Les Miserables Imagines

Thernadier x Reader: Meaning

               Life in the Thernadier's inn was... contentious at best. If you weren't so desperate for money, you would've gone elsewhere. Madame was a nightmare. Constantly belittling you in front of customers, treating you like her personal slave. Originally she wanted to hire you as, ahem, some "live in entertainment" but you had put your foot down and flat out refused.

And surprisingly, Monsieur Thernadier had taken your side. "Please, my love, there are far prettier girls than her we can employ for half the price."

...Sort of.

"Y/N!" Madame shouted, jolting you out of your thoughts. "Did you hear me, stupid girl? Go fetch water from the well! And you," She whirled on your unusual coworker, a four year old little girl named Cosette. "Sweep up this mess; it's filthy in here!" The little girl scurried into the dining room with her broom. It was always filthy, but you weren't about to say that to Madame. You carried the bucket with one hand and clutched your shawl around your shoulders trying to keep the biting cold away. You quickly pulled the water up from the well, and transferred it to your pail. Hefting the full bucket you made your way back to the inn.

When you arrived at the front door you could hear shouting from within. You decided to wait outside as you always did when Monsieur and Madame were arguing.

Which was very often.

"I can't believe you let her go for that price!" Madame was shouting. "We could've easily gotten twice that amount for Cosette, but once again you bowed out too soon. What kind of man can't even provide for his family?!"

"Darling, please. We are doing alright, we have enough customers to keep us in the life you want."

"The life I want?! This isn't what I want at all?"

"Well what do you want?"

"More! I want more than this. I told you we should've put that Y/N to work. She's not the most attractive girl in town, but she'd still make better money as a whore than just a barmaid."

"You need to lower your expectations of me!" Monsieur shouted. "We won't ever be nobility. I want to get ahead as much as you do, but you need to start enjoying what we have. Whoring out one girl won't change it!"

"Oh don't worry, my expectations for you couldn't get any lower." You were frozen in place. When Monsieur and Madame argued, they never directed barbs at each other; it was always the Thernadiers against the world. There was always someone else to blame.

But not this time.

"That's what it comes down to, isn't it?" Madame sneered. "You've gone soft. You like that girl, don't you?" A long moment of silence ensued, and Madame barked out a cruel laugh. "Well I'm not going to be tied to a man who would pick a nobody over his family. Eponine!" She shouted. You heard the pitter patter of little feet. "Grab your doll. We're leaving." Eponine went to protest, but was shushed by her mother. Without a word, you heard the pair approaching the door. You scrambled to hide behind a bush. The last thing you needed was getting shouted at for eavesdropping. You waited behind the bush until Eponine's cries faded into the night. After an additional five minutes to improve your timing, you came back into the inn. Thernadier was sitting alone at one of the tables. You quietly took the bucket into the kitchen. You came back and sat down across from him. He was resting his arms on the table, his hands clasped. You reached out and covered them with your own.

"You're a good man." It was such a small statement, but there was so much meaning behind them. More meaning than either of you realized.

But as Thernadier stared at your empathetic face, he realized that he wouldn't mind discovering those meanings.