To be allowed to forget would be the greatest act of mercy, thought Marius Pontmercy. So quickly had all of their plans been shattered. In one night, all of their childish ambitions were dashed to shreds. After all, had that not been what it was? Childish delusion, all of it.

He should have been thankful for his own life. He should have felt hope for the fact that another may have been spared. Though he was sure Eponine had died in his arms, they had found her still breathing, her heart only just still beating as she lay in the pile of the dead. She was taken to be cared for, and when Marius came to his senses, he begged his grandfather, M. Gillenormand, to pay for the care of his best friend. But while somehow Eponine managed to survive and take medicines, she was wracked with a terrible infection so that she was constantly feverish and delirious. It was almost assured that despite surviving the attack on the barricade, she would not last long – and all for the sake of love for him. Of all the deaths, hers was the one that would weigh most heavily on his conscience because she did not sacrifice herself for a lofty ideal. She did not fancy herself a hero or a martyr. She died with great suffering for her love for one boy.

And what of the others? Marius clenched his hand tightly on his glass of water as he sat in the Café Musain, and his spirits dropped as he thought of his friends – especially Enjolras. He had been counted among the dead, but his body was not found and buried. It was said that observers saw him fall from the barricades It was assumed that it had been taken by the snipers who had made quick work of them, as a prize, or as a final act of denigration.

Oh, my friends, my friends, forgive me – that I live and you are gone…

He did not deserve this. Even the opportunity of a beautiful life with Cosette, the woman he loved, was hardly a remedy to the pain that wrenched at his gut. But he was forced to carry on – because Cosette surely deserved to feel comfort and safety, and not worry about his well-being. She was dear and precious, and Marius had now been bestowed the gift of being allowed to cherish her. And yet, he was filled with so much pain.

This made him cherish his love for Cosette all the more, because there was no one left for him to love, and, he realized, no one else left to love him in the way that Eponine did. Cosette was the only precious thing, the only good thing left for him here.

I will never go away, she insisted to him, and we will be together every day.

This was all the world held for him now. This was the only new world that his friends' sacrifice brought about. He had to cling tightly to it, and create a place for himself – and for Cosette – in it.

A/N's

Hello readers! If you're coming across this story having followed some of my others, I deeply apologize for leaving them incomplete. I hope to return to them one day soon! Since my last update on my Harry Potterverse story, 'Grim Becomings', I have gotten through my first year of nursing school and published my first book, 'Sampaguita Roots'. I hope you check them out one day as well.

This particular story is one that has been doodled in a notebook since I was about 12, and I have yet to see the movie rendition of Les Miz, so I apologize if there are any inconsistencies to people who only seen the movie. This is a reboot of a storyline I came up with over 10 years ago that I thought was worth another look. I hope you enjoy!