Eponine and Enjolras eyed each other skeptically for a minute or so, both surprised by the others' 'magic number'. Eponine nudged Enjolras' leg with her foot when he looked away. "So, how come none of us have ever seen you with any of these women?"

"Why would you? I wasn't exactly dating most of them."

"What do you mean? One night hook-ups?" Eponine's eyes widened and she giggled. "I never thought you'd be one for sleeping around!"

"I'm not really, Combeferre usually has to help me get them to leave!" Enjolras peered into his glass. He wondered what the hell he'd been drinking to make him talk so openly. At this particular moment he felt as if he could tell Eponine anything. That is, until she asked her next question.

"What about love?"

Enjolras frowned. "What about it?"

"Have you ever been in it?"

Enjolras huffed and shifted in his seat. "Please can we talk about something else?"

"Is that a no?"

"No."

"No, you've never been in love, or no, you have?"

"Eponine," he groaned, sending an involuntary shiver through her body when he said her name. Enjolras ran a hand over his face and glared at her. "No, I have never been in love! Does that satisfy you?"

Eponine smirked at making him uncomfortable, then frowned. "Wait, you've slept with eight women but you haven't been in love with any of them?"

"Sex doesn't equal love, you know."

Eponine rolled her eyes. "I know that, but sex is better when you're in love though, right?"

"It's always been pretty good without it for me." Enjolras looked at her, his eyes dark and intense, and Eponine just knew he would make a great lover. She imagined him looking at her just like that as he made love to her right there on Cosette's purple velvet sofa. She felt herself growing warm and her breathing getting quicker as he continued to gaze at her. She was on the verge of leaping into his lap and demanding he take her there and then, when he spoke again. "Have you loved the guys you've slept with?"

She was so preoccupied by her fantasies that she had almost forgotten what they had been talking about, and the question caught her off-guard. She blinked rapidly, opened and closed her mouth a few times and shook her head.

"No, only Montparnasse," she said simply, and Enjolras was surprised to hear her say the name so calmly, when just the other day he had seen the fear in her eyes when she saw the man. "One was a guy I dated for a while last year and the other was...well, you know."

"I know what?"

"Courfeyrac."

"What about him?" Enjolras frowned, confused.

Eponine winced, embarrassed. "He was the other one."

"The other one what...oh!" Enjolras felt as if he'd been punched in the gut as his alcohol-addled brain finally caught up with the conversation.

Eponine saw the horror and disappointment in his eyes as her words registered. His jaw clenched, his body stiffened and she realised in that moment that he really hadn't known about Courfeyrac. She was surprised, she assumed the whole group knew. Courfeyrac usually boasted about his sexual conquests to everyone. She wanted to take it back, to go back to the easy banter of a few minutes ago.

"It was only once," Eponine explained quickly, her voice unnaturally high. "I'd just testified against Montparnasse and Courfeyrac had split up with whatever girl he'd been seeing and...We were so drunk! It was a complete mistake. We didn't even take our clothes off..." She tailed off, realising that she was only making it worse.

Enjolras was furious. He knew she didn't owe him anything, she didn't have to explain something that happened in her past, but he felt betrayed, not only by Eponine, but by Courfeyrac too. He stared at the glass in his hand, squeezing it tighter, imagining that it was Courfeyrac's neck.

Eponine moved to sit beside him on the sofa and gently took the glass from him. He let her put her hand on top of his and relaxed a bit at her touch.

"It didn't mean anything," she whispered, touching his cheek softly with her other hand. She sounded so sincere, so sad, that he turned his head to look at her and saw tears in her eyes. They stared at each other for several seconds before Eponine leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, trying to convey all she wanted to say in one kiss. Enjolras returned the kiss for the briefest of moments before standing suddenly.

"I've got to go," he said, striding to the kitchen to collect his coat. He left without another word, leaving Eponine alone on the sofa, wondering how the evening went so wrong so quickly.

Enjolras had been on the doorstep of Marius' house for seven and a half minutes, debating whether to press the doorbell or to go home. He hadn't been able to concentrate on anything since the previous night. In order to avoid Courfeyrac, he had spent most of the day in his room, only venturing out to use the bathroom and making a run to the kitchen when he heard his roommate singing loudly in the shower. Combeferre had checked in on him several times, knowing something was bothering him, but being smart enough not to ask any questions.

Enjolras had tried to read, but the words moved around on the page until they spelled EPONINE, and when he tried to take a nap, all he saw when he closed his eyes was her.

So that was why he found himself standing on Pontmercy's porch, freezing his bits off, knowing he only had to press the button and she would open the door. He couldn't be sure if she would be pleased to see him or if she would shut the door in his face. He wouldn't blame her if she did, he knew he had acted irrationally last night. He took a deep breath and raised his hand to the bell again, but before his finger made contact with the button the door opened and Eponine stood there, silhouetted against the light from the hallway.

"Are you ever going to knock, or do you plan to stay on the doorstep all night?"

She turned without waiting for a reply and strode down the hall to the kitchen, leaving Enjolras still unsure as to her mood. He stepped into the house and closed the door behind him, shrugging off his coat and hanging it on the bannister as he passed. He leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching her as she made tea. She had yet to look at him, and he almost couldn't bear the suspense of waiting to see her eyes. She finished stirring the tea and pushed a mug across the counter, indicating he should take a seat. As he sat down on the same stool he had occupied the night before, Eponine finally glanced at him, and her eyes widened in shock as she took in his appearance. His had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it all day. He obviously hadn't shaved, which was very unlike him, as a dark shadow covered his jaw. But most worryingly of all, his right hand was bound tightly in a bright white bandage.

"What the hell happened to you?" She hurried around to his side of the counter and took his bandaged hand gently in both of hers.

"It's nothing. You should see the other guy." He lifted a corner of his mouth in an attempt at humour.

"You got in a fight? With who? Not Courfeyrac?" Eponine frowned, though her insides were tingling. Nobody had ever fought for her before, and she knew Courfeyrac didn't deserve any kind of beating, but she sort of hoped Enjolras had tried to defend her honour. Her hopes were short-lived as he shook his head.

"I punched a wall."

"What? Why?"

Enjolras decided to be honest. "I was so wound up when I left here last night, I had to let it out. Between a wall and one of my best friends, the wall seemed a better option."

Eponine looked down at her hands holding his and ran her finger across the bandage over his bruised knuckles. Enjolras winced and tried to withdraw his hand, but she held it tightly and he watched as she raised it to her lips. His heart hammered in his chest as she kissed his fingers, and when she lifted her head to look at him, he felt as if he would burst with longing. Using his free hand, he tucked her hair behind her ear and gently pulled her face towards his. Enjolras let his lips linger on hers for a moment before pulling back and looking into her eyes.

With that one look he tried to tell her that he didn't care about what had happened in the past or who it had happened with. He tried to tell her that he cared for her, that he wanted her. He tried to tell her that although he didn't believe in the whole 'love' thing, he wouldn't mind if she tried to change his mind.

He didn't know if she understood, but suddenly her lips were on his in a heated kiss and all he could think about was the way their mouths seemed to just fit together. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she opened her mouth willingly, moaning as he deepened the kiss. Their tongues met and he tangled his good hand in her hair, while she grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and pulled him closer.

They both knew where this was going; Eponine was already wet and Enjolras was struggling to control himself, he had never wanted anything more than he wanted her right now. She ran her hands under his shirt and over his chest and smiled when he groaned and pushed her against the counter, trapping her with his body.

Enjolras ran his hand down her side, making her shiver, and lifted her leg, wrapping it around his waist and grinding into her. She gasped when she felt him against her centre and thrust her hips towards him to relieve some of the tension. She threw her head back as he kissed his way along her jaw and down her neck towards her shoulder. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his breath on her skin, and she couldn't remember the last time anything had felt so good.

They both froze, horrified, when they heard a familiar laugh and the jingle of keys as someone approached the front door. They sprang apart as the door opened and Cosette called, "Eponine?"

"In here!" Eponine replied, thankful that she and Enjolras hadn't got to the point of removing clothes. By the time Cosette and Marius reached the kitchen, Eponine and Enjolras were sitting on opposite sides of the counter, sipping tea and trying desperately to get their breathing under control. Cosette's eyes lit up when she saw the two of them together and she smiled widely.

"We're not interrupting anything, are we?" She asked, slyly.

"No!" Enjolras said, a little too loudly, and Eponine smiled into her cup. "I just came by for those books I lent Marius. I didn't know you were away." He was rather pleased with himself for having thought of a believeable excuse so quickly. Cosette flapped a hand at him as if she were shooing him away.

"Never mind about your books. We've got some great news and we came home early because we just couldn't wait to tell everyone!" She paused dramatically and looked at Marius conspiratorially, even though both Eponine and Enjolras had already guessed what the news might be. Cosette thrust her left hand out in front of her to show off her sparkly new ring. "We're engaged!"

Thank you everyone who has read this so far, I'm so grateful!