Hey guys! So this is actually the first Marius/Éponine fic, and I don't actually even ship it, so please be nice! Reviews would be awesome, but I'm not really sure about this fic, so constructive criticism is all good too. Enjoy!
Based on Come Right Out and Say It by Relient K
They've been dancing around the topic for about a month now. Marius really likes Éponine, and he doesn't want to hurt her feelings. Éponine really likes Marius, and she doesn't want to think about it, let alone say it out loud. And so they've left it, hoping that perhaps it will go away.
Marius has always been an oblivious person, but he's not oblivious to Éponine's feelings for him, and he's definitely not oblivious to his feelings for the new girl, Cosette. He doesn't want to say anything to Ép; he's never been good at speaking his mind, especially when it comes to people's feelings. But to ignore his feelings for Cosette would be unfair on himself, and to let them grow silently would be unfair to Éponine.
Éponine is a very independent person. Or she was, until she met Marius. He became her rock, and soon, they started dating. But Éponine has almost noticed herself watching Combeferre across the classroom. She doesn't know how to begin. It's not that she doesn't like him, she just… likes Combeferre more? Doesn't like Marius as much as she did? Each possible conversation sounds just as horrible, and so she decides to just not approach the subject at all.
It takes them a long time to say anything. Another month to be exact. A month in which Éponine begins to realise that Marius is a ridiculously loud breather, and Marius is beginning to get annoyed with Éponine's constant humming around the apartment. It's over dinner that it finally comes out.
"Marius -"
"Éponine -" they look at each other and sigh.
"We have an expiration date."