Lead Me to Salvation

Chapter 29

Éponine Enjolras. 

Madame Enjolras.

Adrien and Éponine Enjolras. 

Monsieur and Madame Enjolras. 

I couldn't believe it. I had married the love of my life. I was married to my best friend, my hero, my pain in the neck all in one. I couldn't have been any happier.

After we had been married, we stood on the steps of the church just smiling at each other. 

"I can't believe you're my wife," Adrien smiled, hugging me close to him and spinning around. 

"A few months ago, no one would've believed it," I laughed.

"They won't believe us now!" He agreed before kissing me. 

I stopped for a minute, thinking of everyone back home in Paris. 

"Do you think they'll be upset? That we've gone off and gotten married without them here," I asked him. 

I loved our friends dearly, but I was happy that this had been something that had happened between just the two of us. In the end, all that mattered was that the two of us were together.

"They shouldn't be. They've been pestering me for the last couple meetings about when I was going to propose. They can't be upset that I've finally taken their advice. Do you think the boys will be okay?"

I sighed, thinking for a moment. Would my brothers be okay that we had gotten married without them?

"I'm not sure. I can imagine that Gav will be quite upset that he didn't know you were going to propose," I laughed, thinking of Gavroche sternly telling Adrien that he should've asked properly for permission.

Adrien looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, you see, Gavroche already knew. I asked him one evening before bed if it would be alright with him if I asked you to marry me. Of course he said yes. He was over the moon. He knew I was going to propose on this trip. I'm sure he'll be surprised to know that we're already married."

My heart swelled at the thought of Adrien, a grown mad, asking young Gavroche for his permission to marry me. I wasn't sure how I had gotten so lucky, but I had the best people in my life. Adrien, Gavroche, Theodore, Adam, Courfeyrac, Musichetta, Joly, Marius, Cosette-.

Uh oh. 

That's one person who would be absolutely devastated at the lack of a proper wedding. Cosette wouldn't believe that we had eloped.  It was still strange to say that. That we eloped. It felt very unproper.

But then again, Adrien and I had never done anything the "proper" way. 

"Cosette won't be too excited that she's missed the big day," Adrien said, as if reading my mind. He was good at that.

"I was thinking the same thing. But maybe wedding fever will set in, and her and Marius can finally get married," I suggested.

The carriage pulled up at the church. I turned to look back at the sacred place that will always hold one of my happiest memories. 

"After you, Madame Enjolras," my husband said, opening the carriage door for me. 

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"I guess we may as well tell them at dinner."

"How do you think they're going to react?"

"They'll be so excited!"

"You don't know that!"

"Yes, I do. They adore you because they know that I do."

"So they only like me because they want you to be happy."

"No, that is not the only reason they like you."

"Don't you think I've caused them enough trouble?"

"This is not trouble. This is good news!"

"We eloped. They can't possibly be that pleased."

"You wait and see. For the longest time they thought I'd never get married. They'll be ecstatic. Can we please just tell them already?"

I sighed. We had been arguing on when and how to tell his parents that we had gotten married. When we came inside from the carriage that morning, Adrien had said he was taking me to see the town. 

"Fine. We'll tell them at dinner. But if they hate us, it's on you," I warned.

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That night at dinner, we all made awkward small talk. Adrien's mother seemed to have an idea that something had gone on, as she kept glancing between the two of us. I was sure she had spotted the engagement ring on my finger, and she was itching to say something about it.

"I can't keep quiet anymore. Are you two engaged?" It was actually Adrien's father who spoke a few moments later. Both he and his wife stopped eating and looked at us expectantly.

I put my fork down, glancing to my husband. He slowly put down his fork, and looked between his parents. I watched him with baited breath, waiting to see what he would tell his parents.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

"No."

"Adrien, please, you mentioned it only a few days ago, and we can see the ring on Éponine's finger," his mother argued.

"We're happy for the two of you, and we want to share in this joyous occasion," Monsieur Enjolras told us.

"We're not engaged. We're already married," Adrien finally told them, spitting his words out rather harshly.

Everyone sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. I felt like I was going to be sick. I lost all hope of things going well. His parents were clearly upset with us.

"When did you wed?" his mother asked.

"Just this morning," I finally put in my two cents.

There was silence, again, around the dinner table. Agnes, who had been standing right inside the door to the dining room, was trying to conceal a smile. 

"Well," his father began solemnly, before breaking out into a smile. "Drinks all around!"

Everyone looked at him warily.

"Don't look at me like that," he said to his wife. "Our son is married to a girl he loves. A girl I'm happy to welcome into our family."

He smiled at me when he said that, and I felt a huge burden lift off of my shoulders. If his father could be happy for us, maybe hope was not lost.

I glanced to his mother, who had gone from looking shocked to looking thoughtful.

"I suppose you're right. A big ceremony is not important. What's important is the love that the two of you share."

She smiled at both of us, and I could feel my heart soar. We all spent the rest of the evening drinking, laughing, and just being happy. 

*A/N: As always, I apologize for the amount of time it took me to update. It's much easier to write about drama then it is to write about the happy times! But, if there are any Harry Potter fans among my readers, I just started a new Potter-themed fanfiction. I hope you'll check it out. It's called "Hogwarts' Coolest Twins." Thanks for all your support!*