Chapter Text
Sickie: Mariusr
Caretaker: Eponine/Enjolras
Marius p.o.v
I awoke to the sound of my neighbors yelling loudly, which was to be expected from the Thenardiers. I groaned softly, the sky was still dark, letting me know it was either early morning or late at night. I had begun feeling ill the night before, so I had hoped to get good sleep to prevent myself from becoming more severely ill. But with the combination of a cold room and loud neighbors I found it more difficult day by day to actually get enough sleep.
I pulled the tattered and worn blanket over my shoulders as I stood up, I walked the short distance between my bed at the sink, I glanced at my reflection in the cracked mirror, my nose was red and my eyes had dark circles under them. I sniffled and gently rubbed at my nose, I went over to the window, the sun was peaking out from the horizon. I sighed, "I may as well just get up now" I said softly, I got dressed in my warmest clothing but still felt a chill. I made sure to tuck an extra handkerchief into my pocket, I decided to go to abc cafe, although it was still early and the day has barely begun I knew Enjolras would likely be already there. I had a sneaking suspicion my friend slept in the cafe, but he never would admit it.
I walked the distance from my sad home to the cafe, I sniffled, the cold morning air causing my already sensitive nose to run. I arrived at the cafe, it was dark except for one lanter lit and the hearth putting out a slight warmth from the slowly burning coals. "Well look who actually showed up early for once" I heard the voice from a dark corner of the cafe, Enjolras arose from a chair in the corner and came closer, "you don't look well"
"I- hut-ktchu ehh-ktchu- snf- excuse me, I believe I have caught a chill." I admitted, I took the handkerchief from my pocket and tended to my nose. "gesundheit" my friend said, "thank you" he pressed the back of his hand to my forehead, "you feel feverish my friend" his eyes met mine, he was obviously concerned, "I would be fine if I could actually get some sleep and actually be warm"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, th- hhkychu ehktchu huh-chu- the Thenardiers are quite loud which makes getting a good night's sleep quite the challenge. And my room, it's quite cold." I said, but whose room wasn't cold. It was approaching winter and everyone was cold. None of us had money for blankets are a room with a fireplace. I felt bad complaining when everyone else was suffering too.
My friend didn't fuss, or make a comment about anything, instead he put his arm around my shoulder and brought me to the hearth, he took his jacket off and put it around my shoulders. I tried to protest but my friend shook his head, "you're ill my friend. It is important that you get warm."
"What if you catch whatever I have?"
"Then it will be your turn to care for me" he said with a smile. I smiled back at my friend. He sat next to me, "I'm glad you came down, it's never fun to be sick by yourself"
"That's why I came" I paused and coughed, "I knew you would be down here. You practically live here" my friend avoided my eyes, we both laughed. We suddenly I heard a knock. "Did you hear that? Enjolras asked, I nodded, who would knock on a public cafe's door. Enjolras went over to the door and opened it. There stood Eponine, my neighbor and close friend. "good morning" Enjolras said, he looked confused, "is monsieur Marius here?" She asked, Enjolras nodded and moved from the door, welcoming the girl inside, Eponine came over to me, "Eponine what are you doing here?" She sat next to me and pulled a small bottle out of her skirt pocket. "I noticed you seemed ill yesterday. But when I went to find you, you were not home. So it simply made sense to find you here" she explained. She pulled another smaller bottle out of her pocket. The girl then turned to Enjolras, "is there a cup somewhere I could use, my friend nodded, he seemed curious as to what the girl was up to.
"Eponine I hope you did not spend any money on me" the girl laughed, "monsieur when have I ever spent money on anything." I smiled and shook my head at the girl, knowing full well she was one of the cleverest people in France. Enjolras returned and handed the cup to Eponine. "what are you doing?" He asked sitting down next to us, "mixing two different tonics to help Marius recover from this illness" Enjolras and I exchanged a look. It was in that moment more than ever I wished the girl could have gone to school, she was smart. Almost too smart.
Eponine handed me the mixture, "it's not going to taste good, but drink it all up" she said simply, I nodded and took the cup from her, I took a drink and grimaced, it was disgusting. "Keep drinking" she said, I swallowed the rest of the foul mixture down, it had a slight burning sensation and it tickled my nose, I brought my handkerchief up, "ehktchu huh-chu- ehh-tchu ttchu!"
"Gesundheit" the two said in unison, I thanked them and blew my nose, "warning the drink may make you sleepy"
"That's fine" I said, I yawned, "why don't you just stay here, the cafe doesn't open for three more hours. You will be warmer here than at home" Enjolras explained. I nodded, it sounded like a good plan to me. "I will watch over him" Enjolras assures Eponine who looked unsure, the girl took one last thing out of her dress, a cloth that was folded, once unfolded it was big enough to wrap around my shoulders, "it's not much, but it should keep you warm" she explained, "thank you so much my friend" she smiled, "anything for you monsieur Marius" she says as she left the cafe and disappeared into the cool morning air.
"You should rest." Enjolras said, he helped me set up a makeshift bed next to the hearthstone, once I was comfortable i fell asleep in what felt like a moment. I was so grateful for my friends.