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Eponine shifted uncomfortably in her new dress and twirled at Marius' command. She yanked down on the restrictive bodice and up on the skirt, both of which she was unaccustomed to.
"Might I trouble you for a pair of trousers?" she asked. Marius laughed as if it was a joke, and Eponine just stared as she squirmed in the frock. Marius took hold of her hips and swung her down from the tailor's platform, causing her to giggle.
"Let's be serious, though." she said, trying to wipe the smile off of her face. "Must I really wear this? It's terribly uncomfortable." She added her signature pout.
"Well, it's up to you, but, personally, I think that it makes you look positively scrumptious." Marius whispered in her ear. His warm breath tickled her neck, and she quickly gave in.
She gave an exaggerated sigh and said, "I suppose if you like it, I can force myself to wear it, but what will I get in turn?" She bat her eyes and ran her hands repeatedly from his shoulders to his pecs, sending a shiver down Marius' spine. He stammered, and finally gave up, taking her hand and yanking her out the door.
When he and Eponine got outside, Marius searched for the nearest alleyway and led Eponine into it. Remembering how aggressive he had been the last time, Marius took care to be gentle with Eponine. He wrapped his arms around her and trailed kisses from her forehead to her jaw, hesitating when he reached her lips. Eponine surprised him by tangling her fingers in his hair and smashing her lips against his. He stumbled backward and found Eponine pinning him to the wall. She gave him a smug smirk and traced his lips with her long, delicate fingers, causing goose bumps to appear all over his body. He shivered as she caressed his cheek, her touch as light as a feather. She continued to tease him, kissing his neck and shoulder until he had finally had enough. Marius spun her around and reversed their positions, poking Eponine in the ribs and causing her to giggle.
"Oy, look what we have here, boys," said an unfamiliar voice.
Marius ignored it and gazed into Eponine's eyes. He saw them grow as large as saucers and whispered, "'Ponine, what is it?"
"My-my-" she stammered as a large group of men sauntered over to them.
Marius whirled around and pressed Eponine against the wall behind him in an effort to shield her from whatever she was afraid of. He gasped as his eyes met with those of the group's leader. It was Eponine's father. Marius had only seen him once, but such a face was impossible to forget.
"Look what we 'ave 'ere," sneered Thenardier who was also known as Jondrette. "Who's that behind you, boy?
"Marius didn't answer. He could do nothing but reach behind himself and give Eponine's hand a reassuring squeeze. As Eponine's father inched closer, Marius back further towards the wall, smashing the girl against it.
Eponine grunted in protest and discomfort as Marius flattened her against the alley wall. She heard her father questioning Marius about her identity, not knowing that it was his own daughter who was shielded by an upstanding member of the upper class. As her father's goons closed in, encircling Marius, the air grew thick with the stench of those who had not had a bath in years. Marius pressed closer to the wall with each step the Eponine's father took. Eponine began to feel the effects of the corset working with the claustrophobia Marius' closeness was giving her. As the Patron Minette closed in causing Marius to squeeze closer, she began to gasp for air and soon slipped to the ground in a faint, revealing her face to her father and his gang.
Marius felt his back smack against cold brick and heard a thump as Eponine landed on the cobbles, unconscious. He looked from the girl's unusually pale face to that of her father and shrunk back against the wall, hoping that as her father, Thenardier would go easy on Eponine.
"So you're the bloke who's been fondling my daughter." sneered the gang leader.
Marius sputtered, outraged that the man thought him coarse and common enough to have relations with a woman who was not his wife. "I beg your pardon!" "You'd better," countered Thenardier. "Eponine was my best seller until you came along."
Eponine's father took a swing at Marius, clipping the boy's jaw with his fist. Marius staggered, tripping over Eponine's limp frame and landing on his face, a member of the Patron Minette's boot catching his eye on the way down. An "oof" escaped Marius' lips as his chest made contact with the street.
He was about to black out when he heard familiar a voice call out, "Hold it right there, gentlemen!"
A shot was fired, and a bullet whizzed past Thenardier's head, missing only by a hair, literally. Marius squinted his eyes and saw Enjolras standing at the other end of the watched as the boy sauntered up to Eponine's father, crossed his arms and said, "Knock it off, or next time I won't miss."
Enjolras pointed the pistol at Thenardier's head and began counting down as the thugs scrambled from the alley.
"Three, two, one!" He fired the shot into the air and snickered to himself before squatting down urgently to check Eponine's pulse.
After finding that she was, in fact, still alive, he gently slapped her face and wrists until she came to. She batted her eyes and raised her head, adjusting to the Paris sunshine.
"Marius?" she asked groggily.
"Right here, love." Enjolras' heart sunk as his friend scrambled over and laid Eponine's head in his lap. What had he been thinking of? Eponine obviously wasn't interested.
Marius moved Eponine's head from the cobbles to his lap and kissed her lightly on the forehead before noticing that Enjolras was still squatting a few feet away. He cleared his throat awkwardly, but Enjolras remained, seeming to not notice Marius. "I'll be right back," he whispered to Eponine.
Enjolras was snapped out of his day dream by a tap on his shoulder. It was Marius.
"Do you mind?" his friend asked, jerking a thumb in Eponine's direction. Enjolras scoffed. Marius was always thinking of himself. Even during the revolution he had been preoccupied with Cosette who had apparently been placed on the back burner.
"Fat lot of thanks I get for saving your hide."
Marius was obviously stung. "I had it sorted," he retorted. Enjolras scoffed again.
"Look," sighed Marius. "I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment, so if you could just be on your way..."
Enjolras closed the distance between himself and Marius, getting in the other boy's face. "You think you're the only one who cares about Eponine? If you really cared about her, you'd leave her be and go back to Cosette. I've told you before that someone would find out, and now several people have. When word gets around, Eponine will carry the burden because you're not man enough to own up to what you've done, and she loves you enough to take all the blame." Enjolras whirled on his heel, not wanting to make more unneeded excitement for Eponine.
Eponine sat up when she heard Enjolras raise his voice. Tears came to her eyes when she heard in his voice and his words how much he cared about her and Marius didn't. Enjolras stormed away, and Marius turned to her.
He bent down and caressed her face, saying, "What is the matter, my dear?"
The tears spilled over, and Eponine said, "You know exactly what the matter is!"
"I'm sure I do not," replied Marius, confused.
"I heard everything Enjolras said. He loves me, and you do not. What am I? Your little play thing? I have always been the one that you come to when your precious Cosette is out of reach! Ever since the we met, I have been there to do your bidding and catch you when you fall, but I refuse to accept the pain you give me any longer!" She went to get up, but Marius caught her hand and held her back with a hurt expression on his face.
"Eponine, my love, you must believe what I say! It is you I love, not Cosette, and I would walk the world over to be where you are. What must I do to prove my love?"
Eponine looked at her folded hands and took a deep breath.
"You have to choose. Between me and Cosette, I mean. I know what we're doing is wrong, and I don't want to hurt Cosette." She sighed and looked up at Marius, cringing at his expression. It was a mix of sadness and confusion. Without a word, he stood up and hightailed it out of the alley. Eponine dropped her head into her hands. Now I've done it she thought. With yet another sigh, she stood up, dusted herself off and went to her flat, hoping to avoid her father who would inevitably turn up sooner or later.
Marius ran from the alley without a word, not wanting to waste another second. By the time he reached his home, he was extremely winded and sweaty. How would he explain it to Cosette? To Marius, it no longer mattered what Cosette thought. He burst through the front doors and took the stairs two at a time until he reached the large bedroom that he and Cosette shared. To his dismay, his little wife sat on the divan, embroidering a pair of tiny stockings for one of her lady friends.
"What brings you home so early, my love?" she asked in her high pitched, childish voice.
"I-I've-," Marius floundered for an explanation that would cover up why he was packing a trunk and leaving. "I've been called away on business. I must-uh- catch a ship to London straight away." He smirked to himself, overly satisfied with his explanation. Cosette obviously didn't suspect a thing.
Cosette sighed to herself, knowing full well that Marius was not going on a business trip. She knew what Marius thought of her: that she was just a stupid little lady, perfect wife material that could easily be set aside when something new came along, but Cosette refused to be set aside. She dropped her needlework and turned on all the charm she could, casually dabbing perfume along the delicate curve of her neck, knowing that by doing so she would drive Marius wild. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and gave a dissatisfied hmph when she saw that he wasn't paying attention. She wracked her brain for anything else that turned her husband's head. Finally, she remembered their first day living together. Marius had come home after losing a big case, and Cosette had given him a little massage to soothe his nerves. That should do the trick, she thought, ambling over to him.
"You seem tense, darling," she cooed. "Whatever is the matter?"
"I've had quite the time at work recently," Marius lied; he had feigned sickness and visited Eponine instead of going to work for the past several days.
"You must relax," replied Cosette, pushing him gently onto the divan and taking a seat on his lap.
"But I really must-" Cosette silenced him with a long kiss on the lips. "Well, I suppose I could stay a tad longer."
Cosette giggled to herself; her plan was working. She began to hum softly and rub his shoulders with her tiny hands. It seemed to be going well until Marius glanced at his stop watch and said, "Oh dear, I'm very late." He gave Cosette a quick peck on the cheek and slammed the lid to his trunk closed. Just as he was about to open the front door, Cosette ran from their room, and from the balcony she said,
"Marius, I'm going to have a baby."
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