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The only way he could focus during the weeks prior to his final examinations was there, in the usually quiet rooms, and only with Enjolras and his stark presence next to him. Every May and June, much to the housekeeper's dismay, there seemed to be a third tenant in the flat.
"Don't be ridiculous." Courfeyrac complained one morning. "She loves me!"
"Tolerate, maybe." Said Combeferre, with that little twitch in the side of his lip he had every time he argued with his friend. "If she didn't, she would lock the doors of the building every time she saw you around. But love?"
Bahorel had once said that The Guide and Chief's landlady loved nothing but the time of the year when older students graduated and left Paris. Those months, she would get rid of the most annoying ones and she would also get plenty of new, young tenants who had never rented a room before and thus had no idea how payments or repairs worked. Everyone had turned to look at Combeferre, one of those loathed older students who knew too much for his own good, and of course he and Enjolras agreed. (The latter only fell under the category of "knowing too much for his own good", though)
Courfeyrac fell under that category as well, but that didn't stop him from leaving the living room with a defiant "you'll see", followed by the sound of his loud, fast steps, down the wooden stairs of the building.
"Are you aware you just sent him to the lion's den?" Enjolras finally broke his silence.
"Maybe", answered Combeferre. "Although I didn't tell him to do anything about the fact that our landlady sees him as…"
"A leech?" Enjolras finished the sentence for him.
"A leech. It was him who chose to go face her"
When he came back, none of their friends' predictions had come true. He was unscathed, which was not uncommon, but what was truly strange was the bright light in his eyes. No one could talk to Madame Grondin and come out this cheerful.
"How did it go?" the blond spoke again, carefully eyeing his friend.
"Combeferre was right, that old hag can't stand me" he said, much more nonchalantly than the situation required.
"But…?"
"But I found something very interesting."
Once the night had fallen, and the newly appointed "old hag" had gone to sleep, Courfeyrac dragged his two friends out of bed, to the building's front desk and then to the shop of one of Enjolras' many acquaintances, one who could make key copies. He made two of them; one for him and one as a "gift" for his friends. Both of them made the same face, he realised with a quiet smile, when he asked them to treasure it and then led them to the top of the building.
The first few times, they were too cautious to even set foot on the roof. They sat next to the door, having quiet conversations for fear of being spotted, always ready to turn around and go back to the rooms they actually owned.
A cloudy day of winter, some weeks later, the Enjolras-Combeferre household had some very expected visitors: Combeferre’s sister with her husband and baby had been writing to Paris and arranging their trip for a very long time, and Combeferre could not be happier when it actually happened. The three of them were perfectly charming, there was no use denying that; and yet, Enjolras’ mind was somewhere else.
He had lunch with the family, held the daughter, discussed politics with the husband and talked with Combeferre’s sister about his childhood in the Alps. He even let out a hearty laugh when his friend’s ears turned red after she started telling him about his first girlfriend and how he took her to the forest in search of a rare bug (of course, with disastrous results), but yet again, Enjolras’ mind was somewhere else.
“Is there something wrong?” Combeferre carefully placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, asking almost in a whisper.
“Hm? No, no, don’t worry” Like he had just been woken up from a dream, Enjolras lifted his head to look at him. His eyes were fixed on the blond, compelling him to keep talking. After all, there had never been any secrets between them. “I feel like we could have a better chance this time. And you do, too. I have seen how you look for news of Belgium every day, and how you ask Feuilly about the events in Greece”
He looked back to the family who looked more than content while unaware of the conversation.
“It’s not that I don’t enjoy their company. I do, really, but… I want to be ready”
Combeferre just nodded and held out an ungloved hand, where Enjolras found a shiny key. It wasn’t the key the first thing he took, though, but an embrace from his friend’s arms.
From that day on, the roof was nothing short of a hideout, a place where the three of them could enjoy each other’s company. The little, unsafe nook on top of the building, was kept a secret from everybody else; a place where the three of them could be alone, yet never once lonely.