I run a business of repute (Valjean and Gabriella)

Valjean was not only the owner of a business of repute but he was the master of hundreds of workers and the mayor of this fair town. He was the master of the town and his business and a pillar of social order and religious tolerance, patience and love.

There was not a single man, woman or child in the streets who hadn't survived another day because of him and his massive amounts of charity.

It wasn't enough though and little by little the streets were filling with the dead and the dying. Plague was the rumour but he wasn't sure if it was true or not. Either way, he prayed to god each night for the safety and health or not only his workers but for the people of his town.

He loved this town and it's people.

Enough that it was now well into the night and he was still working away in his office, trying to figure out how to move some finances around in order to provide a soup kitchen near his factory. He hummed as he worked until there was a knock upon his door. Glancing at the clock he hummed before responding,

"Enter."

Gabriella had hoped that she could travel to the town that she had heard a certain Marc Madeleine had become the Mayor of, of course she knew that was the man that she had helped all of those years ago and he had finally made good on his papers that she had given her. Of course she knew of the town and it was one of the best places to live around France, it was great that he was able to make something of himself.

And it was all because of the assistance she had given him in making those papers.

Originally she had been aiming to arrive at his office for around 3pm so that she would be sure to catch him, although now it was closer to 8pm, there had been a delay on the roads because of some pile up of dead bodies. She had offered to help but the men had turned her away not wanting such a 'pretty face' to become ill by touching them.

Approaching his office which was through his factory, Gabriella knocked, and when bidden she entered with a soft smile on her lips. Without a doubt it was the man that she had seen all of those years ago and she found her smile broadening even as she looked upon his face, he was older and slightly more lined but still handsome as he had been.

"Monsieur Mayor." she greeted with a little laugh "I am pleased to see you are doing well."

Unsure of even why she had done so, she was wearing one of her best dresses and she wanted to show Jean that she had aged like him but was just as beautiful as before. Even though she was sure that it would make no difference to him.

"I just wanted to see you today to congratulate you on your success, it is a beautiful town that you run and the people speak of your kindness from far and wide." she stated with a soft smile on her lips still.

Valjean had glanced back at his paperwork and was back to puzzling over what he was going to move around in order to feed these people. He needed to feed them. But what broke him out of that wasn't looking up and seeing someone in the doorway. It was the smell that came with it. A perfume he had not smelt in such a long time but had hoped and prayed that he would smell again, along with the only woman he knew to wear it.

His head snapped up so fast it actually hurt his neck a tad.

And there she was. Gabriella Fontain had walked into his office; looking just as beautiful as she had done back before he had left for this part of the world. Back when she had helped finish the job the priest had started and given him a new life. He stood from his chair, paperwork forgotten, and bowed to her before taking her hand and kissing the back of it,

"Madame Fontain..." he greeted her softly before smiling, "Gabriella... I have missed you so very much my dear. I have been wanting to thank you even more than I did before I left... you made this life possible for me, thank you."

He was now more than a little bit annoyed at himself for not having shaved recently and not dressed up for the occasion. Even though he knew he couldn't have known she was going to show up. He coughed a little bit and blushed when he was caught staring at her,

"Thank you... I am just trying to return the kindness that was once shown to me by a beautiful woman in a land now rather far away." he told her, not so subtly talking about her, "You look beautiful my dear madam, are you in town for awhile?"

Gabriella was so happy to see Jean again, she had missed him so much and she had wanted to run down the street after him when he had left her to go and make his fortune in the world. Now that she had heard that he had made his way she thought it would be good to go and visit him, what with the money she had saved she could easily afford it.

Canada was a beautiful place and she loved to see it, she hoped he would be able to show her some parts of it himself before she had to leave and go back to France where she had her brother and her shop to take care of.

Smiling gently when he kissed her hand and bowed to her, Gabriella just felt so happy that she was here with her dear old friend and long lost lover once more. Never had her feelings wained since she had been apart from him...and they burst into flame again now.

"I have missed you too...Marc." she sniffled softly, just so overjoyed at being able to be with him once more "Seeing you doing all of this good for these people is more than enough of a reward, they seem so much more content than the others back home."

Seeing him staring at her made her heart soar a little bit and she couldn't help but want to hug him closely to her and beg him not to leave her again but, she didn't. It wouldn't be right.

"I came to town only to see you Mayor, so, I am in town as long as you wish me to be, as long as I let my brother know." she stated with a nod of her head and a wide smile "You must tell me everything that has happened since we parted, everything." she insisted as she gently placed her hands on his lower arms, squeezing softly.

"I brought some wine, so we might share it together." Gabriella mentioned as she took a bottle out of the basket she had been carrying.

Valjean had missed Gabriella like a he had had his heart stolen from him. He had been the one to walk away that was true but it had been more to make sure that he had actually left kind of thing. If he hadn't of gotten on that boat when he did he knew, in his heart, that he would never have left her. That was a good thing.

The bad thing would have been staying in a country where he was marked for either death or imprisonment with a man like Javert after him again. He would have been hunted down like a dog and put away again.

Forcibly taken from Gabriella.

So he had decided to leave on his terms. Even if it had torn him apart inside. When she said that she had missed him he smiled a little bit,

"Please... Jean please. Call me Jean." he told her with a soft smile before shaking his head a little bit, "It's not enough to ever repay you for what you did to me and... and for what you did for me. What you changed inside of me."

He wanted to hold her closer to him right now but he wasn't sure how she would take that. Valjean, in the end, didn't move and neither did she. That answered his question about whether or not she wanted to he supposed.

"If you leave the timing up to me Madam then I am afraid you might just never leave." he said jokingly but meant it entirely seriously. Why would he want her to go? Never again. He swallowed a little bit and shook his head, "Oh nothing much... got myself into a business and worked my way up to own it. All fairly straight forward."

The touch to his arms was... something he welcomed and tried not to read too deeply into. How could it be that she wanted to be close to him after all their time apart? He didn't dare hope so instead he chuckled a little bit weakly before nodding and pulling two glasses out of a nearby cabinet,

"Come on, let us drink and talk of our time apart. And look forward to time together."

Gabriella was so confused inside, if she had been so good to him and managed to help and change him for the better then why would he have left her? Why could she not have gone with him on his journey, she would have done it in a heartbeat to stay with him but...it had not been what he had wanted and she respected that.

Even if it did leave her with many years of heartbreak and lonliness as a result of his choice.

"Well then, maybe I can ask you to be my guide around this lovely town and its neighbours while I am here, it can be one of the many things that you do to help repay my kindness." she smiled widely and hoped that he would say yes, she would love to be able to have some time to walk the town with just him and have him point out things to her.

When he said that if she was to stay as long as he wished then she might never leave, Gabriella blinked softly and as he turned to get the wine glasses out of the cabinet she wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her face into his back, holding him to her as she shook softly with her pent up emotion.

Feeling his body against hers in an embrace was just amazing, and it was what she had come here to find out, if he still felt for her, and if so, why had he not saught her out.

"Then don't let me leave Jean." she whispered softly "I missed you so much and when I heard of your fortune I thought maybe it was finally time to try and speak with you again, to see if you would let me come and stay with you this time..."

Sighing softly she let her arms slip from around his chest and Gabriella cast her eyes down at the floor, ashamed at her outburst;

"I'm sorry, please forgive me." she whispered "If that is not what you want please forget I said anything! Let us continue this trip as friends." Gabrielle stated, firmly, wanting him to know she wanted Jean in her life, as a friend or something more.

Valjean had never wanted to leave her and he hoped that she had understood that but he knew that it might be a bit too much to ask for. After all he had been the one to walk away from her so that lent itself to the belief that it was his decision to do so rather than it being something he had not done consciously,

"I would love to be your guide through the town and it's neighbouring townships." he told her with a grin, "We have beautiful towns with all the grace of France, the beauty of the native lands and the wildness from the hearts of the adventurers who came here before us! It truly is a place of beautiful culture."

He closed his eyes as he turned to the cabinet.

Why had he said that? He had probably just ruined their friendship with a couple of words and there was nothing he could do about it.

When he felt the arms wrapped around his chest he was at first shocked, before it all registered and he relaxed. Turning around, he wrapped her up in a soft and gentle hug, holding her to him as he rested his head against hers. This was something he had missed more than all of France. The chance to hold her in his arms again,

"Then don't leave Gabriella." he told her just as quietly, "I have the room... I have the money and I... I have the heart and love. Please just stay with me and we can be together again. And perhaps together in a way we never were before if you would like."

Reaching out, he lifted her head up by two fingers underneath her chin. He looked her right in the eyes and smiled softly to her,

"There is nothing to forgive my dear... my love." he assured her softly, "Not unless you must forgive me for the same feelings I have for you my love."

Gabriella felt so happy that she was in Jean's arms once more, that he still loved her, that he had not married some horrible woman like society would have demanded him to and that he was still here to be with her today instead of rotting in some prison or having died. It was just such a blessing and it felt like her heart would explode in her chest it was so full of joy.

Resting her head against his chest, Gabriella curled her fingers in his shirt and listened to the soft beating of his heart against her ears, it was true, it wasn't a dream...

"I will not leave." she assured Jean "I never cared about the room or the money, I just want your heart and your love, just as you have my heart and my love. Oh Jean I have never been so relieved, I thought for sure that this could not have been, yet here we are..."

As his fingers raised her chin up Gabriella looked into his eyes, that were now full of life and sparkling with happiness instead of the dead, pain filled eyes she had seen when he had first arrived in her shop. Smiling right on back at him Gabriella never wanted to leave his arms, she wanted to stay there forever;

"Let us both just forgive each other of anything we might have done and begin our lives from here on out." she smiled brightly and laughed just so overjoyed at the situation "If there was a time for celebration and wine this is it! I am just sad I did not bring more than one bottle with me, for this is a most amazing occasion."

Slowly, she let her arms go from around his waist and instead, went to hold his hand, slipping his rough fingers through her own slender soft ones, enjoying locking hands with each other as they walked back to the desk where she opened the wine, and poured it into the two glasses that he had gotten for them.

"To the future...to our future?" she asked hesitantly as she raised one of the glasses.