A/N- Um... gidday, mates. I'm a happy happy happy camper right now.
Actually, I'm sitting here in front of my computer, and am in no way
camping. Come to think of it... that's a stupid phrase. But I /am/ happy.
...But now I'm sleepy. And confused.
La Pamplemousse- Aw. How sweet. This Santa-Javert doesn't do snuff (GASP!) because he's afraid if he did it, little kids around the world would try it. And we don't want that, do we Javvie? DO WE? He's not answering.
Elyse3- This one wasn't soon, but after this chapter the plot starts moving again. I promise.
sweet775- Can you picture Valjean in that lampshade dress, knitting? That promises for a few days of laughs... You've never seen The Santa Clause? You poor deprived chap.
Mlle. Verity le Virago- Ironic, yes? But he didn't quite get to the stealing part, so it's all good. (It's all good?)
The Phantom Parisienne- You heart me? Yay! I'm hearted! Why does my computer not question the spelling of 'hearted'?
Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters in this fic. Wow, that's sad. Wait, I think I own a few random gamines. And Bertrand. Yay!
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Again, Gavroche did not return as promised.
This time, however, it was not the police who stopped him coming back.
Two of the Patron-Minette, namely Babet and Montparnasse, caught Gavroche climbing out the back window and (again) strictly forbade him to visit Javert.
Perhaps a week later, in the middle of October, Javert received a letter on heavy yellow paper that smelled faintly of tobacco.
"Monsieur Javert,
"It has come to our attencion that you have ignored the recuests of one Montparnasse to stop interfeering with one boy Gavroche [here several surnames were marked out]. We, the Patron-Minette, cordiuly recuest that you not acociate again with said boy on pain of death.
"Thank you,
"The Patron-Minette"
Javert stared at the letter. "On pain of death?"
Someone chose this tense moment to knock on the door. The ex-inspector nearly wet himself.
The person knocked again.
Javert held his breath.
"Delivery!" came a child's shout.
Javert sighed and pulled open the door.
A boy with a hat pulled down over his ears stood at the door. Several other children, all wearing hats, were leaning against a fiacre. The Patron-Minette was nowhere in sight.
"We've got quite a few packages for you, monsieur," the boy announced.
Javert nodded, pulling his door open the rest of the way. "Leave them in here. I'm going to buy some bread."
He took off down the street, leaving the strangely clad children to load the packages into his house.
/\/\/\
When Javert opened his front door later that day, he dropped his fresh bread in surprise.
Red boxes were stacked about six feet high throughout his entire entrance hall and most of the stairway. Atop a shorter pile near the door lay a letter.
Hands shaking, Javert pulled the envelope open and unfolded the paper inside.
"Here's the list. Check it twice. Yours, Bernard," he read aloud.
[A/N- Whenever it gets to this scene in the movie I highly enjoy shouting "NO HE'S NOT YOURS HE'S MINE!" much to the terror and utter confusion of my parents.]
Javert yanked the top off the nearest box. Inside he found a huge stack of papers with names of countless children listed in alphabetical order by last name. He read off person.
"Abbas, Ana? ...It /is/ the list!" he gasped.
/\/\/\
It took Javert a few weeks to get the papers read through and put away. As a matter of fact, he wasn't able to get in his bedroom again for three days.
It was November when Javert's thoughts turned again to Gavroche. The most he had seen of the boy was "Thénardier, Gavroche," printed on the naughty list. Javert had made sure that it was moved.
He frowned at the snow falling onto the street. There was no way around it – Javert missed the boy.
Seeing no murderers in the street, Javert donned his green greatcoat and resolutely tramped out the door into the snow.
/\/\/\
The giant elephant statue was somehow serene against a backdrop of snowflakes. Javert leaned against one of the immense legs and waited for some sign of Gavroche.
He did not have to wait long. Javert began to hear the sound of a little voice singing above him somewhere. He craned his neck and could see cracks of light around the sides of the board that covered the hole in the elephant's belly.
Javert packed a little snowball and lobbed it at the plank. It made a satisfying sort of a splatting sound and moved the board a few inches to the side.
The singing stopped abruptly. The plank was pushed aside and Gavroche's voice called, "Navet? It that you?"
Javert cleared his throat. "Not quite!" he called back.
Almost before Javert had finished speaking, Gavroche had shimmied down the leg of the elephant and thrown his arms around Javert (a rather difficult task). "Monsieur Javert! I knew you'd come back over here!"
"I got a letter from your friends, Gavroche."
The gamin's eyes widened. "On pain of death?"
Javert nodded.
"Quick! Get out of here! The gang-"
"And we meet again," interrupted the cold voice of Montparnasse.
"...lives right nearby," Gavroche finished weakly.
"I wish I'd known that before," Javert sighed.
Montparnasse was fingering the pocket of his coat. "How did I know that you would be back? My dear, dear monsieur, was our letter not clear enough? We meant it when we said 'on pain of death.'"
"I was just... telling Gavroche goodbye. You see, I'm moving... to... Calais," Javert lied.
"You were saying goodbye?"
Nod.
"Say it then. I'm going to get the others. You have until I return to be gone."
Montparnasse stalked away, his smashed top hat and tails fading into the night.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Yay! We're makin' progress here! I promise the next chapter will be more than threats to Javert's life.
La Pamplemousse- Aw. How sweet. This Santa-Javert doesn't do snuff (GASP!) because he's afraid if he did it, little kids around the world would try it. And we don't want that, do we Javvie? DO WE? He's not answering.
Elyse3- This one wasn't soon, but after this chapter the plot starts moving again. I promise.
sweet775- Can you picture Valjean in that lampshade dress, knitting? That promises for a few days of laughs... You've never seen The Santa Clause? You poor deprived chap.
Mlle. Verity le Virago- Ironic, yes? But he didn't quite get to the stealing part, so it's all good. (It's all good?)
The Phantom Parisienne- You heart me? Yay! I'm hearted! Why does my computer not question the spelling of 'hearted'?
Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters in this fic. Wow, that's sad. Wait, I think I own a few random gamines. And Bertrand. Yay!
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Again, Gavroche did not return as promised.
This time, however, it was not the police who stopped him coming back.
Two of the Patron-Minette, namely Babet and Montparnasse, caught Gavroche climbing out the back window and (again) strictly forbade him to visit Javert.
Perhaps a week later, in the middle of October, Javert received a letter on heavy yellow paper that smelled faintly of tobacco.
"Monsieur Javert,
"It has come to our attencion that you have ignored the recuests of one Montparnasse to stop interfeering with one boy Gavroche [here several surnames were marked out]. We, the Patron-Minette, cordiuly recuest that you not acociate again with said boy on pain of death.
"Thank you,
"The Patron-Minette"
Javert stared at the letter. "On pain of death?"
Someone chose this tense moment to knock on the door. The ex-inspector nearly wet himself.
The person knocked again.
Javert held his breath.
"Delivery!" came a child's shout.
Javert sighed and pulled open the door.
A boy with a hat pulled down over his ears stood at the door. Several other children, all wearing hats, were leaning against a fiacre. The Patron-Minette was nowhere in sight.
"We've got quite a few packages for you, monsieur," the boy announced.
Javert nodded, pulling his door open the rest of the way. "Leave them in here. I'm going to buy some bread."
He took off down the street, leaving the strangely clad children to load the packages into his house.
/\/\/\
When Javert opened his front door later that day, he dropped his fresh bread in surprise.
Red boxes were stacked about six feet high throughout his entire entrance hall and most of the stairway. Atop a shorter pile near the door lay a letter.
Hands shaking, Javert pulled the envelope open and unfolded the paper inside.
"Here's the list. Check it twice. Yours, Bernard," he read aloud.
[A/N- Whenever it gets to this scene in the movie I highly enjoy shouting "NO HE'S NOT YOURS HE'S MINE!" much to the terror and utter confusion of my parents.]
Javert yanked the top off the nearest box. Inside he found a huge stack of papers with names of countless children listed in alphabetical order by last name. He read off person.
"Abbas, Ana? ...It /is/ the list!" he gasped.
/\/\/\
It took Javert a few weeks to get the papers read through and put away. As a matter of fact, he wasn't able to get in his bedroom again for three days.
It was November when Javert's thoughts turned again to Gavroche. The most he had seen of the boy was "Thénardier, Gavroche," printed on the naughty list. Javert had made sure that it was moved.
He frowned at the snow falling onto the street. There was no way around it – Javert missed the boy.
Seeing no murderers in the street, Javert donned his green greatcoat and resolutely tramped out the door into the snow.
/\/\/\
The giant elephant statue was somehow serene against a backdrop of snowflakes. Javert leaned against one of the immense legs and waited for some sign of Gavroche.
He did not have to wait long. Javert began to hear the sound of a little voice singing above him somewhere. He craned his neck and could see cracks of light around the sides of the board that covered the hole in the elephant's belly.
Javert packed a little snowball and lobbed it at the plank. It made a satisfying sort of a splatting sound and moved the board a few inches to the side.
The singing stopped abruptly. The plank was pushed aside and Gavroche's voice called, "Navet? It that you?"
Javert cleared his throat. "Not quite!" he called back.
Almost before Javert had finished speaking, Gavroche had shimmied down the leg of the elephant and thrown his arms around Javert (a rather difficult task). "Monsieur Javert! I knew you'd come back over here!"
"I got a letter from your friends, Gavroche."
The gamin's eyes widened. "On pain of death?"
Javert nodded.
"Quick! Get out of here! The gang-"
"And we meet again," interrupted the cold voice of Montparnasse.
"...lives right nearby," Gavroche finished weakly.
"I wish I'd known that before," Javert sighed.
Montparnasse was fingering the pocket of his coat. "How did I know that you would be back? My dear, dear monsieur, was our letter not clear enough? We meant it when we said 'on pain of death.'"
"I was just... telling Gavroche goodbye. You see, I'm moving... to... Calais," Javert lied.
"You were saying goodbye?"
Nod.
"Say it then. I'm going to get the others. You have until I return to be gone."
Montparnasse stalked away, his smashed top hat and tails fading into the night.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Yay! We're makin' progress here! I promise the next chapter will be more than threats to Javert's life.