A/N: I know that there is so much Enjonine hate in the world right now and people don't get it our queer little ship, but I really strongly believe that we shouldn't engage and respond to all this meanness. If every single Enjonine shipper just completely ignored it, the haters won't have an audience. Haters gonna hate, potatoes gonna potate, and Tveiters gonna Tveit. Can we please just have a fandomtopia where every fandom and ship lives in harmony? I honestly don't care if you disagree with my ships because I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if someone just doesn't get Enjonine, it's all good. Right when I was getting into the ship, I didn't get it at first. But I read some fanfictions and then I got completely sucked in, it just took a little bit so I get it when others don't understand. People vocalizing their hate is what makes me angry, but I would rather just ignore and move on! I like to be happy and hate is just so negative I would rather just not listen to it. If everyone ignores it, maybe the haters will eventually go away when they see we don't care. Sorry for ranting!
Sweat trickled down Eponine's temple and the salt stung her eyes as the gentle breeze lapped at her exposed neck. Her hard work was evident in her aching muscles; the hours of building the barricade were finally catching up to her. Eponine took a deep breath and stepped back for a moment to survey their efforts. Stacks of broken furniture were stacked strategically into a barricade in the center of the street, the design was made perfect from Enjolras' endless planning, and citizens were still toiling away as they piled more and more onto the barricade. Out of the corner of Eponine's eye, she could make out Enjolras talking to an older gentleman and nodding respectfully at him before the man ran off.
"Who was that?" Eponine asked approaching her fiancé as she fiddled with her engagement ring that dangled around her neck from a chain. She had removed it from her finger for the fighting so she wouldn't lose it.
"He was a volunteer and I sent him off to discover the enemies' plans. The bloke looked familiar but I can't quite recall where I had seen him before," Enjolras pondered. "The more I try to remember him, I get a bad feeling."
"Think, Enjolras, he could have been a spy himself. I trust your instincts and if you have a bad feeling about this man let me follow him," Eponine offered.
"I shall come with you," Enjolras demanded, but Eponine shook her head.
"No, you will be needed here. I will take Colin or Marielle with me. I saw the back of the man and I will recognize his hair and clothes when I search for him," Eponine said before jogging off. Enjolras watched her go before stalking off to go find Combeferre. Eponine searched for Colin or Marielle high and low before she spotted Marielle carrying a wooden chair over to the main area.
"Marielle! Come with me! Enjolras sent off a volunteer to learn the foe's attack plan, but he thought the man looked familiar and his instincts told him that the man was bad. Come, I watched him and saw the direction he took. If we hurry we may be able to catch him," Eponine explained urgently and Marielle's eyes widened.
"We must be on our way then!" Marielle shouted. Eponine nodded and began to sprint out with Marielle falling in step behind her. Eponine ran back through the twisting streets trying to find where their foes may be. She knew her way around more than anyone in the entirety of Paris, and if anyone were to find them, it would be Eponine.
"Do you know where you are going?" Marielle asked after minutes of nothing.
"I saw him go in this direction and I have an inkling where the army might be," Eponine said briefly. Straining her legs, Eponine's bare feet pounded the cobbled pavements at a pace so fast that she could feel blood staining them. Suddenly, loud and obnoxious men's voices filled the night's serenity and Eponine sighed in relief and tensed in fear; they had found the government's troops. They all had the same uniform on, none of them looked like the man who had volunteered.
"Eponine, get down!" Marielle whispered urgently. Eponine whipped her head around to see Marielle as white as a sheet.
"What is it?" Eponine asked as she crouched down behind a building, thankful for the pants that she had borrowed from Enjolras.
Marielle shushed Eponine and ran to join her behind the building, but a man stopped her. She was too late.
"What is scum like you doing in these parts?" a man with a steely voice projected. Marielle cowered underneath his glare.
"All the fighting frightened me, Monsieur. I came to these parts to get away from the barricades," Marielle whimpered. She didn't have to fake her fear; it was real.
"Why do you don the tricolor rosette? That is the sign of the rebels, if I am not mistaken," the man sneered. Eponine dared to sneak a glance at the man and was taken aback to see Javert standing there. His clothes matched the clothes of the man who had been talking to Enjolras; Javert was the volunteer.
"I-I…" Marielle faltered. Excuses and lies could normally flow from her brain, but today her mind went blank. Eponine would have gotten up to assist her, but she was already sailing in troubled waters with the man. Her presence would only hurt.
"Give me a reason why I shouldn't shoot you now," Javert said coldly drawing his gun and cocking it.
"Let me live, Monsieur! I meant no harm!" Marielle cried.
"Did your leader send you hear as a spy as well, or did he want you to keep an eye on me?" Javert demanded.
"I-I don't know," Marielle heaved and Eponine could hear Javert drawing closer. Eponine knew she had to help, and she began to formulate a plan in her head.
"What do you know?" Javert questioned again.
"H-he sent me t-to keep an e-eye on you!" Marielle crumbled. Javert was a cruel man of nature, and he followed what he knew to be the law. Whoever supported the rebel cause automatically deserved death, and he deemed Marielle a supporter.
"You can have the honor of being the first foolish citizen to die for a cause that never had a chance," Javert said pointing the gun at Marielle. Eponine gasped from the shadows and sprang into action.
"Get away from her!" Eponine shouted pushing Javert out of the way. It was too late; he had fired the gun and the bullet was on course. Fortunately, Eponine had shifted its position and it was no longer pointed at Marielle's heart, but it was now trained on her arm. The bullet pierced Marielle's skin and caused her to fall backwards, and the wound drenched her clothes.
"I hate you!" Eponine sobbed as she retrieved the fallen gun and trained it on Javert. Some soldiers had heard the bullet, and Eponine knew she had to get out of there. Forgetting the gun, she scooped up Marielle and ran all the way back to the barricades, every so often checking behind her to make sure nobody had followed.
"This. Bloody. Hurts," Marielle squeezed out between pants. Eponine smiled at the sound of her voice.
"Where were you shot? I thought he got you in the chest," Eponine said with relief in her voice.
"No, you saved my life. The bullet got my arm. It hurts like hell but I will heal," Marielle explained.
Eponine never thought she would be so happy to see the barricades in her life. Shouting for Enjolras, Colin, and Joly, they boys let her enter the barricade.
"She's been shot! Don't fret, it only got her arm and she will live," Eponine said. Tears sprung to Colin's eyes when he saw her bloodied body, and Joly transferred her body to his arms.
"I will stitch her up at once," he said before slowly walking off with Colin trailing behind him asking a million questions about her health.
"What if that had been you?" Enjolras asked Eponine somewhat angrily. "I wanted you to be careful."
"We were, until Javert spotted her. Yes, you were right, the man shouldn't have been trusted; it was Javert. He is a corrupted inspector who takes the law too literally and it has impaired his judgment tonight. He saw her rosette and shot her before she could even explain," Eponine sighed.
"Did you find out their plans?" Enjolras questioned, his eyes darting back and forth.
"No, but they looked like they were preparing for an attack. I think that they might try to pursue us as early as tonight! It could be minutes," Eponine exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter, we have outnumbered their ranks, and it is all thanks to you; without your help I wouldn't have nearly enough people," said Enjolras, fully appreciating everything his beautiful fiancé had done for him.
"It was no pr-"
Eponine lips were silenced abruptly when she heard marching. It was loud and in sync with someone shouting commands. Slowly, she and Enjolras turned around and ran to peer out of the barricade in the one of the looking holes Enjolras designed. The army hadn't quite reached the barricades yet, but the sound was drawing steadily nearer.
"They are coming," Enjolras breathed. He didn't sound unprepared or nervous, he sounded ready for a victory that was in his grasp. "Are you ready?"
"I've always been ready," Eponine said anxiously. Apparently everyone else had heard the soldiers approaching and had readied themselves. Thanks to the bourgeoisies from Provence, the rebels and supporters had all been supplied with bread, water, guns, and ammunition. As much as Enjolras didn't agree with the method, some of the Provence supporters had brought in at least a hundred more comrades by bribing them with food and clean clothes.
The first line of the troops came around the corner, followed by several more rows of men. Eponine breathed a sigh of relief, the rebels definitely had more people. The soldiers and National guards trembled in trepidation as they took their positions in front of the barricade.
"Oh, I hope I live to see Cosette again," Marius groaned.
"Shut it, Marius. No one cares about your lonely soul," Enjolras grumbled earning a laugh from Eponine. Laughter seemed like a miracle in this situation.
"Who goes there?" a guard bellowed from underneath his brown mustache.
Enjolras hesitated for a moment but was given a newfound courage when Eponine squeezed his arm. Her hand on his reminded him why he had to be strong and keep fighting.
"The French Revolution!" he shouted proudly. The soldiers made no haste in holding open fire upon the barricade, but unfortunately for them, the barricade shot back. Soldiers fell to the ground like flies, whereas the rebels seemed to be holding their ground.
The bulky gun felt heavy and foreign in Eponine's hands, yet she depended on it like a life source. Wincing, she fired the blasted thing and the bullet nearly hit a soldier in the torso. Oxygen filled her lungs as she took a deep breath to steady herself, and she fired again. This time, the bullet pierced the soldier in the shoulder and he dropped. Enjolras noticed.
"Good aim, mon amour," he said without looking up from his target. With his gun steady in his hands, he fired and hit the man in the thigh.
"I could say the same thing about you," Eponine said, her gaze not shifting from another soldier as she readied her stance. The army held no chance, and a National guard called a retreat.
"We'll be back!" he threatened the barricade as the soldiers retreated.
Eponine slumped against an old table in alleviation and gripped Enjolras hands.
"We survived that," she said in disbelief.
"It's not over yet," he said softly. Without blinking, he drew his lips onto hers and kissed her passionately. "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do that anymore after all of this."
"You'll always have me," Eponine smiled slightly. "Let us go find out the Marielle's current situation."
The two shakily stood up and wobbled to the café where Marielle had been taken. Her arm had been wrapped up tightly and she appeared to be half asleep. Colin crouched next to her and stroked her hair, whispering sweet nothings into her grimy ear. He looked like a mess with his hair awry and bloodshot eyes; his heart was in a fragile state.
"How is she?" Enjolras asked.
"She will be alright, the bullet broke her arm but it is nothing that won't heal," Colin informed them with a happy sigh.
"Stay with her here. We need someone to make sure she is alright, and I don't know a better man to do it than you," Enjolras stated.
"What if you need me?" Colin asked.
"Then I shall come and fetch you, it isn't like you are all the way in England," Enjolras said. Colin nodded at him in appreciation. All of a sudden, loud shouts rang true and clear from outside, and Enjolras sprinted out of the café to see what had caused the commotion.
"What is it men?"
Grantaire shoved an old looking man forward, but he was surprisingly stable considering his age.
"I come here as a volunteer."
A/N: I kid you not, I just ordered a shirt that has a picture of Enjolras and says "Doesn't care about your lonely soul" on it. It makes me happy!