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Bahorel always felt guilty for leaving his family to go help with other causes but Enjorlas assured him repeatedly that it was more than okay and the Amis could take care of themselves. However when he walked into their customary meeting on the Saturday after a protest he was ready to never leave them alone for more than a day.
Everyone was sporting bruises, cuts, and Grantaire even had a broken arm. Bahorel knew it had a chance of going bad. His Amis always seemed to get on the wrong side of the police despite never actually doing anything wrong.
“R what the actual fuck happened?” Bahorel hissed as he slid into a seat next to the cynic.
“As you can see,” R gestured grandly with his arm that wasn’t in a sling, “my fiancé couldn’t outthink the police this time.” R gave out a heavy sigh. “No, that’s not fair to him. The fucking pigs decided to go to every known protest location and then some just to catch us off guard which they obviously did. They attacked us before we even got a chance to protest what we went there to protest.” Bahorel could cry at the defeated look in R’s eyes.
“How’s Enj?”
“Not good Baz. Not good at all. He…” R trailed off at the sight of Enj at the front of the room to where he had started to speak and pace.
Normally proud shoulders looked slumped under the weight of the world. He ran his hand through hair more often than he usually did making his curls stand on end. Perhaps most concerning of all, Enjorlas had an arm firmly clutched to his side where a bruise was visible through the thin fabric of his shirt.
“Police baton to the ribs. He swears they are only bruised and wouldn’t let the nurse take a X-Ray even after I was discharged.” R whispered noticing where Bahorel’s gaze had fixed.
“Is he insane?” He desperately tried not to shout.
“To be determined.” R said grimly and turned to watch his Apollo with concerned but encouraging eyes.
The meeting continued on like that until Enjorlas finally adjourned it, trying and failing to disguise a wince as he lifted his arm to ring the bell at the front of the room.
“‘Aire can I stop by your apartment later?” Bahorel asked not taking his eyes off of Enj who was pale and swaying as he talked to Courfeyrac and Combeferre.
“Uh… yeah...sure” Grantaire said distractedly.
“I’ll be over as soon as you manage to get him home.”
“Thanks Baz.” R flashed him a tired, toothy grin as he went to wrangle his fiancé. w
Bahorel went to talk to Cosette. Apparently Eponine was still with Marius at the hospital because he had gotten a severe concussion and Grantaire had broken his arm trying to keep more police officers away from him.
Bahorel was silently planning how he was going to rain legal hell on the precinct that was behind this offense on his family.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. A text from R saying that he had gotten Enj home. Bahorel seemed to either have lost track of time or Enj really was in bad shape.
When Baz got to the door of their apartment it swung open before he even knocked. There was a wild eyed R in the doorway and in the distance he could see Enj on their balcony.
“Are you okay R?” Bahorel confronted the immediate problem.
“Me? I’m totally fine. I’m about to lock myself in my studio until he stops drinking.” Grantaire moved to let him in and went immediately to go lock himself away without another word from Bahorel.
He knew R would be fine but he knew how hard it was for him to stay sober especially on nights like these. Nights where he desired to gain comfort from the bottom of the bottle like Enjorlas seemed to be doing. An activity that was very out of character for the golden leader.
Bahorel walked slowly over to the balcony.
The cool night air could be felt through the open doors. Enjorlas was leaning over the balcony railing propped up on his elbows. He had a bottle of wine in one hand and an unlit cigarette in the other.
“Don’t start. I am well aware that I shouldn’t have either of the things that I do but R and I talked the wine through and this is the only cigarette I own.” Enj said without looking behind him.
“I’m not here to nag you about your habits. I’m here because I’m concerned about you Enj.” Bahorel took the spot next to him on the balcony with a sigh.
“Which part? The injuries or the fact that I kinda hate myself at the moment.” Enjorlas let out a bitter laugh that turned into a grimace.
“Both. But let’s start with the ribs.” Bahorel said level headedly. He knew Enj was looking for a fight but no one was willing to give it to him. “Are you absolutely sure they are not broken.”
“ I am. I had Joly check them while R was sleeping after the protest.”
“Did you tell him that you did this?” Enjorlas’s eyes went glassy for a second.
“I...uh… Maybe?” He said.
“No. You didn’t. He is extremely concerned so talk to him in the morning.” Bahorel told him gently.
“ I will. I guess I got too caught up in the aftermath that I forgot.” Enj ran his hand with the cigarette through his hair seeming to forget that it existed.
“You're lucky that it isn't lit.” Bahorel said nodding to the cigarette.
“Ugh fuck it.” Enj said and threw it into a trash can that was on the balcony.
“Enjorlas. Tell me what’s wrong. It’s eating you up. “
“ It’s just...it’s my job to protect the people who come to our protests. Or at least make sure they are prepared. But I wasn’t so they weren’t.” Enj took a pull from the bottle in front to him. “I love the world and the people in it. It’s just… they don't seem to like me very much back.” Enjorlas’s face was distant. “I just want a better future for those that come after us. I don’t want them to have to get beaten by cops just to make a small dent in the minds of others. I don’t want them to have to go through the things we’ve had to. I don’t want my kid to grow up in a world like we did.” Enj looked so old in that one second that Bahorel was struck speechless. He knew Enjorlas held these convictions but he never knew how much the lack of progress killed Enj.
“Enjorlas,” Bahorel said softly, “I know you want it to, but the world isn’t going to change all at once overnight. It takes years for change to happen. And in the years the Amis has been running we have done so much you have done so much.” He said with conviction. He powered on before Enjorlas could interrupt him. “You helped start a youth shelter. The bail fund that you brainstormed and got up and running is thriving. Hell because of the Amis our shitty mayor was forced to step down and you spearheaded the campaign for the mayor who is changing things for the better to take his place. You have done so much you just can’t see it because you see so much at once.” Bahorel gave him a brilliant smile “Every once and a while you need to look at what you have directly in front of you because where I stand you are pretty fucking great and I know so many people who would agree with me.”
“Baz…” Enj said before setting his bottle down and hugging him extremely tight. Bahorel hugged him back as hard as he dared for the sake of Enjorlas’s ribs.
When Enj pulled away his eyes were red and there was a wet spot on Bahorel’s shirt.
“Thank you Bahorel.” Enj smiled at him. This time it looked a little less sad and a little more hopeful.
“It’s no problem Enj. You are my friend. More important you are family. Whatever you need.” He hesitated. “I need to go before the bus stops running. I can stay if you need though?”
“Go home Baz. You need rest. Can you take the wine with you when you go? And there is one in the refrigerator if you can take that one as well?” Enj asked.
“Yessir” Bahorel said with a grin and a sarcastic salute.
When Bahorel went inside he saw R leave his studio and go to where Enj was. He didn’t know if it was some magic couples intuition or if Enjorlas had texted Grantaire but either way he was glad that they had each other.
Bahorel however was extremely glad to have two mostly full bottles of expensive wine to keep him company.
He’d talk his own feelings out with Enj another day. A day when Enj wasn’t so stressed and when he wasn’t so scarily calm. But for now watching shitty TV and drinking expensive wine would have to do.