A/n: starts off precisely where An Enemy's Comfort ended.

Disclaimer: still own nothing…

Rating: R for what I know will happen in later chapters. For now it's only a PG-13 warning.

Phantom POV still

I feel him wake up and stir a little in my arms. I don't want to fight just yet, if we have to fight at all, so I stay very still, my arm still around him, as he gets his bearings.

He doesn't move right away, and I don't know whether to consider it a good thing or a bad thing. But this is make or break time.

I lean over and place a kiss lightly on his cheek.

He looks up and sees me and smiles.

He reaches up to touch where my mask should be, but I feel his hand make contact with skin.

I fall back but he turns quickly and keeps me in the bed before I can escape.

"Erik," he whispers, "don't worry."

He turns back around, grabs something and then turns back to me. I see the object is my mask.

"I took it off last night, you were sweating really bad and you didn't seem to mind when I took it off. I put it aside so it wouldn't get ruined," he leans over and kisses me.

I take the mask from him and look at it. The whole where my eye looks through makes it seem like it's so hollow, mocking me about the face that can never match the mind it hides, and in a way perfectly reflecting it.

"Erik," I look at him, "I don't mind either way. Do what you are more comfortable with."

I look again at the mask, the cage, and then set it aside again.

He smiles, kissing me, "Good morning."

"A little late," I kiss him, "don't you think?"

He smiles, "Still morning isn't it?"

I smile at his childish ways and marvel at the way he can change simply from when he falls asleep to when he wakes up.

He sits up and starts to move the covers around. Clammering toward the bottom he finally reemerges and then tears away the covers by his feet.

"What are you doing?" I smile at him.

"I only brought one change of clothes," he sighs, having only found his shirt so far.

I look around and easily find my underpants, which have fallen to the stone ground. I move my feet so they dangle off the side of the bed and I throw the underwear on.

He watches me as I stand up, and walk out of the room stretching my arms into the air. I then return swiftly with the two forgotten piles of clothing from last night, along underpants, which I throw at him.

"I don't know how well they'll fit you, but…" I shrug.

He throws them on, "They'll do." I laugh slightly.

He moves completely out of the covers, but quickly has a second thought. He starts to shiver. I just now realize that, unlike myself, he isn't as used to the temperatures down here.

I move behind him and wrap my arms around his waist and chest. He smiles and slightly leans back into the embrace. Most people in my embrace either run or start to shiver, in his case it would be shivering worse, and I understand why. But he doesn't do either, which throws me compltly lost.

Never the less, I place my chin on his head and start to rock side to side, slowly.

"Erik?" hearing him use my name makes me seem even less worthy of him being in my arms.

"Yes Raoul?" I nuzzle his neck.

"Do I have to leave?" I had never thought about that. I had assumed he would run out on his own first thing he woke up.

I have enough things here for us for a little while, and if I really need something then I could ask Madame Giry to go run a couple of errands, paying her well of course since I heard there is something going on tonight and I'm sure she will be busy.

"Not if you don't want to," I whisper into his hair.

He nods, "Good."

I let go of him reluctantly and we both move to gather our clothing. We take our time getting dressed. I drink in his image as much as possible, absorbing this moment, as I'm sure he is doing as well. I realize that I love the way the light reflects off his skin, especially his face. The light seems to make his smile glow in a litteral way.

He sits down on the bed and sighs out, "I'm getting hungry."

"I really don't have a meal here fit for a viscount," he smiles at me.

"Good," he laughs.

"What?" his laugh is contagious, but I'm still taken by surprise.

"Well, what would you do after you are expected for so long to be the perfect viscount, day in and day out, and yet only wanting freedom the whole time?" I frown.

"I guess I would want a break," I sit down next to him and wrap an arm around his shoulder.

He laughs, "Putting it mildly, yes."

"Well," I smile, "if it counts for anything at all, you're perfect to me no matter what."

We both fall silent for a second and I worry I said something wrong, but then he looks to me and responds, "It does count."

He gently lays on my side, and I wince. He jumps up and looks quickly down at me. I follow his eyes.

There's a long line of crimson going down the front of my shirt. I look back up and see that's he's already half way out the door. Quickly returning with the bandages he moves ot my side and begins ot remove my shirt.

When I try to help him he turns on me in protest, "Don't move."

He finishes removing my shirt and quickly goes to work bandaging the wounds. At some point I feel a sharp pain seering through my back and I realize that the back wound has opened as well.

When he finishes he sits down next to me, slightly relaxing, and lightly places a hand on my chest, "You should lie down."

I laugh coldly, "And how do you propose I do that?"

He frowns and answers, "Try laying on your side."

He helps me lie back, trying to keep my stomach and back striaght. He doesn't succeed and it cry out a jolt of seering pain, like fire in my muscles, shoots through my stomach.

He instantly sits me back up and holds me, "I'm so sorry."

My breath is coming in pants, but I manage to answer, "It's alright. You didn't mean to."

He finally succeeds in getting me into a lieing position on my right side. I feel his left arm snake around my waist.

"Just relax now, I'm here," I feel his breath on the back of my neck, causing the little hairs it's brushing over to stnd on end.

I listen to him and relax my muscles. I feel him start to rub his thumb over my stomch and I wish that we never had to move from this one spot.

Something about this feeling of ecstacy and pain makes me extremly tired. Just as I feel him stop moving I lose myself to a pleasant darkness.

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a/n: well? what did you think so far?