Nuu, Connor :( Whatever, he was a jerk. Let's carry on with the story! :D

_One month after Connor's death._

"I don't want you to die, that's all!" Yelled Marie. Gavroche pulled his arm away from her grasp and stomped his foot.

"I'm not fighting cos' I want to! I 'ave to fight for what I love!"

"Is France worth losing your life for?! Do you love the country so much that you will risk your life, and leave me and the others?!" Marie questioned.

"It's not France I love!" Gavroche snapped.

Marie stepped back, shocked from the tone and volume of Gavroche's voice. The ten-year-old boy stared at the ground. He balled his hands into fists. His face turned pink suddenly.

"It's...it's not France I'm fightin' for. All this time, I've been preparing to fight for you! The 'ell if I die, if we win, you'll 'ave a better life! And that's good enough for me." He said, quieter. He let his blonde hair fall in front of his face. There was a long thirty seconds of silence. All that could be heard was Marie's steady but loud breathing. Suddenly, Gavroche felt his hair being pulled away from his face. Marie looked him in the eye, and smiled.

"Show me your face." She ordered. Gavroche looked up, slowly. He sheepishly looked to the side just a bit. Marie was standing on her toes, trying to looking him directly in the eye. He pulled her close and hugged her. He felt Marie's arms wrap around him as well.

"I don't want you to fight, and I don't want you to die. I am fighting so you don't 'ave to." he whispered, his voice breaking. He sniffled, showing Marie that he was crying. She didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry for yelling." She finally told him. He nodded. When they pulled back, Gavroche smiled.

"I'm sorry for yelling, too. I was just mad, that's all. I want to do all I can to protect you." he replied. Marie smiled back and took his hand. They began to walk. They walked for a while, through the streets, over bridges, until Marie gasped. Gavroche turned, curious. She pointed to the sky. Thousands of tiny white flecks were beginning to fall.

"What is it?" Asked Marie.

"That's snow. You've never seen it?"

"No..."

She suddenly jumped back when a snowflake landed on the tip of her nose. Marie giggled, and brushed it off.

"Every time it got cold outside, Papa wouldn't let me go outside. Our house had one window, and that was in the cellar. I was always too scared to go up there. So...I've never seen snow." She explained. Marie shivered, but paid no attention to it. She and Gavroche sat down on some crates, and they both watched it fall. Marie stared in wonder at each fleck, wondering how the were created.

"How is snow made?" She asked.

"I never learned, but my best friend, Courfeyrac, always told me that snow is a sign sent from god, a sign of 'ope. If snow fell, something good would 'appen. I never believed that, because snow is cold, and we starve sometimes. Many people die because of snow...but...one day, before I met the Amis and the other kids, I was starving, sick, and only four years old. Courfeyrac found me just as the snow began to fall. 'e brought me to the cafe, and let me stay with 'im. So...nowadays, I look forward to the snow, hoping that our lives will be better in some way or another." Gavroche tipped his head to the sky, as if he was saying these words to god. Marie looked down at her hands, where a snowflake had just landed. She watched as it melted into water in her hands.

"Water." She realized, "...it's water! Gavroche, what if this is rain, but because of the coldness, it froze?"

"That's actually really smart! Why didn't I think of that?"

"I don't know..."

Gavroche looked over at the girl beside him. She really had changed in the past month. Her old gown was gone, she had torn it apart to make a blanket. Now she wore beige trousers, a white shirt and a brown vest. Atop her head was a messengers cap, just like Gavroche. She had tied her hair up, because it was growing too much. Marie was staring back up at the sky, smiling. Gavroche stared at her for a few seconds, until she noticed him and turned.

"What?" She asked. His face went red.

"N...nothing! You had...had a bug on your face." He lied. Marie sighed happily. She moved her hand closer and closer to his, until she managed to link her pinkie around his index finger. Gavroche tensed, his cheeks growing hotter by the second. He released his tension, and took her entire hand in his. And they stood there, watching the snow fall.

"Oi, look, boys! G'vroche has got 'imself a lady friend!" Yelled a voice. Gavroche and Marie spun around to see Oliver, Jack, and Garcaunt.

"S...shut up! What are you doing 'ere?!" He demanded, trying to hide his blush From the younger boys.

"We saw ya' walkin' with Marie, so we followed ya' to see what would 'appen!" Answered Jack, showing them a cocky grin. Garcaunt let out a few jittery giggles. Gavroche snarled, and began to walk towards them. They yelped, and scampered away like kittens.

"Do you think we should go back to the elephant now?" Asked Marie.

"Yeah."

Together, they raced to the statue. As usual, Gavroche ended up winning. When they reached the elephant, he jumped onto his usual crate and they did a stock checkup.

"I found a bag of almonds and cashews mixed together, how 'bout that?" Said a girl named Anne, holding up a small brown sac.

"Good, 'as anyone else found something?" Three other children stepped up a presenting their findings.

"I found a sou, here!" Said Jack's twin brother, Jaques, holding the sou to their leader. Gavroche nodded in thanks and left to store the sou in the dirty, cracked jar they kept money in. They emptied it each month to buy a store of food for the next few weeks. So far, they almost had reached a Napoleon. Seven Francs away. Suddenly, he heard the chatter of girls. He walked back to where all the fuss was, all of the girls in the group were excited about something.

"What's go'n on, guys?" He asked. They all turned, and smiled excitedly.

"Don't you know?"

"Haven't you heard?"

"He should have, it's such a special day!"

Gavroche tipped his head to the side, curious at what they had to say. The sis girls parted to reveal Marie. She waved shyly. A girl named Rachelle nudged her.

"Go on, tell 'im!" She whispered. Marie stepped forwards.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about..." She sighed, "...fine. It's my birthday today. I'm turning ten." She shrugged, as if it weren't a big deal.

"Marie, why didn't you tell me? An'...wait...you're older than me...?" Gavroche was surprised. He was older than all of the other kids. Marie shrugged again, and nodded. Rachelle grinned, and sashayed to Gavroche.

"I know what you can give her." She cockily whispered in his ear, causing him to elbow her in the side. Rachelle snickered.

"Shut up!" he yelled, "I...in fact, I already got something for her! I already knew!" He lied.

"Then show us. Give it to her." She replied. Gavroche confidently made his way to the rear of the elephant, where they made storages. He went to his box, which contained extra buttons, thread and such. He pulled out what he was looking for. He had actually gotten this the day before, he was going to give it to her anyway.

"Marie, could you let down your 'air?" He asked. She looked around, confused, but took off her cap and hair tie. Her brown hair fell neatly, reaching her back. From behind his back, Gavroche revealed a shimmery pink ribbon. The other girls gasped, causing Marie to say "What? What is it?" Gavroche separated his hair into three locks, and began to braid them. He learned how to braid hair from Provaire, who was a specialist. When he finished, he tied the ribbon into a neat bow in the end.

"Go a'ead and look." He said. Marie took the braid in her hands, and pulled it close to her face to see the ribbon. Her eyes glimmered.

"Oh, Gavroche! Where could you find something like this? It's absolutely perfect..." She cooed. He shrugged. He had actually gotten it from a merchant who had some extra ribbon, and she cut off a piece of it for him.

"Well, 'appy birthday, Marie." He said, kissing her forehead.