Semi-open post: Daring drinker of dreams.

[futaille]

It was ironic, in a way, that the latest event would happen when it did, just days before he'd been here a year¹. It's like the bookends of his life. Yes, by the generally accepted reckoning of mapping the mansion's calendar to the real world's, the 'anniversary' of the barricades was months ago, but Grantaire is well aware of how long he's been in the mansion. That warrants its own kind of celebration.

So once afternoon hits, he heads directly to one of the more remote bars that he knows of, intent on one thing and one thing only, recreating what he was doing a year ago as closely as he could manage. So onto the bar go several bottles of wine, some brandy, some stout, and some absinthe.

Drinking to remember and drinking to forget look remarkably similar sometimes.

¹1833 was not a leap year. 2024 is.


[[Open to anyone who'd be braving the far reaches of the mansion either for exploration purposes or looking for R specifically. Obviously kidmas load is going to be high for quite a while yet, so there's no time limit on hitting this up whenever you'd like, I just wanted to get it up on the actual anniversary (minus a leap day).]]

Comments

[vineleaves]

Dionysus, for all he knows about Étienne now, does not know exactly how long he's been here. It's honestly a bit of a random chance that he happens to walk by the bar when he does; he's not actively looking for Étienne right now, and he doesn't walk down this hall very often, but today he was bored and wanted to go poking around to see what he could find.

What he finds, of course, is his beloved surrounded by even more alcohol than usual. "Love?" he says softly, entering. "Mind if I join you?"

[futaille]

Grantaire's a couple bottles of wine in by this point, which is to say he's just getting started. He grins broadly at Dionysus. "Cher! Come in! Sit with me!" He pops open another bottle.

[vineleaves]

"What's the occasion?" he asks as he sits down beside Étienne and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

[futaille]

He slings an arm around Dionysus, having a long drink from the freshly opened bottle with his free hand. "It's my anniversary! I've been here a year now. A real year, not a mansion year. Mansion years are long."

[vineleaves]

"Oh! --Oh." He immediately wraps his arms around Étienne in a very tight hug.

[futaille]

He waves the bottle in his hand in the general direction of the rest of them on the bar. "I'm recreating my last hurrah."

[vineleaves]

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry, I didn't know it had been a year yet," he says, brushing a hand through Étienne's hair.

[futaille]

He leans into Dionysus, having another drink. "Don't need to be sorry, it's a lovely excuse for quite the spread."

[vineleaves]

"I am incredibly happy you ended up here," he says, taking the bottle from Étienne so that he can have a sip. "But I hate that you had to go through all that."

[sagramore]

"Good Christ, all this and thou didst not extend me an invitation?"

[futaille]

He puts down the bottle he's working on and laughs. "It's a recreation!"

[sagramore]

"Of what, a bacchanalia?"

[futaille]

"Of my festivities a year ago!"

[sagramore]

"Of thy-- oh, Christ Jesu, a year already? It's not possible."

[futaille]

"Oh yes. A whole year. Well, a whole regular year. The mansion's calendar is very unhelpful."

[sagramore]

"I had no idea time was passing like that." He takes a seat beside Grantaire, leaning against his shoulder a bit.

[futaille]

He leans back into Sagramore as he has a drink. "The days do tend to come one right after another."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot is, in fact, looking for Grantaire. When he doesn't find him in any of (what he thinks of as) the usual daytime haunts -- the game room, the café, the practice room, the yard -- he starts seeking out bars, poking his head into each. He has a specific goal in mind, and in his experience Grantaire is not usually hard to find.

Today is an exception, but he sticks with it until at last he pokes his head into a bar that (thankfully) contains a Grantaire. He says, brightly, "There thou art!"

[futaille]

He's already several bottles deep and he holds up his current one in something of a loose salute. "So I am!"

[lanselos_du_lac]

As he comes in, Lancelot has definitely noted the number of bottles with a faint, barely visible, alarm. He crosses to Grantaire and drops a kiss onto his curls. "I've been seeking thee."

[futaille]

"And found me." He takes a drink. "Although I fear I may not be the best of company today."

[lanselos_du_lac]

His brow creases again in concern, but he only sits on the stool next to Grantaire and says, "I do not need thee to be the best company. Only thyself, as thou art.'

[futaille]

"There we have it, then." He nods toward the array of bottles he hasn't gotten to yet. "Help yourself if you'd like. There's always more."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot squeezes Grantaire's shoulder and then stands, going around the bar to inspect the bottles. "What is the occasion, then?"

[futaille]

"My anniversary," he says, bordering on a pronouncement. "Been here a year. A regular year."