Chapter Text
Whilst Combeferre had gone to his room to grab his own phone, Courfeyrac and Enjolras made their way to the previously assumed kitchen. Enjolras glanced around the room, glad to see he at least had a vague idea of what some objects were.
He glanced at Courfeyrac, the unspoken question hanging in the air. Courfeyrac looked back at him, then directed his view towards the two largest appliances.
Gesturing to a large metal box, Courfeyrac explained that it was a refrigerator. He opened the bifold doors of it to reveal that it was cool inside, with what appeared to be food filling it. Courfeyrac explained that it used to prevent food from spoiling as quickly. There was another compartment of this refrigerator, and Courfeyrac pulled it open to reveal a much colder inside. This was a freezer, and was used for a similar purpose to the refrigerator, only more so for meats and other goods that must be kept frozen.
Next, Courfeyrac directed his attention to one of the wooden countertops. Built under it was another metal box, this one looking more complicated than the refrigerator. Courfeyrac explained that this was an oven, and Enjolras noted that it seemed far more advanced than the cast-iron ovens he was used to. On top of the oven were burners that were sparked by gas. Above all of this was a large, metal overhang that Courfeyrac explained was a fan.
“But… how is there a fan that is in there? Who is fanning?”
Enjolras hasn’t questioned the refrigerator or the freezer being cool. He assumed that was just somehow happening. And the oven and burners seemed to have some explanation. But this large metal box that, Courfeyrac claimed to have a fan in it, that was his limit.
Courfeyrac’s face immediately became distressed and he just pointed at Enjolras.
“ Oh bordel de merde , I am NOT going to be the one to explain electricity at 8h30. It's too early for this shit.”
Enjolras was now just as distressed as Courfeyrac, though for entirely different reasons. Enjolras assumed that Courfeyrac was irritated with him, which made him a little panicky. Courfeyrac, in actuality, was only distressed at the reality that this truly was not some twisted joke. His best friend of over 20 years had no idea who he was or where he was.
Enjolras, however, did not know this.
“I… I’m sorry?”
He was very tentative about it, which seemed to startle himself as much as Courfeyrac. Judging by Courfeyrac’s expression, Enjolras was much the same in both worlds. He was usually so confident with his words, but now his mind was muddled and his mouth even more so.
Courfeyrac sighed.
“No, no I didn’t mean it in any bad way like that. This is just a very unfortunate situation, and I’m not really the most qualified to be explaining everything. I’m not going to be super helpful with modern inventions. I can tell you about your personal relations and the law, and that’s pretty much it.”
Courfeyrac gave him an uncertain smile, and Enjolras offered his own small one in return.
It was at this moment that Combeferre chose to reappear. He was holding a prism that was just like the one that Courfeyrac had had earlier.
“Alright, so I texted everyone to let them know that we’ll be meeting today at 19h00 for a meeting discussing urgent matters. Feuilly’s off of work at 18h30 so he’ll be there, Éponine and Cosette can make it as well. And Marius is back today so we’ve got everyone except Grantaire obviously.”
That seemed like a lot of people. Himself, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Feuilly, Éponine, Cosette, Marius, Grantaire. Even without Grantaire, that was still seven people, including himself.
“That seems to be a lot of people,” he said, with some concern lacing his voice, ‘how am I going to be able to remember all of them?”
Combeferre let out of a small sigh, and once again Enjolras felt guilty for the evident stress he was causing.
“Alright E, there’s more than just them. We’re a pretty big group, but I can run over basic introductions right now.”
Enjolras slowly nodded. A big group? The idea of knowing and being friends with that many people was both exhilarating and terrifying.
“Alright, before I start, do you know what a photograph is?”
Enjolras thought about it. Did he? He vaguely remembered hearing of photographs and a man creating them. His name was something like Niépce? Yes, that sounded familiar. He had taken a photograph of food earlier in the year of Enjolras’ death. He personally had not seen the photo, no he had had other matters to attend to. But, he assumed that it was rather impressive.
To answer Combeferre’s question, he gave a small nod. Combeferre actually looked a little taken aback.
“Oh wow, I actually wasn’t expecting that. Okay, so my photos are definitely going to be very different from any that you would’ve seen, but at least you have a concept of it.”
With that, Combeferre pulled out his phone. He sat down at the stool that was farthest left at the kitchen counter and gestured for Enjolras to take the middle seat. Enjolras sat and saw Courfeyrac fall into step behind him, and take the farthest seat, the one to his right.
Enjolras leaned over a little so that he could see the screen of Combeferre’s phone. He quietly gasped when it lit up. Combeferre had mentioned that they had other uses other than, what was it, phone calls?
Comebeferre clicked on a small box on the screen that showed what appeared to be a multi-colour flower of sorts. Suddenly the image on the phone changed and there were several different things on the screen. Combeferre browsed through all of the images and tapped on one.
The image showed six men all side by side. He recognised what appeared to be himself with Combeferre to the right of him and Courfeyrac to the left. To Combeferre’s right, a small man with dark hair and glasses so thick that they resembled the bottom of a wine bottle. He was leaning on a cane with one arm, but the other was slung over Combeferre’s shoulder. To the left of Courfeyrac was another small person, but this one seemed more petit than tiny. The… man? Enjolras wasn’t sure if they were a man, given their long, braided hair and chemisier. But anyway, at the end of the line was a man with thick, black curls. They fell around his eyes and obscured them a little, but what was visible was a stark contrast from the dark hair surrounding them. They were bright and alive, and though they looked brown to Enjolras, he was sure that they must be a brilliant shade of green.
He's never been so disappointed to be colourblind.
Combeferre seemed to notice that his eyes lingered on that man for longer than anyone else, and he quirked a corner of his lips up. Enjolras would have to ask about that.
Combeferre pointed to the small man on the far right.
“That’s Joly. He’s 27 and in residency at the same hospital I am. Sometimes we like to call him malade imaginaire because of his tendencies to worry over any and all illness. He’s got some knee issues, hence the cane. But despite being a hypochondriac, he’s truly jovial and a happy spirit.
Next to him is obviously me. I guess I’ll say a little more about myself. So you and I are both 26, and I’m in residency at a hospital right now. Fresh out of med school you could say. I’m basically second in command for our group, and I usually handle the more technical matters.
Next is you. So I can’t say everything because I’m not sure how you lived in the 19th century, but I can speak for here. So here you’re 26 as I just mentioned, and you’re going for your doctorate. You’re only a year off, thanks to the fact that you graduated lycée a year early. You aspire to be a PoliSci professor.”
That seemed noble enough to Enjolras. Though he certainly was worried about completing a doctorate program given that he didn’t know anything about his life, let alone his studies.
Courfeyrac pointed at himself.
“So this one’s me. Like we said before, I’m a Jr. Associate at a law firm. I’m 25 and I’m not really sure what to say other than I’m a ball of sunshine and your favourite friend ever and you love me so much.”
Enjolras knew he was being teased, but he still mumbled, “I really like ‘Ferre.”
Combeferre snorted at that and Courfeyrac looked offended. Mock offended? He wasn’t really sure.
“Okay first off Enj, que se passe-t-il , second off RUDE, third off I’m wounded.”
Enjolras cracked a small smile at that, and when Courfeyrac saw his reaction, he beamed. Enjolras definitely saw the sun in the smile. Combeferre gave a fond smile to his two companions.
“Anyways, now that we have conclusive evidence that I’m E’s favourite, I’m going to continue introductions. Next to Courf is Jean Prouvaire, but we usually just call them Jehan, because there are way too many Jeans in France. It’s probably going to sound strange to you, but they like to use ils sont instead of il est. Elles sont works as well, but just not il est or elle est. It's going to be weird to you, but please try to respect that?”
Indeed, Enjolras did find it strange, but he knew that there was probably some sort of reason there for Jehan disliking being referred to as a man or woman.
“Of course. I would never disregard the wishes of a friend.”
Combeferre looked visibly relieved and he smiled once again as he pointed to the last member of the photograph.
“I noticed you were looking at him longer than the others. This one is Grantaire, he’s 29, and he's your… y’know. He’s an artist, which is why he isn’t in France right now. He’s doing an international tour for his art. As I mentioned earlier, he’s our resident sceptic. You and him disagree on almost everything to do with politics, but he mostly argues with your opinions just for the hell of it. You two haven’t had any big blow ups since 5 years ago, but you’ll still butt heads from time to time.”
Enjolras stared at the man in the picture. Though he obviously wasn’t very sure of what his personality was, he could at least admit that he definitely found the man very attractive, which was certainly very strange to admit to himself.
Before he could say something, that would most likely embarrass himself, he noticed that Combeferre had another image pulled up.
This one was of five people, with three close to the camera and two farther in the back. He recognised Grantaire in the centre, in between a large, bald man, and a rather tall woman with frizzy brown hair. In the back were two women, one with dark hair and another that…
Looked unnervingly similar to himself.
Enjolras frowned and turned his head towards Combeferre. He pointed at the woman in the photo and asked, “Who’s this?”
“That’s Cosette. She’s a music teacher at a local collège . Just curious, but why’d you point out her specifically before anyone else?”
“Her appearance is disconcertingly identical to my own.”
Courfeyrac leaned over at this point and asked-
“Enj, did you have any siblings?”
Enjolras shook his head.
“No, it was only me. The closest person I had to family was Ersilia, but my parents dismissed her after I turned 14.”
Both Combeferre and Courfeyrac gave him a questioning look.
“Ersilia?” Combeferre asked.
“Oh yes, she was my Nurse. She raised me, since my parents didn’t care enough to do it themselves. Ersilia was from Palmanova, a city in Northeastern Italy. Her native language was Friulian, and she taught me to speak it, as well as Italian. She was a Nurse when I was a child, but became more of a governess when I grew older. My father dismissed her from her position when I was 14, however, and I never did learn why,” he smiled ruefully, “I guess I never will, now.”
Suddenly, he had two pairs of arms wrapped around him. He stiffened involuntarily, completely unsure of what was happening. He had never experienced something such as this, and Enjolras felt very confused.
But, he had to admit, it wasn’t awful.
Enjolras relaxed into the embrace, and Combeferre and Courfeyrac stayed wrapped around him for a minute more, before Combeferre pulled away. Enjolras stayed in Courfeyrac’s arms, and surprisingly, he felt okay with it.
Combeferre offered him a comforting smile.
“To at least try and get back onto the introductions, Courf asked if you had any siblings because, well, Cosette is your sister. Twin sister, which is why you look so similar.”
To say Enjolras was taken aback would be an understatement. He had never so much as had a true family before, and now he had a sister? And a sister that he appeared to be close with as well.
I wonder if she’s as bad as you. Probably not, she seems to be infinitely better than you.
God FUCKING damnit.
Enjolras thought he had managed to shake these thoughts off until later. They seemed to go away when Combeferre was talking, so he gestured to the image again.
“Who are the rest of the people in the… photograph?”
Combeferre pointed to the girl with black hair next to Cosette.
“This one’s Éponine. She’s 24 and is a co-owner of a café.”
Combeferre seemed to hesitate for a second, before starting again.
“She and Cosette are actually together. Romantically.”
Oh. Huh. That’s not what he was expecting.
“Guess it runs in the family.”
To that, Courfeyrac started cackling so hard that he had to let go of Enjolras and hold onto the counter to keep himself from tipping his stool over. Even Combeferre started snickering, not as loud as Courfeyrac, but still louder than anything he had done before. Enjolras smiled. It felt good to make them laugh.
These were his friends.
They’re Enjolras of 2019’s friends, not yours.
They were friends.
Once Combeferre and Courfeyrac calmed down enough, Combeferre pointed to the bald man next to Grantaire.
“This is Bossuet. Or L’Aigle, Laigle, Lesgles, or Legle.”
Enjolras blankly stared at him.
“You just said the same thing four times.”
Combeferre just grimaced in response.
“Yeah, we usually just call him Bossuet, so let’s just use that instead. He’s also 29, and he’s a fully certified lawyer. He’s also remarkably unlucky, so I think we should probably confirm with Joly that he's actually going to be at tonight’s meeting.”
The last person in the frame that Enjolras didn’t know was the frizzy haired woman next to Bossuet.
“That’s Musichetta. She’s 28, and she’s the other owner of the café with Éponine. I know that you’ve already heard a lot of information about new types of relationships, but here’s some more. She, Joly and Bossuet are all in a relationship together. Got it?”
Enjolras understood. Sort of. But these were said to be his friends, so just as he put aside his confusion for Jehan, he put it aside for the trio.
“As long as they enjoy each others’ company, it is not really my place to say, is it?”
Courfeyrac beamed at him.
“You really are the same, no matter what. This is why we love you, Enj.”
Enjolras smiled in return.
Enjolrss glanced over and noticed that Combeferre had another photo up. This one showed a very large and stocky man picking up a leaner one, who looked extremely flustered, bridal style, whilst a redhead and a small boy laughed at him in the background.
Combeferre pointed towards the young boy in the back.
“This is Gavroche, he's Éponine’s younger brother, and he’s 11. Usually Éponine doesn’t want him hanging around meetings, but he manages to get there anyway. Bit of a troublemaker, but he’s pretty much everyone’s younger brother. The man next to him,” Combeferre pointed to the redhead, “is Feuilly. He’s 26 and is an artist, like Grantaire, but he does it mainly in his spare time. He particularly likes making fans, but honestly, everything that he makes is completely gorgeous.”
Next, Combeferre pointed towards the large man.
“This, is Bahorel. He’s 27 and also a lawyer; can you sense a theme here? But yeah, he’s a lawyer and goes to the gym way more often than even seems to be possible, given his schedule. The man he’s picking up is Marius. Marius is 22, and he works as a translator. Despite being a bit of a dummy, the man is crazy talented with speaking and learning languages. And,” Combeferre ran through a mental checklist, “that should be everyone. Let me get a picture of all of us together.”
Combeferre chose a picture of everyone Enjolras had just been introduced to. They were all crammed into a corner in what appeared to be a café. The walls around the door were made of brick and were right next to a large window. Visible outside the café, through the window, were Éponine, Feuilly, Bahorel and Grantaire. Coming in through the door were Bossuet and Muichetta, both smiling at Joly, who was seated in front of a table a few meters away from the door. Cosette and Marius were situated right next to the door, and appeared to be in the midst of a conversation. In the very back corner in front of the window had a couch, where Enjolras saw himself, Combeferre, and Courfeyrac. He was in the middle with Courfeyrac to his right and Combeferre to his left. They both leaned over him to have their own conversation, and Enjolras saw himself turned to face the window, looking at Grantaire outside. Grantaire was also facing him from outside, and they appeared to be sharing a small smile.
Enjolras found himself smiling at the image too. It seemed like a very happy and cozy group.
And they’re not yours. They don’t know you, and you don’t know them.
Enjolras squeezed his eyes shut for a second, willing his thoughts to go away. He cocked his head to the side and asked-
“Where was this taken?”
“Oh, it’s at Éponine and ‘Chetta’s café. It's called Café Musain.”
Enjolras’ eyes widened immediately.
“Did you say the Musain?”