I AM SO FREAKING SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO LONG! School ended and I went kind of brain dead for a while and struggled with writer's block, then there was a bunch of personal stuff going on (if a guy you really, really like ever attempts to kiss you while he is drunk, quick word of advice, DON'T LET HIM! You will be in for a big let down, deal with romance when both of you are perfectly sober) and then I got to see FREAKING LES MISERABLES LIVE IN WINNIPEG! And then I fought with writer's block some more before I finally managed to squeeze out this chapter. So yeah. That is the summary of my life in the past month or so, just in case anyone actually cares, I doubt many of you really do, but I just wanted to give you my excuse, ALL OF WHICH IS TRUE. I graduated, got writer's block, got my heart broken, saw Les Mis, and finally managed to do some writing. And that's about it. Enjoy!

Chapter 17

One Month Later

Eponine groaned and fidgeted in annoyance. The pale blue fabric of her dress was far too stuffy in her opinion. Thankfully, though, it was the middle of September, so it wasn't too hot. She really wished Cosette had planned for the wedding to be later in the year, though. The dresses she had had Musichetta make were far too warm. Enjolras' family had left a few weeks earlier, with the exception of Adalina, who had received permission to stay and was therefore also a bridesmaid in Cosette's wedding.

Adalina looked far more uncomfortable than Eponine felt. Eponine didn't doubt that the other girl felt out of place without any red. Eponine had, actually, never seen the other girl without at least a red ribbon in her hair. But Cosette had decided not to include any red in her wedding.

Eponine smirked as she glanced at Cosette. She didn't envy the blonde, as it was a warm day, despite nearly being October, and Cosette's dress, while beautiful, was more likely than not unbearable to be wearing, especially since it was so poofy.

She sighed as she realized that Cosette was pacing frantically, and looked nervous. She hadn't seen the blonde looking so anxious since they had been children all those years ago.

"Cosette, relax. You love him, and he loves you. More than anything, actually. You have nothing to be afraid of," Eponine said, attempting to reassure the nervous blonde.

Cosette glanced at Eponine and managed a small grin. "I know, but I had hoped my father would at least be here. He left out of the blue, and I have no clue where!"

Eponine was stunned as she stared at the blonde in shock. She had met Cosette's adopted father, and knew that he cherished her more than anything. That he would leave without an explanation made no sense whatsoever to Eponine, especially since he had left so soon before Cosette's wedding.

Eponine smiled and hugged Cosette, who was momentarily startled but quickly relaxed, hugging her back. "Everything will be fine, Cosette," Eponine promised.

Cosette managed a small, yet genuine, smile as she looked at Eponine. "You're right, 'Ponine. Everything will be fine." The blonde hesitated a moment before adding, shyly, "I'm glad we're friends."

Eponine was momentarily startled by the blonde girl's words, but quickly smiled in response. "I'm glad we're friends, too."

The ceremony seemed to fly by to Eponine. Cosette was radiant as she and Marius exchanged their vows, and when the couple kissed, there was no way anyone could deny their love. They were now all at the reception. Grantaire was chasing down as much liquor as he could with Azelma chasing him, while Courfeyrac was contentedly flirting with Adalina while Enjolras glared at him and Combeferre attempted to reason with the obviously annoyed leader of Les Amis. Azelma, who had recovered well, was hovering around Grantaire, attempting to grab a bottle of alcohol from him, Gavroche watching her with an expression of pure amusement on his face. Bahorel appeared to be bored and obviously wanted a fight, and Bossuet and Joly were taking turns dancing with Musichetta, although Eponine's friend clearly preferred to dance with Joly. Eponine had a feeling that Musichetta would always prefer the hypochondriac to her other love.

Marius and Cosette were dancing together, obviously in love. Eponine felt a bit of joy at the fact that she had had a hand in this, that she had helped them to end up together. Months ago, the thought would have hurt, but it no longer did.

With a smile, she walked over to Enjolras and Combeferre.

"… my little sister, Ferre, and now that our parents have left, I need to protect her!" Enjolras was saying rather coldly.

"If she's anything like you, she can probably take care of herself," Combeferre replied calmly.

Enjolras was clearly unconvinced. "It's Courfeyrac! God knows what he might try and do to her! If she had to fall for one of the amis, I would have preferred it to be you!"

Combeferre sighed and rolled his eyes. "Enjolras, do you really think that your head-strong sister would really have fallen for me in any situation, even a little? She and Courfeyrac clearly belong together. Also, Courfeyrac is our friend, and he knows that if he hurts Adalina, you'll have his head, so there really isn't anything to worry about."

"Combeferre's right, Enj," Eponine said, cutting in to their conversation. "Courfeyrac is probably sufficiently terrified of you, and he looks like Pontmercy every time he looks at your sister."

Enjolras groaned. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of! She's going to end up stuck with him!"

"She may not see it that way," Eponine replied calmly. "Now stop your whining and come dance!" And with that, she grabbed his arm and dragged him off to the dance floor while Combeferre chuckled as he watched them, causing Enjolras to shoot a quick glare in his best friend's direction.

"You really need to calm down about Courfeyrac and Adalina," Eponine told him as they began dancing.

"What if he hurts her?" Enjolras asked in response. "She's my little sister-"

"You don't see me constantly worrying about Grantaire and Azelma," Eponine countered. Enjolras sighed.

"You're right. You don't worry about them. And the drunk is far worse than Courfeyrac is."

"Exactly, which is why you need to relax. Adalina will be fine, she can take care of yourself. Now calm down and enjoy yourself," Eponine told him gently.

Enjolras bent his head down and kissed her softly. "How is it that you always know exactly what to say?"

Eponine grinned. "I guess I've just spent too much time around you," she teased as Enjolras rolled his eyes at her response. "Now tell me," Eponine asked suddenly. "What else is bothering you?"

"What?" Enjolras was startled by her question.

"I know you by now, Enjolras, something else is on your mind. What's bothering you?"

Enjolras sighed as he looked at her. "Come on," he said quietly. "Let's go somewhere else." Confused, Eponine followed him outside, wondering what could possibly be going on.

It was beautiful outside. The sun had set, and the night sky was full of stars, shining down alongside the full moon. The leaves on the trees had nearly all changed their colour by then, and had not yet begun to fall.

"So, why did you want to come out here?" Eponine asked, breathing in the crisp September air.

Enjolras took in a deep breath. Eponine watched him curiously. She'd never seen him look so nervous before.

"Eponine, there's something that I was wanting to ask you," he said slowly.

Eponine raised an eyebrow. "Which means we had to come out here because…?"

Enjolras took a deep breath and took both her hands. She felt her pulse quicken slightly as she wondered what Enjolras was going to ask her.

"Eponine, when I first met you, all I cared about was the revolution and making France better. But since then, everything has changed," he began. Eponine felt her heart leap. Just where is he going with this, she wondered. "You turned my entire world upside down, just by being yourself. I love you, and I know for a fact that I will never love anyone else, so I guess what I'm asking is, Eponine, will you marry me?"

Eponine stared at him, wide eyed with shock. Enjolras, the marble man, the perfect leader of Les Amis de l'ABC, actually wanted to marry her? Desperately, she searched his eyes for any sign that this was a joke, that he didn't mean it, but realized that he was completely sincere. He meant it. He really loved her.

And she loved him. She loved him with all of her heart. Enjolras meant the world to her now, not Marius. Marius would never mean that much to her again, and he hadn't for a long time. It was Enjolras now, and always would be.

"Yes," she whispered, a smile spreading across her face. "Yes, I will marry you!"

Enjolras smiled happily and wrapped his arms around her waist as hers found their way around his neck and captured her lips in a kiss as he happily spun her around.

When they finally pulled apart, both were smiling. Eponine could feel her heart racing with joy and excitement. The entire thing felt so much more real than anything she had ever felt for Marius had. Enjolras loved her, and she was going to marry him.

She didn't think that she had ever felt so happy. Her parents and the Patron-Minette were out of her life forever, she had friends, real friends now, her sister was back and Gavroche was safe, and she was going to marry Enjolras, the most incredible man she had ever met. She would finally have a real family.

"I love you," he whispered, his hand brushing her cheek gently.

"I love you too," she replied softly as he leaned in to kiss her again. For the first time in her life, everything was perfect.