When Éponine opened her eyes, she first realized she wasn't in her room. The second thing she realized was not to sit up. She tried and her brain instantly protested. She looked around and noticed she was on the couch, so at least she was in her own apartment.
"Hey, you feeling better?" She heard Enjolras ask from the two-seater behind her head. She turned to look at him, which still hurt her head, but not as badly.
"Ugh-" Was her only response.
She heard him laugh, stand up, and put his laptop down where he had been sitting. He walked over to her and knelt down by her head. He felt her forehead. "Your temperature seems to have gone down a little."
"Time-" She said, somewhat embarrassed by her lack of speech.
"It's 3:30." Éponine's eyes widened. "Don't worry. I emailed all of our professors explaining that you were not feeling well and I needed to make sure you were okay. Azelma is going to cover for you tonight at the diner. I also texted Cosette, she is picking Gav up. They should be back any minute. Everyone just wants to make sure you are okay. I meant it. I'm not sure I'll be able to get through this semester without you." She just nodded, before pointing to her throat. "Oh, you want some water? Give me just a second." He got up and walked into the kitchen.
As she heard the water running, she thought about how much Enjolras had done for her today. And for what? She was no better off than Azelma had been. Enjolras was so nice to her and did everything for her, but she didn't know what he wanted from her. Did he want a girlfriend? Did he want a friend? Did he want a friend with benefits? Did he just want a good grade? What would happen after this semester?
Enjolras came back in with a glass of water and a tablet of ibuprofen. "This might help." He said, handing her the glass. She tried to sit up, but was forced back down by her headache. "Okay, pop the tablet in, I'll help you drink." He offered, taking the glass back. She did as told, and he gently poured the water into her mouth so she could swallow it, but not pour water all over herself.
When he sat back with the mostly empty glass, she thanked him. "It's nothing. At least you can talk now." He said, with a sad smile.
"Eppy! Are you okay?" Gavroche said, running into the room after throwing his bag next to the door. He scrambled over Enjolras to kneel in front of the older girl. They both chuckled.
"Gavroche! What did I say about giving her space?" Cosette said, following behind him with Rachelle. Gavroche looked at the blonde and blushed before backing up a little bit. "That's better, I guess. How are you, 'Ponine?" She asked, sitting on the couch at her feet, while Rachelle took her place next to her best friend.
"I'm feeling better, yes. How was school? How was the walk with Cosette and Rachelle?" Éponine asked the boy.
"It was good, but when Cosette said you were sick, I wanted to get home so fast. But the girls weren't walking fast enough for me! 'Elle kept telling me to slow down. I'm glad you are better now. Can we still play video games if you're sick?"
Éponine laughed at the boy's hyper personality. "Thank you for being so concerned, but I'm fine. We can play video games in a little bit. Go get a snack for you and Rachelle, first." He nodded and did as she asked.
"Thank you, Cosette. That was a big help to us." Enjolras told the other girl.
"Oh, it was nothing. He's not too much trouble. Besides, I had to go anyways. Anytime you guys need a break, he can come play with Rachelle. They love each other, that much is obvious."
"Yeah, we know." Éponine said, sneaking a smirk at Enjolras. He smiled back, and Éponine saw Cosette give her an eyebrow quirk that said we-are-definitely-talking-about-this-because-there-is-something-you-haven't-told-me. Éponine just smiled sweetly at the other girl. Cosette stood and said she and Rachelle should go back to their apartment to do homework. Éponine tried to sit up to see them go, but just saw the kids hug before she collapsed backwards again.
"Éponine, stop trying to sit up. You're not helping. You are perfectly fine on the couch until the ibuprofen kicks in." Enjolras said to her, getting the controllers ready to play Minecraft.
"But-" Éponine started.
"No buts. You are going to stay laying down on this couch until I say so." He said. Gavroche came back in with a handful of Oreos and sat with his back against the couch under Éponine's head. Enjolras settled on the couch, with her feet on his lap. He handed over the other two controllers and started the game.
Sometime, while they were playing, Éponine fell asleep again. When she woke up, the clock under the TV said it was almost eight. She smelled pizza in the air, and it made her really hungry. She tried to sit up, and was successful this time, her headache mostly gone. She pushed the blankets off her legs, and her legs off the couch. She stood up and started walking towards the kitchen. There was a plate of pizza rolls in the microwave, waiting for her. She took it out, and got a mug out of the cupboard. She filled it with water and put it in the microwave. She grabbed the hot chocolate mix, and stirred it in after the microwave beeped. She had just sat down at the table to start eating, when Enjolras came in.
"You're up. And feeling well enough to move about." He noted. She nodded. He walked over and felt her forehead. "You still have a temperature, but I'll permit it."
"Thank you." Éponine said in a quiet voice, her face in her mug, savoring the steam of the hot water.
"For what?" He said.
"Taking care of me. I don't deserve it. I haven't done anything to compel you to be nice to me or help me, but you have. Like I said, I don't deserve the kindness." She said, still into her mug, not risking looking at the man across from her.
He moved so he was kneeling next to her chair and reached for one of her hands. "Ép, if anyone deserves to be taken care of in this world, it's you. You work so hard all the time to help Azelma and stay in school. You dote on Gavroche constantly and make sure all his needs, much more than needed to receive the grade, are met. You hardly ever do anything extra for yourself. You are always so strong, stronger than anyone I know. You deserve so much than I could never even begin to give you." He said.
Sometime during his little speech, she looked up at him. Their eyes locked, and his gaze was so intent and sincere and, loving? Before she could really comprehend it, she was leaning forward and so was he. She blamed it on the fever. Then his lips were on hers and their kiss was so sweet and sensual. Her heart soared and never wanted him to pull away. But soon enough, they heard footsteps and then a gasp. They pulled away, but heard clapping coming from the doorway.
"Yes! Courf, Cosette, and R all owe me five bucks!" Gavroche exclaimed, before running up and hugging both of the college students. Both were shocked, by the kiss and Gavroche's proclamation.
Enjolras snapped out of it first. "What?"
Gav rolled his eyes before answering. "We all had a bet for when the two of you would get together. I had until the end of this week. Courf had the beginning of midterms. Cosette had finals week, and R had that you wouldn't realize it until after Enjolras graduated this spring. But I won! And that's what is important." He stated, standing up straight. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go collect my winnings now."
"Umm, actually, Gav. Could you not collect quite yet?" Enjolras asked. The other two students looked at him.
"Why?" The third grader asked.
"Well, I'm not sure we are ready to tell everyone what just happened quite yet." The older student said slowly and with apprehension as he looked at the woman next to him. She nodded.
"Will you just give us until tomorrow? That way you'll still win, but we can figure out our story, too." She said. Gav looked defeated, but nodded.
"Thank you. Did you need something?" Enjolras asked the boy. The boy looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Oh, yeah. Can you help me with one of my math problems? I'm stuck." He told the man. Enjolras nodded before standing up and following the boy out of the room. He stopped briefly to whisper to Éponine that they needed to talk. She nodded but stayed glued to her seat for a few moments. Snapping out of her daze, she jumped up and ran out of the apartment. She ran next door and pounded on Azelma and Courfeyrac's door, before remembering that Azelma was covering for her at work. She ran to the apartment on the other side of hers, and knocked on Cosette's door. A very worried looking Marius opened the door.
"I need to talk to Cosette. Like, right now." Éponine said, rushing past him, grabbing the other girl off the couch and dragging her into her and Marius' bedroom.
"What is the matter, Éponine? Is everything okay? Is Gavroche okay? Is Enjolras okay?" She asked.
"Yes, no. Everything is fine. Except for me."
"Ponine, honey, calm down. Will you sit down and tell me what happened? You look like you've seen a ghost. Do you still have a fever?" She asked, coaxing the girl to sit down on the bed.
When her breathing finally calmed, Cosette asked again. "What the hell happened?"
"Gabe- Enjolras- He kissed me." Then she put her head in her hands and started sobbing. The blonde's eyes widened significantly, before she jumped into action, wrapping her arms around and rubbing the brunette's back.
"Oh, honey." She said, starting to laugh. "Why are you crying?"
"What else am I supposed to do? I don't understand! Why would he do that? Why did I do that?" She said, through her tears.
"Because you love each other? Because you care about each other? It's okay, but I don't think I'm the one you should be having this conversation with." She pointed out.
"How could I talk to him about this, though?"
"Oh, I don't know. How about, hey, Enjolras, why did you kiss me?" Cosette said, bluntly.
"I really don't need your sass right now." Éponine said, glaring at the blonde. Then they heard an urgent knocking on the door.
"Honey, will you get that?" Cosette called.
"Anything for you, sweetums." Marius said, opening the door.
"Have you seen Éponine?" The girls heard a man through the apartment. Said girl's eyes widened.
"Oh, shit. He can't see me like this! Cosette! Go tell him I'm not here!"
"I'll do no such thing. He can, and will see you like this, and you will talk to him about this. There is no other way." She said, standing up and leaving the room. When she opened the door, the blonde man was outside of it, reaching to open it. "She's all yours, but don't do anything I will have to punch you for. Got it?" The blonde threatened. He nodded before they traded spots and Cosette closed the door. "Remember, it's my room. If you do anything, go back to your apartment!" She said from the hallway.
Enjolras began walking towards the bed, but stopped when Éponine turned her back to him. "Oh, Éponine. Why did you run? I told you we needed to talk."
"Because I don't want to talk." She said, curling in on herself.
"Oh." She heard his face fall, since she wasn't looking at him.
"No! Not like that! Gabe, I just- I don't understand."
"What don't you understand, Ép? I care about you. I thought the feelings were reciprocated, otherwise I would neve-"
"They are! I just don't know how you could. How could you care about someone like me? I mean, look at me." She said, looking back down at her hands, which she was twisting nervously.
He climbed onto the bed next to her. "Ép, look at me." She did as she was told. He reached his hand up to cup her face. "Do you want to know what I see when I look at you?" She shook her head, not wanting to hear him bash her appearance. She already knew she was ugly and too skinny and didn't have enough money for good makeup or fashionable clothes. "I'm going to tell you anyways.
"I see gorgeous, silky, long brown hair that I want to run my fingers through and tangle my hands in." He said, doing just that. "I see perfect, smooth skin that I want to rub my hands all over." He said, running a finger down the length of her arm. "I see cute, small hands that do so much washing and cooking and writing, they have to be amazing. I want to reach out and hold them all the time." With the hand he ran down her arm, he intertwined their fingers. "I see big, beautiful brown eyes that I could get lost in for days." He explained, cerulean meeting chocolate. "I see flawless, pretty, pink lips that I want feel against mine again, every second of everyday." After saying that, he leaned very close to her. Her eyes closed, thinking he was going to kiss her again. "I see a beautiful woman I could only dream of calling my own someday. I can only hope you'll believe me. May I kiss you again?" He asked. She nodded, and he did. Oh, he did.
One of his hands tangled in her hair, again, while one of hers went around his neck, reaching into the bottom of his mop of curls. She scooted down until she was laying on Cosette's bed, and he shifted so he was balancing above her, the hand moving from her lower back to support his own weight. Their passionate kiss deepened as she rolled her tongue over his lips, and he let her in. Her hands moved from his neck and hair to his chest, running up and down over the buttons of his shirt. As she started to undo them, he pulled away. She whimpered slightly.
"Not here. We are still in Marius and Cosette's apartment. Come home with me?" He asked, standing up and offering her his hand. She took it and nodded, letting him lead her out of the room, and after saying goodnight to Marius and Cosette, the blonde winking at the pair, they left to go back next door to their apartment.
"Where is Gavroche?" Éponine asked.
"In the shower. He'll be out in about fifteen minutes."
"Ugh, I was hoping you would say in bed."
"Ép, I don't want to rush us into anything. Maybe we should just play video games tonight. You are still sick and supposedly on bed rest…" She rolled her eyes, but agreed. They turned on Assassin's Creed, and in fifteen minutes, Gavroche came out in his pajamas, his hair still wet.
"So? Can I claim my prize tomorrow?" He asked, standing in front of the TV. Enjolras paused the game and then looked at Éponine with a quirked eyebrow as if to say 'your call.' She looked at the controller in her hands for a moment, before looking up with a smile.
"I guess I can manage everyone knowing Gabe and I are together."
"YES!" Gavroche exclaimed. "I KNEW you could do it, Gabe!"
Enjolras, for his part, just looked at Éponine with a funny grin on his face. "So, we're together?" He asked.
"Yeah, I mean- If that's okay with you." She stammered, blushing.
"It's perfect with me, Ép." He said, leaning closer to kiss her.
"EWWWW! Please stop! Or wait until I get out of the room." Gavroche yelled, running from the room. They pulled back to watch him slam the door to his bedroom before both laughing. Enjolras pulled her back in for another kiss, this one more heated than the peck Gavroche witnessed. It lead to the controllers falling on the ground, Éponine on her back, with Enjolras leaning over her on the couch.
Her shirt rode up slightly, so Enjolras could feel the strip of skin between her shirt and jeans. He lightly ran his finger across her hip, feeling the smooth skin. She flinched. "Is little Eppy ticklish?" Enjolras said, as if talking to a child.
"No!" She protested, but he had already attacked her sides. They were both laughing hysterically. She pushed him, trying to get him to stop, but pushed him off the couch. Unfortunately for her, he had a firm enough grip on her waist, she came with him, and they landed in a compromising position on the floor. He was flat on his back, his hands on her waist, still. She landed with her hands on his chest, but the rest of her flush against him. They stared at each other for a little while before Éponine stood up.
"It's getting late. We should probably get to bed." She said.
"Oh, right." He said, face falling slightly. He stood up next to her.
"Do I have to stay home again?" She asked.
"Yes."
"But Gabe-" She said, whiningly.
"Yes. You have to stay home and rest. You can do work, but you have to stay here." He said, suddenly becoming very serious. "I don't want you to get sicker. I only have a couple of classes tomorrow, and one of them is Valjean's, so I'll be here most of the day to keep you company. Promise me?" he pleaded.
She rolled her eyes. "I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, then?" She asked.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow." He said, leaning down to give her a chaste kiss. They turned away from each other, Éponine to go to her room, Enjolras to lock the door and turn off the TV and lights before proceeding to his own room. Éponine got ready for bed, and climbed in. She lay in her bed reliving the previous couple of hours and remembering the wonderful feeling of Gabe's lips on hers. Soon enough, she was out with a small smile on her face.
A/N: AYEEE! I hope you liked this one. I certainly did. I know it's a little longer than normal, but I bet that's okay with you all. I messed up in my calculations and would have posted an 800 word chapter if I wouldn't have caught it, and that's just too short. So now you have this one. Before you chastise me and say this story now has no place to go, you're wrong. While it is an Enjonine story, it's actually mostly centered around Eponine and Gavroche, with pairings on the side. But Enjolras won't be going anywhere anytime soon. I have at least ten more chapters to publish, and I haven't even finished writing the story yet.
I started a new Enjonine story yesterday. It's based off of The Selection books, by Kiera Cass. I don't know when I will start publishing those, but I'm really excited for that one. Speaking of books, what is your favorite/what do you recommend? I love reading, hence the love of fanfiction, and I have a long list of to reads, but I'm always looking for new ones. I'm doing a project right now, and it's goal is to have read all of the dystopian trilogies by the end of summer. So I have upwards of 150 books to read before September. Anyways, keep reading and reviewing and following and favoriting, and all that good stuff! See you next week!