AN: WOW! Not only is this update earlier than usual, it's the tenth in the series! Yay!
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/followed these stories so far, and thank you to the MANY of you who have favourited and followed me!
A lot of you have reviewed with prompts regarding a future event that I have had planned for a while (if you don't want to know, don't look at the reviews on the last installment!) and I'm afraid I won't be accepting any reviews regarding said topic as I've already written it! But thank you for your amazing predictions that are, in places, spot on!
I probably should have mentioned 2 things before, but I'll say them now:
1. I haven't yet read the book, so this is purely based on the musical and the movie
2. I picture all characters as the movie cast (i.e. Samantha Barks [my idol], Aaron Tveit, Eddie Redmayne, etc)
The prompt for this chapter is: What if Gavroche was living with Enjolras and Éponine? Enjoy!
"'Ponine," Courfeyrac caught Éponine's attention in the Musain. Marius and Cosette had arrived home after their two-week honeymoon in England and so everyone had gathered to welcome them back to France.
Éponine smiled a hello, "Where's Gavroche?" she asked, looking around for the boy who was normally Courfeyrac's shadow. Ever since the arrangement for Gavroche to live with Courfeyrac had been made, the little boy had idolised him more than ever.
"Trying to beat Grantaire in an arm wrestle," Courfeyrac grinned, "Gavroche is winning. I was wondering if I could ask a favour?"
"Ask away," Éponine gestured for him to go ahead, taking a sip of her wine.
"I've got my final exams coming up in a few weeks, and I really need some time to revise properly, without any distractions. Problem is, with Gavroche running around with energy that apparently appears out of nowhere..."
"You'll never get anything done?" Éponine finished for him, nodding, "I'll talk to Enjolras. We've got two spare rooms, so it shouldn't be too hard to have Gavroche with us for a few weeks." She smiled, her eyes twinkling.
"Oh, 'Ponine, you're a life saver!" Courfeyrac grinned madly, wrapping Éponine in a hug that lifted her off her feet.
"Really, Courf, it's not a problem," Éponine laughed as he put her down.
"What's not a problem?" Enjolras asked, coming over from watching Gavroche win the arm wrestle with Grantaire.
"Gavroche can stay with us for a few weeks, can't he?" Éponine asked, fixing him with a look that left no room for debate. Enjolras smirked.
"The next few weeks certainly won't be boring," he said. Éponine took that as a confirmation and smiled triumphantly at Courfeyrac.
"This is your room," Éponine smiled, steering Gavroche towards the smaller of the two guestrooms by the shoulders.
"I don't see why I can't just stay with Courf," he grumbled, "I'll be really quiet! Honest I will, 'Ponine!"
"I'm starting to think that you don't like me and Enjolras, 'Vroche." Éponine laughed.
"I do!" Gavroche protested hastily, "I just... I don't want to intrude! You're happy with him, 'Ponine, I don't want to butt in and ruin that."
"You won't ruin it, silly!" Éponine frowned, wondering where on Earth he'd got that idea from, "And you're not intruding. Now, come on, I'm starving. Let's go and bug Enjolras until he cooks us something!"
Enjolras was also studying, though his final exams were still months away, so he wasn't too worried about interruptions.
"Apollo..." Éponine said, smiling, looking at Enjolras with a pleading look in her eyes.
"What do you want, Athena?" he said knowingly, recognising the tone Éponine always used when she wanted something.
"Food, please." She smiled. He rolled his eyes, pulling her onto his lap.
"And if I don't want to make any food?" Enjolras asked, his arms wrapped around Éponine's waist. He was answered by a pillow being launched at his head and it hitting him square in the face. Éponine covered her mouth with her hand to try and disguise her laughter as Gavroche looked on proudly form the sofa.
"Did you just start a pillow war?" Enjolras said seriously. Gavroche's grin faltered for a moment, then he mirrored Enjolras' stoic look.
"Maybe I did." He said, crossing his arms determinedly. Pushing Éponine off his lap gently, Enjolras stood up and approached Gavroche, the pillow hidden behind his back. Gavroche edged back on the sofa slightly.
In a single fluid movement, Enjolras slammed the pillow down onto the top of Gavroche's head and ducked for cover.
Within five minutes, the apartment was littered with pillows from both the living room and the bedrooms, with Gavroche hiding behind the sofa, and Enjolras hiding behind the dining table. Éponine had long since disappeared, and neither Enjolras, nor Gavroche, had any idea where she had gone.
"Surrender, little Gavroche. You will never defeat me! Have you forgotten that I led a rebellion?"
"I may be little," Gavroche grinned menacingly, "But little people know how to fight. And we never give up!" he then proceeded to launch yet another pillow at the revolutionary.
When Éponine finally returned, the pillow fight had resulted to hand-to-hand combat.
"No! No... Enjolras! Enjolras! Stop tickling me!"
"Not until you surrender!"Enjolras laughed evilly.
"I see you two are having fun," Éponine said, smiling amusedly at the scene. They both looked up and froze. Éponine was standing in the doorway with a bowl of soup that had apparently appeared from nowhere.
"Don't tell me you've been making soup this whole time?!" Enjolras said, springing into a stand position.
"Don't be ridiculous," Éponine laughed, stirring the soup absentmindedly, "I walked to the cafe around the corner. I told them I'd bring the bowl back when I'd checked that my brother and my beloved hadn't torn my home apart. I think she was a bit worried, to be honest..."
"Why soup?" Gavroche frowned, also getting up, "You could have got a cake or something!"
"I wanted soup!" Éponine said, ruffling Gavroche's blonde curls fondly, "Have we finished acting like children?"
"That's not fair!" Gavroche complained, "I am a child!"
Enjolras blushed slightly, then shrugged, "Oh, I don't care if I acted like a child," he said, wrapping his arm around Éponine's waist, "I had fun."
Éponine looked at him with wide eyes, "Enjolras? Having fun?! Good lord... Gavroche, I think you've broken him..."
"I happen to know that you're ticklish as well, 'Ponine." Enjolras muttered in her ear threateningly.
"You wouldn't dare," Éponine replied, kissing him as a way of both bribery and apology. He smiled slightly, so Éponine decided that she was forgiven.
However, walking over to the dining table and fully evaluating the mess in the room, Enjolras and Gavroche were definitely not forgiven.
"I hope you two are going to clear this up," she said sternly. Enjolras and Gavroche shared a look.
"Run?" Enjolras questioned.
"Run!" Gavroche agreed, and the two bolted out the still open front door, leaving an exasperated Éponine behind.
Later that night, Les Amis de l'ABC were meeting to discuss what to do about the government's lack of action.
"I say we hold another rebellion," Grantaire (still almost sober) said, grinning.
"I don't think there's any need for that just yet, Grantaire," Combeferre said sensibly, "Let's not forget what happened last time."
"What? Enjolras actually became human and we won? Yes, wouldn't it be tragic for that to happen again!"
"I was always human," Enjolras said wearily, even though he knew that it would fall on deaf ears.
"We can't risk doing that again," Combeferre argued, "Think about how many casualties we had! Éponine almost died, for goodness sakes! Does anyone want to risk that again?" the room was silent, so Enjolras nodded, retaking control of the conversation.
"I agree with Combeferre," he said, earning a scoff from Grantaire, "But I also agree with Grantaire in the respect that something has to be done."
"So what are we going to do?"
"I'm going to write a letter," Enjolras said, "They approached me first, so I'll reply saying we are still expecting a change. If I don't get a reply... then we go up to see them in person." This earned a cheer from the Amis, and Éponine looked on proudly.
The meeting had started in the very early evening and was arguably one of the shortest meetings they had ever been to.
Gavroche, tired after his 'battle' against Enjolras, could barely keep his eyes open whilst eating dinner back in Enjolras and Éponine's apartment, and so Éponine sent him to bed.
"'Ponine," Gavroche stopped his sister as she was leaving the room after saying goodnight, "Thank you. For letting me stay here."
"It's not a problem, 'Vroche," Éponine replied fondly, "What's family for?" smiling, Gavroche snuggled down into the blankets and fell asleep.
Éponine walked out into the living area to find Enjolras setting the table.
"What's all this?" she asked.
"You wanted me to cook," he said, "So I cooked." Éponine smiled fondly.
"You didn't have to do that," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I wanted to," he said, "After all, it's what 'humans' do, isn't it?" Éponine laughed.
"You should know better than to listen to Grantaire's jibes," she said, rolling her eyes, "He likes you really, beneath all the teasing and drunkenness."
"Hmm," Enjolras said sceptically, "Well, I look forward to seeing the day when he proves it."
Éponine thought back to when Grantaire had been teaching her how to dance. Really, that had been for Enjolras' sake; Grantaire wouldn't have cared if Éponine had made a fool of herself, after all.
Enjolras poured them both some wine, "To cooking," he smiled, "And the future." He said, holding his cup up for a toast. Éponine was more than happy to toast to that.
Throw me a review if you enjoyed/hated this chapter (honestly, I love them all, good or bad!). Drop me a prompt if you have one, and thank you very much for reading!