[For Combeferre]

[abaisse_chef]

Enjolras frequently spent time in the shade and relative quiet of the Hub during the day. It was a less central location than the rec room and therefore afforded more peace and solitude, though even there it was never complete

Comments

[butcivilization]

Enjolras wasn't the only one to find the Hub a surprisingly good place to read or study when bathed in daylight. Combeferre is somewhat less a man of routine than his friend and has found more than one such place of solace - the orchard outside the Compound, the kitchen later at night when most were abed, and recently the hut he and Thomasina now shared. But the Hub was one such place, and that was where he went with books in hand this afternoon.

"Enjolras," he greeted his friend with a smile and set texts, notebooks, and the slim computer on the bar. "I thought you might be. You look busy."

[abaisse_chef]

Enjolras looked up and gave his friend a brief, faint smile of greeting as he nodded. "No more than any other day," he answered with a small sigh, ignoring the pang of longing that even now he felt each time he looked at his dearest friend. It grew easier to ignore every day--provided he kept his thoughts as far from mademoiselle Thomasina as possible.

[butcivilization]

"And is the topic the same as any other day?" Combeferre asked with a hint of cheerful irony and a tilt of his head. Elections were nigh, and even if they had not been, Enjolras was Enjolras. It was no stretch to wager that he had politics on the mind.

[abaisse_chef]

"Bien sûr," Enjolras murmured, turning his attention back to the paper in his hands. "I am--searching for inspiration, I suppose." His expression grew somewhat frustrated and he added darkly, "I wish I could write my speeches in French." Oh, he was fluent in English, but it just wasn't the same. There were words in French that had no proper translation, after all. Some of the words' power was lost in the act of translating.

[butcivilization]

Combeferre winced sympathetically. He understood the power of words and the trouble of translation well. And Enjolras' intimate understanding of language was matched by few people. Writing speeches in a new language, even one he knew well, was a bit like starting over. Still, Combeferre had only reassuring words for his friend. "It will be fine - more than fine. I am sure there are those who would be happy to read it over, if you needed the help."

[abaisse_chef]

Enjolras nodded resignedly. "Monsieur Luthor will read it when I finish," he agreed, though it didn't reduce his frustration. It was one thing to write a good speech, and a completely different thing to write a truly inspiring speech. The latter had come so easy to him in Paris, and yet here...it seemed few wished to listen. Perhaps happiness and contentment were to blame as much as English.

[butcivilization]

"Of course." Enjolras had mentioned this Luthor before, but had never said much about him, beyond the fact that he was helping with the campaign and had some experience in that area. "You've told me little about this new friend of yours," Combeferre observed with a lift of his brow. "What are his thoughts on the election?"

[abaisse_chef]

"He thinks the elections are little more than popularity contests," Enjolras answered with a grimace. It was an opinion he reluctantly shared, to an extent. Perhaps it was the lack of strife in this place, the idyllic setting, the absence of tyranny and hardly any dissent to be found that lay behind it. Whatever the reason, there was some truth to it, and it left Enjolras at a distinct disadvantage. "I need to find a way for the Citizens to identify with me." To be more likable had been Luthor's exact words, but Enjolras wasn't sure quite how he planned to accomplish that.

[butcivilization]

The observation may have been more cynically spun than Combeferre would have put it, but it was not so entirely different from what he had said to Enjolras in the past - he had to make himself known, to meet people, to tell them what he thought. He ignored a brief stab of jealously. After all, by the sound of it this was a man who had some reasonable ideas. Nothing but good could come from that. Right?

Combeferre nodded thoughtfully. "A good beginning. What does he think of your ideas for the island?"

[abaisse_chef]

"He agrees that the current system is working and should be maintained." Though he wasn't entirely convinced that Lex found his relatively moderate goals to be ambitious enough, he had not said as much, and so he kept that observation to himself. "His ideas really are not so different from our own," he added, acknowledging at long last the discussions that the two friends had had on these exact subjects.