Chapter Text
With a special sort of luck that only Marius seemed to have, he had unwittingly become a connoisseur on all things regarding the Fauchelevent family.
This was not exactly by choice. When Marius had first begged Éponine to find Cosette's new home, he had expected close to nothing. To him, glances through a gated garden would be enough for a lifetime; he need not even have his name known. And so, to be able to meet Cosette face to face that one fateful night, to speak to her and kiss her fingers, that was a gift that Marius would do anything to hold onto.
Which was how Marius found himself learning about the intricacies of her family. Truth be told, Marius would have rather Cosette read every word out from each of his law textbooks than hear of family, for there was something about the topic that made Marius' stomach twist. Partially because of his ever-mounting fear of getting caught and partially, perhaps, due to his lack of knowledge in that area. What was he– an only child with no father– to know of a loving, tight-knit family? He had no way of contributing and thus, was left to stew in awkward silences at times.
This was of no fault to Cosette of course, who barely knew anything of Marius' troubles. However, family was what she loved most, and she had no friends or social events to attend to and talk of, so her conversations of the day (and night) naturally drifted to those about her family.
As such, Marius learned in heavy detail just how frighteningly mysterious her father was, unwilling to talk about her deceased mother and clamping up whenever strangers chatted with them for more than a couple of minutes. It was tiring, Cosette admitted several times, to love a father that seemed no more corporeal than a shadow at times.
Then there was the matter of her twin brother. Eugène Fauchelevent was, from Cosette's description, simultaneously similar yet different to their father. He was shy about all social affairs, up to and including dinners with his family, for most of his meals were consumed in his room. Once close, Cosette’s time in her convent school had caused the siblings to grow apart, leaving her cleanly cleaved out of her brother’s life. He was still friendly towards her – hardly ever refusing anything that she wanted him to buy or do – but otherwise rarely spoke.
“But if you ask him any sort of questions regarding the king, or of Robespierre, he talks and talks like he’s met the man himself,” Cosette had huffed.
Her brother was attending the same law school as Marius, a fact that Cosette eagerly latched onto, asking him if he ever knew a Fauchelevant in his classes. Marius did not have the heart to tell her that he spoke to two people in the entire university, one of which was Courfeyrac, and so had no idea what Eugène Fauchelevent could even look like.
Marius need not have worried though, for it seemed like fate was determined to have the two men meet.
This night started like any other: Marius slipping past the garden gates and into the arms of a waiting Cosette. She was exceptionally beautiful tonight, the full moon behind her illuminating her in a heavenly glow. Her dark hair was braided back, but Marius still couldn’t resist pushing a strand of hair over her ear, causing her to laugh.
“Good evening, Monsieur Pontmercy,” she greeted, an eyebrow raised. “How was your day today?”
“Great. And even better now that I am with you.”
Her tinkling laughter made his heart soar, and Marius was proud that he managed to not trip over his own feet as Cosette led him further into the garden, placing them both on the bench.
“Oh? How much better has your night become, monsieur?”
Marius felt the blood rush into his head as he grinned, his hand gently grasping Cosette’s hand.
“Very. Shall I show you, mademoiselle?”
Cosette tilted her head to the side, allowing her braid to fall over a shoulder. Marius took that as an invitation to lean in for a kiss.
“Cosette?”
The blood that had filled Marius a moment earlier turned into cold hard lead. The third voice broke the silence of the night, along with subsequent footsteps that were growing nearer and nearer.
In an instant, both Marius and Cosette leapt up from the bench. Marius nearly dove straight towards the gate, but Cosette’s hand gripped his arm tight. She stared at him with wide eyes, shaking her head.
“My brother,” she breathed, and Marius’ heart sank. “You cannot go back to the gate, he’s blocking the way.”
“Cosette?” Her brother called out once more, louder than before.
“Eugène!” She replied with a false sweetness. “I’m coming!”
Meanwhile, Cosette was shooing Marius with her hands, her eyes pleading with him to hide. Where?! Marius asked with his own bulging eyes. Cosette replied with an uncharacteristic glare, waving a hand and signalling: Anywhere!
Footsteps growing closer, Marius let his body take control, throwing himself behind a bush and crawling under its thorny stems. His face buried in the dirt, Marius could not see what was happening above ground, merely hearing a swishing of fabric and heavy footsteps pausing just mere feet away from his bush.
“Have you finished your work already?" Cosette spoke. “It's rare to see you emerge from your dungeon before the sun rises.”
“Good evening to you too, sister.” Came a humourless reply.
Her brother sounded familiar, but before Marius could remember, he spoke once more.
“I heard voices coming from the garden earlier. Was there someone here?”
“Just me. I was talking to myself about my day; it’s quicker and easier than keeping a diary.”
It was almost impressive how quick Cosette was at lying, if it were not for the fact that Marius himself was her biggest lie, and that he was stuck lying face down beneath a flower bush.
“One of the voices was a man, though.”
“A gentleman walked past the gates a while ago, it might have been him. Or your own thoughts, you have been studying rather hard after all.”
“There was a shadow I saw from my window.”
“Really? Well go rest then, Toussaint said that hallucinations only start to occur if one does not get enough sleep—”
“Cosette.” Her brother’s tone sharpened. “There is a man’s boot sticking out from that bush, and I am fairly certain that the boot is attached to a man.”
The silence that followed was so heavy, Marius half-hoped it would flatten and kill him instantly. Alas, all that happened was Cosette quietly saying:
“Please don’t tell Papa.”
“I hope I won’t have to. Let me see his face.”
There was a rustling of skirts and footsteps and suddenly, Marius felt the tip of a shoe bump against the sole of his feet.
“Citizen. Stand up and step into the light.”
Marius stood, trembling in fear and praying that his death will be swift and painless. Slowly, he lifted his head and stared Cosette’s terrifying brother in the eye.
“Enjolras!” He cried out.
“...Marius?” Cosette’s brother shared his look of surprise, for he was indeed Enjolras, the leader of Les Amis de l’ABC and the friend of Courfeyrac. If it were possible, Marius felt his heart drop further down into his knees.
“You’re Cosette’s brother?”
“You’re the Luxembourg stalker?”
Marius’ blood rushed back into his cheeks, but before he could make an even bigger fool of himself, Cosette ran forward.
“Marius! You said you didn't know him,” Cosette accused, her petite hands wrapping around Enjolras’ arm.
“I didn’t! I had only met him once through Courfeyrac, my– my flatmate,” Marius stammered out, staring at the pair of siblings. Standing side by side, he wondered why he never noticed their similarities: strong noses, thick eyebrows, and full red lips. Only their hair and eyes were different, with Enjolras taking all the lightness and Cosette, the dark.
Cosette did not reply Marius, merely turning her head to stare her brother in the face.
“And Eugène, please don’t tell Papa! You know how he is, he will kill Marius!”
The aforementioned Marius did not need to hear that aloud, but he was still too terrified to say anything. Enjolras had fixed on him a stare as cold as ice, clearly unimpressed with what he saw.
"Marius Pontmercy, sister?"
"Brother, please. Please."
Marius trembled, a mere second away from dropping to his knees and begging for forgiveness, when Enjolras sighed heavily, closing his pale eyes and patting his sister's hand.
"I will not tell. Courfeyrac trusts him, and so shall I. He is a good man, albeit with interesting…politics."
Enjolras opened his eyes to send him a glance, but Marius did not need his look to remember Combeferre’s words at his first– and last– meeting. He wished for a swift death once more, but Cosette’s look of pure joy cleared out his mix of emotions.
“Thank you! Oh, thank you Eugène,” She sighed, pulling Enjolras into a hug. Marius averted his eyes as Enjolras wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a rather poor imitation of a hug, unfamiliar with any show of affection from the golden-haired man.
"But you have to be more careful. I have seen your shadow out here for weeks, Marius, and our father is beginning to think there's an animal in our garden. If you two wish to continue these meetings, you will have to do so elsewhere."
Enjolras stared at Marius as he spoke, sounding and looking as stern in his nightgown as he did back in the backroom of the Musain. Marius, of course, had no choice but to nod hastily.
"Of course, of course. Thank you so much Enjolras, I will see what I can do. I will not come here any longer."
Just as Marius finished speaking, Cosette's hand shot out, grabbing hold of his arm. Now standing between them, an arm on each man, she began glancing from left to right as if trying to pick out some strange feature. Slowly, like a sun emerging from the horizon at dawn, her smile widened.
"I have an idea," she said. "Eugène, why don't you invite Marius for dinner? Formally?"
Enjolras blinked down at his sister.
"Whatever for? You mentioned earlier that Father would kill him if he ever saw him."
Marius was not liking all this talk about his imminent death, but Cosette distracted him by swatting Enjolras' arm.
"That's only because he doesn't know him yet! But if you were to introduce him as a friend of yours from school, he would get to know him better. And he would see that you approve of his presence around the house, and surely Papa would trust your judgement."
Enjolras grimaced.
"I cannot guarantee that. He does not even trust me to enter his room."
"Nevertheless, Marius is connected to us now, through you! Before, he was just a stranger, so of course Papa would have reason to suspect him— oh, I hope I'm not too rude, Marius."
"No no, I completely understand."
"—but now, you can help shed a new light on him. We wouldn't have to sneak around just to meet." Cosette paused, thinking.
"If you want to make it more convincing, you can invite other friends too. You're finishing your first year, it would be likely that there are friends you'd want to introduce to us. I know Papa will be reluctant at first, he's so shy, but please could we try?"
The men shared a look, and Marius was surprised at how serious Enjolras was considering the suggestion. As a look of resolution emerged, Marius felt his heart begin to sink lower towards his feet.
Enjolras nodded. "I consent to try."
With a happy cry, Cosette gathered Enjolras up into another hug, this time releasing him quickly to pounce on Marius next.
“Can you believe it, Marius! I’m so happy; my favourite people in the world will finally meet. Thank you, thank you, thank you Eugène!”
Enjolras muttered something undecipherable under his breath, but Marius was too focused on hugging Cosette in return. Despite the dread that was beginning to pool in his stomach, it was impossible for Marius to not be happy when his love was laughing in his arms.
“I am happy, Cosette, truly,” Marius found himself saying. “Enjolras I am forever in your debt. I can never thank you enough.”
“Do not thank me yet, our father might just refuse it altogether,” Enjolras shook his head. “But I promise I shall try, there are certainly friends I would like to invite over too. Go home, Marius. I will reach out to you if our plan succeeds.”
Marius could not be more relieved to leave the scene. Perhaps once he reaches home, it would have all just been a dream.
“Of course. Good night Enjolras, good night Cosette.”
“I will walk you to the gate,” Cosette insisted, and before either Enjolras or Marius could say anything, she whisked Marius away.
“I’m sorry,” Marius blurted out once they reached the entrance and Enjolras was out of earshot. “I’m so sorry, I didn't mean for us to get caught.”
“No no, Marius, it’s fine! Look at what it has brought us.” Cosette took his hands in her own, bringing them up and pressing them between their chests.
“We will get to meet, really meet, out in the daylight and together with my family. And my brother mentioned he will bring his friends; I’ve always wanted to meet them! Truly, this is the best thing that could have happened to us.”
Marius nodded, for he agreed with all that Cosette had said. However, he still had doubts, particularly about himself. He was not rich any more: he practically lived in his coat, and his shoes and hat were beginning to let in water. He didn't even know how much money he owed Courfeyrac! A man such as him would not be able to impress Monsieur Fauchelevent, no matter how much Enjolras and Cosette advocated for him.
His expression must have betrayed his worry, for Cosette frowned.
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing," he quickly assured, but he found it impossible to lie to Cosette's face. "I'm merely afraid."
"There is nothing to be afraid of! My father isn't that scary, I'm sorry to have frightened you. But he has never hurt anything larger than a fly, he's the kindest man I have ever known. You will be fine."
Marius smiled weakly, squeezing Cosette's fingers to remove the tremble from his own.
"I believe you, Cosette. But— ah, it's all happening too fast for me! I have no clothes to wear at all: my coat is old and my shoes are thin. You see me only at night, but if you were to look at me in the day you would hand me a sou! Your father will laugh me off the stoop, if your servant doesn't first. I do not want to shame you, my love."
Cosette's smile dropped, and Marius could have shot himself for causing such a change in her mood. Instead, he stayed still as Cosette leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek, her breath warm against his ear as she sighed.
"Oh, I'm sorry Marius. I was so excited about Papa meeting you that I forgot to ask if you were okay with it as well. If you are unprepared, I understand. I can tell my brother to wait a little longer for you to ready yourself!"
The thought of asking Enjolras to wait for any sort of matter terrified Marius even more.
"No, it's alright Cosette. I want to meet your family properly as well. I will…borrow some clothes. From Courfeyrac. It will be fine."
"Perhaps you could borrow my brother's clothes?"
"...No, I have troubled him enough. I will be fine. It's merely the nerves from tonight, getting caught and all."
Cosette smiled, tension leaving her body.
"You are rather lucky it was my brother and not my father."
Marius winced.
"Indeed."
"Well, if you're sure you're ready, I will let my brother know! It will be fine Marius, I love you no matter what happens."
Cosette’s optimism warmed Marius up considerably. She deserved to be happy– happier than whatever Marius could ever provide for her– so if having dinner with her father and Enjolras was what brought her joy, then who was Marius to refuse it for her?
"I love you too Cosette. Rest well, my love."
Another parting kiss, and Marius slipped out the gates as quickly as he had entered. Cosette gave him a small wave with her fingers before turning around and disappearing into the darkness, with nothing to indicate she was ever here except for a faint scent of soap.
"Eugène!" Marius suddenly heard her call out, her voice fading back towards the house. Distantly, Enjolras replied with a hum.
"Why did Marius call you Enjolras?" She challenged.
Marius took that as a sign to begin running.