Hey guys! I know I haven't uploaded in a while, so here's a chapter from my upcoming fic "All Under One Roof." Enjoy!
-Vroche
It started off innocently enough, as most fiascos do. Combeferre went out and purchased the new Nest thermostat- a state-of-the-art heating and cooling system. It was pretty: shaped in a perfect circle, with a shiny exterior and large display. He and Bahorel (who, if there was new technology concerned, was sure to be involved in setting it up and toying with it for the next few hours) hooked it up.
Bahorel was sitting criss-cross on the floor next to Combeferre, who was standing up and doing all the actual work, and was flipping through the instructions manual. He occasionally gave instructions to Combeferre, but mostly just looked through all the tidbits and supposed benefits. "Apparently it turns on if you just walk by it," he offered. "Too bad that'll only work for some of us."
Combeferre snorted at the reference to certain people's height.
"Ooh, look at this, Ferre," Bahorel said a little while later. "It says you can get the app on your phone that lets you control the temperature from anywhere!"
"Mmm," mumbled the bespectacled student through a mouthful of various tools they were using to install the thermostat.
Bahorel stood up and went to get his phone off the charger and download the Nest app.
As soon as the two had finished installing the gadgets in place of their old thermostats (there were three) and setting up the app on everyone's phone (excluding Enjolras's, Courfeyrac's, and Gavroche's, because their passwords were not common knowledge), they gathered almost everyone in the hallway. (Elsa was at the library and Feuilly was at work.)
"Attention citizens of The House. Bahorel and I have installed a new thermostat system called Nest- don't ask why, it has nothing to do with thermostats or anything unless they're referring to a house as a nest, which I guess is clever," Combeferre declared.
"Basically it's really high-tech," Bahorel interjected, "and supposedly learns your heating and cooling patterns. Anyway, we hijacked most of your phones and put the app on them, which means you can control the temperature from there. Or do it manually, which it fun 'cause all you do is spin it left and right." He demonstrated said actions, eliciting some "oohs," some "ahhs," and some yawns from their audience.
Combeferre spoke up again. "Please resist the shininess and use it responsibly. That's all, and hopefully this thing saves us money, as advertised."
Eponine clapped. "Fancy, thanks guys! Can we go now?"
"Sure, you're dismissed." Combeferre smiled.
Later that week, Elsa was hurrying home on a particularly rainy, cold, overcast, and generally blustery day. The cold didn't really bother her- it never had -but the relentless wind whipped her pale features, making her eyes water and her platinum-blonde braid come loose and tangle. Elsa had lived in Florida all her life, and one of the reasons she had been so looking forward to her trip with Anna was the cooler temperatures up north. Florida was always hot and sweaty and pretty gross, weather-wise. She adjusted her backpack straps and bent her head firmly against the wind and raindrops, struggling down the sidewalk to The House. Upon arriving, she shoved her key in the door and nearly tripped into the house, breathing a small sigh of relief when a blast of warm air met her. "I'm home," she called out, not waiting for a response.
Slipping off her white Keds, Elsa made her way upstairs and deposited her backpack on her bed (she hated messes and when things weren't in the proper order) before racing downstairs again. The TV was on in the living room, so she crossed the hallway, slipping a bit in her sky blue-and-white polka-dotted socks.
She smiled from the entrance when she saw the Redhead Squad (that is to say, the sometimes-affectionate nickname for Merida, Feuilly, Ariel, and her little sister Anna) sprawled out on the armchairs and couches. Gavroche was busying himself with Legos on the rug, and Joly was sitting on the floor reading a Web MD magazine with his back leaning on the couch.
"Hey guys," Elsa made a beeline for the couch to sit with Anna, who mumbled a "Heya, sis" in response, apparently too enraptured by "Say Yes To The Dress" to make conversation.
After about a half hour curled up on the couch, watching TV and relaxing after a long day at the university, Elsa began to feel a little warm. Anna's body heat, as well as Belle's (who had joined them), coupled with the heat of the house, was getting a little too much to bear. She had, of course, been introduced to the Nest system, but didn't have the app. She'd much rather relieve herself from the uncomfortable heat and manually take care of it.
Mumbling some excuse about going to the bathroom, Elsa got up from her place wedged in between her friends/sister and meandered down to the kitchen, where the nearest thermostat was.
The circular display read 79, which seemed obscenely hot for Elsa, who loved the cold weather. Although she meant well, Elsa didn't put two and two together- the cold outside temperature + the therefore warm inside temperature. Frowning, she turned the temperature down a good thirty or so notches, then padded back to the living room to continue the "Say Yes To The Dress" finale.
Another half hour or so later, the temperature reached what Elsa had set it too. She found it relaxing and refreshing, and noticed (but failed to wonder or ask why) her companions were curled up in their various positions under a literal mountain of soft, insulating blankets.
Presently, Enjolras waddled into the room. He was draped in a multitude of scarlet blankets, had thick wooly socks on, and Elsa could have sworn his teeth were chattering. "W-why the hell is it so freaking freezing in here?"
Elsa finally remembered that she was the only one who actively sought out the cold, especially in the dead of winter when it was thirty degrees, windy, and rainy outside, and realized that her turning down the thermostat had probably affected the other people in the household who were not as immune to the cold. She grinned slyly and looked up at Enjolras, who was still standing, a very cross look upon his face. "I don't know, Enjolras. It seems plenty warm to me."
Enjolras, having experienced a childhood of being laughed at for being different, decided not to say anything. Instead, he scowled and shuffled out to the kitchen, planning to make some hot chocolate and coffee to warm up. It didn't cross his mind to check the thermostat.
He met Jehan in the kitchen, who was wearing a paisley onsie, an ivory-colored Phantom mask, and was already making hot chocolate for himself and Courfeyrac.
Enjolras decided not to ask about his attire, but Jehan sensed his stare and answered anyway. "Courf and I are having a musical marathon upstairs, and we're in the intermission of Phantom of the Opera." Ah, that explains the mask, Enjolras thought.
Enjolras started on the coffee, then turned to Jehan in an attempt to make some more conversation. "Cold, huh?"
"Yeah, maybe the heater isn't working. It's a nice excuse to get really cozy, though."
Enjolras nodded. "True, but I can't really feel my fingers so I had to stop typing up my paper on French politics."
Jehan chuckled as he poured his hot chocolate into two porcelain mugs- one rainbow and one that read 'If you are agitated and confused… my work here is done.' "Do you want the rest for your weird caffeine-sugar drink?"
"Please," confirmed Enjolras as his coffee finished brewing. He grabbed a mug from the wooden cabinet above (this one was black and said 'I'm silently correcting your grammar").
Jehan picked up his mugs and left the room, walking slowly so as not to spill the hot liquid on his way up the stairs.
After combining his beverages, Enjolras headed back to the living room, but stopped to check the hallway Nest on the way. He nearly gasped alound when he saw what it said: Cooling- 24 degrees Fahrenheit. He quickly spun the thing to the right, back up to a more appropriate temperature. Now he knew why it was so cold, and so the only question remaining was the identity of the 'freezer.'
Back in the living room, Enjolras settled near one end of the nearest couch, shivering as he touched the unheated leather. Politics paper momentarily forgotten, he sipped his coffee/hot chocolate and surveyed the room, determined to catch whoever was responsible for the sudden Antarctica climate of the house.
The Redhead Squad was all bundled up, so surely (unless they shared Jehan's mindset of "it's cozy!") they weren't the ones behind it. Oh- Jehan thought it was cozy. He probably turned the temperature down an an excuse to snuggle with Courfeyrac. Thinking it over, Enjolras decided that the poet was probably the culprit, and abandoned his warm blankets as he jumped up from the leather couch and raced up the stairs.
Arriving at the room that Courfeyrac, Jehan, and Combeferre shared, Enjolras didn't bother to knock- he just took the frigid door handle and turned it, pushing open the door only to reveal Courfeyrac and Jehan having a make-out session. Enjolras sputtered and turned to leave, all thoughts of confronting the 'freezer' having fled his mind.
However, Courfeyrac noticed him and pulled away from his partner, blushing madly, though it was no secret that he and Jehan were together. "Uh, hi Enjolras. Can we help you?" Courfeyrac implied.
A flash of movement caught Enjolras's eye, and he turned his head and saw, indeed, The Phantom of the Opera playing on the TV. The characters were furiously singing about some notes left by the Phantom. Enjolras had never really shared the musical theater passion that some of his friends had, and therefore had no real clue as to what was going on.
He quickly snapped his head back to Courfeyrac and Jehan. "Jehan, did you turn the thermostat down and try to recreate the North Pole in here?" Enjolras addressed Jehan.
"Nope," Jehan opposed Enjolras's theory. "I don't mind it, but I didn't do it, I swear. Maybe Elsa did though, she likes the cold."
"Mm, good idea," Enjolras agreed. He hadn't thought of that, but the poet was right, the cold had never seemed to bother the shy girl. "I'll go ask her. Sorry for...um, interrupting." On that last awkward note, he turned and fled out the door, being sure to close it tightly. He thought he heard Courfeyrac's hysterical laughter as he went back down the stairs, but he couldn't be sure.
Jogging back into the living room, rubbing his hands up and down his arms to keep warm, Enjolras skidded into the room and stood in front of Elsa. "Did you turn the thermostat down?" he asked bluntly.
Elsa looked away from the TV and up at her opponent, wide-eyed. She supposed that someone would have figured out her mischievous little cold temperature trick, but Enjolras had been particularly fast about it. She debated whether or not to own up for her deed. She didn't have to- after all, unless he had done fingerprint tests (which she highly doubted he had), the curly-haired blonde had no proof that she did it. She decided to take the blame anyway, because no one wanted to face the wrath of an Enjolras who was either studying for exams, sleeping, doing an assignment, or cold. "Maybe I did, Sherlock Holmes. Why? Is the man of marble feeling something mortal at last?"
Elsa enjoyed flirting with most people, but didn't take it seriously, nor did she expect anyone to. She was usually calm, cool, and collected (or so she told herself), and flirting was a good way to display her so-called unshakeable-ness.
The man-of-marble thing was a nickname that Combeferre had made up when Enjolras had been studying for his final exams and didn't sleep and barely ate anything for three days straight. It also referred to his pale complexion and lack of interest in romance, except with Grantaire (and for those reasons, Elsa was sometimes called the 'lady of marble').
Enjolras rolled his eyes. "So you're saying you did?"
"Yes."
"Why? You almost froze everyone half to death! If we wanted to be cold, we'd have gone outside. Did Ferre not give you the thermostat talk?"
Elsa searched her memory for anything regarding the Nest system. "I don't think so."
Enjolras sighed. "Fine, but just don't change the temperature unless it's okay with the majority of us, so we don't end up melting or freezing ourselves solid." He made a mental note to talk to Combeferre about that.
Elsa allowed a small smile to creep across her lips. "Gotcha." This Nest system was going to be a useful ally in the long run.