And again.

He played it a total of seven times.

After the seventh time he scrolled down into the comments, curious to see what Enjolras' fans had thought about it.

13: I can't believe we have to wait for part two. I need it now! This was so good!

phan-girl-forthelolz_120: Who was that guy? He was so hot. I SHIP IT! (can they be actual boyfriends please?)

Underneath that comment was a whole thread explaining how perfect they would be together. It was like a car crash, and Grantaire couldn't look away.

At the very bottom TroylerorTronnor: Do you think Grantaire is his actual name?!

It was Parnasse's-gurl who replied. "Ye, that guy is a dancer named Grantaire, sometimes called R. He's in some Patron Minette vids, and is super sexxxxyyy! He and E should totally hook up, I would watch that."

Grantaire cringed, but with a username like that what could he honestly expect?

There were so many positive comments, however, and soon Grantaire began to feel loneliness encircle him. He had majorly fucked up. What he wouldn't give for that video to be his reality, for Enjolras to look at him with such adoring glances and gentle touches….

"Fuck it."

He needed to get drunk, and preferably come home with someone, hopefully a blond with a beautiful voice. So he left his morose flat, determined to forget his troubles. He wandered around until he came to Wanderlust, a gay club he hadn't been to in a very long time. It was fancier than some of the other clubs he'd been to recently, and there was a pretty good chance he wouldn't walk away with an STI. He entered the place, and immediately felt his heart stop.

There, by the bar was none other than Enjolras surrounded by his friends. A couple of strangers were already there hitting on him, but he seemed to ignore them. That's when Jehan caught his eye and waved him over, and Grantaire was sure he had worse luck than Bossuet.

"Hi, R. We haven't seen you in forever!" slurred Jehan. "Come celebrate with us! The video is up, have you seen it!?"

"R?" Enjolras looked like a deer in headlights.

"Relax, Enjolras, I'm just here looking for a good time. I won't scare off your potential suitors," R said scathingly.

"With Jehan here I'm sure you'll find it," Enjolras replied just as bitingly.

"Excuse me?" Jehan asked. He was definitely drunk, but he would have had to be deaf to miss Enjolras' remark.

"You two can go flaunt your relationship grinding on the dance floor, thank you very much. I'll stay here." Enjolras turned on his stool away from them.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Grantaire had to yell to be heard over the bass.

"I have no idea, Enj, love? What is it?"

"Don't call me that." Enjolras glared at his friend. "Courf, I'm outta here."

"What the hell was that about?" R asked, turning to Combeferre.

"Hell if I know. Have you thought over Enjolras' offer? We need an answer soon ya know." Combeferre replied.

"What offer?"

"You mean he didn't ask you?" Courfeyrac asked.

"Ask me what?"

"To be in the rest of the series," elaborated Jehan.

"No. I haven't heard from any of you since the paycheck arrived," Grantaire was beginning to feel nauseous. Whatever was wrong between him and Enjolras he needed an explanation. Now. "I've gotta go. I need to go talk to him."

The other men nodded understandingly and bid him good luck.

Grantaire ran out of the club, and caught a cab back to Enjolras' loft. As much as it embarrassed him to admit, he had memorized its address the first day he had gotten it. He made his way inside the house just as the first few flurries had begun to fall. He knocked repeatedly on the red door, but to no luck. Enjolras was not home yet. Grantaire felt determined to wait. He slid down the door until he landed in a heap on the floor. Suddenly the weight of all the strain of stress and heartache hit him at once, and he felt completely exhausted. It took barely five minutes for him to fall asleep.

After leaving the club, Enjolras had caught the metro to Cosette and Marius' apartment. The latter was out with some high school friends who had come home for the holiday, which meant it was Cosette who answered the door.

"Enjolras? What is it? What's wrong?" A frown had settled onto her delicate features.

Wordlessly he strode into the tiny apartment, and curled up on the couch.

"What happened? Is everyone ok?" Cosette continued to prod. She settled down next to him and began to run her fingers through his hair. Immediately it had a calming effect on him; his fingers unfurled and he let out a long slow breath. "I thought you were out clubbing tonight."

"I was," his tongue felt heavy.

"And?"

"We ran into R."

Cosette was instantly relieved. So no one was in the hospital or dead, that was a start. "Alright. I thought you liked Grantaire, what was so bad about running into him?"

"I do like him. I like him a lot," whined Enjolras.

"And? I'm not really seeing the problem here," Cosette asked, her voice still soft and soothing.

"He's dating Jean." Enjolras said clinically because if he said it any other way he would start to cry.

"Now Enjolras, do you have any proof?" Cosette asked.

"No, but-"

"They aren't dating, you're working yourself into a fit over nothing," Cosette hummed.

"But-"

"Enjolras," her fingers stopped combing his hair for a moment. "Trust me. I have it on good authority that R is not dating anyone."

"Whose?"

"Eponine, his agent. We've been having weekly chats. Turns out R has been going through a pretty rough streak of late, Ep's pretty worried about it." Cosette said, resuming playing with the blond's hair.

"What?"

"He's been out almost every night, calls Eponine leaving her drunk messages. Some nights it sounds like he hates himself, other nights he's going home with someone...and that someone is never Jehan. Seems like R's been pretty upset," Cosette sighed.

"Why?" Everything Enjolras had thought to be true was now false, his world seemed to be crumbling around his head, a new one was taking its place. And although it was initially a better one as R was single, it was also awful. Was R truly so miserable?

"Maybe because a certain someone he likes has been ignoring him for about a month?" offered Cosette.

"You mean me." It wasn't a question.

"Honestly Enjolras, you're so clever and so smart and self assured. You see everything wrong with the world and society, but you can't see what's going on two feet in front of you."

"Um-"

"Don't interrupt." Cosette reprimanded gently. "This boy is in love with you, I saw it the moment I entered your loft that first day. Hell everyone could see it, if not right away by the end of the shoot it was obvious. And you like him. You've told me, you've probably told Ferre and Courf by now, and you wouldn't have come here in a fit because you thought Jehan and R were together if you didn't care. Now I want you to go home and get some rest, and when you wake up call him? Explain your feelings to him, because we can see it but he doesn't know your moods as well as us."

"Thanks, Cosette," Enjolras sighed. She nodded, getting up with him and walking him to the door.

"And Enjolras?"

"Yeah?"

"Apologize to him? From the sound of it you've been kinda shitty towards him."

Enjolras blushed. "I think I owe multiple apologies, to both him and Jehan."

Cosette smiled. "Good night, Enjolras."

"Cosette?"

"Hm?"

"You're going to make a great mother someday," Enjolras said with a tiny smile.

Cosette blushed a deep red, before smiling the brightest Enjolras had seen from her in a while,"Get some sleep, Enj. Tomorrow is a new day."

When Enjolras got home, he found Grantaire still propped up on his door sound asleep.

Enjolras crouched down and shook the brunet awake. Bloodshot eyes blinked back at him.

"Enj?" the voice was husky and thick with sleep, and it was probably the most beautiful thing Enjolras had heard all week.

"Come inside, I'll put some tea on."

Enjolras unlocked the door and ushered the other inside. The apartment was dim, but appeared decorated for the holidays. Outside the windows the snow was beginning to fall more steadily. The thick blanket of clouds was mauve from the light pollution, and gave the feeling that the whole world was in a hazy slumber.

"How long have you been waiting?" Enjolras asked quietly.

"Not long." It was a lie, and both of them knew it.

Once the kettle had been put on the stove, Enjolras joined Grantaire at the breakfast bar. "I wanted to apologize to you."

"That's not necessary," Grantaire replied, eyes downcast.

"No. It is. R, please look at me." Grantaire's eyes met Enjolras' own. "I've treated you horribly. I shouldn't have ignored you like that just because I thought you were interested in someone else, it was selfish of me and incredibly rude. You have the freedom to love whomever you choose, and it was unprofessional for me to ignore your feelings like I did."

At the word 'unprofessional' Grantaire flinched. "I still don't know what you're saying, Enjolras."

Enjolras took a steadying breath. "I ignored you for so long because I...because talking to you physically hurt."

Grantaire looked away again.

"Shit. I didn't mean like that. Fuck." Enjolras ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at different curls to calm himself down. "I like you Grantaire. I like you a lot, to the point where talking to you and knowing that you didn't feel the same way hurt. I convinced myself you and Jehan were together, and looking at you hurt, knowing that I could never be what he was to you-"

Grantaire interrupted him with a kiss. It was short but conveyed a lot of passion. The silence was broken by the tea kettle as it whistled shrilly. Enjolras ignored it, staring into Grantaire's eyes.

"So you-"

"Enjolras, I like you. I've had a crush on you ever since I discovered your videos, and getting to work with you was a dream come true. Jehan is nothing more than a dear friend, and someday I would like to know how you came to the conclusion that I liked him, but for now the only thing I want to do is kiss you again," Grantaire said letting out a huge amount of air. "Do you permit it?"

Enjolras grinned. He went to turn off the stove, silencing the kettle. "I can think of a better place we should continue."

Grantaire's eyes lit up as he followed Enjolras towards his bedroom. They began to kiss passionately as Enjolras' fingers fumbled at Grantaire's belt. The brunet was currently unbuttoning Enjolras' shirt before throwing it to the floor. Once they had gotten to the bedroom it was only a matter of minutes before they were completely undressed.

"Are you sure about this?" Grantaire asked.

Enjolras nodded. "There will be plenty of time to talk, but right now I want this."

Grantaire grinned before leaning down to suck the sensitive skin where Enjolras' jaw bone connected with his neck. The blond let out a gasp that was music to R's ears. After forming a dark hickey he began to work his way down Enjolras' neck and chest. The other was mewling with frustration, but Grantaire wanted to make this last. He wanted to make sure it was real.

"I've wanted this since the last time you were in my bed," Enjolras said between pants.

Grantaire brought his face up so that he could look the blond in the eye. "That was the first time you called me by my name."

"I know," Enjolras smiled. The blond reached down wrapping his hand around both their erections, causing the brunet to let out a low moan.

"Fuck, that is not fair," Grantaire groaned, tight heat was curling in his belly.

Enjolras grinned, bucking up into his hand. "I want you in me, Grantaire."

"God, you shouldn't be allowed to say my name like that," panted R.

Enjolras smirked. "Well if I am God I'm allowed to do whatever I want."

"Ugh, this dictatorship is getting to your head. I thought you were all about equality," teased Grantaire.

"Are you gonna fuck me or are we gonna talk politics, because I'm fine with either," Enjolras said his tone matching R's.

Grantaire's eyes widened,of those two choices he was most definitely biased towards the first. "Got a condom?"

Enjolras stretched out, his hand disappearing into the bedside table. He pulled out a condom and a bottle of lube. "Will this suffice?"

Grantaire popped open the lube, before spreading Enjolras' legs. He coated his fingers before pressing one into Enjolras' tight heat.

"Did you already-?"

"I was bored earlier today." Enjolras said nonchalantly.

"You were bored?" Grantaire asked disbelievingly as he added another finger.

"I was reading the Federalist Papers and got bored," Enjolras shrugged. "It was only for research."

Grantaire's jaw dropped. "you got bored reading the Federalist Papers so you decided that to make it more interesting you would prep yourself?"

"Yeah pretty much, ahh right there," Enjolras' hole clenched.

"So instead of porn you read historical political papers. God, why am I not surprised." Grantaire laughed, adding another finger.

"There's a lot you have to learn about me, R. And I suggest you start with how to pleasure me," teased Enjolras. "After all I am God-"

"Oh shut up." Grunted Grantaire as he rolled the condom on himself. He then turned Enjolras over, and lubed up his dick. As he pushed in he couldn't suppress his moan feeling how tight Enjolras' asshole was, even if it had been opened up while the other was reading political theories.

Grantaire began to pickup the pace, kissing Enjolras shoulders and back. The blond began to arch up as he rutted against his bed, desperate for any friction he could find.

"Again, Grantaire. Agh fuck, right there," hissed Enjolras in pleasure.

Enjolras' hole began clenching around Grantaire's dick, sucking it in, and it wasn't long before Grantaire came. He rolled off Enjolras, disposed of the used condom, and returned to find Enjolras lazily stroking himself.

"Let me," Grantaire interrupted. He then proceeded to take Enjolras into his mouth, sucking and slurping at the other's dick. He easily deepthroated the blond, and the wet noises alone were almost enough to make Enjolras cum. With hardly any warning Enjolras began to shoot his load down Grantaire's throat, which he swallowed with no complaint. After Enjolras was done, Grantaire moved so that he was laying beside his lover.

"It's late. I suppose I should go," Grantaire said staring at the dark ceiling.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's 2 am, you're staying here."

"The couch then?" Grantaire offered.

"Here, as in my bed. Do you really think after what we just did I would send you to sleep on my couch? Do you really think me that heartless?" Enjolras asked, tenderly laying a hand on Grantaire's cheek.

"No, you are not heartless. You are perhaps the most caring person in this shitty world," Grantaire replied honestly.

Enjolras smiled into the semi-darkness, Paris is never truly dark. There was a beat of silence, and then:

"What did Jehan tell you? At the gym?" Enjolras asked.

Grantaire frowned. "Is that what gave you the idea-?"

"Sort of. What did he say?" Enjolras rolled over to study the profile of Grantaire in the light from the city muted by the cloud bank.

"He told me to imagine that you had been hurt, that those bruises the other day were real, and if only I had been able to do something you would have been fine," R gushed breathlessly. "He said that 'they' would take you from me. That I would lose you."

"'They?"

"Just some nefarious group. It doesn't really matter," Grantaire said shrugging.

Enjolras brow furrowed, "he knew how much I meant to you even then?"

"Even then, Enjolras. I've never been very good at hiding my feelings," R shrugged.

"Our friends are very perceptive," Enjolras said laughing lightly. He was touched about how riled up the idea of him being hurt made Grantaire.

R rolled over with a smile,"They really are. Ep was right ya know."

"Hm?"

"You are a power bottom."

Enjolras gently hit Grantaire's bicep with a laugh. "Get some sleep."

And that's exactly what they did.

The next morning, Combeferre led the way, unlocking Enjolras' door with a spare key he had. Behind him was Courfeyrac, Jehan, Feuilly, Bossuet, and Bahorel. Joly had offered to assist Marius in getting them all coffee.

When they entered the flat the first thing they noticed were clothes strewn across the floor pointing to Enjolras' bedroom.

"Looks like someone got lucky last night," Bahorel wagged his eyebrows up and down.

"Do you think they worked it out?" Feuilly asked.

"Fucking better, who else would Enj be sleeping with," Combeferre muttered than in a louder voice. "Yoohoo! Anyone home? We have a meeting!"

Enjolras had woken up when he had heard his friends enter his home, they weren't exactly the quietest of people. Grantaire a second or two later.

"Guess I should go?" Grantaire offered in a whisper.

"I want you to stay. This meeting, it's about the second video. I want you to be in it. If you're willing? I know we still have a lot to talk about, and I want to...but I do have to go to this meeting, and I want you to be there too-"

"Dinner tonight?"

Enjolras nodded, although his heart sunk at the thought of Grantaire leaving.

"And hey, I'd be honored to be in the second one," Grantaire grinned, touching Enjolras' cheek affectionately.

The two men quickly dressed, Grantaire having to borrow a shirt of Enjolras' which was slightly ill-fitting, as well as pants.

"Hey guys," Enjolras said first emerging from his bedroom.

He was followed immediately by Grantaire, "what's up?"

There were some wolf-whistles (Bahorel and Combeferre) as well as some cheers (Jehan and Bossuet) and Courfeyrac was definitely smirking at them.

"Congrats mate," Ferre grinned. "So was Enj as good a shag as you hoped."

"Don't be so crass." Courfeyrac rolled his eyes.

"R, are you staying to help with this 'Triumph'?"

Grantaire shot Enjolras a confused look.

"The name of the second video in the series," Enjolras explained. "And yeah, he is."

Combeferre beamed. "I was hoping it would work out between you two. Not only are you perfect for one another, but it'll be consistent with the other video, which is from my view very aesthetically pleasing! Now the concept behind this video is the current triumph of…"

Grantaire stopped paying attention, although he knew he should be. Instead he looked over at Enjolras, who looked glorious even with his hair matted from sleep. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to be going out to dinner with this man later that day, or to work on another music video. He shared a secret smile with himself, if music be the food of love, play on~

Thank you to everyone who has patiently waited for this chapter. I wanted to have it done so long ago, but my computer died and I had to wait to get it fixed. And then writing and editing took awhile (it's 24 pages! Jfc)….I hope you are all happy with it, and to those who celebrate it, have a happy Christmas!

Somehow this chapter is longer than the last one. I'm considering writing short(?) oneshots for both Triumph and Red, but idk. Let me know if you would be interested in that/fans interacting and finding out that they're dating? Anyway, leave a comment or favorite if you feel so inclined. Thanks again, and Merry Christmas! ~T.W.o.W.