A/N: Oh my goodness, I'm sooooo sorry it took me so long to update! Work decided they wanted to schedule me for SIX SHIFTS IN SEVEN DAYS. *Sigh* I guess I can't complain, though... it's money, something I am in desperate need of. Unfortunately, my hours will not be letting up any time soon, but I will try to update as often as I can.

Anywho, guess what? "A Heart Full of You" one-shot has been posted! You can find it on my profile. Please do not take it too seriously... it's meant to be more on the humorous side.

Before I get into the story, just a quick shout-out to ConcreteAngelRoxHerHalo and CrazyJulz16 for you reviews! You guys are awesome for reviewing my story consistently and I can't thank you enough! I dedicate this cookie to you! (::)

Disclaimer: If I owned Les Mis, I would *not* be working six shifts in a row...

Thanks for the favorites/followings/reviews! :)

Okay, here's the story!

BTW - my line break thing is giving me a hard time so if there's supposed to be a separate section I'll mark it with this: ~

I think this is the longest chapter I've written yet! Whoo!

CHAPTER SEVEN: Grief That Can't Be Spoken

June 2nd, 1832

It had been over a day since Éponine or any of Les Amis had last seen Marius. When he had rushed into the café the previous day, Marius told Enjolras and Éponine that he had gone back to 55 Rue Plumet only to find it dark and abandoned. All that remained was a letter that Cosette had left behind for Marius, explaining that her father wanted to leave the country because he was afraid for their lives. After delivering the news, the heart-broken Marius staggered out of the café and disappeared into the misty rain.

Now it was the following evening and there was still no sign of Marius. All of the Amis had gathered on the second floor of Café Musain for their nightly meeting, anxious chatter filling the room.

"Marius has never abandoned us before," commented Enjolras as he spoke with Combeferre. "I fail to understand why he would slip into a state of depression over a woman he just met."

His second-in-command shrugged. "Marius is a passionate man, a quality the both of you possess. However, he responds emotionally to his passion whereas your passion results in action. You act and he feels."

Enjolras raised an eyebrow. "Is that why I am often referred to as the 'marble man'?"

Combeferre blinked in surprise and whispered, "How did you find out about that?"

"I am a leader; it is my job to know what is being said about me," Enjolras replied nonchalantly. It could have been Combeferre's imagination but he could have sworn he saw a smile tugging at the corner of Enjolras's lips.

"Well look who it is!" cried Grantaire, already in a drunken stupor. Enjolras and Combeferre turned to the stairs, expecting to see Marius standing there. To their surprise, it was not Marius but Éponine.

"Good evening, monsieurs," Éponine said almost shyly. The bruises on her face had darkened into a nasty shade of purple, making Enjolras cringe inwardly. However, he did recall Joly telling him once that if a bruise was growing darker, it was on its way to healing.

Despite the fact that she looked like she had gotten run over by a runaway cart, Éponine felt more determined than ever. "Your offer still stands, right Enjolras?" asked Éponine.

"Of course," Enjolras replied, repressing the uncharacteristic urge to grin. "The meeting will starting shortly, so you may take a seat if you'd like."

Éponine nodded her head and sat down next to the two more energetic men: Joly and Courfeyrac. Joly leaned in close to Éponine once she had taken her seat and asked, "How are you feeling, mademoiselle?"

"Quite sore," replied Éponine with a soft laugh, "but it will take a lot more than a knock to the head to keep me down."

"Oh, there is no doubt about that! There is one thing I would like to ask you about, if you would permit it?"

"Sure, monsieur. What is it?"

Joly hesitated, glancing over at Courfeyrac to make sure he was not paying attention. "Well… it's just, when I was taking care of your wounds… I noticed, er, other wounds. They were in the shape of… well, of hands. And there were also a few scars as well… they looked like burns. Are they…?"

It did not seem like he had the courage to ask the question, so Éponine finished it for him. "Are they marks of abuse?"

Joly nodded.

Éponine had half a mind to tell the medical student off for intruding on her familial affairs. He had no right to do such a thing! She had not even told Marius all of the terrible things her parents did to her… she had been too afraid that he would no longer associate himself with her if he knew the truth. What right did this bourgeoisie have to go around meddling into her personal life?

When she looked him straight in the eye, however, she saw genuine concern… the same look she had received from Enjolras the second time she saw him. Éponine was unsure how to react to this… she was unaccustomed to this concern and sympathy. Life on the streets was cold and cruel, so unlike this warm and caring world that she had accidentally stumbled upon. Is this what life is supposed to be like? Éponine thought.

She snapped out of her daze, realizing that Joly was still waiting for an answer. With a sad smile, Éponine place her hand on his and gave it a friendly squeeze. "That, monsieur, is a story for another time."

Joly nodded in understanding, squeezing her hand in return. "I respect that. Perhaps, though, if you are ever… injured, you can always come to me. I will not charge you a sous!"

"That means a great deal to me," Éponine said with a small smile. "Thank you."

"Éponine?"

She spun around in her chair to see a gamin watching her, his jaw dropping in surprise. Éponine gasped in delight and cried, "Gavroche!"

Gavroche flung his thin arms around the dark-haired gamine, grinning widely as he did. Les Amis watched on in curiosity.

"It has been too long," murmured Éponine. "I… I did not think you were still alive!"

Gavroche pulled away, giving her a mock frown. "Aw, c'mon, 'Ponine… you knows me better than that! You're the one who taught me everything I knows about livin' on the streets."

Éponine tapped him lightly on the nose and said, "And don't you forget it. What are you doing here, though?"

Grinning widely, the gamin replied, "I tried pickin' Courf's pocket once… but he caught me. Instead of turnin' me in, he asked me to teach 'im a few tricks! After we'd been friends for a while, he invited me to hear Enjolras speak and I've been comin' here ever since!"

Éponine shook her head. "Oh, Gavroche… you certainly like to be in the middle of chaos, do you not?"

"But what are you doin' here?"

"Well, I–"

Bonjour, Gavroche!" greeted Courfeyrac, approaching the two of them. "Do you and Éponine know each other?"

Éponine laughed as Gavroche rolled his eyes. "'Course we do, Courf: she's my sister!"

Several of the nearby Amis turned to face them when they heard Gavroche; all of them were taken by surprise at the new revelation… Enjolras included. But now he could see certain characteristics in Gavroche that he had noticed in Éponine. Although the color of their hair differed, they both possessed brown eyes that gleamed with determination and similar facial expressions. A good portion of their mannerisms were the same, as well… like the hand gestures they used when they spoke.

"She's your sister?" Courfeyrac asked in disbelief. "The story behind that is certainly one that I want to hear!"

"Perhaps another time, though," interjected Enjolras. "It is time for our meeting to commence and we have much to discuss…"

~ Éponine enjoyed listening to Enjolras speak, at least more than she believed she would. Uninterested in government and political affairs, Éponine assumed she would find the meeting dull and pointless. However, Enjolras's charismatic speech was rather inspiring and exciting. There were a few points she did not quite agree with – such as the fact that the people of Paris would rise against the king and aid the revolution – but after hearing Enjolras explain some of his ideas, Éponine developed a better understanding for what he was trying to accomplish… and she discovered that it was a cause she was willing to support.

Once Enjolras had finished, the students all cheered and began chattering excitedly with one another. Gavroche ran over to join Courfeyrac; Éponine watched the student interact with her brother, noticing how he treated Gavroche like an adult yet was still playful and gentle.

Courfeyrac acts more like a father toward Gavroche than his own father does, mused Éponine.

"Éponine?"

Enjolras had taken the empty chair next to Éponine's and was staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"Pardonnez-moi," apologized Éponine. "I was just thinking."

Enjolras gave the smallest hint of a smile. "Then I am sorry to interrupt. How are you today?"

"I am feeling much better, thanks to Joly's medical expertise. He's quite an interesting man…"

"Oh, that is an understatement," Enjolras said. "He is a hypochondriac, which means any time there's talk of an illness he automatically assumes he has it. Around wintertime, when influenza is rampant, he is unbearable to be with. And if you can help it, do not mention cholera. Last time we mentioned that in a discussion he did not leave his house for a week, claiming that he already had it and would soon die."

Éponine laughed softly at the silly images popping into her mind of Joly taking his temperature repeatedly. Then she grew somber.

"Have you heard from Marius?" She had not seen him and was getting quite worried.

Enjolras shook his head. "I am afraid not. This is unusual for him because he never misses a meeting without notifying us."

"Love can make you do unusual things," commented Éponine.

With a sigh, Enjolras said, "I am certainly no expert on that matter. I would speak to him but I have no clue the first thing to say."

As Éponine studied the revolutionary, she noticed that while his expression was blank his eyes betrayed the smallest hint of worry. The marble man was not known for expressing his emotions, so that simple display of concern tugged at Éponine's heartstrings.

"Perhaps I could speak to him," offered Éponine. "I have been one of his closest friends for a long time… and I can understand how he is feeling right now."

"You would do that?" Enjolras asked. "If you do not feel comfortable with it…"

"No, no… it is no trouble at all," said Éponine with a smile. "Besides, Marius has been there for me many times. Now it is my turn to be there for him."

~ "What are you doing here, Éponine?"

Marius was sitting at his desk, his head in his hands and his voice devoid of any emotion. Éponine's eyes widened at the sight of her best friend, who was normally cheerful and friendly, fallen so far into a state of depression. Unsure what to do, Éponine hovered anxiously in the doorway of his flat… just like she had done only a few days ago.

"I came by to see you," answered Éponine. "We had not heard from you and we were afraid something had happened?"

"Who is 'we'?" he asked, still not making eye contact with her.

This frustrated Éponine, who replied, "Your fellow revolutionaries and I. You missed yesterday's meeting and now today's."

Marius let out a humorless laugh, lifting his head up slowly to meet the gamine's gaze. "Is that so? Did Enjolras put you up to this? Does he care for nothing except his revolution?"

"Enjolras put me up to nothing," Éponine snarled through gritted teeth. Now the infamous Thénardier temper was beginning to surface. "Believe it or not he cares about you, as do I. We are your friends, Marius… and we're worried about you."

Marius rolled his eyes – a first for him, Éponine noted – and said, "Just leave me alone, Éponine. Can't you see that I am in misery? My beloved has left me! Why should I care about anything else now that my reason for living is gone?"

"Marius, I know how you feel–"

"No, you don't!" yelled Marius as he leapt, knocking his chair over in the process. Éponine took a step back, the vision of one of her father's drunken rants coming to mind. "You cannot understand how I'm feeling right now!"

"Marius–!"

The bourgeoisie was merely inches away from Éponine now, glaring down at her and he snarled, "You know nothing of love! You are a street rat… daughter of a thief…"

"Marius, please!"

Éponine had now backed up to the wall in the hallway, cornered by the man she once thought herself in love with.

"You are heartless waif, no different from your wretched father!"

"MARIUS, STOP!"

Angry tears streamed down Éponine's cheeks. Shaking from both fear and rage, she watched as Marius's expression changed from anger to shock and then finally to despair.

"Oh, God…" he murmured, stumbling backward and running a hand through his unkempt hair. "I-I-I am so sorry, 'Ponine… I did not mean a single word of it, I swear… my God, I yelled at you…"

Éponine had grown quiet, allowing her fury to simmer down before she spoke again. "You said…" she whispered. "Back in the market… you promised that you would never go away, that you would never leave me. Do you remember that?"

Marius, looking miserable, nodded and stammered, "Of-of course I do."

"You broke your promise, monsieur… the man that was my friend was not speaking to me… the only man I saw was my father."

About a year ago, Marius had discovered the truth about Éponine's family. When her family lived in the flat next to his, he often heard the sound of muffled screams and violent scuffles. When he saw Éponine in the days after, he noticed the ugly bruises and marks on her skin. Marius may not have been as smart as Enjolras but even he could figure out that Éponine's father beat her regularly.

That was why Marius dropped to his knees in front of Éponine, his face contorting in grief. "Éponine… I would never do anything to hurt you, although I know my actions say otherwise. I cannot apologize enough for what I have done, 'Ponine. I know I cannot undo what I have done and that I do not deserve your forgiveness… but you are my best friend. Now that Cosette is gone, it would be the death of me if you left me, too. It may be too much to ask of you, and I understand if it is, but can you forgive me? I could not live with myself knowing that I remind you of your father."

Marius gazed up at his old friend, the sister he never had but always wanted, with tears brimming in his own eyes. He did not mean to scare her – even though she was a tough gamine – and when he saw the look of horror on her face when he took out his anger on her, it broke his heart.

Éponine knelt down in front of him and hesitantly placed her hand on his. "My father never would have apologized for his actions, nor begged for forgiveness; I cannot associate you with my father. But you did frighten me, Marius… and I am not easily frightened."

Marius took her touching his hand as a good sign; he slipped his arms around Éponine in a comforting embrace, murmuring apologizes repeatedly into her ear. With a small smile, she assured him, "I forgive you, Marius. I know how it feels to have your heart broken… or to feel like you are completely alone."

Marius frowned and pulled back to look at Éponine. "But you are not alone, 'Ponine. You have me… and the rest of Les Amis. We care about you, even if you do not think so."

Éponine rolled her eyes. "That is what I was trying to tell you all along, silly bourgeoisie!"

He cringed slightly. "Here is my suggestion: let us put this dreadful night behind us and continue being friends. I meant what I said, 'Ponine. Cosette is the one I love but you are like a sister to me… and if anything ever happened to our friendship…"

Éponine smiled brightly, giving Marius a sisterly kiss on the cheek. A few days ago, she would have hated to hear Marius call her a 'sister'. Now she felt as if a void in her heart had been filled. "If you ever need a place to run to… for better or for worse, I've got you, Monsieur Pontmercy."

Marius pulled Éponine in for a second hug and whispered, "And I've got you, Mademoiselle Thénardier."

A/N: What did you guys think? Please don't think badly of Marius! I just wanted to show a different side to him. Like Combeferre said in the story, Marius was passionate emotionally... and I think something like that could either be good or bad. I also felt like Eponine and Marius needed this moment. Now I think they will be closer than ever before... not in a romantic sense but their friendship will be much stronger from now on.

Just to let you guys know, if there is a story I am thinking about writing I'm going to put a brief summary of it on my profile. I'll try to mention them in updates but I feel as if I'm already making these author notes longer than necessary... *sheepish grin*

P.S. - Anyone who guesses the song I reference in the last bit gets a shout-out and a cookie! (Hint: it's not a song from a musical)