Disclaimer: I do not own Les Miserables or anything recognizable.

...

The city pigeons fluttered on the cobblestone, searching for crumbs in the cracks. The soft hoots they made were somewhat mesmerizing to Eponine. She planned on telling Marius of her feelings when she saw him. If she saw him. He'd been talking about Cosette endlessly the last few times she'd seen him. It was difficult, watching him fall in love with someone… Someone who wasn't her. She decided that today would be the day, no matter what. She couldn't let another day go by without Marius knowing exactly how she felt. So what that he had taken an interest in Cosette? Maybe once she told him he would change his mind and be hers forever. Eponine sighed and leaned against a stone wall. The pigeons were walking in small circles, bobbing their heads up and down.

"Eponine." The words were so sudden that Eponine jumped before realizing who the words had come from. She looked up at Marius and smiled. This was it, then. This was her chance to tell Marius. She opened her mouth to speak but he interrupted first.

"I've just left the letters," Marius was beaming with sheer excitement. It took Eponine a moment to figure out what he meant. The love letters. To Cosette.

"Have you?" She knew the genuine smile she'd been wearing moments ago was replaced by a fake one.

Marius nodded rapidly. Eponine tried to collect her thoughts, maybe this was not a good time to tell him. She shook it off, it was now or never. "Marius, I-"

"I haven't thanked you yet, Eponine. If it wasn't for you then I never could have gotten to Cosette." Eponine looked up into his gleaming eyes.

"Marius," she began again. "I have to tell you something." Marius wore a look of slight confusion on his face but let her continue.

"Ever since the first day we met I've thought that-" Eponine's words were surprisingly even. She had to keep the idea that they could be together in her mind if she was going to say it. "Well…," her words slowed and she looked back up to Marius, who looked just as confused as ever. "Marius, I l-,"

Just then a young boy came bounding through the street, jumping over crates and scaring the poor pigeons into their next life. There weren't many other people in the streets, but those who were there stopped to gaze at the unexpected disruption to such a fine morning. When he reached the end of the street he turned the corning and just like that it was over.

"That was certainly interesting," he said referring to the incident. "I'm still having trouble believe that I actually put the letters there for her to find," said Marius with his enthusiasm building with every passing second. "It's like, sealing fate. You know? Have you ever felt that way about anyone, Eponine?"

Eponine tried to get the words out this time, she had to tell him. "Actually…"

"I wonder how long it will take her to find it," said Marius with his eyes on the bright blue sky above. "What do you think she'll say when she reads them?"

She could hear him speaking, see the changing expressions on his face but his words weren't making sense to her anymore. She focused herself on forming the words, they were such simple words. Oh, Eponine. She thought desperately to herself. You can do this.

"I love you," Eponine said and breathed a deep sigh of relief before holding her breath in once more. Marius looked at her quizzically, his eyes softened and then he smiled.

"Do you really think she will?" Eponine's heart dropped. A flame of anger and embarrassment rose up in her cheeks. Tears strung her eyes as she turned to walk away.

"Why wouldn't she?" Eponine cried out, taking backwards steps away from him. "I do."