An Interlude
"What is she doing?" Former Police Chief Javert asked his husband Valjean, the Mayor, as they watched Madge almost fall into a puddle of mostly dried blood in the alley where Sheila was murdered the night before. The couple was standing at the window of the coffee shop that was across the street from the alley.
"How am I supposed to know?" Valjean shrugged as he watched Madge bend over sideways to get a closer look at something on the ground.
"You're the Mayor of this town. It's kind of your job to know what is happening in it." Javert pointed out bluntly.
"Hey it's not my fault that she doesn’t know how to be a competent police officer; nor is it my fault that the only reason she became a detective is because her father is the Chief. It’s also not my fault that her father replaced you as Chief when you retired. It's not like I appointed him or anything." Valjean shrugged again.
"But you did appoint him. You are the Mayor. It's your job to appoint new Chiefs." Javert reminded him.
"Sounds fake but ok." Valjean shrugged.
"I wouldn't lie to you. This I swear by the Stars." Javert told him seriously.
"Who even are you?" Valjean sighed fondly. "No one swears by the stars."
"It's not my fault that you don't understand the stars in their multitude. They fill the darkness with order and light. They know their place in the sky and they are always the same. Every season they return and return. They are the sentinels, silent and sure. They are everything this town should be, everything this town was. But now this town has fallen as Lucifer fell; the town fell in flames. And my only regret is that I will never see these people safe behind bars." Javert said passionately.
"What are you even talking about?" Valjean asked in confusion. He loved his husband but sometimes Javert would go on tangents about crime and criminals and Valjean would just get hopelessly lost. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about stopping crime, he did, it’s just that sometimes it seemed that Javert’s love of the law and justice eclipsed his love for his husband. Which was fine with Valjean, his passion was one of the things that Valjean loved most about his husband. And the kisses, he loved the kisses as well.
"The criminals! The organized groups of criminals!" Javert exclaimed. "They have taken over this town and it is only because I was not there to stop it."
"You mean the mobs?" Valjean frowned.
"Yes!" Javert exclaimed.
"I agree that we probably shouldn't have mobs since they are illegal, but it's not like we have any concrete proof that they are doing anything illegal. Oh sure they are definitely doing stuff, but it's not like they're murdering anyone." Valjean shrugged. This wasn't the first time that they had had this conversation and it always ended the same way. Javert would huff and puff and then he would drop it and they would go on with their day.
"Crime is still crime. And crime is illegal." Javert replied.
"Do I need to remind you how we acquired our daughter Cosette?" Valjean quirked an eyebrow and Javert was silent. "That's what I thought. Now come on, you promised me a walk in the park after we had coffee."
"Fine." Javert huffed but didn't move.
"The longer we sit here the less time we have for kissing before I have to go back to the office." Valjean reminded him.
"That's not fair." Javert pouted.
"I always play fair." Valjean gasped drastically.
"Why did I marry you again?" Javert sighed but stood up anyway.
"Because I'm the only one for you?" Valjean asked teasingly. "You did spend all that time hunting me down only for you not to realize that it was me right in front of your face."
"It's not my fault that you have a very common face." Javert blushed slightly.
"I'll have you know my face is anything but common." Valjean said haughtily and grabbed Javert's hand as they walked out of the coffee shop toward the park; in the opposite direction of the alley where Madge was still clumsily inspecting for clues. "I knew who you were from the moment I saw you. I wanted to see how long it took you to figure out it was me. But it took you forever."
"I figured out it was you eventually." Javert grumbled.
"Yeah because I finally gave up and told you. And even after I did you still didn't believe me." Valjean sighed. "It was only after you saw me at the gym that you put it all together."
"Not everyone can remember the face of every person they've met." Javert pointed out.
"No, but most people can remember most faces." Valjean said teasingly. "I guess that makes you not like most people, which is a good thing because I don't like most people."
Javert was silent, he didn't quite know what to say to that. No, he did know what he wanted to say, he just wasn't good at expressing his emotions if it wasn’t about crime and criminals. But Valjean was well versed in his husband and he always knew how Javert felt even if he didn't always say it out loud.