AN: Yay! I updated again :3 This is all very exciting... I just had to tackle Éponine and Enjolras' troubles in the first few weeks of their little babies being born :') The potential for hilarity was too big to miss XD
There are lots of flashback-y bits in this chapter, and they look like this. Prompt: What if Enjolras and Éponine didn't tell the Amis that they had had twins, and the group had to find out for themselves? Enjoy!
Éponine groaned as one of the twins started screaming again, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the other joined in. She nudged Enjolras in the back with her foot.
"It's your turn." She said bluntly. He also groaned.
"Why is it my turn?!" he complained loudly.
"Because I got up last time!"
Enjolras sighed, before walking to the other side of the room where the twins were sleeping in the crib that had so lovingly been put together by Courfeyrac and Feuilly.
The Amis had come to visit in small groups, many of them struggling to find time in their busy schedules to come and see the new additions to Les Amis de l'ABC.
Gavroche had been the first to visit with a rather excited Courfeyrac alongside. The young boy couldn't wait to meet his niece or nephew, and had insisted that they go over to Éponine and Enjolras' flat the second they got news from the midwife that Éponine had given birth. The midwife had tactfully not said a word about the fact that the baby had turned out to be twins, knowing that many couples preferred to break this news to family members themselves.
Gavroche knocked on the door of Enjolras and Éponine's apartment, a rare occurrence; it was more common for him to just burst in, and both Enjolras and Éponine were now accustomed to it. Which is why Enjolras' face was a little bit less than cheerful when he opened the door and saw the two of them standing there.
"Nice to see you too," Gavroche grumbled, pushing past Enjolras to get into the apartment.
"Sorry, it's just..." Enjolras frowned, "I didn't even know you knew how to knock!"
"What can I say, I'm a man of many talents," Gavroche grinned, "Now, I want to see my nephew."
"Ahh, I'm afraid not," Enjolras said, "I'd be wrong two times over if I said that you had a nephew." Both Gavroche and Courfeyrac frowned in confusion.
"Twice?" Courfeyrac questioned when Enjolras didn't elaborate.
Enjolras nodded, "Firstly because Baby is a girl," he said, "And secondly because it's not so much 'niece'. More like...'nieces'." Gavroche was still confused, but Courf's eyes widened in shock.
"You had... Éponine's got... what?!" he stuttered, barely able to comprehend what Enjolras had just said.
"I haven't got a clue what you're on about," Gavroche shrugged.
"Éponine had twins, Gavroche," Enjolras laughed, "Two girls. So, sorry, but no nephews here." Gavroche's face screwed up in disgust.
"Twin girls?!" he complained, "I thought one 'Ponine was bad enough... now there's THREE of them!"
"Did I hear my name?" Éponine entered the living room from the bedroom, with one of the twins in her arms. The baby had just settled down after screaming for twenty minutes, and seemed to be ready to restart her tantrum the second anyone put her down.
Upon noticing her brother and her friend, Éponine gasped with delight, "Gav! Courf! Oh, it feels like ages since I've seen you!" handing the baby to Enjolras carefully, she wrapped Gavroche, and then Courfeyrac, in a hug, smiling madly. Courfeyrac laughed.
"It's only been two days, 'Ponine," he pointed out, before breaking away from the hug to inspect her, "You look amazing, by the way." Éponine rolled her eyes, laughing.
"Thank you," she said, nodding in acknowledgment of the compliment, "I completely agree."
"As do I," Enjolras said smiling, wrapping his free arm around Éponine's waist. Courfeyrac smiled at the baby in Enjolras' arms.
"May I?" he asked, handing his hands out to take the baby from Enjolras. The revolutionary leader expertly handed the baby over to Courfeyrac. Courfeyrac grinned madly at the bundle in his arms and his eyes lit up when she gurgled happily, staring up at him. "Hello, petite fille," he said, his voice soft, "And what should I call you?"
"Evette," Éponine told him, smiling at the scene. Gavroche was on his tiptoes, trying to peer into the blanket that now occupied Courfeyrac's arms, wanting to see his niece.
"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Evette," Courf said quietly as Evette grabbed hold of his finger and squeezed with all the strength she currently occupied. Courf chuckled, "She's certainly got Enjolras' strength," he noted.
"Courf," Gavroche whined, "I want to see!" Courf crouched slightly so that Evette was at Gavroche's height. He made a face at her, not understanding what all the fuss was about. Seeing his face, Evette giggled, her arms waving happily as they escaped from her blanket.
"Well, she's changed her tune," Éponine grumbled, "It took me forever to get her to quieten down."
Enjolras, who had disappeared, returned with the other baby in his arms. Gavroche cocked his head to one side, apparently thinking about something.
"Can I hold her?" he asked after a moment. Éponine and Enjolras looked at each other.
"Only if you're careful," his sister said, sending him a warning glance. Gavroche rolled his eyes
"I'm always careful," he said defensively.
"Careless, more like," Éponine said, smirking, "Do you remember the time you thought it'd be clever to try and climb on that man's horse, and it reared up and flew off? I thought you'd died!" Gavroche grinned.
"Well, a baby isn't a horse, is it?" he said. Enjolras laughed.
"He has a point, 'Ponine," he said, approaching Gavroche with the baby. Gavroche copied the way Enjolras had his arms, and the revolutionary leader placed the baby into them, "Just support her head," he said, and Gavroche shifted slightly to do as Enjolras said. He looked up to Enjolras for approval.
"Like this?" Enjolras nodded.
"There, you see? You're a natural!" he crouched down next to the two, rubbing the baby's cheek fondly with his finger, "This, Elyse," he murmured, "Is your Uncle Gavroche. And Evette's over there, with Uncle Courfeyrac. You'll love them, you know." Gavroche laughed.
"You've gone all soppy!" he said. Enjolras frowned.
"Soppy?!" he said, outraged, "I have not gone 'soppy'!"
"That was a little bit soppy, Enj," Courf said laughing.
"I'm not soppy!" Enjolras protested, standing up, "'Ponine! Tell them I'm not soppy!"
"Leave him alone, you two," Éponine said firmly, but even she was smiling slightly as she wrapped her arms around Enjolras' neck to kiss him as a way of making up for her brother and friend's jibes. Gavroche and Courfeyrac caught each other's eye, and simultaneously started making retching noises. Éponine rolled her eyes.
"Yes, yes, thank you," Enjolras said wearily, taking Evette from Courfeyrac and going to sit on the sofa. Éponine did the same, taking Elyse from Gavroche before joining him. Gavroche took the last space on the sofa as Courf brought a chair over from the dining table to sit with them.
"So, twins?" he said, "How did that happen?!"
"Combeferre." Both Éponine and Enjolras said, rolling their eyes.
"He failed to mention the fact that Éponine was pregnant with twins when we went to him." Enjolras explained.
"We were going to go to an actual doctor," Éponine continued, "But Combeferre offered and, seeing as he was qualified, we thought it'd be easier than going to a stranger." She shrugged, "I suppose we should have got a second opinion."
"How did you two react?" Courf asked grinning, "Actually, here's a better question: how did you find out? Surely you didn't just... give birth to two babies without realising?"
"Obviously I didn't just give birth to them," Éponine said, "Besides, this little one obviously wanted to make a memorable entrance..." she waved Elyse's hand around, smiling slightly, "Not only was she the baby we weren't expecting, she decided that it'd be fun to come out backwards..." Gavroche frowned.
"'Ponine?" he said. Éponine looked past Enjolras to her brother, "Where do babies come from?" Éponine gaped for a moment, looking at the almost-eleven-year-old in shock.
"I'll, er... leave that one to Courf," she said, smiling evilly at her friend. Courf glared at her as Gavroche turned to him for an answer and Enjolras just laughed silently as his friend struggled to find the words so that he could give Gavroche a satisfactory answer.
The twins were now almost two weeks old, and were getting to the stage when they simply refused to sleep through the night. Éponine and Enjolras had agreed to take it in turns, and Éponine hadn't been lying when she said that she was the one who had tended to the twins the last time.
Enjolras picked a screaming Evette out of the crib, rocking her gently in his arms. Elyse was, luckily, still sleeping soundly, despite her sister's persistent screaming.
"It reminds me of when I was a little girl, you know," Éponine said from where she was still lying in bed, "Azelma was only a baby when we lost the Inn. We all lived in one room, and she just used to sleep on the bed next to me. In the middle of the night, she'd wake up screaming and I'd have to try and get her back to sleep," she frowned into the darkness, "I never was any good at it."
"Then it shows that you get better at things as you go on through life," Enjolras said quietly, taking Evette in his arms as he sat on the bed next to Éponine, "Because, honestly, 'Ponine... you're a natural at this. Truly you are. The perfect mother." Éponine rolled her eyes, grimacing.
"I don't believe that for a second," she said, sitting up and leaning her head on his shoulder, "But, talking of mothers... have you told your parents about the twins yet." Enjolras shook his head, before remembering that Éponine couldn't see the action in the darkness.
"No," he said, "I'll write to them in the morning."
"I think we should go and visit," Éponine said. Enjolras frowned.
"Really?" he asked, "But... my parents are 'the parents from hell', remember?"
"They're not that bad," Éponine laughed, "Your father's actually very nice. Your mother is the only... issue. But I think I can win her over to liking me. Especially now that I've given her such beautiful granddaughters."
"They are beautiful," Enjolras agreed, "Just like their mother."
"And their father," Éponine added, "They have your eyes."
"And your nose," he said, smiling. He glanced down at the now sleeping baby in his arms, getting up and laying her back in the crib next to her sister. He climbed back into bed, lying next to Éponine who curled into his embrace, smiling as her hair tickled his face.
"So, we're visiting your parents?" Éponine asked, giving barely any room for arguments. Enjolras chuckled.
"If that's what you want, 'Ponine," he said quietly. She nodded approvingly.
"Good," she said, yawning as she leant her head on his chest. Just as the two were about to fall asleep in each other's arms, the screaming form the crib at the edge of the room started up again.
Before Éponine could say a word, Enjolras moved his arms away and rolled over.
"Your turn."
When Cosette and Marius had come to visit, it was a slightly different matter to when any of the other Amis had come to see the 'baby'. The most distinguishable difference was that, in extreme contrast to the Amis' looks of shock, surprise and bewilderment, Cosette actually did faint.
When she finally came round, she had flushed with embarrassment before demanding to see both of her godchildren right that second, despite the fact that she was laying on Éponine and Enjolras' living room floor.
"You're still only an honorary godmother you know," Enjolras told her as he and Marius helped her to her feet. She rolled her eyes and huffed.
"I know that," she said, "But, I'm their godmother nonetheless. Now, tell me everything. How did you find out that you were having twins? Who do they look like, Enjolras or Éponine? Who else has come to visit? Oh, and-"
"Cosette!" Éponine interrupted her friend before they could be bombarded with any more questions, "If you stay quiet for thirty seconds, you can see for yourself!" and with that she left the room, leaving a very awkward Enjolras alone with Marius and Cosette. When she returned with Elyse in her arms, Cosette very nearly melted with happiness.
"Oh, Éponine," Cosette said, tears in her eyes, "She's beautiful! What's her name?"
Enjolras butted in before Éponine could answer, "We're only telling you if you promise not to faint again." He said bluntly. Cosette frowned but nodded in agreement.
"Her name is Elyse Cosette DuFay," Éponine said, smiling as she handed the baby to Cosette, who now had tears of happiness rolling down her face.
"You... you named her after me?" she choked out, eyes shining and a huge smile on her face, "You didn't have to do that!"
"We wanted to," Enjolras said, also smiling.
"We?" Marius smirked; Enjolras hadn't held back when he had told Marius how he felt about Cosette: that she was melodramatic, materialistic and a little bit overwhelming. He and Marius had agreed to disagree, and Enjolras had promised to be civil around Cosette.
When Éponine had asked Enjolras if he would agree to partly naming one of their children after Cosette, however, he had agreed immediately; as much as he hated to admit it, Éponine needed a female friend, and Cosette was the perfect match for her. Cosette's melodramatic and overwhelming personality perfectly contrasted Éponine's usually calm and collected manner, and for that, Enjolras was grateful.
"Yes, we." Éponine said bluntly, glaring at him forcefully. Marius just grinned; he and Éponine were still close friends, arguably closer now than they ever had been before, and he would be willing to bet anything that she'd have forgiven him for his comment within the next ten minutes.
"Where is little Elyse's twin, then?" he asked her, the grin still firmly on his face. Éponine couldn't stop herself from grinning as she went to get Evette from where she was now lying alone in the crib. When she returned, Cosette, Marius and Enjolras had relocated to the sofa. She handed Evette to Marius, looking at the chairs at the dining room table, before sitting down sideways on Enjolras' lap. He chuckled at her spontaneity, wrapping his arms around her waist, his fingers interlocking at her hip.
"This is Evette," Enjolras told him, placing his finger in his daughter's palm and smiling as her fingers closed instinctively around it.
"Did you name her after anyone, or is she just 'Evette'?" Marius asked, smiling as the baby looked up at him.
"Evette Jaqueline Azelma," Enjolras said, "Because I honestly don't think it would help Éponine's case if my mother's name wasn't in at least one of our daughters' names."
"I fully support that theory," Marius said seriously, "And Azelma for your sister?" he asked Éponine, "Even after what happened with your father last year?"
Éponine shuddered at the memory; her father and his gang's idea of 'revenge', beating her within an inch of her life.
"Azelma couldn't help that," Éponine said quietly, "You know my father, Marius. Could you say no to him if you were her and he'd asked you to do something?" Marius just shook his head, looking down at the baby in his arms. "She's not with our father anymore anyway," Éponine said, smiling slightly, "She's living with a women and her family on the other side of Paris. She's a nanny, of sorts... she looks after the woman's children, makes them supper every evening. I've only met the woman once, but she seemed nice enough."
"How did she manage to get that?!" Marius asked, "Azelma's barely thirteen!"
"That would be Enjolras' doing." Éponine smiled at her fiancé gratefully.
"The woman is a friend of my mother's," he shrugged, "I've known her all my life. She happened to mention that she needed a nursery maid when I bumped into her a few months ago. I suggested Azelma, and she said she'd be perfect." Marius looked impressed, and fell quiet once more as the Evette started whining for attention.
"The twins have your nose, 'Ponine," Cosette laughed, cooing at her almost-namesake.
"And they have Enjolras' eyes," Marius noted.
"We know," Éponine and Enjolras said simultaneously, causing the four of them to start laughing., despite the fact that it really wasn't that funny.
They were almost a month old when the twins finally managed to sleep through an entire night (meaning that Enjolras and Éponine also got a much-needed full night's sleep), and so the couple decided to take their daughters to the Musain, so that they could meet the rest of their uncles.
Some of the Amis who still had busy schedules had yet to visit them, be that because they were studying at the university, or having to work stupidly long hours to pay their way without the much needed allowance from their parents that had been cut off the second they had got a job.
It was a sunny July evening and the twins blinked in the sunlight, not yet used to the outdoors. Enjolras and Éponine walked down the few streets to the cafe, Enjolras holding Evette and Éponine holding Elyse.
They walked in to see everyone assembled in one big group, talking about this and that. Combeferre spotted them first; he had been incredibly apologetic for not noticing that Éponine was pregnant with twins, at which both Éponine and Enjolras had laughed, saying that it didn't matter and that it really was a nice surprise.
Combeferre alerted the rest of the Amis, all of whom already knew that the baby had turned out to be twins. The few that had yet to visit the couple and their newborns got up to congratulate them, as Grantaire and Feuilly pulled up chairs for Éponine and Enjolras at the table.
The twins were passed around a lot that night, and eventually they fell asleep, Evette in Combeferre's arms, Elyse in Marius'.
"They're amazing," Cosette told Éponine as she watched Marius with a small smile on her face.
"I know," Éponine said quietly, "I can't honestly believe they're mine..."
"You're a natural," Cosette assured her, "And the Amis love them. Just you wait and see; they'll be the most spoilt little girls in all of France!"
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not!" Éponine laughed, watching as Enjolras, who had been talking to Grantaire, approached Combeferre quietly. A moment later Combeferre handed Evette to him, and Enjolras carried her back over to Grantaire, who argued with Enjolras for a second, before having the baby placed carefully in his arms.
Now that Éponine thought about it, Grantaire had been quiet all night, and she didn't think he'd finished a single bottle of wine yet; it was all very unusual.
"What's wrong with Grantaire?" she asked as Enjolras came over to her, leaving Grantaire with the baby, "He's not drunk and he's been quiet all night." Enjolras smirked.
"He's not so much the 'fun' uncle right now," he said, rolling his eyes, "More of the... 'Scared he's going to break the babies the second he goes anywhere near them' uncle." Éponine laughed.
"But he's fine!" she protested, "Look at him! He's been holding Evette for a full two minutes and he hasn't dropped her."
"I'm not deaf you know!" he called over to them.
"Stop being pathetic!" Éponine retorted, "You won't break her. Just hold her like a normal person, and you'll be fine!" he poked his tongue out at her childishly, before turning his attention back to the baby in his arms.
After a while, Cosette appeared, wanting to hold the baby again, and Grantaire obliged, though he was considerably more comfortable with the baby now than he had been at the beginning of the night.
"I propose a toast!" he called out to everyone, and they all fell quiet as he stood at the head of the table, "To the newest members of Les Amis de l'ABC." Everyone raised a glass to the still sleeping bundles, which had finally made their way back to Enjolras and Éponine.
Grantaire finished with a final sentence, a small smile on his face, "Welcome to the Revolution, petites filles."
Reviews and prompts are loved lots and lots, and they make my day! You may have noticed that 'Enjolras' isn't Enjolras' last name here... it's 'DuFay' because I like the idea of Enjolras being 'Enjolras' because that is his first name... :3 I know others disagree, but I like it my way :D
I hope you guys like Elyse and Evette so far (I know they're babies and stuff so there isn't much to like just yet, but... meh!)
I also like this whole 'update every 2-3 days thing I have going on... prompts/inspiration/homework permitting, I'll try and keep this up!
Once again, reviews and prompts are much loved and needed, so chuck me a review/PM if you fancy it ^-^ Thanks for reading!