Chapter 10

The coach, for some reason, did not question why an urchin girl was boarding his carriage. He simply asked for the additional fee for another person riding. Thankfully, he did this out of site, and Marius was able to pay him discreetly without Eponine seeing.

The ride was bumpy, as it was before, but even so, the found girl still had the ability to fall asleep. As she nodded off, her head started to loll to the side. She fell on Marius' shoulder. He felt all the air suck out of him. But, the girl wasn't fully asleep. Without realizing it, she tried to get into a more comfortable position. She ended up resting her head on top of her hands on Marius' lap. He still couldn't breathe.

Marius was absentmindedly drawing his fingers through Eponine's hair. After a while, he was able to regain his breath and started cursing the road below him. What if it woke Eponine up? She probably needed sleep desperately. What on Earth had she been doing for all that time? He was worried but at least he could make sure she was safe now. She would be living under the same roof as him, after all. A tiny grin tugged at the corners of his mouth at this thought.

Little did he know that Eponine was not asleep at all. She was actually just trying to slow her breathing. Taking constant deep breaths and closing her eyes gave off the illusion that she was fast asleep. She tried to savor his fingers slipping through her matted hair.

Once she deemed herself calm enough, she spoke up, eyes still closed. "Marius," he jumped a little bit, surprised that she was awake, "how did you find me?" He blinked for a second, then answered.

"I didn't mean to, actually. I was visiting my grandfather yesterday and I was heading back. Then, out of the carriage window I saw something that caught my eye. I left the carriage and came over to you. I didn't recognize you at first actually.

"Well, I'm glad you did."

"So am I." They were both smiling.

"Has anyone actually been searching for me?"

"Yes! Of course! I have! The whole Les Amis really." Eponine was slightly surprised at this.

"Monsieur, you just said Paris. Where specifically would you like to go?" The coach asked.

"The Café Musain, please." Marius smiled, "I'm sure everybody there would like to see you."

"Like this?"

"What do you mean, 'like this?'"

"Marius, I haven't washed my hair in like a thousand years." He didn't stop running his fingers through it.

"You look perfect."

"You think 'Chetta will be there? Maybe she can fix me up."

"'Ponine, you look really healthy and I'm glad. You look well fed." She laughed a little.

"Don't patronize me, Monsieur. I stole enough to keep myself fed. It's not hard. For me, anyways."

"Well, why were you starving before then?"

"I was saving up all my money to buy a flat. You can guess I didn't do that this time. All my money went towards keeping me alive. I had no shelter. That little corner where you found me was my home."

"I-"

"Monsieur, Mademoiselle, we have arrived at the Café Musain."