That night, instead of getting together like they normally would on a Friday night, Cosette and Marius took all the kids to the playground, Grantaire and Jehan went out for a few drinks, Azelma and Courfeyrac stayed in discussing more plans, and Éponine and Enjolras stayed in playing video games, with a few makeout sessions in between levels. They agreed to get together Saturday night for a party in Azelma and Courf's apartment.
Saturday went by fairly normally. Since Enjolras still wanted Éponine to rest before the party that night, she made him a shopping list and he took Gavroche to Target. When they got back, the boys went into Gav's room to play LEGOs, while Éponine made a cake for Azelma, knowing they would make their announcement that night. When it was finished, she walked into Gavroche's room, and snuggled up to her boyfriend, watching them play.
Around seven, the three walked over to apartment 258. Éponine was bearing a covered cake, so no one could see what it said, while Enjolras was pushing a begrudging Gavroche.
"Why don't you want to go?" Éponine asked, when they were just outside the door.
"Because 'Elle is mad at me." He said quietly, to the floor.
"Why is Rachelle mad at you?" Enjolras asked.
"Because I'm a dumb boy and apparently I 'don't understand.' The thing is, I don't know what I don't understand!" Both older students started laughing. "Why are you laughing at my pain?" He asked.
"You'll understand when you're older. Just tell her you're sorry for whatever you did. She can't stay mad at you very long." Éponine said. He nodded and they walked into the apartment. Éponine set the cake on the kitchen counter, and hugged her sister. "Is everything good?" She asked, knowing they had gone to the doctor that afternoon. Azelma smiled and nodded.
"Everything is perfect." Enjolras and Gavroche each hugged the girl before sitting down in the living area with Courf and Julien. Soon, the other two groups came in and they all sat around the living room talking.
"So, is it true?" R said. Éponine, Enjolras, Azelma, and Courfeyrac all looked at each other.
"Is what true?" Éponine asked, not knowing what he was talking about.
"Did you and Apollo hook up?" Apollo was R's nickname for Enjolras, which he hated almost more than if he would have just called him his given name.
"N-no!" Enjolras stammered.
"We're just together now. No hooking up has happened." Éponine responded, with a smirk on her face. When she looked at Gabe's flushing face, she winked and said, "Yet."
Hillaire, who was perched on Jehan's lap, leaned over to put her head on R's chest. "What does 'hook up' mean?" The guys in the room, minus Enjolras, but including Éponine, all burst into laughter. The girls and Enjolras looked appalled.
"You'll never have to know, darling." R said, becoming serious again.
"Jehan! Why won't he tell me?" The little girl complained.
"He's just protecting you. You know how protective he is. You'll find out when you're older." The smaller man told her, brushing her hair between his fingers and fixing R with a glare.
"But all y'all need to pay up now!" Gavroche said, standing up triumphantly. Éponine had noticed he was sitting with her and Enjolras, whereas Rachelle was across the room, sitting with next to Jehan and Hillaire. He walked around, first to Courf, then R, not acknowledging Rachelle, who was glaring at him, and finally to Cosette. They all fished out $5 and paid the boy, who then gave $5 to each Éponine and Enjolras, keeping $10 for himself.
"Think of it as a wedding present." Éponine blushed, while Enjolras and the rest of the company chuckled.
"Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag." Enjolras said, putting his arm around Éponine on the back of the couch. She leaned over to give him a quick peck on the lips.
"I guess it is." She said.
"EWWW!" Julien and Gavroche jumped up and ran out of the room.
"Gavroche! You're so stupid!" Rachelle yelled after him. Then to Éponine and Enjolras, "I think it was romantic." dragging out the last word.
"Give him time, Rachelle. You are still young. Someday he might grow up." Éponine told the girl.
"I hope so." She sighed.
The group continued chatting. Eventually, Gav and Julien came back into the room. Then, Azelma stood up.
"We have something to tell you guys. You all know we got together a few weeks ago. Before Éponine and Enjolras, for the record. But-"
"We found out something Friday morning, which was then affirmed today." Courfeyrac interrupted, standing next to his girlfriend and putting his arms around her.
"I'm pregnant!" Azelma said, enthusiastically.
Éponine just watched everyone else in the room. Cosette, Rachelle, R, and Jehan immediately started gushing. Marius just sat there for a moment.
"I didn't even know you were dating! Why does no one tell me anything?" He said. Cosette shushed him.
"What does that mean?" Hillaire asked.
"It means Azelma is going to have a baby!" Rachelle said.
"Oh! I love babies!" Hillaire said, joining her older friend in the circle around the mother-to-be.
"Wait. You aren't having a baby, are you?" Gavroche said suspiciously to Éponine.
"No! Why would you think that?" She replied with wide eyes.
"Well, I just thought, 'Zel and Courf just got together and you two just-"
"No. I am not pregnant. Hopefully, I won't be for a while." She said carefully, sneaking a look at Enjolras. He didn't show any emotions on his face, so she just moved on. "Who wants cake for this momentous announcement?" She asked, standing up to go into the kitchen.
"Me!" All of the kids, including R and Jehan shouted.
After eating the cake, the kids went into Julien's room to play. They kept chatting a while longer, before they heard yells from the other room. "Gavroche Sebastien Thenardier, I hate you and hope to never see you ever again!"
"Rachelle Kamille Monette, stay away from me! You are the most annoying girl I have ever heard of! Why can't you just be normal?"
"Ugh!" Éponine watched Azelma's eyes go big as Rachelle ran out of the room, sobbing. Cosette ran up to intercept her.
"Rach, what happened?" She asked the girl.
"Gav- He just- Ugh!" She said through angry tears. Cosette picked her up and started shushing her and rubbing her back. Cosette turned to look at Éponine over the little girl's shoulder. Her expression was shocked.
Éponine stood to walk into Julien's room. What she saw shocked her. There were toys all over the floor. Julien and Hillaire were hiding under the covers of the boy's bed. Gavroche was sitting in the corner, facing the corner, with his arms crossed and an angry look on his face. She approached quietly and cautiously.
"Gav-"
"Don't touch me!" He said, shrugging her hand off his shoulder.
"Gavroche. Look at me." She said sternly. Hearing her change in demeanor, he turned to look at her, his angry facade falling, giving way to tears. She took him into her arms. "What happened?"
He looked down at his hands, and started twisting his fingers around. "I don't know. One minute we were starting to get along, and then she just got too close to me. I couldn't concentrate on making the train track for Julien, so I scooted away from her. Then she started yelling at me! I guess I got angry at her for yelling at me, so I yelled back."
"Oh, Gav. Don't you see? You love each other. She just wanted to be close to you. With all of the adults getting together, she just wanted someone, too."
"But, girls have cooties! Rachelle is my best friend, but I don't want to kiss her! And I certainly don't want her to have a baby!" Éponine chuckled at that.
"I don't think she wants that either, but do you understand, Gavroche?" He hung his head and nodded. "Can you go apologize now? Make up and then we can go back to our apartment, okay?" He nodded again.
On their way out of the room, he looked at the twins huddled on Julien's bed. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Julien and Hillaire. Everything will be okay tomorrow, I promise." He said. That's when Éponine really realized that these kids were a real family. Julien and Hillaire were like the little kids Éponine and Azelma had once been, hiding under the blankets while their mom and dad fought, hoping everything would be alright again in the morning. Gavroche and Rachelle were the only parents they had ever known, before coming to campus.
Éponine and Gavroche finally got out to the living room, where Cosette had calmed Rachelle down and they were getting ready to leave. Gavroche looked up at Éponine. She nodded, and he walked over to the trio getting ready to exit the apartment. In a quiet voice, Gavroche said, "'Elle, I'm sorry." She turned around to glare at him, but when she saw the way his head hung, her face softened, and she launched herself at him. He caught her easily, and buried his face in her hair. Everyone smiled at them.
When the eight-year-olds finally let go of each other, Marius led Rachelle and Cosette out the door and back to their own apartment as Éponine, Enjolras, Gavroche, Grantaire, and Jehan got ready to leave. Hillaire was going to stay with Julien tonight because they were already mostly ready for bed.
"'Ponine, can I talk to you before you leave?" Her sister asked as she was walking out the door. The older sister looked back, and saw the awe in the younger's eyes. She turned back to Enjolras and Gav, telling them to go ahead, that she would be there soon, before turning back to her sister.
"Can we go in your room?" Azelma nodded and led the way to her old room, since the couple shared Courf's now.
Once settled on the bed, Éponine started. "I assume it's about Gavroche." When the younger girl nodded, Éponine sighed and continued. "Your assumptions are correct. I noticed right away when we were introduced, but when you didn't recognize him, I decided not to tell you. I've been doing some research, and a few weeks ago I went to the orphanage to talk to Fantine about it. She looked over some of his files as well as my own, and decided that the paperwork lines up with my story. She agrees with me. How many more Thenardiers do you know?"
"Oh, 'Ponine. What are we going to do?" Azelma asked.
"You are going to do nothing. The stress won't help you or the baby. I'll come up with a plan and keep you informed, but I can't let you get too involved." The younger girl nodded. "You also can't tell anyone, not even Courf, not even Gav. If they knew, they could be put into danger." Éponine said, seriously.
"They haven't tried to contact me since I left two years ago to join you here. Unless you know something else I don't, why would they suddenly start caring about us?" Azelma asked.
"I never know what they are going to do. We have to figure out our moves before they can figure out who he is." Éponine said, standing up to leave. "I'll keep you informed, but I should be getting back now." The sisters hugged, and Éponine left.
After arriving back in her own apartment, she saw that Gavroche went straight to bed, with Enjolras not far behind. He stood up when she came in, asked if everything was okay, and then walked her to her bedroom door. He kissed her goodnight outside her door, and then went back to his room. While lying in bed, Éponine decided that even with all the drama, everything ended well. It was a good day.
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. I think there are a lot of moments that are hilarious, like the one where Marius knows nothing. I am a true believer in non-perceptive, totally oblivious Marius. I'm still looking for artwork for my stories, so if you have anything, let me know.
I'm also looking for you guys' input on a new story I'm working on. I might have mentioned my Harry Potter prompt I'm working on. If not, it's basically a story in which Les Amis go to Hogwarts. I want YOUR headcanons for this. I've gone through most of the Tumblr suggestions and I have some opinions of my own, but if you have a headcanon you really like, it could be in my story. I'm also definitely looking for plot points. If you have any questions regarding this, don't be afraid to PM me, and definitely leave me reviews and such!
Thanks so much for making this story such a hit! I don't beg for reviews, but they are always nice. There are over 200 people reading this story from around the world, and that astounds me! Thank you for being awesome!