Chapter Text
At the edge of town, right before the cramped, tourist filled part of Paris melted into the hidden treasures only inhabitants knew about, there was a tiny movie theatre. Montparnasse had discovered it a few years back while trying to get away from an especially persistent police officer. He just sort of stumbled upon it and somehow kept coming back. It was one of those ancient, rare theatres that only showed old, foreign movies. Montparnasse just happened to be one of the few people who got a thrill out of cinematography. Every Thursday was devoted to horror movies which weren’t necessarily scary, considering their age and the limited possibilities of special effects, but were actually rather hilarious. Montparnasse loved them nevertheless.
What Montparnasse appreciated the most about this movie theatre though, was that they always showed the original version of every movie with subtitles. Call him pretentious, but he just couldn’t bare the mere thought of any kind of attempt in synchronization. It normally took away the raw emotion the original captured.
Tonight though, all of that wouldn’t matter, he thought while waiting for the dim lights to fully go out and the streaming of Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, a German silent film, to start. He had arrived a little too early tonight but he knew there weren’t really more people coming anyway. How they managed to still keep this business running was beyond him. Beside him there were only two other people in the small room. A young woman dressed in an all-black exterior and the old man in the first row who somehow just always appeared to be there.
He was just about to lose interest in his surroundings when somebody stumbled into the room who didn’t seem to fit into this setting at all. Montparnasse couldn’t make out the features of said person due to the bad lightning but even in this badly lit room he could see their long red hair basically glowing. He briefly wondered just how radiant it had to look in direct sunlight, when his eyes dropped to their clothes or what was at least an attempt at clothes. The knitted sweater on their body was at least two sizes too big and had so many different colors webbed into it that Montparnasse wondered if the person making this god forsaken pullover had actually been blind. Paired with the sweater they wore pants with a flower print that were just all kinds of trippy and bright yellow boots. Somewhere in the back of his mind, something practically screamed at him that they looked hideous. The problem was just that they really didn’t. They were beautiful and right there, they looked so out of place that Montparnasse wondered if he had fallen asleep or walked straight through a portal into a different dimension. He was sure he looked at a faerie or a different kind of mythical creature, because this kind of beauty in front of him just couldn’t possibly be from this world.
Montparnasse loved beautiful things. No matter if it was his clothes, his jewelry or even his liquor. He cherished everything that was exquisite and expensive and he knew this faerie would cost him dearly.
When they started to move it was with an elegance that you wouldn’t have expected from their appearance. Montparnasse was so lulled into watching them sway their hips ever so slightly with each step they took that he didn’t realize they were moving towards him until he found himself locking his eyes with theirs. Standing in front of him now, Montparnasse could see their gentle features. Their high cheekbones, thousands of freckles that graced their pale face and the warmest brown eyes he had ever seen, made them appear even more like out of this world. Though he could have expected it, he was still surprised when they suddenly addressed him.
“Is that seat taken?” they asked while pointing next to him. Their voice was soft and melodic and it immediately sent a shiver down his spine. This was dangerous.
When he noticed that he had simply stared at them without giving an answer, he forced himself out of his trancelike state.
“Suit yourself,” he finally answered in what he hoped was an unaffected tone.
They gracefully sat down next to him and Montparnasse was instantly aware that there were only a few inches between them now. He could have simply reached over, let his fingertips graze their skin to see if it was actually as soft as it looked. Slowly he shook his head in an attempt to get a grip on himself again. In no way was it possible for him to get this confused over a stranger.
“Jehan.” It was spoken as softly as a whisper. He would have almost missed it. Almost.
“Pardon?”
“Jehan. Jehan Prouvaire. My name,” they repeated. A little louder this time but still in the same melodic way. Jehan. A beautiful name for a beautiful person. He wondered what it would feel like letting it roll off of his tongue. Yet all he settled for was a short “Pleasure.”
He cursed himself inwardly. He never was this graceless when it came to situations like these. When he wanted to be, he could be rather smooth. Tonight though, it seemed like he was going to be unlucky, because he really just fucked this up royally. Jehan however seemed to be unfazed by his stony behavior.
“And what’s your name?”
“Montparnasse.” Goddammit he really had to stop giving these laconic answers. Yet again Jehan didn’t seem to mind however. Montparnasse was pretty sure he could even see the beginning of a smile tug at their lips. Okay, he had to be clever about this now.
“I’ve never seen you around here before.” Yeah, wow, okay real clever. Where exactly went his charisma and how the hell could he get it back?
“Well I only recently found out about this place when my friend Combeferre mentioned it to me. He thought I might enjoy it. It’s really beautiful, don’t you think?”
‘Beautiful’ wasn’t quite the word Montparnasse would have gone with. It was dark, old and dusty, but it definitely had character. He couldn’t deny that. After all he was the one who came here every week. Before he could answer though, Jehan spoke again.
“I know what you are thinking. What is a person like them doing in a place like this?” They were properly smiling now, finding that thought apparently particularly amusing, “I get that a lot though, so don’t worry.”
It was true. The second Jehan had walked through the door, they seemed completely out of place, but right now sitting next to him, illuminated only by the dim lights around them, he couldn’t picture them anywhere else.
“Well, I definitely wouldn’t have taken you for a German expressionist horror movie kind of person, but then again I wouldn’t have pictured the guy in the first row being into that kind of stuff either.”
That actually made them giggle, a sound Montparnasse would have given anything for just to hear it again. Still smiling they answered in a hushed voice “He does seem kind of out of it.”
“Kind of? I’m pretty sure he hasn’t moved from that spot since last week.” Again they giggled and Montparnasse was pretty sure he could get addicted to that sound.
“So, have you seen Nosferatu before?” The look they gave him couldn’t be described as anything but pure and utter shock.
“Of course! It’s a classic! Is there anyone out there who hasn’t seen it?” They sounded almost offended and with the level of disbelief in their voice, Montparnasse just couldn’t help himself. He laughed. It was short, not much more than a snort really, but it made Jehan practically beam at him.
Montparnasse hadn’t really noticed how much time had passed, but when the lights suddenly went out, he was almost disappointed. It was a good thing that he practically knew the movie by heart because he couldn’t seem to focus on a single thing that happened on screen. His focus was entirely on Jehan, even though he was careful not to stare too much. They were completely still while watching the movie. Nothing besides an occasional smile indicated that they had any feelings towards the movie at all. Sooner than he would have wanted, the end credits were rolling and he found himself dreading the moment he would have to part from the redhead next to him.
Before he could even think of something to say, Jehan spoke again with a steady but slightly melancholic voice “It mattering not how beautiful you were or how beloved above all else that dies.”
“Pardon me?”
Jehan seemed startled for a second, as if they forgot that they weren’t alone and just now came out of the trance like state the movie had put them in. When they turned their head to look at him, Montparnasse had to suppress a shiver that almost erupted because of a single look from their deep brown eyes.
“It’s just something that popped in my head after the last scene. Ellen’s fate is truly tragic, don’t you think?
“Well yeah, but at least her sacrifice wasn’t for nothing. She died with the knowledge that it would save her loved ones and that is worth something, right?”
“I guess.” It looked like they wanted to add something to that, but apparently decided against it when they suddenly stood up. Right, Montparnasse thought, the movie was over. He should probably get up too, leave and let this encounter remain what it was, a beautiful but past memory.
“It was truly a pleasure to meet you Jehan.” And there it was. Their name rolling off of his tongue. Easy and already painfully familiar. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, didn’t want to make this dreamlike encounter to feel even more real. Jehan smiled again and if somebody would have told him at this moment that the world had stopped turning, he would have believed them without an inkling of hesitance. He really had to go, otherwise, he knew, he couldn’t guarantee for anything.
“You too Montparnasse.” And with a last smile, they turned around, heading for the exit and Montparnasse was left to wonder if this truly had happened right now.