The next morning, the trio found themselves packed into Enjolras' car, each with a duffle bag of necessities for their three day trip stuffed into his very small trunk. Gavroche was playing on Enjolras' laptop, Éponine was reading a book, and Enjolras was focussed on the road. Enjolras' parents' house was about four hours away from the university. They got up at seven to ensure they would make it for lunch, which would be served anytime between eleven thirty and noon. Enjolras told Éponine that his eldest sister and some conglomerate of her family would probably join them for lunch, but his other sister would probably come that evening or the next morning. She had an internship a couple hours away, so she wasn't sure when she would be able to get off.
After the second hour, the laptop died, so Gavroche settled for listening to Éponine's iPod. Half an hour later, Éponine put down her book, in favor of staring off into the distance. Out of the corner of his eye, Enjolras saw her twisting her hands in her lap. He put a hand on her knee. "Ép, tell me what you're thinking." He requested.
"I guess I'm just nervous to meet your parents. I've never made it far enough into a relationship to get to this stage." She sighed and turned her attention towards him. "I don't have a lot of experience with normal parents. The only ones I really know well are Cosette's."
"Well, I am really glad you are coming and meeting them. They will be thrilled to meet the girl who I finally settled on." He said, winking at her. "Also, my sisters will love to get to know you and Adrienne will gush over Gav."
"That's another thing. How much have you told them about our, er, situation?"
"Which situation? The one in which we are sleeping together? Or the one in which Gavroche is the kid we are taking care of for a grade and also your brother?" He asked, grinning at her.
"Well, both. But mostly the second." She responded, biting her lip to keep from smiling.
"I didn't tell them we are sleeping together, but it is probably inferred. I've told them about Gav, but they don't know he is your brother yet. I think you can decide if and when they learn that fact." She nodded, and looked back out the window, relishing in the feel of Enjolras rubbing circles in her thigh.
"Éponine, don't be nervous. They aren't the most accepting of people, but their opinion doesn't matter. It is our relationship. I love you, and if they don't respect me enough to try and love the two of you, they don't deserve to. If you feel really terrible, we can rent a hotel room and leave tomorrow morning." He told her. She nodded again, not looking at him. She twisted in her seat to see her baby brother.
"Look at him! He fell asleep like that? How do people even fall asleep in moving vehicles?" Éponine said, laughing.
"It is actually very easy, if you are tired enough." Enjolras told her.
"I never could." She said. They fell into a comfortable silence, his hand still on her leg. They didn't speak much more until Enjolras pulled into a gated driveway. Éponine looked up at the house, and then to her boyfriend. "You live here?!" She asked incredulously.
"Yeah. Well, I did." He rolled his window, reached out to press a button. The house in front of her was gigantic. It was two stories, possibly three in some places. It had grey siding and cream siding, except for the jut-out around the front door, which had brown and grey cobblestone. On the left side, a gallant porch could be seen.
"How may I help you?" A very formal voice said.
"Oh, Jonathan, don't tell me you forgot about me!" He said into the speaker.
"Master Gabriel! I'll open the gates right away, sir."
"Thank you, Jonathan. No need to announce my arrival to my parents. I'll let them be terrified someone snuck into the house." He said. As the large, black, iron gates opened, Éponine heard a hearty laugh from the other side of the speaker.
"Will do. Garage four is empty for you, sir." Enjolras just nodded before pulling forward, through the gates and following the drive to the back of the house, where there were three, large, two-car garages. The place for the fourth car, sure enough, was open, and empty. Enjolras pulled his car into it, turned off the ignition, and then opened the door, climbing out.
"You have a butler?" Éponine asked, climbing out of the car.
"Yeah. Jonathan takes care of all of the household things. He manages the cook staff, the cleaning staff, the yard-workers, and is head of all security." Enjolras said, shrugging. "You wanna wake up Gav and I'll grab our bags?" He asked her.
She nodded, grabbed her backpack, closed her door, and opened the back door. She gently pushed Gavroche, who responded immediately. "Wh-Who-What is happening? Where are we? Are we here?!" He said, slowly gaining his bearings.
"Yes, we are here. Clean up the mess you made, wipe the drool off your face, and let's go meet Gabe's parents." She told him, ruffling his hair.
"Don't touch my hair!" He told her. Éponine walked to the trunk. Gabe already had all of their bags out, but they filled his arms.
"You wanna shut that?" He asked. She nodded and did so. He leaned over to her and gave her a peck on the lips. "Remember, no matter what happens, I love you, and that's what matters." She nodded again, and stepped out of the way, letting him lead the way into his childhood home. Gavroche popped out of the backseat, with his backpack and Enjolras' laptop bag, behind Éponine. Somehow, Enjolras got the door into the house open, and hit the button to close the garage door. The Thenardier's followed him into the mudroom. He hung his keys on a peg, and then proceeded into the next room.
"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" He shouted. The room they had just stepped into was a large, beautiful foyer with a grand, sweeping staircase. Enjolras, not fazed by the large-scale building he had grown up in, continued through a large, cream arch, into what looked like a living room, for all Éponine could see from the foyer was a homey fireplace.
"Gabriel! I'm so glad you are here!" A woman's voice exclaimed. As the siblings entered the room, they saw her. She was blonde, like her son, but shorter than him. She was also stockier, where Gabe was lean. She was still gorgeous, even at her older age. She was wearing a grey, silky, formless, short-sleeved shirt, smartly matched with a white skirt with leaf shapes that got denser the closer to the ground the skirt went.
"Hi, Mom. I'm glad to be home." He said, hugging her.
"How are you, son? Why didn't you have Jonathan announce your arrival?" A man stood up from a chair. He looked much like what Éponine pictured Gabe to look like in twenty or thirty years. He was tall and lean, but muscular. He had darker hair than Gabe and his mother, but had the well-defined jaw that Éponine oh-so-loved to run her fingers over-
"And who is this?" The woman's voice interrupted her reverie. "Where are your manners, Gabriel? Please introduce this lovely woman, and handsome boy!" She exclaimed, looking in Eponine's direction.
"Of course. Mom, Dad, this is Gavroche Thenardier, the child I have been taking care of this semester. And this is Éponine Jondrette, my girlfriend. Ép, Gav, this is my mother, Jaquette Enjolras, and my father, Régis Enjolras." He introduced.
"Absolutely! I have heard so much about the both of you! I am very excited that you will be staying in our home. Please, make yourselves at home." Mrs. Enjolras said to them, coming over to hug each of them.
"Thank you. It is very kind of you to let us stay here, Mr. and Mrs. Enjolras." Éponine said.
"Yes. And you have a beautiful home." Gavroche added.
"Oh, no need to be so formal. You can call me Jackie and my husband Régis." Mrs. En- Jackie said. "Gabriel, why don't you show the two of them to their rooms? They can take the two on either side of yours." She told him. "They should be ready for you all."
He nodded, and gathered the bags in his arms again. He went back into the foyer, and began to ascend the staircase, Éponine and Gavroche following. At the top of the staircase, Gabe turned to the right. He turned into the first doorway on the left. "Gav, this is going to be your room for a few days. Try not to make too big of a mess out of it." Enjolras said, winking at the boy. Gavroche plopped on the bed, laying on his back. Gabe threw Gavroche's duffle bag onto the boy's stomach, who, consequently, let out a grunt.
"Thanks for that." He said, but Enjolras was already leading Éponine to the room next door.
"This was my old room. I figured we could put your stuff in your room, but you could actually sleep in here? I mean, only if you want to." Enjolras said, somewhat shyly.
"Yeah. That's fine. I don't think I could stand sleeping in my own bed after all this time." She admitted. He shot her a wide smile.
"Good." He said. He threw his own duffle bag onto his bed and kicked his shoes into a corner, before leading her into the room she was supposed to be sleeping in. He handed her the bag she packed, and plopped onto her bed. "So that wasn't too bad, was it?" He asked her. After slipping her shoes off, she climbed onto the bed next to him.
"No, it wasn't. Your mom is very kind." She said, putting a hand on the bed on either side of his chest.
"Yeah, she just likes playing hostess. Dad will come around. He's a little more marble." Enjolras admitted, as Éponine ran her lips down his jaw, like she had been fantasizing earlier.
"Oh, kind of like this guy I know." She said coyly, looking up at him through her lashes.
"Really? Do I know him?" Gabe said, playing along.
"Nah, but when I first met him, he was pretty cold and distance. But eventually he warmed up to me. And now, he's my best friend and is doing everything he can to help me win custody over my brother." She said, laying on his chest, and wrapping her arms around him. "Did I mention he's extremely attractive and irresistible?" She added.
"Nope, but I think that was implied. He sounds great. Can I meet him sometime? I'm kind of jealous…" He replied, wrapping his arms around her torso.
"I love you, Gabriel Enjolras." She said, leaning up to kiss him. It didn't last long before they heard a gasp and "oops" come from the doorway. "Gav, you can come in." She called, rolling off her boyfriend. Slowly, a mop of dirty blonde hair and blushed skin peeked around the framework.
"Is it safe?" He asked.
"Yep." Enjolras responded. Suddenly, a weight landed on the bed.
"I love your house, Gabe. It's huge!" Gavroche said.
The older man chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it is. I just don't really notice. It's just the house that I used to play in with my sisters. This room was the girls' playroom. They had all kinds of dolls and makeup they used to put on me and make me play with in here." Enjolras told the boy.
"Ew! Why would you let them do that?" He asked.
"I was the baby brother, I didn't have much choice. If I wanted to play with someone, I had to do what the girls wanted to do." He told him, chuckling at the memories. "You probably would have had to deal with similar things, had you stayed at home."
"I'm glad I got out of that one!" The boy said.
"I skipped the baby doll stage, I had a real live baby to take care of." Éponine said. "And we didn't have any makeup until we were much older." She shared.
"Gabriel! Your sister is here! Come downstairs, please!" The trio heard Jackie yell up the stairs.
"Ready to meet more family?" He asked. Both siblings steeled their faces and nodded. "Good." With that, they headed out of the room.
A/N: That's that. You've met Jackie and Regis. Not too painful, right? Just wait until you meet the rest of the family! I struggle greatly with Enjolras' family. I like them cold and conservative to his liberalness. I like the stories in which he is cut off from them, but I also like them being welcoming to Eponine, since she doesn't have real parents to look up to. And then the siblings thing... I like him being an only child, but I also like the sisters I've made for him. If you want to talk more about my headcanons, you can always message me about them. I'd love to chat.
I hope that everyone who just started summer is having a great time of it. I already got my first sunburn of the season, so that's great. I'm hoping I have lots of time to write this summer and have some new stories coming your way in the fall. Read, review, and have a great week!