A/N: I'M BAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAACK! Miss me terribly? :) So like I said, I was at Missouri State this weekend with my college band...and it was a 4-hour bus ride home...and I didn't get to bed till 3:00 this morning...so I'm super tired. But anyway, I feel like I've kept you waiting long enough, so here's chapter 7 at last! You know the drill! :)

Chapter Seven

I would have loved to be able to further question Gavroche about the length of his involvement with the Amis, but I knew now was not the time to do so. Not with that urgent look in Enjolras' eyes that I couldn't seem to get out of my head. Just like we used to as kids, we split up who would fetch whom, and soon I was off to find Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Joly, Grantaire, and most painful of all, Marius.

I started with Joly again, since his flat was the closest. I knocked hard on the door. "Monsieur Joly! It's urgent!" I called out. Thankfully, he answered promptly, as he always did.

"Éponine! Has Enjolras worsened?" He asked worriedly.

I shook my head. "General Lamarque is dead. Enjolras sent Gavroche and me to fetch the Amis. He wants you at the Café Musain now."

Joly paled. "God save us," he whispered, crossing himself. "Thank you, 'Ponine," he said, hastily grabbing his medical bag and book. I nodded, and with that, I hurried off to the tavern to fetch Grantaire. He was more likely to be there, drinking himself into a stupor than in his apartment, drinking himself into a stupor.

Sure enough, when I opened the door, he was at the bar. I raced to him. "Grantaire!" I hissed.

He squinted at me for a moment, trying to recognize me. "'Ponine?" he slurred. "What're you –?"

I whispered the urgent news in his ear, and he nearly choked on his ale, suddenly sober again. "Mother of God! Are you certain?" This was the side of Grantaire that anyone rarely saw – not drunk out of his skull and actually using his God-given brain. No one knew it, but the man was a brilliant scholar, almost on the level of Enjolras himself. His fatal flaw was his alcoholism, which Enjolras hated about him.

I nodded. "Gavroche just told us, and Enjolras sent the two of us to fetch the Amis. Go straight to the Café Musain; he's waiting for you there, most likely along with Joly and the ones Gavroche has brought by now."

Grantaire nodded and paid the bartender. "I'll be right there," he said, racing out the door. I chuckled to myself at his sudden change in demeanor, and moved on to fetch Monsieurs Combeferre and Courfeyrac. Once I had sent them on their way, I went to Marius' flat and, mustering my courage, knocked on the door three times.

He opened it, looking surprised to see me. "Éponine?" he asked curiously. "What's –?"

"General Lamarque is dead," I said shortly. I wanted to keep this encounter as brief as possible; it was painful enough for me to look at those sweet eyes again. "Gavroche brought the news. Enjolras is summoning the Amis at Café Musain immediately."

His eyes widened. "By Christ! So soon?"

I nodded. "Get there as soon as you can. I need to find my little brother," I said, hurrying off.

"Wait, 'Ponine!" he called out, and I turned around. Even though I knew he wasn't going to be mine, I still couldn't deny the man anything. He caught up to me on the stairs and said, "Thank you, again…for risking your neck to take me to Cosette. I know your papa would have killed you."

I was a little surprised at his sudden gratitude, but somehow managed to force a smile. "Ce n'était rien, Monsieur," I answered, hurrying back down the stairs before he could say anything else. He followed just as quickly and stayed hot on my heels.

By the time he and I arrived at the Café, Gavroche had already summoned the others – Feuilly, Bahorel, Prouvaire, and Lesgle. I looked around the room and saw the others I had brought – Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Grantaire, and Joly. The place was already buzzing with activity when Marius stepped in and went over to Enjolras, who sent Gavroche and I a grateful smile for getting everyone there so quickly.

I settled myself into a corner and watched as preparations began.

Enjolras

"Well, Courfeyrac?" I asked. "Do we have all the guns? Feuilly, Combeferre, our time is running short," I reminded them when they started quibbling over something ridiculous like women's rights again. With a sigh, I turned to the alcoholic in the corner. "Grantaire put the bottle down! Do we have the guns we need?"

"Give me brandy on my breath, and I'll breathe them all to death!" he retorted, causing uproarious laughter.

"In St. Antoine they're with us to a man!" Courfeyrac called.

"In Notre Dame they're tearing up the stones!" Combeferre joined in.

"Twenty rifles, good as new!" Feuilly shouted over the chaos. I nodded in acknowledgement to each man as he spoke. Preparations were coming along well, but it was still going to be an uphill battle. We were badly outnumbered, and everyone knew it. Thanks to Gavroche and some of his gamins, we'd been able to stockpile guns and ammunition for weeks in advance – close to a month – but I knew it still wouldn't be enough, especially not against the National Guard.

I ran a hand over my face, trying to focus on something other than the woman in the corner who was talking animatedly with her little brother. But no matter how hard I tried, all I could think about was what would happen to her if I died in the battle to come. She would have no other choice to go back to her father, and then…and then, I couldn't bear to think of what my darling 'Ponine would have to face.

I was suddenly exhausted, but I knew my men needed me to get them focused. I could tell their minds were wandering when they saw mine was. I gathered my remaining strength and leaped on the table to get their attention, sharply calling out, "Amis de l'abaissé!" Within seconds, all eyes in the room were on me, including 'Ponine's.

"We all know that the army we fight is a dangerous foe, with the men and the arms that we never could match," I began. "It is easy to sit here and swat 'em like flies, but the National Guard will be harder to catch." I saw several heads nodding. "It is time for us all to decide who we are." I panted as I looked around the room at them; my orator's tongue was returning at last. "Have you asked of yourselves, what's the price you might pay?" I dared to venture. "Is it simply a game for a rich young boy to play? The colors of the world are changing day by day…" I paused and took a deep breath. "Red – the blood of angry men! Black – the dark of ages past!" Their faces were starting to grin now; I knew I had them. "Red – a world about to dawn! Black – the night that ends at last!" The room broke into cheers as I leaped down, but I wasn't done. "The time is here! Let us welcome it gladly with courage and cheer!"

"Let us take to the streets with no doubt in our hearts!" called Prouvaire.

"But a jubilant shout!" cried Courfeyrac.

"They will come one and all!" shouted Bahorel.

"They will come when we call!" The Amis all shouted together.

Éponine

I watched Enjolras and the Amis making fevered last-minute preparations for the fight; Gavroche was darting around amongst them running errands when they asked it of him. He told me before Enjolras' speech that he had been working with the Amis for several months. It seemed that they all took it upon themselves to look after him because of his youth, but especially Courfeyrac. "Don't worry, 'Ponine; I don't let him get into too much trouble," he laughed. "Your brother is actually one of our most useful spies. He's very small, and extremely smart."

"That's the Thénardier in him that knows how to slip through tight spots," I laughed also. "He's always been a clever boy. He can do anything when he sets his mind to it."

"He actually pulled me out of quite a tight spot a while back," Courfeyrac confessed.

I looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"I had been cornered by a member of the National Guard on my way home from one of the first meetings of the Amis. Gavroche happened to be following me back home because he'd forgotten to ask me something. He was able to sneak up behind the National Guardsman and knock him out so I could get away. Ever since then, I've taken it upon myself to ensure no harm comes to him."

I smiled broadly at Courfeyrac's story, and admission of keeping watch over my brother. "Thank you, Courfeyrac," I smiled. "I feel better about his involvement here now that I know you're keeping an eye on him."

Enjolras

The energy was still running high from my speech in the Café when I discreetly stepped over to Éponine and Gavroche. "Éponine, a word upstairs?" I asked softly. "It won't be long."

She frowned a little in confusion, but I could tell she knew now was not the time to question me. She excused herself from conversation with her brother, and we walked upstairs unnoticed; Gavroche went back to busying himself downstairs. I shut the door quietly and turned back to her, unsure of where to start. "Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned. "If Gavroche is getting to be a problem – "

"'Ponine," I said heavily, and she was instantly silent. "If I die tomorrow – "

"Don't talk like that," she said, almost pleading with me. "I don't want to think about – "

"I don't either, but it's entirely likely that I will. We need to talk about it." A pause, and she nodded. I began again. "If I die tomorrow, we both know that as an unmarried woman, you'll have no choice but to go back to your father's house. If that happens…" I crossed the room to her in a stride and a half and took her hands in mine to say, "I want you to promise me that you'll never stop running from him. Don't let him get you, and don't let him break that independent streak in you that I fell in love with. That would be my last wish for you."

She seemed surprised by my request, but eventually managed to stutter out, "I-I promise."

Even when she made her promise, I still didn't let go of her hands. They were warm and soft to the touch, and I just wanted to hold them. "The other thing I want…" I murmured, looking down at them. They looked so tiny and delicate in my large, calloused ones.

"Anything."

"One honest, willing kiss," I said frankly, looking into her eyes.

She gently pulled her hands from my grasp and put them to my face. I held them there as I heard her murmur, "Oh, Enjolras…"

And then, her lips were pressed to mine.

My heart soared as I kissed her back, twining my arms tightly around her thin waist and pulling her to me. I didn't want the moment to ever end, especially knowing that this could be the last time I ever kissed her. Her mouth was warm and soft, and her tongue was sweet when it slipped between my lips. We kept kissing for only a bit longer before it slowly ended, and I put my forehead to hers. I was already feeling hollow inside without the touch of her lips on mine. "'Ponine…" I whispered again, before I felt her kiss my forehead.

"What is it?" she whispered softly.

"You remember the night you came here, running from your father?"

"How could I ever forget?"

I paused. "Before you knocked on the door…I had been dreaming…"

"About?"
"The battle to come," I whispered. She stiffened against me as my eyes closed; as painful as it was, I wanted to recount it to her. "In my dream, you took a bullet for Marius…and…you died in his arms. I was off to the side, watching and crying. When I had somewhat composed myself…I took your body from his arms and walked behind the hospital…and kept weeping, still holding you…because I couldn't believe you were gone. That was when I woke up."

I heard her suck in a quiet breath. "I would take a bullet for him, if it were to come to that."

"I know," I murmured, letting her hold me for a moment.

A pause. "Enjolras?"

"Hmm?"

"How…when…did you fall in love with me?"

I sighed. "You had been coming to the ABC's meetings with Marius for a while when it happened. I watched the way you looked at him…and it was clear to me…you were the loneliest girl in the world," I said. "And I just wanted to make it go away."

She sighed softly, hugging me again. "I've never been much of a religious woman…" she murmured over my head, "but tonight, I will pray for the safety of the ABC…and you."

I kissed her forehead as well, my hand resting on her shoulder blade as her body rested against mine. It was a rather intimate touch, considering that we weren't married, but we were up a flight of stairs behind a closed door, and neither of us cared. This could be the last time we saw each other alive. "Thank you, Éponine…what is your full Christian name?" I asked, realizing that she had never told me.

"Éponine-Marguerite."

I smiled. "Thank you, Éponine-Marguerite."

She smiled back up at me, and I thought my heart would burst. "You're welcome, Henri-François."

For the first time, I actually smiled when someone called me by my Christian name.

A/N: Awww, E/É fluff at the end :) Sorry, fluff is always fun. Let me know what you think, and I'll post chapter 8!