There were several gangs around Paris. The two biggest ones were Patron-Minette and Le Couteau Sanglant. The Patron-Minette consisted of Montparnasse, Claquesous, Babet, and Gueulemer. They were joined by the Thénardiers and Brujon. Le Couteau Sanglant consisted of ten huge, burly men. Both gangs butted heads once and a while, but they stuck to their side of Paris, and glared at each other from a distance.
XXX
Montparnasse hid in the shadows, watching pedestrians cross the street. His target was directly in front of him, a rich old man with gold rings and a leather briefcase. Montparnasse clutched the knife in his hands and watched the man talk on his expensive phone. Montparnasse raised the knife and flicked it at the man.
At the last minute, the man took a step to the left and the knife shot past him and hit another hidden murderer in the shadows. Montparnasse's face paled when the man fell out of the shadows, the knife buried in his chest. He had unknowingly stabbed a member of Le Couteau Sanglant, and now war was on the streets of Paris.
XXX
The night air was cold and sharp and Éponine tightened her scarf. He hair whipped around her face as she hurried down to Grantaire's flat. Currently, Éponine was homeless and was just crashing at her friends' places.
Éponine heard footsteps behind her and a jangle of keys. "What do you want, Brujon?" Éponine asked.
Brujon laughed and Éponine turned around, "You are good," he grinned. "We need to talk."
"What did I do this time?" Éponine asked, raising her eyebrows.
Brujon sighed, "Not you, Montparnasse. He got a member of Le Couteau Sanglant."
Éponine swore, "He has to be more careful."
"Careful or not, Le Couteau Sanglant is out for blood," Brujon said. "So, they're going to target us. And I mean all of us. Your little siblings, your high-class friends, and your little revolutionary boyfriend."
Éponine drew out her dagger and Brujon took a step back. She had learned all of her tricks from Montparnasse. "Are you threatening them?" Éponine demanded.
"No, I'm warning you," Brujon said.
"Ah, the little coward is scared," Éponine said, relaxing, but not putting her dagger back.
Brujon scowled, "Just be prepared. They're coming for you and your precious friends."
Éponine's face went pale, but Brujon didn't notice, he was busy glancing around, "I've got to go."
"Azelma knows about this, right?" Éponine asked.
Brujon nodded, "Yeah, Claquesous warned your family, including Gavroche."
"Good," Éponine said.
Brujon hesitated before leaving, "You can't keep everything," he said, "you're going to have to let something go. Whether it's your friends or your job. These things don't work. You remember Babet's story, of course?"
"He lost his wife and children," Éponine replied drily.
"Not lost, left," Brujon said. "He said lost because he didn't want his reputation to go soft."
Éponine laughed, "His reputation is as hard as a rock."
Brujon grinned, "Take care Ponine."
"I will," Éponine said, watching Brujon disappear. She continued on, still having her dagger drawn. Finally, Éponine got back to Grantaire's flat.
She locked the door behind her and dropped her dagger on the kitchen counter. She put her scarf and coat on the back of a chair and kicked off her shoes. She went over to the couch, where a pillow and blanket were already set up. Éponine fell asleep quickly.
XXX
Éponine woke up early the next morning. She headed into the kitchen to find Enjolras in the kitchen, making coffee.
"Put some clothes on," Éponine snapped. Enjolras spun around and blushed as red as his boxers.
"When did you get here?!" He exclaimed.
"Last night," Éponine said, sitting down. "I'll have a coffee as well," she said sweetly.
Enjolras scowled but made her a cup. Grantaire came stumbling in his boxers, looking like a zombie.
"You didn't inform me Éponine was staying here," Enjolras said.
Grantaire yawned, "I forgot."
"Why don't you just live with Combeferre?" Enjolras asked Éponine, "You two have been dating for a month."
"He doesn't want to go too fast and I don't want to push him," Éponine said, "Although, it would be nice to sleep in a bed for once."
Grantaire sat down next to her, "Just ask him, he'll wait a year before asking you to move in with him."
"Besides, you currently don't have a home," Enjolras said.
"Thanks for reminding me," Éponine snapped. She sighed and pulled out her phone to check her messages.
Want to get some lunch with me and Cosette? –Marius
Emergency meeting at T's tonight –Montparnasse
Good morning beautiful –Combeferre
Éponine quickly sent a reply to Marius and Combeferre and then tuned into Enjolras' and Grantaire's current conversation.
"…can't we get a cat?" Grantaire asked.
"No, cats get in the way of things," Enjolras said.
Grantaire rolled his eyes, "You love Courfeyrac's dog."
"Correction: Courfeyrac's dog loves me. I'm impartial to animals," Enjolras said.
Éponine did a dramatic spit-take with her coffee, earning a glare from Enjolras, "You're cleaning that up," he said, putting his cup in the sink and vanishing into the bedroom.
"Plans for lunch?" Grantaire asked Éponine.
Éponine nodded, "Going out to eat with Marius and Cosette."
"Have fun," Grantaire said, getting up and followed Enjolras.
Éponine grabbed her coat and scarf, slipped her shoes on, and headed out. She walked over to Combeferre's flat. Combeferre currently lived alone. It used to be set up where Grantaire and Jehan shared a flat, Courfeyrac and Marius shared a flat, and Combeferre and Enjolras shared a flat. But Marius moved to be closer to Cosette, and Jehan took his spot to live with Courfeyrac. Enjolras nearly spent all of his time at Grantaire's flat, so he was technically moved in. That left Combeferre with an empty flat.
Combeferre opened the door on the first knock. "Éponine!" he smiled. He was in his pajamas and robe, with a cup of coffee in his hands.
"Hey, can I come in?" Éponine asked. Combeferre nodded and let her in, shutting the door behind her.
"You okay?" Combeferre asked.
Éponine shrugged, "I'm just tired of sleeping on Grantaire's couch."
"I have a spare bed," Combeferre said, immediately.
Éponine rolled her eyes, "We've been dating for a month."
Combeferre's face turned pink and Éponine laughed. She kissed his cheek and went inside Combeferre's neat room. She dove on the bed and stuffed her head into the pillow. It smelt like Combeferre and she found herself easily falling asleep. Combeferre walked over to her and smiled. He put a blanket over her, left the room, and shut the door so no one would disturb her.