Alright... this is it, this is the last thing I will ever be posting for Tides!
Again, so many thanks to everyone for everything. I never thought that people would be so enthusiastic and emotionally involved in this interpretation of these characters and this plot and ugh thank you all so much and sorry if you cried.
Also, one more HUGE thanks to tumblr user Jolsette for making this incredible cover for this silly little story. I mean it when I say that it's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. Thank you!
So this deleted scene is from Chapter 6, right after the infamous smut scene. I was having serious writer's block, and this was the first thing that came from the writer's block. I ended up really liking the scene, but not where it would have taken the fic, and I think the replacement scene fit much better with this Eponine and Enjolras, their relationship, and the direction that I wanted to take the plot. So I'm glad I didn't end up using it, but it was too cute to keep to myself
When they emerged from her bedroom, lightly wrapped in clothes, Courfeyrac was still up watching a movie on TV. But he must have been asleep because he did not even seem to notice them.
They took a shower together before running back to Eponine's room. Enjolras helped her changed the sheets, agreeing that he definitely did not want to sleep in their sex.
When they were settled back into the bed, his head nestled on her chest, Enjolras asked, "Why did you get so pissed at R? When I suggested that you move in with me or I with you, you laughed."
Eponine, who was absently playing with his blonde curls, shrugged against him. "Well, first of all, it's you. You can say that to me because you're fucking me. R is not, obviously. Secondly, you were trying to cheer me up. I knew it was just a joke."
He propped himself up on one elbow and curiously inquired, "What if I wasn't joking? What if I was being perfectly serious when I asked you that?"
She just regarded him incredulously for a moment or two before giggling and lightly yanking a curl. "Stop that," she said.
Enjolras sat the whole way up then, leaving her hand clutching the air where his head had been just a moment before. It dropped unceremoniously. She looked a little surprised, her smile falling and replaced by a curious expression.
"Eponine," he said, "I'm being perfectly serious."
Her brow knitted together as she stared at him, seeming rather confused. For once, she appeared to be at a loss for words.
He waited patiently, until she finally, cautiously, told him, "Enjolras, I need my own space." She said it lightly, a playful smile on her face, but he could see that it was strained. She was trying to avoid this becoming a serious discussion.
"Eponine, you haven't slept alone since Gavroche went to the hospital. And before the wedding, you almost always spent at least half the night in my room, or I in yours. He could have my room if you want to keep your space, but he needs a place to sleep and there's almost always an open bed around here."
Eponine just gaped at him for a moment, looking around the room as she searched for words. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea," she said. "Don't you think that someone coming to investigate our situation would find that… unsavory? I want my brother to live here with us, and I can't imagine that a social worker would be too impressed by the fact that you gave up your room to him because you moved in with me."
Enjolras didn't respond right away, but when he did, his words almost knocked her out. "We could tell them that we've been dating for the past eight months," he suggested quietly, avoiding her gaze.
"But we haven't been," she reminded him. Then she coolly added, "And remember that two-month stretch where you wouldn't look at me, let alone talk to me?"
"Oh come on, Eponine. We did everything together. You said yourself that everyone thought we were secretly dating. And since Gavroche's accident, I've basically been your boyfriend."
"I didn't ask you to be!" she exclaimed fiercely.
"No," he agreed, "But you needed me. You needed me, and you know it."
She knew that he wasn't gloating, and she knew he was right. Without him, well, Eponine wasn't sure how she would have kept it together.
"I – I don't know," she murmured, growing increasingly uneasy with this conversation.
"Well, if you're that uncomfortable with the idea, maybe consider it as a temporary situation? We could tell the social worker that we're together and that I've given Gavroche my bedroom until we can get the den ready for him." Then he added, grumbling, "And if you hate the idea that much, I can give him my bedroom and say I'm sleeping on the couch. Then we don't even have to pretend to be dating."
Eponine could hear the slightest bitter edge in his voice, and suddenly felt a little guilty.
"If we did this," she said cautiously, "The social worker would accept it? I mean, we aren't married, I wouldn't want us presenting ourselves as being in a relationship to prevent me from getting full custody."
"We'll just have to sell it. Are you forgetting that I'm in my last year of law school? I've been reading up on custody situations. As long as we emphasize how responsible we are, how we can provide Gavroche with stable support, make sure he gets to school and does well and gets the care he needs, they aren't going to be too concerned that we're in a relationship. And what we have going for us is that you, his sister, are going back to school, I'm a law student in my third year at an elite law school, Courfeyrac has his masters and is working on his architecture apprenticeship so he can take his licensing exams, and R, even with his drinking problems, is an engineer. So Gav will be around four very school-minded adults, who have at least some of their shit together and who work very hard in school and at their jobs. We're all good influences on him, and you've said yourself that we've been role models to him for a while. All we have to do is explain that, and downplay our personal lives. We'll make sure that all the alcohol his hidden away in R's room, we'll make sure Clémence clears out for a few days, we'll clean the place and make it perfect for a 16-year-old kid who needs some guidance. It'll be fine, and you need to stop worrying. You'll get custody of him, Ep. We'll make sure of it."
Eponine was silent for a long moment as she took in everything he said. Finally, in a very small voice, she looked up into his eyes and asked, "And if we do this, what's to keep it from becoming a real relationship?"
The question kind of shocked Enjolras. "Well – would it be so bad if it did? I mean, we've basically reached that point. All we would be doing is adding a label to what's already there."
She wasn't looking at him, and her jaw was jutting out, the way it always did when something made her uncomfortable. "Relationships ruin everything, Enjolras. You put a label on it and it's like dropping a drama bomb. Things get complicated and messy."
"Oh please, Ep," he scoffed, grinning at her. "It's been that way the whole time."
He was relieved when the corner of her mouth twitched. At least this conversation wasn't making her mad. The Eponine of a few months ago would have been in a rage by now and would have stormed out and ignored him for the next several days.
"Enjolras," she seemed to almost be pleading. "Hasn't this gotten complicated enough? We're just friends, that's all this is. That's all it's ever been."
He inched up closer to her face, gently brushing some hair away. Her lips parted expectantly, and she was staring at his lips, just as he was staring at hers. "Come on, Eponine," he murmured, running his fingers through the hair above her ear. "Do you really believe that?"
Her eyes snapped up to his in surprise, but closed almost immediately when he kissed her. It was not a messy kiss, nor a particularly long one, but he hoped it conveyed to her how he felt.
When he pulled away, she looked a little perplexed, but didn't say anything further.
"I like you, Eponine," he confessed. "But I think you already knew that." He wanted to tell her how he really felt, how much stronger his feelings for her were, but he knew he had to take things slow with her. It had taken him a long time to fully understand this, but she was so afraid of heights, and telling her he loved her would be asking her to fall. He knew she didn't trust him enough to take that leap, that she wasn't yet certain that he'd be there to catch her at the bottom. "And besides, I think I'd probably be a pretty good boyfriend. You know me, Ep. You know who I am. And you know what the sex is like. You know exactly what to expect, because it'll pretty much be the same as now."
A smirk brightened up her face. "Enj, are you asking me to be your fake girlfriend?" she teased.
He smiled back, though it was much softer than hers. He stroked her cheek with this thumb, and murmured a quiet confession that caused her smile to fade in light surprise. "I'm not sure I could pretend, Eponine." He wasn't looking at her.
When she said nothing, and the silence became too much for him to bear, he said, "Just think about it, ok? You know that I have feelings for you. And I know that you're scared –."
"I am not scared," she told him forcefully.
He grinned. Of course she wasn't. Her life was cold and dark, but she was unafraid. Unafraid of everything – except being in love.
"Then be my girlfriend, Ep. Not my pretend girlfriend, my real girlfriend."
She knew he was teasing her, but that somewhere beneath that he was also being quite serious. And to Eponine's surprise, her own heart rate quickened and butterflies were churning in her stomach. With excitement, she realized. She wanted this. Enjolras liked her, really liked her, just as Clémence had said, just as she herself had known somewhere deep down.
They hadn't been "just friends" for a while. She knew it. And recently, her thoughts were quicker to turn towards Enjolras over anyone else – especially Marius.
"Fine," she snapped, pretending that it was a burdensome thing.
But when he laughed and kissed her enthusiastically, smiling against her mouth, she couldn't help but smile and laugh, too.
And that, my friends, is officially the last of Tides.
One last time, thank you all so much. Really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
P.S. For some Tides-esque songs, check out "Too Far Gone" by Russell Crowe and Alan Doyle (there's a few videos on youtube of Sam Barks singing it with them!) and, of course, "Crystal" by Stevie Nicks.
I love you all, see you next time!
3 Mary