Disclaimer: I am Victor Hugo. Except that I'm not.

Wow thanks again for all the reviews and follows and everything! I really appreciate it, makes me so excited to write new chapters. I wasn't planning to update again tonight, but I had some time, and I was feeling inspired, so here we go. Some major drama is on the way...


Grantaire would have never guessed how much Marie's presence could have brightened his home so much, but honestly it did. He helped her into the living room so she could sit on the couch, and he even tried to cook. It didn't turn out the greatest, but they had pasta for lunch. They ate, drank too much wine, and laughed.

Grantaire told her the real reason he drank so much.

Marie told him about the arranged marriage she'd had before she ran away.

For both of them, it was nice to have a friend - Someone who was not going to judge them for anything in their life, but was just there to listen, and to understand. Marie hadn't felt so close to someone in years, if ever. Even when she had been growing up, her family had never been close. She had never had many friends, and her fiance had been one of the most despicable people she had ever met. Grantaire had many friends, but this was different. His friends saw him as the funny drunk, the cynic. They didn't exactly see why he acted the way he did, and though he loved them with all his heart, this was better.

"I need to head over to the Musain soon," he finally said. Hours had passed and they had not moved from their places on the couch. "Will you be okay here by yourself?"

Marie nodded, "You mean will I be okay in this huge flat with a pantry full of food and the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on?" she asked with a slight smile, "Of course I will be."

Grantaire rolled his eyes - his flat was not really that big, but he was sure compared to wherever Marie lived, it was a palace. He didn't exactly like the idea of leaving her alone, but he couldn't bring her to the café in her condition. Joly would absolutely murder him.

"Keep the door locked," he instructed.

"Grantaire, I will be fine," she assured him. No one knew where she was, no one could come find her. And either way, even though Madame Fosse was awful, she had enough girls, she probably wouldn't even realize that Marie was gone from the docks that evening.

"I know, I know..." Grantaire trailed off as his eyes fixed on her once more.

Marie couldn't help but smile. He had the most adorable smile - innocent and purely happy. The way it lit up his eyes was beautiful. It made her want to kiss him again, but she wasn't sure if she should. Despite all of the things that they had spoken about, they had not discussed the two kisses that they had shared. Marie was convinced he felt bad for her, and so he was trying to make her feel better, though she could not be sure. Grantaire was worried that he was taking advantage of her, and that she would get the wrong idea. He had never been one to believe in love - he was never one to believe in anything. But he just felt so differently about this young woman, it was difficult to explain any other way.

"I just want you to be safe," he told her, a hand resting on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine," she said again, shooing him away playfully, "Now go! Get to the café before your friends think that I kidnapped you." She ruffled his hair lightly, as he stood up, and he let out a laugh.

Yes, he could definitely get used to her staying with him.


"Grantaire, how is she?"

Joly was on him as soon as he entered the café.

Grantaire had a hard time wiping the smile off of his face as he told his friends that their new Patria was doing well. His friends noticed immediately.

"What has she done to you, R?" Bossuet asked with a smirk, "You're smiling like a fool!"

Grantaire rolled his eyes as he sat down, uncorking a bottle as usual. "I enjoy her company, is all," he told them. He couldn't very well admit that he had feelings for her, it didn't make any sense, it had only been a few days since he had even met her. And besides, he was sure she would be back at the café eventually, and he didn't need to give his friends any more ammunition to tease her with. They would, of course, tease her, he was sure. Especially now that they saw straight through his mask.

"When will the wedding be?" asked Prouvaire, sitting down next to him. "I do hope we are all invited!"

All of les Amis laughed heartily, not stopping until Enjolras cleared his throat. It had taken Grantaire that long to realize that he was there a few minutes late, instead of his usual half hour early, and he looked at him questioningly, only to see Marius's shadow scurry into the room behind him. He raised his eyebrows slightly, wondering what the marble lover of liberty could possibly doing with the young woman, but he knew he would not ask. Enjolras was irritated enough at the bottle in his hand, pressing him with questions would only make things worse.

"I trust the girl is in good health," he said, his eyes meeting Grantaire's for a moment. Grantaire nodded quickly, smiling lightly at the thought of Marie waiting at home.

"Excellent." Enjolras did seem genuinely happy at the news, though he did not dwell on it. As always, there were far more important things he had to deal with. And so the meeting continued on as it usually did. Though for once, Grantaire actually put some stock in Enjolras's words for more than just the reason that Enjolras was the one speaking them. Maybe they could build a better France.

By the end of the meeting, Grantaire was itching to get back home. He hoped Marie was okay. He was sure she was, but he still worried. That, and honestly he was just excited to see her. He tried not to leave too quickly, but hurried nonetheless. He pretended not to notice when Enjolras made his way to where the Shadow sat as soon as the meeting was over, a serious expression on his face.


"I'm back!" Grantaire called as he turned the key into the lock and stepped into his flat.

He did not receive an answer, and he panicked despite himself. "Marie?" he called almost frantically, though he figured she was probably sleeping. It was late, as always.

Instead of calling again, he made his way to his bedroom. Just as he opened the door, Marie was waking up as a result of his shouting. Her hair was slightly damp, and her skin looked lighter. At first he was confused, but it didn't take him long to figure out that she must have taken a bath. Part of him was worried - she could have easily slipped and fallen while drawing the water or drying off. But he realized that she was already sleeping, so she must have been perfectly fine.

As she sat up, he realized she was no longer wearing the dress that she had been, but rather one of his shirts. Seeing her wearing his clothes made him smile a bit, though he could not exactly place why.

"I hope you don't mind..." Marie said, fingering the soft fabric that hung loosely about her shoulders.

"Not at all," Grantaire assured her. She looked even more beautiful now, with all of the dirt and grime washed off. Yet somehow, she was also difficult to look at. She looked even more fragile than usual. The bruise on her cheek contrasted even more with her skin now, without the dirt that usually shielded it.

"How was your meeting?" she asked a moment later. "Did you remember to thank Joly for me?"

"It went well, and I did," he said with a smile. "Well, I suppose I'll let you go back to sleep... I'm sorry I woke you up." He spoke softly as he closed the door behind him and headed back into the living room. He should have grabbed some pajamas for himself, but he hadn't thought of it, and he didn't want to disturb her again. So he tried to sleep.


Marie woke up again in the middle of the night to the sound of moaning and panicked breathing.

"Grantaire?" she asked, panicking for a moment, sitting up and getting out of bed, her bare feet padding across the floor into the living room, where she found Grantaire tossing and turning on the couch. She frowned.

Quickly she made her way over to him and sat down at the edge of the couch, though he was bigger than her and took up more room, making it more difficult to find a place to sit. "Grantaire," she said, trying to wake up him, unsurely reaching to brush a bit of his curly hair out of his face. His eyes opened just as she was doing so, and his eyes widened.

He had the nightmare again. One about their upcoming revolution. The one where he watched all of his friends die.

Marie didn't ask him what it had been about, however. Instead, she pulled him towards her and held him against her. The room was slightly chilly, especially given that she was only wearing a cotton shirt, but with him held against her, she forgot all about the chill in the room.

"I woke you up..." he said through shaky breaths. "I'm sorry."

"Just shut up," Marie said, though her tone was not biting in any way. She continued to hold him, he hand trailing over the tensed muscles of his back and shoulders, not stopping until she felt them relax beneath her fingers.

"Are you alright?" she questioned.

Grantaire nodded, pulling himself up. He hadn't realized how upset he had truly been until she realized that his eyes were wet with tears. He felt immediately humiliated, had he really cried in front of the young woman? Marie didn't seem to care, however. Her expression was concerned.

"Yes, yes I'm fine..." he told her.

Marie was starting to panic. She could tell he was calming down, but the fact that him even so much as looking upset was affecting her so much was rather alarming. She wasn't supposed to care about people. And she definitely wasn't supposed to care this much.

"Good," she said, her heart rate finally returning to normal upon realizing that he really was okay.

Without leaving him time to argue, she reached for his hand and stood up, "Come on," she ordered, half dragging him with her to his room. The bed would be plenty big enough for both of them. It would be easier to sleep with him there, anyway.

That was the first night either of them found themselves sleeping tangled in a mess of arms and legs and actually feeling comfortable doing so.


AN: Okay, I feel like this might have rushed a bit, but I didn't want the chapter to be too long. Also, I added in a bit of implied E/É. I'm still thinking about writing an E/É fic that would tie in with this one. If anyone would be interested in reading it, you should totally let me know. I'll probably end up writing it anyway after I'm done with this one, but I want to make sure someone would want to read it first haha. Thank you!