Work Text:
It's a few days into December already when Enjolras gives up on trying to sort out what he's taken to calling The Situation in the privacy of his own head.
At least, he gives up on trying to solve it himself.
Any of his friends would gladly help - Combeferre would make lists, Courfeyrac would have a whole array of suggestions, Bahorel would be dragging him out somewhere before he'd even finished the request - but in this case, he thinks it may be better to turn to someone more on the outskirts of his friend group.
And as an added bonus, Éponine even has a car.
"The mall?" Enjolras asks doubtfully, when he sees where they're headed.
"There's a few stores in here with some options for you," she points out. "And a few with options for me."
As a tradeoff for her help, Enjolras is helping her with a gift in return.
He's a little surprised she doesn't have something arranged already - after all, her gift is for Cosette, her girlfriend of a few months, and his is just… Grantaire. Another friend.
A friend it should have been easy enough to pick out a gift for, if it wasn't for The Situation.
(He thinks Courfeyrac would laugh for a full five minutes if he found out Enjolras had developed feelings for someone and then taken to calling it The Situation, which is why he's determined that nobody, especially not Courfeyrac, should find out about this. Maybe that's why he'd asked Éponine to accompany him.)
But Éponine hadn't asked about why he's dithering over R's gift, so he doesn't ask her why she's waited so long to sort out Cosette's.
And it's true that Enjolras and Cosette have very similar coloring and complexions, so having him along will help her find something that will look good.
A favor for a favor, he thinks, as the world should work.
They head into the mall together, and the options spread out before them, a plethora of stores all with their own holiday displays full of potential gifts.
It's enough to overwhelm a lesser man, but Enjolras is here with a mission and a purpose, so he squares his shoulders and marches toward the nearest map.
"Here, here, or here," Éponine suggests, pointing out a few different stores.
"And for you?"
She bites her lip, studying the options in front of them. "Maybe here or here," she decides, and since both her choices and one of his are in the same area, he points there.
"Then we'll start here," he decides, and they head off.
The store Éponine leads him to is an arts and crafts store, full of paints and fabrics and threads, and he pauses at the doorway before she pulls him inside.
He's known Grantaire for years. He's watched him make artwork there at the table of whatever meeting space they're using (usually instead of listening or participating in the meeting). He's even helped him gather up his supplies after a project.
Enjolras is observant. He has a good memory. So he should know what kinds of things to get, he tells himself, and yet finds himself overwhelmed by all the options.
Éponine takes pity on him. "He's been wanting to try out watercolors," she offers, and leads the way.
Even that narrowed down category is almost too much, but Enjolras has a price point in mind and a desire to get something of a complete set instead of bits and pieces that Grantaire will have to fill in later, and those guidelines make it possible to find a workable present.
And if he wraps it just right, and gives it with the appropriate gestures, perhaps… perhaps this can lead into something more, he thinks, as he pays and accepts the bag from the cashier.
His task done, he turns his full attention to Éponine.
"I'm glad you came with me," she admits as they head back into the crowded hallways of the mall. "We don't usually… hang out."
"No," Enjolras agrees, "but not for lack of interest. Our lives are busy," he adds with a shrug. "But we should make time more often."
She gives him one of her quicksilver smiles at that, bright one moment and gone the next, and then pulls him into another store.
This one is full of clothes, and he can see the options start to overwhelm Éponine just as they'd overwhelmed him in the last store.
"Blue," he decides, and she turns to him, raising an eyebrow. "I wear mostly red, because it's flattering for me, but Cosette prefers lighter shades. Blue would look good on her."
"Blue. Right," Éponine agrees, and starts down one of the aisles.
Unlike Enjolras, she wasn't born into wealth, and so it's no surprise that they're in a thrift store looking for clothes, rather than something new and expensive. The aisles are color-coded, making it easy to hone in on all the options in shades of blue, and Éponine's fingers are careful as she sorts through the fabric, pulling options out as she finds them.
It's a longer effort than the art supplies had been, but between the two of them, they manage to assemble two entire outfits for no more than what Enjolras had paid, which he thinks is a success for them both.
Certainly Éponine looks pleased as they exit the store, pushing back against the crowds to find their way back towards the parking lot.
"Thanks again for the help," Éponine offers as they get in the car.
"It's you who deserves the thanks," Enjolras tells her. "I would have been lost without you."
She waves him off with her free hand. "It was nothing. You would have found something for him, either way."
"Perhaps."
She eyes him for a moment as they stop at a light, and then her lips quirk up into a bit of a smile. "And it was as important to you to find something good for him as it was for me to find something for Cosette. Something you want to announce?"
"Not yet," Enjolras replies stiffly, and then sighs. "Maybe. Hopefully."
"He will," she promises, as the light turns green and the car begins moving again. "He may not believe in much, but he'll always believe in you."
"And I will believe in him too," Enjolras vows. "And as for Cosette… I'm glad you two found each other."
"Me too," Éponine sighs, a light blush on her cheeks. "Well, here we are. Good luck with everything."
"You too," Enjolras offers.
He heads inside, mind already busy with plans on how to present his gift, and outside, Éponine does much the same on her ride home, already imagining Cosette's delight at the new outfits.