Another few weeks pass, and yet little changes between them. At the same time, everything changes, but they barely notice the little shifts. It's perfectly natural when he turns up late - and he is always late now, as much as he wishes otherwise - and she kisses his face in greeting. In the same way, it becomes natural for them to be as close as possible to each other when given the chance, be they entwined in bed at night or curled up in the armchair that was never meant to hold two people. Little things, perhaps, but significant in their way.

Then comes a night when he gets back earlier than usual, a letter in hand that he'd quite like to destroy as soon as possible. He's crumpled half of it into a ball and has plans to set the whole thing on fire, but he knows to wait. Or, at least, to explain the situation before doing anything drastic. A dinner party, of all things…. oh, there's no way this could end well.

"What's that?" Eponine asks as if on cue, spotting the piece of parchment and jumping for it.

"Nothing," he replies, pulling back at exactly the right moment. "Nothing that concerns you, at least."

"That's no way to talk to a lady," she laughs. Over the last few weeks, she's come into herself a little more, and while it's definitely an improvement over the condition she was in when she crashed into his life, sometimes Enjolras wonders how that happened. He's pretty sure he doesn't want to know.

"Fine," he mutters. It's better to just tell her and get it over with. "It's… we've been invited to a little party. Apparently a certain friend of ours has decided to show off."

Again as if on cue, she rolls her eyes. "He would." As if there's any doubt in her mind that Marius is behind this. "Well, I am going to go, and you ought to. You're always here with me… you never do anything interesting…"

Quite a few comebacks run through his mind, but none of them seem safe to speak aloud considering how hard she could hit him - and he's in no mood for unnecessary bruises, thank you very much. Instead, he shrugs. "After the life I've had, a little quiet is nice."

She shakes her head. "You've turned into a hermit. I'm pretty sure that's not what you intended. And wouldn't they be frustrated with you if they could see what you've become?"

Well, at least the girl's smart enough to hit him where it hurts. It's only been a few weeks since the nightmares slowed their frequency - they'll never stop, he's not dumb enough to hope for that - and being guilt-tripped by his ghosts is enough to make him do just about anything. "Fine. You have a point."

Instantly, her face lights up. "So we'll go?"

"Of course," he replies, wishing there was a way to get out of this one. An evening stuck with an old friend is the last thing he wants right now, but she wants it, and the worst part is he can't fault her for it. Being cooped up can't be good for the girl, and who the hell is he to begrudge her a little exposure to society? "It'll be…"

"Fun?" she fills in.

"Something like that. It's just…" he pauses for a moment, trying to find the right words. "They don't know about our… arrangement. I accepted the invitation for you under the grounds that we've become friends recently, which isn't a complete lie, but… it's better if they don't find out."

"Understood." Reputations and all that, she thinks, as if hers could possibly get any worse. Really, compared to half the things she's done in the last couple of years, holing up with a young man she's not even sure she fancies is practically saintlike. "We're friends, though. They can know that, right?"

Enjolras considers the idea. On the one hand, there's no point in lying to his only remaining friend any more than is absolutely necessary. On the other hand, given that said friend is king of the hopeless romantics, so much as hinting at recent developments could be borderline suicidal. He usually doesn't believe in no-win scenarios, but this one comes close. "Yes," he says after a few moments. "They can know that."

"And if I kiss you in front of everyone?" Eponine laughs, clearly considering the idea.

"Just don't. Please. Just… don't even consider it." And yet, somewhere in the back of his mind, he almost hopes she will. If nothing else, it'll be easier than explaining the tangled web otherwise known as his personal life…