Disclaimer: Les Misérables and all its associated characters do not belong to me.

Summary: One inch was all it took for Éponine's life to be spared and it altered the fates of four people. Éponine/Enjolras.

Author's Notes: I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, folks! But I promise that I resolved it immediately at the start of this chapter. The solution to my Aaron Tveit reference from the previous chapter was "Run Away with Me" (Enjolras thought about asking Éponine to run away with him). If you have not seen the video of Aaron singing that, go find it immediately, especially if you also ship him with Samantha Barks. Congratulations to Drowl, who got the reference first, so this chapter is dedicated to you!

I must also do a shout-out to Lilycup, who actually got two Tveit references, even though I had only consciously put one! The second one was "Wicked" (Aaron was Fiyero in "Wicked" and I wrote "Éponine had a wicked idea"). I swear I did not do that on purpose, but since you noticed it, I must give my props to you. Honorable mentions go to Maiqu and hairontveit for getting the reference as well. Hopefully I haven't missed anyone.

Also, to fredandblueinatree, I was going to PM, but you have disabled the function. The idea of head canon Hugo is very interesting, though I had not considered it that way… Well, we shall see, won't we? Thanks for your comment! You're very astute ;-).

Thanks to the rest of you for your amazing feedback both here and on tumblr. And thank you also for the new follows and faves. Enjoy!

Chapter 25

In the aftermath, Madame Morel helped Enjolras and Éponine find some lodging near the convent, as the pair still wished to be close to Monsieur Fauchelevent.

Indeed, Jean Valjean had tried to persuade the prioress to change her mind when the latter insisted that the couple leave the convent tout de suite. She had been rather incensed by the fact that they had not only left their room to roam the convent grounds at night, against permission, but was engaging in… unsavory acts in full view of anyone who might be walking past. And indeed, what was worse was that the episode had been witnessed by two of the students, one of whom, Mademoiselle Babineaux, had been causing trouble lately. The girl certainly did not need any further encouragement.

No, the prioress could not tolerate this sort of behavior. She should not have allowed a young, married couple such as them to live inside convent grounds in the first place. She had conceded because it was Monsieur Fauchelevent's grandson and she thought that his injury would render him immobile and therefore confined to his room. But she should have clued in to the fact that they were newlyweds and, as such, were more likely to be quite… amorous with each other. So the prioress had expressly asked the pair of them to leave. Monsieur Fauchelevent could stay if he so wished, but his grandson, in particular, was not to be allowed inside the convent again.

Despite the prioress' best efforts though, news of the couple's transgression and subsequent ouster from the convent spread rapidly through the boarding school, no doubt via Justine and Renata, the latter of whom was the unknown girl with Justine that night. If the schoolgirls were barely aware of the young couple's presence in the convent before then, they were surely now curious to find out absolutely everything about them. From the day after the incident occurred to when the couple was due to depart, the boarding school and dormitory were filled with plenty of whispers and barely concealed conversations among many of the older girls. They continued to interrogate Justine and Renata once the two had finished serving their punishment for being out of their beds that night. The nuns had certainly warned them to keep what they saw to themselves, but, well, Justine was garnering a reputation for being a little rule-breaker and Renata was much too exhilarated by the event to keep quiet.

Nevertheless, Justine and Gabrielle were keeping their previous encounters with Monsieur Émile and Madame Éponine strictly to themselves, as they did not wish to make things worse by exposing the couple's further dealings with the schoolgirls. Justine, in particular, was feeling remorseful that her conduct had contributed to the couple's exposure that night and expulsion from the convent. She decided to write them a note of apology, which was passed on to Enjolras and Éponine via Gabrielle and Madame Morel.

She addressed the letter to 'the venerated Monsieur Émile and Madame Éponine'. It seemed that Justine had a flair for the dramatics at her most contrite, but it was also the first time that the girl had addressed Éponine directly, albeit via writing. The girl was extremely regretful about causing the couple to be caught in one of their 'nocturnal outings'. She explained that her intention that night was only to help her classmate, Renata. Apparently, the other girl had approached Justine after the red ribbon incident to commiserate about how their teacher had confiscated the offending object. She too had had something very dear to her seized when she had inadvertently brought it to class one day. It was an inexpensive brooch, she said, but it belonged to a cherished childhood friend of hers whom she was terribly missing.

While the ribbon in itself mattered very little to Justine, she suddenly felt the need to help Renata get her item back. So the two hatched a plan, whereby they would sneak into the prioress' office, while Gabrielle covered for their absence and kept watch at the dormitory. It all seemed to be going rather smoothly, the girls were able to recover the trinket with relative ease, but then on their way back, they ceremoniously bumped into the prioress herself and another nun who was on her way to post. The girls had mapped out their return route carefully to avoid detection, but it seemed that they were simply unfortunate that the nuns had taken an alternate path that night. Their only consolation was that the nuns did not clue in to the fact that the girls had just broken into the prioress' office, but only thought that they were simply out on a stroll to get a snack from the kitchen. As such, Renata was able to retain her keepsake and the girls were not punished quite so severely.

Justine ended her note by saying that she was rueful that Monsieur Émile and Madame Éponine had had to leave. Yes, to Éponine's surprise, the girl made a point of saying her apologies to both Enjolras and herself. She wrote that she was glad to hear that Madame Morel had found another accommodation nearby. She promised that she would find a way to continue visiting them somehow, vowing that this was not the end of their relationship…

Éponine could not help but feel rather apprehensive about Justine's words. It was one thing to sneak around within the grounds at night, it was quite another to leave the convent to see a man… Well, a man and his supposed wife, but she did not think that the prioress would see the distinction if Justine was caught again…

Nevertheless, Éponine could not deny feeling glad that they were staying close by, as she still wished to help Gabrielle somehow… She and Enjolras had talked about their options as soon as they were given their marching orders by the prioress. It was too early for them to move elsewhere, as Enjolras still had his cast on and they had not yet acquired new identity papers from wherever Monsieur Valjean got his. And indeed, for Enjolras, the argument for staying in the vicinity was above all Jean Valjean himself.

After failing to convince the prioress to allow the young couple to stay, the old man had opted to remain in Petit-Picpus. He still believed that the convent was the most ideal place for him to avoid detection and therefore ensure that Cosette's future was secure. Enjolras had tried persuading him to come along with them, as he was worried about the man's deteriorating health and felt that their frequent chats had had the beneficial effect of rejuvenating him somewhat. Regardless, it seemed that Jean Valjean was adamant about keeping the promise that he'd made to himself, to remain in this convent until the end of his life.

This, above all, was what Enjolras lamented the most about his expulsion from the convent. He would certainly not miss being confined to his room at all hours and having barely any visitors, but he would miss his talks with Jean Valjean. There was still so much about the man's life that he yearned to hear. As he was expressly told not to return to the convent, Enjolras had implored Valjean to consider visiting him on the outside. He would find a lodging nearby, he said, so that the other man did not have to leave the sanctuary of the convent for very long. Otherwise, Enjolras would write him some letters and they could continue their talks that way.

Speaking of which, Enjolras remembered to send some notes to Combeferre and Joly advising them of the predicament. He was rather light on the details as to why they were ousted from the convent and told them that he and Éponine had found an accommodation nearby and that they would try to keep a low profile.

The last comment was meant specifically for Combeferre, as he could just imagine the frown that would appear on his best friend's face at the news that Enjolras was leaving the shelter of the convent at such an inopportune timing, given his father's pending arrival in Paris. Nevertheless, this could not be helped now and Enjolras just hoped that his friends could visit him more frequently in his new dwelling. He had missed their presence and there was much that he wished to discuss with them.

Éponine and Enjolras did not have much possession to begin with, so it did not take them long to pack everything up into their respective trunks. Still, once the room was practically bare, Éponine found herself feeling sentimental as she she took a look around. It was a threadbare chamber, but this was where her romance with Enjolras started after all. Who would have guessed the she and he would progress their relationship to this state in a convent, out of all places? Life sure took a strange turn sometimes, thought Éponine.

The prioress had requested that they leave in the middle of the day to ensure that the pupils were all in class at the time, but what ended up happening was that some of the older girls went to the windows anyway, against the strict admonitions of their teachers, to catch sight of the two visitors departing. Justine and Renata had described this Monsieur Émile as 'angelically handsome' and the schoolgirls could not miss the opportunity to see for themselves.

Éponine indeed did not fail to notice a number of girls watching her and Enjolras through the windows of their classrooms as the pair traversed the convent grounds towards the gate. The Morels and Jean Valjean were helping them with their luggage. The prioress had hoped that they would make their way swiftly, but Enjolras was slowed down by his crutch. Éponine walked alongside him, ready to assist if he so required. As a result, the schoolgirls had sufficient time to survey the couple. And indeed, every one of them thought that Justine and Renata were not exaggerating after all when they described the Monsieur's appearance. He was possibly the most beautiful man the girls had seen in their lives.

"Don't look now, Enjolras, but you are about to set some girls' hearts aflutter and then break them all in the one go," said Éponine in a low voice.

"What?" he asked distractedly.

Éponine pointed at the direction of the classroom windows discreetly, "You are about to fall into those girls' sight as you are leaving this compound, never to be seen by them again."

Enjolras resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Oh. Well, I am sure they will get over it."

"Not Mademoiselle Justine, I do not think," she replied under her breath. She spotted Justine and Gabrielle among the many faces watching them and stopped herself from giving them a wave. She directed a covert smile at them instead, as she could not let the others clue in to the fact that she had known the two girls for a while.

Before she left, she had told Gabrielle that she would find a way to still see her. The prioress might not be too thrilled about letting Éponine into the convent, but she would still be allowed to enter under the guise of visiting her husband's grandfather. Well, it would not be a guise, actually, as Enjolras had insisted that the two of them keep reaching out to Jean Valjean. So Éponine had told Gabrielle not to fret, that this was not goodbye between them. However, if there was something urgent that the girl needed to say to her, then please send her a note. She was certain that Madame Morel could get it to her, as they were going to be staying above her son-in-law's shop.

And indeed, Éponine and Enjolras were moving into the top floor of the Rimbaud bakery. Monsieur Rimbaud was the local baker who was married to Madame Morel's daughter, Manon. The Rimbaud couple, their three children, and Manon's brother lived on the second and third floors of the building, which left the top floor unoccupied. Enjolras was to find, to his utmost disappointment, that being out of the convent did not mean that he would be able to go outside more freely, because first of all, Combeferre would not like it, and second of all, the trek up and down four flights of stairs was too massive a feat to be attempted regularly using a crutch.

He was understandably breathless when they arrived at their new place. The top floor was almost like an attic for the whole structure and so had narrower corridors and smaller overall living area than the previous levels. Nevertheless, the flat was still suitably bigger than their accommodation at the convent. They entered to a little sitting room containing a comfortable-looking couch. This led off to what could be a dining area, with a small table, several chairs, and a window overlooking the alleyway behind the bakery. There was no kitchen, but Éponine was told that she could use the one belonging to the bakery on the ground floor, anytime after the Rimbauds had finished baking the day's bread. From the sitting room, there was a narrow corridor that led to the bedroom, which was furnished with a larger and more comfortable-looking bed than they'd had for the past several months, a table that they could use as a desk, and even a simple-looking wardrobe. There was also a fireplace, though Éponine and Enjolras expected to leave before the change in weather would necessitate the use of it. The windows in the living room and bedroom looked out to the streets in front of the bakery, so the view was not bad, which Éponine thought was somewhat of a relief, as she noticed that Enjolras was looking rather disheartened by the fact that he would not be able to go outside as easily, given his crutch.

Messieurs Morel and Rimbaud had assisted the pair with getting their things up the stairs, so once it was all done and they were left to themselves again, Éponine turned to Enjolras with a bright smile, "What do you think, Enjolras? Not so bad, is it? It looks better than the place that Marius used to live."

Enjolras, who was still feeling worn out and achy from the trip up the stairs, looked up at her from where he sat on the couch. He had not missed Éponine bringing up Marius' name in an almost light tone. He had not noticed it until now, but she had not mentioned Pontmercy for a while now. It would not have bothered him in the past, but well, obviously, things were different between them now. He answered her with a tone that made him sound more weary than he felt, "Yes, I suppose so."

"Would you like some water or something?"

"No, I just need a moment to catch my breath."

Éponine went to sit next to him on the couch, "I am sorry for all the stairs. Next time, we shall find a place that has easier access."

Enjolras looked up at her in a surprise. She mentioned 'next time' in the same easy tone that she had said Marius' name. He finally replied, "It is fine. I suppose this is only temporary anyway."

"Yes, until your leg heals?" She left the question open-ended. There were several things waiting until he was back on his own two feet. "How does the other one feel though?"

And then before he could reply, she placed her hand on his left thigh, massaging it slightly.

"Éponine..."

"It can't feel too good after climbing up all those steps. Besides, isn't this the treatment that Monsieur Combeferre wanted you to maintain? You need to look after your left leg as much as your right, Enjolras."

He covered her hand with his, stilling her movement, "Yes, but when you do it, I am afraid the effects will be different to the ones intended."

She giggled a little at that and removed her hand. Not so clueless after all, was he? So instead, she brought both of her palms to his face and pulled him closer for a kiss. He responded quite readily. Éponine made a point to keep her touch decent, but it was not to be a brief interlude between them anyway. Enjolras kept one hand in the back of her neck to keep her from moving away as easily. When they finally broke apart, she nuzzled his nose and said with mirth in her voice, "I thought I was taking a pity on you by holding myself back, but it seems that you'd like to indulge yourself after all."

"I cannot help myself, can I?"

"I like you this way," she chuckled. "Why don't you rest for a while then? I will do some unpacking and maybe fix us something to eat afterwards."

"Thank you, Éponine," he looked up at her with a smile. She had stood up but he was still holding on to her hand.

She nodded and replied with a smile of her own.

Later on that night, when they had settled in and the meals had been eaten and the trunks had been unloaded, Éponine watched Enjolras writing earnestly by the fading light on the desk.

"What are you scribbling there? It is quite late. Do you not want to sleep yet?" asked Éponine.

Enjolras barely looked up from his page, "I am just noting down what Monsieur Valjean said in our last meeting."

"Oh. Is there much to go?"

"No, not quite." But then he paused and added after a moment, "I worry about him, Éponine."

"I am sure he will be fine. His coloring is much better lately. But I will check up on him and make sure I engage him in conversation the next time I go to the convent."

Enjolras nodded, "I think his better state does have something to do with the time that I have spent with him, so, yes, I think it will be good if you can keep him company the next time you visit. I know that he has resigned himself to a life of solitude initially, but I cannot help but feel that our discussions have been sustaining him lately."

"Yes, I think the talks have been good for the both of you."

"It is not just that. I feel... responsible for him. Do you know that he saved my life?"

Éponine did not know, so he told her what had happened that night at the barricade, including how Jean Valjean had rescued Marius as well, though the latter was not aware of it.

"It disturbs me that Pontmercy is none the wiser. I am quite astounded that he would let his future father-in-law depart as he did, having heard the man's miserable past, but I do not think that Marius would let him persist on his own in the convent had he realized that Jean Valjean is the reason that he breathes still and is free to marry his beloved Cosette."

"I am sure Marius has his reasons…" Éponine started slowly. "I do not quite know what was discussed between him and Monsieur Valjean before they parted, but perhaps they made an agreement for it to be this way? I have never known Marius to be uncaring."

Enjolras suppressed a feeling of... displeasure at hearing Éponine say that about Pontmercy. He focused his thoughts instead on the facts, which nevertheless prompted him to relent, "Well Jean Valjean did request for Marius to let him leave and to keep Cosette in the dark. I had also promised that I would not impart what I know to Marius and Cosette, but I must admit that I am tempted."

"Enjolras, you cannot do that. You gave the man your word. You should respect his decision. And from what you said, that seems to be precisely what Marius is doing as well, so we will just have to let this be."

There was that feeling of annoyance again, tugging at him, fraying at his nerve a little bit, upon hearing her mention Marius...

No, he was not going to be this person, he thought. So he said instead, "Does it not seem unfair though? Pontmercy would not be in his present state of happiness had it been for Jean Valjean, yet here is the man, languishing on his own, wasting away with no one but me, and perhaps you as well, to listen to the story of his life. If Mademoiselle Cosette somehow finds out about it, then I am certain that she will ask Marius to collect her father and ensures that he is cared for..."

"Enjolras, I would once again advise you against breaking your promise to the man. It is perhaps the reason he confided to you in the first place, expecting you to keep what he said to yourself. And he must have his reasons for not telling Marius the truth about what happened that night at the barricade. He must have known that if he did, Marius would not have let him go. So you see, this indicates that he is quite determined to disappear from Cosette and Marius' lives."

Enjolras had tried to be rational, he really did, but hearing Éponine defend Pontmercy in such a way must have bothered him much more than he had realized, because he said the following words in a harsher tone than he had wanted to hear from himself, "Well, perhaps you and Pontmercy are fine with putting your word above all else, even if an old man is abandoned as a result — an old man to whom Marius owes his life, mind you, in more ways than he could have understood. But I am more concerned with what is fair, Éponine. I do not think it fair that a man as selfless as Jean Valjean, who has devoted his life to helping others, who continually sacrificed his own happiness for their own, is wasting away his remaining days by himself."

Éponine was quite taken aback by what he said, "Are you angry at me, Enjolras? I am simply advising you to keep to your word. How can you fault me for that?"

"It just seems that you fail to see what the right thing to do is here. Maybe it is because Marius is involved. He can seem to do no wrong in your eyes."

Éponine was starting to feel annoyed herself, "Is this what this is about? Do you have a problem with me agreeing with Marius because it is Marius? What have you got against him?"

If Enjolras was thinking more clearly, he would have realized that he had never had any particularly serious issue with Marius. Yes, they had never fully agreed on politics, but he had not felt any particular distaste for the man the last time he saw him. He had let him go, let him walk away from any further involvement in the revolutionary club, without any ill feeling on his part. And yet here he was now, somehow wanting to lash out against Pontmercy, "I have nothing against him. I just do not respect how he treats his future father-in-law. I do not see how you can agree with him, other than perhaps you simply wish to agree with whatever Marius says and does."

Éponine felt her temper flaring, "Excuse me?! If there is one thing you should know about me by now, Enjolras, is that my mind is my own. I do not defend Marius' actions just so I can agree with him. I am simply thinking of what Monsieur Valjean wants. It is his life after all that we are debating. Do you not think that he has a right to decide for himself how to spend the end of his life? If he wishes to be by himself, with the full knowledge that his beloved daughter is safe with the man she loves, then we must respect it. It is not our business to decide what is best for him. You seem to be blinded by your concern for Monsieur Valjean, which is admirable in itself, but also by whatever issue you appear to have with Marius, which you need to settle with him and not use his father-in-law as an excuse to scorn his actions."

Enjolras was quiet for a while, seemingly seething somewhat over her words. "I do not have an issue with Marius," he finally said stubbornly, in a tone that indicated that he clearly meant otherwise.

Éponine wanted to grit her teeth in frustration, but then, seeing the expression on his face, it all suddenly came together for her. Could it really be... ?

She calmed herself down and asked the following in as delicate a tone as she could muster, "Are you possibly... jealous of Marius, Enjolras? Is this what this is all about? Do you think I might still have feelings for him?"

Enjolras wished he could deny it. This… sensation was foreign to him. All his life, he always had more of... everything than anyone else around him and he had also been quite successful at everything he had set out to do, so he had never had any cause to be jealous of anyone. He felt that the feeling was beneath him even.

And yet here he was... With Éponine looking at him like that, probing his face, seemingly able to see right through him, exposing the deep, unacknowledged secret that perhaps he really was jealous of Pontmercy, because of his history with Éponine, because he got to have her heart first and possibly always would...

Because the two of them had done well by being honest with each other, he was not about to break the trend, regardless of how he might not like her answer. He spoke with an almost resigned tone, "Perhaps I am. Can you blame me? You were quite in love with him. Are you still...?"

Upon being confronted with the question directly, Éponine had had to take some time to contemplate it. The amazing thing was, she had actually not been thinking about Marius for some time now. And she was able to say his name without the ache that she used to feel. Yet there was this little part of her that still felt a certain fondness at the thought of Marius. It was almost out of habit.

Regardless, when she contrasted it to what she felt and thought of Enjolras, she remarkably found that the feeling paled in comparison.

She must have been thinking about it for too long, because when she looked up to give her answer, he had a stormy expression on his face and was half-turning back towards the desk. She started tentatively, "Since you have spoken to me plainly, I will be honest with you as well, Enjolras, and say that I think there is a little part of me that will always care a little for Marius."

He had his back to her now. Clearly, he did not wish for her to go on, but she persisted, "However, do you know that I have not thought about him at all until today? I think that is quite telling, don't you? Instead, I find my thoughts occupied with you."

He looked up a bit, so she continued on with a smile, "Mind you, I do not think about you every minute of every day, but when something interesting happens to me, whether it be a silly conversation that I have with someone while I'm not with you or it is a revelation which comes upon me while I am reading, for example, I think of you. I want to share it with you. I feel no need to speak to Marius in the same way."

She approached him from behind and slid her arms down his shoulders. "And when something bothers me, if I cannot sleep or I feel upset by something, I wish to unload my troubles onto you, because I know that you listen and you do not judge and you give excellent advice. I do not believe I actually know Marius well enough to do that with him."

She found to her relief that he leaned back towards her, placing one hand on her arm as he listened to her words, "And when I think about where I want to be in the next several months, I see myself with you. Marius no longer features when I imagine my future."

She took one hand off his shoulder to caress his hair. He seemed to really like that. She bent down slightly so that her lips were near his ear, "In fact, Marius does not feature in my dreams anymore. Now, mind you, I do not always remember them and I cannot control the content, so do not keep me to this, but I seem to dream constantly of you lately."

She circled her arms around his neck, bringing him closer against her, "And I definitely do not think about doing this with Marius. Only you." She kissed him from behind on his hair and then on his temple. But she did not stop there. Her lips continued to move down his face until they found the side of his mouth.

He only needed to turn his head slightly to capture her lips. Éponine moaned a little at the contact. They continued kissing each other quite fervently, their lips barely breaking contact. After a while though, her position was becoming slightly awkward, so Enjolras pulled her by the hand and onto his lap.

"What about your leg?"

"I don't care," he said, as his hand traveled up her jawline and pulled her close again. Her placating words must have gotten through to him, because he was kissing her passionately, as if he intended to bruise her lips. And his hands wandered more daringly than before, underneath the collar of her nightshirt, tracing her collarbone, or down the side of her body, following the curve, and even up her leg, though it stopped just above her knee.

When they broke apart, they were both breathless and Éponine felt her heart beating very fast, "I think it is quite obvious that I yearn for you very much, Enjolras. Are you sure you want to wait until your leg is fully healed? That could take a while, even after the cast has come off."

Enjolras could barely think, his blood was pulsing loudly in his ears, if such a thing was possible. He was very tempted…

But when he thought about how unsettled he was by the simple thought of Marius, he was afraid that if he did this with her now, he would lose himself entirely to her.

No, ironically it was not Éponine who had to be careful about making Enjolras the center of her world. It was Enjolras instead, who grew worried that he would do that to her if he submitted himself now, when he was still unsure of all these different feelings that he was experiencing for the first time. He did not think it would be healthy if he attached himself so completely to her.

He was not sure of how to convey this to her though, so he just looked at her with a soft smile and asked her to be patient with him.

Thankfully, she just smiled back and said, "Then I better get off this leg of yours. I do not wish to risk further injury after all and prolong its healing."

When she had gotten up, she looked back on him again with an amused expression, "Do you realize that we just had our first fight?"

"Did we? I suppose that you are right."

"Yes, and our first… conciliatory embrace. I am told that this is the best part after a couple has fought. What do you think?"

Enjolras had had to chuckle, "I cannot deny it. Perhaps it is the reason why many lovers pick fights with each other." It suddenly occurred to him that this was likely why some of his friends used to complain about women who infuriated them and yet kept on seeing them. He had not understood it then.

"You are very perceptive, aren't you?" replied Éponine. Her expression turned more serious though and she came close to him again with her arms around his neck. She looked at him earnestly, "You understand now, don't you, that you have no reason to be jealous of Marius?"

He gave her a nod and caressed her back in a reassuring manner, "Yes, I think that you have convinced me. I am sorry I overreacted. I realized that I was behaving irrationally, but I could not control what I was feeling. I really do trust you, Éponine."

"I am glad," she replied with a soft smile. "As to Monsieur Valjean, we will still be nearby, at least for a while, so we shall try to keep reaching out to him. I will attempt to convince him to visit you here. And when the time comes that we have to leave… Well, if you still feel unsettled about abandoning him, then we can talk again about whether or not we should tell Cosette and Marius. How does that sound?"

"That sounds like a very good solution, actually."

"Excellent. Now let us go to bed. You look weary."

"Yes, I have not had much luck with sleeping lately."

Something suddenly occurred to Éponine, "Then we can try something new. Come."

She led him to the bed and let him lie like he always did, facing towards the ceiling. She got in to the other side in a reclining position, but not completely lying down, and scooted herself close to his head, "Since you have been serving as my pillow, I think it is time that I return the favor. Lie your head here on my stomach."

He looked at her unconvincingly, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, here I will help you."

His right leg was still anchoring him to the his side of the bed, but his upper body and left leg were able to be angled towards her. He ended up with his head on her stomach, the top of his head against the swells of her breasts, his left arm folded against her side and his right arm draped across her hips in an almost possessive hold.

"See, is this not comfortable?"

He could not deny that it was. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent, feeling sleepy already.

"Now, since you are having trouble sleeping, I shall read to you. Not from one of your serious books, mind you, because we do not need your mind thinking so much, but from one of mine."

She started reading from Éponine et Sabinus, he thought, but he could not quite listen to her words, as he felt himself dozing off almost immediately. Éponine was also running her fingers through his hair and massaging his scalp lightly. The effect of it all, combined with her voice, was highly relaxing.

Éponine had barely gotten through two pages before she realized that Enjolras had fallen asleep. She put her book away quietly and doused the lamp. Before she herself went to sleep, she brought two fingers to her lips and pressed them softly to his cheek, "Sleep well, Enjolras."

Author's Notes: There we go, É/E's first fight! It figures that it would be over Marius, doesn't it? I don't think Enjolras the marble statue would have known what jealousy is, but, well, he is a little different now, isn't he, now that he's "cracked" by Éponine? It is just one more foreign feeling that he gets to experience now that he's attached to a girl.

I'm going to miss Petit-Picpus! But I had planned for them to leave at some point.

I had to introduce a few more original characters, which you know I don't like doing, but it had to be done. I am terrible at naming them, so I just picked whatever names occurred to me. However, I have since discovered that Rimbaud is the name of a poet whom Victor Hugo described as "an infant Shakespeare" and Renata is a character from Gabriel Garcia Marquez' One Hundred Years in Solitude, which is among my top most favorite books. I don't know where the names Justine or Gabrielle came from, honestly. They just popped in my head.

Anyway, what do you think? Please leave me a review or PM to let me know what you think (or you can visit me on tumblr at caderyn tumblr com). Otherwise, follow/fave if you like the story. Thank you!