They walked over to room 254, knocked, and were greeted by a bubbly Cosette.
"Éponine! I miss you! Even though we just saw each other this afternoon, it's sad not being roommates!" She squealed, launching herself at the brunette. Éponine laughed and hugged her back. When the blonde pulled out of the hug, she squealed again. "Enjolras! Gavroche! How are you? Gavroche, I've already heard a lot about you from Rachelle." Gavroche blushed as Éponine and Enjolras smirked at him.
"Cos, are you going to let them in? Or just talk in the hallway all night?" The four heard Marius say from the inside of the apartment.
"Oh, right. Come on in!" She said, stepping aside. The three came in, noticing they were the first ones there. Rachelle was sitting on the floor of the living room, reading a book. When she heard the trio come in, she looked up, threw her book down, and ran up to Gavroche. She jumped onto him, her arms around his neck, legs around his hips. It looked as though she did this often, as he caught her easily.
"Rachelle! What did I tell you about that?" He scolded her, after putting her down.
"Don't lie. You'll always catch me." She responded, taking his hand and leading him over to the two person couch she was sitting on. The older students looked down at the kids knowingly. Enjolras went over to the kitchen to set the cookies down. Éponine and Cosette followed. The men shook hands, while Éponine hugged Marius, before the three who weren't cooking sat down at the table.
"Marius, what are you making for dinner?" Éponine asked him.
"Mac 'n Cheese and Hot Dogs. I figured all the kids would like that, know that all of the 'adults' do, and it was easy." He responded. They heard another knock at the door, and Cosette got up to answer it, being the good hostess that she was. In came Jehan, Grantaire, and Hillaire. Grantaire had been carrying the six year old, and she was clutching to him, even as he let her down. Gavroche came over and hugged her. She took his hand and followed him over to the couch. Éponine saw him sit her in between himself and Rachelle as they talked and read Rachelle's book together. The men came over and shook the other's hands, and hugged the women, before leaning against the wall. Jehan set a bag of chips and a container of spinach dip on the table next to the cookies Éponine brought. They all talked for a while, waiting for Azelma, Courfeyrac, and Julien to arrive. Once they did, Julien went to sit with his sister and friends, while the older two came into the kitchen. Azelma set down a pan of brownies on the table, before sitting down at the chair Enjolras had just vacated for her, being ever the gentleman.
Soon after, Marius said it was time to eat. Cosette went into the bedrooms and came back with three extra desk chairs, so that more people could sit around the table to eat. They helped the children get their food first and sat them down at the table, before filling plates of their own. Jehan and Azelma opted to sit at the table with the kids while the rest of the adults sat in the living room. Marius, Cosette, and Courfeyrac were on the couch, Grantaire sat on the chair, so that left Éponine and Enjolras on the two-seater. They had a wonderful time chatting with each other. Everyone seemed to have a good weekend and loved their rooms. Azelma, Courfeyrac, and Julien had gone on a walk around campus, while Cosette, Marius, and Rachelle had gone to Hy-Vee to get food for the party. Jehan, Grantaire, and Hillaire had just come back to the dorm and spent the day playing Wii. Jehan had gone and gotten a Disney Princess dress up game, as well as Just Dance, Disney Version, for them to play. Grantaire said he had a little too much Disney in his system, which Cosette scoffed at and said you could never have too much Disney.
When everyone had finished eating, the kids, Azelma, and Jehan came into the living room to join in the conversation. Marius had a Playstation with Mario Kart, which kept the kids occupied while the adults talked. Azelma sat on the floor in front of the couch, with Courf's legs behind her. Jehan opted to sit on his boyfriend, as he wouldn't scoot over on the rather large chair. Grantaire responded by grabbing his hips and pulling him up further on his lap, before wrapping his arms around Jehan's waist.
After a while more of talking, the kids got tired of Mario Kart, so Rachelle spoke up. "Cosette, remember, about the surprise?" Cosette shot her a look, before putting her finger up to her lips and shushed her. She flinched back, but Cosette smiled and winked at her to let her know she wasn't actually mad.
"Okay. Rachelle, if you and Gavroche want to go get it out, you may. Be careful, and set it on the table." Cosette told her. Rachelle grinned before grabbing the boy's hand and pulling him into the kitchen. When they came back out, Cosette told the kids they could go with her to see the surprise. The five of them traipsed into the kitchen. Shortly after, each kid came out with two plates of Cosette's wonderful Oreo Ice Cream Dessert. Julien gave his two plates to Azelma and Courfeyrac. Hillaire gave her two to Grantaire and Jehan, before slipping her way onto the chair with the two men. Rachelle gave a plate to Marius before sitting down with her own. Gavroche came over to the two-seater and handed a plate to Enjolras and Éponine before running back into the kitchen to get his own and one for Julien. Cosette brought out her own and Hillaire's. When Gavroche came back, he sat right in between Enjolras and Éponine. The laughed and scooted over so he would have enough room. They all ate the dessert quickly, before Cosette collected all of the dirty dishes. Éponine got up to help her. They went into the kitchen and loaded up the dishwasher together.
"So, how is Enjolras?" Cosette asked her.
"Umm, fine?" Éponine responded, not understanding the question.
"But, is there anything there? Do you like each other? Are you friends? Are you falling for him yet? Is he good with Gavroche?" She asked.
"Well, yeah, I guess we're friends. I'm not falling for him, but he is very good with Gav. They played Legos for two hours this afternoon." Éponine told her blonde friend.
"You'll fall for him. I don't know how you could not! I mean, he's become like an older brother to me since I joined the group, but he is certainly attractive. And if he's already good with kids, that's a bonus."
"Well, how is living with Marius? Are you living the dream?" The brunette asked, trying to change the subject.
"Yes! It's wonderful! Don't tell anyone, but we rearranged the bedrooms slightly. Marius and I moved most of our stuff to the other room, so that we can sleep in the same room. And Rachelle is absolutely adorable! I feel like she could be my own child! But of course, she's not." Cosette continued rambling about her wonderful life, but I let my mind wander to Enjolras.
"You're thinking about him right now, aren't you?" Cosette asked.
"Who?" Éponine played dumb.
"Enjolras! You have this little secret smile on your face and aren't listening to a thing I'm saying! But I'm happy for you, 'Ponine." Her friend told her. Instead of getting defensive, Éponine just turned and went back into the other room, seeing that the dishwasher was loaded. She sat back in the same spot, but noticed the kids were all gone.
"They are in Rachelle's room, playing." Enjolras answered her unasked question. Éponine nodded. He scooted a little closer to her. His arm went behind the back of the couch.
"So, how's everyone's first day with the kids?" Cosette asked, walking back into the room and sitting next to Marius. His arm immediately went around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Éponine scooted a little closer to Enjolras.
"Oh, Julien is just so polite! His manners are so good and although he's quiet, he's a very nice boy." Azelma gushed. "I think he misses his sister, terribly, though. We will have to figure something out about that." She said, looking to Jehan and Grantaire.
"Yeah. Hillaire is very shy, but she just latched onto R. It's actually really adorable. She probably hasn't spoken more than ten words today, but her actions say everything she needs to." Jehan said, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's neck and kissing his cheek.
"Gav is a good kid. We went shopping and Enjolras played with him all afternoon. He was so in awe of the apartment." Éponine said, turning around to smile at Enjolras. She scooted even closer to him as Cosette started talking about Rachelle.
After some more talk about the kids, Courfeyrac asked the real question. "So, does this mean we can't got to the Musain anymore?"
Everyone looked to Enjolras as he shook his head. "No, we can still go. We are just going to have to nix the alcohol in the back room. It would be irresponsible to have it around the children, and if we all go, we won't be able to find a babysitter." They all nodded, and Enjolras' hand finally fell down to Éponine's shoulder. R gave a Éponine a look, as if saying "I saw that." She gave him a soft smile, as he smirked back at her.
By the time there was a lull in the friends' conversation, it was nearing eleven. "Oh, my! The kids have school tomorrow! They all need to get to bed!" Cosette exclaimed, looking at the time. The students all got up and walked towards Rachelle's room. Marius, being the first one there, started laughing as he looked into the room. All four kids were asleep on the full bed. Hillaire was laying across the foot of the bed, with her head on her brother's stomach. Gavroche had his arm around Rachelle, and her head was on his chest, towards the head of the bed. Grantaire whipped out his phone and took a picture.
"I guess they thought it was time for bed, too." He said.
"Rachelle and Gavroche are adorable." Jehan gushed. "They are like best friends and boyfriend and girlfriend all packed into two bite sized bodies."
R walked over to the bed and gently picked up Hillaire. Then he turned to his partner. "Are you ready, flower?" Jehan nodded. Both thanked Marius and Cosette before heading to the door.
Courf picked up Julien next. He and Azelma left shortly afterwards. "They are adorable aren't they?" Cosette asked the three remaining adults. They nodded.
"We should wake him. I don't think he would like us standing here watching them, and I also don't think he would like to be carried home." Éponine said to Enjolras. He nodded. She walked over to the bed, and gently shook the boy. "Gavroche, it's time to come home." His eyes jerked open, but his body didn't move much. Once he got his bearings, he looked at Éponine. "Are you ready to go?" She asked him. He nodded, and tried to gently remove his arm from around his best friend. He kissed her hair, and mumbled something into it, before getting off the bed. In her sleep, she mumbled a response. He smiled at her. They all walked to the door, Marius switching off the light and closing Rachelle's door before leaving.
"Thank you, Cosette, Marius. It was a wonderful evening." Enjolras said, as they reached the apartment door. He hugged Cosette and shook Marius' hand again. Éponine nodded in agreement as she hugged both of them.
"Yeah, thanks, Miss Cosette, and Monsieur Marius. I had a lot of fun. Tell Rachelle I will see her at school tomorrow." Gavroche said, shaking Marius' hand, like he had seen Enjolras do, and being pulled into a hug by Cosette. Marius and Cosette said goodbye, and the trio returned to their room.
As soon as they got back inside, Gavroche yawned. "We have one thing to do before you go to bed, Gav." Enjolras told him. Éponine walked into her room, and came out with the little bag. They all three sat on the couch.
"It's a little welcome-home gift." Éponine explained, handing the bag to the boy.
"But, you've already given me so much! I don't even know that I need anything else!" Gavroche said.
"Well, we can all three share it, then." Enjolras compromised. The boy nodded before digging into the bag and coming out with the two video games. His eyes widened before a grin broke out onto his face. He wrapped his arms around both of them, pulling them into a group hug.
"Thank you so much! You guys are the best. I wish I could stay here forever." Gavroche said. Éponine pulled back and gave him a sad smile.
"I wish that, too." She said. "Time for bed! You have to be at school by nine tomorrow!"
"Also, don't think we won't be talking about that little stunt you pulled with Rachelle…" Enjolras said, putting a fake strict face on. He winked at the boy, and Gav ran off to his room. Enjolras and Éponine stayed on the couch until they heard his light click off and his door close. "How's tomorrow going to work? Our first functional day as a 'family'?" Enjolras asked the woman.
"Well, I get up at 7:15 and have a 9 am. I get done with class at 2, so I can go and get Gavroche from school. What time is your first class?"
"I don't have class until Dr. Valjean's at 11, but I have class until 5. I'll walk him to school. Do you want to get lunch together after our shared class?" He asked. She nodded, before she yawned. "It's getting late. You should probably get to sleep." He suggested. She nodded again, before standing up and turning towards her room. "Éponine, I had a lot of fun today. I'm excited for this semester, with you and Gavroche." Enjolras said, before she got to the hallway.
She turned around to smile at him. "I am, too, Enjolras. I am, too." They both went to their prospective rooms and promptly fell asleep.