What if Éponine and Enjolras' lives began to change again?

It was the beginning of December when the pair had their first fight.

Later on, Courfeyrac would laugh and say that they'd done well; two and a half years without a single fight was an achievement to say the least. Even Marius and Cosette were known to have their arguments, though theirs usually ended with both participating members in tears, begging for the other's forgiveness.

When Enjolras' carriage finally pulled up outside the block of flats he called home, he was exhausted; it was almost eleven o'clock at night on a Wednesday evening, and he'd been stuck in a hall with seven stubborn officials since nine that morning, debating about something that Enjolras now couldn't remember for the life of him. He practically fell up the stairs, and he was thoroughly looking forward to falling into bed and curling up with Éponine in bed for a few hours, trying to catch some sleep before he had to leave at six o'clock in the morning, knowing that it was unlikely that he would return that weekend.

Éponine, however, had other ideas, which became immediately apparent to Enjolras as he quietly entered their apartment.

"You're late." She said, her voice deadly quiet, her arms crossed as she sat on a chair at the dining table, watching the door as he came in.

"I know," he sighed, "I'm sorry. I got caught up, and then the horses got spooked on the way here and we had to stop..."

"The twins were expecting you to be home by seven," she said, standing up and crossing the room towards him, "It took me three hours to get them to finally go to sleep. Evette was almost sick from crying because her Papa wasn't home to tuck her in. Elyse is currently asleep under her bed because she refused to go to bed without a goodnight kiss from you. It's not good enough, Enjolras, for you to come waltzing in at an hour to midnight, simply saying 'sorry'!"

"What else can I say, Éponine?!" he asked, exasperated, "You know I have to work! I can't just abandon the cause I've spent my life working for! What happened today was an inconvenience, and I apologise for not being able to get home until now, but I'm here, aren't I?"

"You're here four hours late!" Éponine screeched, "I have had to deal with two little girls who want absolutely nothing unless it is their Papa! Do you have any idea how heartbreaking it is to see your little girl crying because you were late, and not being able to do anything because she'd scream if you tried to help?!"

"Éponine, I don't know what else I can do!" Enjolras shouted, "I can't go back in time! What's done is done, why can't we just move on?!"

"Because this isn't working!" Éponine was red with anger, "You can't keep letting us down, Enjolras! We are married! It's all very well and good, you going off to provide for us, but the only thing you can provide to help us as a family is yourself! We need you here, not coming and going whenever you get a bloody chance!"

"So, what do you want me to do?!" Enjolras' voice had risen to match the volume of her own, "Give up everything I've worked for? Give up on the very thing that almost killed you? Forget about the work that has made me who I am?! Because, I'm telling you now, Éponine, if that's what you think, then you can damn well-"

"ENJOLRAS, I AM PREGNANT." Éponine's words pierced through him like a knife. His words got stuck in his throat, his mouth gaping open from shock and in preparation to finally utter something in reply to what she'd just said. Éponine turned away from him, crossing her arms angrily, tears in her eyes.

"You... You're... I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm pregnant, Enjolras," she replied, and he could hear the tears in her voice, "We're having another baby." Enjolras was too shocked to say anything. Éponine sighed, "I didn't want to tell you like this..."

"Well, I now know how Courf's sister felt when Gavroche told her the last time you were pregnant..." Enjolras muttered, "When... when did you find out?"

"Three weeks ago," she said quietly, sounding slightly ashamed.

"Three weeks?!" Enjolras exclaimed, "You've known three weeks and you didn't tell me?!"

"When was I supposed to have told you, Enjolras?!" Éponine demanded, "Two weekends ago, when you left to have a meeting with Grantaire? Last weekend, when you had a meeting with Marius?! Or perhaps last Tuesday, when you came in at half nine and almost collapsed from exhaustion? Yes, you're completely right; I missed so many fantastic opportunities to tell you that we're having another child together." She finished sarcastically.

Enjolras sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, "You're right, you're right... Sorry, that was a stupid question." He sighed again, "Look, Éponine... I'm sorry I'm so late tonight. I had a rough day, if I'm honest, but I should have made more of an effort to get here earlier."

He risked taking a step closer to her, and she turned around slightly.

"I'm sorry too," she said, her voice slightly above audible, "I shouldn't have snapped like that... And I definitely shouldn't have told you that I'm pregnant like that... I was just so upset because of the twins, and I was angry and-"

"I know," he interrupted her, "You don't need to be sorry. This is... this one's all on me." She smiled slightly.

"Can we forget this ever happened?" she asked, "Move on?"

"We need to make some changes first," Enjolras said, "Change number one: I'm not living on the other side of Paris anymore. You're right... that isn't working. I'll go to Moreau tomorrow morning, and tell him that I'll have to work from home if he's going to continue working with us." Éponine frowned.

"Enjolras, you can't do that!" she protested, "What if he decided to stop working for the cause?! What'll we do then?!" Enjolras smirked.

"Don't worry," he replied, "I'll throw in some not-so-subtle hints involving us building another barricade... this time, closer to the government buildings." Éponine smiled a proper smile then, so used to her husband's attempt at humour that her brain didn't know how to do otherwise.

"Change number two?" she prompted.

"I'm taking the next five days off work," he said. Éponine's mouth dropped open.

"You... you're taking time off?!" Enjolras laughed.

"Yes," he said, his eyes twinkling, "We need to be a family again. That means no work, no pressure, no distractions. You, me, and the twins. Maybe we could take Gavroche over to see Azelma. We haven't seen her for a while." Before he could say anything else, Éponine kissed him fiercely. Enjolras laughed through the kiss, both from happiness and shock, and when Éponine pulled away, she had tears in her eyes.

"I love you," she said, "I love you so, so much..." Enjolras shook his head, wiping a tear away as it fell onto her cheek.

"You are silly, 'Ponine," he said quietly, "I hope you're not going to be this emotional for all of your pregnancy..." Éponine frowned, though her eyes were still lit up with a smile.

"Normal people say 'I love you too'." She told him, poking his chest. He kissed her again, pulling away with a smirk on his face.

"I love you too."

Éponine wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, "Isn't it funny what distance can do for your relationship?" she murmured in his ear. He hugged her back, sighing.

"It makes a couple or breaks them," he replied, "Or, in our case, both."

"A relationship is like a horse," Éponine said thoughtfully, "For it to reach its best, it first needs to be broken in." Enjolras laughed.

"That's an interesting metaphor," he replied.

"Papa?" he and Éponine both turned in the direction of the twins' bedroom, finding Evette standing in the doorway, one hand rubbing her eyes sleepily, the other clutching the arm of her teddy bear.

"Hello, Evie," he replied, scooping her up into his arms as she ran to him. She frowned at him.

"You're late." She said, her voice at its very grumpiest.

"I know," he said, grimacing, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It won't happen again, I promise."

"Said that last time," Evette mumbled. Enjolras chuckled.

"I know I did. This time I mean it."

"You won't go 'way 'gain?" she checked, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"I'll be living here all the time from now on, don't you worry," he said, matching her serious tone. Evette's face lit up, and she smiled widely, showing off her now fully grown front teeth. Her arms flew around his neck, hugging him tightly as Éponine had been just moments earlier.

"Missed you, Papa," she murmured, "Mama missed you too, and 'Lyse. Don't go 'way 'gain." Enjolras hugged her tightly.

"I promise I won't go anywhere, Evie," he replied, "But you need to be going to bed." He replied, slightly worried that he'd start crying if he didn't move the conversation on (Good God, was he going soft?!).

"Not tired." Evette protested, though any effect her words might have had was ruined by the large yawn that followed.

"I don't think I believe you," Enjolras said disapprovingly, barely hiding his smile, "You go back to bed. I'll come and tuck you in again and say goodnight in a minute." Evette sighed (an almost perfect imitation of her father) as he placed her back on the ground.

"Storwy?" she asked, looking up at Enjolras pleadingly. He frowned.

"It's too late for stories," he replied. Evette pouted.

"Pwease?" she begged, her eyes wide. Enjolras sighed after a moment.

"Alright," he said, "But only a quick one. And only if you're under the covers by the time I come in." Evette hugged her father's legs quickly, before running back into her room.

Éponine had been watching the scene, her eyes sparkling, a small smile gracing her face as Enjolras turned back to her.

"Where were we?" he asked, resting his hands on her waist.

"My being over emotional in pregnancy," she said amusedly. Enjolras laughed.

"Oh yes," he said, "We're having a baby."

"Well, I'm glad you picked something up during our conversation, but I'm hoping you got a little more from it than just that."

"How did you find out?" he asked, frowning slightly, "You weren't sick again, were you?"

"No," she replied, "Well, not at first. I... sort of, fainted." Enjolras eyes widened, "It's nothing serious," Éponine interjected hurriedly, "Joly said it was common in pregnancy. It's absolutely nothing to worry about."Enjolras sighed, leaning to rest his forehead against hers.

"So, you're definitely pregnant?" he checked, "You didn't just... pass out?"

"Well, my fainting, added to the mood swings, tiredness, headaches and the fact that I almost threw up on Joly's shoes- thank God for the flower pot by the door- Joly was pretty certain. That, and the fact that I feel pregnant. It feels exactly like last time."

"Not exactly, I hope," Enjolras said quietly, "I don't think we could cope with having twins again..." Éponine laughed.

"No, I suppose not," she agreed.

"Papa! I'm under the covers!" Evette called. Enjolras smiled.

"I should go and tell her a story." He said, lifting his head away from hers. Éponine yawned.

"I'm going to bed," she told him, "Join me when you've finished."

"I will," he said, kissing her again, "Éponine?"

"Hmm?" she said as she turned away.

"I love you." She smiled.

"I hope you're not going to be this clingy for all of my pregnancy," She mocked. Enjolras rolled his eyes, "I love you too." She told him as she disappeared into their bedroom.

And, just like that, their argument was completely forgotten.

*. . .*

Enjolras entered the twins' room quietly, pushing the door so that it was only slightly open behind him. Evette was, indeed, tucked under the covers, waiting expectantly with a book on her lap. Enjolras smiled at her, moving to lift Elyse carefully from under her bed and tucking her in, kissing her forehead before moving to sit with Evette.

"This one." She said pushing the book towards him, shuffling over so that there was room for him to sit next to her against the wall. Enjolras nodded approvingly, getting himself comfortable and opening the book as Evette ducked under his arm and curled into his side.

"Once upon a time, in a land far away..."

The next morning, Éponine woke to find Enjolras' side of the bed empty, and got up to go in search of him.

She found him in the same position he'd been in the night before, sat up against the wall with the book now dangling rather carelessly out of his left hand. Evette was curled up with her head in his lap, cocooned in her blankets, both of them still fast asleep.

Hearing her mother come in, Elyse lifted her head groggily, looking around. She woke up immediately upon seeing her father, her face lighting up, "Papa!" she shrieked happily, launching herself from her bed to Evette's, scrambling up and hugging him tightly as Enjolras tried to calm his now racing heart.

"Good morning, Elyse," he chuckled, Evette also waking up due to all the commotion. Éponine laughed in the doorway.

"Missed you," Elyse told him, holding onto him for dear life.

"I missed you too," he replied, hugging her back.

"I'll get started on breakfast, shall I?" Éponine smiled, leaving Enjolras to reacquaint himself with his daughters.

"I'll be back this afternoon, Evie," he laughed as Evette hugged him goodbye for the seventh time.

"But you pwomised," she said tearfully, "You said you won't go 'way 'gain!"

"I'm only going for a few hours, Eve," he said, rubbing her back comfortingly, "And I'm going to make it up to you when I get back. I've got something special planned."

Éponine looked at him curiously, but said nothing as he prised Elyse from his knee.

"I'll be back by four," he murmured to her, kissing her cheek, "And this time, I'm not going to be late."

Éponine smiled, "I love you." She said.

"I love you too," he replied, kissing Elyse and Evette on the forehead before climbing into his carriage. As the twins waved to him until he was out of site, Éponine became aware of another person leaning against the wall. She sighed.

"Would you like to come upstairs, Grantaire?"

*. . .*

"Did you tell him?" Grantaire asked her as she placed a cup of tea on the table in front of him. She nodded.

"Well, I kind of... shouted it at him." She said uneasily.

"Unca 'Taire, Unca 'Taire!" Elyse squealed, running over with a piece of parchment in her hand. "Look what I drawed!" he smiled as he looked at the picture, immediately seeing Elyse, Evette, Enjolras and Éponine.

"You're quite the artist, Ellie," he said, nodding, "You might even be better than me!" Elyse grinned at him before running back to the living room floor to sit with her sister.

"That's the first picture in two weeks she's drawn with Enjolras in it," Éponine said thoughtfully, "I didn't think I should show him those ones." Grantaire nodded.

"If there's anything that's going to upset our Apollo, it's that," he agreed, "So when you said you shouted it at him, was it a... happy, 'I can't wait another second to tell you this' shout, or a..."

"It was an angry, 'you have no idea what I'm going through' shout," Éponine sighed, "Yesterday was really hard... the twins wouldn't do anything because it wasn't him asking them to. It just made me so upset and angry that when he finally walked in I just..."

"Snapped," Grantaire finished for her, "Completely understandable." Éponine was eternally grateful for Grantaire's company; he really was a good friend, when he was actually putting the effort in to be one.

"I feel like I overreacted," she admitted, "It's forgotten now, but... God, 'Taire, that was our first fight!" Grantaire almost spat his mouthful of tea across the table.

"You've been with him two and a half years, and that was your first fight?!" he said, ridiculously shocked, "You two are the most passionate, argumentative, stubborn people I know. How have you not argued before?!"

"We've never had anything to argue about," Éponine shrugged, "We've always just... agreed. And if we didn't agree, we'd compromise." Grantaire shook his head.

"I'll tell you something, Athena," he said, smiling at her, "If that doesn't tell you that you're meant to be together, then I don't know what will."

I'm soooooo close to 100 reviews guys! The 100th reviewer will get a Les Mis one-shot of whatever pairing/friendship they so wish (I write them all!) on any topic (except sensitive ones [i.e. self-harm and the like :L]). It can be a Modern AU, a canon story... anything at all, for that special 100th reviewer! Thanks for reading and for your continued support! It means a lot :'D