Published January 4, 2013
Author's Note: This is dedicated to strukkfirst, who requested a chapter about Enjolras dying at the barricade.
Enjolras was, in part, a philosopher. He thought deeply about things like life and death. He thought himself wise, when he accepted the fact that he must die. Over time that reality ceased to bother him. He would die one day; all that mattered to him was the manner of death. He would welcome the chance to use his death to advance a good cause, or a people, or an ideal.
When they drank wine in the Café Musain, Grantaire downed glass after glass; but Enjolras drank slowly and savored each taste. He could enjoy himself, but unlike Grantaire, he didn't want to become so intoxicated by pleasure that he forgot to live. He wanted to make the most of his life as well as his death. He wanted his death to bring life to others.
Most of the people whose lives Enjolras touched died with him on the barricade. Only Marius survived to remember the leader who rose like the sun to guide his friends and comrades. There had been times when Marius envied Enjolras' firm belief and resolve and selflessness. But afterwards … how could he envy such qualities, when they had led Enjolras to his demise?
"You can still be proud of him," Cosette said gently, when he told her of his friend. "You can be thankful that you knew him while he was alive."
Marius nodded, but he felt that there should be more to it. "He would have wanted me—and others—to remember what he died for. He believed in freedom, and equality, and France. If those ideals can be realized, then Enjolras and all the others won't have died in vain."