AN: Merry CHRISTmas everyone! It's my quarter exams tomorrow and I'm procrastinating! So here's my Christmas gift to y'all ;)) Tell me what you think! Favorite or review and please tell me if there are any errors or if anything's confusing. I'm honestly still iffy about it and may (or may not) change this epilogue, either way, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Just the feels. I own that. I own the feels.


The lights swirled and danced along with the guests as the reception continued in full swing. The bride and groom were chatting happily with the others while a quarter of the guests bopped to the playful music on the dance floor.

"Éponine," the giddy bride laughed, smothering her maid of honor into a hug. "Thank you so much for helping me plan all this. I couldn't have done it without you."

The brunette chuckled in response, giving her friend a quick embrace in return before pulling away. "I would never have said no, Cosette. I'm so happy for you and Marius. Congratulations."

Cosette simply squealed in response and enveloped her into another hug before skipping away to talk to the other guests. Just as Éponine let out a sigh of relief, another sigh was breathed beside her—except this one was a dreamy sigh.

"Isn't she just beautiful when she's happy?" the blissfully new-husband sighed as he joined Éponine at her table.

"Yeah, she glows," she admitted, her eyes following Cosette as she thanked the guests her bubbly smile.

"Exactly," Marius agreed, his head in the clouds as he stared at his beautiful wife in awe.

"I'm happy for you, Marius," she sincerely told him, a genuine smile on her face.

"Thanks, 'Ponine," he replied, breaking out of his stupor. "I just hope you'll find the same love that Cosette and I have."

"Maybe someday, when someone good comes along."

"Maybe you should settle for someone better than just good," Marius hinted, taking a furtive glance at the only man rejecting alcohol.

Her eyes narrowed at him as he gave her an innocent grin.

"Just saying," he shrugged, rising from his seat. "I know a guy who's been waiting for this girl for a while. He's just a little bad at first impressions."

Éponine snorted, shaking her head, "You know he thought I was a ghost when we first met?"

"Well, with the way you're acting now, it's hard to believe that you aren't," Marius shot her a knowing smile. "Maybe you should give him a chance, or at least talk to him."

Her eyes followed Marius until he disappeared into the crowd, his words echoing in her head. Who knew he could give some pretty decent advice?

As soon as Marius was out of sight, her eyes flew to the spot where a certain marble man had been standing, but disappointment filled her gut as they fell upon the empty space. Had he left already? She knew he wasn't one for parties, but was he really in such a rush to leave only an hour and a half after the reception? Or—no, she refused to think of it. But—could she be the reason he left so early?

With all these thoughts twisting in her mind, she didn't notice the shadow looming over her or the hand that reached out to tap her until a voice accompanied the action.

"Um… Éponine?"

Jumping in her seat, she twisted to see a nervous set of storming blue eyes looking at her tentatively.

The name slipped from her lips as if it were a prayer, "Enjolras."

"H-Hey," he smiled timidly at her, as if she'd bite his head off—or as if she'd run away.

"Hey," she replied, her voice small and unsure.

"Um… So…." Enjolras fumbled for words as he nervously ran a hand through his hair. "I was wondering—and, well, I'm not forcing you to, or anything—but I was wondering if you would, possibly, maybe, want to dance? With me?"

But before she could answer, Enjolras went on—thinking that she would deny him. "But if you would rather rest here alone, I understand. I mean, you were never really one for slow dancing, right? So, I wouldn't want to bother you. Of course, your preferences might have changed over the past few years or you're simply uninterested in—"

"Enjolras," Éponine managed butt in, his eyes falling back to hers as he mouthed finally closed. "I'd love to."

The smile that lit up his eyes was enough to blind the entire room. Gently pulling her to the dance floor, Enjolras took her hand and started to slowly dance with her.

"Wow," she chuckled, as he tried to spin her. "I forgot how much you suck at this."

"I'm trying," he flushed, a boyish grin tilting his lips. As they danced, his eyes moved from watching his step to watching her, her eyes focused on their feet as a gentle smile fluttered on her face.

As he drank her in, his mind raced with words to define how beautiful she looked—not only today, but every day since he met her—but no words, English, French, or otherwise, could ever define how beautiful she looked. He had missed her.

The silly way she'd wrinkle her nose when it was itchy, her crazy need for tea to be completely awake, her quiet humming while she worked, her incredibly expressive reading voice, her teasing smiles, her twinkling eyes, her witty retorts, and everything else about her.

Feeling his burning stare, she looked up to see his passionate gaze directed at her.

"What?" her brows furrowed.

"Nothing," his voice was gentle, sincere, as his grin fell into a serene smile. His guard had quickly fallen and his words had lost their filter. "You just look incredibly beautiful, but even those words don't justify you."

"You mean how I look," she blushed, her eyes falling to her feet before hesitantly rising back to his.

"No, I mean you," he chuckled, his heart starting to pound faster. "You're beautiful, Éponine, inside and out."

Looking into his eyes, she noticed the seriousness and sincerity burning in them. This was new. Enjolras had never been this open before. She could get used to this.

"Thanks," she whispered before her eyes glowed with mischief and she teasingly replied, "You don't look so bad yourself."

He playfully rolled his eyes in return as the song slowly faded into the next. Slowly, reluctantly, he pulled away, knowing that the faster he let her go, the better. He had his one dance, his last memory. He should cherish it before he could mess anything up.

"One more dance?" Éponine asked before he could turn away. Her heart racing and blood rushing, she couldn't let him leave just yet. She wasn't ready.

"You sure?" his eyes glowed hopefully.

"As long as you don't step on my feet," she joked, pulling him closer, letting him lead her into another dance.

With their hearts pounding and cheeks flushing, they tried their best to pull up a lighter, more casual conversation. Successfully doing so, the pair filled each other in on the things they've been missing in each ones' lives.

"So," Enjolras twirled her, his heart picking up speed at the thought of what he was about to do. He was nervous as hell, but he knew he had to ask her. He couldn't waste this chance. "Éponine Jondrette."

"Lionel Aubert Enjolras," she replied, half-heartedly teasing, her own heart racing in time with his. She wanted to do something, but she was clueless on how Enjolras would react.

Taking in a breath, he asked, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Éponine missed a beat, looking up at Enjolras in shock. "Wh-What?"

"I'm asking you to be my girlfriend," Enjolras soldiered on, talking his nerves away as he stopped dancing completely. "Distance wouldn't be a problem, because I'm being offered a place in some law firm over there in London, their main office is only a few blocks away from Phoenix Theatre. We could rent out a flat together, if you want."

A pregnant pause caused all his insecurities to catch up and he kept rambling on, "Of course, I'd understand if you're against it. It's been a while, you probably don't feel the same way. Oh, hell, I'm just embarrassing myself now, aren't I? I'm sor—"

"Enjolras," Éponine cut in, it seemed he had developed a habit of rambling while he was away. And it may have been different from the Enjolras she knew before, but she was more than willing to learn more about this new Enjolras. "Why don't you take me out first? On a proper date?"

It took a few seconds for Enjolras to comprehend what he said, but the way his eyes lit up, how a smile just burst onto his face, and the dizzying twirl he gave her was enough to convince that she had just given one of the best answers in the world.


AN: I actually really wanted Éponine to slap Enjolras somewhere in this fic... But my fingers didn't let me :((