Title: True Love
Author: opheliarose
Rating: Oh, PG to be safe
Feedback: Yes, please!
Disclaimers: Satine and Christian belong to Baz and Craig, no matter how much I wish otherwise [though my muses are all mine]
Author's note: Songs. And fluff. Song fluff!! And not the best, either, but that muse wouldn't let me go! I don't know if anyone else has used these songs before, and I'm sure this kind of scene has been done before, so please forgive me ;)

Satine made her way slowly up the stairs. It had been a long, tiring day. She'd had rehearsals at the Rouge for 'Spectacular Spectacular', and they'd worn her out. Work wasn't something she minded so much, really--she wanted to be a real actress, and she knew that this was her first big chance. The play was fantastic, her role amazing, and she loved every minute she spent rehearsing. She just knew it would make her a star, could almost taste it every time she stepped onto the half-finished stage.

After rehearsal was always the time she dreaded most. Would she be able to make a quick escape across the street, into Christian's arms, or would she end up being caught by the Duke? Most days, she was able to avoid him, but today he'd found her and insisted that they have dinner together. That had been three hours ago. She'd thought of Christian every second, and finally had made her excuses to the Duke--'Honestly, my dear Duke, I must get my beauty sleep. You wouldn't want me looking dreadful for rehearsal tomorrow, hm?' That had worked, and now she found herself pausing outside Christian's door.

It was days like today that made her wonder if their affair was at all a smart thing. There was no question that she loved him madly, passionately--he was the missing piece she'd searched for all of her life. But she hated to come to him like this...still smelling of the Duke's cigars; still feeling the harsh prickles of his mustache as he'd kissed her hand, her cheek, her lips; her skin crawled at the thought of his nasally voice. Being with the Duke always made her want to be with Christian that much more, but sometimes she felt as though the whole thing was useless--she was afraid they'd never be able to love each other publicly, and having to hide her feelings for him was a difficult task--even for her, and she had been acting all of her life.

She didn't knock on the door; she never did anymore. She turned the knob and stepped inside, shutting the door quietly behind her. Christian was in his usual spot, at the typewriter, pecking away in his slow fashion. She always felt a little thrill upon seeing him--his sweet, innocent face, his just-a-touch too long black hair tumbling into his beautiful green eyes, the furrow of concentration upon his brow as he wrestled with his words. Despite her melancholy, she couldn't resist walking over to stand beside him, leaning her hip against his arm and running a hand through that soft hair. He glanced up at her and smiled, and she thought her heart might shatter at the utter beauty of it. "How was your evening?" he asked her, tugging at her hand and pulling her onto his lap.

"Oh, it was...you know..." Satine waved her hands, not wanting to discuss the Duke.

Christian nodded, immediately apologetic. "I understand." He kissed her hand, holding it to his lips longer than necessary, almost as if he knew what she was feeling, what she remembered, and wanted to erase it all from her thoughts.

For once, it wasn't working. She stood up, restless, and walked across the room. "Christian..." she started, then faltered. What did she want to say to him? What could she say to him? Things were so difficult for her; her emotions were stretched so thin sometimes, pretending to love the Duke when the only person on earth she could love, would ever love was Christian. And then there was the one thing she never spoke to anyone about: her health. All the coughing, and the fainting...oh, she tried to not think of it, but it worried her. She had no idea what was happening, but her gut told her there was something wrong. And if there was...then what was she doing with Christian? She would only ruin his life if they kept on like this. "Do you ever think...that maybe us being together..." She couldn't look at him, couldn't watch his face as she stumbled over her words. "...maybe it's not the right thing to do?"

Silence. After a moment, he finally replied, "What do you mean?" His voice was surprisingly calm.

Satine bit her lip, still unable to face him. "I just feel sometimes...like it's useless...no one can know about us, and...and I'm so tired of hiding, Christian, I just don't know if I can handle the charade any longer..." Her words trailed off into a cough, and she cut it off quickly, trying to calm her gasps for breath. The last time she'd had one of her spells, she'd noticed that she had coughed up blood. She didn't want Christian to know. He would only worry, and then she would feel guilty.

She heard the rustling of papers behind her, the scraping of the chair against the floor as he stood up. He didn't move towards her, though, which surprised her. Instead, he stayed by his table, waiting her out. Finally, she turned to look at him when she was sure she had her coughing under control.

His hands were in the pockets of his trousers, and he was leaning against the table, staring at her thoughtfully. It shouldn't have surprised her that when he opened his mouth, a song came out instead of just spoken words. It was, after all, how he'd won her heart in the first place. "Here's how it goes. You and me, up and down, but maybe this time we'll get it right, worth the fight, cause love is something you can't shake, when it breaks, all it takes is some trying. If you feel like leaving, I'm not gonna make you stay, but soon you'll be finding, you can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love." He started walking towards her, and she stepped back automatically, not wanting to give in to him so easily. "You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love. So if you go, you should know, it's hard to just forget the past, so fast, it was good, it was bad, but it was real, and that's all you have. In the end, our love matters." He was standing in front of her now, his eyes twinkling in the candlelight, and as he reached for her, she ducked away, walking to the window and turning to look back at him. "If you feel like leaving, I'm not gonna make you stay, but soon you'll be finding, you can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love." He followed her, and despite herself Satine giggled, stepping out of his reach once more. Christian grinned at her and sang, "You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love, you can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love!" She scampered away from him again, laughing in full now, but he grabbed a hold of her sleeve and pulled her close. "Here's how it goes, all it takes is some trying! If you feel like leaving, I'm not gonna make you stay, but soon you'll be finding, you can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love..." He nuzzled his head into her hair and sang again, softly, "You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love."

Satine moved back so that she could look into his eyes. He was smiling at her, and she couldn't help but wonder how it was that he was always so sure of everything, so sure of their love, so sure that it would overcome all. She owed him honesty, that much was true, and maybe it would help her her feelings out, as well, get them out in the open. She reached up to touch his dear face before she opened her mouth. "I've had other guys, I've looked into their eyes. But I never knew love before, till you walked through my door. I've had other lips, I've sailed a thousand ships, but no matter where I go, you're the one for me, baby, this I know, 'cause it's true love, you're the one I'm dreaming of, your heart fits me like a glove, and I'm gonna be true blue, baby, I love you." She smiled up at him. Yes, this is helping, she thought, and continued to sing, wrapping her arms around Christian and pulling him into a dance. "I've heard all the lines, I've cried oh, so many times. Those tear drops, they won't fall again, I'm so excited 'cause you're my best friend. So if you should ever doubt, wonder what love is all about, just think back and remember dear, those words whispered in your ear, I said, true love, you're the one I'm dreaming of, your heart fits me like a glove, and I'm gonna be true blue, baby, I love you." They were dancing around the room now, Christian pulling her close and then twirling her away, her hair flying out behind her in a blinding whirl of red as she spun and sang to him. "Oh, no more sadness, I kiss it good-bye! The sun is bursting right out of the sky! I searched the whole world for someone like you, don't you know, don't you know that it's true love, oh baby, true love, oh baby, true love, oh baby, true love it's true love, you're the one I'm dreaming of, your heart fits me like a glove, and I'm gonna be true blue, baby, I love you, I love you..."

She stopped singing when Christian pulled her to him again, their bodies close together, hearts beating as one, just as they had been since the moment they met. She looked up into his eyes and shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Christian, I don't know what comes over me sometimes..."

He shook his head and brushed his lips against hers. "No, darling, it's all right. It's hard on you, I know. It's hard on me, too." He kissed her again, his lips soft against hers, and she sighed into him, never wanting to let go. He trailed kisses along her cheek to her ear, where he whispered, "It's all right to have doubts, just so long as you remember...it's true love, oh baby, true love, oh baby..."

Satine laughed--a real laugh, one that only Christian could pull from her--not a fake one like she used on her customers or the Duke. "You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape my love," she replied teasingly, and kissed him again.

[Escape-Enrique Iglesias

True Blue-Madonna]