A/N: Chapter 7…Just as a warning, I don't know how…interesting…this will get, so beware. I'm gonna try to control them, but my characters completely take over a lot…This won't get too bad, as I am trying to keep it pg-13…however, I think I may make this chapter R.

So yeah.

THIS CHAPTER IS RATED R BECAUSE MY CHARACTERS NEVER DO WHAT I WANT THEM TO.

Just thought y'all should know.


- Uncertainty-

Ari's hands slid up his arms as she sighed and wound her arms around his neck, glad he was holding her up. If he hadn't been, she would definitely have fallen over, especially when he dipped her so far back, she felt like she was lying in his arms. The passion in his kiss was more than she'd expected, and she found herself completely breathless and speechless when he pulled away, and pulled her upright.

Erik smoothed her bangs away from her eyes, and Ari's finger involuntarily traced the edge of his mask. "Stop," he whispered quietly, gripping her wrist gently to pull her hand away from the mask. When Ari opened her mouth to protest, Erik leaned in and kissed her again to silence her. He walked her backwards, suspecting she didn't even feel it, and pressed her against the back wall, the only place with no costumes attached to it. There were benches everywhere, in front of desks, and big cushions on the floor, much to Ari's amusement.

The girl tensed when she felt Erik push her mesh shift off of her, onto the floor, drawing his thin fingers down her arms in a sensual sort of way. In response, she pushed his tuxedo jacket off of him, still kissing as passionately as they had been. "What's wrong?" he asked when she pulled away.

"N-nothing…this is just…weird…for me…" she laughed. "I didn't even know I had these emotions," she admitted. "To think –"

"Don't think. Just react," he urged, smiling against her lips, and began kissing her again, this time gently rather than passionately. His lips barely touched hers, and she pushed forward, trying to get him to really kiss her, but he pulled back, amused, and leaned down to kiss the side of her neck, drawing exactly the reaction he wanted to from her as she sighed, almost moaning a little as he managed to tip her head back and kiss her throat. Ari's neck muscles tensed immediately at the touch, but she sighed as her skin burned pleasantly every time he touched it with his lips. He pushed a strap of the white dress off her shoulder and kissed it gently, then moved to the swell of her chest, drawing a line of kisses up to her collarbone, over to the other side of her neck. His movements were painfully slow, and Ari was breathing hard by the time he found her lips again, kissing her slowly and gently.

Ari couldn't take his gentleness anymore, and she lunged forward a little, kissing him roughly. Much to her joy, he returned her kiss with just as much force, if not more. Opening her mouth to the tongue she could feel pushing through her lips, she moaned a little in her sigh, surprised at how vocal she was being. She usually never admitted when guys did something she liked: she found it embarrassing, and the fact that Erik was chuckling lightly when he pulled away did not help her any.

"Are you blushing?" he asked, touching her cheek to find it warmer and pinker than usual.

"No," Ari lied, turning her face from him. Her bangs fell into her left eye again, and Erik reached to the back of her head, easily pulling the pencil she'd twisted into her hair out of it. At the absence of the only thing that had been keeping it up, Ari's waving hair fell around her shoulders, resting just above the top of the dress.

"Yes you are," he corrected her, grinning, but he looked at her and straightened his face into a genuine smile. "You look good with your hair down. You should leave it like this more often."

Ari shrugged, closing her eyes, relaxed. "I hate the way it always…gets…in my way…" Her sentences broke when he kissed the curve of her neck, and drew a trail of kisses down her throat, to the swell of her chest.

"You're so beautiful, Aria," he said between kisses.

"Mm…No I'm - Mmph!" she exclaimed, finding his mouth suddenly on hers.

"What did I tell you to say?"

"Thank you Erik," she whispered with a smile, her eyes still closed. Erik suddenly lifted her up and her legs went around him almost automatically, still pressed against the wall. Bending down to kiss him, she noticed that he seemed to be rather strong, and was holding her up quite easily. She hadn't expected that from his thin frame. They remained that way for awhile before Erik put her down, and Ari practically pounced on him, causing them both to fall backwards onto a cushion, much to their amusement.

Laughing, Erik flipped them so he was on top of Ari, looking down.

The girl was panting, breathing hard under the corset, and Erik's weight, though he really wasn't all that heavy for a guy. On a whim, Ari flipped them again so she was straddling him – yes, straddling him in a short dress – and began to unbutton his tuxedo shirt. She had the distinct feeling he never wore anything else.

Of course, he did look excellent in this, masked or not. When she got to his collar, she leaned back so he could sit up and she could pull the shirt off of him. Looking at his torso, she had to fight to keep a grin from spreading across her lips. He was as beautifully proportioned as she imagined he would be. She leaned back, almost sitting on his legs, and drew a line of kisses from the top of his trousers to his throat, moving painfully slowly, just as he had done to her. She grinned internally when she felt a moan she almost didn't hear reverberate through his body. At that, she just moved slower. By the time she reached his throat, she could feel his pulse racing under the soft touch of her lips, and he turned his head to meet her lips, roughly as before, but not painfully. He'd always been gentle with her, even when she hadn't known he was there.

As they kissed, Ari's hands slowly made their way up his muscular arms, curling around his neck, and his found their way around her waist, pulling her against him. When she realized his right hand was creeping towards the top of her corset in the back, ready to untie the thing he's just painstakingly laced up around her. "I don't think you should – Do you really want to lace that thing up again?" she asked. Suddenly, she found herself nervous and shy, unusual feelings for her.

"You're shy," Erik noticed, looking amused, and let her back down onto the cushion. "All right." He wasn't going to push her to do anything except sing, and that was just because he knew what she could do better than she did.

Ari looked up at him questioningly when he pulled away suddenly. He only grinned, and Ari felt her wrists rise up and pin themselves at either side of her head. Erik's arms were still wrapped around her waist. She shuddered, a little bothered by the way nothing was pressing down on her wrists, but she couldn't move them.

"What's wrong?" Erik crooned against her lips, and Ari almost whimpered. He grinned internally. "Don't like being…trapped?" he asked, clamping her ankles down, too.

"No, I don't," she said, realizing this when she felt all her muscles tense.

"Sorry," he said quickly, apologizing, and released his holds on her. He began to kiss her gently again, and Ari closed her eyes in relaxation. Just when he began moving in for another kiss, Ari stopped him, touching a finger to his lips.

"Sing for me," she whispered instead. "I've only heard you sing in my dreams…I want to hear you sing in person," she said with a smile.

Erik got off of her and stood, offering a hand to her. When she took it, he pulled her up easily. "You're light," he commented, teasing, and laughed when Ari stuck her tongue out at him. Under her expectant gaze, Erik sighed. "What do you want me to sing?"

"I don't know," she said, looking down. "Anything you want. A love song, an aria, something." She just wanted him to sing to her. Hearing his voice in her dreams was not nearly enough for her. "Sing to me."

Erik smiled and nodded, breathing deep. When he began, his flawless tenor was completely unwavering for two slow beats, then spun into smooth vibrato. When Ari closed her eyes, recognizing the song to be one she'd sung herself, in a different key, Erik walked behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders and carefully sliding his hands down her arms and around her waist as he sang. "…Non credio del mio cor, dolce desio…"

Ari felt like she was floating. She'd never heard such a voice, and she usually hated tenors, drawn absolutely towards basses and baritones. There was sorrow in his pure tone, but a certain calm to it, and the combination made her eyes water. He sang a solid pianissimo, whispering in her ear as he sang, sending chills down Ari's spine. She didn't even notice he'd been holding her until her knees gave way completely. Deep in the music, Erik had noticed only enough to catch her and hold her up until she could stand solidly again.

Unfortunately, that happened only when he'd finished the song. Ari was completely speechless as she straightened, tears leaking from the eyes she'd just now opened.

Erik smiled a little sheepishly. He'd never had that effect on anyone he sang to before. Of course, he'd never sung that song to anyone but her… "Are you all right?"

Ari cleared her throat before speaking. "Um, wow," was all she could say. "How…what is that song about?" she asked quietly, curious. The emotion he'd felt, whatever it was, had choked her up. Or maybe it had just been his voice…either way, she loved it.

"Ah, seduction, actually," he said with a sly sort of glint in his eye.

"Oh," Ari said more quietly, and he grinned when she looked down, away from his face. "You have an incredible voice."

"Now you see why I appreciate yours."

"I suppose…so…um…" she said awkwardly. "I-I should go see if I can audition now and go back to school." As she walked reluctantly out of Erik's arms, she realized she almost wanted him to stop her.

Then he did. He caught her wrist and spun her back towards him. When she spun in, he changed the angle so he could dip her back. "Are you so ready to leave me?" he asked, and the heat in his voice made Ari shiver.

"Um…" she breathed, completely uncertain now.

"What would you do if I told you I wasn't going to let you go?" he asked, whispering against her lips as he, unknown to her, lowered her back down onto a cushion on the floor. When she closed her eyes and opened her mouth to answer, he gently bit her lower lip, chuckling when she squeaked a little.

"I don't know…" she whimpered, almost afraid of the passion and determination she saw in his eyes. When he drew a hand up her corset, fingers hooking around the top, she tensed a little. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked quietly, her heart pounding at the way she could feel an invisible hand gently unlacing her corset and fingers gently drawing curving lines across her back when the corset came undone.

"Just lay back and enjoy it," Erik said with a sly smile, and the fingers hooked around the top of her corset pulled away, taking the restraining article with them, out of the neck of the dress.

Ari, remembering the dress was almost completely transparent at the top, folded her arms over her chest immediately and flushed a very bright pink. "Eriiiiiiiik!" she whined, trying to turn over, but then realized he was pretty much laying on top of her, and she didn't really mind…Bad Ari!

"Yes?" he asked, balancing on his elbows as he tried to pry her arms away from her chest. "Aria…" he whispered the way he'd so often done in the wind, and her muscles relaxed a little. She loved that seductive tone his voice always held. "Relax…" he whispered in her ear, sending pleasant chills down her spine.

Ari sighed and her arms relaxed completely, forgetting where she was, what she was doing, and who was rather successfully seducing her. She let Erik wind her arms around his neck without hesitation and without resistance. When she felt his lips connect with hers, she imagined she was floating again. "See, that wasn't so terrible, was it?" she heard him ask, and was suddenly aware that her corset was behind him, and that he was laying on her with only a couple of thin layers of fabric separating them. "You need to learn to loosen up a little," he complained. Ari would never be able to figure out how he ended up between her legs.

When she visibly realized their position, Erik grinned mischievously, and when Ari opened her mouth to speak, he touched a thin finger to her lips. "Shh…" he murmured, still smiling, and kissed her, exploring her mouth with his tongue. He felt her give way to him completely and raised himself up on her to even out their bodies.

Ari jumped when she felt him…well…him…he was pressing himself against her, rocking forward and back, along her body, but what surprised her the most was that she didn't mind…well…she sort of liked it, actually…but this was wrong! I can't do this…not here…in the Opera House? With him? I just met him…well, I've kind of known him my whole life, but I didn't know it was him…but I just met him now…Mm…he's such a good kisser…Bad Ari! Wait…what was I not supposed to do and why can I not do it? I really hope he doesn't have telepathy as well as telekinesis…

Erik chuckled when they came up for air, sensing her inner struggle. "What's wrong, Aria? Feel strange about kissing a fellow who's known you your whole life, whom you've only known for a short period of time?" he asked, smoothing her bangs away from her eyes again.

Ari bit her lip. "No…" she denied, her lie visible as well as audible.

"Just relax and enjoy it," Erik murmured to her in that hypnotic voice of his, and began kissing her again.


A/N: Well that was a little more awkward to write than I thought it was going to be, and took a lot longer than it was supposed to…I hate it when my characters do things I don't want them to, or don't plan for them to do…next chapter will be more interesting, I promise, and will probably appear more quickly. The plot goes back into motion after this…really… REVIEW the fluff! Lol.