And The Sun Will Rise (ExR Fanfic)

Chapter 9

Song for this chapter: Mika feat. Jack Savoretti- Ready To Call This Love

Enjolras had never thought of himself as a coward before, but now, he'd apparently turned into one. Three weeks had passed since the night he'd come out to Courf and he'd still made no progress with Grantaire. He tried to tell himself it was just because they were never alone or because everyone was too busy planning the upcoming protest, but he knew he was making excuses. The fact of the matter was, he simply didn't have the guts to make the first move. And so, his feelings for Grantaire remained well concealed, shoved down somewhere at the back of his mind and hidden under distant politeness whenever they were around each other. It was exhausting, to say the least, which was why he was grateful for the distraction when the evening before the protest finally rolled around.

As usual, the Amis were gathered in the back room at the Musain, everyone unusually quiet as the enormity of what they were about to do slowly started to sink in. The tense atmosphere was broken by the arrival of Éponine, carrying a plate of left-over cakes and trailing Gavroche behind her.
"Here" she said, putting the food down. "Some sugar to keep you going. Oh, and I've brought this little pest along who wouldn't stop badgering me until I told him he could listen in on the meeting."
"Come sit with me, Gav" Grantaire said and Gavroche settled down beside him, resting his head on Grantaire's shoulder. It was very unlike him to show this much affection for someone, but for some reason, he'd really taken a shine to Grantaire. Enjolras knew exactly how that felt...

Éponine couldn't hide a smile at her brother's obvious contentedness as she turned to leave, but it quickly faded when Courf held her back by the arm.
"Hey, 'Ponine, can you bring us some coffee as well? I feel like this is going to be a long night."
"First of all, don't grab me like that and second of all, how about saying please for once?"
"Fine, let me try this again. Dearest 'Ponine, could you pretty please, with cherries on top, bring us a pot of your delicious coffee?"
She shook her head at him, but grinned despite herself and Enjolras felt a stab of envy at how easily flirting seemed to come to Courf, whereas he himself was never brave enough to even attempt it.
Feuilly clearing his throat next to him interrupted his thoughts.
"So, Enj, any final words of encouragement?"
"Yes, please do feel free to bestow your wisdom upon us" Bahorel added. He still hadn't learnt to watch his mouth, it seemed. Enjolras gave him one of his patented crushing stares, then replied "I don't know what I can say, except that tomorrow is a very important day for us. So, I'm relying on you all not to mess it up."

"No pressure" Bahorel called, which earned him a few laughs from the others.
"We're well prepared" Enjolras went on. "But as we all know, that's no guarantee that things won't get out of hand tomorrow."
"God, I hope not. I still get the shivers whenever I think back to how they shoved us into those damp holding cells the last time" Joly muttered.
"Don't worry, J" Bossuet reassured him. "After all, the percentage of lawyers in this group is way above average. Though only one of us actually passed his exams."
"Well, exams or not, it's debatable how much use he is in his current love-drunk state" Bahorel said, and Marius glared at him.
"Don't listen to him" Combeferre tried to defuse the situation. "He's just jealous."
"Me, jealous? I failed my last exam on purpose because I can't stand the thought of actually being a lawyer."
"Or so you say."

"Guys, can you all just shut up for a moment and let Enj finish?" Grantaire interrupted. The others, including Enjolras, gaped at him. He rarely spoke up during meetings, which made Enjolras even more touched that he'd chosen to do it now.
"He's got a point" Courf backed him up and Grantaire looked at him in surprise. He'd clearly not expected Courf, of all people, to come to his aid.
"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that whatever happens tomorrow, whatever they do to us, there's one thing they can never take away. The conviction-no, the certainty- that we are in the right" Enjolras said, quickly taking advantage of the break in the conversation. Murmurs of agreement followed his words and encouraged, he went on "We are the catalyst. We are the ones who can start the spark that will hopefully turn into a fire and spread throughout all of Paris. Now let me ask you, is that not a risk worth taking?"
Again, some people cheered, but others, like Jehan, looked apprehensive, causing Enjolras to add "I know you're afraid, but I also know you can rise above your fear. However, I'm not encouraging any recklessness. Are we clear on that?"
He stared straight at Bahorel, who rolled his eyes.
"You're never going to let me live that incident with the police car down, are you?"
"Well, I'm sure you know yourself that that wasn't your finest moment. But my point is that I don't want to see any unnecessary acts of 'heroism' tomorrow. No one needs to prove that they belong in this group. I already know you do. And I know I don't say this as often as I should, but I really am proud to be fighting alongside such great men."