Finals went well for everyone. Éponine and Enjolras found a cheap house for the three of them to share with Courf and Azelma for the next semester while each couple looked for a real house to live in. After finals week finished, all of Les Amis helped them move from their apartment into the house. Everyone also helped decorate the house. R donated paintings he had made, including an early Christmas present, a painted portrait version of Éponine, Enjolras, and Gavroche on the steps of the courthouse. Azelma and Courfeyrac, along with bringing their own belongings, took Gavroche out and bought a lofted bed with a desk and shelves under it. Cosette and Marius went thrift shopping and found a kitchen table and chairs, not in a set, but somehow still matching. Jehan gave them two assorted collections of dishware that he stole from the dining centers over the years.
So, their house wasn't fully furnished, but they only planned to be there for a semester. The last stop was on the day the other kids were being "turned in." There were many tears, but all the older students knew the orphanage kids wouldn't be abandoned. They would all stay in touch, and be visited often. Courfeyrac, unbeknownst to Azelma, had already made plans with Fantine that Julien would be present for the birth of the baby. Cosette was already at the orphanage quite a bit, so she and Rachelle would still see each other often. She promised that she would drag Marius with her more times than not. R and Jehan couldn't stay away from Hillaire for long periods of time, anyways, so everyone knew they would be back many times.
Since Gavroche was staying with them, they just had to finish cleaning out his things, and let him say bye to the rest of the kids. There weren't many things left in his shared room, but he said he had a secret place that he had to grab a few things out of. He didn't even have enough things left there to fill his backpack. Rachelle was no where in sight. He said goodbye to the three other boys who had shared his room, and then the rest of the kids. He hugged Julien and Hillaire, saying he'd see them after Christmas. He hugged Fantine and the other girl who helped out many times at the orphanage.
Finally, just as they were leaving, Rachelle came racing down the stairs. Gavroche's back was turned, so he didn't see her. She jumped on his back, just like the first time Éponine and Gabe had met her. Gavroche almost didn't catch her, but at the last second, he grabbed her legs. She tucked her face into the crook of his neck. He coaxed her off his back so that he could hug her properly. They stood together for a long time, both crying and holding each other. The other children and the older students could hear faint whispering coming from the pair, but otherwise the building was quiet.
When they pulled apart, Rachelle said, out loud, "I'm going to miss you so much, bonehead."
"I'll be back, dingbat. We still go to the same school." He said. "I love you."
Éponine's heart melted at that, and she took Gabe's hand. "I love you, too." She said. They hugged one more time, and he kissed her forehead before the trio left.
They took the backpack home and then loaded up Gabe's car. Once they got on the road, Éponine looked at her boyfriend. "Do you think round two will be better than the first?" She asked.
"Definitely. I spoke to both of my sisters already. Adélaïde relented before we even got back home, with only a little coaxing from Adrienne. They are all very excited to see you and Gav again, and 'Laide and Gil' both think it would be a good idea for you to talk to Zach."
"Good. I hope I can get him to open up a little more." She said. "It surprises me that Adélaïde let up so easily."
"I think it has less to do with you and more to do with politics. She doesn't want to be shunned from the inevitable wedding. Adélaïde loves weddings." He said, smirking at her.
"Oh, it's inevitable now. I could still get rid of you." She reminded him.
"But you won't."
"Come on, Azelma. You only get married once. Hopefully. You're not getting cold feet are you?" Éponine asked.
"No! I love Courf. It's just-"
"It's just what?" The maid of honor asked impatiently.
"I don't know. I wish that I had a dad to walk me down the aisle. I wish I didn't already have a kid, even though I love little Flor. I wish we were more traditional." The bride admitted.
"Azelma. Look at me." Éponine said, putting her hand on her sister's bare shoulders. "We are Jondrettes. We are strong and independent, but we can pass off the burden to those we love. We aren't traditional, no, but we have so many other things. You're beautiful, your baby is beautiful, your soon-to-be husband is beautiful. This ceremony is going to be beautiful, and then you will get a week to just be with your husband. I love you, and anyone here who doesn't love and respect you, doesn't belong to witness this show of love between you and Courf."
"Stop! You're going to make me cry! I'm ready now." The bride said. Éponine smiled and showed her to the gate where the processional would begin. Éponine cued the music, friends of Jehan, and then took her spot in the procession with Marius. She tried not to think about how, a couple years earlier, she would have been dying walking down an aisle of any sort arm and arm with Marius. She just had to look in front of her and see the mop of dirty blonde hair to remind her that she didn't want that life anymore.
As if he could sense her thinking about him, Gabe turned around to smile at her. He was jerked back to real life by Cosette pulling him along the aisle. Then it was her turn. As she entered the garden, she took in all their hard work. All of Les Amis had put in work to make the community garden on campus look beautiful for the wedding. The fences were lined with flowers and lacy, white decorations. Éponine looked up at the centerpiece where Courfeyrac was standing. He was shifting back and forth, anxious to see Azelma. Éponine winked at him and he seemed to relax a little. She saw Fantine and Dr. Valjean sitting in the front row of white chairs with Courf's parents. Floriana Elaina Courfeyrac was being held by Fantine. She saw Régis, Jackie, Adélaïde's family, and Adrienne in another row. Much of the rest of the chairs were filled with Les Amis and other students from the university.
Combeferre and Gabe, dressed very sharply in silver suits with yellow ties and tulip boutonnieres, were already in their places as groomsmen, leaving a space for Marius. There were two spaces next to the officiant, for Azelma and Éponine, and then Cosette, in a simple, yellow strapless dress with a silver, thick belt, and another of Azelma's friends, in a short, one strapped, silver dress with a ruffled edge. As they reached the centerpiece, Marius kissed Éponine's hand and went to his spot. Next came Julien, dressed similarly to the other men, carrying a pillow with the rings on it, and his sister with Rachelle's help. Hillaire was in a small yellow tutu dress with a silver belt and a large flower on one side. Rachelle had a silver ruffled dress with rhinestones scattered on it, and a bow in the back. They carried a basket with yellow and silver rose petals in it between them. After they reached the front, they went over to sit with R and Jehan.
Everyone's jaws dropped, except Éponine's, when Azelma walked through the gates with her little brother. Gavroche was dressed in a charcoal suit. Azelma's dress was beautiful, as was the rest of her, just as Éponine told her. It was a simple strapless dress, but the bodice had creases in it, making lines flow down her curves. The lines stopped just below her hips and then the silky material was just plain white, fanning out to flow behind her. Cosette had curled Azelma's auburn hair into perfect tendrils framing her face. She had very little make-up on, but it just accented the beauty lines already on her face.
Éponine looked over at the groom's face and watched tear roll down his face. He was so happy. Everyone was. Éponine couldn't help but think about how thankful she was for the last year and everything that had happened. She looked past the happy couple, who was now together and the ceremony was starting. Her boyfriend was already looking at her. He looked her up and down exaggeratedly and then lifted his eyebrows appreciatively. Éponine just smiled at him. She had to admit she felt pretty good in what she was wearing. She had pulled her hair half up and curled the rest of it. She had darker make-up on than she usually did. Her dress was strapless. The bodice was sequined to the extreme, and then gave way to a silver, flowy, full-length skirt. She also had heels on so that she was just as tall as her boyfriend, and just a little shorter than Marius.
The ceremony was flawless and emotional and wonderful. The wedding party took pictures afterwards, including some with the three Courfeyracs. Floriana was wrapped in a silver and yellow blanket, to match everyone else. She was very good during the ceremony, and never had to be taken out. Azelma fed Flor before we all went to the reception, which was just as beautiful as the garden. When Azelma threw the bouquet, it was caught between Grantaire, who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, Éponine, and Cosette. Grantaire snuck a glance at Jehan, Cosette beamed at Marius, and Éponine glared at Gabe, who was babysitting, and just shrugged.
She walked over to her boyfriend and the baby. She sat next to him, laying her head on his shoulder and watching the dance floor. Courf and Azelma had already gone back to each other. R and Jehan were sitting at another table, feeding each other desserts. Cosette and Marius were slow dancing. Rachelle, Gav, Hillaire, and Julien were dancing in a circle. Fantine and Valjean were sitting across the room, observing.
The baby cooed and Éponine looked down at her. She was flailing her arms around, so Gabe put his pinky in her fist. Éponine smiled at the sight. She turned her head and kissed her boyfriend's cheek.
"So we're next?" He said, smiling cheekily.
"Apparently. But I haven't been asked… So everyone's going to have to wait a while for the next one. Maybe R or Jehan will pluck up the guts first." She said, pouting coyishly.
"I highly doubt that." Gabe said before turning back to the baby.
"You're so good with her." Éponine said.
"That's good, I guess. Florie is my goddaughter. And I assume I'll be a real dad someday." He said.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Éponine reminded him.
"Eppy! Come dance with us!" Gavroche suddenly said, appearing in front of them. "Hi, Ana." Gav and Rachelle called her that, claiming that everyone else called her Flor, so they needed their own nickname. "You're too little to dance, but maybe you'll be big enough at Eppy and Gabe's wedding." He said, then clamped his hand over his mouth, looking bug-eyed at Gabe.
Éponine's eyes widened as she looked between her two boys. "Gav, do you know something I don't?" Éponine asked slowly. The boy frantically shook his head. "Gabe-"
"Ép, we can talk about this later. Go dance with the kids. We are not ruining Azelma's day with any serious talks." He said. Éponine did as requested, and pushed the exchange out of her mind.
At the end of the night, everyone was tired, and Éponine's feet were killing her. She, Gav, Gabe, and Flor made it back to their new house, a three bedroom, three and a half bath house with two stories fairly near to both campus and Gavroche's school. Gabe put Gavroche to bed while Éponine put the baby in the crib they had bought for her in the room right across the hall from their own. When she made it into the master bedroom, Gabe was waiting for her.
"Before you change, I want to talk for a minute." He said.
"Okay?" She said skeptically, sitting down on their bed and kicking off her heels.
"I know we just spent all day at a wedding, but I planned this with Gavroche weeks ago and the events of the day just made me want to do this even more."
"Gabe, what are you talking about?" She asked. He was pacing now. "Please, just sit down so we can talk. What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing." He said, still pacing.
"Oh, God. Gabe, please say I'm wrong." She said, suddenly becoming very concerned. She almost started crying at the thought of it. He just shook his head, he didn't say anything. "Gabe, please. Don't do this." She pleaded.
He jerked out of his nervousness to give her a weird glance. "What do you mean? Ép, I love you so much."
"Then why are you doing this? On the day of my sister's wedding! Why are you doing this to me? I thought we were happy how things were." She said, crying now.
"I thought this was what you wanted." He said.
"When did I indicate I wanted you to break up with me!" She cried, finally letting the tears fall down her face.
"Ép! Éponine! No! That's not what is happening. Stop crying. Please, don't cry." He said, wiping the tears off her face.
"If you're not breaking up with me, what's going on? Will you please tell me?" She asked quietly, after calming down.
"Éponine. I love you so much. Like I said, I was going to wait, but I don't think I can. I've been carrying this around for weeks, waiting for the perfect time. With graduation, and then Floriana being born, and now the wedding we haven't had much time, but I have to do it tonight. What I'm saying is what I've said a million times in the last year. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Gavroche. I want to grow old with you. I want to see our children grow up with a wonderful mother. I want to marry you, Ép. So, Éponine Raina Thenardier Jondrette, would you do me the beautiful, wonderful, great honor, put me out of my misery, add another name to your four, and be my wife?" He asked.
He knelt to the ground in front of her and pulled a small, black velvet box out of his pocket. He opened it and Éponine gasped at the beautiful ring inside. The band was made out of very small stones and seemed to braid within itself. The square jewel on top had smaller ones surrounding it, all silver and white. She nodded, covering her face with her right hand and offering her left to her boyfriend. "Yes. Yes, God, yes! Gabriel Auguste Enjolras, I will marry you!" She said. He smiled broadly and slid the ring on her finger. He threw the box over his shoulder and hugged her tightly, lifting her up. While in the air, he kissed her soundly. She missed all the other sounds, but finally, as he was putting her back down, she heard the frantic clicking of a camera. She turned around to the bathroom door, where she saw Gavroche with Gabe's phone, taking picture after picture.
"You're supposed to be in bed." She tried to chastise, but she was smiling too widely. Her brother gave her his toothy grin.
"Gabe said I could stay up to watch! I'm so happy for you, Eppy!" He said.
"Come here." She said. The boy ran over to her, and she positioned them on the bed to take a Snapchat selfie. She took the picture with her right hand so she could hold up her left. They were all smiling so brightly in the picture. She quickly snapped it, saved it, and added the caption, I said yes!, before saving it again and sending it off to his story and to various of their friends. Responses flooded in, almost immediately, but Gabe turned his phone off. Gavroche went back to his room soon after, and the older students attacked each other, ripping off the other's clothes. Except for the ring.
Neither of them got much sleep that night, between the baby and their other activities, but Éponine still woke up fresh and ready for the day. Looking at the ring on her finger, she turned to look at her fiancé, and smiled. She was sure there would be more obstacles to overcome in the near future, but she was so happy in that moment. Everything was perfect and she wouldn't trade her life for any other.
A/N: And that's a wrap! I'm so excited, but also extremely sad that it's over! I really like this chapter, and anyone who has read any of my stories knows I'm a sucker for happy endings. This is just such a bittersweet moment, I think I might cry.
As usual, I want all of your wonderful feedback. If there were any loose ends I didn't tie up, which I think I did a pretty good job of, let me know so I can be sure I include it in the sequel, which will happen, even if it has to wait a couple months. I told someone that I want the sequel to have a very loose story line and have most of it just be fluffy little chapters that move the plot slightly. I just love this universe I've created in this story and don't want to loose that. I also want an eventual story based around Gav and Rachelle because I think they're adorable.
The next story I am going to publish is going to be Enjonine (obviously). The storyline is kind of going to be based around Kiera Cass's Selection book series. I read these books in the past couple of months and I absolutely fell in love. I highly suggest it to anyone who likes Dystopian books or books like the Princess Diaries, which are two totally different things, but that is what these books remind me of. I have to make some tweaks to what I already have written, but hopefully I can get the first chapter up by the time I go back to college (August 17).
Anyway, the moral of this note is the story is now over and be sure to review, favorite, PM, etc. so that it gives me inspiration for the sequel and the next story I am going to put up. Even if you're reading this a long time from now, like 2020, or something, please still let me know your thoughts. I 3 feedback! I'll definitely post on here when I get the first chapter of the sequel up, but otherwise, updates on this story are over. I hope you all enjoyed immensely and I can't wait to give you some new stories to read. Thanks so much!