Les Miserables Short Stories-An ongoing series written by pheelingmusical

Pocket Watch

"So, China, huh? Bring me back some good 'ole Lo Mai Gai." Enjolras totally butchered the name of the dim sum. He threw the last of the baggage onto loading area.

"Yeah, they want me to travel around to the smaller villages and teach English." Grantaire was giddy with fake excitement. He truly was excited, but the organization never said when he was to come home.

"Then where do you go after that?" crossing his fingers behind his back, only one word flashed into Enjolras' mind: home.

"They say Ethiopia."

"And then after that?"

Grantaire shrugged, "Haiti."

"How long do you stay for each country?"

Grantaire threw a pebble into the green ocean water, leaning against the wooden post.

"Depends on how big it is."

Haiti, sure it was small, but Enjolras thought about the vast lands of China. "And how many countries are you traveling to?"

Grantaire shrugged, hanging his head lower, so low he thought he was going to tip off the railing and fall into the sea.

Enjolras slammed his foot into the wooden planks, then threw the rest of himself into post. "You're signing our life away!" Enjolras screamed. "I mean your. You're signing your life away." he sadly corrected himself. Shamed, to be only thinking of himself. Grantaire was getting the opportunity of a lifetime, and all he could do was think about Recipe night with the Les Amis, where they printed ridiculous recipes off the internet and attempted to cook them, and the fact that they were going to be one short.

"I'm going to come back eventually, they can't keep me forever." Grantaire picked up Enjolras, took his hands and pushed his forehead into his.

Both were shedding tears, one more violently than the other.

"Can you promise me one thing?" Grantaire got on his knees, trying to get a better look at Enjolras', who was shielding his face so nobody would see his splotchy, red, tear stained cheeks.

"Don't fall for Courfeyracs' Thursday night pick-up lines while I'm gone, okay?"

Enjolras laughed for the first time in days. In a small voice, he said, "Okay."

The ship horn blew, signaling for all passengers to be on board in five minutes. They spent the last four hugging, and having one last kiss. For now, and certainly not for forever.

"I'm going now."

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"I love you more."

"I love you the most." Enjolras barely managed to get out.

Grantaire handed the ticket to the man by the entrance. Enjolras could see his brown curls from 100 feet away, 120 feet away, 150, 200, and then he was gone.

Enjolras climbed into Courfeyracs' car, crying like he had never cried before. Then he noticed, the car wasn't moving. Courfeyrac was holding out a brand new box of tissues, and a small jewelry box.

Enjolras took the boxes and opened the tissues first, in fear that when he opened the jewelry box first his tears would stain whatever was inside.

It was a pocket watch that flipped open, and taped on the non-watch side was a picture of Grantaire and a note that said, "I love you the most-erest." Enjolras smiled, knowing that the kids in third-world countries were going to be in good hands.