#fluffball writes

Chapter 97/?

(I know, it says chapter 100 on ao3... but I'd rather keep the milestone for the actual 100th chapter)

Grantaire relished in the physical reminder of how much a long, hot shower could impact a human being’s state. With Joly and Bousset at Musichetta’s in order to come up with some confectionist fever dream of a cake, he allowed himself to stand under the warm spray until his finger tips were shrivelled and he couldn’t feel his hair tangle whilst combing through it. Eventually, he stepped out of the shower and wrapped himself into a towel. With one hand holding it closed, he combed out his hair again in front of the mirror, cursing his curls for poking him in the eyes almost immediately. If it wasn’t for whatever preparations Jehan likely went through, he had half a mind to walk over and demand a haircut from them to take care of the mess he called a hairstyle.

Instead, he used a random hairclip, likely left by Musichetta on the occasion of a visit, a bejewelled butterfly that readily spread its wings to embrace his hair and keet it out of his eyes. The necessity of hair growing out of an established hairstyle eluded Grantaire as he continued through the flat, towel pinched around his waist. Adonis mewled for more food or a treat from the kitchen as he passed, indignant in the quiet ignorance Grantaire offered in return. Since he seemed unlikely to receive more offerings, the cat instead began to sharpen his claws on the skirts, without doubt to attack and avenge himself later that night.

‘I’ll feed you before I head next door, impatient gremlin,’ Grantaire assured him before closing his bedroom door in an attempt to refocus on the pile of clothes he had thrown onto his bed earlier in a fit of confidence in his styling talent.

It had only taken him ten minutes to realise that he had no idea which vibe his outfit should present when he walked over to the birthday party of the year. Asking Jehan, again, was out of the question, Bahorel, too. None of his friends would be of any help, he realised as he dug through his drawers to at least have some underwear to cover himself until he found actual clothes that worked for a manic fairy rave that likely awaited him.

Chapter 95/?

"Jealous Boyfriend chipped easily. The green nail polish came off his nails in chunks, not standing a chance against his nervous fingers as the traced the crescents of his cuticles, digging into the newly created edges in the varnish every now and again. Enjolras stood with his back to him whilst watching over the kettle on the sideboard, cups in hand as the water boiled.

‘Peppermint or chamomile?’

‘Pardon?’

‘Your tea,’ Enjolras looked back over his shoulder, hair slipping out of its tie in a cascade, ‘would you prefer peppermint or chamomile?’

Grantaire swallowed, ‘Chamomile. Please.’"

I am actually back with a new chapter! Please enjoy this humble offering to the immortal fandom - this time with an included music request from one of the people along for the ride :)

Chapter 96/?

‘I didn’t hit all the keys correctly,’ Grantaire heard himself saying, stubbornly ignoring the way Enjolras’ praise made his cheeks heat up almost uncomfortably, ‘and I lost the melody seven times within one run.’

‘Do I look like I care?’

Grantaire looked up against better judgement, immediately met with the fierceness of Enjolras’ eyebrows, furrowed with the exact defiance that usually made him shrink back as to not get caught in the blaze that followed in its wake. He took a small breath, resigning himself to responding with a shake of his head instead of hiding from the righteous rage in front of him that seemed to bubble and boil over at the slightest sign of self-doubt.

‘You look constipated, if anything,’ he grinned.

His remark earned him a soft smack to the back of his head before he found his cup be shoved back into his hands, ‘You’re deflecting.'

continue reading on ao3

Who would have guessed getting diagnosed with depression would have me write again! #lifehack

Nocturnal Acquaintances

Chapter 94/?

Grantaire tried to fight off a giggle that was lodged in his throat, caused by the brush ghosting over his skin.

‘Keep still, this is as much of an artwork as your paintings,’ Jehan scolded him and swatted at his fingers that had been attempting to soothe the itch, unfazed by the sticky substance spread out over his face, ‘no respect for brushwork, really. I expected more of you.’

They applied another slather of their homemade face mask to Grantaire’s cheek and spread it out across the already moistened skin. Any questions concerning the ingredients to the slimy substance had been answered with a cryptic ‘It’s all good for your skin,’ and a wink that let him know not to ask again.

He had been equipped with Bahorel’s seemingly freshly washed bathrobe and made to sit on the sofa in his boxers whilst Jehan lit some candles for aesthetic and ambience, as he had been told. They had also started to play a playlist of soft instrumentals interspersed with nature sounds, rain and bird song via the Bluetooth box they and Bahorel kept on the sideboard. Grantaire noted the absence of real emotion in the piano sounds filling the living room as his face became a canvas for Jehan and their mask. It made him wish for something he could not name, something he did not know how to phrase and voice it to his own satisfaction.

read more on ao3

Happy 5th anniversary to this story! It's been 5 years already since I uploaded the first chapter - crazy! And here I am, once again thanking the people that are still patient, who are still reading what I put out there, even though it is cliffhanger after cliffhanger!

I could not do it without all the lovely people who comment and let me know their honest thoughts on what started as a funny little thought that was supposed to be a oneshot.... yeah, how did that turn out?

Oh hello :)

What I like about my current giant writing project...

I love that I get to listen to loads of new classical music for inspiration, even if the pieces don't end up mentioned in the text or on the playlist.

I love that it feels like I'm writing about friends when I write out my characters.

I honestly love that I don't know yet how the final Enjoltaire-couple moment will happen (Imagine that: almost 400k words and I still don't know how the endgame couple comes to be :D)

Thank you for the ask!

There will be a new chapter! It will be posted this Friday, 14th July :)

Nocturnal Acquaintances

Chapter 92/?

So. Here we are, almost two years since I posted the last full chapter. I can confirm (again) that I am back and that I intend to continue this story - even though I see it as what it is: a detailed monster that my brain cannot compute. I live in fear of making continuity mistakes or getting things wrong that I came up with. Is there anyone out there who made a timeline for this, by chance? :)

Anyways - I am back and, even though updates will not be as regular as they used to be, I want to continue down the path I made for myself with this.

Yours, the author-human

‘I think I would like to be a bird for a bit,’ Enjolras stretched his arms above his head, letting his joints crack, ‘just for a day or so. Especially wings seem like they would be fun to have.’

‘You with wings? Apollo, don’t tempt me,’ Grantaire tried to focus on the volute he had been capturing on paper, ‘you don’t have to say much more to convince me you are an angel, I think we both know that.’

‘Stop it, I am serious!’

‘And I am wild,’ Grantaire shrugged, his heart choking him up as it jumped in his throat, determined to find its way onto his tongue. He swallowed hard, determined to rein it in before more words could spill past his lips.