Disclaimer: Sadly, same as always. I don't own Les Mis.

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Enjolras was slouched in his chair rolling a long since empty wine bottle between his hands. He stared at it intently as if it would give him all of the answers, thinking that it was worth a shot since it seemed to work so well for Grantaire. He contemplated the past week and inevitable journey his life was about to take. The events of today would define the future in ways he could not figure out and that bothered him greatly. It used to be so simple, plan a revolution and most likely die for that revolution. He had no qualms about dying for the cause and he knew his friends felt that same, but over the course of this past week he had begun to see things differently. First there was the issue that he was going to be responsible for another person; even though he knew Éponine could take care of herself it didn't stop him from feeling fiercely protective of her. And the second thing that made the situation more complicate was the people. He used to think that they were angry enough that they would rise up without a second thought and he was proven very wrong.

He thought back to the day he met with John and his friends at the Musain. The day started off in jest when Éponine decided to call in their bet in retaliation and he found himself thinking about that moment fondly.

It was two days after they had told their parents about their acceptance of the engagement and in all the hustle and bustle of getting things ready they had hardly had time for themselves. It was when they were forced to sit for hours looking at china patterns for the reception that Éponine came up with an escape plan. Her plan was so elegant in its simplicity that he wondered why he didn't think of it first and why she didn't suggest it sooner. He was to give some excuse and go walk in the gardens and she would pretend to be exhausted and need a nap, they would then meet up and sneak out of the house and spend the day together. He followed her around Paris again before suggesting they go to the Musain. He had planned to meet up with John later that night and he figured that getting there early would give the Amis time to make up for how they treated Éponine the last time they were there.

However, once they got there he was quickly thrown to the wolves.

"Enjolras?"

Enjolras turned his head towards Éponine giving her his full attention.

"I think that today is that day that you have a certain wager to honor." She said slyly.

Enjolras groaned before nodding his head in agreement. They stepped into the top room of the Musain and it didn't take long for Enjolras to located Joly. He took a deep breath and prepared him for what was sure to become an uncomfortable experience.

Upon walking up to the table he made sure to situate himself so that he was standing near Joly as everyone gave their greetings and apologies to Éponine. It was a few minutes and a stern look from Éponine before Enjolras spoke.

"Hey, Joly... Is that a rash I see on the back of your neck?" He asked, squinting and pretending like he was examining something.

The Amis all groaned while Joly threw up his hands to the back of his neck, trying to find the rash.

"A rash? What does it look like? I can't feel anything." his voice slowly started raising an octave the longer he spoke.

Enjolras shrugged and appeared disinterested, "I don't know... it's a rash, so red, I guess?"

Joly started breathing fast, his breath coming out in pants, "I have been feeling rather feverish... And now my eyes hurt from the light... And... And I feel disoriented, which is a common sign of delirium"

Joly paled and looked like he was going to be sick at any moment as he turned towards Enjolras, "Do you know what that means? I have typhus! Typhus! Which means my chances of survival are marginal at best!"

Joly started hyperventilating and Enjolras shot Éponine a look that clearly conveyed what he thought of the bet.

Éponine decided to tell Joly the truth so that the poor boy would calm down and start breathing. "Joly, Enjolras was kidding, there isn't a rash. We made a bet the other day and he lost so he had to mention that he saw that you had a rash."

It didn't seem to help as Joly continued to panic, "But... The other symptoms... And there is an epidemic going around." he said, gasping for breath.

Combeferre sighed, knowing that being the only other medical student there he would have to calm Joly down. He briefly wished that Musichetta were there since she usually has a quicker success rate since she would just get frustrated and kiss him till he stopped worrying. And that was not a route Combeferre was going to take.

"Joly, you do not have typhus." he said pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "First, you are not feverish... If you were you would have a fever that would literally incapacitate you, you wouldn't just realize it now. Second, the light is hurting your eyes because you were trying to magically see behind you to look at your neck, and lastly you feel disoriented because you are having a panic attack."

"I could still have it, 'Ferre! Like I said, it's becoming an epidemic and the fever could just be starting!" Joly finished, sounding calmer than he had a few moments ago.

Combeferre knew that he was at least getting somewhere and decided he could finish it off with logic. "Joly, epidemic typhus is cause by lice and the rash would be on your chest, not your neck and you know that. We learned it in class just last week! We also all know that you compulsively clean everything you own so I know for a fact you haven't had lice. And if you even thought you had it you would have made me check you for it. Therefore, no lice, no typhus."

Joly was still clutching the table but he had started to breathe deeply, working himself out of his panic attack. A few moments passed before he was able to look up, "Okay... I'm good now." He said with a smile on his face.

Combeferre looked up at Enjolras and glared, "That was cruel, Enjolras... And just so you know, we will get you back for this."

Enjolras gulped, "It was Éponine who made me do it."

"But the idea of using Joly was your idea, Enjolras." Éponine said, sealing his fate.

A few more hours passed for the friends before John walked into the room. He had brought a few of his friends and for most of the night they just got to know each other since it had started to get late and Enjolras and Éponine were expected for dinner. Needless to say, there wasn't much talk of politics, much to Enjolras' dismay but they had quickly reassured him that they would get together again after his wedding and exchange ideas they had.

Enjolras was shaken from his thoughts by his mother walking in the room.

"Hello, mother. Was there something you needed?" he asked.

His mom said nothing as she walked across the room and took the seat directly across from him. She sat there for a few moments, silent as she looked him over. The only response he got from her was the narrowing of her eyes when she saw the empty wine bottle rolling between his hands.

"I wanted to see how you were doing is all. I know this is not something you want, nor ever saw for yourself." She said sympathetically while at the same time baiting him to talk about it.

Enjolras paused for a few moments to consider his answer. "While it's not the most ideal situation nor would I have chosen this route for myself I am-"he paused trying to come up with the right word, "content with Éponine." He finished with a questioning lilt to his voice.

"If you are content why is there an entire bottle of wine gone?"

Enjolras looked down at the empty bottle guiltily. "A… good friend of mine seems to think that all of life's answers can be found at the bottom of one of these things."

"And were you able to find your answer?"

Enjolras looks pensive, "No… no answers, just some blurred vision and a headache. It was rather disconcerting." He finished cracking a small, ironic smile.

He paused before continuing, "I never saw myself getting married and now that father had forced this upon me I am glad that it is with Éponine. She is a friend, the only friend of mine that is a woman, and she understands me and comes from a similar viewpoint in the ideas for a better France. She has a similar precarious background as I only her father is a much nicer man." He laughed lightly picturing the harsh police chief.

He looked back down at the bottle, clutching it as if to ground him, "Did you know that she actually began helping the people of France long before I even formed my first republican thought? She got up one day and snuck out of her house and started handing out food and old clothes to the poor and has been doing so since. The things she seen… it's amazing she can still put a smile on her face. She is a strong person and simply because of our ways she is forced into marriage. I guess for the first time in my life I have to think about how my actions will affect another person and I am trying to gather my thoughts about that."

A few moments passed before he finished, "I hope that she can be happy with what I can give: freedom, friendship, and equality."

"I'm sure she will be, dear." His mother said encouragingly.

"Was there something else you wanted, mother?" He asked.

"Yes, I wanted to give you your wedding gift."

"You didn't need to do that."

"I know." She said simply before pulling a key out of her purse, "Now this is to a family property right outside Marseille. I know that you have no intention of leaving Paris at the moment, but no one knows about this property-your father included- and I want to pass it down to you in case you ever need to… escape."

Seeing her son about to refuse she interrupted; "Now you are to take this and say nothing other than thank you mother. You never know when you may need this and I won't let you refuse it."

Enjolras laughed before taking the key. "Thank you, mother."

Just then there was a knock on the door signaling that he needed to get in place for the ceremony.

XXXXX

Éponine smoothed her skirts trying to dispel the nervous tension that was threatening to overtake her at any moment as she stared at the heavy, cherry wood doors that were to open at any moment. After the fifth time of flattening her dress her father took her hand and placed in on his arm. He looked down at her tense face with sympathy, "It's alright, ma cherie. There is no need to be nervous, just look ahead and stay focused on the groom and if you need to you can squeeze my arm as tightly as you need to help with the nerves."

Éponine tightened her grip on his arm as she tried to redirect all of her nervous. "I'm sorry, papa. It's just that I haven't been around this many people in my whole life… just… don't let me fall, okay?"

Javert smiled at his daughter and patted her hand, "You have my word. Now take a deep breathe because those doors are about to open."

Éponine breathed deeply and stepped through the open doors. She could hardly hear the wedding music over the roaring in her ears and she was halfway down the aisle before she could see Enjolras. She took in his appearance before noticing that his gaze was strictly on her. She met his eyes and he very slightly nodded at her, his eyes intense as he maintained eye contact as if he knew she was nervous and needed a focal point to make it down the aisle. The only time his expression changed was when she got close enough for him to really see her, his eyes widened slightly as he took her in before quickly settling back into intense stare.

After that his eyes never left hers and before she knew it she was standing in front of him and the priest. She could hear her father giving her away and the priest speaking, but her mind could only focus on the blue of Enjolras' eyes. So much so that she didn't even hear the reciting of the vows until his gaze turned questioning. Realizing her misstep she quickly said I do and tried to focus on the actual ceremony as Enjolras gave his stoic answer to the vows. The priest then pronounced them married and gave the announcement of the first kiss.

Both had assumed that Enjolras would lean in and give Éponine a kiss on the cheek to seal their marriage but as Enjolras leaned down to kiss her right cheek Éponine turned to present him her left cheek leading their lips to meet by accident. It was a simple meeting of the lips, but both parties felt a jolt before quickly jumping apart.

XXXXX

Enjolras sat back in his chair with his arms folding across his chest surveying his wedding reception. He hated all the pomp and circumstance that went along with these weddings, but at that moment he couldn't bring himself to care as he saw Éponine smile as she danced with her father. And he had to admit that, aside from the kiss he refused to think about or acknowledge, the wedding was going rather smoothly that what he originally thought.

"Enjolras, mon ami! You are a married man now!" Courfeyrac slurred as he took the empty chair beside Enjolras. The rest of the Amis chuckled as the took the rest of the empty chairs surrounding him, each in a varying state of intoxication except for Combeferre who was just as sober as himself.

They all offered varying forms of congratulations. Jehan sighed at the prospect of their stoic leader falling madly in love, for he was certain that with a beautiful, intelligent lady such as Éponine it was an inevitable fate. Grantaire and Courfeyrac gave a drunk rendition of how did he wind up with a catch like Éponine and where could they get one. Joly and Bahrol were in their own world thinking of Musichetta. Marius was morose and lamenting the fact that he had no romantic prospects in his life before something apparently caught his eye as he shot out of his seat and disappeared.

Courfeyrac threw his arm around Enjolras before exclaiming, "Our dear Apollo is about to become a man, my friends! Whoever thought this day would come?"

Enjolras stiffed at the contact and tried to unsuccessfully move away.

"Now, now, now, no escaping! We are here to impart wisdom on you, mon ami!" Courfeyrac said pulling Enjolras in tighter.

Enjolras looked at Courfeyrac in distain, "And what wisdom do you think you can give me when you are clearly so intoxicated your mouth can't find the bottle?"

"Why the wisdom of women, mon ami!" he exclaimed, "All of us hear have had the pleasure of many women in our beds and have thus learned the art to it all."

Enjolras shifted uncomfortably, not liking where the conversation was headed, while the rest of the Amis grinned and nodded their heads in agreement with Courfeyrac.

"Now listen carefully," Courfeyrac mock whispered, "You have to make sure to pay attention to her needs. Don't be selfish… or in your case… a statute." He said before laughing at his own joke.

Joly piped in when he saw that his womanizing friend was clearly too intoxicated for this discussion. "I can give you some textbooks on the subject if you like. They are very helpful and have illustrations-"

"He doesn't need a sex book!" Grantaire exclaimed. He was almost as drunk as Courfeyrac at this point and in no control of his words. "He doesn't need some silly textbook! Listen friend, what you do is you grab ahold of her and-"

Joly put his hand over Grantaire's mouth to silence him, "Now as I was saying, it's a very descriptive text that I think you will find most helpful. In fact, I have it on authority that it has made my Musichetta very happy indeed. There's this thing… that you do… oh you will just have to read about it for yourself. I marked some passages that I think would be most beneficial." He finished blushing. "I actually have it here in my satchel, I believe."

As he was reaching into his bag Enjolras shot Combeferre a desperate look, a look that Combeferre couldn't help but burst out in hysterics over.

As Joly handed the medical text over all he could see were the words female, body, and pleasure on them and he shot a pleading look to Combeferre. "'Ferre…" his voice was strangled as he tried to look everywhere but at his friends and at the book currently resting in his lap.

Combeferre composed himself and still laughing he stood up and looked at his friend, "You are on your own, mon ami. Consider payback for what you put me through when you decided to convince Joly he had typhus. Good luck with the rabble." He said as he sauntered off into the crowd.

Combeferre walked through the crowd before noticing Éponine drinking a glass of wine on the other side of the room. Walking over to her he noticed that her gaze was resting on Enjolras and the Amis, a small smile playing on her lips as she took in the actions of his friends. You couldn't hear what they were talking about, but you could see the wild gestures that to anyone who knew what they were talking about would know to be crude. He was standing beside her, observing her, for a few moments before she realized he was there.

"Oh, hello Combeferre, I'm sorry I must have been dozing off and not notice you come up to me." She said blushing.

"That's alright, and now that you are the wife of my dearest friend I believe you can call me 'Ferre." He said, kissing her hand in a gentlemanly fashion. "Now may I have a dance with the lovely bride?"

"I believe that can be arranged, after all it looks as though my groom has no interest in dancing this evening."

Combeferre led her onto the dance floor and they immediately settled into the familiar patterns of a waltz. He tried to engage her again in conversation to find her mind was again distracted as she continued to observe Enjolras. He could see a softness in her features as she looked at her new husband along with a light in her eyes that had not been there before. Éponine was always one to look serious and like she had the world on her shoulders, much like their leader, and this change in her could only be the result of one thing. He suspected it was the same reason that Enjolras seemed too lighten up this past week as well.

Their waltz came to an end and Combeferre leaned into to her ear, "You know, the sooner you two come to your senses the happier you both will be." Standing tall he said as a parting, "Now, you may want to go save him from the drunken buffoons before he murders one of them and ruins the party."

Éponine stared after him confused by his words before seeing that Enjolras did indeed to murderous. She had never actually seen that color of red on another human being before and she quickly walked over.

She placed her hand on his shoulder before saying, "I do believe you own me a dance, dear husband. It is after all, the last dance of the evening."

Enjolras shot her a look of relief before taking her out onto the dance floor. It didn't take long for both of them to get lost in the rhythm of the music as the conversed gaily, obviously in their own little world.

XXXXX

Enjolras opened the door to his wing of his father's house for Éponine. While it was customary for the first night to be spent outside the home, Enjolras had a sneaking suspicion that father would have refused any other option other than the family home. Either way, Enjolras was just glad that this wing was far away from his parents and that they would have some privacy until morning.

After a few moments of awkward silence Enjolras was the first to speak. "I forgot to mention earlier, but my mother gave us a wedding present." He opened up. He took the key out of his pocket, "She gave us an old family property from her side of the family. Not that we will need it, but it was a nice thought."

Éponine smiled slightly at his assumptions. "That's nice of her. I also wanted to talk to you about something… but I didn't want to mention it until after the wedding." She said, shifting nervously.

Enjolras gave her a questioning look, "What is it that you felt you couldn't tell me right away, 'Ponine?"

Éponine's eyes lifted slightly at the nickname while Enjolras didn't seem to realize what he had done. "I had a conversation with your father shortly after we became engaged. It wasn't pleasant." She said, motioning for him to take a seat before she continued. "He made it known that the only reason he picked me as a wife for you is because of my… family connections. He intends for me to spy on you and he is going to insist on weekly dinners."

Enjolras calmly looked back at her, "I figured as much, although I don't know why you felt you needed to wait to tell me. But we can discuss our plans now if you would like. It's not like we have anything better to do right now."

"Well… I figured that the only way we would get to stay at your apartment instead of here would be if your father felt we had someone in our employ that was loyal to him. My governess, the one you met when you came to the house, knows everything and she is the soul of discretion. I think with some well managed words we can convince your father that since she worked for my father he can trust her."

Enjolras considered her words carefully. "That sounds like a well thought out plan. But does she know my role in everything?"

"Yes, she has known about you and the Amis for a while… she has had the unfortunate circumstance of having to listen to me rant about some of your… finer qualities before." Éponine laughed.

"I think we can arrange that. Now as for the weekly dinners, we can discuss what you are going to say before we go over. My father is not that cunning so we should be able to figure out what he is going to ask. And if he does ask you something we haven't discussed I trust your judgment. Just make sure to tell me so that we are on the same page."

"Alright, that sounds like a good plan." Éponine finished as she stood up and began pacing.

Enjolras noticed her nerves and stood to walk over to her. Grabbing her shoulder's he faced her towards him he said softly, "What else is there? Nothing that we just talked about should warrant your actions either now or waiting until after the wedding."

Éponine bit her bottom lip, "Well… there is… something. Your father may have eluded that he expects me to use any means necessary to get information out of you." She said, stressing the any means necessary.

Enjolras face drained of color, "You mean, he expects…"

"Yes, he does." She confirmed.

"But, we aren't even going to have that type of relationship!" he said, his voice gaining momentum.

Éponine looked at Enjolras in confusion, "I know that after tonight that isn't going to be an aspect of our relationship, I just felt that you should know."

Enjolras faced turned beet red, "No! Not even tonight. I won't do it, I won't take that from you. I refuse. My father may have won by making us get married, but I will not be that kind of man."

Éponine's gaze turned sympathetic as she took in his reaction. "Enjolras… didn't your father show you the engagement contract… what was a part of my dowry?"

"Yes, of course. I had to sign it after all. But I assumed it was a standard dowry so I just skimmed it." He said, not understanding what she was getting at.

"Enjolras… there were certain stipulations in the dowry because my father doesn't have the title nor that proper funds that your father is used to seeing."

"I don't understand." He said bluntly.

"My… virtue is a part of my dowry." She said just as bluntly.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It means that come morning if your father's servant come in here and do not see the evidence or have any reason to suspect any doubt we failed in providing the terms of the dowry and your father can demand our union dissolved." She said spelling it out for him.

"So you are saying we have-"

"Yes."

Enjolras flopped down in the nearest chair and put his head in his hands. "I won't do this. There must be some way…. I can't do that to you… " He said in defeat.

"There is no other way, Enjolras."

Éponine could see that turmoil that her new husband was having within himself and knew that she had to do something to make him see that she was truly okay with what needed to happen. She understood that she would need to be the instigator in this endeavor and began unlacing the back of her dress, sliding out of it so that she only remained in her chemise. Upon hearing the rustle of fabric, Enjolras peaked up to see what was happening and looked upon her in shock.

"What are you doing?"

Éponine said nothing as she gently walked over to him and sat in his lap. She began by trailing the tip of her nose along his prominent jawline, interspacing little nips with the caress and she brought her hands up to rest on his broad chest. She could feel Enjolras shudder and smiled to herself. "Enjolras, I can't tell you how much it means to me that you are so concerned with my welfare. May other men would not have cared about my feelings or our lacking of romantic feelings between us, and that is one of the reasons I am okay with what has to happen."

She let her lips wander down to his neck, lightly trailing them along his skin and she moved one of her hands to rest on the other side of his neck. "I know that tonight is only about fulfilling a contractual obligation and that there is nothing between us, that you don't love me. And that is okay, because I don't love you. But there is friendship… you have nothing to fear on my end."

She let herself come up and looked into his eyes. His eyes were hazy and unfocused, showing her that she was having an effect on him. She slowly and gently, as if approaching a timid animal, leaned in and brushed her lips against his. He remained stiff before succumbing to the allure of her lips. The kiss began to deepen and his arms started to gently trail along her sides before one rested on her lower back. The other hand continued to drift upwards before burying itself in her hair as if trying to bring her closer to him.

Breaking apart for air Éponine looked him straight in the eye and rested both of her hands on his face. "Enjolras, we both knew that this would be a life changing moment and we had agreed that we would be equal partners in this. I am entering in to this fully understand what that means and I need you to know that I trust you implicitly. I am choosing to do this with you."

Enjolras didn't say anything but continued to stare into her eyes, searching for anything that might mean what she said was a lie. When all he could see was total faith and trust in him and their situation he leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss.

Éponine sighed into the kiss as they continued to caress each other each trying to convey what they wanted to say in the single kiss. Éponine continued to try and let him know how safe she felt with him and her content while Enjolras was trying to convey his deep gratitude as her placing her trust in him.

Éponine was the first to break the kiss as she stood up and grasped his hand to lead him to the bed.

Hope you enjoyed it!

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