The Barricade Girl (A Les Miserables FanFiction)

Chapter Twenty-Six

I can feel my face flushing red, the heat working its way up my neck and into my cheeks. I can feel through Enjolras' hand that he is feeling agitated. For once, he is not in control and he can't hide how he feels. In the past, in times when our hands had brushed, or we had been caught by one of the other boys with our eyes locked in a gaze, we immediately moved, snapping out of it in the hope that the boys hadn't seen it. This moment was not any different, and in a reflex reaction, Enjolras and I drop each other's hands, trying to pretend that we hadn't been holding hands. Yet, we know and they know that everyone saw it.

"We saw this coming before either of you did!" Grantaire points at us with his beer bottle, moving it from one side to the other to gesture at both of us before folding his arms again, a proud smirk pasted across his face with one eyebrow raised.

"It's not what you think –" Enjolras and I both start.

"Don't!" Grantaire silences us, holding his hand up. "You two have been in denial for too long...Just admit is, Enjolras", Grantaire raises a playful eyebrow.

"Well...I guess there's no time like the present..." Enjolras takes a deep breath. He looks at me, searching my face for support, and places an arm around my waist as he turns back to face the group of young men huddled on the stairs. "Boys..." He clears his throat, his voice sounding a little weaker than usual, probably because his throat has done exactly what my own has done and has gone completely dry with nerves. "Juliette and I are a couple...so there...there you have it..."

"Finally!" Grantaire blurts, almost throwing his bottle in the air in celebration. The rest of the boys let out a cheer, and Courfeyrac holds Gavroche up in the air, placing him on his shoulders. Enjolras kisses my forehead, and I look at Marius, who stands there quietly, in a dazed smile. I free myself from Enjolras' arm and walk to Marius, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his chest.

"Thank you, Marius..." I whisper to him. "Thank you for giving us your blessing. I would love to do the same for you one day..."

"You're welcome", he whispers back. "And you will, you will meet her someday, I promise..."

"I love you, Marius", I say softly.

"I love you too, Juliette...I love you more than you know..." He replies. We break apart, and I give his arm one final squeeze, trying not to cry out of pure joy and happiness. I feel a tug on the skirts of my dress, and I look down to see a beaming Gavroche who suddenly wraps his arms around me.

"It's all comin' true!" He exclaims.

"What?" I laugh, playing with his hair with my fingers.

"I 'ave a proper family now!" He replies excitedly. "We're all a proper family now!"

"Were we not a family before, Gavroche?" Marius jokes.

"We were...but now we're more than one. I ain't had a family before, y'see. But now I do! And now Juliette's here...we're a proper one. We've got a Mum..." He points at me. "We've got a Dad..." He points at Enjolras, which makes the boys giggle and makes me blush. "We've got a brother..." He points at Courfeyrac. "The Grandfather who's always drunk!" He points at Grantaire. "And I've got a bunch of Uncles!" This is greeted with happy laughter from everyone in the room, and I swear that I even see some of the boys wiping a stray tear from their eyes at Gavroche's words.

"Come here..." I bend down and squeeze him tightly.

"This makes our family complete!" He hugs me back, his little arms around my neck. He turns his head to face Enjolras, throwing him a cheesy smile as he hugs me.

"Gavroche is moving in on your girlfriend, Enj", Courfeyrac laughs.

"I love you, Juliette", Gavroche announces, sticking his tongue out at Enjolras.

"Awww! I love you too, Gavroche!"

"Okay, enough hugs for now", Enjolras hastily strides over to us, taking my arm and helping me up from the floor and to my feet.

"He's just a little boy, Enjolras", I smirk as I dust down my dress. "I hope you're not getting jealous of a little boy", I taunt him.

"I'm not jealous..." Enjolras pouts, but he isn't very convincing.

"It's okay, buddy", I rub his back with my hand. "You keep telling yourself that...if you try hard enough, maybe one day it'll be true". I laugh.

"Well, that's how I got you", he grins.

"Oh, Enjolras", I reply in an 'aww' kind of way.

"Oooooh! Just kiss her already!" A voice calls from the staircase, and Madame Houcheloup's face pops up from behind the boys.

"How long have you been there, Madame?" I gasp awkwardly.

"The whole time! Hurry up and kiss her!" She urges us, clapping her hands together.

"Come on. It's not like you haven't done it before", Courfeyrac jokes. "Kiss her...kiss her!" He starts. The rest of the boys join in.

"Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!" The boys chant.

"This is messed up..." I mumble.

"I'm not sure I want to see this..." Marius cringes. "She's my sister! My best friend and my sister!"

"Oh shut up, Marius!" Grantaire scoffs. "Here, drink this!" He tries to give him a bottle of beer. "It'll help!"

"Nope, never", Marius quickly replies as the boys continue to chant.

"Well, I guess we better oblige the crowd..." Enjolras bashfully turns to me, and places one arm around my waist and, with the other, he brushes my hair behind my ear.

"But...everyone's watching..." I blush nervously. He leans in closer and rests his forehead against my own.

"Just...forget they're here...It's just you and me..." He takes a breath as we both let out a nervous and breathy, silent laugh, both feeling quite relieved that this is out in the open, but feeling a sudden strike of 'stage-fright' knowing that everyone is watching. The boys eagerly await it, preparing themselves to see their fearless leader show a little humanity – feeling something that they never expected their leader to feel – love – and seeing him in a role that they thought they would never see him play – that of a loving and devoted boyfriend. "May I, Barricade Girl?" He lifts a hand to my cheek, and I smile.

"You may, Burgundy Boy..."