Eponine felt that this was not so much a dinner as it was an interrogation. The table was set as such so that Marius and Cosette were next to one another, and Eponine was situated between Mathieu and Enjolras, neither of whom she felt particularly inclined to look at after the conversations of the past afternoon. Cosette smiled very awkwardly at Eponine the entire time, glancing intermittently at her cousin as though to try and guide Eponine's gaze in his direction. Eponine, however, would have none of it and instead averted her gaze to the kitchen as the maids came out with the warm bread and butter.

"Mathieu," Cosette spoke up when she realized that conversation would not begin without some assistance. "I don't believe you've met Eponine properly. We – we grew up together," Cosette said, though at the final part of the introduction, her smiled grew markedly forced. "I think you both would get on well –"

"Because they grew up poor, you mean," Enjolras spoke up calmly, not looking up and instead extending his hand to wordlessly request that Eponine pass him some bread. "Yes, I suppose that is the easiest way to make a match, isn't it? Stick to your own? If it works for the rich, then why can't it work for –"

"Enjolras, has anything interesting happened with LaPerriere lately?" Marius interrupted, raising his eyebrows at his friend. "Mathieu – Enjolras is an apprentice to an attorney here in Paris, maybe he could teach you a bit? He deals a lot with businessmen."

"I really have no interest in business," Mathieu said, the first time Eponine had heard him speak. If Eponine's poverty was evident, then Mathieu's was blatant, even just in his voice, which sounded as though puffs of dust erupted from his lungs every time he spoke. It was a bit like wind, with only faint whisps of voice in between, which was far from Eponine's harsh, almost masculine bark of a voice. "I've grown up working in fields, I don't think I could bear to do anything else. It's peaceful."

"It does sound that way, doesn't it?" Cosette said with a smile. "There was a sort of charm, living away from the ruckus of Paris, wasn't there, 'Ponine? Montfermeil was quaint, in its way."

"I can't say it would be easy to go back, though," Eponine chuckled before taking another bite of bread, and the look of disappointment on Cosette's face did not evade Enjolras' notice, as he looked a great deal calmer now. Marius, on the other hand, looked as though someone had tightened his collar to an uncomfortable extent. He hadn't expected this to be the way Cosette became a part of the home – he had not caught wind of her plans about Mathieu and Eponine, but could not ignore her very open attempts to introduce the pair, especially with Eponine not appearing in the least a willing participant, and Enjolras' hackles raising at any attempt to force interaction.

Perhaps it was a sign that he had very much to still learn about his wife, but he quickly learned by dinner's end that she was not merely a delicate, patient blossom – she was ever the lady, but one with a temper, and for the first time since meeting her, he truly met her once they retired to their bedroom for the evening.

"I'm disappointed, you know," she said with a huff and she finally let her hair down and let it fall down her shoulders. "I know Enjolras is your dear, dear friend. He is here, and he is family now. But I did not expect you would let him speak to me that way."

"What way?" Marius asked, genuinely perplexed by this side of Cosette – this grousing and harrumphing that was not at all compatible with the idea of her that he had first seen across the cobblestone streets and instantly fallen in love with. "He was only saying –"

"Saying that it was wrong of me to think that Eponine and Mathieu could make a fine pair," Cosette finished, raising her eyebrows. "And they would! They're from the same world, they understand each other."

"I don't think you know Eponine as well as you might think," Marius said gently, which caused a bit of color to drain from his wife's face, and he immediately knew he had chosen the wrong response. Still, it was too late now to conduct the conversation in a way that would appease her, and so the next best idea would be to try and convince her. "You know, she's been reading and studying. Grandfather taught her a bit more than she already knew, and she accompanied Enjolras to school once, he said she was astounding. She's quite bright –"

"And so she is too good for my cousin?" Cosette interrupted again, and again Marius felt a sinking sort of sensation that perhaps he did not know Cosette as well as he thought either. "Marius, Mathieu is a good man –"

"A good man whom you have known for all of two months – and two months is a generous estimate," Marius said in a slightly exasperated tone. "I understand you mean well. I understand you want what's best for him – and I will do everything in my power to help him make a good living in my grandfather's business. But I don't suppose it would be a terrible inconvenience for you to tell me first before betrothing him to one of my dearest friends."

Cosette's face contorted in resolute annoyance at her husband's response to her proposition – indeed, she was a clever, practical young woman when given the chance to be, and she saw no reason why it should not at least be suggested that Mathieu and Eponine could be good for one another. Her delicate hands clenched into fists at her sides before she strode across the room to stare out the window, attempting to mask the look of disappointment on her face. She had hoped – had sincerely believed that in marrying Marius, she would have someone who would take her side in every battle. She had not considered the possibility that they would become one of these couples, who disagreed and fought and groused, who thought ill of another. After a few breaths, she turned around and glanced over at Marius – she was surprised to see that his face reflected very much the same emotion. In that instant, it was almost like a jolt of lightning. It was not the same as that of their first meeting, in which they instantly and reciprocally feel in love with one another. This, instead, was the sudden mutual realization that the other was not a perfect person, that the other half they had chosen was flawed as well, and that this was the foundation of their marriage.

Marius, on the other hand, felt relieved at this point that he was growing more observant than he had been in months prior – smarter, even. He had been called dense a few times for not having known that Eponine had been so very in love with him, and had only agreed to all of his ridiculous plans because of it. Now, however, Marius felt confident in his ability to see things and read things – he could see that attempting to force Mathieu and Eponine into anything would be a great disservice to Eponine, as well as to Enjolras, whose pride was still greatly wounded. While he did not jump to conclusions about reasons why, Marius was sure that Eponine was playing a larger role than anyone else in his healing, and to tear that away by giving Eponine to another man to become his housewife and handmaiden would be a travesty indeed. He was indeed becoming a smarter man, but being smart was not a romantic quality, and the fact that both he and his wife were becoming a bit smarter, a bit more independent, weighed heavily on the romance of their marriage.

"I only mean to help them both," Cosette said resolutely. "After all, they could both use the portion of your Grandfather's estate. Mathieu would help you greatly, and the portion of your Grandfather's estate –"

"Who told you?" Marius asked suddenly.

"Eponine mentioned it briefly. I wondered, then, why you did not," Cosette said, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"I did not think it mattered greatly – you've never shown any interest in the business, and I was sure it would bore you," Marius said. "But Cosette, if you've only just found out before supper about the estate and had already planned for how to give it to Mathieu, without once speaking to me –"

"I was not planning to give it to him!" Cosette said sharply, and the little songbird who had always for Marius shown so brightly suddenly appeared to have talons, as her glared pierced her husband. "It was only a thought – you said yourself you couldn't fathom running the business alone, and Mathieu can help you."

"He said himself he has no desire to learn about business," Marius said.

"Then we will convince him," Cosette replied. "Unless you would rather Eponine marry a complete stranger, and have someone whom you don't know in the slightest as a business partner."

"No."

There was a silence in the room as Cosette attempted to process Marius' reply – what was he refusing? She wondered. Who else would he have as a business partner.

"If Eponine comes to love Mathieu, then so be it," Marius continued. "But if she does not, then we will find some other way to help him."

"She will not love him," Cosette said, and her voice at this point was strangely calm as she stared at her husband, her eyes like pools of still water as she awaited his reaction. "Because I'm sure we all know she will never have the man she truly loves."

"She understands," Marius said staunchly – there was a firmness and finality, almost fatherliness in his voice which Cosette had never heard from him before. "But for all she has done for us, she deserves at the very least to be loved. If your cousin can give that to her – wholeheartedly, without expectation – then we shall see."

And between the pair, an unsettling silence nestled its way for the remainder of the night.

A/N's

Sorry for the long disappearance. Nursing school has been a little crazy, so catching up this story went slightly on the backburner. I'll try to pace myself a little better now that my schedule is a little more predictable. Anyway, in this chapter, as promised, we have a sad but much-needed reality check for Marius and Cosette about what being marriage will truly mean for them. I know there are a lot of Cosette fans out there who will not like this portrayal, but bear with me for a while - it's a natural part of a marriage to hit these speedbumps. And there will be a little bit more friction between Enjolras and Cosette, and it's going to play a large part in the story later on. There was no real collision between the two yet because Marius is still able to do damage control, but it will come. We'll also learn a little bit more about Mathieu soon.

Thank you everyone for all your support, and everyone on Tumblr for prodding me to get back on my writing game. Until next chapter, cheers!