Read now, talk later.
Disclaimer: I don't own Les Misérables or any of the characters. And I don't own any references that I make.
Marius found it difficult to sleep that night. Even when he did sleep, his dreams were very confusing. He dreamed that Cosette had returned, but just as he was about to kiss her, she turned into Eponine. After a couple attempts at sleep and after having the same dream twice, Marius decided that he was unable to sleep just then. He got up and got dressed. He pulled on his rather worn jacket and then went for a walk. The streets were almost completely deserted, but that was normal as it was nearly half past one. Marius turned down an unfamiliar street. He immediately regretted it as he found himself near the docks, where the prostitutes found their work.
He felt someone grab hold of his arm. Marius turned and found himself face to face with a young girl that couldn't be any older than 16. She was wearing a rather low-cut and revealing tattered old dress and she had some make up on her face, that Marius could tell had been there for a while. The young girl smiled at him, revealing that she was missing a few teeth.
"Hello, Monsieur." she said in a flirtatious voice. "Need someone to keep you company tonight?"
"No, thank you." Marius replied, though he handed her a couple of francs anyway, feeling bad for the poor girl who had been, most likely, forced into prostitution. And at such a young age! Marius could hardly believe that this youth of 16 had to do such a thing in order to survive. The girl thanked him and then went away in search of more 'customers'. Marius continued his walk, receiving several more offers from other prostitutes, but he turned them all down. Then he heard it. An awful, ear-splitting scream that pierced through the night air. Marius turned in the direction of the awful cry and saw a girl being dragged toward the docks. He could not see her face, but he could tell that she was not very old. Only a year or so younger than Marius himself.
"Please! Please no!" the girl begged, her voice choked with sobs. Marius knew that he recognised that voice. "Please! Oh God, please no!" Whoever had been dragging the girl had just taken money from some man and the man had grabbed hold of the girl's scrawny arms. "Let go of me! Let go! Please, don't do this!" As the man dragged the girl off to do what he had payed for, it clicked in Marius' mind. He ran after the man, though he had not seen where the man had turned. Marius needed to find him. He could not let that man touch Eponine, for that's who the girl was. But as it turned out, Marius had gone the wrong way. He could not see the man or Eponine anywhere. He turned around and went the other way, searching desperately for them, hoping that he wasn't already too late, that the man hadn't already done anything to her. Then he stopped and listened. He heard muffled sobs.
"Eponine!" he called out. He recieved no reply, but as he broke into a run, the sobs became louder. He was getting closer. He kept his eyes wide open, as if he was afraid that he would walk right past her. Then he found them. The man was on top of her, his pants around his ankles, and Eponine's skirt was hitched up to her waist. She was sobbing uncontrollably. The man's lips were on her neck and her eyes were shut tight. "Get off her." Marius growled. The man looked up, but other than that, he did not move. "I said get off her." Marius repeated. Eponine opened her eyes and looked at him.
"G'way, I payed for the l'il slut." the man replied. Eponine tried to get away, but he had her pinned to the ground.
"This is the last chance I will give you, get off her or I will make you get off her." Marius threatened. The man didn't move. Marius walked over and grabbed him, pulling him off of Eponine. He slammed him into the wall. The man hit his head rather hard and passed out, falling to the ground with a resounding thump. Eponine hastily smoothed down her skirt. She was still sobbing uncontrollably and she was shaking quite a bit. Marius turned and slowly walked over to her. He knelt down next to her. "'Ponine?" he whispered soflty. She looked at him, tears streaming down her face. He gently wiped away her tears. She flinched. Marius gazed at her with profound compassion. "It's alright, 'Ponine, I won't hurt you and I won't let anyone else hurt you." he said. Eponine wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. Marius held her close, gently rubbing her back. "You're alright now, 'Ponine. Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around." he murmured. He glanced at the unconscious man. "We should probably go before he wakes." Marius suggested. Eponine nodded slightly. Marius stood and then picked Eponine up. For once, she didn't argue. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. He carried her back to his flat, kissing the top of her head every so often. She didn't say a word. Silent tears continued to fall from her eyes. Marius, holding Eponine in one arm, opened the door and carried her inside. He sat down with her on the sofa and just held her. Neither spoke. Words were not needed. Eponine was comforted by his mere presence. After a while, Eponine broke the silence.
"Thank you for finding me, Monsieur." she whispered shakily. "If you hadn't... well... he would only have been the first..."
"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly happened tonight? Why did your father, or, at least I'm assuming that it was your father, drag you to the docks?" he asked.
"I... I didn't get him enough money..." she replied. "He wasn't happy..." Marius held her a bit closer.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, 'Ponine. I swear to you, I won't ever let anything like that happen to you ever again." he told her. She nodded, though she was still shaking quite a bit. "I'm here." he whispered.
"That's all I need to know." she replied. She rested her head against his shoulder and looked at him. He looked back at her.
"I'll always be here for you, 'Ponine." he whispered, his face mere inches from hers. She managed a slight smile. She found herself leaning in towards him. Their lips were almost touching. Eponine was surprised to find that Marius did not move back, but instead moved forward. Their lips were so close. Then there was a knock at the door. Neither moved. The knocking continued.
"You'd better get that." Eponine breathed. Marius sighed slightly and then stood. He walked over to the door and opened it.
Standing there was Cosette.
Aww, so close! They almost kissed! And now Cosette's back! Whatever shall become of Eponine and Marius?
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