tushanshu | 002

[The picture presented to the network might be jarring to anyone who knows Grantaire, who would rather drink and keep himself occupied rather than tidy, whether it be with reading or with simply being lost in thought. No, the room around him is orderly, at least more than it usually is, with papers neatly piled and bottles all in one corner, and clothes in one place, all recently washed. Grantaire himself is sitting with his feet up on the table (his pink, scrubbed clean feet), in his newly cleaned dressing gown, positively glowing. Literally, much more than metaphorically, because he has never been this clean in his life. Emotionally, he looks rather like a wet, grumpy cat, with his hair towel-dried and even his teeth brushed.

Well, at least he has his friend the bottle of wine at his disposal, and he's already spilled a drop on his dressing gown.]

Let the entirety of La Tortue know that Bryn Zethir is a horrid woman who will make you tidy up if you let her play at Saint George. It's a shame she's great company otherwise.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Grantaire just grins, glad to see Jehan to affected. It means he hasn't lost his touch.]

Incredibly and undeniably, mon ami. She's scrubbed me down like a pink little babe and forced me to put my things away like my craggy old nurse did when I was a boy. Much more limber than that old cow though.

[He says as he wiggles his toes at Jehan and motions behind him at the room.]

How?

[He's not specifying what he's asking about, but it's mostly "how did you seduce a woman and is she a hooker"]

How what? How did she drag me like an alleycat into a tub of steaming hot water and douse me with whatever chemicals Joly would certainly have soiled himself over? Or how did she get the yellow from my teeth? You're going to need to be more specific with your queries.

Just...who is this woman? How did you meet her?

[Does she even exist? How much did you pay her?]

In a bar, maman, where do you think? She's a wild lioness whom I chose to show my affections. You should be jealous, what did I tell you about women, hm? I can have any one of them if I try.

[Always with this lie, if only for the sake of his pride. The truth of the matter is, of course, that he doesn't try, for various reasons.]

It sounds as if you did not try at all for this one, if she was so forceful with you regarding a bath.

[Calling your bluff! He thinks]

[It's at that point that Bryn steps into view of the video screen. She's wearing her tunic shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a high collar which would be more than respectable if it weren't open halfway down her chest. It covers the relevant parts of her but shows a fair bit of thigh, especially as she's lacking pants.

Either not caring that the console is on, or not noticing, she approaches and sets an empty bottle on the surface.]

This one's spent, I'm afraid.

[And then she moves to wander off-screen once more.]

Ah--!

[Jehan turns as red as his hair and looks away from the screen. She's gorgeous, too gorgeous to be a whore, and oh dear God Grantaire wasn't lying?!]

Merci, cherie.

[He reaches for her to grab for her waist but, as his luck would have it, with his legs propped up the way they are she's out of reach fast enough for him to only graze her ass with his fingertips. He waves the attempt off with a mutter before turning his attention back to Jehan.

Case and Point. Be smug, hold out a hand as if to make an example of the beautiful woman who just passed? Don't mind if he does. He doesn't even need to say 'see', so he just grabs for the empty bottle and pops the cork out to toy with it in his free hand, sipping from the still-full one in his other.

He just grins like a cat who ate the canary until he can't help but burst out laughing.]

Your face looks like a baboons ass, Jehan.

Says the man who's mistress just--!

[He gestures, unable to say "walked past half naked and showed nearly everything the good Lord gave her". He's also dumbfounded that R has a mistress.]

[Oh. Well. About that, he just shrugs and drinks more wine, unable to stop grinning about the whole thing.]

You could always come closer and get a better look, I don't think she would mind. Another thing I've learned about the future, Jehan, is that we no longer own our women. None of those property laws and dowries or any of that padding. Flora would kick her feet up if she heard that, I'm sure.

N-no, I am quite alright. I am aware of the changes for women that the future holds--Combeferre was treated by a lady surgeon when he arrived!--but that does not mean I intend to change how I treat them.

[Mostly. He's still impossibly polite to all women and, unless given reason to do otherwise, treats them with the utmost gentleness.

It's also really, really hard for him it all.]

I will not gawk.

And it seems that you will always be a damn gentleman, except when someone's gotten you riled up. I one day you'll find yourself with a child after ravaging a beautiful dancer who boils your blood.

[Jehan, it is way too easy for him to make fun of you.]

Why me? Should that happen to anyone, Courfeyrac would be the most likely.

[Sorry bro]

Or Joly, perhaps.

Because you're a romantic, my rationally challenged friend, whereas Joly is terrified of his own shadow and Courfeyrac knows exactly when to pull out and walk away, literally and figuratively. You, on the other hand, I can see getting carried away.

Yes, but I do not have nearly the same luck with women as either of them, or even Bahorel. If anyone should find themselves with a child, it would be one of them simply because of that.

Bahorel I'll give you, but Joly has had eyes for one woman as of late and I hear tell that presently Courfeyrac has let his focus on the fairer sex slip.

[Furiously red, yep. Clashes with that hair of his]

Even if he has, he has still had more mistresses than you've had glasses of wine.

Now that would be a feat indeed. Unless you mean literal glasses, of course, with how fond of drinking straight from the bottle as I've been of late.

[You're adorable when you're embarrassed, Jehan.]

Do you know about this mistress of his? Or shall I phrase that differently?

Of course I know.

[Still blushing yep yep.]

I do not enjoy gossiping about our friends and their love lives, however. Not without wine, at least.

[And Grantaire laughs again, sipping at his bottle.] Then you are welcome, if you don't mind the prying ears of that one.

That one? The mademoiselle or Dionysus?

The mademoiselle, but Dionysus is welcome too.

...why not. I will be there shortly.

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