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bbclesmis · 5 years

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‘Valjean is like Spider-Man’

DOMINIC WEST FIGURES he's played his share of awful people. The serial killer Fred West in Appropriate Adult? Jimmy McNulty, the Baltimore cop in The Wire? A lovable rogue, but a rogue nonetheless. Noah Solloway, the lead in The Affair? "He's deeply silly," West contends. "Just a silly man!" In the film Colette (out this Friday), he plays a sadistic husband who locks his gifted wife (Keira Knightley) away and makes her write books for which he claims credit.

"As an actor, you do live with these people and experience what they're feeling," sighs the actor, 49. "If they're a******s, it's exhausting and ultimately degrading. So it was such a relief to play someone who's great." And he smiles that irascible smile, the one that makes you root for West even when he's playing murderers and pretentious, adulterous novelists.

Jean Valjean, West's character in the BBC's adaptation of Les Miserables, is not only "great" in the actor's eyes. He is nothing less than the "greatest hero in all literature": a superhero ex-convict who has spent 19 years in prison being tortured by Inspector Javert (David Oyelowo) for stealing a loaf of bread, but who determines on his release to be the best possible man he can be... with heartbreaking results.

West considers Victor Hugo's French revolutionary epic to be the "greatest novel ever written", too - "much better than War and Peace!" - and certainly much better than the famous musical (he's not a fan).

"Valjean is not just a good guy, he's an amazing guy. Like Spider-Man!" he beams. "He climbs up the sides of buildings to rescue kids. And he has the legitimacy of intense suffering; he's done 19 years of hard labour. That knocks Iron Man into a cocked hat! Then you get into the humanity of Valjean, his demons, his desperate need to redeem himself... He's trying not to be the brute that the prison has turned him into. You become a better person by spending time with someone like that."

He has asked me to his home, a converted brewery in Wiltshire that he shares with his wife, Catherine FitzGerald, and four children - Dora, 11, Senan, ten, Francis, nine, and Christabel, five - "I'm trying to cut down," he jokes. (He has another daughter, Martha, from his first marriage, who is studying English at Oxford and wants to act.) "I think all households should have a five-year-old girl running round," he says. "I just think it's better for children. Stops them from becoming little princesses. It's much harder to be a spoilt brat as one of four."

HE OPENS THE door unshaven and unkempt with a general air of bohemian bonhomie. He puts on a succession of silly voices as he leads me through to his kitchen. "Teas? Light refreshments? Do we want hot milk in our coffees? Yes?" He's such a chameleon as an actor that even his own accent sounds as if it's put on. He was educated at Eton, but his family isn't proper posh. His Irish father owned a plastics factory in Sheffield, his mother was an actor and he's the sixth of seven children.

The Wests have been doing up the house for about three years, but only moved in last summer - there are paintings waiting to be hung, pieces of Lego, mugs, antiques scattered around... The house used to be a "very manageable cottage next to a derelict brewery, but having decided to connect them all together they're only now getting used to the layout. "There are about five different doors to choose from. I didn't realise how spread out it would be. It's enormous!" They moved from west London to give the kids more space to range around when they're teenagers: "I want my kids to be around trees and animals more."

We take refuge in his office, up in the rafters of the old brewery, where he sinks into an armchair and resumes recounting his love affair with Les Miserables.

THE BBC VERSION is written by Andrew Davies and picks up more or less where his adaptation of War and Peace left off. It opens on the field of Waterloo in 1815 in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat. Back in Paris, the royalists are resurgent - but can't quell the forces unleashed by the Revolution.

In the first episode, we follow Valjean's ill-starred attempts at redemption after his nemesis, Javert, releases him; meanwhile, the grisette Fantine (Lily Collins) falls for a cad (Johnny Flynn) and becomes pregnant with little Cosette - whose path will cross with Valjean's in the future. Six episodes, much heartache and many improbable coincidences will take us all the way up to the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris.

West hadn't read the epic novel, but now that he has, he's a convert. He even loves Hugo's digressions into the design of the Paris sewers. "Actually, I'd have loved it if we could have made six seasons out of it," he says. 'There's more than enough material and it's all important and relevant. As with any great classic, it's big enough to handle any amount of interpretations."

Javert's antipathy to Valjean is one of the engines of the plot - but it's also something of a mystery. Why does Javert hate him so much? "I always like to trace motivations to sex," West says. "I said to David, 'Javert obviously fancies him!' But he thought that was crass."

Did the rivalry extend off-set? "You're never quite sure where the character ends and the actor starts," he laughs. "But the key to David is that he's actually royal. He's a prince in Nigeria. And he doesn't drink. He's very religious. He's been married to his wife since he was 19 and they have four beautiful children. I hadn't realised people like that existed in the acting world! He's a very inspiring guy."

The co-stars decided it was the shared trauma of being institutionalised that set their characters against one another. "Valjean doesn't think he deserves anything other than brutality. Javert is constantly reminding him he's just a common criminal who breaks rocks and murders people."

Oyelowo is one of a number of non-white actors in the cast, marking a departure from traditional costume-drama casting. West jokes that he really wanted to do it all with 'A1lo'Allo accents, but: "Like any classic, it's not a museum piece. It has relevance to modern life. Eponine and the girls all talk like modern London girls. And therefore it looks like modern Britain, too."

THE PRODUCTION LOOKS likely to make Collins, as Fantine, a star. "She's incredible," says West. "It's an exhausting part. So harrowing. Any actress who goes for it deserves all the accolades she gets..." The first scene they shot together was Fantine's death, filmed in a freezing manor house outside Brussels at 5am. "She really went for it. I was like, 'Oh my God! How did you do those spasm things?' She said, 'I just made it up'." I imagine it's reassuring to have West on set: he is very experienced, but doesn't take himself too seriously. Do the younger actors come to him for advice? "Pfah! No. I'm jaded and lazy."

The Wire was the show that brought him fame, as well as a credibility not usually open to Old Etonians. But originally he didn't want to be in it. "And it turns out to have been the one thing that everyone knows me for and it was one of the best shows ever made! I think [creator] David Simon is almost the Victor Hugo of our time... certainly the Charles Dickens."

The Affair offers more escapist pleasure, its marital rows interspersed with good-looking people having sex (even if he doesn't think much of Noah). The Wests are about to decamp to LA for the filming of the final season, but it will be without Ruth Wilson this time. Last February, she disclosed in a Radio Times interview that she was "sure" she earned less than West. "I don't want more money, I just want equal money," she added. Not long after that her character Alison Bailey was killed off. What was all that about? "Oh, not related!" West yelps.

He remains good friends with Wilson. The main point of contention on set was whose behind would be visible in the sex scenes. "We used to fight about it. 'You're on top this time', 'No! I was on top the last three times!'"

He'd never given much thought to who was paid what, he says. "I never asked what the money is on a show. It was more a question of if I wanted to do it. So it woke me up to the issue. I never realised the disparity and the injustice."

It's one of a number of changes he has noticed since the #MeToo movement gained ground. "One thing that's happened is a positive discrimination in favour of female directors. But the main thing is that unacceptable behaviour from male directors or actors is now either not possible, or you can call them out on it. There was one guy in particular whose behaviour was disgusting. Particularly to young females in minor roles. I tried to counter it on several occasions. But now it wouldn't be so hard to get rid of them."

'Treatment of women has taken a big step back in television'

He twists his face in derision at those who feel the feminists have gone "too far". "Treatment of women has taken a big step back in the past 20 years," he says, his voice rising. "Particularly in television, which has become more pornographic and the burden of that falls squarely on young women. Things like Game of Thrones, where you get a pair of bare breasts every five minutes... I mustn't say this, but..." Say it!

"I'm fairly sure that 20 years ago young actresses would not have had pressure put on them to take their clothes off. The parts young actresses get, particularly pretty ones, involve violent rape. When I think about my daughter going into the profession... I'm just really glad that #MeToo has started to counteract what has happened in the past 20 years."

He puts it down to internet porn - "It's made boys feel that women are sex objects who are easily available" - as well as social media. "If you can swipe someone's face because you don't think they're pretty and it costs you that little... I haven't done it myself, but it cheapens it."

HE's CONCERNED AT the turn the world is taking: he mentions Trump, climate change, teenage boys becoming addicted to the online game Fortnite. A wariness of modernity seems to have inspired the move to the countryside; he and his wife are "luddites", he confesses. "I'm not one of those people who say, 'How can you bring children into this world?' But I do want to spend a lot more time hanging out with my kids and running around in forests."

Once he has finished filming the last season of The Affair, he plans to hire an enormous camper van, bundle the entire family into it and spend a few months driving around the States.

"It's the last chance we have," he explains. "They're nearly teenagers, so they're not going to want to spend that much time with their old man for much longer. I've spent a long time away from them. So we're taking six months, four months of it travelling. I've taken them out of school - there are no big exams. We'll home school them. They'll read. No screens. You're not going to get a better education than that. If you travel with as little as possible, you get much more interesting experiences."

Radio Times 5-11 January 2019

#les mis bbc #bbc les mis #dominic west #Jean Valjean #valvert #david oyelowo #javert #Lily Collins #fantine #Interviews #articles #radio times

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lesamisandlesmiserables · 6 years

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On seeing the 2018 Les Mis North American tour - Mod Fantine

First off, I am going to be talking about everything about the experience. So if you plan on seeing it or have never seen Les Mis in any form SKIP THIS POST! I do not want to spoil anything for you. But if you cannot see it or already know the plot, this is the post for you!

Before I go on I must say that I went to an Accessibility performance. I don’t know what they are called where you are but that’s what my theater called it. This show was for the deaf, HOH and blind. This means there was a small screen that had subtitles and there were ASL interpreters. Hats off to those interpreters, they were subtle but they also gave a performance all their own. They seemed deeply passionate about A) their work and B) the story. While I did not need those accommodations I am so happy to see theater being opened up to everyone.

Now on with my review!

The set and general stage design: The show was a bit dark lighting-wise. Les Mis is a darker show, yes, but everything looked like it was happening either evening or midnight. When Valjean is released from prison, it looks like they are doing it in the middle of the night and when Marius runs into Cosette for the first time it looks as if Valjean and Cosette are giving alms at night.

I know they got rid of the revolving stage but the barricade seemed much sparser and thin. Not a gripe just an observation. I thought they made great use of the space and the set design of the alleys was marvelous. The sewers were excellently staged. The projection made Valjean seem so small and really demonstrated how hard that task was.

I have no idea if this is in all productions but they got rid of the time cards. You know the ones that say ‘Toulon’ or ‘Paris’? I think those time cards explain the story. Imagine if you have never seen the show; it must be confusing to understand the time jumps and location changes. Granted, these time cards were in the program but who is going to remember to look in the program for this info?

Lastly, I love the return to our boi Victor Hugo! They used some of his original art for backdrops and the title is in his original handwriting. I love how this is reconnecting the musical to its origins. It is in less of the big 80s style and more subtle and nuanced.

Nick Cartell as Valjean:

10/10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He played Valjean a bit more angry and human. It is so easy to write Valjean off as a saint or a Jesus figure but Cartell’s Valjean was a flawed human. Valjean is always known as super strong and invincible but Cartell gave Valjean a limp after he leaves Toulon. But going along with not being perfect physically this Valjean is also flawed internally. He doesn’t magically forgive Javert. He still holds a lot of resentment but knows that lashing out is not the solution. When he lets Javert go at the barricade, he doesn’t look like he wants to, but he knows that it isn’t his job to decide who dies.

BUT BUT BUT.........the connection between his Valjean and Cosette was so sweet! He did this cute thing when he first saves Cosette where he touches his nose and then boops Cosette’s nose. This happens several key times in the show: when they first meet, when Javert almost catches them giving alms and when Valjean dies. My heart just melted!!!!! This really cements that this is a father and daughter.

Continuing on the idea of this Valjean feeling like a real human... when he gets the letter from Marius meant for Cosette he is like WTF my daughter isn’t a little girl anymore. He pauses throughout the song as if he is processing what Marius is saying. He also regarded Marius as if, “I don’t like you but my daughter does and that is the only thing that matters!” Also during his confession to Marius, he looks at him like: “If Cosette is ever unhappy with you, you better bet I will come running back from wherever I am. NO ONE HURTS MY LITTLE GIRL!”

Vocal-wise this man is now my favorite Valjean. His rendition of Bring Him Home was hauntingly beautiful. Bring Him Home is either one of the most beautiful songs or the worst sounding. It is so easy to miss those high notes but Cartell executes this song perfectly. His voice, in general, leans more towards tenor than the traditional baritone. He never screeched his words and his singing sounded effortless and clean. But seriously, if you ever have the chance to hear him sing Bring Him Home you will not have wasted your time in doing so.

Josh Davis as Javert:

I loved this harsher toned Javert. As the story goes on, his voice ages and he actually sounds tired when he catches Valjean for the last time. We forget that while we see Valjean’s plight, Javert is also being worn down by the cat-and-mouse chase. I heard criticism from the lady in front of me that this Javert was too robotic. Yes, I agree Davis had a slight William Shatner effect to his words, but I do not think this was a mistake. Javert is very much a man who thinks in order to survive in this world one must do X, Y and Z, never deviate from that and be stoic. His baritone vocals were everything to me, it was a clear contrast between and Valjean’s lighter almost tenor voice.

Javert’s suicide was done beautifully. I dare not spoil how that bit was done but it was well executed!

Joshua Grosso as Marius:

YES YES YES! You know that part in Les Mis where Hugo writes that Valjean sees Marius as a noddle?

Well, Grosso totally hit that nail on the head. I love how he feels like a real guy in his twenties when he is at the meeting with the other members of Les Amis. He also throws rocks at Cosette’s window... which is so cute. When Cosette leaves her balcony to go down and see him, poor Marius think it means she rejected him and my heart just broke! Marius can be played real foppish and as if he owns the world but this Marius was simply a young man caught up in love.

But, his chemistry with Eponine is to die for! Every Marius I have seen brushes off Eponine and treats her like she isn’t even really a friend. But this Marius and Eponine felt like they had been friends for ages. MUCH LOVE!

Jillian Butler as Cosette:

I adored this Cosette. If there is one gripe I have about Les Mis the musical as a whole is how little we see of adult Cosette. She is a trauma victim who still sees light and love in the word. Butler as Cosette made the character feel again like a real person. She is scared of Marius when he is throwing rocks at her window. She held on tightly to Valjean when they were giving food to the poor. During the reprise of Heart Full of Love, I have no words to properly explain but she looked and touched Marius in a knowing sort of way. She seemed to be expressing that she had darkness in her past as well and that the grief will pass. I don’t know, this felt like a real character growth moment.

Mary Kate Moore as Fantine: As Mod Fantine, y'all must be wondering what I thought of this Fantine. While this was not my favorite Fantine, I must commend her for playing her much more raw and angry than usual. When the other factory women are accusing her and tormenting her, she fights back. Her I Dreamed a Dream was so raw and angry, it made Fantine less of a tragic waif but more of a tragic fighter. She really tried to survive but in the end, the word is not fair.

Various other thoughts in no particular order:

The caller. You know that bit where the offstage caller goes YOU HAVE NO CHANCE, NO CHANCE AT ALL? This guy really emphasized the part YOU HAVE NO FRIENDS and I was like ‘same bro’.

Bishop Myriel’s overly long note in ‘I have bought your soul for God’. God was more like Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood

Gavroche flipping Javert off after Javert says “EVERYONE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS, CLEAR THIS GARBAGE OFF THE STREETS!”

Marius accidentally getting caught in the gate when he tries to see Cosette for the first time. Like he is up there singing and then he has to get down and his coat gets caught. Eponine comes over and saves him and Marius looks a little embarrassed but then goes on singing. A+ on that improv!

Valjean singing with Cosette after he helps her with her bucket. I know a lot of productions do this but this Valjean was sort of hesitant like he’s never sung before but then gets used to it and is enjoying it.

Valjean holding Cosette in the air and spinning. Snow falling in the background really made this once cold environment much warmer ironically.

Any and all slapstick from the Thenardiers.

Valjean pushing Eponine away from his door when she is delivering Marius’s letter. Like, we know that it is Eponine but to him, it is just some rando at the door.

My dad leaning over and asking who the person in the chair dying was. Because Cartell sang the ending song much higher than is traditional and my dad low-key thinking Cosette was dying and panicking.

Marius accidentally coughing in the sewers. The poor guy is pretending to be dead and there is a crap-ton of fog everywhere. Not to mention that this is Denver, Mile High, notoriously high altitude, Colorado. The poor guy had a coughing fit but Thenardier was moving so much you couldn’t really see it. But heart goes out to you! My asthmatic lungs couldn’t do it.

Sidenote: Thenardier playing with Marius’s ‘dead’ body.

The guy who harasses Fantine in lovely ladies and then acts innocent around Javert.... well his actor was also playing a lawyer in the court when Valjean bursts in with his confession. Not a criticism but I just remember thinking Ah so this is your day job, eh?

Valjean hobbling to the table to light his candlesticks before sitting in his chair to die. This was perfect. It made it clear that Valjean was dying because of loss of hope and love, not from disease. Valjean is strong but what changes him throughout the show is kindness and love and when he has lost that, he withers. BUT MY EYES WERE FULL OF TEARS, I JUST WANTED TO HELP HIM!

Enjolras’s body being shown in a cart that pulls into the scene and Javert having Gavroche’s body thrown into the cart as well.

DID I MENTION THE ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRANTAIRE AND GAVROCHE? MUST PROTECT BOTH AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!

Marius standing farther away from Cosette and Valjean at the end. He knows that this is not really his moment but is there supporting Cosette.

Random old guy who stops Fantine from being harassed at the factory. YES YES YES it shows that while times are rough, there is always kindness somewhere. It really elevates the hope in the show. Like dude, you deserve everything good. You are the ally everyone needs. It shows that anyone can be a saint and Valjean isn’t the exception.

That bit in the book where Valjean steals the coin from Petit Gervais. I did not know that they added that into the show and I loved it.

Due to the lighting being so dark, one of the main methods of lighting the scene was torches. Now sometimes this felt nice like when the whole town seemingly finds Valjean and returns him to the bishop. It really set the tone of the whole world being against Valjean. But sometimes it set this weird tone of all this happening at midnight.

Top marks to the person waving the big red flag! You go! I aspire to that level of energy in everything I do.

This Grantaire was SUPER nihilistic and I am here for it! Like when he teases Marius for his new love, it almost seemed like ‘enjoy it now because in the end we are all doomed to the abyss from whence we came!’ and then would go back to make sexual jokes and stealing everyone’s drinks. (Some people will disagree but I saw an u/s so his interpretation was perhaps VERY different than what you saw)

This Enjolras was super obsessed with this revolution. People always ship Grantaire and him and here there were 0 shippable moments. When Enjolras says “Grantaire put that bottle down!” he sounded kinda angry. “BRO CUT IT OUT! MY ONLY LOVE IS FREEDOM, QUIT USING THAT BOTTLE AS A PHALLIC SYMBOL OR I WILL PERSONALLY COME OVER THERE AND TAKE IT FROM YOU!” (again I saw an u/s which may account for the difference in performance).

EMPTY CHAIRS AT EMPTY FRICKIN TABLES!!!!!!!!!!!!! That scene got me so hard! When the women are singing Turning, they leave candles on the ground and Marius hobbles in. Then the ghosts of his friends pick the candles up and carrying them off. Enjolras is the last to leave and he shares a long look with Marius as if to say it’s all on you, buddy. Marius grabs his candles and holds it like a glass and raises it to the Heavens, then the spotlight goes out and all we see is the candle before he blows it out. POWERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All in all, I would describe this tour and version to be the most realistic and human. If you read closely I used words like human and flawed. This version made it clear while there may not be any saints, there are saint-like people and we should all try out best to be our best selves. This has become my favorite production. This version felt fresh and as if this could be anyone’s story. This isn't just some 19th-century French story but a story for the modern person. It speaks to the idea that times can be hard but in the end, if we show kindness, we can all get through this life a little easier. I first saw this show in 4th grade and now a uni student I can see why this show made such an impression upon my 9-year-old self. This is truly a story that transcends time and I am so honored to have seen it again.

If you saw it what did you think? Do you agree or disagree with anything I said and if so why?

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girlsinthestars · 6 years

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I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown

Pairing: Enjolras/Grantaire

Word count: 2689

Warnings: None, it’s slightly angsty to begin with, but ends happily.

Read on AO3

Usually Enjolras’ taunts had no effect on Grantaire, usually he was able to laugh them off because he knew they were coming. But today was different. Today he was out of it, today he had received a letter informing him of his eviction, telling him to be out come evening, today he had lost his home and was, therefore, homeless, with all of his belongings stuffed into his backpack. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been heading towards this but he just never thought he’d hit this kind of rock bottom. So he didn’t bother arguing any of Enjolras’ points, he didn’t bother throwing out sarcastic comments, he didn’t bother being anything other than a shadow in the corner. He figured no one would notice but it was just his luck that Enjolras did, and of course Enjolras decided to call him out on it.

“What has gotten into you Grantaire? You haven’t said a word all afternoon.”

“I haven’t had anything to say, I thought you’d be pleased.”

“Of course I’m pleased, it’s just unlike you is all.” There was an odd tone of concern in Enjolras’ voice that was entirely out of place, of course Grantaire had heard it directed at others but never him.

“Well maybe I’ve given up.”

“What on earth does that mean?”

“Maybe I just don’t care anymore, about the cause, about your speeches, about proving you wrong, I mean does it even matter?”

The room fell silent, as if everyone was holding their breath to see Enjolras’ reaction.

Enjolras glared at him. “If that is the case, perhaps you should leave. At least when you were pointing out my errors you were serving a purpose, however frustrating.”

Grantaire could only nod in response, because Enjolras was right, as always, he barely serves a purpose here. A stiff silence had settled over the room, Enjolras glaring at Grantaire who could only stare at the floor.

“Well?” Enjolras demanded, seemingly frustrated with the silence, “if you’re going to leave then leave. You’re wasting all of our time, you’re wasting our space, you’re wasting our resources, how many drinks have you had tonight?”

“Enjolras!” Combeferre hissed.

A tremor passed through Grantaire as he let those words sink in. True as it was, he never thought Enjolras would have the guts to tell him to stop wasting their time, space and resources. He nodded slightly then stood shakily.

“I’ll be going then.” Then, without even grabbing his coat he stumbled out the door into the snow.

It was cold outside, and quiet. And, god, so empty. Grantaire walked blindly in, hopefully, the direction of a motel of some description, somewhere warm at least. God, why hadn’t he fought Enjolras, why had he just got up and left? And since when had Enjolras started getting to him? He knew he was a waste of space, god forbid someone should let him forget it, so why had Enjolras saying it hurt so much? Was he really so delusional that he thought Enjolras returned his feelings on any level at all?

He had only gone a mile or so when he realised all his money was in the bag he had left in the Musain. Going back was not an option. There was no way he could face them right now. He sighed and dropped onto a bench, figuring this would be his life from now on, he curled up and made himself as warm as he could before closing his eyes and begging for sleep.

That was where Eponine found him an hour later.

“Jesus Christ R, what are you doing, it’s freezing out here you left your bag, and more importantly your coat!”

“‘Ponine? What are you doing here?” Grantaire asked blearily.

“Looking for you, you idiot! I went to your apartment after the meeting to make sure you were okay but you weren’t there.”

“Oh yeah,” He said, sitting up and brushing the snow off his sleeve, realising, as he came into consciousness, that his limbs had gone numb with cold in the time he’d been asleep, “got kicked out.”

“So you decided you’d sleep on a fucking bench?!”

“Didn’t wanna be a burden to anyone.”

“Is this about what Enjolras said? Because you know he didn’t mean it R, he was frustrated and hurt.”

“He was hurt?” Grantaire snorted, “What did he have to be hurt about?”

“By god you’re oblivious,” Eponine said, sitting down next to him and taking one of his hands, gently massaging feeling and warmth back into it, “he cares about you, he cares about your opinion. He was hurt because you said you didn’t care about him anymore.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No, you said you didn’t care about the cause or his speeches, which is even worse because those are everything to him R, he spends all his time planning and thinking about them.”

Grantaire was silent.

“I think there’s a communication issue happening here and I think you two need to spend some quality time together so-”

“No.” Grantaire interrupted, “whatever you’re about to say, no.”

“-So, I’m volunteering his apartment as the place you stay until you find a new apartment.”

“No.”

“R you have to.”

“He wouldn’t agree.”

“Except he already has.” Eponine said, gleefully waving her phone at him.

“What did you tell him?”

“That I found you freezing to death on a bench and you need a place to stay.”

“And I can’t stay with you because…”

“I don’t have any space, Cosette and Marius moved in.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to live with you three anyway.”

“I’ll have you know, we are very cute.”

Grantaire sighed and smiled slightly. “I’m glad you’re happy.”

“Now it’s your turn.” She replied, smiling back.

Eponine escorted Grantaire to Enjolras’, saying she didn’t want him to chicken out and end up on another bench. Enjolras was a wreck when he opened the door. Grantaire felt almost uncomfortable seeing the usually so well put together leader so dishevelled.

“Fuck, R, I was so worried about you.”

Grantaire let out a strained laugh. “The mighty Apollo need not worry for any mere mortal.”

“This isn’t a joke.” Enjolras tugged Grantaire inside and gave a slight nod to Eponine, who smiled and gave Grantaire a hug, making him promise to be good before she left.

Enjolras turned to Grantaire. “I’m truly sorry Grantaire, what I said was horrible and wrong, you aren’t- you have never been a waste of anything and you don’t deserve that kind of treatment.” Enjolras said, staring so intensely into Grantaire’s eyes he felt like Enjolras was looking right into his soul.

“Don’t worry,” Grantaire said, with an awkward cough, avoiding Enjolras’ eyes and pushing past him to sit on the couch, “it shouldn’t have gotten to me, it doesn’t usually, I’d just had a rough day.”

“That’s not an excuse!” Enjolras said, following him into the apartment. “You should be allowed to have bad days, you can’t be expected to be the unshakable cynic all the time… or ever.”

“It’s not your fault.” Grantaire said, in a tone that made it clear that the matter was now closed for discussion. So Enjolras just nodded and walked into the kitchen and began preparing tea. It gave Grantaire time to think about what Eponine had said, had Enjolras really been upset by what he had said? It was uncharacteristic for him, but really, Grantaire had never been the best judge of Enjolras’ emotions and it was entirely possible he’d missed a hurt tone, a hesitation, or a dropped gaze in his own upset.

“I need to apologise too.” He said, after a while, “I don’t know how much my opinion means to you, but Eponine tells me it’s a lot, and I would hate for you to think that I had really given up on you or the things you care about.”

Enjolras handed him his tea and sat on the couch beside him. “Of course your opinion matters to me, you matter to me.” He started, staring into his tea, avoiding Grantaire’s gaze. “And I was… hurt, but that is no excuse for what I said to you.”

Grantaire looked up, searching Enjolras’ expression for a sign that he was lying, that this was just a joke, but he found nothing but honesty.

“I didn't… I never… I'm sorry, it didn't even occur to me it would matter to you whether I cared or not.” Grantaire said slowly, still processing.

Enjolras looked up, smiling a little. “It seems there have been some miscommunications between us.”

“So it seems.” Grantaire replied, smiling too. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen this expression on Enjolras, all soft and open. It made his heart flutter in a different way to its usual ‘holy shit Enjolras is so hot’ way, normally they were fighting, so naturally he had always imagined that if somehow he and Enjolras ended up in a relationship it would be more of a hate sex thing. But now, with Enjolras looking up at him with a soft smile, wearing loose pyjamas and holding tea, suddenly all these domestic images pop into his head. He sighed and put down his empty tea cup. “It's getting late, I don't want to keep you up, I'm sure you have a class tomorrow morning.”

“Oh.” Enjolras sat up, the softness from his expression fading, whatever barriers he normally had were back in place as he collected their mugs and disappeared into the kitchen. “So uh, I don't have a spare bedroom as such but there's a blow up mattress in the closet.” He walked back out of the kitchen and paused in front of Grantaire.

“Yeah- uh that's fine, I'm in no position to be fussy.” Grantaire stood up as well, following Enjolras to the closet where he pulled out the most dusty blow up mattress Grantaire had ever seen.

“...I don't have visitors often.” Enjolras offered as explanation. “I don't think I can make you sleep on this…”

Grantaire looked up, shocked. “No I- it's fine, seriously I've slept on worse, I would honestly be perfectly happy with the couch.”

“No, you're my guest, look my bed is a queen bed, we could both fit if that's alright with you, and we can go buy a better mattress tomorrow.”

At this point Grantaire literally felt himself ascend to the astral plane, where he stared god in the eyes and swore at them for letting this happen. How on earth was he supposed to sleep in the same bed as Enjolras without spontaneously combusting? And yes, that was an over exaggeration but he genuinely had no idea how they were supposed to live together until he found a new place let alone sleep in the same bed, even if just for a night. They argued enough already without being around each other all day.

Somehow Grantaire managed to change in the clothes he used as pyjamas, brush his teeth, and climb into Enjolras’ bed without panicking and/or annoying Enjolras. And lying stiffly as far over on the bed as possible he could not have regretted any decision more in his life. There was no way in hell he was getting any sleep.

Grantaire woke up to a weight on his chest. He tried to shift it but it just wound it's limbs around him and clung to him. He opened his eyes to a facefull of blond hair, which meant the weight clinging to him was Enjolras. Fuck. There was no way for him to get out without waking Enjolras up.

“Enj?” Enjolras shifted a little but made no move to wake up.

Grantaire sighed, he was stuck until Enjolras woke up, and it was a weekend and Enjolras was not a morning person, so he was gonna be here for a good while. Enjolras’ legs were twisted between his own, one of his arms was stretched above his head, resting his hand on the pillow next to Grantaire’s face, while the other was looped around Grantaire’s arm and clutching the back of his shirt, and his head was resting on Grantaire’s chest. It was like something directly out of Grantaire’s dreams but Enjolras must have just latched onto him while he was asleep, there was no meaning behind it and he really needed to not read into it. And yet…

“Mmmm.” Enjolras shifted again, his hand moving into Grantaire’s hair.

“Enj?” Grantaire tried again.

“Mmm?” Enjolras’ voice was muffled in Grantaire's shirt.

“Morning.” He said softly.

“R?” Enjolras said, lifting his head and looking up at Grantaire. Grantaire's insides melted at the soft expression on Enjolras’ face, but then his eyes cleared and a combination of embarrassment and shock flooded his face.

“Fuck I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing, I'm weirdly clingy in my sleep, I'm so sorry.” Enjolras rambled, extracting himself from Grantaire.

“Hey, no, it's ok! It's fine, I uh- I don't mind.” Grantaire said, grabbing Enjolras’ wrist before he could actually get out of bed.

“Do you want some coffee?” Enjolras said, looking at anything but Grantaire.

Grantaire watched him for a minute, sitting up. “Can I ask you something first?”

“Yeah, sure.” Enjolras replied, looking nervous.

“Did that mean something?”

Enjolras shifted awkwardly, sighing and seemingly steeling himself. “Well, as established last night there have been some miscommunications between us and I believe one of them is the fact that I do in fact care deeply for you, which, I have been informed, you are not aware of.”

Grantaire stared at him, starting to smile. “I like you too.”

Enjolras nodded, finally moving back across the bed and looking Grantaire in the eye. “Did you… did you really think I didn't care?”

Grantaire’s gaze dropped to his lap. “I didn't- I just- we fight a lot, ok? I didn't realise you considered me anything other than your sparring partner.”

Enjolras reached over and threaded his fingers through Grantaire's. “Hey, I'm sorry.”

“You don't-”

“No I do, R I'm sorry, I'm sorry I spent our entire friendship so far acting like you meant nothing to me. Because that could not be further from the truth.”

Grantaire finally looked up at him, smiling a little. “I'm sorry I always fight with you, I don't know why I always end up insulting you.”

“You know, combined we probably have the communication skills of a below average person.” Enjolras said, laughing and dropping his head on Grantaire’s shoulder.

“We got to this point though didn't we?”

Enjolras smiled up at him. “Yeah we did.”

“Enj, can I kiss you?”

Enjolras blushed and nodded slightly. “Yeah, of course, please.”

Grantaire turned and cupped Enjolras’ face, kissing him gently. His lips were soft, Grantaire mused, moving one of his hands into Enjolras’ hair, god was everything about this man soft?

Enjolras’ hands had slipped under Grantaire’s shirt and he was tracing patterns on Grantaire’s hips, and Grantaire honest to god felt his insides melt. Then Enjolras gently pushed him down until he was lying with Enjolras on his chest again, before he pulled back and buried his face in Grantaire's chest.

“You wanna go back to sleep?”

“Mmmhm.” Enjolras mumbled. “You're comfortable… and you smell nice.”

Grantaire laughed and wrapped his arms around Enjolras. “Well let me know when you want coffee.”

Enjolras nodded, clearly already half asleep. Grantaire smiled down at him, threading his fingers into the blond hair. So what if it took them 6 years to get here, they did it and it was worth all the fighting and pining, if only for this moment. If only so that he got to see Enjolras, their godlike leader, fast asleep on his chest, snoring lightly and wearing baggy, yet actual, button up PJs. They were far from perfect, they both sucked at communicating, and just because they were… ok they actually hadn't discussed it but whatever they were, it didn't mean they would stop fighting Grantaire knew that. But he also knew Enjolras liked him, Enjolras cared about his opinion, cared for him, and Enjolras knew he felt the same about him and he knew that would change everything.

#les miserables #enjoltaire #enjolras #grantaire #enjolras x grantaire #fic #les mis #cc writes

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probably-enjolras · 7 years

Text

Enjolras’ Anon part 5

wow Ryan, I hear you saying, this is posted early in the day. To that I say, I felt productive. I feel horrible but whatever, writing helps.

As always, please support this on AO3, your comments make my day

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four

Enjolras was only half a drink in and was already regretting this plan. Joly was a light weight so after he finished his first drink, he was sprawled across Bossuet. Grantaire and Bahorel were still arguing about how long R would last if he fought the Rock. While both men were barely even tipsy, the bar seemed to make them louder.

Jehan was surprisingly loud. They were trying to get Joly’s attention, as they were just as tipsy as Joly. Combeferre and Courfeyrac were both only half a drink in and, thankfully, were trying to get the attention of their friends. Combeferre was talking with Feuilly and Cosette while Courfeyrac was talking with Marius and Eponine.

Enjolras sighed, shaking his head at his crazy friends. He kept his head down, not particularly liking this scene. His vague focus was broken by a hand on his shoulder.

“Wow Apollo, can you be any more pathetic over here?” Enjolras looked up into Grantaire’s eyes. He had a teasing smile and an impish glint in his eyes. “I’m not pathetic, this just isn’t my scene,” Enjolras huffed, trying to defend himself.

“Even so, you look pathetic. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone came over trying to take you home.” Enjolras raised his eyebrows. “And is that what you’re doing?” he retorted. Grantaire chuckled and shook his head. “No, I’m trying to save the poor bastard that would try to hit on you.” Enjolras took a sip of his wine. “Well, consider this a thanks in advance.”

Grantaire sighed and chugged his wine. “You know, this isn’t something I’d expect you to do.” Enjolras tilted his head in confusion. “Oh?”

“Yeah, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know you’re a cool guy and everything, but going out with a bunch of people to a bar isn’t you.” Enjolras nodded in agreement. “Well, believe it or not, I do care about my friends and I like to hang out with them. Would I prefer to be at someone’s house watching a movie, of course, but pickers can’t be choosers.”

Enjolras felt a pang of guilt as he said those words. He really doesn’t go out with his friends, does he? What’s more is Grantaire thinks he’s not social. And now that he’s going out, it’s to continue this stupid quest he’s on.

“I guess you have a point,” R replied, setting his glass down. “But why now? Why come out with us today?” Enjolras sighed and took a sip of his wine, delaying his answer. “I guess I just feel like I need to get to know you guys better. How can I call myself your friend if I barely even know you.” At least that was true.

Grantaire started to laugh, loud and pure. Enjolras smiled to himself, he never heard Grantaire laugh like that. “Well Apollo, why don’t we get to know each other?” Enjolras nodded, thankful that Grantaire didn’t press his reasoning any further.

“What do you wanna know?” Enjolras thought for a second. “You wear a lot of green. Is that your favorite color?” Grantaire shook his head. “No it’s not. I actually love the color blue.” Enjolras raised his eyebrows, unsure if Grantaire was joking or not. He’d never seen R with anything blue. “Yeah I get that look a lot. But it’s the truth. And I assume that red is your favorite?”

Enjolras shook his head. Grantaire’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “No fucking way.” Enjolras let out a short laugh. “I actually like yellows and greens. They’re the colors you see in a nature a lot. As much as I love red for my cause, I prefer more natural colors.” Grantaire snorted. “You learn something new everyday.”

“I need to go get more wine. When I get back, I would love to learn more about you, Mr. I-wear-so-much-red-but-it’s-not-my-favorite-color. You want a refill?” Enjolras nodded and handed Grantaire his glass. Grantaire gave him a small salute and walked away.

“I thought you wanted us to do the talking.” Enjolras jumped at the voice, which turned out to be Combeferre. “I did… I do. I just got to talking with Grantaire.” Combeferre raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. “Well, I can confirm that Feuilly is not your mystery anon.” Enjolras’ eyes lit up.

“How?” he asked. “Cosette and I just had to help him set up a Tumblr. I am fairly certain that takes him out of the running.” Enjolras nodded. “Well, thank you. That’s one less person to investigate.” Combeferre hummed an agreement. “Well, you go back to talking with Grantaire. I will be trying to make sure Joly and Jehan don’t get too out of control.” As Combeferre walked away, Enjolras could have sworn he heard him mumble something under his breath.

“What did Combeferre want?” Grantaire asked, handing Enjolras his wine. “He was just letting me know that if I needed him, he would be stopping Joly and Jehan from doing anything stupid.” Enjolras looked over his shoulder, noticing the two trying to make a castle out of coasters. “That’s a heroic thing to do. Last time we were here, Jehan walked out of the bar and found a bunch of flowers, turned them into flower crowns and tried to put them on random people’s heads.”

Enjolras snorted, trying to imagine a drunk Jehan making flower crowns outside of a bar at midnight. “Wow, did they get in trouble?” Grantaire shook his head. “Nah, but they did complain about being taken away from their ‘new friends’ while we took them home.” Enjolras shook his head in disbelief. “Part of me wishes I could’ve seen that, and the other part is happy I didn’t.”

“Speaking of you not seeing things, what do you do when you’re not with us? I would like to believe that you are lecturing your plants about consumer capitalism but that’s just my idea.” Enjolras glared at him for a second. “I don’t do that… often. And it was only one time. Most of the time I just browse social media, read, watch some tv. I am a normal person, believe it or not.”

Grantaire raised his eyebrows. “What shows?”

“I’m currently binge watching Orange Is The New Black.”

“Have you gotten to the part-” Grantaire got cut off by Enjolras covering his ears and humming. “What are you doing?” Grantaire asked as he pulled Enjolras’ hands off his ears. “I don’t want any spoilers,” he replied sheepishly. Grantaire chuckled and let go of Enjolras’ hands. “You really are a normal person.”

Enjolras nodded, taking a sip of his wine. “Told you. I know some people see me as a cold hearted leader, but I’m just a guy.” Grantaire nodded. “Well that’s good to know.” The two lapsed into silence, but it wasn’t awkward. It just felt like … two friends. Enjolras drank some of his wine to hide the smile that appeared on his face.

The silence came to an end when they heard a shout. “Nooooo! You knocked over our castle!” Joly, who was now fully drunk, cried. Jehan was bent over the coasters, trying to put it back together. “That’s our cue to get them home. It was nice talking to you Enjolras.” Grantaire went and lifted Jehan up, carrying the distraught poet out of the bar.

Slowly, the rest of the group left. Bahorel closed the tab and left. Cosette and Eponine followed a drunk Marius out the door, making sure he didn’t get lost again. Joly and Bossuet left, along with Feuilly who wanted to make sure they found their way home.

That left Courfeyrac, Combeferre, and Enjolras. “Well, I know how Combeferre’s night went. Did you get any information, Courf?” Enjolras asked as they made their way towards Enjolras’ apartment. “Other than watching Joly and Jehan argue about their castle? Not much. Oh! But I did hear Bossuet say something about how happy he is with Joly and Chetta. He definitely isn’t crushing on anyone else.”

Enjolras nodded and made a note to cross of Bossuet and Feuilly once he made it home. “Well thanks guys. I consider this night a success. Maybe next time we can do a movie night instead though.” Combeferre and Courfeyrac nodded wholeheartedly.

“Well this is where I need to leave. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Enjolras stopped at the door to his apartment building. “Bye Enj!” Courf yelled while Ferre just waved. Enjolras gave a small wave and walked in.

Enjolras took out his list and crossed off Bossuet and Feuilly, smiling at the small number of people left. He folded the paper back up and set it on his desk. Enjolras yawned and went to take his computer out. He didn’t even log in before he was asleep and dreaming of the color blue.

this was a pretty dialogue heavy chapter but i like it. hope you do too xx

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