【ER】Golden Rule

Before the age of seven, Grantaire lived with his family in a French-speaking area in southern Louisiana. The neighbors were always noisy, the summer was long and humid, and the wooden boards between the buildings always had a damp musty smell.Whenever a rainstorm hits, Grantaire dashes home from an abandoned farmland where he often spends his time, soaking wet.He remembers standing on a cushion by the door of his house, dripping from head to toe.The neighbor's boy who ran back with him was quickly pulled into the room by his mother, and a wash towel with goose yellow patterns was placed on the boy's head, two women's hands grabbed the towel, Rubbing, rough movements, nothing like the woman in the French film scrubbing the piano gracefully and lightly.Grantaire stood there, watching the child disappear behind the door, and there was a vague rebuke of concern from the woman, followed by laughter.He waited for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 10 minutes, and then there would be the sound of a wine bottle shattering from inside his own house, followed by men shouting and women crying.He sprang up like a monkey, fled into the back yard, climbed the stucco ladder to the attic window, wrapped himself in a blanket, and waited for his own heat to dry him out.Every time it rains, he is always waiting.He waited for his mother to wrap him in a large, dryer-warm towel and dry his dripping hair.There is no need for goose yellow patterns, white bath towels are fine, and any bath towels are fine.But he never waited.

"Grantaire, are you okay?" Enjolras asked.

"I have something to tell you," Grantaire said, jaw chattering from the drenching.

"You wait here for a while." Enjolras said with a frown.

He pushed Grantaire's hand away from his arm and quickly disappeared to the side of the porch.When his footsteps approached again, a piece of woolen fabric almost fell from the sky, with the smell of drying machine, was pulled over and covered Grantaire's head.

"Come in." He heard Enjolras' voice coming from outside the towel.Two hands grabbed the fabric on both sides of his body, wrapped him up and pulled him into the room.

The door closed behind Grantaire, blocking out the sound of the rain.He stopped shaking, his teeth stopped chattering, and he could only hear his own heart beating against his chest in the little space under the blanket.

"...thank you," he whispered.

Enjolras did not hear - of course he could not have heard.This sentence seemed to be addressed to Grantaire himself, but it didn't prevent him from laughing hesitantly after he finished speaking.He reached out a hand and pushed the towel back over his head, exposing his eyes.

"Sorry I wet your floor." He said, looking at the blond man in front of him.

"Then dry yourself quickly," Enjolras responded without a sense of humor.Even so, his gesture made Grantaire smile: he grabbed the fabric hanging down the sides of Grantaire's face with both hands, wiped the rain from his face and tried to dry his hair, but instead put A mass of damp, curly hair tumbled across Grantaire's forehead—and while his face looked serious as if he were studying the sections of a crystal in a display case, he was actually messing with someone else. Even more embarrassing.This serious and awkward gesture made Grantaire feel a strange sourness in his heart: what good thing did he do to deserve such care from this man?What good did he do to finally get this warm blanket?

"It would be so much easier if you would raise your hand and help me instead of just standing here giggling." Enjolras said with a frustrated sigh.

Grantaire couldn't help raising the corners of his mouth even higher.

"Don't be so harsh," he heard himself say, almost like cheating because he was in such a good mood. "Themis, Apollo, whoever he is, be gentle with me - I just lost my job."

Enjolras' blue eyes widened.

"What did you lose?" he said in disbelief.

The next second, when Grantaire realized it, he was already sitting on Enjolras' sofa.An absorbent towel was draped over his shoulders, a polka-dotted blanket was over his knees, and he was holding a ceramic mug in his hand—it was unbelievable that Enjolras would heat the milk and offer it to Grantay you.

"If I had a choice," Grantaire couldn't help saying, laughing almost bewilderedly at the situation, "you'd be better off with a beer."

"You have no choice." Enjolras said mercilessly, "unless you want to catch a cold." His tone showed that he didn't even intend to leave the option of "cold" to Grantaire—Grantaire almost Because of his solemn and even protective posture, he let out a small groan.He bit his lower lip and sank a little further into the sofa.Not daring to stare at Enjolras' face for a while, he could only look up and look around.Enjolras' house was smaller than his own, with very simple furniture, barely more than a few more bookshelves than a standard rental house configuration.Everything is staggeringly neat, and the law review periodicals on the filing cabinet on one side of the living room are even sorted by the color of the books.Only the sofa and coffee table where he was sitting seemed to add some lively colors, colorful blankets, cushions of different sizes, and even a set of tea sets on the coffee table - Grantaire had sufficient evidence to deduce that Enjolras Sometimes he meets his clients here.

"Grantaire." He heard Enjolras sigh, and moved the two folders on the other side of the sofa that seemed to contain more than 500 pages to the floor, and sat down in the vacated place. "What trouble did you run into? Did the County Prosecutor's Office fire you?" He looked at Grantaire solemnly and seriously, "I do have a friend in the law firm who is very good at labor contract disputes. If you need me, I will Call him now..."

"Enjolras," Grantaire sighed, interrupting him with a smile. "Enjolras," he called again, only because he enjoyed doing it.He returned his gaze to Enjolras' face and smiled at him, "Relax, Enjolras. I didn't come to you for legal assistance."

Enjolras blinked, looking at him slightly puzzled.

"But you just said you lost your job."

"I resigned on my own initiative," Grantaire said.He looked into Enjolras' eyes and took a deep breath. "Actually, I've been out of work for... two months."

The blue eyes staring at him widened.

"Two months?" Enjolras frowned. "Two months since..."

Grantaire waved his free hand in the air and let out a short laugh.

"Since the day after we were photographed, yeah," he said, "I've been home without pay."

He saw Enjolras clenched his fist on his thigh.

"You mean...you were forced to leave the prosecutor's office?" Enjolras said sharply.To Grantaire's surprise, his voice trembled slightly, as if he was holding back his anger.

He couldn't help raising his eyes to see Enjolras' expression - he pursed his lips, his nostrils fluttered slightly with anger.The look was so majestic and so unbelievably beautiful that it almost took Grantaire's eyes away.

"Hey." He said softly, put the mug on the coffee table, raised his hands, and made a soothing gesture. "Don't get excited, Enjolras. I can't say that I was completely 'forced'-you know, it was not a very pleasant incident. In any case, my boss at the time would not let me do it again. Jean's case. In addition, the police officer in charge of this matter is quite aggressive, so I might as well do the County Prosecutor's Office a favor and leave temporarily to help them avoid—ah, how should I say? The cusp of public censorship." He gave a dry laugh, Trying to look like he didn't care much - and surprisingly, he realized then that he really didn't care that much. "What's more, as you know, the procuratorate is not a paradise for sexual minorities. Compared with Robin Shahar[1]..."

"How could they treat you like this?" Enjolras sternly interrupted him, and stood up from the sofa with a "crack".At this time, the expression on his face could even be called fury, "Shahar's case was almost 30 years ago! I dare to swear, no institution can fire employees because of their private life, let alone Sexual orientation, it's definitely against the anti-discrimination policy—"

"Shhh, Enjolras, calm down," Grantaire couldn't help but say.His eyes widened, almost taken aback by the expression on Enjolras' face. "You scare me—"

"I really don't know when I can 'scare you'." Enjolras said bitterly.Grantaire's eyes widen when he realizes he's being sarcastic. "Why didn't you tell me? What they did fell into the category of 'using abnormal arrangements to force employees to leave', which is simply not allowed." He paced angrily in the little gap between the sofa and the coffee table, Waving his clenched right hand, "I really don't know why you kept it from me—"

Grantaire looked up at him.He reached out a hand and touched Enjolras with careful knuckles.

"I don't want to take advantage of your sympathy," he said softly.

Enjolras stopped waving his fist.He stared down at Grantaire.

"...you're talking nonsense." He hesitated for a moment, then said venomously, but softened a bit obviously because of the finger that touched him. "What can you use my sympathy for? Except..." He paused.A wave of indecision flitted across his face—he was clearly thinking of the night they had argued.

"... oh my god. Grantaire," he said softly. "I can't believe it. I thought you just couldn't stand a little reproach..."

"I really couldn't stand it then," Grantaire said with a shrug.

Enjolras shook his head. "It's different." He said, "I don't know what you experienced in the procuratorate that day..." He stopped, and after a while, he let out a long sigh. "You should have told me then," he repeated, frowning.

Grantaire just stared at his face.The blond man's expression at this moment made him feel a strange fullness in his heart.

"It's not too late now," he said slowly, "because I really want to take advantage of some of your sympathy at this point."

Enjolras looked at him.

"Why?" he said slightly puzzled.

Grantaire took a deep breath.He raised his hands, palms up, and stretched out towards Enjol, who was standing beside him, smoldering like a boiling kettle.

"For this." He said cautiously, "I let you go the other day...can you forgive me?"

Enjolras watched him.Those blue eyes widened briefly, and after being surprised, an indescribably soft expression flashed under the blue sky.He hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out and put his own in Grantaire's.

"I'm still pissed off," he said gruffly.

"Of course, of course...I know," Grantaire said.

They were silent for a while.Suddenly, Enjolras' lips tightened.

"So, when you asked me to leave the other day, you weren't... God. I actually thought you were because of..." he muttered distractedly.

"What do you think?" Grantaire asked.

Enjolras stared down at him. "I thought you were tired of the way I did things," he said quickly, as if admitting he was extra embarrassed. "...Of course, of course I know that you've been trying to laugh at a lot of what I've said. Using wild metaphors, allusions, adjectives to make me feel like what I'm doing is immature, lacking in accidents, or simply fantasy..." He rolled his eyes slightly (an expression that almost made Grantaire laugh), "But before that, I knew you didn't really think like you said. Weird, right? I'm pretty confident. I don't think you really think I'm immature, just a visionary, or at least I don't think you hate me for it." He pauses, "But I thought that night... you're starting to get tired of it. Because This way of acting obviously hurts you - you say 'having a hard heart is not an obligation' right? I think you don't want me to continue disrupting your life, you don't want to point fingers, name-calling, being in the spotlight , so you wish me and my way of doing things - and its effects - to stay away from you forever."

Grantaire's eyes widened.

"You're a fool, Sun God," he said in disbelief. "My own life is nothing. What drives me mad is the effect it has on you—who am I to dare Be lovebirds with you, and use it to ruin you? Maybe the world will wear you down one day—I’d rather not have that day—but whatever, it can’t be me. I was Thinking, you'd better stay away from me, stay away from this moth of the prosecutor's office, do nothing lazy, don't let him become a stain on you, so that you can continue to stand in court for your strange-beautiful It's—almost a fantasy ideal fight. That's why I let you go."

Enjolras looked at him.As he listened to Grantaire's words, the corners of his tightly pursed lips slowly loosened, and his locked brows returned to the peaceful plateau.His hand relaxed in Grantaire's.He exhaled.

"It seems like we're getting a little presumptuous about our own inferences," he said.

"Probably so," Grantaire said.

A relaxed yet confused crease appeared at the corner of Enjolras' mouth.

"Then why don't you want to avoid me now?" he said.

Grantaire said nothing.He took Enjolras' hands and squeezed them boldly.

"That's what I was going to say," he said softly. "Actually, that's what I wanted to tell you today."

Enjolras did not withdraw his hand.That alone encouraged Grantaire.With a little effort, he tugged on Enjolras' arm and pulled him down to sit next to him.

"I'm listening." Enjolras said, the anger in his tone dissipated.It seemed that it was hard to get angry when he was grabbed by another person.

Grantaire swallowed.

"Actually, I went to the procuratorate today." He said slowly, "After you left that day, I always thought about what you said - 'Unfortunately, there is no way for the procuratorate to take over this case'. This is Words make me feel like maybe I can do something about it... Ah, don't laugh at me. You know me, I'm not a selfless person, I've been able to not care, not care, turn a blind eye to everything for a long time , then turn a blind eye.Since everything is futile, why should I waste my efforts? But it’s ridiculous, these days I can’t help but think: Maybe I can really do something? Maybe those seemingly futile things have their utility Maybe I can...help that kid."

He stopped.He looked up to Enjolras' eyes—he would not have been able to stand a look of mockery in them.

There was no trace of sarcasm in that.

"Go on," Enjolras simply said.

Grantaire swallowed again. "Of course," he said, "I want to...I want to help him. Maybe I didn't help his mother, but now I want to help him. So I went to the prosecutor's office, and I found our chief prosecutor—you Yes, that Grove guy—I wanted him to give me the case. I said to him, I want to go back to work, and I want to do the case. As you can probably guess, he turned me down. He said that I was a topical person not long ago, and I was not suitable for this case. I then proposed to participate as a personal lawyer-obviously, as a serving prosecutor, I can't do that either. He promised to take the case to another prosecutor, and I tried to... oh. Of course. He said no. I must have pissed him off, so he said to me, if I keep doing this, I'm not fit to continue as a prosecutor Official." He stopped, and smiled hesitantly at Enjolras. "At that moment, I was like, yeah, why am I still there? There's no point, no point. So I said: I guess yes — I don't fit in anymore."

He stopped.He raised his head, and once again sought Enjolras's with his own.The look in those eyes froze him—he had never seen Enjolras look so proud.

"Grantaire," Enjolras said softly.The tone almost made Grantaire blush. "You really did that?"

"Yeah, that's what I did," he said, cheeks burning. "The old guy said, Grantaire, I'm sorry for you—I said, no, I'm sorry for you." This time He laughed.He moved a little closer in Enjolras' direction, and the sofa cushion squeaked sweetly under his thighs. "That's kind of a classic, isn't it? Too bad it's not as classic as 'fuck your own asshole' - I'm getting old, Enjolras. My ability to create great phrases must have declined."

Enjolras watched him.After a while, a smile containing both love and helplessness appeared on his lips.

"I don't understand why you're so complacent about that statement," he said, squeezing Grantaire's hand tightly with his thumb on his palm. "But I'm right."

"What's right?" Grantaire asked.

"When I said 'you are brave,'" Enjolras said.As he spoke, he also leaned in Grantaire's direction.They were closer than before, but maybe he didn't realize it.He stopped when the tip of his nose was within a fist's distance of Grantaire's.

"Yeah, I haven't asked you yet." Grantaire said softly, "Why didn't you ask me why I asked you that question? You answered me directly. Didn't you find it strange when you received that message? "

"It's kind of weird," Enjolras said, "but answering that question is more important to me. How can I make you continue to feel like a coward?"

The sweetness, the sourness, and all the relief of the words hit Grantaire's chest like a hammer.

"Enjolras," he said, so devoutly almost breathless, "may I join you in the case of Gavroche?"

Enjolras smiled at him.

"Of course," he said. "Why bother to ask?"

They moved closer to each other, their lips pressed together, and the distance of the last fist was eliminated.Thankfully, Enjolras didn't ask again this time: May I kiss you?

By the time the doorbell rang, the rain had stopped and they were on the couch, inseparable.The polka-dot blanket was thrown over the back of the couch, and several cushions were kicked to the floor.Grantaire's top is not so much on him as it hangs barely on his arm, almost drying out from his body heat.Enjolras is kneeling in the space between his legs, shirt button three unbuttoned, panting, blond hair in a mess - this is when he just pressed his lips to Grantaire's navel Groaned the result of tightening his fingers.He pressed the thumb of one hand to the jawbone on the side of Grantaire's cheek, and lowered his head to continue kissing his chin.And Grantaire wraps one foot around his knee and pulls him closer until his hipbones are pressed against his thigh.

"...Hurry up, Enjolras." He heard himself urging, "Take off your trousers."

Just then the doorbell rang.

Enjolras groaned in frustration.

"...I don't want to answer the door." Before Grantaire could say anything, he complained, "Let's leave him alone."

Grantaire blinked in surprise.

"It really shocked me that it was Enjolras who said that." He sighed with a smile, "Go ahead. Maybe it's work?" Thinking of the conversation that had taken place, he couldn't help teasing Enjolras.

Enjolras sighed.He straightened up by leaning on the armrest of the sofa, his hair still disheveled, his face flushed, his clothes disheveled, and he was out of breath.Those moist lips were almost glowing—Grantaire thought admiringly as he stared at him—whoever was outside the door at the moment could be envied to see such a scene.

"Whoever is out there, I hope he goes soon," said Enjolras, stomping on the floor with great reluctance.

"I think he will," Grantaire teases, noticing how Enjolras is trying to cover his crotch with the hem of his shirt, and he can't help laughing. "Look at you, whoever sees you like this will know what he interrupted—"

"Shut up." Enjolras said viciously while trying to smooth his hair.The doorbell rang again.He sighed, walked over and opened the door.

"Hi, Enjolras." A woman's voice sounded outside the door, "I'm here to deliver the original documents you asked me for last time, I—"

Her voice faltered, its coda rising and elongating, caught in a turn.The tone was so familiar, Grantaire didn't even have to look to imagine her raising one eyebrow in surprise—

"... Eponine?" He couldn't help walking towards the door.

Yes, it was the dark-haired girl standing at the door.She was wearing a T-shirt that looked like work clothes from a gas station, holding a brown paper bag in her hand, and staring wide-eyed with thick eyeliner.

"Grantaire?" she said dazedly, "Why are you..." She stopped.Her brown eyes flicked across Grantaire's face, then his clothes hanging from his arm, and then back to Enjolras' face, still in a mess.Her eyebrows were raised even higher, and she looked knowing but overwhelmed—clearly, she didn't expect to see herself and Grantaire again in this situation. "I don't know I interrupted..." She blinked uncertainly, "Maybe I should come back later?"

"...Don't go." Grantaire said immediately.Before he could react, he had grabbed Eponine's wrist, "You don't...you don't have to leave because of me." God, this is so embarrassing.He lamented in his heart—they hadn't contacted each other for almost two months, so what should they say now?Would she want to see him again after he had walked away without saying a word?

Éponine looked at him—she looked as at a loss as he did.

"I'm not sure I should..." she said cautiously.

Enjolras sighed.

"Come in," he said.

Éponine looked at them.

"I'm looking for you on a case, Enjolras," she said. "You really don't have to buy me tea or anything—"

Enjolras pursed his lower lip.He turned to look at Grantaire, as if asking for his approval with his eyes.

Grantaire sighed.He averted Éponine's gaze—he hadn't expected to convey the news to Éponine so quickly.Would she trust him after his anecdotes had hurt her so much? "Okay." He whispered to Enjolras, "you tell her."

Enjolras nodded.

"Epony," he said, turning to the girl standing in the doorway, "Grantaire—he's going to join me in this confession."

Éponine's eyes widened again.

"Grantaire?" she said uncertainly.

Grantaire bit his lower lip.He still didn't dare to look at her.

"Is this true?" Éponine asked again.Her brown eyes look at Grantaire cautiously and hopefully.

Grantaire sighed.He mustered up his courage, turned his head, and carefully met Eponine's eyes.

"It's true," he said tentatively. "Of course, it's just an idea so far. I just thought I could help—I mean, I really want to. Of course, if you don't think it's appropriate, I don't necessarily have to..."

He couldn't finish his sentence.Because Éponine suddenly opened her arms, rushed up, and hugged him tightly.Thin, slender arms wrapped around his neck, fingers gripped his shoulders.Grantaire doesn't even have to look closely to feel her trembling—his throat tightens, and he's at a loss for words in an instant.

"Thank you, Grantaire," she said tremblingly into his shoulder, her voice uncertain whether she was crying or laughing, "My God... you bastard. Thank you. Thank you."

Grantaire just stood there. "I..." He tried to speak, but he opened his mouth and closed it again, unable to utter a complete sentence at all.After a long while, he raised his hands at a loss, and first placed them on the girl's back. After two or three seconds, he slowly hugged her body, which seemed too thin under the large overalls.

"I'm sorry... Eponine," he said softly when he finally found his voice. "Because I have been so indifferent, for..."

"Shut up," the girl said.

Grantaire obeyed.They hugged in silence for a while, Enjolras thoughtfully standing aside without interrupting them.When they were finally parted from each other, Éponine raised a hand and wiped her eyes hard.Grantaire saw that her left eyeliner was all gone, leaving a dark streak across her face.

"Here you go, bastard," she said, slapping the brown paper bag into Grantaire's arms and smiling.Grantaire took the kit and noticed a circular logo in one corner of what looked like an educational institution's logo.

"I took the file bag from the community college." Eponine noticed his gaze and explained to him. "They agreed to put me on an evening program so when I wasn't working I could..."

"God, Eponine." Grantaire couldn't help sighing, "That's great."

Éponine bit her lower lip and smiled at him.She looked a little embarrassed, but still very happy. "Yeah, I bet you feel the same way," she said, pinning one side of her hair behind her ear. "A friend of Enjolras put me in touch with this project..."

Grantaire couldn't help himself from laughing along with her. "You're always everywhere in this kind of thing, aren't you?" he said to Enjolras, laughing. "Breathing, walking justice."

Enjolras shrugged and smiled.This time he didn't protest Grantaire's behavior of calling him random nicknames.

"Okay," Eponine said, reaching out a hand and hitting Grantaire on the shoulder. "The papers are delivered, I guess I should go. Right? After all, you obviously have to—"

"Discuss the case." Enjolras immediately stopped her, "...discuss the case."

They laughed together.

The laughter was still echoing in Grantaire's head when he stepped into the courtroom.

He loosened his tie, sat down behind the prosecution's long table, and watched the defenders and judges take their seats one after another.It's almost impossible for us to win, he thought.I've looked at all the material these days, and I understand that it's almost impossible for us to win -- at least very, very, very slightly.But at this moment, as he sat down, he suddenly understood the expression on the grizzled aid lawyer's face all those years ago - when he knelt down and touched Grantaire's head and said to him, boy, I will The look on my face when I helped you send this case to the procuratorate.He knew it was hopeless, but he would still do it, he anticipated possible failure, but he would still do it.Because Grantaire looked at him with such admiration then, because Gavroche looks at Grantaire with such admiration now.He remembered that Enjolras asked him again in the corridor of the courthouse twenty minutes ago, why did you come back?

"I've lost a lot of cases that I wanted to win. I've won a lot of cases that I thought I should have lost," he said. "But this is the first time I want to embrace a case that I might as well lose."

"Why?" Enjolras asked again.

"Our work is just a small glimpse of the progress of justice and society, and my name will not even appear on the verdict. But I want to be in this progress." He said, "This time I want to work with You stand together."

He looked towards the gallery.Enjolras is watching him, Enjolras is smiling.Gavroche sat next to him, and Éponine sat on the other side of Gavroche.They were all looking at him.

He spread out his folders on the table.The gavel sounded.

-End of full text-

[1] Shahar v. Powers (1995), Shahar was a lesbian who was withdrawn by the Attorney General Powers of Georgia at the time because he was married to a same-sex partner. .