It started around midnight. Enjolras had been sleeping soundly in the chair for the first time in a long while. He had been feigning sleep to keep a watch on Éponine, make sure she was okay.

Her strangled cry woke him, she had thrown the sheets from the bed. Her brow was furrowed in worry. He felt a pang in his heart. She was murmuring franctically, he caught a few words... "Gavroche, Joly, Marius..." He thought she might have calmed down when she nearly screamed his name.

Enjolras was up in a flash in shock. She had just called for him, the ego inside him fluttered a bit... She was dreaming about him.

Worry overtook him then, and he walked over to her, pulling the sheets back onto the bed. "Éponine," he murmured quietly she let out another strangled cry. He couldn't take it anymore, she had been looking better, healthier. This nightmare degraded her back to the small, frail and starving girl she had been in her last hours with Marius.

"Éponine!" He called, touching her shoulder as to wake her. She jumped with a start, nearly flying out of bed. One look at him and she was reduced to tears. She clung on to him, her body shaking uncontrollably.

"I saw their deaths, Enjolras... Even the ones I hadn't seen before."
Enjolras looked down at the girls broken body, her dark hair a mess from being in bed. Her eyes were swollen a bit and red, tears still streaming down her face.

"Oh, 'Ponine." He whispered, raw pain surging through him. They sat there for a while. Him holding onto her as she cried, whispering slightly to herself and slightly to him. He knew how she was feeling. He had started to have nightmares too. Countless times he watched his friends die. In different ways each night, tortured, shot, bleeding to death, burning alive... It was horrific. That was why he didn't like to sleep while she was awake. He was just relieved she hadn't heard him scream.

"Enjolras?" She asked, her voice small and weak, like a child before bed.

"Yes, 'Ponine?" He murmured, stroking her hair, it was smooth under his touch.

"Will you please stay with me tonight? I-I can't face this alone." Fresh tears had sprung into her eyes, the brown glistening. He took a minute to consider, but how could he just let the poor girl suffer alone? So Enjolras nodded, letting her climb back under the sheets and he followed. She was still shaking but she seemed a bit calmer now that he was there. Her small body wrapped in his he closed his eyes, he hated seeing her like this, he could imagine what her brain was creating in her head. Praying for a better tomorrow they fell asleep, no longer dreaming.

Eponine woke with a start, surprised to find Enjolras hadn't moved from the night before. Slight embarrassment engulfed her as she remembered what had happened. How weak she must have looked begging him to sleep with her. But he had, and he still was. His strong arms wrapped around her protectively.

She realized she didn't mind it at all, his presence made her feel safe, and the moment he had said yes to her pleading she knew she would be alright. She hadn't dreamed at all, just slept pleasantly.

The morning sun filled the flat with light, and a bird chirped out the window. Enjolras was sleeping soundly, his breathing relaxed. It calmed her knowing he was asleep for once, but she had never felt more refreshed. She felt that she could walk again, maybe even take to the streets, if it weren't that at the moment she was locked in Enjolras' steel grip.

Smiling to herself and letting go of the embarrassment, Eponine decided that the day could wait, and closed her eyes to sleep a bit more.

It was near noon before Enjolras stirred shaking Eponine out of her
slumber. He still hadn't moved, his warm body snuggled close to hers.

"Good morning, 'Ponine." He said, his voice slightly amusing. She could feel her cheeks blushing slightly as he moved his arms to release her slightly.

"Merde!" He exclaimed with a laugh, "My arms are asleep!" Eponine couldn't help but giggle as she moved away from him and watched as he struggled to sit up. He finally gave up, lying back onto the pillows with a huff.

"Should I make breakfast?" She asked, looking around them. "And...
Clean up a bit?" The room had gone into a bit of disrepair, books that Enjolras had snuck into the place laid stacked in corners, papers lay on the table and their dinner from the night before still sat on the table forgotten.

Enjolras looked around the room, feebly stretching his fingers trying to get feeling into them, she could hear them crack in protest. His mouth pulled into a pout, puffing out air from his lungs.

"Do we have to?" He asked, Eponine looked at him with reproach.

"Yes." She said, raising her eyebrows in finality. Enjolras' arms must have finally listened to him because he slowly sat up, letting the sheets fall away from his chest. He only wore the thin white shirt that usually was under a vest and his jacket.

"We can't just let it go...?" He asked, looking around the room again. Eponine laughed.

"What? And end up tripping over your books? I think not, besides... We need something to do. We can't just sit here and do nothing for the rest of our lives." She said, Enjolras frowned at the thought of cleaning but nodded. Shooing Enjolras out of the bed, Eponine felt a bit relieved. Happy to know that she wasn't alone in her suffering. The nightmares had been horrible, they were hard to even think about.

"Enjolras?" She asked tentatively, he turned around to look at her, his blue eyes showing a bit of concern.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Thank you, for last night." He gave her a kind smile, a smile she hadn't had anyone give her in a long time. The last person who had smiled that way had been Marius.

"Of course. I know how it feels, it's not something to go through alone."