Disclaimer: Still own nothing


A/N: So here's chap.2*throws confetti* It will focus on Raoul seeing Christine again at the Opera house and them getting married. I'm also combining things from different versions. I really don't want to rewrite what we know happens, so I'll have a little of that and random RXC fluff time. Hmm...I think I just heard some EXC shippers vomit...

I'm twenty-two for a moment

And she feels better than ever

And we're on fire

Making our way back from Mars

Raoul loved Paris. He loved the people, the food, and the music. Especially the music. For music was what reminded him of her. Of course, over the years he had meet and even courted several beautiful and charming women, but none of them could ever replace his Christine, his angel, in his heart.

Soon after arriving in Paris, he had purchased season tickets to the Opera House. (Phillipe had been glad, for now he could visit his current lover, La Sorelli, and simply claim he was taking his brother to the opera.) Raoul hoped that maybe he could find someone who looked or sounded like Christine so he could remember her better.

But the Prima Donna's, Carlotta's, voice sounded anything but heavenly. In fact, it made him want to bang his head against the wall(he told this to Philippe once and he swore he heard laughter from Box 5). And yet people seemed to love her. So he was quite surprised when he went to a performance one evening and heard that there would be a change in casting.

"I'm afraid Carlotta has come down with a cold",stammered the obviously nervous manager "In her place, mademoiselle Christine Daae will be singing."

Raoul nearly fell out of his seat. It couldn't be...it couldn't be! But there she was on stage, the girl-the woman-who had been plaguing his thought for the past seven years. And how she sung! It was like she had become the angel Raoul always thought she was.

As soon as it was over, Raoul rushed to her dressing room. Surely she would remember him! But, he thought, she may not still feel the same way about me. He apprehensively knocked on her door.

"Come in" she called.

As he entered, he suddenly knew the perfect way to tell how she felt.

"Christine Daae, where is your scarf?" he asked, trying to sound offended.

Judging by the confusion on her face, he would have to try harder.

"And after I jumped-"

"Into the sea to fetch it!" she finished. "Oh, Raoul, it is you!" As she embraced him, Raoul felt that old spark come back between them, but this time it was more intense. He could see in her eyes affection for him, but was it the same affection that he held for her?

(Skip to the Rooftop scene, because we all know what happens after he leaves her dressing room.)

Fifteen, there's still time for you

Time to buy and time to loose

Raoul was feeling very conflicting emotions. On one hand, he should probably be angry with Christine. First, she insisted that her favorite childhood tale of the Angel of Music was real. Surely she must have more sense than that! Did she miss her father that much, that she would cling to a tale he once told?Second, she disappeared after he left her dressing room. Third, she refused to speak with him for weeks. Her only reason was that "it was for his own good". Really, how could being away from her ever be a good thing?

On the other hand, here she was, begging him to stay on the roof with her, where it was "safe". When he asked who he was to protect her from, he was surprised to hear it was the angel that Christine had so loved. What's more, that this same angel was the alleged Phantom of the Opera!

"Christine, there is no Phantom of the Opera! You must have been dreaming", he replied. Maybe if he said this enough, Christine would believe it herself and they could move on with their lives.

Christine seemed bitter that he didn't believe her. "Raoul, I've seen him! He took me down to his house by the lake. He's a monster! He lives in a hole, like a mole, and composes day and night. And his face! It's so distorted and deformed, you could hardly call it a face! And he has a terrible temper. You saw what happened to poor Monsieur Buquet. I'm afraid that may be me one day..."she started to cry after that last part.

"Christine, darling, please don't cry." He calmly walked to her and wrapped him in his arms. If his Christine needed him, he would do anything for her. He told her just that and more.

Getting down on one knee and taking her hands, he said with a voice full of love ,"Christine, Little Lotte, my angel, my darling. I've loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you all those years ago in Sweden. There hasn't been a day that I haven't thought of you. If you'll allow me, I'll always stay by your side and protect you from anything. Whether it be loneliness, goblins, society, ghosts, or this 'phantom'. Christine Daae, will you marry me?"

To his great relief and utmost joy, she threw her arms around him and happily cried "Oh, yes, yes, I will! I love you Raoul de Chagny. I have since you fetched my scarf from the sea. I don't care what anyone says or thinks. I would love to be your wife."

And so they shared their second kiss, content with the knowledge that it would not be their last.

There's never a wish better than this

When you only got a hundred years to live

Raoul thought several things as he steered the boat through the sewers. If he had known what would happen, he would have tried harder to convince Christine that they should have just left Paris after they had become engaged. But Christine said that she owed it to her old mentor to let him hear her sing one last time. Raoul only agreed under the conditions that they left town right after the performance was through.

He had faced problems with his family. Philippe and his sisters were appalled that he wanted to marry a common girl from the opera. Philippe kept trying to talk him out of it, which caused them to fight often. His sisters claimed that Christine was only after his wealth and title. After one had called his angel a "sneaky little whore", he had ceased to speak to all of them and had stayed in a hotel.

The night of the performance, they were both nervous. This Phantom, after all, was a master of deception and trickery. But Christine assured him that everything would be fine. If only he hadn't listened to her, he could have spared them that whole ordeal.

The Phantom – that bastard!- had actually kidnapped his angel. He was so scared as he ventured down into the bowels of the opera to find her. Oh no, it wasn't fear for himself, but for his angel. Who knows what that madman might do to her?

But his rescue attempt had failed, for the monster had thrown a noose over his neck right after he made it into his lair. He had told Christine that if she did not marry him, then he would kill her "precious young man." He told Christine not to say yes to the monster. He would gladly die if it would bring her happiness. He was shocked when Christine had actually kissed him, but he knew that she did not love that monster. She was doing this for him. She did not want him to die. In a way, that kiss was a relief for him, because it removed all the doubt that his family had put into his head. She loved him. She loved him so much that she would sacrifice herself to the Phantom if it would save his life.

It turned out that the Phantom had some good in his heart. He had realized that he Christine would never love him and let her and her young man go.

They had eventually made their way out of the sewers. They silently found a cab, went back to their homes to pack their things, then traveled to the train station. He did not know what to say. He knew that she was upset over the broken hearted man she left behind, and that her "angel", her last connection to her father, was gone for good.

"Raoul?", her sweet voice asked him. As he looked at her, she suddenly pulled him down into a deep kiss. "I love you, Raoul." she said.

"I will never get tired of hearing you say that", he replied with a grin. She spent the remainder of the train ride to Sweden saying "I love you" over and over.

They were married on the first day of spring. The church was small, quaint, and pure white. A perfect place for his angel to get married in. As she walked down the aisle in her white dress, he thought he would die of happiness. She looked so, so beautiful, like any moment she would grow wings and fly away. But instead, she walked to the altar and stood beside him. They had exchanged the regular vows, though he was sure that nobody said them more sincerely then they ever did. When it came time for their kiss, he actually did swoon from happiness(much to everyone's amusement).

They had their reception at the same spot by the sea where they had first met. Their guest were all old friends of Christine and her father, so they all knew the story of the red scarf. Even so, they encouraged Raoul and Christine to tell their versions of it, anyway.

From morning till night they danced, ate, sung, and shared stories with their guest. When night came, they went back to the little cottage they had bought. As they made their way to the bed, the only thing that was said between them was "I love you".

Ugh, that took forever to write.

I use a lot of commas, don't I? Damn my need for proper punctuation.

Any EXC shippers sick yet? Hehheh

Remember to please leave a review and tell me how I'm doing. This is my first time writing fanfiction so I could really use some feedback. :)