Those Who Fall in Love. |Enjolras|

11. A Suitor

Paris, France
March, 1831

Lorraine froze as she got within feet of him, her body not daring to make another step. Her face felt flushed, her head felt light, her body felt heavy. She wasn't sure how this was supposed to go. All Matelote and Gibelote's teachings had gone out the window. Her heart was pounding in her chest with such intensity she felt it in her throat. She was nervous. She had never done this before. Along with the nervousness from meeting with an unfamiliar man, she couldn't ignore the feelings she had towards his politics. She had tried to shove it down when he visited last, but now she was to spend much more time with him, and was dreading the topic of revolution popping up in conversation.

"C'mon, pull yourself together." She whispered to herself, before taking another step forward. "You can do this."

She got to closer to him, "Good morning, monsieur."

"Good.. Good morning to you as well." He said, eyes wide as saucer plates. "I brought you this," he held his arm out stiffly, revealing a few pink and red roses he had hid behind his back. He smiled awkwardly as she took them. Lorraine closed her eyes and sniffed the flowers, breathing in the soft scent.

"Thank you. They're lovely." She smiled, "I'll go find a place for these." Lorraine weaved through the crowd to Matelote and Gibelote, who were jumping up and down, and smiling so wide their faces hurt. She handed them the flowers, and they began to gush over them.

"How'd you get so lucky?" Matelote sighed happily, looking over at the blond who was trying not to stare at them.

"Come on, Matelote, she's gotta go!" Gibelote pushed Lorraine back in Enjolras' direction. Lorraine laughed at them as she stumbled, before she regained her balance.

She laughed quietly at them, before stumbling over to Enjolras.

"Are you ready?" He asked. He looked around nervously at Matelote and Gibelote that were smiling and rejoicing in the corner of the cafe, and to Sandrine, who was watching him like a hawk would watch a mouse. Lorraine slipped her arm in his, and they moved to the more secluded corner.

Nearby, Grantaire, accompained by a bottle of wine and Coufreyrac, watched them from a table. He took a long swig from the bottle, and chugged until the bottle was empty, before tossing it behind him.

"They're not even talking!" Courfeyrac exclaimed as the two sat down, and were silent.

"C'mon! We taught Lorraine well. Give it time." Matelote snuck up behind the men and sat down beside them. Gibelote sat beside Grantaire, scrunching up her nose at the heavy smell of sweat and alcohol he omitted.

"You should join the police force, since you have such superb detective skills." Grantaire joked.

Enjolras found his friends spying on them, and glared, before returning to look at his hands which where in his lap.

"So, I've heard you like to read." He said.

"Why, yes. I've loved to read since her before I can remember." Lorraine smiled to herself, finding herself at ease with the subject matter. "My father read everything he could to me and my brother. Newspapers, pamphlets, children's story books, his work manual, anything you can think of."

Enjolras stared at her happily. "I love to read, too."

"I swear. By this rate, they'll marry at the turn of the century!" Courfeyrac groaned, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Hush! I think they can hear us!" Grantaire said loudly, as Lorraine's face turned slightly pink.

"Anything you are currently reading?" Enjolras said quietly, not sure how to continue the conversation.

"Well, I have around four books I am in the middle of. I can't force myself to finish them. Once you finish them, that's it. You don't get to read the pages for the first time again." Lorraine blushed, trailing off towards the end.

"I completely agree." He nodded.

Faint snoring could be heard from behind them, and they both turned to look. Grantaire had slumped himself over, and was pretending to snore at their conversation. He pretended to shake himself awake, and yawned. "Please, continue. Why not talk about the scent of day old ink? Or perhaps a more entertaining topic, the history of book binding."

"Well, the history of book binding is actually fairly interesting-" Lorraine playfully began, making her friend groan. She laughed lightly and turned back to the blond in front of her.

"Maybe, you could tell me about Marseille?" Enjolras asked, bringing the attention back to their conversation. "I've only heard of it in the papers."

Lorraine smiled widely. "Oh, there's no place like it. The ocean is so blue and clear. The air is salty, but somehow sweet too. There's lots of merchants from all around the world there, too. The market was filled with spices from India, and fruits from the Americas, anything you could think of."

"It sounds wonderful." Enjolras hummed, fantasizing about the scene she was describing. "And you lived there with your mother?"

"Yes." Lorraine nodded, breathing in deeply. "My father passed when I was young. My brother used to live with us, but he married and moved to Reims. I have a niece there." Lorraine smiled at the thought of her niece's happy face. "Do you have any family in Paris?"

Enjolras cleared his throat. "My mother and father live here, yes." He said flatly. "They, they don't quite understand why I spend most of my time in Saint Michel. They say I should socialize with the bourgeois idiots that they are friends with."

"Oh, so your parents are rich?" Lorraine felt a little uncomfortable. She had grown up in no way impoverished, but she certainly was not brought up with all the luxuries others had.

"I try not to make that the only quality people see in me." He snapped, relaxing soon after. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

"That's alright."

"I hope to use my money to help the world." He added, making her smile.

The couple sat in silence for a little longer, before Sandrine walked up. "Monsieur, the lunch time rush has begun. I believe I'll need Lorraine back now." Sandrine smiled.

Enjolras rushed to his feet and pushed in his chair. "O- Of course, ma'am. Thank you for allowing me to accompany Lorraine this morning." He readjusted his vest, fiddling with the last button.

Sandrine nodded, and Enjolras took that as his chance to leave. He nodded at both women, and made his way past Courfeyrac and Grantaire, the former who jumped up and followed him out.

"Come on, Lorraine. I need your help." Sandrine patted her arm. "You two! Up!" She pointed at Matelote and Gibelote who got up as well.

Later, after the sun had set, and the cafe had cleared out, Lorraine collapsed on her bed. Matelote and Gibelote joined her upstairs, gushing over how lucky Lorraine was, and trying to plan when their second meeting would be.

"Quiet, please." Lorraine mumbled, closing her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.