A Franc or Two - Les Misérables [IN EDITING]

Friendly - Chapter 7

After your date with Grantaire, the rest of your evening was spent in a flower shop. After all, Halette had just about saved you earlier— the least you could do is find her a bouquet of some sort...

But most of them were way out of budget.

"Twelve Francs for these?" you blinked, staring at some poorly put-together wildflowers wilting in front of you. "Monsieur... That's absurd!"

"That's the best I can offer you, Mademoiselle," he said. For the past few minutes, he was trying to pinpoint where he had seen you before, and you were just trying to get something for your friend.

"Monsieur..." you leaned across the counter a little, trying to keep your voice low as you did so. "Between you and me, my job isn't the best right now— but a friend of mine completely saved my ass earlier, and I owe it to her to get her something before I return."

A look if realization crossed the man's face.

"Ah... so that's where I've seen you," he said. He leaned in a little with a smirk, and you immediately knew that his intent was anything but pure. "You know, I'm feeling generous... spend the night with me, and I'll give it to you for free."

Before you had the chance to respond, a man behind you spoke up.

"That won't be necessary!" You turned around to see a handsome man, who held an armful of books in his arms, staring at the man behind the counter with an expression of utmost disgust playing on his face. You noticed that he had gone red, too— though you didn't know if he was angry or embarrassed.

"I mean... what on Earth is your problem?" the man continued on. "Asking a woman to lay with you just because she can't put up with your... your cheap garden weeds?"

The man behind the counter went from smug to embarrassed in less than a moment.

"How did you hear what—"

"Please. You weren't exactly quiet when you were speaking with her," he said, eyes narrowing as he kept his eyes glued to the overweight man (who probably smelled like grease and body odor). He broke eye contact to glance over at you and flash you a half-hearted smile, clearly feeling awkward that he was even discussing this, but he was quick to turn back to the man. "She's not going to sleep with you."

You were blushing profusely...

Chances are, you probably had.

"I don't have time for this," the man behind the counter said. "Buy them or don't buy them."

"You know what?" the kind man said. "I'll pay for whatever bouquet the Mademoiselle wants to buy."

He made eye contact with you for half a second before turning them to the floor, the tips of his ears turning pink.

The man behind the counter grunted and, though disappointed, didn't protest. He just crossed his arms and kept his beady eyes locked on you as your eyes skimmed through the flowers.

You settled upon on a bouquet that was a little nicer than the one before. However, you didn't want to spend all of the man's money, so you instead opted for one with a similar array of flowers that were a lot less limp.

"Twenty Francs," the man said, a scowl still present on his lips. You were about to protest again, but the man who was paying was quick to pull out the amount (while balancing his books), slide it onto the counter, and wait for you to grab your bouquet.

The man behind the counter bitterly grabbed the money before disappearing into a room in the back.

The man who had paid for you— who had seemed to turn bright red at this point— was quick to hold his books even more closely before abruptly hurrying out of the shop, leaving you to debate whether or not to go after him...