ONE-SHOT. Time for some MeRik LOVE PEOPLE! (I just named my fave ship, I know, I'm lame. Hahaha!) I ship this couple so much, it hurts. I know I haven't written for a while (or MONTHS) this story has been uploaded here like, months ago, but I immediately deleted it before anyone saw it. It took a long time before I decided to upload it again (It's been here in my laptop for a very long time now).

Enjoy!

"Grant me a kiss and I shall give you your freedom. You would never see this beast before your eyes for as long as you live."

His masked face basked in the darkness; somewhat adding to the hostile details of what concealed his face—his mask. However, the face did not exactly exist, it was remains of what could be said of a face, what was left. However, he still had eyes to see, to make any living human transparent.

Her eyes flickered towards him in a timid fashion; mouth slightly agape at his request. He did not know what he expected of her response, all he thought of was that she would refuse his condition, or maybe, if she was desperate enough to gain her liberty, just maybe, she would somehow consider the fact of even…doing what he asked of her. The thought of even saying it made him shudder, the thought of even thinking about it was even worse than he could have imagine! A kiss…a kiss for her freedom? Wasn't that some sort of history of his affair with the songbird, Christine Daaé? Wasn't that a piece of his awful past that he should have omitted? Yet, that memory, though he would hastily admit, it was what he cherished the most. Every 'firsts' were bound to be unforgettable. It was inevitable. However, every firsts, there was a huge possibility that it ought never to happen again, leading to futile wishes that it would be encountered again. To feel it again, that was his greed. His selfishness. It need not matter who it was. Did it? Just to feel heaven once more when it was supposedly closed for him.

He had kept her here for weeks, days, months…. seasons. And what did their relationship blossom into? He was unsure how to answer that question lingering in his head, he somehow have an idea, but the little coward in him hesitated to confirm it.

She shook her head,

"A kiss must be given willingly, not to be a fruit of blackmail or some absurd agreement.." she stuttered.

Although, she would give that kiss without any constraints, though it would be her first, it didn't equal to a reasonable or valid reason for it to be done. A kiss must be shared between lovers. And apparently, as clear as she could remember, that was something they were not, but she wished that they were. What of Christine? Didn't she kiss him out of love? Love, pity or sacrifice, it needn't matter, a kiss was still a kiss. Nothing could erase its true meaning. But could she give up its genuine meaning when someone she cared about was asking her for it? No, it was not a request; it was perhaps something he longed for, but to cover up his shame of such feelings, such desire, he offered something he thought she would be willing to risk her kiss for.

"If your best friend did it," He cringed at the memory. He dare not say her name, "so could you."

"I am not Christine!" He scowled as he heard her name,

"I know that and we both know you would never be!"

She was taken aback by that outburst, she knew that but does it really matter so much that it was to be expressed by words from him? The thought lingering inside her was almost too much to even handle, but hearing it coming from him, it was like death seducing her. A tear trickled down her cheek, but she wiped it away as if nothing from what he said broke her into pieces. When Erik saw this, his heart clenched, and he stormed off.

"If I kissed you, would it hold any significance?" He stopped as her shaky inquisition echoed throughout his lair. Silence followed, this time, the cliché 'silence means yes' may or may not have been intended. A reply wasn't given, just footsteps slowly walking away from a ballerina.

"A kiss for my freedom?" She mocked Erik's words, yet she let the tears roll down gently one by one.

'It is like death whatever I choose.' She sobbed, quivering. 'What is a kiss if I do not wish for my freedom? What is freedom if I did kiss him as he asked? Freedom would be vulnerability. I wouldn't be on his side. He wouldn't be on mine. A kiss is nothing, it would be a short-term happiness but I would eventually fall to infinite doom. I would rather be chained to him than chained to the world.'

so...*awkward silence*...How was it?

I don't know, but I was really irritated by the way I wrote this and edited here and there… I guess my skills are slowly slipping away…

Anyways,

I appreciate your time on reading this... Would it be too much to ask for a review? :D I'd go nuts if you don't! Hahaha! Thank you again! :)