Esmeralda dances to the rhythm of the tambourine (changewillcome) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-06-01 10:22:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, esmeralda, grantaire |
Who: Team Victor Hugo
What: Checking in on Grantaire. Much singing
When: June 1st
Where: Grantaire’s
Warnings: Low
Status: Log | Complete
Ever since Grantaire had woken up from dying, Esmeralda had made it a point to go and check on him daily. Yes, there had been a period of a few days where she hadn’t because of her own dealing with her own death and not wanting to cause worry given she’d been unable to really speak and bruising around her neck. But once she could speak, she’d gone back to her normal checking in on Grantaire even as she did her best to keep her neck covered as the bruising and rope marks faded.
Now she was able to get away with makeup to cover the marks and she was relieved.
Having picked up some food and water, Esmeralda once again made the trek to Grantaire’s. She knew how complicated it was to face death, she was trying to do the same herself (you die twice, you start to look at things differently), which meant that she wasn’t about to leave him alone to his thoughts.
No answer. Well, that was what picking locks was for. Letting herself in, Esmeralda went to Grantaire’s room and knocked before entering.
“Hey.”
***
R tipped his head back to see Esmeralda, his latest in a stream of visitors. It seemed he was more popular than previously thought. He’d managed to migrate to the bed, gaining enough energy over the last few weeks to at least get off the floor. He may have even managed a shower at some point, though he didn’t really remember. He was in different clothes than when he started and his hair definitely did not have a few weeks’ worth of grease in it, so something must have happened, anyway. He was lying cross-ways across the bed, the closest he got to getting up, and nodded to her.
“Heeeeey yaaaaa,” he said, or sang, really, under his breath.
...what. That hadn’t been what he wanted to say.
***
That was a good sign. And it wasn’t all that surprising that Grantaire would have people checking on him, whether he believed it or not, people cared. Which meant checking in on him when he was clearly upset by something. And at least at the moment it didn’t look as though she needed to pick things up to make his room at least somewhat habitable. She would count that as a win.
Then he….sang? Sort of sang anyway. So either he was drunk, losing it, or it was whatever was going on at the moment. So she just quirked a brow and moved to the bed to sit next to her friend.
“I brought you something to eat and water.” Someone had to keep an eye on his well being and even if Grantaire wasn’t coming to the Court where she always made sure to keep an eye on him, she could still do that here.
***
Well R wasn’t sure about the whole ‘losing’ it thing, but he hadn’t had a drink is so long (because apparently people thought that it would be a bad idea for him to drink in his current mindset, and they were probably right). He kept his mouth shut for now and just nodded, though he didn’t dare open his mouth in case more singing decided to come out. That was a fate no one needed. He still wasn’t hungry, though he reached for the water and took a sip.
After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth to ask her how she’d been, where she’d been since she hadn’t been to see him and that was very unlike her, but instead he sang, again, “Talk to me, so you can see, what’s going on?”
***
Grantaire taking the water was a good thing and at least the food could be saved for later. Because he would need to eat at some point, whether he wanted to or not. He had too many people who cared about him who would just let him waste away. So she put the food to the side for the moment and just leaned against the wall.
Absently at the sung question, her fingers lifted to her throat before she caught herself and lowered her hand.
“Well, I’m not singing at random though Madellaine has been.” Admittedly she had thought it was just the pregnancy thing but now? “I’ve been unwell.”
Understatement. But that tended to be Esmeralda’s way when discussing herself or her own issues.
***
R was not the most observant man at the best of times, but he had a habit of seeing what people didn’t want him to see. But he didn’t comment (mostly because he was trying to keep the sudden song in his heart inside) and just took another sip of water. He was thirsty, he hadn’t even realized quite how much until he’d started to drink.
“Get down with the sickness?” he asked, because apparently that’s what his body wanted him to say. It was good to hear that someone else was having the same troubles, at least, though thankfully Esmeralda was one of the better ones to have a confusing musical breakdown near, if that was what was happening.
***
And that was the point. Esmeralda had a feeling that Grantaire wouldn’t even realize how much he needed the water until she gave it to him. Clearly the initial plan of trying to get Grantaire to eat and then get him out was going to be put on hold because of the singing, however she wasn’t exactly about to leave either.
“Mm. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before though.” Because it wasn’t the first time she’d died because of the dreams. Different means, same outcome. Falling back into silence for a bit, Esmeralda opened her eyes to look over at Grantaire, “I’m not going to need to worry about you insulting me in song, will I?” Holding a conversation half in song was one thing, she didn’t need a close friend insulting her by song as well.
She got enough of that from Madellaine. At least Gringoire hadn’t decided to declare his undying love for her through song.
Though it was early and she probably had just jinxed herself by thinking it.
***
“I will try to fix you,” R promised, answering both questions as best he could considering his suddenly limited vocabulary. Granted, R didn’t know many insulting songs, so that may have also contributed to it. He probably wouldn’t insult Esmeralda anyway, he had a healthy respect and fear for her, even if she was intending on dragging him out of the house.
So, “What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s a-happening?” he asked (Kurt had an impressive collection of musicals and, with a lot of time on his hands that he spent doing nothing, R had been working his way through them; he hadn’t noticed his fingers skimming over a particular one without noticing it, like his eyes didn’t register the title Les Miserables).
***
Esmeralda smiled a bit sadly at the comment of Grantaire’s song of trying to fix her, just shifting to rest her head on his shoulder. People often seemed to worry about her even as Esmeralda did her best to keep others from doing just that. While her initial plan had been food, water, and getting Grantaire out into the real world, spontaneously singing had put a halt to the last part of the plan. These things never lasted long should it be an Orange County thing though.
“Nothing too exciting. Madellaine continues to be...intense… with the pregnancy.” Intense was the nice way of putting it. “Everything else at the Court remains as normal.” Gringoire sometimes a bit too close, her dances now that she was feeling up to it, people coming and going.
****
R didn’t quite have it in him to raise his arm and wrap it around her for comfort, but the thought was there and he had been assured that that was what counted. So he just leaned his head on top of hers and that was enough. She probably understood anyway, she was good at that.
“Little boy blue and the man in the moon,” he agreed. He hadn’t known many pregnant women in his time but the ones that he had encountered were...yeah, intense was the best way to put it. It was good to know that everything else was normal, if anything at the Court could be considered normal. “Kiss me, I’m shitfaced?” he asked, just to clarify.
...this was getting old fast.
***
Esmeralda did indeed understand the gesture and she appreciated it. Sometimes words weren’t needed when you knew someone well enough. With or without the spontaneous bouts of singing.
Though she was initially confused at the second lyric choice. Probably not choice, just whatever seemed to be most appropriate for a situation.
“Gringoire?” At least that’s what she figured he meant with the part about kissing.
***
R just nodded - and also everyone being drunk and having a good time...or at least just getting drunk off their asses, enjoyment of the situation notwithstanding. Gringoire was uniquely persistent about it. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” he said, to illustrate that point.
***
“Yes, yes you do.” And that was what gave Esmeralda hope in this. She was familiar with Grantaire’s moods, the depression, but he always managed to get back up no matter what had been thrown at him even when he said it was pointless and didn’t matter. Still, Gringoire. Letting out a sigh she shrugged.
“He still stands too close now that things are not so tense. But the Court is thriving, so it’s okay. I can handle that at least.”
***
“Don’t stand so, don’t stand so close to me?” Grantaire asked, with a quirked eyebrow. Whether it was a lyric to a song or not, it was also a sound thing to say to Gringoire. It was truly a wonder that the man could not take a single hint. You’d think that death threats from Clopin would paint a picture vivid enough for even a lovesick fool to see (hell, that would even work on Grantaire, who on a good day fell a little in love with every person he met; right now, not so much, but he’d certainly abide by the threats), but apparently Gringoire was even blinder than previously understood. Even R himself was not so stupid.
***
“Precisely.” Because really. Esmeralda could deal with it, though found ways and reasons to avoid being close to Gringoire when possible. She wasn’t behind the bar as much but there were times she was needed. Peter and Clopin at least had taken over the helping her down from the stage during the tambourine dance so that Gringoire wasn’t involved, but she was beginning to think he had somehow gotten Madellaine on his side.
“It’s...tiresome. But business is good, so usually easy enough to avoid.”
***
R hummed. “Let’s get down to business - “ he got out, biting off the ‘to defeat the Huns’ at the last moment (Kurt also had quite a lot of Disney movies, and R had quite a lot of time on his hands; besides, they were colorful and usually cheerful enough to distract him from his sullen mood). It was good that she was able to keep away from Gringoire, though if R managed to pull himself out of this funk, he’d definitely have to spend some more time at the Court, running interference.
Perhaps that was already a sign of recovery. Thinking about the future. But he still felt like that was quite a long way away, and besides, he was happier to just laze about in bed.
***
If Esmeralda knew that Grantaire were even thinking about the future, she’d be thrilled. Because if someone thought about the future, that meant that they were planning on living and being there still. Alas, despite her ability to generally be able to read between lines and figure out what Grantaire meant, she wasn’t an actual mind reader. So she didn’t know there were even vague thinking about the future.
“As always.” Because it was necessary, no matter what was going on at the end of the day they needed to keep the Court going. It was why Esmeralda forced herself back to dancing once she no longer sounded sick (an easy excuse at least), it was the way of life.
***