A/N: I originally wrote this for my Les Mis drabble blog on tumblr, but I thought I would post it here too. For now I'm not sure if this will just be a oneshot or if I should continue it...so send in a review and tell me what you want me to do with it? That is if you like it of course. So sit back and enjoy reading!
A fire crackled low in the fireplace after a long night of casting a warm glow over the small cafe. Enjolras sat at a table near the burning embers, head bent over notes and hand dug into hair in concentration. He wasn't sure what time it was, but most of his friends had left for the evening, back to their warm homes and away from the now steadily falling snow. The only remaining person in the cafe other than Enjolras was seated at a table across the room from him, face in arms and hand grasping a half empty bottle. Enjolras rolled his eyes at Grantaire and made a mental note to try and find the rest of the Absinthe stash he knew his friend was hiding back at his apartment. If he was going to drink, the least Grantaire could do was drink something that wasn't illegal. Enjolras slowly looked away from the slumbering man and put his attention back to his books. After a few more minutes of deciphering the words on the page, his eyes began to burn from exhaustion and he decided that it would be okay to quit for the night. Besides, tomorrow as Saturday and he had the whole day to study and finish up work.
Just as he was gathering up his books, however, the door to the cafe opened quietly and the little bell above it let out a ding. A figure wrapped in a dark trench coat with a hat pulled securely over it's head stepped inside, a few stray snowflakes blowing from behind. Enjolras snapped his head up to look at the person. He knew that coat. It was Eponine.
Slowly he sat back down into his chair, watching the girl step towards the counter just a few feet away from his table and take an order from the sleepy barista. Enjolras had always had a fascination with the edgy girl that mostly kept to herself. She usually came to the cafe when the Amis were all there and would sit with Marius at a table, listening to the chatter and drunken banter around them as Marius wrote loving poetry to that girl that he was taken with. What was her name? Colette? No, it was Cosette. Yes, that was it. Eponine never really talked to anyone else, though many had tried to strike up a conversation. How could he leave now? It was not often he had an opportunity to observe her alone.
Tonight, he watched as she took her black coffee and moved to a table in between the drunken man and the law student. It was then he noticed that she was carrying a book in her other hand. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Good choice. Enjolras had read that many times as a fun read. He quickly averted his eyes and turned his head to his books as she glanced his way. Satisfied that he wasn't paying attention, she began to pull off her coat. As she looked away again, he let his eyes wander back towards her and watched as she sat down in the old chair.
They sat in silence for a while, him studying as he glanced her way occasionally, and her engulfed in her book, sipping her coffee slowly. It was a strange silence, but both were strangely content.
After a bit, Enjolras watched as Eponine stretched her arms up over head, loosening her joints a bit. She didn't realize it, but her long sleeves moved up on her lower arms. Enjolras couldn't help but notice a long splotch of light blue, and then another one exactly like it just a bit higher, and then another one just above the second on her exposed wrist. Were those...bruises? No, they couldn't be. Eponine stretched her arms behind her and away from the chair, arching her back and letting her shirt ride up to reveal her midriff. Normally that's when Enjolras would look away, but this time it was different. As the shirt moved farther up on her waist, he noticed the same purple splotches on her protruding hip bones, but they looked much darker, newer, harsher. There was no fighting it now. Those were bruises. Those were bruises in the perfect shape of a hand.
A sudden rage filled Enjolras as he watched her lean back down over her book and run a hand through her hair. Who could do that to someone? That was more than just an accidental bruise from running her hip into the side of a table. Those were purposely inflicted. But from who? He though back to the people he'd seen her with. Marius? Never. Gavroche, her little brother? It was almost comical to think about. He shook his head. He didn't know anyone else she associated herself with. He gulped. What was this poor girl going through?
It was then that he realized that he was staring straight at her, and she back at him. A faint blush was creeping across her cheeks and she pulled her sleeves farther over her wrists and hands. She knew he had seen. He quickly looked to his hands, where he saw he was clenching his fists together, his knuckles turning white. He could still feel her gaze on him and he looked back at her, feeling his confidence coming back. There were questions in his eyes, and she looked away, back to her book.
Before anything else could happen, there was a grumble from the drunk Grantaire and he shot up in his chair, looking around wildly before groaning and covering his head with his hands. Enjolras's attention snapped to him immediately and he drew himself up out of his chair and walked towards him. "Let's get you home, yeah?" He said sternly to his friend. Enjolras quickly gathered his books once again before putting a strong grip on Grantaire's upper arm. He allowed himself one more look over his shoulder at the reading girl before exiting the cafe. She wasn't reading anymore, but staring after the boys, a pained expression on her face. As the two's gazes met she swallowed hard and picked up her coffee and book before rushing past the two and out into the cold night.
That night, Enjolras found it hard to think of anything except the mysterious girl and her strange bruises.
A/N: So that was that! I really hoped you liked it. Please send in a review and please please please PLEASE tell me if you want me to leave it or write more, because I'm seriously torn. So obviously this is written from Enjolras's point of view, and if I do end up writing more chapters I'll probably start with Eponine's point of view from some part in this chapter and have it extend a little more so there is more of a feel for Montparnasse's personality in this.
The original post and my Les Mis tumblr is mon-barricade-boys with the normal tumblr URL ending. Thank you!