"See, this is why I didn't want a cat," Enjolras was saying. "Because you get attached to things to easily."

Fey pouted. "But he's wearing a little newspaper boy cap! And a tricolor! And he's so cute!"

"I am not," the little boy said from behind him. Eponine rolled her eyes in the doorway.

"Fey," Enjolras said. Courfeyrac pouted and stepped further in front of Gavroche.

"I'm not tired," the boy said, looking up at the four adults in the room. "I want to go do something."

"We can take him to a bar or something," Fey said. "I bet he's a chick magnet!"

Eponine glared at him. "You are not taking my brother to a bar."

Both boys pouted. Enjolras sighed and took the blankets out of Eponine's arms. He set about making a bed out of pillows in the corner. Eponine stared Fey down.

"Courfeyrac," she said sternly. "I want you to listen to me very closely."

Fey gulped and tried to smile innocently. "Yes?"

"I am leaving you with my little brother. If I come back tomorrow at ten and he has pink hair, I am going to machine wash every last piece of cashmere you own and turn all your whites pink."

Fey let out a terrified little squeak. "And you," she said, turning to Marius. "The second he is out of your sight, you call me. Call me if anything happens. Don't jut try to fix it on your own. And make sure that door is locked."

She looked over at Enjolras. "I'm actually not that worried about you," she concluded. Enjolras nodded sagely.

"He'll be fine," Marius said. "It's just-" He checked his watch. "Ten hours."

She heaved a sigh. "Famous last words," she muttered.

She knelt down next to Gavroche. "These boys are doing both of us a big favor," she said. "Be nice to them. No tricks."

He looked at her solemnly. "Eponine," he said. "You know I can't promise that."

She smiled and ruffled his hair. "I'll come get you as soon as my class is done and we'll get breakfast."

"Can we get ice cream instead?"

"No." She kissed the top of his forehead and smiled up at the other boys. "Thank you," she said. Marius nodded.

"See you tomorrow!" Fey trilled. He backed her out the door and shut it with a bang. He turned back to face the others. "So," he said, clasping his hands. "Now what?"

"Now Gavroche goes to bed," Enjolras said, straightening up.

"No!" both Gavroche and Fey cried. Enjolras rolled his eyes.

"Look," he said. "We promised Eponine Gavroche would be in bed by nine thirty. However," he said, holding up a hand to stop their protestations. "We did not say he would be asleep, so as long as he doesn't leave his bed you two can do what you want."

Fey clapped his hands. "Cool." He turned to Gavroche. "Into bed, youngster!"

The little boy nodded and ran to the bed. "Don't you have to brush your teeth or something?" Marius asked.

"I don't have a toothbrush."

Enjolras held up a still-packaged toothbrush silently. The little boy grabbed it grumpily. "You're good," Fey said.

"You guys have been great training for taking care of children."

Fey chuckled. "Please. If anybody needs looking after in our group it's you."

"You'll notice I am the only one whom Eponine did not feel the need to threaten."

"You're also the only one with a criminal record longer than a page."

"It's not longer- It's not much longer than a page."

Gavroche looked at him curiously. "Are you a murderer?" he asked.

"No," Enjolras said haughtily. "I'm an activist."

"What's that?"

"It's like a superhero," Fey said. "Except he doesn't wear a mask, so the police arrest him a lot."

"Cool," the little boy said, looking up at Enjolras with admiration.

"Come on," Marius said, taking the little boy's hand. "Let's go brush your teeth."

He lead Gavroche out of the room and Enjolras opened his laptop. Fey sighed. "Enjolras," he said. "I'm getting worried about you. You're getting all crusade-y. Last time I saw you like this you almost got kicked out of school."

"I did not get kicked out of school."

"I said almost."

Enjolras sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I can't help it, Fey. I have to stop this."

Fey sighed. "I know. Just don't work yourself into the ground again, kay?"

He smiled slightly in acknowledgment. Courfeyrac decided that was probably the best he was going to get and flopped over onto Marius's bed.

"What'cha thinking about?" he asked Enjolras, bored.

"The right of the people to rebel."

"God, no wonder you never get laid," Courfeyrac muttered. Marius walked back in with Gavroche and Jehan.

"Fun trip to the bathroom?" Fey asked. The little boy nodded and hopped into the bed. Jehan handed over a sketchbook and colored pencils. "Smart," Fey whispered to Marius.

"It was Feuilly's idea. We saw him in the hallway."

"That makes more sense."

Marius punched him lightly in the arm. "You're lying on my bed. I don't think you get to insult me."

"Have you ever noticed how I don't ever follow your rules about me insulting you?" Fey began to braid Jehan's long hair.

"What'cha doing?" Gavroche asked Enjolras, sitting up to look at his laptop. Enjolras looked over at him.

"I'm writing an article for the paper," he said.

"About what?"

"About a bill that's being passed."

"Like the schoolhouse rock song?"

Enjolras smiled. "Yeah, kind of."

"That's cool," the kid said, going back to coloring. "So you're like a Clark Kent kind of superhero?"

"Who?"

"Clark Kent. Superman?"

"Sorry," Enjolras said. "The only superheroes I knew growing up were Robespierre and Martin Luther King."

"And doesn't that explain a lot," Fey whispered to Jehan, who giggled slightly.

"Those aren't superheroes," Gavroche said indignantly.

"They did more to change the world than Superman."

Jehan leaned back against Fey's leg. His eyes drifted closed. "Are you alright?" Fey asked him.

"Yeah," he said, sitting up sleepily. "I'm fine. Just... tired."

"You should go to bed."

The poet looked up at him. "Can't I stay here just a little while longer?"

"Of course. I'm just worried about you."

"That's sweet," the other boy said, drifting off against Courfeyrac's leg once more. "But I'm fine, I promise."

Fey smiled and pushed a lock of hair out of Jehan's face. Marius sat down opposite them.

"I really want to film those two, but I'm scared they'll stop if I do," he said quietly, nodding at Enjolras and Gavroche. "It's hilarious."

Fey chuckled. "So not that I'm complaining, but how come Eponine trusts you with her baby brother?"

Marius shrugged. "I've helped them out a lot in the past. I kind of owe them, actually."

"How?"

"It's a long story."

Fey gestured at Jehan, asleep on his lap. "I don't think I'll be moving anytime soon."

Marius nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you know how my dad was a soldier in the Vietnam war?"

"Yeah, and then you found out he died and your grandpa disowned you because you actually formed political opinions."

"To put it in a nutshell. But anyways, my dad, in the war, he was saved by this one guy, Thenadier. And he could never find him afterward. So in his will, he told me to try and find him, so that I could try and repay that debt."

"Wow," Fey said. "That's so melodramatic."

"Kind of. But here's the really weird part. After I got disowned, I moved in next to the Thenadiers. And I didn't even know it. Until they tried to rob me. And Eponine saved me by calling the police. Which was really hard for her to do. They arrested pretty much her whole family and sent Gav into foster care, and we went to college. She's here on a scholarship, actually."

"That's totally not true."

"What? She's really smart."

"No, not the scholarship. The part where you moved in across from them."

"It's true."

"Then how come I didn't hear about this before?"

"We didn't see each other much over the summer."

"So you're basically the Thenadiers' mysterious benefactor?"

Marius grimaced. "Some benefactor. I got them arrested. I'm just trying to look out for Gavroche and Eponine now. Paying back my father's debt."

"Someone should write a book with that plot."

"Mm. Especially since now apparently Eponine's roommate is her old foster sister."

"What?"

"I don't know," Marius said tiredly. "My life is full of strange coincidences."

The room fell silent. Marius and Courfeyrac looked over to see Gavroche fast asleep and Enjolras typing furiously again. Marius stretched.

"Don't wake Jehan," he said. "I'll take your bed."

Fey nodded. "See you tomorrow."

"Night," he said, climbing the ladder to the top bunk. Enjolras waved a hand in distracted acknowledgment. Fey lay back, shifting Jehan slightly.

When Eponine knocked softly on the door the next morning they were all still asleep that way, Enjolras bent over the desk, Fey's hand still tangled in Jehan's hair, Marius's feet dangling off the edge of Courfeyrac's bed. Gavroche lay nestled in a pile of pillows and blankets, pieces of paper with drawings of superheroes holding picket signs scattered around him. She smiled and shut the door. Breakfast could wait, she decided. Breakfast could definitely wait.