It had been two days since the attack on the barricade and the Amis were meeting again for the first time since the battle. Much had happened in the two days following the fight; Courfeyrac had taken Gavroche in to live with him and Marius at their flat. The National Guard had not bothered any of the students, a good sign. According to Courfeyrac, Gavroche was now having nightmares about the battle and the aftermath.
Now, they were all meeting in the cafe to discuss their next steps.
It was now about two hours into the meeting and Gavroche was getting restless. He had slept for an hour but now he was bored. Noticing the child's boredom, Enjorlas turned to the boy.
"Gavroche, would you do me a favor?" he asked.
"Sure!" Gavroche replied, his eyes brightening, "what do ya need?"
"I think I left my rifle in the back room," Enjorlas said, "would you go get it and bring it out here for me?"
"Ok!" Gavroche said, running off to do the errand.
"I could tell he was bored," Enjorlas said when Courfeyrac gave him a questioning look. "Now back to our plans-" he was cut off as a gunshot rang through the Cafè. All of the Amis jumped up and ran to the back room. Gavroche was laying on the ground and there was a small hole in the floor.
Courfeyrac ran over and turned the boy over so that he was laying on his back. Gavroche seemed unhurt, save for some small burns on his face from the sparks of the musket. However, the boy's whole body was trembling with harsh sobs.
Courfeyrac took the child in his arms and held him against his chest.
"I-i'm s-so-sorry," Gavroche sobbed, his breath hitching "I d-d-didn't mean to d-drop the g-gun."
"Shh mon petit," Courfeyrac said gently, "it's alright, I'm just glad you are unhurt."
Walking over, Enjorlas placed a hand on the back of the child's head, "it's alright, Gavroche," he said, "it was an accident. you didn't hurt anyone. it's all okay."
Knowing that Gavroche was not going to calm down amid all of this chaos, Courfeyrac made a decision. "I'm going to take Gavroche outside and try to calm him down," he said, turning to Enjorlas.
"That's a good idea," Enjorlas said, "we'll clean this up and then resume the meeting. Come back whenever you think Gavroche is calm."
"Alright," Courfeyrac responded, turning his attention to Gavroche, "we're just gonna go for a little walk, ok, Gavroche?"
Courfeyrac walked down the street, still holding Gavroche in his arms. The boy had calmed down significantly, but his fit had left him exhausted and seemed to just enjoy being carried.
Courfeyrac didn't mind, Gavroche was small for a twelve-year-old so it was easy to carry him. Also, growing up on the streets had never allowed Gavroche to behave like a young child. It was nice to see him feeling safe enough to regress a bit.
" 'you still awake?" Courfeyrac teased.
"yea," Gavroche nodded, rubbing his eyes, "just real tired."
"you can sleep," Courfeyrac said, rubbing hand down the boy's back.
Gavroche leaned his head against his guardian's shoulder and closed his eyes, falling into a peaceful sleep.