Pairing: E/É
Words: 1K+
Warning: none.
Beta: none
Type: Modern AU
eeeeeeeeeeee
"What is all this?" Enjolras asked as he stepped into the living room. The sofa and coffee table were covered with piles of white dresses and glitter and aluminium foil and glitter garlands.
"What?" She asked as she tried to pack all of it into the two big bags on the floor next to her.
"What do you mean; what? It is five in the bloody morning. It is entirely too early for this much glitter!" He picked up a garland and quickly threw it away as if it was contaminated by the sparkle-plague and too long exposure would lead to bedazzled outfits.
"I know, I know, but I was entirely too distracted last night, by you I might add, so I completely forgot to get this out of the attic! You have yourself to blame, mister." She looked up from the bag she had managed to zip, only to look around and see that she had barely packed half of it, she looked at him for help, but only saw his raised eyebrow and crossed arms.
"Alright then, partially at least." She waved her hand to dismiss the whole blame-game and started gathering up all the glitter instead. "Why are you up anyway, even you don't get up until after six!"
"Well there was this strong smell coming from the kitchen and it smelled like you messed up some cinnamon rolls."
"My Lucia-buns are not messed up, I followed the recipe to the letter and they are supposed to smell that way." She forced the glitter into one of the side pockets of the bag and started wrapping the candles in newspaper to ensure they would not break.
"Lucia-buns?"
"Oh honestly, I know you went to boarding schools abroad and all that, but you must have hadsome exposure to Saint Lucia day?"
"No, I have not, I-" but he didn't get to finish as Éponine dragged him to the kitchen to show her these amazing buns.
"Wow." Was all he could manage to say, the buns were yellow and twirled or knotted together to make cute little designs and decorated with raisins, but the biggest factor to taking his breath away, was because they were everywhere. He was seriously in awe of his girlfriend as she took out, what he guessed must be, the 4th batch and put a new tray in the oven.
"What are you going to do with all these? Feed the whole damn school?"
"Well, yes."
He looked at all the bakery and all the dresses and glitter and candles and sighed. "Lucky for you; I have the day off. What do you need help with?"
"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" Éponine exclaimed as she threw herself into his arms and kissed all over his face. "Now please go get the rest of the glitter garlands and shove them into any space you can find on those bags," she commanded him, turning to put the Lucia-buns in the big baskets on the dining table.
At eight o'clock all the glitter was packed, the buns were baked, they had both showered and managed to fit everything into the car. They were making good time, and didn't even get agitated as they had to shovel snow out of the driveway and de-ice the car.
"So," he asked as he drove the car to the school Éponine worked at, "what is this Lucia thing anyway?"
"Back during the Great Persecution the Christians were hiding in the catacombs in Italy and Saint Lucia braved her life to sneak down there and feed them as they would be killed if they came out.
"So, basically, we walk around the other school classes and the nursing homes and we hand out one of them buns to everyone while we sing the Lucia song and I stress myself out with taking care of 20 kids who all carry flaming candles."
"Ok."
"Hey, don't be mister negative, I love Lucia. The buns and the candles and the boys wearing dresses and the beauty of it is just, well, beautiful."
He glanced at her quickly, he was driving in the middle of winter after all, and could see that little smile she had when she was feeling nostalgic. And there were not a lot of things she had to feel nostalgic about. The moment he saw that smile, he decided that Lucia was a very important day. No matter how silly it sounded, he would indulge her in every aspect of it, as long as she fell asleep that night with said smile on her lips.
"So why is this a Scandinavian tradition… when it's an Italian Saint?"
"Well, they used to believe that the winter solstice was on this day and when Christianity came to the North they mixed their traditions up with the ancient traditions. I mean they really mixed it up, thinking Lucia was another name for Lucifer and all that, and then they made the holiday all about light banishing dark creatures. It really is beautiful though… when you're not in charge."
"But you are," he pointed out.
"You know I roped you into this because I needed extra adult supervision, right?" she smirked as he parked the car.
And Enjolras understood completely. Because as he helped dress her pupils into the white robes, with various complaints like "they're dresses, and 'm not a girl!" or "Lisa's one is bigger than mine!" Enjolras grew to look at Éponine's profession with wonder and awe. He would have completely shut himself off from the world if he had to deal with this everyday on top of all the shit les Amis stirred. Honestly, some of these nine year olds were way more mature than their friends.
And it was beautiful. Twenty kids, dressed in pure white cloaks and hair entwined in glitter walking through the dark morning while precariously holding candles or baskets of Lucia buns while they sang. The girl in the front was wearing a beautiful crown of (battery powered) candles, leading the procession from classroom to classroom with Éponine running ahead to switch the lights off.
Svart senker natten seg, I stall og stue.
Solen har gått sin veg, skyggene truer.
Inn I vårt mørke hus, stiger med tente lys.
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.
When they returned, Enjolras had to put aside any thought of how beautiful it all was, in order to help Éponine help the children out of their robes and collecting candles and helping untie shoelaces. All the while answering the billion questions that the pupils were asking him.
"What's your favourite colour?"
"Are you and Éponine married?"
"Are you a prince?"
"Do you love Éponine?"
"Do you use hair curlers like my mamma does?"
"Have you ever been to Italy?"
The questions were endless and seemingly random, but he found that just giving simple answers would keep them satisfied.
"Red."
"No."
"No."
"Yes, I do."
"No, I don't."
"Yes, twice, first time I was your age actually."
Finally it was time to go home, and after following half of the kids to homework club, and making sure they got all their scarves and mittens and hats, they were alone in her classroom only half an hour later.
"Oh golly, when these kids were first years, it took me twice as long to get them out the door. And I even had a tutor help me!"
And so they made their way back home, thoroughly exhausted and eager for some cuddling. At least that was how Éponine put it.
"When I was younger, I always wanted to be the girl in the crown. But, well, I was too cheeky and I never did my homework, so the teacher let everybody have their turn at being Lucia except me.
"That's just mean."
"Well, I never liked that teacher, and I swore I'd end up as different as her as possible."
"Congratulations, love." He smiled and parked the car, leaning over to kiss her sweetly, "And happy Lucia-day."
He moved in to kiss her again, and she smiled, telling him that he didn't have to wish her a happy Lucia day, but he kissed the smirk off her lips.
And they found out just how cold a car could get, as they hastily dressed and exited it half an hour later.
eeeeeeeeeeee
The next year it was Enjolras who was up at the crack of dawn, bustling with glitter and candles and capes.
"What on earth are you doing?" Éponine asked as she entered the kitchen to find him cussing over a tray of half burned Lucia Buns.
"'Ponine, you are not supposed to wake up yet!"
"I bloody well know that," she said, crossing her arms over the swell of her stomach, "The whole point of my maternity leave was that I would not have to deal with all this at six in the morning!"
Enjolras looked sheepishly at the floor, looking adorable in her flowery apron and reindeer oven mittens.
"I have to leave for work in an hour and I just wanted to give you something first." He muttered as his, heavily pregnant and extremely scary, girlfriend glared at him.
Her eyes softened and she let her arms wrap around her stomach instead, making her look a lot less intimidating and giving Enjolras all the all clear to continue.
"Close your eyes," he told her and ran into the livingroom, gathering the big white cloak and some glitter, he quickly put it on her and tied the glitter around her ribs (as the waist was no longer the smallest part of her torso) and put the candle crown on her head. When he was happy with the result, he started singing, bringing the high pitch of the song down to a bit more manageable one.
Sul mare luccica l'astro d'argento;
Placida è l'onda prospero il vento.
Venite all'agile barchetta mia
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia
Éponine slowly opened her eyes and smiled, he was just about to start the second verse, that he had spent a damn long time learning, he was not fluent in Italian, when Éponine started crying.
"Éponine, 'Ponine, what's wrong?"
Her answer was rather high pitched and slurred as she threw herself into his arms, but he understood her anyway.
"I finally got to be Saint Lucia! I can't believe you did this to me. I love you, you stupid, wonderful man."
And he held onto her, enjoying the feeling of both his Éponine and their unborn child in his arms, and thinking of the ring he'd bought her yesterday, safely hid away with Cosette, and deemed himself the happiest man on earth.