A/N: I love writing about people beating up M. Thenardier. He definitely deserves the ol' one two. My chapter titles never have anything to do with the actual chapter, but I really just wanted to call this one Rainbow Connection. I have absolutely no idea why because there is no green frog singing a song about rainbows in this chapter, I promise. But there is a teeny TINY Sherlock reference, and I will be impressed if anyone sees it.
"Should we break up the fight? Should we aid Enjolras?" Colin asked, but Eponine hushed him looking intently upon the fight.
"Shh, this is quite amusing! Let Enjolras release some of his anger on my father, God knows he deserves a good punch. If Enjolras needs help, we shall assist him, but for now, we should just watch him go for a while," Eponine said swatting Colin away. Marielle smirked as Enjolras placed a particularly painful looking slap swiftly across Thenardier's face causing the man to fall backwards on the ground. Eponine watched on in awe. Enjolras' threats were probably audible throughout Paris seeing how thunderously he was screeching.
"My, my, I would never have guessed Enjolras had it in him," Colin said, wincing when Enjolras kicked Thenardier's side. Eponine's chest swelled with pride as she watched her lover beat up the one man she wanted dead. She had never seen Enjolras so aggressive, and this new side to him was rather dashing, in her opinion.
"Do you want your father dead?" Marielle asked sweetly yet sinisterly in a way that mildly startled Eponine.
"Well, of course I do… Why do you ask?" Eponine began slowly. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when Marielle drew forth an enormous knife.
"I can make it happen," she said thrusting her knife around.
"No, I think Enjolras can handle this… Put that blasted thing away before you cut off someone's head! I think you are giving Colin a heart attack flaunting that thing about like it is a prized puppy."
Marielle grumbled as she strapped her knife back up to her leg. It looked so ridiculous to see such a small girl holding such a sharp knife, and Eponine couldn't help but chuckle. Everyone turned their attention back towards the brawling men and it was clear that Thenardier was about to give up. Crimson trickled down his nose and poured out of his split, and he already had bruises blossoming across his face. He was slumped over and begging for Enjolras to stop. Eponine and Marielle were familiar with such gruesome injuries, but Colin was hyperventilating at the sight of blood.
"Get used to it, kid. There will be much more blood spilled at the barricades," Eponine commented as she noticed Colin's rapidly paling face. He nodded at Eponine and shook his head several times trying to revive its color.
"Blood doesn't bother me at all. I grew up with the substance, it is like a twisted friend of mine," Marielle shrugged as she tried not to laugh at how pathetic Colin looked.
Enjolras threw punch after kick after slap at old Thenardier, not showing any signs of giving up. Thenardier tried to get in a hit everyone now and then, but Enjolras would swiftly deflect it and attack again. He felt no remorse beating up the con. Bold and determined, Enjolras placed a heavy blow with his elbow into the man's gut before gripping his threadbare shirt and pulling Thenardier's ear up to his lips.
"If I ever hear of you harming my fiancé again in any way, shape, or form, I will see to it that you will not survive the night," he spat shoving Thenardier down.
"Fiancé? You mean to tell me that my 'Ponine has agreed to marry you? You can't have her unless you pay up!" Thenardier demanded with all the strength he had left.
"I would say you are not in any position to try to scam me, after all, if I so desired to, I could take your life with a flick of my wrist," Enjolras said producing a small knife from his pocket. Thenardier just laughed in his face.
"You think I fear death? I don't care what happens with my life, the only thing I care about is money. Love and friendship mean nothing to me without wealth and power," Thenardier clucked. Enjolras placed his foot on Thenardier's stomach and began to press down.
"You. Repulse. Me," Enjolras grimaced before he bashed Thenardier's head on the ground leaving him unconscious. The next thing he knew, Eponine had latched herself onto him in a loving and tight embrace.
"You are my hero," she said softly peppering his face with delicate kisses. Enjolras was slightly taken aback with the action.
"I will always be your hero, Eponine," he said caressing her face. Eponine couldn't stand the distance between them any longer, so she thrust her lips onto his in a chaste kiss.
"Enjolras? Eponine? I thought I heard your voices!" someone shouted causing the couple to whip their heads around.
"Charlotte! Henri!" they replied as they saw their friends hobble closer, flanked by the rest of the group.
"We were coming to see you, my friends! There was a slight, erm, impediment. But he, it, has been taken care of," Enjolras said darkly, but then perked up as he continued speaking, "Here we have bread and water for you. We brought a new friend along as well, everyone meet Colin!" Colin stepped forward as his name was mentioned, and he began to shake hands. Names were being shouted but it was impossible to decipher which voice belonged to who as all the words were muddled into an imperceptible mess.
"Order everyone! We can make further introductions later, but for now we need to distribute the food and discuss what we came here for: the revolution," Eponine said causing everyone's words to die down on their tongues. She grabbed Colin's shoulder and focused the attention on him. "Colin has proved to be an asset to the revolution. He has managed to rally some of the rich in Provence, and for the past month. So far, he has managed to muster the support of a couple hundred supporters, and rich ones at that. What does money mean? Money means supplies! It means food and guns! He also is going to get some trained soldiers to help us so we can have followers with experience."
Eponine listed several more of Colin's idea and Enjolras' new ones, and when she finished, everyone erupted into applause.
"Enjolras, your girl is a fightin' girl! There is no way will we lose!"
"They will come one and all!"
"They will come when we call!"
"Vive la France!"
"Sometimes I think you are better at rallying people than I am," Enjolras whispered into Eponine's ear before kissing her cheek.
"I did from the best after all," Eponine said planting a quick kiss on his lips before walking towards the dispersing crowd. Everyone greeted Colin congratulating him for his insightful ideas and introducing themselves. Eponine shifted towards Charlotte with Marielle trailing behind her. She hadn't seen Charlotte since her baby Maria had passed, and the air between them was heavy.
"How are you doing?" Eponine asked genuinely. Marielle looked puzzled at Eponine's caring tone of voice, and the downtrodden look that formed on Charlotte's face.
"It's been hard. I never thought Maria would die before me; I always imagined her growing up to be wealthy, carefree, and happy. Yet, all that's left of Maria is a mother who can't even support herself," Charlotte said, absentmindedly wiping a tear away from her eye. Marielle may not have been the brightest, but she was wise enough to keep her mouth shut.
"I know that would be such a struggle. I obviously don't have any children so I can't even relate to your pain, but if anything happened to my brother or sister I know that I would be hysterical. You still have Henri to get you through this, and you have me and Enjolras," Eponine said soothingly passing her another piece of bread.
"Take care, Charlotte," she said solemnly, but brightened when she remembered Marielle next to her. "You remember Marielle, non?" Charlotte surveyed the girl, but nodded when a wave of recognition graced her face.
"Yes, you brought me money and bread on several occasions," Charlotte remembered clasping Marielle's petite hand. "I've seen you on the streets sometimes, as well."
"Yes, the two of us were very close, and we have just been reacquainted!" Eponine said excitedly.
"I was shocked when I first saw Eponine, she looks like a proper lady now!" Marielle said somewhat jealously.
"She has changed so much hasn't she? But only in appearance, our Eponine still has the same fiery little heart," Charlotte chuckled, but it her laugh seemed foreign as though she hadn't laughed in ages.
"Yes, 'Ponine would never let anyone else change her, she is the only person who can do that," Marielle said, but she did not realize there was no truth behind her words. Someone had changed Eponine for the better, and that was Enjolras. He taught her to let down her guard for him, and he taught her to love. Knowing that someone loved her had changed Eponine in a thousand ways, not that she would ever admit that.
"You should probably start the journey home, Eponine. It's getting dark outside and it the streets are a danger to you now because you look like beautiful bourgeois woman. Go along then, I will see you later!" Charlotte exclaimed abruptly. Eponine did not want to leave, but Charlotte had a point.
"Enjolras, we should go," Eponine suggested grabbing onto his arm. Enjolras looked at the dimming sky and agreed signaling Colin over.
"Do you want to invite Marielle over for the night? Colin could be a gentleman and sleep on the extra cot and Marielle could reside in Grantaire's old bedroom," Enjolras said. Grantaire had moved out just last week into a small home with Clara so they would have room to start a family when they were married.
"That sounds like a fine idea, why don't we go ask her now?" Eponine said with enthusiasm. "I'm sure Colin wouldn't object!" Colin blushed at her words, but didn't deny them.
At first, Marielle refused to take charity from Eponine and Enjolras, but Colin was the one who ended up persuading her to come home with them.
"The first thing that you are going to do when we get home is take a bath and then eat a mountain of food," Colin said as they starting walking home.
"I remember when I first stayed in your home. It wasn't a happy time because my father had just tried to kill me, but yet you turned it around and that day marked the start of my life," Eponine reminisced. "It seems like years ago, but in reality it was only a couple months ago. We've come so far since then."
"I'm so glad that I meant you, Eponine," Enjolras said kissing Eponine's forehead gingerly.
"I'm glad I met you, too."
They two walked in a compatible silence, contentedly eavesdropping in on Colin and Marielle's conversation and smirking at their obvious attraction. Eponine craned her neck to study Enjolras in the soft moonlight, but she frowned her eyes landed on a cut on his face.
"Did my father do that?" she asked, carefully stroking the area of skin just above the cut.
"Yes, he made his mark with his fingernails. But it does not matter, I instigated the fight after all, and plus, I left him in much worse conditions than he left me," Enjolras assured. Eponine smiled a dark smile as she remembered the injuries Enjolras had inflicted on the man.
"He deserved it," Eponine muttered.
"He deserves much worse for hurting you. He should know better than to touch something that I love because I protect the people close to me. I would do anything for you, Eponine. You make me afraid to die in the barricades. Before I thought our little lives didn't count at all, but now I see the greater picture. You are not a 'little life,' you are my world," Enjolras said pulling Eponine into his side. Eponine felt a rush of emotions bang her across the head, and the impact was dizzying.
"I love you," she said dabbing at the corner of her eyes to keep from letting any tears spill.
"I love you more than anything this world," Enjolras said gently.
"Even Patria?" Eponine teased.
"Especially Patria."
A/N: Awww, couple-y sweetness haha. I decided that I really like Colin and Marielle together now… They're both just so cute!