A/N: I need a day of just doing nothing and sleeping but no I have to be sociable and go out and do stuff I have no motivation to do just gncdwuncwdowcdoiwdcmoewcncdowindcwjowdkfl I do not enjoy socialising and I just want to spend my holiday watching YouTube videos and writing and sleeping and eating cake but I can't and just asdfghjkl help.

Casual self-pity party of one is casual XD

Also, I am unbelievably tired and past the point of caring how short and probably full of typos this is. Sorry.

Prompt (I guess you could say this was self-given, but yeah): Éponine and Marius bringing Lottie home.

Éponine grinned before she even opened her eyes.

Today was the day she could finally have her daughter back full-time. And she couldn't wait.

Marius sleepily shuffled next to her, his arms around her and his nose buried in her hair. He was still asleep, but close to waking up. Éponine could always tell by the way he would subconsciously clasp her tighter, as he seemed to do that just before waking. It was quite sweet, actually.

Closing her eyes, she pictured Lottie, and how she would look now, at five months old. Certainly her hair would have continued steadily growing, and she'd of course be bigger. Maybe she'd have even started crawling? God, she hoped not. To miss something so important because of an illness would be heartbreaking.

She heard Marius yawn next to her, guessing he was awake and turning herself over so that she was face-to-face with him, noses touching. "Morning, gorgeous" he said sleepily, kissing her. He always made a point of telling her she was beautiful, every day. Apart from him and her siblings, everybody in her life before had told her she was hideous, that nobody would ever consider her pretty. And she'd believed them. She still considered herself ugly, no matter how much he disagreed. She was confident in a lot of things, but not everything.

"Morning" she replied when their kiss broke apart. Her hair stuck out at all angles, having tossed and turned quite a bit, trying to adjust to their comfortable bed after the lumpy hospital mattress. Her eyes were still dark and she was still far too thin. But she was getting there again, deciding that "little and often" was the best way for her to gain weight. She was back to normal though, and that's what counted.

Not wanting to get up and leave the warmth of his wife and their bed, he wrapped his arms around her bony shoulders, simply holding her for a little longer. Éponine sighed contentedly. They couldn't pick her up until midday anyway, which was when the carriages were available to borrow, so may as well make the most of their time.

Marius kissed the end of her nose gently, before getting up to get them both some toast. Within ten minutes they were both eating, huddled in their duvet and both thinking about the day ahead.

Éponine finished first, as usual, walking over to their wardrobe, pulling out her favourite red dress. Picking up her underwear and a corset, she disappeared in to the bathroom to get ready, whilst Marius finished both his toast and his book.

At half past eleven they left the house, walking down to the carriages. Even though she was recovered, Éponine's illness had left her extremely vulnerable to cold weather, and she was shivering. The identical second Marius noticed, he'd taken his jacket off and put it on her instead, not wanting her to get ill yet again.

Luckily the carriage had some sort of insulation, so they were slightly warmer on the journey to Joly and Musichetta's. Even still, Éponine was comfortably perched on Marius' lap, his arms around her and rubbing up and down her arms in an attempt to keep her warm. They sat like that for the entire journey, and both sprang up enthusiastically as they reached the house.

Just before Éponine was about to knock on their door, Marius caught hold of her wrist gently. Leaning down to kiss her quickly, he then released it. "Just felt like doing that" was his explanation, making her smile.

Musichetta answered the door, giving Éponine a hug as soon as she saw her. "Come in, come in, Lottie's all fit for travelling."

Indeed, Lottie was in her hamper in the hall, a small suitcase next to her. She was awake and looking up at her parents through those brown eyes, undoubtedly Éponine's. Éponine reached down to gently pick her up, cradling her closely against her chest. Marius watched with an expression of pure adoration for them both, wrapping his arm around her waist and placing his other hand underneath hers, also supporting Charlotte.

"Somebody's been taken care of, haven't they?" Éponine crooned softly, smiling as Marius kissed her head, then his daughter's forehead.

After a cup of tea and a small conversation, they bid Musichetta goodbye and began the journey home, with Charlotte with them once more. Éponine gently gave her to Marius to hold for the journey, content with watching the two of them. How different Marius was with Lottie to how her father had been with Éponine. Right from the start, Thénardier hadn't wanted a daughter. Éponine knew that, she always had. Her father had cared for her in the early years, but he'd always wanted a son. And yet when he had Gavroche, he treated him so viscously that the boy ran away.

But Marius was the polar opposite. His eyes held nothing but love for their daughter, and she knew he'd be the same if the child were a boy. Lottie was already guaranteed a much nicer and a much safer life than Éponine ever had been, thank God. They'd already decided they were going to send her to a school once she was old enough, Éponine considered it giving her offspring the childhood she never got, and was all for her learning to read and write. Once more, they were giving their child what her mother never had, and it was the most wonderful feeling she'd ever felt.

The carriage pulled up outside their house, Marius thanking the driver as Éponine gently took their daughter back, following Marius up the path to their little cottage. Instead of progressing through to their nursery, they remained in the hall, looking down at the little bundle and relishing the feeling of having their little family complete again.

And, do you know, standing there in the hallway with her husband, who she fell more and more in love with as the days went on, holding their daughter for the first time in a month, Éponine was experiencing what could only be described as bliss.